Episode 579

“How would Fongrif even know about that?”

Lee Han protested and looked at Professor Lightningstep with suspicion.

He wondered if Professor Lightningstep was just teasing him with some made-up story.

How would Fongrif know if he rode a Pegasus a bit?

“Of course he’d know. Don’t underestimate a griffon’s sense of smell. It’s not just ordinary smell, you know. Especially with a breed like Pegasus, a griffon will definitely catch on.”

Of course, Professor Lightningstep brushed off his student’s protest as absurd.

Just as a Pegasus could instinctively sense a person’s diligence and honor, a griffon could keenly tell if its owner had ridden another beast.

If it were something a griffon considered beneath it, like a horse or a wyvern, maybe it wouldn’t care. But a beast as disliked by griffons as a Pegasus…

“What happens, then?”

“Either the Pegasus dies or the griffon dies, I guess. You… you probably won’t die.”

“……”

Lee Han silently stared at the Pegasus.

Its dazzlingly white fur, gentle wings, and kind eyes were all slowly blinking at Lee Han as if recognizing his worth.

It was almost as if it were inviting him to come ride it.

“…Really, isn’t there any way?”

“If there were, I’d have told you. Why are you fixated on this? You’re lucky just to have been chosen by a griffon!”

“You’re the one who forced us together, Professor!”

“If you aren’t even grateful—just go get the griffon already.”

Grumbling, Lee Han went to fetch Fongrif.

The Pegasus let out a mournful whinny as if to say, “Where are you going, leaving me?”

“……”

As Lee Han stopped at the sound, the baby basilisk hissed in warning.

“Hey. Don’t threaten it.”

The basilisk shrugged its tail with an innocent look.

• * *

By the time Lee Han lifted Fongrif’s curse and brought him over, a few quick students had already bonded with their Pegasi.

Fongrif looked on with blatant disgust at the sight.

“…Is there any reason to dislike Pegasi this much?”

When Lee Han cautiously asked, Fongrif splattered mud with his front paw. The mud struck the back of Gainando’s head.

“Who was that!? Was it you, Angrago? You bastard?!”

“You guessed well. Yeah. I’m the one who took your cake. Maybe you shouldn’t have bragged about your cake all week!”

“What are you talking about! This is about mud!”

While his friends yelled, Lee Han looked at Fongrif with a bitter expression.

Seeing him growl as if to threaten the Pegasi, reconciliation seemed unlikely.

‘Tsk.’

Since most creatures he met only showed fear, terror, or submission, the Pegasus’s reaction was precious beyond measure.

A creature that recognized what Lee Han had done and respected his honor?

Would he ever meet another being like that?

Fongrif stared at Lee Han in return, as if suspecting he was interested in the Pegasus.

“…Look at those Pegasi! They’re so skinny, they can’t possibly carry anyone!”

Fongrif, delighted at Lee Han’s words, nodded.

“Compared to you, you really are the true king of the skies. No comparison to a Pegasus.”

Fongrif began nodding so enthusiastically that the wind stirred nearby.

“Yes, yes. You’re the best.”

“By the way, Wardanaz, when you bring Fongrif near, the Pegasi might get scared, so circle around that way.”

“……”

Lee Han was hurt by Professor Lightningstep’s honest words.

‘Isn’t that a bit much?’

“Look! I’m flying!”

Nillia screamed as she soared up to the sky.

As the first to bond with a Pegasus, she was also the first to take off. Professor Lightningstep shouted.

“Sit up straight and stay calm! Don’t show your fear! A Pegasus isn’t wild, but if you keep acting scared, it may look down on you! Convince it you deserve to ride it!”

“Y-yes, sir!”

“Next, follow the flags along the route! If you return without falling off, you pass!”

Nillia glanced at the flags stuck in the ground and the shining paths drawn across the sky.

The path stretched along the sky, then at some point ran low over muddy swamps.

Nillia nervously looked at her Pegasus.

Would this noble creature trust her to cross the swamps?

“Hey! Hey! Calm down, don’t lose your temper! Hey! That’s not the path!”

“……”

Nervous, Nillia suddenly relaxed when she saw a familiar friend in the distance riding a fierce beast with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle.

Lee Han was yelling as he whacked Fongrif’s head with his staff.

“Stop looking at the Pegasi! Follow the path! Stop growling! That one’s my friend! Just follow the path!”

‘…Hang in there.’

Seeing Wardanaz struggling, Nillia realized how lucky she was.

“Thank you. Really.”

-?

The Pegasus whinnied happily, pleased by its dark elf master’s sudden gratitude.

Such a gentle-hearted master.

• * *

Professor Lightningstep’s exam was a hot topic long after it ended.

First-years from every tower chatted excitedly about Pegasi.

“I’m telling you that Pegasus definitely liked me more! Did you see how it turned its head when Dulak came over?”

“That was just because it was tired! Stop smearing me!”

“Is there a way to raise a Pegasus? They were really cool.”

“I know a knight upperclassman who said he once climbed into the mountains to bring back a baby Pegasus.”

“Oh… That’s a way?”

“Wait, are you even allowed to do that?”

“Of course not. While he was gone, his dorm got trashed and the Pegasus disappeared.”

“Wow…”

As the White Tiger Tower friends discussed this, they glanced at Lee Han for input.

As class top student, Lee Han was knowledgeable about these things.

“Wardanaz. What do you think? Is there any way we could keep a Pegasus?”

“Want to go catch one together during winter break?”

Lee Han replied with a neutral face.

“I have a griffon already.”

“But having a Pegasus too would be nice, right?”

“If a griffon catches the scent of a Pegasus, it’ll bite its owner.”

“……”

“……”

The White Tiger Tower students looked horrified.

They knew griffons were among the fiercest of mounts, but this was worse than expected.

Far wilder than any Pegasus.

“I heard griffons are savage.”

“Still, aren’t griffons cool too? Is there a way to get a griffon?”

“Much harder than a Pegasus. Like I said—if you bring back a baby griffon, not only would your dorm be trashed, the whole area would be a bloodbath.”

“Even so, griffons are worth it. There’s a knight upperclassman I know who just raves about griffons.”

“What? He has a griffon??”

“No. He lost his arm to one on the battlefield.”

As oblivious friends tried to keep nipping at Lee Han, Deorgyu glanced over and spoke.

“Lee Han. Don’t mind them. They just don’t know how finicky griffons are.”

“No worries, Deorgyu. I was just thinking about the next exam.”

“Oh, yeah?”

Deorgyu’s face brightened at Lee Han’s words.

With Professor Ingeldel’s final about to begin that evening, Lee Han focusing was a good sign.

“Yeah. Of course, the griffon did try to charge at the Pegasus earlier and I barely stopped it, but it doesn’t bother me much.”

“……”

“……”

‘He’s so bothered by it…’

Deorgyu and Giselle thought to themselves.

Indeed, Lee Han had especially had a hard time in Professor Lightningstep’s exam.

Usually obedient, the griffon seemed to have a personal grudge against Pegasi, constantly growling and picking fights no matter how much Lee Han smacked it with his staff or tugged its leash.

“Hey, Wardanaz. Forget about the perfect score—focus on the next test.”

“You’re right, Moradi. How embarrassing.”

Lee Han surprisingly admitted it honestly.

Either way, there was no point clinging to a finished test.

Though the image of the Pegasus still lingered before his eyes…

“You guys have prepped the cabins, right?”

“Three spots. I hid food separately.”

“I also made and stashed two cabins.”

Lee Han and two White Tiger Tower students exchanged meaningful glances.

Professor Ingeldel’s finals were originally about surviving a night camping bare-handed in the cold winter mountains, but seasoned Einrogard students interpreted the test differently.

-So it’s a test to hide as many supplies in the mountains as possible without getting caught!

Of course, Professor Ingeldel never said anything like that, but Lee Han and his friends understood it that way.

“Still no word on where we’re starting?”

“None. Professor didn’t give a single hint.”

“No matter where we start, get your bearings and move fast. Here, this is the map I made of the mountains recently. There are a lot of missing spots, but the parts that are marked should still help.”

“Thanks…?”

Giselle took the map but cocked her head.

The handwriting on it was weird, no matter how you looked at it.

Yang Cave

Majesty! Keep Out Near!

It was huge and crooked, as if a giant had scribbled it.

‘Where did he get this?’

Tap tap tap—

“…?”

“Seriously, why are those guys here again?”

When the young apprentices of the White Oak Knights approached, the Einrogard students groaned.

Just like last time, nothing good ever came of outsiders showing up for their exams.

Especially since the students had prepped already—an abrupt change now would be…

“Professor. Why are those knights here?”

“Does the White Oak Knights Order have too much time? Why do you keep coming to Einrogard? Want to learn magic?”

Hearing the White Tiger Tower students’ words, the apprentices’ faces went red.

“We came to help you bastards!”

“That’s what you say to people coming to help with your test? Did you forget shaking hands and greeting last time?”

“???”

The students were stumped at the apprentices’ words.

“Help us?”

“I’ll explain.”

Professor Ingeldel tapped the ground with his sword for silence.

“Since the students will be scattered throughout the mountains for a full night, I thought it’d be good to attach a few more people for support.”

“Then let us pick our own groups!”

“Wardanaz! Join us! What, you will? Yes! Awesome!”

Professor Ingeldel ignored the White Tiger Tower students’ protests and continued.

“When you’re out in the world, you’ll work with many others. Especially as mages, you’ll rarely be alone.”

‘Hmm. I wish Professor Voladi could hear this.’

Lee Han thought this to himself.

If only Professor Voladi thought the same way.

“Learn to coordinate with others as a mage. That’s all.”

Professor Ingeldel wasn’t a violent man, but he wasn’t the sort to change the rules just because a few students complained.

The students grumbled as they looked at the apprentices.

The apprentices glared back, faces full of mischief.

“…It’s just that we didn’t want you guys to suffer too much.”

“Get lost!”

“Hey! Come on, Enghe! We roomed and trained hard together over the break!”

“You wouldn’t understand, idiot!”

The bright side was that Lee Han, Giselle, and Deorgyu were keeping quiet.

Thanks to that, the apprentices didn’t get angry with those three and instead waved hello.

“Choi. We meet again.”

“Good to see you, Moradi. I heard last time you and Wardanaz purged some anti-mage extremists? Are you planning to recommend Wardanaz to the order under your family’s name?”

‘Haha. Seems there’s a misunderstanding—how could I recommend a Wardanaz family member to the knights?’

“Are you insane, you lunatic?”

At Giselle’s unfiltered words, Lee Han quietly whispered,

“Hey. You’re supposed to think those inside.”