Episode 691

Episode 691

The Death Knight stared intently at Lee Han and his friends, then let out a sigh.

-All right. Let’s pretend I didn’t see anything.

“Oh, really?”

Gainando was slightly startled.

He really hadn’t expected the Death Knight to let it slide.

-Because as a senior, it’s my fault for being caught by juniors.

“……”

“……”

At the Death Knight’s cold words, the friends were left speechless.

It was a relief, but…!

-Well, now that we’ve finished talking, let’s head out. Are you all ready?

Eandurde nodded. The Death Knight looked at the students and said,

-How about saying your farewells one last time? It might be hard to see each other’s faces for about a year.

“Hmph. Lee Han will probably ignore things like that and just wander around. He already has the interference potion… keh.”

Lee Han hit Gainando in the solar plexus before answering.

“Thank you. I will say my farewell.”

The students gathered in the room looked at Eandurde.

In the students’ eyes were all the emotions one could feel for a freshman just entering—their eyes contained sympathy, pity, compassion, regret, and sorrow.

“Eandurde. I don’t know what to say.”

“I’m all right!”

At Yoner’s words, Eandurde replied vigorously.

“Are you, by any chance, excited because you don’t have to study anymore?”

“…Ah, n-no…”

Having his inner thoughts discovered, Eandurde avoided eye contact.

After all, after Lee Han at the mansion, Yoner had made Eandurde study the harshest.

“Ahem. Eandurde… um… Ah, I don’t really know what to say! Just remember the edible herbs and the easy traps I told you about. As long as you have those, you can find some food to get by.”

“You should practice opening locks a bit more. You’re still lacking at Einrogard.”

“Right. You have to memorize more potion recipes. They’re potions you’ll use often.”

“I know you have strength and unique racial abilities, but don’t rely on just that. You need skills to survive in Einrogard.”

Eandurde, who listened carefully to his seniors’ advice, cocked his head.

“Isn’t this a school of magic…?”

Just from what the seniors were saying, it sounded like he was heading into the worst underground arena.

“…Well, you’ll find out once you get in!”

“Yeah. Don’t be too scared. Einrogard is a place where people live… no… maybe not quite, but anyway, once enough time passes, you’ll adapt… probably. Gainando, you should say something. You’re the only one who hasn’t.”

“Huh?”

Gainando, standing vacantly, hurriedly racked his brain at his friends’ urging.

“Uh… um…”

“Hurry!”

“If you find a friend like Lee Han and stick with him, life will be easier!”

“……”

“…We shouldn’t have made him do it.”

“You told me to!!”

Gainando jumped up and down, but the friends ignored him and called to the Death Knight.

-Are you all ready?

“Yes. You can depart now.”

Lee Han whispered to Eandurde just before his departure.

“If you seriously run out of food, leave a mark in front of the Blue Dragon’s dormitory tower. I’ll sneak some to you.”

But Eandurde shook his head firmly.

“I’m all right.”

“…You…”

“I’ll just take some from the other students!”

“…You…”

Lee Han slightly regretted not having given enough moral education.

• * *

Eurde of the Marccang family was a student of the Blue Dragon Tower at Einrogard, moving from second to third year this time.

His grades were about average within the tower, his family was famous in the southern empire for the flower business, and he personally was interested in illusion magic, ice elements, and numerology.

The noteworthy point was that, in the search for a junior to serve in the new semester’s smuggling operation at Einrogard, he ended up getting caught by juniors.

‘Ugh. How shameful.’

After chatting with a junior and seeing them enter a villa belonging to a different family, he’d followed out of curiosity, only to be ambushed by juniors who popped out en masse.

No matter how junior they were, it was hard to overpower them when outnumbered. Besides, he was ambushed…

Unless one had received proper magic combat training, casting spells quickly when caught off guard was nearly impossible.

“Senior. You said you would behave yourself.”

“Would you behave if you were me? How did you find out about the smuggling in the first place? Who told you? Was it the White Tiger Tower or the Black Turtle Tower?”

Eurde was sure that someone of his own year had told the juniors the truth.

Otherwise, the juniors couldn’t be so well informed about the smuggling operation.

Probably, someone had sabotaged him to keep the Blue Dragon Tower’s Eurde in check.

“I told you. We figured it out ourselves. Every senior we met tried to use us as bait.”

“That’s a misunderstanding! I never had any intention of using you as bait.”

Eurde lied without batting an eye.

Of course, it had no effect on the juniors. They looked at him with disinterested eyes.

“So, you really wanted us to join the smuggling operation because you care about us?”

“Of course! I felt bad for you all. Let me go even now. If you join our operation, you’ll get enough food to last the whole year. Just think about it. Freshly baked multigrain bread and buttermilk inside Einrogard. Maple syrup dessert with just a dash of honey. A feast like meatloaf with over a third of it being meat!”

“…Doesn’t really sound that appealing…”

“?!”

Eurde made his offer with confidence but, unfortunately, he’d reached the limits of his imagination.

Compared to Lee Han’s meals, his humble feast menu failed to impress the students.

“Huh, why? If you’re freshmen, you must have spent all of first year dreaming of those foods?”

“We ate pretty well, though.”

“Don’t lie! Eat well? You probably just boiled leather boots in a pot!”

“……”

The students shuddered at the thought of the seniors’ desperate first-year menu.

And they reflected anew.

‘From now on, we shouldn’t complain about what we get to eat…’

‘I suspected it, but we really did eat well!’

‘Once school starts again, I should ask for chocolate cake.’

As the students of all four towers fell silent with guilt and gratitude toward Lee Han, Eurde misunderstood their reaction and spoke up.

“Maybe you’ve never experienced it so you don’t know how amazing it is! But it’s really possible! If the smuggling succeeds at the start of term, you can live like a rich person all semester!”

Creak—

Lee Han, who had just seen off the Death Knight, opened the door and entered.

Then, holding up a potion seized from Eurde, he asked,

“But senior, you said to drink this when the inspection starts.”

“That’s the potion that helps with the smuggling.”

“This is a mixture of a berserker potion and a blade bear transformation potion. If I drink this, I’ll turn into a blade bear and go berserk, won’t I?”

“…Uh, who betrayed me!?”

Now that his evil plan to turn his juniors into rampaging monsters was exposed, Eurde was noticeably taken aback.

The juniors looked at him with eyes full of contempt.

“…Someone had to be a distraction.”

“I’m sure you did.”

Realizing he was cornered, Eurde sighed and asked Lee Han,

“Phew. All right. Please just untie my wrists for a second.”

“Senior, you just tried to run away. No.”

“This time is different. I swear on my family name, I won’t run if you free me.”

As a noble, swearing on one’s family name was a promise that was hard to break.

Even when captured as a prisoner in a territorial war, one wouldn’t run if such a promise was made.

When Eurde went so far, the students’ demeanor softened. They now judged that the senior would stop trying to escape.

“Understood. We’ll untie you.”

“Haha, you fools! To the maze, senses!”

As soon as his wrists and ankles were released, Eurde swiftly pulled out a spare wand from his sleeve and cast the spell he’d been preparing.

Cold air wrapped the enemies, distorted their sense of direction, and invoked illusions mixed with reality.

It was magic ample enough to allow him to escape this predicament.

“You’re learning a lesson today. A true Einrogard mage values a piece of bread over his family name or honor…!”

Thunk!

Lee Han struck Eurde, who was trying to escape the annex, then dragged him back and made him sit down.

Then he tied him back up.

From the start, Lee Han had noticed the magical energy swirling around Eurde and knew he was about to cast a spell.

He only went along for a bit because he thought it would be more bothersome to keep refusing.

Lee Han waved his staff, swept away the remaining illusion magic, and brought his friends back to their senses.

Then, only belatedly, did Eurde react.

“Wha…wha…how?!”

“Senior. You just swore on your family name.”

“……”

Perhaps a little ashamed, Eurde averted his gaze.

Then he muttered,

“Hmph. In Einrogard, this is normal.”

“We don’t do that…”

“You lot! Wait just another year and you’ll be selling out your ancestors’ names, too! And you, which tower are you from! Do you know more about the honor of nobles than me?!”

“I’m from the Blue Dragon Tower…”

Suddenly put on the spot, Gainando answered awkwardly.

At that answer, Eurde was surprised.

Now that he thought about it, this was the villa district for noble families. Of course there would be Blue Dragon Tower students.

But…

“Wait, that guy?!”

Eurde pointed at Deorgyu and asked.

No matter how he looked, that one wasn’t from the Blue Dragon Tower.

“White Tiger Tower.”

“I’m from Black Turtle Tower.”

“I’m from Phoenix Tower.”

“…Wait, wait, hold on a second.”

Eurde was even more flustered.

He was even more shocked than when he’d been ambushed by the juniors.

No wonder there were so many and no uniformity…

“How are you all together?”

“Because we’re friends?”

“Blue Dragon Tower can’t be friends with White Tiger Tower!”

Eurde shouted firmly.

Gainando almost unconsciously agreed.

“Certainly those guys really are–“

“Don’t you see Choi next to you?”

“Ah, no. Except for Deorgyu!”

After pondering, Eurde looked at Lee Han and asked,

“Are you, by any chance, leading them? If so…”

Sometimes, charismatic seniors in the magic school were respected beyond the tower divisions.

Perhaps this White Tiger Tower student before him was such a case.

“Of all places, why is there one like this in White Tiger Tower…?”

“I’m from the Blue Dragon Tower.”

“?!!!!”

“Anyway, senior. I tried to respect your honor as much as I could, but you’ve kept deceiving us. I will confiscate your staff and reagents.”

Lee Han searched Eurde and confiscated all remaining possessions.

“No! Think carefully. I’m your senior! Are you never going to see me in the tower again?”

Regardless, Lee Han said what he had to say.

“I’ll let you go once the semester starts. You’ll have to come to the main gate with us. Until then, you must stay in the annex. If there’s anything you want to eat, please let me know.”

“Thick pancakes, premium salted butter, southern honey, and coffee with plenty of milk.”

“Ah. I didn’t mean I’d just give them to you. It’s if you give us advice or information about the smuggling.”

“…Are you really a first-year??”

Eurde looked at Lee Han with wavering eyes.

Who would’ve thought someone like this had entered the Blue Dragon Tower!