Episode 477

Episode 477

Unable to hold it in any longer, Kettle unleashed a stream of curses.

Professor Verdus protested his student’s rude behavior.

“How rude!”

“You’re the rude one! What kind of reward is that?!”

“It is a reward!”

“Strictly speaking, it’s not really a reward…”

When Lee Han mumbled from the side, Professor Verdus yelled in surprise.

“It’s not a reward?! Why not!?”

“Uh… um…”

Lee Han wondered how he should explain it.

It would have been easy if Verdus were a normal person (in which case there would be no need to explain), but Professor Verdus was someone who would never understand if you spoke plainly.

“A reward is something that’s supposed to be useful or not to the person getting it. No matter how good something is, it’s not a reward if it’s useless to the recipient.”

“But the opportunity to work in my workshop is something everyone would like, isn’t it?”

Kettle could be seen grabbing the back of his neck and collapsing.

But Lee Han’s natural patience wasn’t shaken by such words from Professor Verdus. Lee Han answered calmly.

“Even if I work in the Professor’s workshop, my current lack of ability makes it hard for me to actually take advantage of it right now.”

“Ah! I see!”

Professor Verdus accepted this immediately.

True, Lee Han was a bit better than other stupid students, but compared to Professor Verdus, he was still a regrettable student with much to learn.

Letting such a student use his workbench would be difficult for them to utilize even a fraction of it.

“I forgot how stupid you are.”

“I’m fine.”

Hearing this, Kettle frothed at the mouth.

How could he say that in front of a student who came all the way to the underground punishment room to save him?

‘Why do evil people live happier lives? The principal and Professor Verdus are happy, while the good suffer so much?’

Kettle’s heart ached at seeing his good-natured freshman junior suffer.

“You could just give something else.”

“Something else… hmm, what could a fool do…”

As Professor Verdus pondered, Kettle shouted in a hurry.

“The basement storage of the Hall of Sacred Engravings! Tell him to give you the key to the basement storage!”

Professor Verdus made a very blatant expression of dislike. Seeing it, Lee Han suddenly became interested.

“Where is that?”

“It’s where Professor Verdus keeps his treasured potions and ingredients!! Even when my friend begged him on his knees, he would never open that place!!”

“That’s a waste.”

Professor Verdus muttered as if it were obvious.

Kettle shouted, practically possessed by anger.

He was terrified that Lee Han might just let him out without taking the key.

“Hey! If you don’t get that key, don’t ever say you know me. Don’t ever say I’m your senior! Don’t even say you went to Einrogard! A pushover like you isn’t needed at Einrogard!!”

‘That’s a strange thing to be called.’

Lee Han, having only hung out with his friends, felt very awkward hearing his senior say, ‘Why are you so nice and naïve like a pushover?’

If his friends had been there, they might not have believed their own ears.

“I’m sorry, Professor. My senior says I absolutely must get the key.”

“That’s a waste…”

“But as a junior, I can’t disobey my senior. That means I can’t open the cell. The Professor will have to stay here.”

“It’s still a waste…”

Professor Verdus groaned in distress, but Lee Han stood firm, using his senior’s name as leverage.

In the end, Professor Verdus relented.

“All right. I’ll give it to you.”

“Thank you. I’ll use it well.”

“Wait!!”

Kettle shouted again.

Even after receiving the key, a desperate look implied he absolutely couldn’t let it slide.

“Make him swear that if you have to work outside of class hours, you get to choose the time! And make him specify exactly what pay he’ll give if you work outside of class too!”

“Why do you need pay when work is enjoyable?”

Ignoring Professor Verdus’s question, Kettle said what he wanted to say.

“You hear me?! Think carefully right now! Do you think Professor Verdus will ever willingly yield and swear again!? What you squeeze out today will determine your future at Einrogard!”

Thinking of his friends who’d studied under Professor Verdus, Kettle’s eyes reddened.

All the kind and considerate friends had dropped out, and only a handful of fanatical geniuses endured under him.

Thinking this pushover of a freshman would end up like that, he couldn’t just stand by.

“Make him swear no matter what! Even if you have to threaten him at swordpoint!”

“I’m sorry, Professor. My senior says I absolutely must make you swear.”

“What’s wrong with him?”

Professor Verdus grumbled.

He couldn’t understand why these vows and contracts were necessary.

With only passion for magic and mutual respect, the enchantment school of Einrogard ran perfectly fine.

“I swear, when putting my student Lee Han of the Wardanaz family to work, he’ll have first choice…”

Swearing, Professor Verdus looked at Lee Han and asked,

“But isn’t this kind of meaningless? You like working anyway.”

“That’s right, Professor. Honestly, it doesn’t mean much. I’m only making you swear to satisfy my senior. Even if I have a choice, would I ever refuse? Haha.”

Lee Han inwardly thanked Kettle.

Thanks to that upperclassman stuck in the punishment room, he was getting things done one by one without lifting a finger.

“…And should I ever put you to work, I’ll pay proper wages… We’ll negotiate compensation ahead of time, and my student rather than myself will…”

Kettle pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his eyes. Lee Han asked in surprise.

“Are you crying?”

“The air’s just humid from the spirit flood, you’re mistaken!”

“What nonsense…”

“Focus on the vow! Don’t miss a single word Professor Verdus says! And don’t trust him!”

“Hmm.”

Lee Han felt sorry.

If only Professor Verdus didn’t have ears, he could have said, ‘Senior, do you think I’d ever trust the professor to be sane?’

But with the professor right there, he could only keep playing the part of the good-hearted student.

“The Professor never meant any harm…”

“Ugh, cough.”

Kettle almost collapsed again.

• * *

Thanks to Kettle, Lee Han was able to make Professor Verdus swear to a few more things.

When they finally finished with the promise not to visit during the holidays without permission, Lee Han looked at Kettle with an openly admiring gaze.

‘There’s a reason he’s a senior!’

This was the first time Lee Han had met an Einrogard graduate, but he never realized how reassuring it would feel.

Now he understood why Einrogard was considered the empire’s top educational institution.

“Pant… pant. All right… you can go. And never trust the professor.”

Kettle gestured tiredly.

“Senior, can’t I help you escape too?”

“I can’t. In Professor Verdus’s case, he just got caught stealing from the principal…”

“I didn’t steal!”

Professor Verdus protested, jumping up and down, but Kettle ignored him.

“…But I was locked up for causing trouble outside. Even if I escape, they’ll come after me right away. If I get caught then…”

Kettle trembled.

Though he didn’t finish, his actions spoke of great fear.

“Should I talk to the principal for you?”

“You’re pretty good at joking.”

Kettle smiled faintly.

The first-year’s joke was braver and funnier than he expected.

Making a joke like that about the sky-high skull principal.

“While you’re at it, also tell them to improve the cell’s conditions.”

“Yes. Understood. By the way, Senior, I brought the extra food we promised you from outside.”

Lee Han opened his backpack and began taking out food, stacking up preserved items like canned beef, canned fruit, as well as luxuries like sugar, tea leaves, and coffee grounds—all prepared for easy eating in the cell.

“This is bread I baked just this morning, so I suggest eating it right away. I brought some honey too.”

“…W-where did you rob?!”

Kettle asked, startled.

No matter how he thought about it, there was no way a first-year could get these things.

They’d be barely enough for the students’ own group, but he actually brought them here.

Wasn’t this too generous, even for a goody-two-shoes?

“Hey. Won’t your friends complain if you give this to me? Just take it back.”

“Huh? It’s fine. We have plenty.”

“…???”

Kettle was baffled.

Plenty?

‘He doesn’t seem to be lying, so what the hell is this?’

He wondered if the first-years had raided the kitchen as a group.

Even then, it shouldn’t be this much…

“Senior. Please keep your promise and let me know what you left behind at school.”

“Ah, right.”

Kettle, who had been confused, came to his senses.

Come to think of it, this junior had been in touch with Kettle since the morals lectures.

He never thought that guy would actually bust into the punishment room and close such a deal…

“You’re so thorough, yet why do you trust the Professor so much? You really shouldn’t trust him.”

“Haha. But he’s still the Professor.”

From behind, Professor Verdus nodded in agreement.

Kettle sighed briefly.

No one can be perfect.

This junior had immense magical talent, but at Einrogard, he also possessed a fatal weakness.

Trusting a professor like that…

“Take this. It’s the location of the room my friends and I used. There should be some useful stuff left.”

Lee Han bowed his head and accepted the map Kettle handed him.

He felt rewarded for coming all this way.

“Thank you!”

“I should be thanking you. Thanks for the food. I’ll eat it well. I’ll have to stay here a while longer…”

Kettle smacked his lips and looked at Lee Han.

“Don’t end up like me.”

“Understood. I’ll be careful when using magic outside.”

“No. You can get into trouble with magic outside—just don’t get caught. I got caught.”

“……”

‘Doesn’t sound like he’s reflecting…’

Lee Han thought to himself. Professor Verdus, who was listening nearby, spoke up.

“Transformation time.”

“Sorry?”

“Transformation time. You promised. If you came to save me, you’d stay a goat for a week.”

“……”

Kettle cursed Professor Verdus inside as he performed the spell.

Poof!

“Then we’ll be off!”

Meeeeh—!

‘When the principal comes, I’ll definitely blame that guy for everything!’

Goat—no, Kettle—glared at Professor Verdus as he left, burning with thoughts of revenge.

If the skull principal came by and asked, ‘Why is the punishment room such a mess?’ he’d yell, ‘It was all because of Professor Verdus! Meeeeh!’

• * *

“Everyone. The flood is over.”

Ahh… Then let me out…

When Lee Han declared this in the library with a tired face, all the students were startled.

“N-no way…!”

“Wardanaz, did you resolve it?!”

“Hey. Don’t you remember what Wardanaz said last time? He told us to stop associating everything with him.”

Angrago scolded a Black Turtle Tower student.

“This time, I really did resolve it.”

“……”

Angrago glared at Lee Han.

Last time, this guy scolded him for saying ‘Do you think I solve everything at Einrogard? Stop associating everything with me!’

“How did you fix it!?”

Can’t I be set free and then talk… mages…

“Wait!”

Salko looked around.

Then, with an enlightened look, he spoke with admiration.

“I respect you, Wardanaz. You sacrificed the prince as an offering?”

“No.”

“It must have been a tough choice, but it was a necessary sacrifice. You’ll be fine soon enough.”

“I didn’t offer anyone.”

Set me free… At least let me out and then…

“Yes. If that’s your word, we’ll respect…”

Gainando, who had returned after secretly eating snacks, glared at Salko.

Whose sacrifice are you talking about?

“What!?”

“What’s the surprise? What?”

“Then who was sacrificed…?”

Lee Han replied in a weary voice.

“I just took the straightforward approach. I went to the spirits and persuaded them.”

Fre…

Tanjuo, who was about to beg for release, closed his mouth in alarm at Lee Han’s words.

What kind of crazy mage is this!?