Episode 501

The Skull Principal spoke in a meaningful voice.

Take good care of him. Explain to him the beauty of Einrogard.

‘Can I really do it?’

He’d accepted because of the outing pass, but now that he had it, he was getting worried.

Was there really such a thing as beauty in Einrogard?

‘It feels like there’s nothing but pain and sorrow here…’

Someone like the Skull Principal would never give out an outing pass for no reason.

Obviously, he was asking Lee Han to make sure that a famous bard wouldn’t go outside and compose a song like, “Oh, the students of Einrogard suffer in hell~.”

But no matter how much Lee Han tried, if all that existed in Einrogard was pain and sorrow, there were limits.

Could he really pull it off?

• * *

“What are those students doing over there?”

“The fence recently broke, so they’re out fixing it.”

Lee Han answered Ipadur’s question without hesitation.

In the distance, Black Turtle Tower students were cursing as they repaired the broken fence.

Ipadur, seasoned and experienced as a bard, asked sharply.

“But why are they fixing it at this hour in the morning?”

“Because they love the school so much.”

The Skull Principal looked at Lee Han with eyes full of admiration.

To be able to spout such embarrassing words without a second’s hesitation.

‘How did a guy like this come out of the Wardanaz family?’

“They tried, but couldn’t finish fixing it during the day, and it lingered on their minds into the night, so that’s why they came out. That’s how much they love the school.”

“It’s truly astonishing to see how much the mages love Einrogard.”

“It’s only natural.”

Even if the Black Turtle Tower students had heard him, Lee Han did not bat an eye while saying something that would have gotten a hammer thrown at him.

A professional doesn’t get swayed by personal feelings.

“Has there been a flood recently?”

Walking along the forest path, Ipadur asked in a surprised voice.

Normally, there shouldn’t have been water in that area, but there were still traces, as if a flood had passed.

“Yes.”

“But as far as I know… it’s not the rainy season yet, is it?”

Lee Han looked at the Skull Principal. The Skull Principal nodded, as if it was fine.

‘That much is okay to say.’

‘Understood.’

“Einrogard is a region of strong magic, so odd phenomena occur often. This recent spirit flood was one such case.”

“Truly remarkable. Such unpredictable natural phenomena aren’t common even in the Empire.”

“It’s somewhat true.”

The elderly tortoise beastkin bard looked around with interest, leaning on his staff.

Then he took out a quill and began to write something down. The Skull Principal glanced repeatedly at these notes.

At Einrogard, a cradle for nurturing excellent mages, various phenomena occur. Young mages resolve these phenomena with the help of seasoned mages.

The Skull Principal’s eyes glowed with satisfaction.

Even this seasoned bard had fallen for the trap of preconceptions and common sense, unable to see the truth of Einrogard.

That there was no help from seasoned mages whatsoever!

‘Keep it up, Wardanaz.’

‘Don’t worry, sir.’

“Wait. How do students get around during a flood? Do they use magic?”

“Yes. With magic, they either build a boat or summon a Tanju-eo.”

“Thank you.”

As Ipadur was writing, he suddenly froze.

“They summon Tanju-eo??”

……

The Skull Principal looked at Lee Han as if to say, what are you doing?

Lee Han realized his mistake as well.

‘That was a slip-up.’

Thinking now, summoning a Tanju-eo wasn’t the standard response during a flood.

“Who summoned a Tanju-eo?”

Ipadur, apparently quite interested, gripped his quill as if he wouldn’t let the matter drop.

“I did.”

“That’s fascinating… very fascinating.”

The Skull Principal shot Lee Han a look to pull himself together.

His student couldn’t lose his mind already.

“Lord Gonadaltes, do all Einrogard students know how to summon Tanju-eo?”

Not at all. Only a few outstanding students can.

“Which students…”

Ah, sir. Look over there! The giants are wrestling!

The Skull Principal pointed toward the mountains and changed the subject.

Fortunately, Ipadur found the sight of the giants wrestling to be more interesting and turned his attention.

“It’s rare to observe giants so close—fascinating, truly fascinating. Lord Gonadaltes, but if I might ask a rude question… don’t the giants bring harm to the students?”

Giants weren’t as threatening as monsters, but neither could they be called kind, gentle neighbors.

If things went wrong and a young mage ran into one, there could be a big accident.

The Skull Principal laughed heartily.

Ha ha! As you can see by the distance, the students never meet the giants. They are the guardians of the mountains.

“Indeed. I see.”

Wardanaz here knows giants well, since he mingles with them. Tell him, Wardanaz. Do students ever meet giants?

“……”

Lee Han looked at the Skull Principal as if he were insane.

Only then did the Skull Principal realize his own blunder.

‘Damn.’

Come to think of it, Wardanaz was still just a student.

“Wait… Student Wardanaz… with giants…?”

Ipadur, seeming confused, prompted Lee Han to quickly intervene.

“I was actually helped out by a giant once…”

Lee Han told the story of how giant Ikurusha had saved him, and, with some embellishments, the story of losing his hair in a chess match.

Thanks to that, he got to befriend the giants, and also had a chance to see the mountain sheep being raised.

The elderly bard nodded, deeply moved.

“What a wonderful story. Truly wonderful! For such a young mage to become close with giants.”

Ha ha. Wardanaz is a truly sociable fellow. You rogue! I told you not to go to the mountains because it was dangerous!

Lee Han shot the Skull Principal a chilly glare.

The Skull Principal, realizing he’d gone too far, avoided his gaze.

After that, Ipadur continued his walk through the forest, admiring the mountain and lake, and the moon and stars above.

Watching the bard sing about the crystal-clear lake’s surface, Lee Han realized anew that Einrogard had its good points.

‘The scenery is actually pretty good!’

Usually, he was only thinking things like, ‘How many fish do I need to get from the lake today?’ or ‘How many baskets of herbs do I need to pick from the mountain?’—and hadn’t noticed. But looking at it this way, it was quite nice.

Next to him, the Skull Principal was yawning.

If the other students had seen, they’d probably have shed tears of envy.

To listen to Ipadur’s music in person.

‘Hmm. I still don’t really get it.’

He could tell Ipadur was singing well, but for Lee Han, who wasn’t that interested, it was just a well-sung song.

“But Student Wardanaz, may I ask you something?”

“Yes. I’ll be all ears.”

Lee Han, worried that his mind wandering had been noticed, replied as humbly as possible.

“Lord Gonadaltes invited me here to study the connection between music and magic… By the way, I should have asked this first. My apologies, memory fails more as I age… Which school are you studying in?”

“……”

……

Both Lee Han’s and the Skull Principal’s gazes wavered at the same time.

‘Can I say it?’

‘It’s fine to say.’

“I am interested in all the schools within Einrogard.”

“Is that so!?”

Ipadur, apparently finding this interesting as well, pulled out his quill again with surprise.

“Isn’t that impossible?”

“Thanks to the professors, who all devote constant attention to me, it is difficult, but somehow I am making progress.”

‘I’m the one making him do it, but this kid is truly insane.’

With a reply that came out like a flattery-dispensing machine whenever you put in a coin, the Skull Principal even felt a sort of awe.

Was it a mistake to keep this disciple in Einrogard?

With that quick tongue, maybe he belonged in imperial politics instead?

‘But then again, he loves magic too much.’

Not knowing that the Skull Principal had just decided his career track, Lee Han continued.

“It feels like you genuinely respect the professors of Einrogard.”

“I am truly fortunate. Ha ha.”

“I see that. Now, to return to the main topic… How interested are you in music?”

The Skull Principal shot him a look saying, ‘Just say you like it.’

“I really liked the song you composed before, Ipadur. The lively rhythm…”

“A lively rhythm, you say?”

“…With a song going against current trends, to move the hearts of the empire’s people—that’s something only you could pull off.”

“Aha.”

Seeing Ipadur’s response, Lee Han immediately adjusted his words.

“If you’re interested, that’s lucky for me as well. As you know, while Lord Gonadaltes is researching the relationship between music and magic, I’ll have to assist as best as I can, and I’ll likely need help from other students as well…”

Having been a bard for so long, Ipadur knew well how fickle music could be.

Even the same song felt different depending on the day, so how much harder it must be for wizards.

Naturally, during research, he’d need help from various other wizards.

“Could you possibly help?”

The Skull Principal scowled, clearly displeased.

‘What is this?’

Lee Han was puzzled.

Given the Skull Principal’s personality, he thought he’d definitely push Lee Han into any opportunity to study magic, no matter how hard it was on him.

“If I do help, what would I have to do?”

“Hmm. It will be rather bothersome. I’ll pay, of course…”

“?”

Lee Han was caught off guard at the mention of payment from Ipadur.

Huh?

‘Studying magic and getting paid for it?’

Did that make sense?

“…Since I’d be taking up much of your valuable weekend time. You’d have to go out, meet the imperial orchestra or choir with Lord Gonadaltes, and listen to their music—magically…”

“I’ll help!”

“Are you serious?”

Ipadur was amazed.

No matter how talented a mage, being so young, he thought for sure that on weekends Lee Han would want his own free time.

Like going out to play polo, or playing chess at a city café, and so on.

“You’ll lose a lot of your time.”

“Ipadur, I’m someone who’s devoted my life to magic.”

“Well, seeing as you’re involved in so many schools…”

“……”

Lee Han was hurt by his own words.

‘I was forced to take some of those.’

“If you help, I’d be truly delighted.”

…Shouldn’t we check to see if Wardanaz has any actual musical talent, too?

The fact that Lee Han would have to waste his precious weekend on outings instead of studying magic was agony to the Skull Principal.

To lose such valuable time on the off-chance of a result from this music-magic project.

“It’s all right, Lord Gonadaltes. Whether he’s talented or not, it’ll all serve as good examples. Besides, where else would you find a student this interesting? I’d like to hear more from him.”

Damn it…

The Skull Principal muttered under his breath.

They’d succeeded in shifting Ipadur’s attention away from a negative view of Einrogard, but now Ipadur had become interested in something else.

Of course, there was no way that curious bard wouldn’t take interest in someone like Wardanaz.

“Hmm?”

“What is it?”

“Ah. It just occurred to me. Unlike a normal flood, a spirit flood doesn’t disappear naturally…”

“……”

……