Episode 661
by CristaeLee Han protested, but Professor Voladi ignored him.
He simply thought his disciple was being modest.
“Lee Han, you have been practicing time magic, though.”
“Hey. Shut it.”
“I was just saying…”
Gainando had only spoken up because he thought Lee Han had forgotten, but after being met with a deadly glare, he felt very wronged.
‘What did I do wrong!?’
Professor Voladi moved to treat the students to a meal.
After walking a few blocks, they saw a large two-story red brick building. The sign read, “Three Magpies Restaurant, Run by Dwarf Brothers,” stylishly painted.
Excited, Gainando explained the place to his friends.
“This is good. It sells the second-best chicken pie and third-best porterhouse steak in Flaher City!”
“Gainando, thanks for the info, but the owner’s glaring at you.”
Lee Han thought the steak might come with a little dwarf spit because of Gainando.
“But, professor, do you come here often? It doesn’t really seem like your kind of place…”
“H-Hey, no matter what, there’s no way the professor can’t afford to eat here!”
Gainando whispered, looking scared.
It really sounded like his friend was saying something nuts.
“…I meant the menu. Ratford, will you trade seats with Gainando here?”
“No! No!”
Gainando resisted, but his friends grabbed him and forced the switch.
“I don’t want to sit next to Yoner!”
“I don’t want to sit next to you, so I’ll just get off down there on the floor.”
Ignoring the noisy friends, Lee Han looked around.
Just looking at the customers’ food, it was clearly a meat specialty house. It didn’t seem like a place Professor Voladi, who was a vegetarian, would visit regularly.
“I come when I want to treat mercenaries or adventurers to a meal. It’s got a good reputation.”
“!”
Lee Han realized, with a chill, that Professor Voladi regularly hired mercenaries or adventurers.
What kind of crazy trouble is he planning now?
“Don’t tell me you’re doing it in preparation for this year’s class?”
Professor Voladi displayed the poise of a gentleman, not losing his composure even at a dumb question from his disciple.
“No. I finished preparing for this year’s classes last year.”
“……”
Lee Han shivered.
That was the scariest answer he’d heard all winter.
“Alright, Eandurde, you have to wait for the bread basket to come first. No need to cut the meat yourself. Don’t just stab it with your knife, okay?”
“Can we trade seats?”
“No. Plus, Lee Han is suffering enough from the professor, so don’t make it worse.”
Yoner reprimanded his junior. Professor Voladi saw that and spoke.
“You may eat however you want. Like I said, mercenaries and adventurers come here, too.”
When Eandurde tried to throw down his fork and only use his knife, Yoner glared.
“No.”
“But…”
“No. Hold it properly.”
“Mnng…”
Eandurde thought to himself.
All of Lee Han’s friends were strict, but the professor seemed like a relatively easygoing man.
If he ended up at Einrogard, there would be lots to learn…
Maybe the professor’s laid-back lectures wouldn’t be so bad.
And besides, he still needed revenge on that professor.
‘I’ll learn his moves and take him down one day!’
When Eandurde pounded the table thinking about throwing the professor, Yoner sternly scolded him again.
“Don’t drum on the table like an instrument.”
“…I want to change seats…”
To shake off the fear, Lee Han buttered a freshly baked roll and took a bite.
Filling his stomach with something seemed to lessen the dread of the terrifying classes that awaited this year.
“Then why do you hire them, Professor?”
“Hmm.”
Professor Voladi, instead of answering, looked at Lee Han with a faintly thoughtful expression.
That look made Lee Han uneasy.
‘Why do I feel like I’ve made a mistake?’
“I suppose it’s fine to tell you.”
“Hang on. If it’s some kind of dangerous secret, it’s fine.”
If Professor Voladi was hiring people for assassination, Lee Han wanted no part of it.
When Imperial investigators came hounding, he needed to be able to say, “I know nothing, I’m just a disciple!”
“It’s not like that. I was just worried you’d get dangerously interested.”
“?”
Something dangerously interesting for Lee Han…
‘Did he rob the imperial mint or something?’
“I’ll explain one by one. First, sometimes I hire for commissions.”
“Ah.”
That’s when Lee Han realized Professor Voladi actually was both a mage and a professor.
Of course it wasn’t unusual for a mage to hire mercenaries or adventurers for jobs—exploring ruins, collecting rare materials…
Any mage who did all that personally was the weird one.
“Were you trying to find some specific material?”
Professor Voladi shook his head slowly.
“I don’t give out commissions.”
“……”
Shockingly, Professor Voladi wasn’t handing out jobs—he was getting hired to solve them.
Apparently, even for adventurers and mercenaries there were jobs too dangerous to tackle alone, so they’d join up with Professor Voladi…
‘Is he going dragon hunting or something??’
It was unimaginable what kind of job would be dangerous in Professor Voladi’s eyes.
If it was that serious, shouldn’t it just be outlawed by imperial decree?
“Wait. So were you worried I’d get too interested in these jobs?”
“To an extent.”
“That’s going too far. I have zero interest in dangerous jobs, unlike you, Professor.”
“……”
“……”
The friends all stopped mid-conversation and stared at Lee Han.
Usually they’d have his back, but this was just way too much nonsense.
“Ghoul king…”
“Sea serpent…”
“Frost giant…”
“Mr. Wardanaz, you really seem addicted to danger. I mean, you’re sitting beside the professor right now.”
Despite the withering criticism, Lee Han was genuinely unrepentant.
He always coolly and rationally judged a commission’s risk—unlike Professor Voladi, who dove straight into a mouthful of danger.
“Glad to hear it. I was concerned about your recklessness.”
“Professor, I get the sense you kind of misunderstand me. Haha.”
As before, Professor Voladi simply ignored him.
People were seldom able to objectively view their own flaws.
Lee Han was a talented student, but his natural ability came with impulsiveness—a trait his professors had to watch out for.
“Besides needing teammates for deadly commissions, is there another reason you hire people?”
The professor nodded.
“Flaher City recently opened a dueling club.”
“A… dueling club?”
The word “duel” might conjure images of life-or-death struggles, but that kind of lethal dueling was mostly illegal in the Empire. Such battles existed only in underground arenas.
Most legal duels in the Empire were solemn affairs: both parties swore to act honorably, there were witnesses, and at the first drop of blood, the match ended and a winner was declared.
And while these duels were usually reserved for instances of slander or insult…
…there were always exceptions.
Places where dangerous blades and magic flew; where thrill, peril, and the ecstasy of victory addicted both participants and spectators.
And, of course, the money-hungry folks who wanted to profit from such bloody games.
Imperial dueling clubs were where these folks gathered.
Polite society mocked them as “the socialite’s underground arena” (and it wasn’t far off).
“Uh, you go to those?”
At last, Lee Han wondered if Professor Voladi was really bloodthirsty.
Was attacking students not enough—did he have to hunt down more poor souls in the Empire?
“I do.”
“Is there a reason? Are you honing your magic dueling skills?”
“No. Most dueling clubs aren’t even that high-level. The reward is the reason.”
Voladi explained thoroughly.
In a dueling club, besides others betting, the participants could also wager against one another.
The rule was simple: the winner takes whatever the loser put up.
When in need of cash, Professor Voladi either took a mercenary crew out for a dangerous job, or just made the rounds at the Empire’s dueling clubs.
The latter was far easier to profit from.
There were plenty of rich brats bringing treasure, swinging a sword like they were hot stuff…
For team duels, you needed a crew for the numbers—nothing else; it didn’t matter how many were on the other side, he’d just flatten them anyway.
‘Holy cow!’
Lee Han was stunned.
He’d misread the professor during that shop haggling—Professor Voladi was not clueless about worldly affairs.
‘He’s printing money!’
If Lee Han were Voladi, he’d do a dueling club circuit, too.
Why bother with tough commissions and teaching students? One quick sweep through the dueling clubs could make you rich.
“Professor. Let’s wipe out all the dueling clubs in the Empire!”
“I can’t, because I’ve been banned from many.”
“Pardon?”
“If you win too much, they ban you from entry.”
“……”
Lee Han recalled what Professor Voladi said earlier.
- Flaher City recently got a dueling club.
Recently.
He’d glossed over it before, but now—
‘This guy must have been banned from almost every dueling club in the Empire?!’
That’s why he was here in Flaher, to clean up before the bans hit!
Those mage cards Professor Voladi had been selling earlier were clearly trophies from those club wins.
Lee Han reconsidered.
‘I’m nothing compared to this.’
He’d thought he was doing a good job saving money, but the professors… they were gods among men.
“I’m amazed, Professor. Someday I want to try visiting a dueling club.”
“I figured.”
He’d denied having an interest in dangerous commissions, but dueling clubs he could not.
In fact, right now Lee Han was mentally plotting how he’d build his fortune in a dueling club once he reached that level.
‘I won’t be as blatant as the professor. I’ll win three times, then lose once… Hmm, find the top win rate, then keep just below it. Maybe even hire adventurers to pad my losses.’
While Lee Han was hatching plans so underhanded that any dueling club owner would kick him out, Professor Voladi finished his green tea and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
“All done.”
“Thank you for the meal, Professor!”
The students expressed their gratitude.
Professor Voladi gave a casual nod, then said to Lee Han,
“Come with me. I’ll introduce you to the club.”
“……”
The visit came about a decade sooner than planned—Lee Han was extremely rattled.