Episode 673
by Cristae“Professor, I think the griffon’s scared…” said Nillia.
Professor Vendosol snapped, “A griffon doesn’t get scared! Don’t say such insulting things!”
“Yikes.”
“All of you, listen! Griffons like to play at swiping with their tails. If you ever end up caring for a griffon, offer your head like this so it has an easier time smacking you.”
“Wouldn’t getting hit by a griffon’s tail seriously hurt?” Deorgyu cautiously raised a hand.
A griffon was one of the most powerful monsters—even a casual swipe of its tail was like being bludgeoned by a mace. One wrong hit would be more than just a prank.
Professor Vendosol nodded, acknowledging this. “Endure it!”
“…”
“…”
“…I’ll just keep raising Fongrif on my own, thanks.”
“You stupid little swindler! Are you getting cocky because you think a griffon loves you?!”
Still on all fours, Professor Vendosol barked insults, but Lee Han acted like he hadn’t heard.
If Lee Han had met Prof. Vendosol at the start of Einrogard, he might’ve been flustered, but he’d now met far too many crazy professors to be surprised anymore.
For a while, Professor Vendosol rambled about “how to care for griffons,” but Lee Han’s indifference eventually made him give up and go quiet.
“Basilisk!”
“Yes?”
“Griffon aside, how have you been raising your basilisk?!”
“I’m doing fine…”
The basilisk poked its tail out from Lee Han’s sleeve, waving in recognition. Seeing this, Prof. Vendosol’s sharp face broke into a fatherly smile.
“Judging by its playful behavior, it’s clearly content!”
“Thank you.”
“And what about its food? You should be feeding it prime minotaur shoulder. Are you?”
“…”
That diet would bankrupt him after a few meals.
Lee Han answered awkwardly, “I’ve just been sharing what I eat…”
“You… you… you… ignoramus…!”
Still on all fours, Prof. Vendosol’s face flushed red and foam gathered at his lips.
Siana whispered, “Could that be rabies?”
“Priest Siana…”
“I’m just being rational! Being a professor shouldn’t exempt him from criticism.”
“%&%##%^#$!” After a torrent of unintelligible curses, Prof. Vendosol finally regained composure and launched into a tirade on proper basilisk care.
“Meat is important, but you should regularly mix dragon blood into its drinking bowl.”
Both ingredients were ruinously expensive. Lee Han pretended not to hear. The basilisk showed no desire for such things either, curling its tail around his arm and shaking its head.
“Professor Vendosol, stop being jealous about your student being loved by monsters. Let’s talk about the unicorn again.”
“Urgh… Why does some brat like you—who doesn’t even appreciate his luck—get it! Such a clueless idiot…”
Fearing he’d go on forever nitpicking, Professor Lightningstep gave him a sharp kick, making Vendosol roll away.
Lee Han tried to comfort the professor. “Professor, don’t you have other animals who love you? Does it matter if a basilisk or griffon doesn’t?”
As far as Lee Han knew, Professor Vendosol was a famed animal scholar in the empire, who’d looked after an incredible variety of creatures—a feat impossible without some affinity.
Professor Vendosol listened in silence.
“On the other hand, I don’t get along with sensitive, timid creatures like spirits. I actually envy you, professor—”
“You little—boasting like that! Are you teasing me at this point!?”
Lee Han had thought he was being taciturn, but Professor Vendosol exploded again and threw dirt at him. Lightningstep sighed and kicked him away.
Having finally calmed down, Professor Vendosol explained about the unicorn.
From the first encounter, the unicorn had been seriously wounded. Vendosol chose to care for the unicorn instead of returning to Einrogard—saving the unicorn was far more important than teaching vicious and devious students.
“Don’t add so much unnecessary commentary, Professor Vendosol.”
Anyway, he’d intended only to heal the unicorn’s wound—but it turned out the unicorn also had a newborn to care for. Raising the foal while wounded was doubly hard, so it was understandable he’d devoted all his time to them.
“And the wound wasn’t ordinary.”
“I see… Not many things could injure a unicorn.”
Professor Lightningstep nodded. A unicorn’s innocent image aside, it was a powerful monster—not easy to harm, and if it was hurt, it meant a truly grave wound.
“What hurt the unicorn?”
“A Taotie. There’s one in hibernation in the Bitong Mountains.”
“!”
Even Professor Lightningstep, an old and hardened explorer, changed expression at the mention of the Taotie. It was that dangerous.
The Taotie looked somewhat like an ox, but its temperament was the opposite: greedy and cunning, avoiding the strong and mercilessly hounding the weak.
But ruthless disposition alone didn’t make it a dangerous monster; it also possessed tremendous physical power. Its hide repelled blades and spells, its hooves shattered bedrock, its charge rumbled the earth, and it had native magical abilities. No wonder a unicorn could be badly hurt.
“Was it the Taotie’s horn that wounded the unicorn?”
“That’s right.”
“No wonder the wound won’t heal…”
Professor Lightningstep clicked his tongue. The creature’s cursed, malice-laden horn was so baleful that even unicorns took ages to recover when wounded by it.
“The Taotie was wounded, too, though. That’s why it went into deep hibernation to heal. If only I’d found it then and finished it off…”
“You failed… So that’s why the monsters around here are acting so strange?”
Monsters all over the Bitong Mountains seemed to be running wild, as if sensing something fearful; most likely, they instinctively knew that the Taotie would soon awaken.
The Taotie wasn’t just a predator—it killed indiscriminately, a walking disaster for the surrounding creatures.
Professor Lightningstep filled his pipe, lost in thought.
“There’s no need to fear if the Taotie wakes soon. With our numbers, we can take it down, right, Professor Vendosol?”
Professor Vendosol didn’t disagree.
“Now that we know the situation, time to revise the plan. Students, stay here with Professor Vendosol and protect the unicorn as a precaution. The hunters and I will track down the Taotie before it wakes.”
“Wait!”
Professor Vendosol interrupted. Lightningstep looked over.
“You can’t come after the Taotie, Professor. Someone has to look after the unicorn.”
“That’s not why I wanted your attention. I just wanted to ask if the students could come as well.”
“…”
“…”
All the students stared at him in disbelief. Lightningstep said nothing, simply called the hunters, and left immediately.
“A unicorn is a noble and powerful being.” Professor Vendosol began leading the students along a narrow mountain trail behind his camp.
If the professor hadn’t gone ahead, they’d never have guessed a path was hidden there.
Tock, tock, tock! Thin slabs of stone zipped through the air, forming a new path over empty space before their feet.
“You lot are too green, wild, cowardly, and vulgar to care for a unicorn, but since there’s no choice, I’ll teach you. Got it?”
“Wow! Unicorn!!”
Gainando was so excited that he babbled to his friends about what he’d do with a unicorn hair. The sight made Prof. Vendosol’s eyebrow twitch, as if he was considering yanking the stone path out from under Gainando to let him drop.
“The most important thing in caring for a unicorn is earning a minimum of respect from it. Without even basic acknowledgment, you can’t get near—it’ll kick or gore you as soon as you approach.”
“How do you earn it?”
“It’s not about doing anything. The unicorn will judge for itself what type you are.”
Professor Vendosol led them up the path, which wrapped around the mountain peak.
“If you’re the sort a unicorn dislikes, stand guard at the entrance. If you’re acknowledged, you can go up and help care for it. Don’t even think about going in if you’re not acknowledged—you could lose your life.”
At last, they reached a flat mountaintop, shrouded in thick mist so no one could see it from outside.
There were two unicorns inside—an adult, its body marked by throbbing, dark wounds, and a foal, sleeping soundly.
“There are two kinds a unicorn likes. The first: strong and righteous people—same as a pegasus. The other: good and pure people. That second requirement is even tougher. If you’re iffy or ambiguous, don’t bother trying—just stay back.”
“I’ll just keep my distance,” said Ratford gloomily. As a professional, he had little interest in approaching the unicorn—no good outcome likely.
By contrast, Deorgyu wanted to be assessed by the unicorn for his knightly–virtue.
“Just one step forward, please.”
When Deorgyu stepped near, the unicorn lifted its head and slowly shook it. Clearly, he wasn’t worthy. Disappointed, Deorgyu accepted and stepped back; the unicorn faintly smiled, as if to say, “Come again someday.”
“That’s stricter than I thought…”
“We should try Nillia next.”
“Nillia’s our only real shot.”
“Why me? I’m a hunter! If anything, a unicorn would hate me…”
But her friends nudged her forward. Surprisingly, the unicorn got up and walked over to inspect Nillia—then made an unhappy sound and turned away.
“W-what? Why’d it—?”
“Is that unicorn weird or something?”
Professor Vendosol explained, “Unicorns are jealous creatures. Looks like you’ve contracted lots of spirits recently. It’s jealous of their scent.”
“…”
“I see, it thinks Nillia is a flirt.”
“What the hell?!”
When even Nillia struck out, the students gave up hope.
“Let’s just stand sentry at the entrance.”
“Yeah. Let’s build a camp.”
But as they turned to go, someone nibbled Lee Han’s sleeve.
Amazingly, the unicorn itself was holding Lee Han’s cuff, as if telling him not to leave.
“…Urrgh…”
Prof. Vendosol fixed Lee Han with a jealous glare.
Just why was this boy so beloved by powerful monsters?!