Episode 826

“It’s fine. Let’s go.”

“Are you really sure about this?”

After asking, Lee Han realized belatedly.

“Ah, you’re going to attack him, aren’t you?”

On second thought, it wasn’t a bad idea.

Lagesa could vent her grudges, and Lee Han and his seniors could enjoy watching Professor Verdus get attacked.

It would be a happy time for everyone.

‘I don’t know why I was trying to stop this.’

The lecture -Staff Materials and Magic Amplification- would be a rare time overflowing with laughter and applause.

“What are you saying? I won’t do that.”

However, Lagesa’s reaction was unexpectedly negative.

“Excuse me? You’re not going to attack?”

“No matter how much I want to tie an anchor to Bible’s ankle and throw him into the sea, I wouldn’t go so far as to interrupt a student lecture. It’s frustrating enough just to be at Einrogard; if their lessons got interrupted too, that’s going too far.”

“……”

At the kind words of the great pirate, Lee Han thought to himself.

‘That’s unnecessarily considerate.’

In reality, students would probably prefer the lecture to be interrupted.

Especially the Enchantment Magic School students even more so…

“You can attack, though? The seniors will love it.”

“What are you talking about? As much as I’d love to hit Bible, that’s too much!”

Lagesa, who knew Einrogard fairly well, never imagined that Professor Verdus pursued a philosophy of absolutely free lectures.

How could she have guessed the lesson was all about stealing the professor’s research?

“But, really… then why go?”

“Do you only ever think about attacking, brat? I’m going to watch. I want to see how Bible teaches. If he’s improved, I’ll be less angry.”

Lagesa clicked her tongue with displeasure.

Even now just thinking of Professor Verdus made her stomach twist thanks to those lost gold coins, but seeing him teach his disciples might make her feel a little better.

At least she could think her gold coins weren’t entirely wasted.

‘Hmm. She’ll attack for sure.’

Lee Han was convinced.

The moment they reached the classroom, Lagesa would attack!

“Lady Lagesa. Do you really think Professor Verdus will teach well?”

“I know what you’re thinking, brat. But I’m not expecting to see Bible teach like Garcia! That’s an absurd expectation. Just being better than the last time I saw would be enough.”

Lagesa seemed more lenient when it came to Professor Verdus.

Lee Han guessed it was because if she set the bar too high she’d just end up clutching her own neck.

“What was he like last time?”

“Last time, he didn’t want to teach and just sent his students to other schools instead.”

“……”

• * *

But to Lee Han’s surprise, his prediction was wrong.

Professor Verdus wasn’t in the classroom.

“Where did Professor Verdus go?”

“They said he wasn’t coming today because of an assassination threat. Well, with so many outsiders around, there very well could be assassins. Senior Yukveltire will be teaching in his stead.”

A senior nearby explained kindly.

Hearing that, Lee Han was impressed.

‘No wonder he’s survived this long!’

He’d long wondered, ‘How does Professor Verdus stay alive with so many enemies?’ and now he felt he’d gotten part of his answer.

To think he’d skip lecture to avoid Lagesa’s attack.

“That rat bastard, seriously!”

Of course, from Lagesa’s perspective, it was incredible.

She’d come to see how he taught, and he cut class altogether.

If he had such creativity, maybe he should use it on research instead of skipping lessons.

“It’s alright, Lady Lagesa. The lecture will go just fine without the professor.”

It might even go better.

“Of course it’ll go well. Any random student here could teach better than Bible!”

“Who is it that’s sharing such great words?”

One of the seniors whispered to Lee Han.

At first, she wondered which pirate had entered the classroom, but the wisdom was nice to hear.

“Torgard’s daughter, Admiral of the Southern Privateer Fleet, Lady Lagesa.”

“What?! The one who invested in Professor Verdus?!”

“…She has much better titles, so why is that the one people remember…”

No sooner had she finished speaking did the students crowd around.

“Hello, Lady Lagesa. I’m Barglios from House Elbali…”

“I’ve come up with a new research topic this time…”

Reading the greed in the students’ eyes, Lagesa growled and warned them fiercely.

“If any brat here thinks I’m easy because I invested in Bible, I’ll break their skulls with a chain.”

“……”

The students quickly scattered. Lagesa cursed while taking a pinch of snuff.

“Coming to Einrogard really never puts me in a good mood!”

“Then let’s begin the lecture.”

Yukveltire checked the time and spoke. Unlike when Professor Verdus was there, the students eagerly raised their hands.

“Senior. I have a question. When I try to put a ruthenium alloy into my staff, the magic just keeps scattering whenever I cast spells. Why does this happen…”

“When you use metal in a staff, you have to understand the metal’s properties perfectly. Some metals are incompatible with certain magic elements. The scattering with ruthenium alloy happens with wind-element spells, right? Add a restriction to the spell or reinforce with more metals to mitigate it.”

“Senior, what’s wrong with my staff? I managed to get an answer from Professor Verdus after asking countless times, and all he said was that it was just junky.”

“It’s the design. You gather magic at the bottom but disperse it at the top. That’s the reverse of what you want.”

‘Huh?’

Lee Han was stunned.

He’d expected Yukveltire to teach like Verdus, but she was a far better instructor than he thought.

Even when his friends said, “Senior Yukveltire teaches really well,” he’d stubbornly believed it must be a misunderstanding…

‘Amazing. Or maybe, it’s just that Professor Verdus is particularly weird.’

Thanks to Professor Verdus’s utter lack of sincerity, even Yukveltire just giving straightforward answers was enough to make her seem marvelous.

Honestly, Yukveltire didn’t have a big warm interest in her juniors or anything, like Professor Garcia.

But just answering the juniors’ questions was already a major achievement in Einrogard’s Enchantment Magic School.

In fact, other seniors were also tossing out questions, clearly set on learning a lot today.

“I see…! That’s it. Senior, would you look over a prototype I made and give me feedback?”

“You made it wrong.”

“……”

To have one’s masterpiece instantly dismissed with two words, the student’s face went white with shock.

Nearby friends who knew Yukveltire whispered,

“Hey, idiot. Only ask her necessary questions. You’ll just get chewed out if you don’t.”

“Just because she answers questions well doesn’t mean she’s Professor Garcia. Think of her as Bible Professor with added functionality.”

‘Isn’t that a bit much?’

Lee Han thought to himself.

Of course, he couldn’t deny that Yukveltire was a Little Verdus, but still—’functionality upgrade’…

‘…Actually sort of true, though…’

“Ask your question.”

Yukveltire motioned at Lee Han to ask.

She was proceeding with her prepared lecture plan. The next junior had to ask a question in order.

“Ah, yes. Greetings, senior. I am preparing a staff that can unseal a high-ranking spirit and withstand much stronger output. I’m also considering which metal materials to use, but so far…”

Lee Han took out a piece of paper with his staff design drawn on it.

A blue gem from the Frost Giant King, a teleportation stone, and an Echoing Stone, all inset, and the powers of a wood spirit detailed here and there.

Recovery Power (magic recovery) – If you want to use more magic, why not just stick black magnetite in?
Life Power (plant growth) – Needs rare wood. Check the professor’s warehouse.
Endurance Power (staff durability) – Needs to face stronger enemies. This guy’s crazy.

“……”

“Hey. Only ask necessary questions,” whispered the senior next to Lee Han in concern.

Yukveltire, if you just recited your research project in that way, would immediately use insulting expressions.

-I said ask a question, not tell your life story.

-Why say things nobody even asked about?

The moment you went off-topic with unnecessary talk, the insults would start flying.

“But I really do need advice…”

“You should just ask us. Unless you want your whole life denied.”

“So?”

“!?”

The students next to Lee Han were shocked by Yukveltire’s reaction.

They expected an IQ-insult barrage, but instead, she actually replied, “So?”

“I wanted overall advice, actually.”

“Putting in black magnetite is an interesting idea. Usually, putting a mana-absorbing substance in a staff is borderline taboo, but there can be exceptions. Did the Frost Giant King give you that gem?”

“Yes.”

“How’d you get it?”

“That’s a long story, actually.”

“…Then tell me later. Who made this Echoing Stone?”

“That, um…”

Yukveltire, uncharacteristically, showed patience listening to her junior’s story.

Of course, it was because the story was much more interesting than usual.

But she thought of it differently.

‘Direte. See, I am taking such good care of the juniors.’

She really was making a big concession, as Direte advised, showing kindness to her juniors. Yukveltire felt Direte ought to be moved to tears when he heard of it.

“Try making a prototype with this combination.”

With swift pen strokes, Yukveltire proposed a method.

It was a staff suggestion quite bold for its time. It started with black magnetite—a mana-absorbing stone—and made a staff strong enough to support a powerful awakened ancient spirit.

There was the issue of it eating up huge amounts of mana, but Yukveltire didn’t worry about that.

Her junior would take care of it!

“Thank you, senior.”

“Of course you should thank me.”

“……”

As Lee Han pulled a wry face, Lagesa nodded in approval from the back and stood up.

“I must have misjudged you. I had a bias just because you were Bible’s disciple. This is much better.”

“Greetings, Lady Lagesa. I’m glad you’ve finally realized it,” Yukveltire replied calmly.

Other students in the classroom were impressed.

‘Truly insane.’

‘Maybe she actually was just being polite to us too.’

She obviously just said that much to the juniors because she had no real interest, but in front of an outside investor, to say that… It was awe-inspiring.

“…Yes. What happened with the master, stays with the master—it’s got nothing to do with their disciples!”

“That’s right. Then, let me tell you again what I need…”

“Senior, senior! I’ll convey it for you, just tell me instead!”

Unable to take it anymore, Lee Han stepped in and blocked Yukveltire.