Episode 473

“Ah, no.”

“What are you looking at me for? You think I’d buy it?”

Salko and Giselle immediately refused outright.

No matter how brave and fearless—leaders of each tower as they were—they didn’t have the guts to buy a suspicious artifact that even an outstanding magician like Lee Han reacted so warily to.

And frankly, that was closer to stupidity.

“Hmm. That’s disappointing. It’s a pretty decent helmet though.”

“……”

“……”

The two of them were dumbfounded inside.

Whether someone liked Wardanaz or hated him, none could deny the sense of responsibility he carried…

But that was that, and that helmet was definitely a scam listing.

“Can’t you just sell it to some upperclassman later?”

“That’s not the point, Wardanaz.”

“Oh. Then when new students come in, sell it to them?”

“…No! We’re talking about a sacrifice here. The sacrifice.”

At the mention, Giselle crossed her arms and looked thoughtful.

The idea that offering a sacrifice could end this situation was, honestly, tempting.

“Wardanaz. Listen, and try not to misunderstand.”

“When someone says that, it’s impossible not to misunderstand… Well, go ahead.”

Giselle glanced subtly in Gainando’s direction and said,

“With his kind of bloodline, that friend could be a sacrifice to satisfy a spirit. What do you think?”

“That’s a good idea.”

Salko agreed in admiration.

For Salko, who inherently saw noble house brats as eyesores, a friend like Gainando—who counted solely on his lineage and strutted around—wouldn’t be missed wherever or however he disappeared from the scene.

“…Did you two drink the principal’s liquor or something? What are you talking about?”

Lee Han asked, appalled.

“Think about it, Wardanaz. Objectively, you’d make a good sacrifice too, but you can’t be the one, which is why we’re making this suggestion.”

“Wardanaz. Be honest, didn’t it annoy you when that prince slacked off without working? Those who don’t work shouldn’t eat…”

For a moment, Lee Han wavered, but he held on to his reason.

No matter how much he wanted to end the flood, he couldn’t send a friend as a sacrifice to an enraged spirit.

Couldn’t Gainando come back later—after growing up in the spirit realm—and declare vengeance on all the people of the empire?

“No. And there’s one thing I’m curious about. You two…”

“?”

“Why are you only considering students as sacrifices? Aren’t there other perfectly fine sacrifices you can look for?”

“…Oh.”

Salko was momentarily at a loss for words.

So was Giselle.

Now that you mention it?

Lee Han clicked his tongue at them both.

‘They’ve been too influenced by Einrogard.’

They were friends who, while never exactly virtuous, hadn’t been this extreme, and yet they’d become so aggressive.

It was unfortunate.

“Anyway, think it over a bit more. Nothing about sacrificing students. Since it’s the weekend, I should go fetch another hut. Lord Tanjue! Please take me out!”

It’s… supposed to be break time…

“I have confirmed it’s break time. By now, your strength should be fully recovered. Don’t talk nonsense. Lord Tanjue, you’re stronger than you think.”

I want to rest…

“Then, would you like to assault the principal?”

…I’ll go…

Tanjue answered, trying not to cry, with the look of someone being dragged to slaughter.

Salko and Giselle clicked their tongues at Lee Han.

‘It’s not like I was going to do it…’

‘…Wardanaz really seems to have been influenced by Einrogard.’

• * *

The reason Lee Han went out with his friends on Tanjue over the weekend was simple.

He planned to fish out and borrow another hut from Professor Thunderstep.

“Listen up! First one to spot a hut gets five Meikin family chocolate bars, first to hook a grappling hook onto the hut gets three bottles of honey mead and three salami sausages, first to break the door and enter gets the right to take any food item from the hut first!”

“Waaaaah! Long live Captain Wardanaz!”

“We’re pirates of Einrogard!”

These crazy… guys…

Tanjue murmured, but the students, blinded by greed, didn’t care.

The pirates—or rather, exploration party—composed of students from Blue Dragon Tower, White Tiger Tower, and Black Turtle Tower, roamed Einrogard examining floating debris.

“?”

Likewise, as he was searching, Lee Han paused after spotting something odd.

A single glass bottle was floating straight towards him from a distance.

‘What is that?’

The bottle itself was not strange, but in the midst of all the debris, seeing it come right at him without a single scratch felt magical.

Lee Han carefully scooped up the glass bottle. Inside was a letter, rolled up tightly.

Help me!

Bible Verdus

“……”

Lee Han looked around, put the letter back in the bottle, and threw it far away.

What… did you just throw…?

“Nothing.”

Like… a glass bottle…

“Lord Tanjue. How about a strike on the principal’s office next?”

Tanjue closed its mouth.

After a moment.

“……”

A glass bottle drifted in from a different direction. This time, his friends noticed too.

“Wardanaz. What’s that?”

“Could… could it be a treasure map?”

Lee Han frowned and opened it.

Help me! Wardanaz!!

Bible Verdus

“……”

“……”

A strange atmosphere spread among the students watching beside him.

With a face of steel, Lee Han put the paper back in the bottle and threw it.

“Wrongly delivered letter.”

“Uh… uh huh?”

“But it had Wardanaz written on it…?”

“You saw it wrong.”

The students fell silent at Lee Han’s words.

They all had a lot to say, but they were on the boat—no, Tanjue—and the captain’s authority was absolute.

“Right! Must’ve just seen it wrong!”

“Fake letters like that have become a big problem at Einrogard lately!”

With the solid support of his friends, Lee Han nodded in satisfaction.

“Now. Back to searching for huts…”

Float~

This time, several glass bottles surged toward them.

Lee Han, doubting his eyes, climbed down from Tanjue and sprinted across the water to put distance between himself and the bottles.

The bottles veered to follow Lee Han and floated toward him.

Hurry up! The guard is watching, so it’s even hard to make artifacts in here!

Is it because there’s no reward? Fine! I’ll lend you my tools! That’s a real privilege!

I’ll make more concessions! You can use my workshop when you make artifacts! I won’t tell you to leave even if you stay all night!

From how they followed, it was clear Professor Verdus was targeting Lee Han with his letters.

‘Magic can be so horrifying!’

Lee Han could understand the anti-magic sentiment of the Empire.

That kind of great technology, being exploited like this.

‘And he’s really got a way of destroying motivation.’

Truthfully, Lee Han did worry a bit about Professor Verdus.

It was definitely pleasing to have the professor locked in the punishment room—

—but if that professor was doing so to take on a student’s sin, it was another matter.

About half the reason Professor Verdus was in the punishment room was Lee Han’s fault.

‘The other half was his own karma, anyway.’

So, over the weekend, he had intended to visit the punishment room to see if the professor was okay, to check if he’d figured out the truth, to give food to an upperclassman he’d met at the previous lecture.

Even if his concern was only slight for Professor Verdus, he hadn’t completely ignored him.

But after these letters, he didn’t even feel like going at all.

Promising to let him work if he rescues him—what kind of crazy negotiation was this?

“Guys, sorry. I’ll go rescue Professor Verdus.”

His friends weren’t surprised at all by Lee Han’s words.

“Yeah. Go and come back.”

“Negotiate well when you rescue him. Squeeze as much out of him as you can.”

“If rescuing him seems too hard, just leave him in there! He’ll probably be able to get out by himself!”

No one found it strange that Lee Han was rescuing a professor over upperclassmen.

Tanjue muttered sullenly.

Crazy… magician bastards…

• * *

The air of the punishment room was dark and gloomy. It felt as if he could hear the wailing of students from somewhere far away.

And though it wasn’t fully flooded, knee-high water made the place even more eerie.

Even in the dark, painful Einrogard, this was the darkest and most painful place of all—the punishment room!

Even the most insane students didn’t voluntarily come here.

It wasn’t just because the air was bad, but because the underground maze was that dangerous.

If you made a wrong turn, you could lose your way in constantly shifting corridors and become the next prisoner…

“Lord Perkuntra! Lord Perkuntra! Lord Perkuntra!!”

Lee Han knocked on the wall, calling for the guard.

Having reserves of magic to spare, he added magical power to his voice.

“Lord Perkuntra! Lord Perkuntra! Lord Perkuntra!!”

“You’re a first-year, aren’t you?! How are you walking these corridors?!”

“Awesome, Ironhead! Burn Einrogard down!”

As Lee Han shouted and walked down the corridor, the inmates inside cheered him on.

“Shout louder! So the guards come!”

“No! Quiet down! The guards will take us if they come!”

“Give us food before you get caught!”

“Idiot, where would Ironhead have food? We’re at the point we’d chew shoe leather if we could!”

Quiet, quiet, quiet, quiet!

From far down the corridor came thunder and lightning, and warrior-shaped clones came running.

The clones shot lightning everywhere and cast spells at the students inside.

-I told you to be quiet!

“My longing for freedom cannot be silenced with a spirit’s lash! Gah!”

-Shut up, you who cheated during the exam!

“It was self-defense in Einrogard, gah!”

“……”

Watching the upperclassmen’s pitiful resistance, Lee Han was grabbed by the warriors and dragged away.

The upperclassmen locked up inside whistled and stomped as they shouted.

“Freshman, welcome to the club!”

“Everyone goes to the punishment room once or twice! Don’t be too scared! If it’s your first year, you’ll get out soon!”

Lee Han felt a bit sorry and replied,

“I’m not here as a prisoner!”

“Yeah! That’s what we all want to think!”

“We’re actually not prisoners, we’re just here thinking deep thoughts—gah!! Stop zapping me, you lightning bastard!”

• * *

Having left other spirits to work and resting in the locked punishment room, Lord Perkuntra looked at Lee Han with an annoyed expression.

Why cause a commotion here when the punishment room is already crowded with exam season?

“I have a request.”

This flood is not something I can stop. And even if I could, I have no intention of doing so.

Perkuntra refused arrogantly.

Lee Han understood the sentiment.

Having contracted with such a powerful spirit as Perkuntra at a young age, wanting help in times of crisis was natural.

But contracts with spirits were not all-powerful.

Only where the content was reasonable, and a great event like halting a spirit flood was not something Perkuntra would…

“Excuse me? That’s not it, I came to visit someone who’s locked in the punishment room.”

……

Perkuntra was left speechless.

Although embarrassed, more than that, for a first-year student to come down for a visitation—

‘Does this kid have no fear??’

Well, sure, he probably came relying on his contract with Perkuntra…

…Fine. Who did you come to visit? What’s the name?

“Bible Verdus.”

Bible… Bible Verdus…

Perkuntra checked the names of the locked-up students.

But something felt strange.

Did he say it right? It’s odd. Among students…

“Oh. Not a student, but a professor.”

…What are the other disciples doing, why are you the one who came!?

Unable to contain it, Perkuntra shouted out loud.