Episode 472

Episode 472

“As expected, huh.”

Lee Han planned to have Gainando help him gather investment money when he started a business later, but gave up on the idea.

No matter how he thought about it, the chances of a backlash seemed higher.

“Honestly, you’re already doing well enough right now.”

“Really?”

Lee Han showed a slight look of relief.

If it was a guarantee from Yoner, who had participated in multiple balls, it was quite trustworthy.

If that were true, it would be easier later on when he attended balls or banquets to find a patron.

“I did step on a foot earlier, but that’s a mistake anyone can make.”

“…”

Lee Han remained silent, unable to admit he had intentionally stepped on Student Rowena’s foot.

“This level is sufficient, right? Did you actually think it was lacking?”

“When the waltz or round dance is played, I don’t have enough dances to switch to and it doesn’t really fit with the concerto…”

“…Are you planning to make a living by dancing?”

He wasn’t a professional dancer invited to liven up the atmosphere at balls, so there was no need to go that far. Just doing one or two was enough.

Yoner made a tired expression in response to his friend’s unreasonable goals.

“Oh right. I got a letter from my family.”

“Was it sent by Lady Yoanen?”

“…Don’t say such horrifying things!”

Unusually, Yoner strongly objected.

Yoanen was a good older sister, but not a good pen pal.

Had Yoanen sent the letter, it would have been packed with dozens of pages about a new potion Student Yoner wasn’t even interested in.

The truly dreadful part was that if she didn’t read all that and reply sincerely to each part, Yoanen would get upset.

‘Wouldn’t information about new potion development be valuable…?’

Lee Han thought to himself about getting slapped by Yoner.

Of course, it would be troublesome, but new potion recipes held considerable value.

“Then who sent it?”

“Do you remember what Nillia submitted the other day?”

“Oh. That.”

At the Meikin family’s regular discussions on imperial political affairs and their solutions, Nillia gave an excellent answer.

-When the political instability of the southern imperial coast, the place of the Sangoria flower, increases, how should alchemists respond?-

There are a lot of idle hunters in the north, so send them to the southern coast… since they’re capable of long-range attacks, they should be able to deal with monsters well… if monsters are eliminated, people will be happy and political instability will decrease… Sorry…

It was a truly clever measure, matching the northern Shadow Patrol’s off-season with the harvest season of the Sangoria flower.

It was also good that they wouldn’t need to deploy local magicians.

Magicians were fundamentally expensive workers, and in certain situations, many imperial people are wary of magicians visiting.

Even upon review, it was a remarkably intuitive and efficient plan!

‘Nillia is just too pessimistic.’

Lee Han thought to himself.

With such a plan, she could be more confident, but she kept sighing and saying things like, “This isn’t it.”

‘Well, maybe that personality is what makes her plans so perfect.’

“Why?”

“The family said they’re all set and it’s moving ahead? They’re coming to Einrogard.”

“Really?”

Even if they borrowed the strength of northern hunters, they couldn’t completely leave such tasks to them.

They had to go along, advise on which monsters to hunt, personally gather Sangoria flowers, and mediate if southern coastal guilds got upset…

Naturally, staff members of the Meikin family had to go along.

It would be even better if a few outstanding magicians attended as well.

He already knew during vacation, there had been talk in the Meikin family of “inviting a professor from Einrogard,” but it was still surprising that they were actually coming.

‘Amazing that they got permission during the term. Did they donate a lot?’

Lee Han thought it was likely. Knowing the skull principal’s personality, he wouldn’t let such an opportunity slip away, even if he had to teach in their place himself.

“Then which professor is going to be away?”

“Not sure? It wasn’t written that far.”

“Could the principal himself be away?”

“Probably not. And Lee Han, it’s not disappearing—it’s being invited…”

“Maybe Professor Baegrek will be away?”

“…”

Yoner was about to say something but pitied his friend, so she just answered.

“Professor Baegrek isn’t really a specialist in alchemy, so I don’t think he’ll be coming.”

“No. Since they’re going so far, maybe they’ll need an escort.”

“Um…”

“What about Professor Verdus? He specializes in enchanting magic, so isn’t he suitable?”

“Professor is in the punishment room right now.”

“We could let him out for work and then lock him back in the punishment room.”

Yoner lamented inwardly, wondering how hard things had been for her friend to come to this.

Indeed, all the Tower students seemed to rely excessively on Lee Han.

After that, Lee Han continued his happy fantasy about “Which professor will be away? Is it okay if several are away?”

Yoner felt oddly sorry, so she stayed silent and just practiced the dance steps.

Bang!

Gainando, who had gotten up late, rushed in with friends and threw the door open.

“S-sorry! I overslept! Because of the principal’s scheme!”

“Student Gainando! If you’re late, just admit it with dignity and apologize; those kind of excuses aren’t good!”

“It really was a plan…”

“Ahem!”

• * *

“The rain has let up a bit.”

“But it’s still raining too much, right?”

“What do you think, Lord Tanjue?”

With exams all done, the students gathered at the temporary dock in front of the library, glancing up at the pouring sky and whispering.

It’s the weekend and they’d like to rest, but it didn’t look like the flood would subside any time soon.

Is it really going to last until the end of term?

Don’t… torment me…

“Are you just asking?”

That itself… is tormenting me… please… let me go…

“We’ll release you when the flood is over.”

Why… why are you tormenting me like this…

Tanjue shed tears like beads.

Normally, the students might have felt sorry, but after more than half a year at Einrogard, their empathy had decayed more than expected.

“It won’t make a difference even if you cry.”

“That’s right. I heard in class. Even if the contracted being appeals with tears, you should never be swayed.”

These trash… magicians… let me go…

While such talk happened outside, a similar conversation was underway inside as well.

“If we don’t clear out quickly, Mack might raid again. And there are probably other monsters in the library too.”

“I hate to admit it, but Moradi is right about this. Wardanaz. What do you think?”

“Hmm… If Professor Baegrek leaves… No. Professor Verdus… No. Isn’t there a chance for the skull principal…”

“Wardanaz? Wardanaz?”

Giselle and Salko got flustered when Lee Han drifted into other thoughts.

It was unusual for their friend to behave so, which made it even more awkward.

“Oh. Sorry. I was thinking about something else. What were we talking about?”

“How long will the flood last? Now that the seniors have finished exams, shouldn’t they resolve it soon?”

Lee Han replied immediately to Salko’s question.

“Uh, no, I don’t think so.”

“…Is that so? Why not?”

“Well, that’s because the seniors…”

New students to Einrogard are likely to think this way.

-If there’s a problem at school, the seniors will take care of it, since there are lots of them, right?-

But surprisingly, at Einrogard, it was the opposite.

Whether it was a blizzard, flood, or lava eruption, the upperclassmen had the ability to get by on their own, so there was no need for them to fix it.

Unfortunately, as underclassmen, it was the 1st-year students who had to step up.

And there was a practical reason, too. As you move up in years, you get busier and have less time for these things.

“……”

“……”

Hearing Lee Han’s logical explanation, Giselle and Salko’s faces twisted.

Although Lee Han hadn’t used any mental magic, he felt as if he could hear their thoughts.

‘They’re cursing the skull principal.’

“So we have to solve it ourselves?”

“That’s what it means.”

Hearing the conversation between Salko and Giselle, Lee Han was a little startled.

The content was a bit too aggressive.

‘Do we really have to solve it?’

Of course, it would be nice, but most things at Einrogard couldn’t be solved by human power.

At times like this, it was most sensible to leave it to time rather than exhaust yourself for no reason.

“Wardanaz. I heard you have a wise helmet among your things. Can we ask that helmet?”

Salko asked the question cautiously.

Since it was using someone else’s artifact, Lee Han could refuse if he wanted to.

And it would be a waste of such a precious usage count on this, too.

“You have something like that?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“……”

Things suddenly became awkward.

Giselle got confused when Lee Han denied it.

‘What? Did Tutanta tell nonsense? Or did Wardanaz lie? What kind of helmet is it?’

Salko was just as puzzled.

‘Did I mishear? I definitely heard there was such a helmet. Was it a rumor from the principal by any chance?’

“Oh, I know what you mean now.”

Lee Han realized, seeing his friends looking flustered.

“There’s a weird helmet. The one I picked up from the school basement dungeon a while ago, right? I tried to sell it at a shop because it was so useless, but they rejected it.”

“……”

“……”

Why would you try to sell it!

The two screamed internally.

“I don’t think it’s particularly useful, but if you really want to, Salko, let’s try it. But it’s a cursed artifact, so be careful.”

“I-I see. No wonder you never used it.”

“No, it’s not because I mind the curse, but just because there aren’t chances to use it. It’s not helpful.”

“……”

Lee Han rummaged through his bag and took out the helmet. Having been trapped in a dark pocket, the helmet glowed brightly as it emerged.

At last! You have come to borrow my wicked wisdom! I know what you want. You want to become head of the year, right? If only you had my secret potion…

“Oh? Really?”

Gainando perked up at that, listening intently. Lee Han smacked the back of his head and said,

“No. We’re going to ask something else.”

At last!!!

The helmet trembled to the point of shaking back and forth with joy.

Seeing that, Lee Han suddenly felt a bit sorry.

‘Did I neglect it too much?’

If he wasn’t going to use it, he should have found a new owner, but maybe he’d just left it alone too long.

Ask! Go ahead and ask!

“How can we end this flood?”

…Huh?

The helmet blinked its light in confusion.

Amazingly, the school was in chaos because of a spirit flood.

“You don’t know?”

N-no. I know. I mean… my goal is to expand my knowledge whether my master lives or dies, but isn’t this a bit too risky…

Ever since Professor Verdus tinkered with me, I can’t hide the truth…

The helmet rambled on.

Lee Han wore a bitter expression.

Come to think of it, even a cursed helmet that endangered its student master seemed to think, “Isn’t that a bit too dangerous?”

What a life, feeling remorse after looking at a cursed helmet!

The best method is a sacrifice.

“Sacrifice?”

Yeah.

Spirit rage usually dissipates over time, but there are several methods to calm it quickly.

One of those is a sacrifice.

If it’s causing this much of a flood, there must be a spirit with a name involved! Naturally, there will be a particular sacrifice it wants.

“What sacrifice should we offer?”

How would I know? I don’t even know what spirit it is…

“Aren’t you supposed to be a helmet of wisdom?”

Lee Han looked sincerely disappointed.

The helmet was speechless with exasperation.

You can only ask one question at a time! Since I’ve answered, I’m going to recharge my power.

“……”

Next time, I’d appreciate it if you’d call me again as soon as I recover energy!

The helmet’s light went out.

Lee Han looked at it for a moment, then asked his friends,

“Anyone want to buy this?”