Episode 645

“There must always be smiles blooming on the faces of Wardanaz territory’s people. Oh, right. Lord Wardanaz, I heard you traveled with the Headmaster this vacation?”

“Yeah. I persuaded some first-years who didn’t want to come in.”

“Why in the world?!”

Gainando, overhearing, was appalled.

Why on earth commit such an atrocity?

But his friends ignored him and continued the conversation.

“By the way, were there any memorable first-years?”

“Hmm. There was a first-year talented in knighthood who was even born with psychic powers…”

“Oh?”

“They hated fighting.”

“??”

His friends tilted their heads.

A knight not liking fights was one thing, but was it okay in Einrogard to dislike fighting?

“But I persuaded them well.”

“Was there a student from Blue Dragon Tower?”

“There was a junior from the Pengerine family. Pretty skilled.”

At Lee Han’s words, Yoner and Gainando showed great interest.

If it was a junior from the Pengerine family, surely they’d enter Blue Dragon Tower.

Of course, because of the first-year protection rule, they wouldn’t meet until second year, but it still made them happy to know an excellent junior was joining their Tower.

“How’s the personality?! What are they like?!”

“They’re skilled so they’re brimming with confidence.”

“Dang it!”

Gainando sighed deeply.

What mattered most in a junior wasn’t magic skill or wisdom, but personality.

A junior should be polite and know to respect their seniors!

“Are they good at magic cards or cooking?”

“Why are you asking that…”

Nillia looked at Gainando as if he was hopeless.

“Are you maybe looking for a new wa—new babysitter among the juniors?”

“Did you almost say Wardanaz just now?”

“N-no.”

Listening to their conversation, Ratford asked curiously.

“Were there any juniors like me?”

“There were. That’s good, Ratford. You two would get along well when you meet.”

Thinking it was a good chance, Lee Han mentioned the Carre priest of the Bildockal Order.

At first, Ratford listened with interest, but as the story went on his expression grew sour.

“That’s a very foolish junior!”

“R-really?”

“Greedy and refuses to join a guild. What does he think guilds are for! A junior like that would act alone even in a dormitory.”

Ratford, unusually, got angry.

Though both had thieving backgrounds, their mentalities were completely opposite.

‘Well, thanks to the two not meeting for a year, that’s fortunate.’

Lee Han thought to himself. Ratford asked Lee Han.

“Lord Wardanaz, you gave that dumb junior a good talking to, right?”

“O-of course. I told him he couldn’t act like that.”

“Very well done! What else did you tell him?”

“Uh, I told him to look out for his friends, too…”

While Lee Han, overwhelmed by Ratford’s force, was fibbing, Eandurde stared at him.

Only then realizing he’d left someone out, Lee Han quickly cried out.

“Oh, right. Here’s a reliable junior from Black Turtle Tower!”

At Lee Han’s praise, Eandurde nodded proudly. Nillia and Ratford praised the admirable junior too.

“I’m glad a junior as reliable as you came.”

“Yes. I look forward to seeing your growth.”

“What’s there to look forward to…”

Gainando muttered under his breath, out of Eandurde’s earshot.

His wrist still ached from being bitten by the junior.

“By the way, Lord Wardanaz. Aren’t more people coming?”

“I sent letters—Deorgyu and Siana the priest said they’d come, but I’m not sure when they’ll arrive. Shouldn’t be long now?”

“I’m here.”

With the sound of a door opening, a penguin beast-person entered, looking tired.

The students, expecting to see other friends, stood and greeted Alsicle.

“Hello, Lady Pengerine.”

“Good to see you all.”

Alsicle fluffed her messy feathers and set down a basket of herbs.

Yoner, puzzled at the sight, asked.

“Are you planning on making potions?”

“No. Wardanaz asked me to.”

“……”

“……”

Yoner stared at Lee Han in horror.

Did he seriously use Alsicle of the Pengerine family as an herb-fetching errand runner?

Among young magicians in the Empire, she was quite renowned…

‘How did he even ask?’

Yoner half suspected his friend had used mind magic.

Maybe food was the bait, but that would only work on Gainando…

“Here’s the sardines. I fried them while you were out.”

“Wow! Thanks.”

Alsicle casually tossed the plate into her beak and sat down.

‘You DID bait her with food!?’

In truth, Alsicle was happy to help Lee Han because she owed him a lot.

After pouring out so much mana in that last experiment, doing a simple errand like this was nothing.

Plus, who knew what favors he’d ask for next…

‘She must really love sardines.’

“Arsil left?”

“Yes.”

Hearing the story from Lee Han, Alsicle clicked her beak in wonder.

It was so unlike how nobles usually left.

Normally, there’d be a grand banquet, musicians, and all sorts of events. But Arsil, true to the Wardanaz family, had just left all at once.

“Wardanaz. I’m curious—neither the Patriarch nor the other family members seem interested in high society… how did you go to social gatherings as a kid?”

Of course, there were sworn knight-guards, golems, and demons in the mansion, but having them didn’t mean you could participate in social events.

You needed your family to attend with you, setting the formality.

“Oh. Relatives helped. Usually, we just attended where they did.”

“I see.”

Nodding as she chewed her fried sardines, Alsicle wondered to herself.

‘Huh? Did the Wardanaz family have collateral branches?’

If so, they’d be much more famous—why didn’t she remember hearing about them?

“Oh, Lady Pengerine. I have something I’m curious about.”

Lee Han brought out the score he’d gotten from the tomb.

He’d planned to take his time decoding it, but Arsil’s meaningful words had roused his curiosity.

“I found this score in the ancient tomb behind our estate. I wondered if you could read the script.”

“Is it normal for ancient tombs to pop up so regularly behind your estate…?”

Though surprised, Alsicle accepted the score.

Lee Han rarely asked questions, so she intended to answer as thoroughly as she could.

Truthfully, there were not many chances to show her abilities before a Wardanaz scion.

‘Maybe it’s just me, but sometimes he seems to view me as a magician who only gets by on her looks.’

Alsicle stared intently at the score. But she couldn’t immediately place the script’s era.

“Mmm. Mmmmm…”

A long, drawn-out groan.

Unable to wait, Lee Han gently spoke.

“It’s okay if you don’t—”

“N-no! I know these letters! Just a bit! Give me just a little more time!”

“Ah, sure.”

Alsicle stared fiercely at the parchment.

Standing beside, Ratford chimed in absent-mindedly.

“Isn’t this from the Era of the False Kingdoms?”

“The… False Kingdom! Right, False Kingdom script! Ahh! If you’d just given me one more minute—no, just thirty seconds—I could have figured it out too. Really!”

Frantically making excuses, Alsicle faltered as Ratford replied.

“O-of course, I thought you would.”

“I’m not making excuses!”

“Lady Pengerine, please don’t be upset. It’s not a contest to see who guesses first.”

“Eeek…!”

Realizing her blunder, Alsicle blushed and sat down.

The “Era of the False Kingdoms”—so-called because there were no legitimate kings but only claimants—was a nightmare period for empire historians.

History saw more division than unity, but the false kingdoms era was exceptionally fragmented.

Alsicle, trying to recover her dignity, pulled out a reference and began to read the score haltingly.

“Praising the king’s sacrifice… misfortune before the walls was averted by the king… This is basically a hymn and a dirge. But the melody and lyrics under the title aren’t legible. I think they’re bound to you.”

“!”

Just as only the contract partner could read a spirit’s name, some spells could only be read by certain individuals.

Alsicle, sharp as ever, realized that no matter how much she tried, the melody and lyrics wouldn’t make sense—magic was at work in the score.

“My brother said this song would help me with magic. Any idea why? There’s no reason I’d go around singing a hymn or a dirge myself…”

“It’s probably not the lyrics, but the magic in the song.”

After hearing the full story of what happened in the tomb, Alsicle sharply guessed Arsil’s intentions.

Arsil didn’t recommend this song for its lyrics or melody.

It was for the power the song held.

“The song ruled the area around you, right? That’s a bigger deal than it sounds.”

“!”

To command their territory, mages put in more work than you’d think.

Look at how many spells a mage would engrave into an atelier or tower.

That only showed how hard it was to control an area as one’s own.

To bend a vast, chaotic zone to one’s individual will and power was a tall order.

But these ancient kingdom magicians had managed something like that just by engraving a song into a tomb.

Though the tradition and magic had died out, it was impressive.

“I never really thought of it that way.”

“Neither did I. I always thought musical magic wasn’t worth studying.”

“The Headmaster always said to learn word magic instead. What do you think of that?”

“…Word magic isn’t some simple spell. There’s no way it’s so easy to learn.”

Alsicle looked at Lee Han incredulously.

She knew the Skull Headmaster had no scruples, but apparently he was truly ruthless.

Saying not to waste time studying music magic was one thing, but to just learn word magic instead…

‘Is that what he meant…?’

Lee Han fell into thought.

Alsicle’s explanation made Lee Han realize why Arsil had told him to take care of this score.

It was clear Arsil wanted Lee Han to learn the knack of controlling an area as a mage.

The other known methods for controlling domains were all much more complicated and difficult.

Compared to the difficulty of word magic, no matter how hard this score was, it couldn’t compare.

Yet this forgotten kingdom’s music magic offered a cunning shortcut no other magic could.

“But Lady Pengerine, aren’t you interested in this magic? It seems impressive…”

Alsicle answered coolly.

“I am, but it clearly burns through too much mana.”

“Ah.”

“Even the kingdom’s people must’ve only performed it in tombs. It’ll suit you, not me.”

Eandurde cocked his head.

“Is it because your skills are lacking?”

“No!”

“No, Eandurde. Don’t say rude things.”

Lee Han covered his junior’s mouth.

There were plenty of magic to learn, but even so, this spell seemed worth trying at least once.

What flitted through Lee Han’s mind was the unique world the Skull Headmaster had demonstrated to him once.

The height of magical mastery, which went beyond ruling a domain and turned it into one’s personal set of rules.

Of course, even if he mastered this musical magic perfectly, Lee Han didn’t think he could use his own -Personal World-, but maybe it’d be a first step on that path.

“Thank you, Lady Pengerine. I’ll work hard to practice. I got a violin as a gift anyway.”

“Great. Are you going to practice now?”

Alsicle looked at Lee Han with interest.

Even if it wasn’t a magic she could master herself, as a wizard, anything unknown was interesting.

“No. I’m going to gather some herbs for now. Still not enough for the request.”

“…I’ll gather the herbs, so you practice the music magic.”

Unable to stand it, Alsicle spoke sternly.