Episode 745

‘What kind of Gainando-style logic is this?’

There were clearly numerous disciples, yet he insisted as if there were none.

It was no different from Gainando stubbornly claiming not to have eaten the chocolate he just ate.

“Think about it again. There were disciples who tried to burn the continent, or tried to burn royalty…”

The crazy doppelgänger snapped his fingers and sent a shockwave.

Rolling backwards, Lee Han cursed under his breath.

‘We could’ve just talked. Is this necessary?’

Dealing with ancient people was really exhausting.

“Even barbarism has its limits. Do you know nothing of etiquette?”

The crazy doppelgänger looked at Lee Han with sincere contempt.

How dare someone talk back to royalty like that?

Even knowing he was barbaric, it was a crude insolence hard to tolerate.

“…I’m sorry. I don’t know much about etiquette.”

Lee Han resolved that if he ever assassinated the skeleton principal, he would kill the crazy doppelgänger too.

But he had to endure for now.

The opponent was basically a thug with a staff.

“That’s to be expected, lowborn.”

‘…Now I think I understand why the Black Turtle Tower dislikes the Blue Dragon Tower.’

Lee Han promised himself that once he returned, he would smack the Blue Dragon Tower students every time they brought up bloodline or family.

“Now that I think about it, I think you are mistaking the doppelgänger for royalty.”

“…?”

When the word ‘doppelgänger’ came out of the doppelgänger’s mouth, Lee Han was flustered.

“There are dregs that have fled from this royalty. Since you are stupid and vulgar, I can see how you’d mistake royalty and dregs. I’ll forgive you once, but never make such a mistake again. Understand, lowborn?”

To avoid provoking the opponent, Lee Han asked permission to ask a question, gathering information.

It still seemed strange that the crazy doppelgänger insisted, ‘I am the original, the rest are doppelgängers.’

After getting a few more hits, Lee Han had the following exchange.

• If more remains with the original, isn’t the doppelgänger usually what’s left with only ambition?
• When you make butter from milk, plenty of dregs are left, but does that mean those dregs are butter? The essence is always the most important part.
• …Ah… yes… so you don’t count the doppelgängers’ disciples?
• Yes. Understood. You can stop hitting me now.
• I just answered, why hit m—

‘I got hit a few extra times for nothing at the end.’

Resolving not to provoke the crazy doppelgänger any more, Lee Han asked one last question.

“By the way… there’s a wizard called Antagondals, right? Isn’t that person a disciple?”

“That one is a servant.”

The crazy doppelgänger glared coldly at Lee Han.

How dare he consider a mere slave a disciple of royalty.

If he weren’t a lowborn barbarian ignorant of etiquette, he’d deserve capital punishment for such insolence.

“…?”

Of course, to Lee Han this sounded absurd.

Lee Han didn’t know Antagondals well, but he knew he was recognized as an archmage even among magic criminals.

He was obviously many times more talented than Lee Han.

Yet Antagondals was deemed a servant, and Lee Han was considered a disciple.

‘That’s weird.’

“B-but isn’t that servant much better at magic than I am?”

The crazy doppelgänger let out a shallow sigh of contempt and shouted into the air.

“Curse my fate! Why does fate not grant this royalty a proper disciple, but throw me a stupid lowborn instead!”

‘Then just send me home, you bastard.’

Lee Han, speechless, cursed inwardly.

He hadn’t even spent hours talking to the crazy doppelgänger, and already missed the Einrogard professors.

Complaining after kidnapping someone.

Even Professor Verdus hadn’t done that.

Unfazed, the crazy doppelgänger mocked his own misfortune a few more times and then placed a caterpillar on his fingertip.

In an instant, the caterpillar’s time fast-forwarded, and it transformed into a butterfly.

“Can this caterpillar fly or not?”

“It can.”

“Why? It’s a caterpillar.”

“It’s a butterfly now.”

The crazy doppelgänger released the butterfly.

Then he stopped a mouse passing between rocks far away and asked,

“Can that mouse fly or not?”

“It cannot.”

“Why? Given time, it might sprout wings.”

“Mice don’t grow wings as they age.”

“Correct, lowborn. Then why do you ask pointless questions when you know the answer?”

The crazy doppelgänger attacked Lee Han once more.

Enduring the pain, Lee Han thought.

‘So… it’s a matter of potential?’

He couldn’t fully understand what this crazy doppelgänger was thinking, but it seemed he needed a disciple.

Not an ordinary disciple, but one that would perfect his own honor.

He didn’t know the exact criteria, but talent seemed more important than current ability.

Honestly, it was hard to believe a wizard like Antagondals lacked talent…

“I understand now.”

“Ha! How slow.”

“…What must I do to become that honorable disciple?”

Lee Han began to seriously think about an escape plan.

The best thing would be to persuade this crazy doppelgänger to let him go.

He already confirmed that ordinary escape would be hard, so persuasion seemed more likely.

Luckily, while this crazy doppelgänger was mad, he was consistently mad, so persuasion seemed possible.

“Is it enough if I master that shield spell from before?”

“That’s something even a stable hand of the old kingdom could master.”

“……”

Stable hands in ancient kingdoms seemed quite adept in magic.

“Then what must I master?”

“The true questions cannot be stated so simply, lowborn. But considering your dullness, if I had to explain…”

Lee Han tensed.

Just what magic would this crazy doppelgänger require to let him go?

“…Start with word magic.”

“……”

Lee Han immediately changed his plan.

‘I absolutely have to escape.’

If he stayed here to satisfy the crazy doppelgänger, he might be stuck in Einrogard while his friends graduated.

• * *

Angrago sat thinking with a careful expression.

‘Should I go out to play polo, or study in advance for next week?’

To play a proper role in the club, he had to practice even harder than now. The upperclassmen weren’t to be underestimated.

Since there was talk of Wardanaz already playing as an attacker, Angrago couldn’t fall behind.

But preparing in advance for next week’s classes was also important.

Every second-year student felt it.

This year is different from last year!

The professors were moving through material harshly and fiercely, as if to prove that last year’s lectures for first-years had been kind and considerate.

If the first week was like this, it was impossible to imagine what the next or the week after that would be.

Even the White Tiger Tower students were buzzing, “Shouldn’t we be studying ahead?”

Pop—

“?”

Angrago cocked his head and rummaged through his backpack at a noise.

‘What is that?’

The source was a sheaf of enchanted papers divided among each tower’s first and second place student.

Wondering if there was some interesting news, Angrago quickly unrolled the sheaf.

-Guys. I’ve been kidnapped by the principal’s crazy doppelgänger. Looks like I’ll need help.

-How did that happen…!

-Where did you get kidnapped to?

“!!!”

Angrago was shocked.

Apparently, one of the group of eight had been kidnapped by the principal’s crazy doppelgänger.

When Wardanaz warned, “Be careful of the principal’s crazy doppelgänger,” Angrago hadn’t taken it too seriously—but now his own friend had been kidnapped. It sent chills down his spine.

-So Wardanaz was telling the truth! I thought they’d only be out in the outskirts, but they’re kidnapping students?! That’s the principal’s crazy doppelgänger for you. Wardanaz, what are you going to do? How are we going to rescue that poor soul?

-Angrago. Wardanaz is the one who got kidnapped.

-……

Angrago froze in place, dripping ink, with a dumbfounded face.

He never imagined Wardanaz would be the one kidnapped among the group of eight.

-No, no way! Not Tutanta or Richmond?!

-Now I see who you wished would be kidnapped, usually. Unfortunately, it isn’t them.

-…Sorry to interrupt your fun, but could you put your heads together about an escape plan?

-Wardanaz, even if you were kidnapped by the crazy doppelgänger, you must not lose hope. Do you have any useful artifacts? Any artifact to send a message outside…

‘What the?’

Angrago was startled by how quickly the text was shooting up.

Who is this?

-Your Highness. You can write slowly.

“……”

-And some artifacts were confiscated. I had one that could summon the principal, but maybe because it was a doppelgänger, he recognized it as his own magic immediately.

-An artifact that can do what?

-Angrago. Is that important now?

-Angrago. Are you the crazy doppelgänger’s spy?

-Ah, no… Sorry. Damn.

-Wardanaz. Your location?

-Somewhere in a mountain range, but I’m not sure.

‘This is bad.’

Angrago wore a gloomy expression.

Sometimes students went missing from Einrogard for a few days, but usually, it didn’t exceed a week.

But in Wardanaz’s current situation, there was no telling when he’d be able to return.

Thinking of Wardanaz being gone, suddenly this semester felt bleak.

Could they survive a year harder than the last?

Tap—

As the door to her private room shut, Giselle came down. Angrago called out happily.

“Moradi! Did you see!?”

“Yes. It’s bad.”

“Right. Without Wardanaz, it’ll be hard to even ask magic questions.”

“It’s worse than that.”

Giselle pressed her forehead with her fingers, feeling a headache.

“The second-year system is going to collapse.”

“W-why? Collapsing, because of the exams?”

“Wardanaz was the one who secured supplies and handled exchanges. Alpha. On top of that, he mediated between us and the Black Turtle Tower bastards so deals could happen. He’s gone now. You think you can trust the Black Turtle Tower guys without him?”

“…No, that sounds impossible…”

“If we’d acted separately from the beginning, maybe. But we’re so entangled now that a sudden break would ruin us both. We need to get Wardanaz back.”

“But, how can we find him—we don’t even know where he is?”

“It’s not about if we can, we have to. At least compared to last year, we have some advantages. We have upperclassmen.”

At Giselle’s words, Angrago’s face brightened.

Certainly, there were upperclassmen with more experience and skill than them.

“Of course, if it’s about dealing with the principal’s crazy doppelgänger, it’s not something they’ll easily accept.”

“Then let’s trick them!”

“……”

At Angrago’s suggestion, blurted without a second’s thought even though they were talking about deceiving their senior and fellow knight, Giselle looked at him with a sour face.

She was planning to trick them too, but her friend had changed too much.

“Fine. If we hide the exact reason and just bring them along…”

-I’m on my way to see the principal, and when I do, I’ll absolutely tell him to save Wardanaz…

“……”

“……”

The two White Tiger Tower students stared silently at each other.

In hindsight, there was also the option to tell the principal.