Episode 582

“How are the slimes even doing that?”

At Lee Han’s mutter, Giselle stared at him intently.

She couldn’t believe he was asking sincerely.

Did he really have no idea?!

Sensing his friend’s stare, Lee Han asked back curiously.

“Do you have something to say?”

“Not really. Stop!”

At Giselle’s shout, the students and knights running up from below hesitated.

Watching, Lee Han thought.

‘How many of those are slimes?’

He was sure the fake Lee Han, fake Giselle, and fake Deorgyu were slimes, but had no idea about the others.

It would have been nice to check by attacking, but in this situation…

‘We’d just immediately be labeled the fakes instead.’

He couldn’t know how the fake Lee Han convinced them, but it was clear he had done a good job.

The students stood behind fake Lee Han with unwavering eyes.

Lee Han wanted to scold them for being so easily fooled, but he held back. He could get mad later.

Right now, it was time to convince them instead.

‘No matter how advanced a shifting slime is, there are limits. They can’t match the real thing.’

Lee Han exchanged a glance with Giselle. The two friends nodded meaningfully.

-Think we can persuade them?
-Of course.

After all, they’d spent a whole year together.

No power of transformation could fake their shared memories.

“Speak up! Fake Moradi! Why are you just standing there when I told you to stop? Are you hesitating because you’re thinking up some lie?”

“Which little–”

The other side quickly tried to incite things, and when Lee Han looked to see who it was, he couldn’t believe it.

Fake Lee Han was shouting.

‘This is seriously getting on my nerves.’

Giselle seemed to agree, glaring irritably at Lee Han. Lee Han pointed downhill.

“Moradi, you should take them on.”

“Shut up. I’m on it.”

Clearing her throat, Giselle raised her sword and shouted to the friends gathered below.

“You idiots! Do you even know what you’re doing right now? You’re being deceived!”

“!”

“Huh…?”

At Giselle’s rebuke, the friends hesitated.

It was exactly the sharp-tongued Giselle they knew from White Tiger Tower’s lounge.

But then, the fake Giselle softly stepped up and gently soothed them.

“Calm down, friends. They’re just nervous because their fake has been exposed.”

“R-right!”

“As expected of Moradi!”

“……”

“……”

Lee Han and Giselle were speechless.

“Wait… Are your eyes fakes too? Like you’re saving them to be replaced with artifacts later? How is that Moradi?! She’s being way too nice!”

At Lee Han’s shout, the friends below scoffed and argued back.

“Moradi’s always been like that!”

“Yeah, so long as Wardanaz doesn’t provoke her, Moradi’s nice and composed!”

‘How could they slander her like that?’

Lee Han was furious at the slander from the White Tiger Tower students.

Apparently, Moradi had always been that kind of person—it wasn’t because of Lee Han at all.

…Or was it?

“Now that I think about it, she was a bit more composed when we first met…”

“Do you want to go down there?”

“No, just trying to remember to help persuade them. More importantly, Moradi, your friends seem to prefer your polite masked side. Why not try convincing them with that?”

“Are you being serious?”

“I am. Look at your friends.”

Giselle sighed deeply as she looked down the slope.

Apparently, while she was away, they’d really gotten close with the slimes.

“All right. Fine.”

Giselle put away her anger and managed her expression.

She, too, could summon that rare, kind, and composed Giselle when needed.

“Everyone…”

“That fake Moradi is acting! Don’t listen!”

Fake Lee Han waved his staff and shouted.

Now Lee Han truly wanted to strangle that slime.

“As expected of Wardanaz!”

“You can’t fool Wardanaz’s eyes!”

And those White Tiger Tower brats, falling for it too!

Lee Han growled angrily.

“Fine, whatever about Moradi. But do I look like me to you? Why would you believe that?”

“Everyone, don’t be fooled by that fake! That fake is trying to deceive you all. I’m the only one who can protect you. Trust me! I’m your savior!”

“Wardanaz…!”

“You…!”

Lee Han just about grabbed his own nape.

How could they fall for such empty words??

“Are you really buying this? Seriously?! You lot have to defend yourselves, not rely on others! Don’t be taken in by a few sweet words!”

“Don’t listen to the fake! Trust me!”

At fake Lee Han’s firm shout, the White Tiger Tower students nodded as if enchanted.

Compared to the fierce fake up the slope, the Wardanaz beside them, constantly offering kind words, seemed like the real Wardanaz.

‘I’ve lost.’

Lee Han was crushed.

He couldn’t believe he’d been beaten by a fake at persuasion!

Giselle seemed to feel the same, covering her face and sighing deeply.

“Wait. There’s Deorgyu, too. Let’s try persuading them with Deorgyu.”

“The fake’s probably more popular.”

Giselle’s response to Lee Han was cynical, but she gave it a try.

“Choi, if you’re real, say something.”

“……”

Fake Deorgyu said nothing.

“?”

“??”

Lee Han and Giselle were flustered.

Apparently, the slime disguised as Deorgyu hadn’t fully learned the role yet.

The students below became emboldened by that.

“Haha, fakes! Deorgyu doesn’t fall for such things!”

“He’s saying you’re not even worth responding to!”

“……”

While Giselle was aghast, Lee Han, after much thought, finally spoke.

“Moradi.”

“?”

“I think all of them are slimes.”

“What?”

“All slimes. How else do you explain any of this?”

“No way… could they all be–?”

Giselle nearly wavered for a moment.

Was it possible?

Even if not literally all, maybe more than half of them were slimes, just as Lee Han said.

Otherwise, this level of stupidity was inexplicable.

“…Yeah. It’s possible it’s a pretty big number.”

“Right?”

Lee Han raised his staff.

Trying to resolve things through persuasion, assuming there weren’t many slimes, had been a mistake in the first place.

But they were all slimes!

“Buy me a little time. I’m going to hit them all at once.”

“Got it. Wipe them all out.”

• * *

Except for the fake Lee Han, fake Giselle, and fake Deorgyu, the rest were all real students.

“……”

“……”

Lee Han’s group looked down in complex silence at the students sprawled and battered by snowballs.

“Argh…”

“We trusted you…”

“Trusted us?! You idiots!”

Giselle moved as if to kick the back of a fallen friend, and Lee Han and Deorgyu barely got in between to stop her.

“What exactly did those slimes say to you?”

“They said there were fakes running around. Told us to be really careful…”

“They said we had to stick together…”

Listening, Lee Han was so shocked he asked again.

“Did it not occur to you to doubt the ones telling you that?”

“I’m telling you, they seemed real!”

‘These guys would believe anyone who offered them candy.’

With a contemptuous look at the pathetic students, Lee Han clicked his tongue and stood up.

“All right, whatever. Just rest until the test is over–”

“Hey, that fake attacked his friends!!”

“……”

Lee Han sighed deeply, looking at a new group of students at the foot of the slope, led by a fake Lee Han, Giselle, and Deorgyu.

“Everyone, get ready to fight.”

“W-wait, let us try to talk to them–”

A fallen White Tiger Tower student tried to protest, but Lee Han ignored him.

• * *

The next day.

Professor Ingeldel and the White Oak Knights looked out at the mountains with eager faces.

How would the students who had survived the mountain cold appear when they returned?

“Professor, isn’t it about time you told us? What kind of monster did you prepare?”

One of the knights, unable to contain his curiosity, asked.

They all knew about the ordeal of the snowy range, but even the knights hadn’t heard what kind of special monster Professor Ingeldel had prepared.

But since the test was almost over and students would be returning soon, it should be fine to ask.

Professor Ingeldel gave an embarrassed smile.

“Hm. I’m afraid you’ll all be disappointed…”

“Don’t say that. Who could be disappointed at your choices, Professor Ingeldel?”

“Strengthened bulls? Or wild boars?”

“Given it’s a snowy mountain in winter, shouldn’t it be something related to snow? Like a white hedgehog, or ice drake?”

Listening to the knights’ guesses, Professor Ingeldel thought it was time to reveal the answer.

“I prepared shifting slimes.”

“Excuse me?”

“What slimes?”

“Shifting slimes, I mean.”

Professor Ingeldel began explaining calmly. But there was a slight excitement in his manner he couldn’t fully hide.

That’s how much thought and effort had gone into this year’s shifting slimes.

“I heard from other professors that you could create monsters like shifting slimes artificially.”

“Well… I suppose so. This is Einrogard, after all.”

“I just thought, ‘That’s it!’ When I asked, the other professors all said it was a great idea.”

“Uh…”

“Hmm…”

Professor Ingeldel was so caught up in his explanation that he failed to notice the knights’ subtly changing expressions.

“After receiving the slimes, I started having them observe the students during lectures. Once finals season arrived, they could imitate them pretty well. The students have to identify fake friends who come to them and survive the snowy mountains. Isn’t it brilliant?!”

The professor’s voice rose with excitement.

Compared to other Einrogard professors, he’d always worried his exams were too bland, but this time he felt confident.

The other professors had approved…

“Um, Professor.”

“Isn’t that a bit much?”

“!?”

Only then did Professor Ingeldel realize the knights’ expressions.

The knights were troubled!

“Well, we give pretty tough training too, but…”

“I feel like inserting trained shifting slimes is maybe a bit too difficult.”

“Might it not leave a trauma…”

Flustered by the knights’ response, Professor Ingeldel tried to explain.

“But, the students can absolutely handle this level. The other lectures have used much more dangerous things.”

But the knights didn’t buy it.

Because the knights had no idea what those other lectures involved!

They just assumed Professor Ingeldel was exaggerating.

“Still, I don’t think you need to go this far, Professor…”

“He’s right, Professor.”

‘T-this is odd. Why…?’

Professor Ingeldel sweated nervously.

He’d experienced battlefields full of enemies and with all allies routed, but even that wasn’t more uncomfortable than now.

C-could I really have gone too far?

Professor Ingeldel was bewildered.

He’d been sure, after consulting with the other professors, that he’d designed a just-right exam—so where had it gone wrong?

‘No, maybe the White Oak Knights just don’t understand Einrogard, that’s why. If they knew, they’d surely react differently…’

“Oh. The students are coming back!”

The knights pointed to the entrance of the mountains.

The students, having spent a day in the mountain range, were returning with proud faces.

…Strictly speaking, only Lee Han’s group looked proud; the rest of the friends were being carried on stretchers, dragged along in sleds.

Seeing that, Professor Ingeldel snapped back to his senses.

‘Ah. I really did go too far with this one!’