Episode 489

“Yes?”

The hunters looked at Lee Han as if they didn’t understand what he was saying.

Lee Han quickly changed the subject.

“It’s nothing. But, sea serpent? What’s going on?”

The Shadow Patrol hunters explained what had happened.

After Professor Thunderstep’s group found traces of the sea serpent, the sailors and Shadow Patrol hunters had been closely tracking its movements.

For monsters of this size, a single wrong move could cause tremendous damage to the city.

If it approached the port, it had to be taken down before it got close. If it rampaged near the harbor, dozens of ships would…

“But it seems like it’s getting closer.”

“Damn.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s nothing. So… Are you sure it’s approaching?”

Lee Han had to suppress a sigh.

Now that it had come to this, he had to call Professor Voladi, warn the harbor, evacuate the people, and summon the city guards.

Anything else was fine, but he really didn’t want to call Professor Voladi.

“It’s not certain yet. We need to observe its movements a bit more…”

“But we still have to prepare just in case.”

A skilled hunter finished every hunt before the hunt began.

The Shadow Patrol hunters, of course, planned to be fully prepared for when the sea serpent arrived.

“So could you cast some spells for us?”

“…Wouldn’t it be better to get them from other city mages…?”

If this was about sea serpent preparations, the other mages in the city would surely help without question.

But the Shadow Patrol ignored Lee Han’s suggestion.

“Yes, yes. You say other mages are better?”

“Alright, mage. Please cast some spells for us.”

“…No, but I’m serious…”

Lee Han felt wronged but couldn’t persuade the Shadow Patrol hunters.

In fact, it was only natural.

Trying to explain to someone who knew nothing about magic that, ‘This spell is more effective and easier to cast, but it’s actually worse,’ would only get the reaction, ‘Are all mages insane?’

After Lee Han finished enchanting the gear they’d brought, the Shadow Patrol hunters jumped off the terrace again.

After seeing them off, Lee Han had a sudden thought.

‘Couldn’t they just take the stairs?’

Looking down, it seemed that passersby had absolutely no interest in the Shadow Patrol’s antics.

Lee Han gained a bit of respect for the people of this harbor city.

‘How many weird things must happen here all the time…’

“Are they gone?”

“Yeah. You can come out.”

Nillia crawled out from under the table.

“Why didn’t they use the stairs…”

“It must’ve been urgent. Nillia, the Shadow Patrol hunters are also doing their best for the city’s safety, after all.”

“R-right?”

Of course, Lee Han was thinking, ‘Why not use the stairs?’ too, but when a friend was embarrassed, it was the rule to step up in support.

Encouraged by Lee Han’s words, Nillia hesitated a bit, then tilted her head.

“But what does that have to do with not using the sta—”

“Oh. Here’s the bread.”

Lee Han quickly changed the subject as he took the brioche from the server.

“Wardanaz.”

“?”

When the princess quietly called him, Lee Han wondered what was up.

“Would you like this?”

“…Could we talk for a moment?”

Adenart decided that now was the time to properly clear up the misunderstanding.

She thought the only explanation for Wardanaz’s misunderstanding was Gainando.

Considering that the royal who hung out with Wardanaz was Gainando, it was natural for Wardanaz to think ‘all royals are obsessed with food.’

Adenart quietly explained as best she could.

Gainando liked food, but she herself did not.

There was some misunderstanding.

She thus hoped the misunderstanding could be fixed from now on!

“Ah… I’m sorry about that.”

‘Not that it was really because of Gainando.’

Lee Han thought so to himself, but didn’t say it aloud.

He was afraid of the princess’s authority.

“Y-you don’t need to apologize.”

“Then from now on, if there’s food out, don’t call me over…”

“……”

Adenart made a complicated expression between ‘I don’t want that’ and ‘But saying so now would make me just like Gainando.’

Lee Han nodded as if he understood.

“Your Highness, I think the one misunderstanding is you.”

“Excuse me?”

Adenart’s eyes widened.

Wardanaz’s words were unexpected.

“I basically call over all my friends when there’s food. At Einrogard, everyone’s hungry. I don’t think you, your Highness, are particularly obsessed with food.”

“I didn’t say that…”

She had just said ‘I like food,’ not ‘obsessed with it’…

“I think maybe you got that impression because of Gainando. Gainando is a bit obsessed, right?”

Is that… how it is?

Adenart was suddenly confused.

Wardanaz was just treating her like any other friend, but had she been overly sensitive because of Gainando?

“…Sorry, Wardanaz.”

“Haha. Not at all.”

‘Heh. Too easy.’

Lee Han felt a flush of victory inside.

He’d never once lost in persuading royals so far, to the point of feeling confident.

“Then please relax.”

As he saw the tray brought over by the approaching server, Lee Han spoke.

It was a panini sandwich—salami, cheese, lettuce, and olive oil between baguette slices, grilled to perfection.

“Oh. Please serve it over there. This table’s got plenty already.”

At Lee Han’s instruction, the server nodded and set the tray in front of Adenart.

Adenart compared the number of empty cake plates in front of her with those in front of Wardanaz.

No matter how she looked at it, Wardanaz had eaten less.

…Shouldn’t he have gotten the food instead?

‘Why me?’

While Adenart stared at Lee Han with a look full of suspicion, students from White Tiger Tower approached Lee Han with hopeful faces.

“Wardanaz. We, um, support you.”

“Right! Talent is stronger than blood!”

“Wardanaz even has the blood too…”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

Lee Han looked on with his coffee cup in confusion.

“Uh, didn’t you get into a fight with her Highness?”

“Why are you giving orders…”

“…What nonsense is this?”

At Lee Han’s reaction, the White Tiger Tower students became even more convinced.

‘He’s pretending ignorance, so they must have fought.’

‘Isn’t a civil war going to break out among the Blue Dragon Tower folks?’

The more they thought about it, the more concerned they got.

Normally they might have enjoyed the Blue Dragon Tower kids fighting among themselves, but recently, having gotten so much from Wardanaz, they felt a little attached.

‘Even if she’s a royal, what Wardanaz has given us…’

“Want to get hit with a coffee cup?”

“…N-no. We were just asking.”

When Lee Han raised his coffee cup, the White Tiger Tower students cursed inwardly.

After all that support, this was what they got!

“Um, mage.”

“?”

“Could you take a look at this book?”

The server held out an old book to Lee Han.

It was a peculiar book with no cover or title.

Lee Han immediately started to check it.

‘There’s no particular magic. Or is there? Just in case—’

“Wait. Don’t move. Come to me, appraisal!”

Just to be sure, Lee Han used -Ogonin’s Appraisal Perception- on the server.

The server, bewildered, asked,

“Did I do something wrong…?”

“Have you ever had anything to do with a lich archmage? Lich archmage, undead archmage, master of Einrogard, and so on?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

‘Hmm. No connection at all.’

Lee Han had wondered if maybe the server was acting under an assignment from the lich headmaster.

Given the headmaster’s temperament, he might have plotted to mess with students who’d gone outside!

But that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Why this book?”

“A customer asked if you, mage, could tell what kind of book it is, since it’s too difficult.”

“What sort of customer? Bring them over.”

The server went downstairs, but soon returned, looking troubled.

“The customer was nowhere to be seen—maybe they stepped out briefly? Um… Mage, if it’s too much trouble, you don’t have to look. I flipped through it myself and there’s not much…”

‘How bold.’

Even if you’d checked and found no magic, opening random books so carelessly wasn’t a good habit.

“Is it a prophecy or something?”

Next to him, Bartrek opened the book curiously.

“……”

Thwack!

“Ow! What?!”

“If you see food dropped in the street, would you always eat it, too?”

“Ugh…”

While Bartrek grumbled, the server looked at Lee Han again.

“Well… The customer left money for the mage, but if you’d rather not, should I just return it?”

“No. Curiosity is a virtue that mages must possess.”

Lee Han grabbed the book immediately.

-Where is the True Mystery of Magic?-

If you are a talented mage, you have probably felt a suffocating frustration within the imperial magic system.

‘Hmm. I guess I’m not talented. I’ve never felt that.’

Of course, Lee Han had often felt it from the Einrogard professors—but apparently that didn’t count here?

The imperial magic system was designed to keep even foolish mages from dying tragic deaths, but at the same time, it kept them from ever accessing the great magic beyond the veil. To find stronger magic, we have to leave the system, go beyond the veil…

“This is trash.”

Lee Han shook his head and returned the book to the server.

“If the customer comes back, tell them not to believe that garbage. What nonsense…”

Whoever wrote that book had probably never even heard of the term “safety protocol.”

Complaining that safety rules kept you from learning magic—what kind of stupidity was that?

‘Even Professor Voladi’s blood magic book is better.’

Even Professor Voladi, who wrote a radical treatise on amplifying mana with a mage’s own blood as a reagent, had started with safety rules!

Whoever wrote this book was below Professor Voladi.

“I’m sorry to have wasted your time, mage. I’ll let them know.”

• * *

“He… said that.”

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

Ianop threw off his usual mysterious and dangerous attitude toward the mercenaries and snarled savagely.

The mercenary suddenly shrieked as he felt a sensation like his collar was tightening around his neck.

“I-it’s true… It’s the truth!”

“No mage could read that and call it trash! Do you even know who wrote that book?!”

Only when the mercenary’s face turned ashen did Ianop come to his senses.

On second thought, it wasn’t likely the mercenary would lie.

“Don’t leave out a single word—repeat it exactly! Repeat it!”

But it wouldn’t change anything, no matter how angry he got.

After venting, Ianop fell into a deep despair.

He knew well that the ordinary couldn’t understand the genius—but today, it ate especially deep.

He had absolutely no idea what that boy was thinking.

‘Still… still, I can’t give up.’

Now that it had come to this, it wasn’t just about Antagondals’s wisdom—it had become a matter of pride.

What, exactly, did that boy see, that he was so dismissive of the magic Ianop had built?

‘But if I get any closer, he might start getting suspicious. If he feels suspicion before I win him over, the Einrogard professors will step in…’

Just the thought made his spine chill.

“Ianop, sir!”

“What is it?”

Another mercenary ran up.

“You need to leave the harbor for a bit. The sea serpent is approaching—the city guard and nearby adventurers are all being called in.”

“Annoying… Wait.”

Ianop suddenly had an idea.

If it was a sea serpent subjugation, surely the Einrogard mages would participate too.

Any young mage would feel the thirst for power.

And if, at that moment, they witnessed some unknown magic…?

“I’ll join as well.”