Episode 825

Episode 825

Fortunately, Falkrius heard his junior’s call.

“Uh. Professor, may I step out for a moment?”

“Go ahead. Since the patient’s wrist is no longer sprouting feet… Everyone may take a short break.”

“Thank you. I was a bit worried. You know that wizard from the Water Horse Mountains Mage Tower? I left him with a junior for a bit.”

“Falkrius.”

“Yes, Professor?”

Professor Alcassis spoke as she incinerated the severed feet.

“Your junior can handle it on his own. Mind your own work.”

“But… He’s still only a second year…”

Falkrius was flustered for the first time in a while.

Indeed, even Falkrius sometimes forgot how young Lee Han was, but he was still a second year.

The Water Horse Mountains wizard was a rather complicated case whose prognosis could worsen at any time.

“He inflicted the curse himself. Who knows if something bizarre will happen at any moment.”

“Exactly, that’s why he’ll handle it on his own.”

Professor Alcassis barely suppressed a yawn, her hoarse voice gruff.

She had been so sleep deprived that even chugging undiluted insomnia-curing and insomnia-inducing potion mixtures couldn’t stop the yawns anymore.

“If you keep that up, the students will start quitting! They’re going to blame me for it!”

Falkrius rose in protest and turned away abruptly.

“Wait… Falkrius! Falkrius!”

The professor called out in a panic. But Falkrius didn’t stop and left.

“Don’t just pretend to be mad and then not come back! We’ll start again in 30 minutes!”

“…Got it!”

Falkrius answered with a grumble to the professor’s shout.

Professor Alcassis of House Lagrinde was certainly a respectable mage, but sometimes at moments like these, she seemed a bit too much.

Fragile mages didn’t last long in Healing Magic School, and needed to be weeded out quickly, but there were limits.

At least, there was no harm in waiting until the juniors had toughened up before pushing them this hard.

If things went on like this, there’d be even fewer second years, not that there were many to begin with—especially when someone like Wardanaz also took so many classes from other schools…

“Huh, what are you doing?”

Falkrius blinked stupidly.

Mage Bajun from the Water Horse Mountains Mage Tower was sprawled on the ground, still being suppressed, and struggling.

“Ugh! It’s only because I was ambushed! I let my guard down! If we fought fair, I’d never have been subdued by a second year!”

“Just stay still.”

“Let me go! Let’s try again!”

“No. I can’t let you go until I check you’re alright in the head.”

“I said I’m fine! Give me my staff!”

“Judging by your words, you’re clearly not alright. I’m warning you. Please stay still.”

“And if I don’t… Ugh! I surrender!”

Bajun hadn’t realized the telekinesis holding him was being used gently. As it squeezed his neck, arms, and legs, he cried out quickly.

What kind of second year used such strong magic?

“Ah. Senior, did you see that?”

“O-oh. I did. But… did the curse maybe go to his head?”

Not having seen what happened, Falkrius wondered if Bajun had gone berserk because of the curse and Lee Han had to subdue him.

“No. I cured the curse, but he started saying strange things, so I called you. Could you check?”

“?”

Hearing his junior’s words, Falkrius didn’t even know where to start.

“You did what?”

“Said strange things?”

“No, before that. You cured the curse?”

“Yes.”

“……”

Falkrius hurried over to Bajun.

Bajun, grabbed by hands the size of stewpot lids, coughed and choked.

“Ea-easy…”

“I’m not using force.”

“Oh, sorry. I was still holding you with telekinesis,” said Lee Han, apologizing as he released Bajun’s collar. Bajun glanced at him resentfully.

Falkrius performed several magic checks on the patient—from external wounds to soul analysis, astral projection, spirit detection, and so on.

Amazingly, there really was no trace of the curse. Bajun was completely fine.

“It’s… a perfect cure, junior! What did you do?!”

“Huh? And his mind’s alright?”

“Yes!”

“I just told you!!”

With suspicious eyes, Lee Han undid the remaining telekinesis. Bajun got up, breathing hard.

“You definitely spoke nonsense earlier… asking where some convict was…”

“…That was just surprise!”

“You called me a saint all of a sudden, too.”

“That… That’s the only honest reaction, isn’t it?!”

Ready to further explain, Bajun suddenly grew emotional.

Of all things, this was a justified reaction, not a slip of the tongue.

Anyone would’ve said the same!

“What’s all this saint business?”

Falkrius looked at Lee Han, not understanding.

“He didn’t purify or weaken the curse. He just absorbed it into himself! Calling him a saint is only reasonable… Ugh!”

Before he could finish, Falkrius grabbed Bajun by both sides of the neck and hoisted him up.

“Did you tell him to do that!!”

“Ugh, no! No..! He did it on his own…!”

“How could a second year do that on his own, you miserable Water Horse Mountains rockhead?!”

“I did it myself, senior.”

“…Really?”

Flustered at Lee Han’s words, Falkrius quickly lowered Bajun.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, he said,

“Seems there was a bit of a misunderstanding. Puhaha.”

“Einrogard people really are all nuts.”

Bajun grumbled, rubbing his neck.

He’d lost count of how many times he’d almost died today.

Lee Han grinned broadly.

“It was an emergency, so there were some mishaps.”

‘Was it an emergency?’

Bajun honestly didn’t agree, but let it go.

Really, getting rid of such a tough curse was worth getting grabbed by the collar a few times.

“Well, thanks again for curing me. And what’s so special about a ‘saint’ anyway? When you’re about to end up like Professor Verdus—ruined—if someone risks their life to save you, that’s a saint. You really are a saint, kid.”

“Are you sure his mind is okay?”

Lee Han ignored the praise and whispered to Falkrius. Falkrius nodded slightly.

“Thanks again. And I’ll keep my promise. Come visit the Water Horse Mountains. For now I have to go, my research is way behind. See you!”

Bajun hurried to the mage tower’s upper flying platform without even putting his shoes on.

He hooked a magic chain onto a wyvern’s claw and flew away.

-You crazy wizard! What’s wrong with you! What if you break the wyvern’s claw?!

-Sorry! Please let me hitch a ride! Just drop me near the Water Horse Mountains!

“Wardanaz. You absorbed someone else’s curse?”

“Yes. But I have high resistance, so it’s fine.”

“……”

Even so, not just anyone could absorb another’s curse so lightly, no matter how high their resistance.

It took a strong sense of responsibility and determination toward others.

‘Professor, you were right!’

Falkrius realized that Professor Alcassis really had seen their students for who they were.

He’d always thought she was so tired out from the work that she didn’t even know if she was drinking coffee or tea anymore, but apparently not.

‘But how could she not recognize them last time?’

Actually, last winter break, Professor Alcassis had run into Healing School students wearing civilian clothes.

She failed to recognize them and walked right past.

It remained a legendary story among the students.

-Didn’t the professor really fail to recognize us that time?

-To be honest, I sometimes wonder if she still remembers us now…

‘She must’ve just been avoiding dealing with us. We misunderstood her.’

Falkrius decided to tell his juniors about this new realization.

No way would someone who cared about the newly arrived Wardanaz not also care about the rest.

“Senior.”

When Falkrius continued to say nothing, Lee Han asked cautiously.

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Are you angry that I cured the patient?”

“What?! No?! Why would you think that?”

“You seemed pretty excited about researching a weird, interesting disease all year.”

“…Th-that’s true. But I’m not angry because you cured it!”

Flustered, Falkrius began to wonder if maybe his junior thought he was strange.

To be honest, if “strange” was the standard, a second year who absorbed a curse he didn’t even fully understand surely took the cake…

“Junior. Just in case, let me warn you – never absorb someone else’s curse recklessly.”

Realizing his junior was way more unusual than he thought, Falkrius quickly warned him.

It was the obvious thing to say, but still very important.

“Why would I do that, senior?”

“What did you just do then?”

“That was… an exception.”

“Well, even if there’s an exception, don’t do it carelessly. Understood?”

“Yes…”

‘He sounds angry…’

• * *

“Ow, my back…”

Lagesa grumbled every three seconds. Lee Han finally caved and apologized.

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have called you.”

“Kid, you called me on purpose, didn’t you?”

“No! It’s a misunderstanding!”

Like a seasoned Einrogard student, Lee Han never admitted anything.

Lagesa smiled gently, like a kind grandmother.

“Kihihi. I asked out of admiration. You can be honest. As if Torgard’s daughter would get mad over something like this?”

‘Yes, you would.’

Lee Han replied cynically inside but acted polite on the outside.

“I truly only called you here to introduce you.”

“Tch.”

Lagesa clicked her tongue.

This brat wasn’t just crafty—a regular trap wouldn’t catch him at all. If he’d been a pirate, he’d have ended up the arch-pirate.

“I guess I didn’t get to see much, busy helping Alcassis. Did anything interesting happen?”

“Nothing special. There was a wizard from the Water Horse Mountains…”

“Ah. Bajun, you mean? There was a bet going on about how many curses that brat could withstand.”

A bit surprised at the famous name, Lee Han nodded.

“Yes, that’s him. I treated him.”

“How? That isn’t easy.”

“I just absorbed the curse myself.”

“……”

Lagesa was so shocked she couldn’t speak.

The guts to absorb a curse severe enough to get someone sent to Einrogard, and the magic to do so…

Both were unbelievable.

And the most amazing part was that this all happened right under her nose, and she didn’t even notice.

“You should have told me, you brat! I should string you up from the mast! Want me to make you like Bible?!”

“N-no! You were busy!”

“No matter how busy, that’s what I came to see! I just became a dumb laborer!”

Lagesa, after a good outburst, calmed herself and asked,

“When’s the next lecture?”

“1…”

“In an hour?”

“No, in a minute. You’ll have to run.”

“…I see.”

As Lee Han dashed off ahead, he hesitated.

“Why, what’s the matter?”

“Uh, maybe I should go alone to this one. Maybe Lady Lagesa should just enjoy the seventh floor instead?”

“Why, what’s the class, brat?”

Lagesa grinned wide and snatched the schedule from Lee Han’s hand.

If this cunning brat didn’t want to take her to class, she could just guess which kind of class it was.

‘Is he worried about something he’s not confident in?’

It might even be a humanities course. Mage fanatics were always clumsy with imperial etiquette.

-Staff Materials and Magic Amplification-

Professor, Bible Verdus

“……”

Lagesa’s face contorted like a pirate who’d run into a hurricane.