Episode 889

The baby basilisk, who recovered first, shouted in disbelief.

-Is that your solution?!

He had expected a professor to be able to calm down the overgrown mandrake and stop its wailing, but instead, “We were never here today!”?

But Professor Bendozol was unfazed.

“Dragon. If it were to accelerate growth, that would be one thing, but there’s no way to undo a mandrake that has already grown. Right now, this is the best option.”

B-but… Joulin feels a bit… guilty about this…

Of course, Joulin also showed reluctance.

Einrogard students or professors might not care, but Joulin still had an outsider’s sensibility.

“Dragon. It’s fine if you reveal the truth. I myself do not care in the slightest.”

-…Why don’t you care?

The baby basilisk was flabbergasted again.

Even though that was another professor’s classroom in complete chaos, how could he not care…?

“But Dragon. If I may say so, you are so merciful and good-natured that you even care about the trivial accusations of students. When I think about how pained you would be by that, my heart already aches, Dragon…!”

Bendozol thumped his chest with mad loyalty. The baby basilisk whispered in a terrified voice.

-He’s scary.

W-well, he has a point.

-…?!

The baby basilisk was shocked that Joulin’s attitude had changed so quickly.

-Why?!

Well… Joulin… does not want to be scolded by Lee Han…

Joulin mumbled with his forepaws together.

Who cared about the other students, but if Lee Han got mad and said “You! Go back to the capital!” Joulin’s heart would probably stop from sadness.

At such a convincing reason, even the baby basilisk was momentarily speechless.

-Same here, honestly.

Right?

The baby basilisk fell into thought.

Should he tell the truth out of conscience and loyalty?

Or accept the suspicious professor’s vile suggestion and keep it secret?

-Keep it secret!

The baby basilisk decided like the king of serpents he was. Joulin, who had been agonizing as well, was relieved when his friend agreed.

Really??

-Yes! We were never here!

The baby basilisk wagged his tail as he declared, and Joulin flapped his wings in response.

Seeing this, Professor Bendozol’s eyes grew moist.

Maybe this was why he worked as a professor at Einrogard: to see such beautiful moments.

Yes! No one will ever know we were here!

“Excellent! I will also rip out my own tongue to keep this secret!”

Professor Bendozol got caught up in the atmosphere and shouted; the two of them quickly pulled away in fright.

• * *

Lee Han woke up and came downstairs, frowning.

“What’s wrong, Wardanaz?”

“I just… feel like I had a strange dream…”

“I think I know why. You always sleep in a chair, but did you sleep in a bed for once?”

“……”

Lee Han stared at Ahsan in disbelief, but the other students seemed to agree.

“Makes sense. Wardanaz, you should use your bed more.”

“Right. Private rooms are to sleep in, not just store books.”

“Enough, all of you.”

With a flick of his wand, perfectly toasted bread flew out of the frying pan over the fire.

At the same time, glass jars full of various jams, butter wrapped in brown paper, and ham cut after salting all arrived from the cupboard in turn.

Before they could be impressed by their friend skillfully using 5th-circle magic for chores, the Blue Dragon Tower students grabbed bread for themselves first.

When they were green, they would chat during meals, but now even they were true Einrogard students.

They knew messing around while eating only hurt themselves.

“Wardanaz, how many exams do you have next week? Did you already take them all?”

“…I told you I didn’t. Who keeps spreading these rumors?”

“I figured it was because Gainando bragged to the White Tiger Tower guys that you already finished all your exams.”

‘That bastard.’

Lee Han realized the culprit nearby and shivered.

Bantering with other tower students was one thing, but what was with spreading fake rumors…

“I’ll finish preparing over the weekend. Language lecture, transformation magic lecture… Oh, right. I have to check on the greenhouse.”

“I’ll come with you, I need to catch bugs too.”

“But Your Highness hasn’t woken up yet?”

The students watched in confusion as Joulin snored away in front of the fireplace.

“Shouldn’t we wake him up? He’d definitely sulk if we left him.”

“But why is he sleeping so long? Usually he’s up before us.”

Joulin was a young dragon.

In other words, basically an invincible being in terms of stamina.

He was always the first up, rolling around begging to go outside, so it was strange to see him still asleep.

“Your Highness. Your Highness?”

Mmm… Joulin didn’t do it…

“Do what?”

…Lee Han!

Joulin, belatedly waking up and seeing the students, blinked. His face had gone pale.

If Joulin had said anything strange just now, it was just sleep talk! It was just a dream!

“You didn’t say anything, though.”

…R-Really? Joulin is innocent!

“…??”

The students, including Lee Han, buzzed at Joulin’s strange reaction.

“Maybe Gainando came by at night, jabbed him with his staff, and ran away?”

“No way…would he really go that far?”

“You don’t know how jealous Gainando is.”

Meanwhile, Lee Han tucked the baby basilisk back into his sleeve.

Normally, the little guy would have been up and chattering away, but he was dozing off; Lee Han was puzzled.

‘What happened? Did the two of them do something last night?’

“Your Highness. We were going to head to the greenhouse. Would you like to come?”

Uh… uh, you’re going again? Isn’t that too much? Einrogard students are pitiable!

“Your Highness…!”

The students were moved.

How merciful!

Some of them decided that when they graduated, they would join the imperialist faction that supported “Joulin for Emperor.”

Given the gentleness a dragon was showing now, he was more than qualified.

“We have to go. That new sprout needs to be planted, too. It’s ready, right?”

-Don’t worry! You’ll be amazed!

Saratan rubbed his hands together in a sly, crafty manner.

After being punished recently, this arrogant and fierce spirit had been thoroughly cowed.

“Good. I trust you. The spirit inside my wand said he’d help raise my mandrake. Your Highness, let’s go together? I’ll show you some plants you didn’t see yesterday.”

“Wardanaz, most of the plants you didn’t see yesterday are ones that attack people…”

“So what. Your Highness would enjoy those even more.”

You couldn’t scratch Joulin’s scales with most plants. Knowing what Joulin liked, Lee Han made the suggestion without hesitation.

J-Joulin might be a bit scared…

“?!??”

Lee Han was genuinely shocked.

“Your Highness, did something happen? If staying at Einrogard worries you now, you can always return…”

No, no, that’s not it!

“Gainando didn’t attack you with magic last night and run away, right?”

Absolutely not… Joulin will visit the greenhouse…

Joulin looked at the baby basilisk napping in his sleeve with envy.

If only Joulin had slept, too!

• * *

“You won’t change your story later, will you?”

-Don’t worry. I said you’d be amazed, didn’t I?

Lee Han continued to harass the spirit every five minutes on the way.

The friends, not sure what grudge Lee Han had, whispered to each other.

-Isn’t Wardanaz too harsh on his spirit?

-Must be the Wardanaz family way. You need authority to subdue strong spirits.

-Ah, so that’s why the spirits run away…

Wooooooong!

A distant, oppressive vibration rang out from the greenhouse, and all the students instinctively covered both ears.

…Except for Lee Han.

“What’s that?”

“W-Wardanaz, the greenhouse… in the greenhouse…!”

“It must be a mandrake that’s been pulled!”

Yoner, quickest to grasp the situation, shouted. If you could hear it outside, it had to be a mandrake among the greenhouse plants.

“Everyone! Take a potion!”

“Thanks, Yoner!”

“Not you, Lee Han!”

“…I know.”

Yoner snapped at Lee Han to hand out the potions, and Lee Han felt a bit hurt.

It’s not like taking it would have any effect on him anyway…

‘No need to say it like that!’

Students who managed to grab spirit-protection potion and mandrake earmuffs breathed sighs of relief.

“Why did a mandrake get pulled?”

“No idea…?”

As Lee Han approached the greenhouse, he paused.

He noticed a magical seal on the greenhouse door he hadn’t seen before.

‘What’s this? Was it Professor Willow who put it there?’

But if Professor Willow had, there was no reason not to tell the students.

Rather than break the seal, Lee Han decided to check the situation inside first.

“……”

He then recoiled in shock, taking several steps back.

“What’s wrong, Wardanaz?”

“…Can mandrakes really grow like that?”

“??”

The friends, wondering what Lee Han was talking about, brought their faces up to the greenhouse window.

And recoiled in identical shock.

Normally, the screaming, human-like mandrake body was buried deep in the ground, with only its leaves and stalk barely showing.

But now, enormous mandrake leaves and stalk filled the greenhouse. They were so massive that the leaves covered half the greenhouse.

Other tower students, arriving late, were also shocked by the scene inside.

“What happened here?”

“Can mandrakes even grow like that?”

“Was it really screaming underground, not above? The mandrake never even came out??”

“If it’s this loud outside the greenhouse…”

“I know what it is!”

Everyone turned when Siana shouted.

“What do you know, Priest Siana?”

“I know why the mandrake turned out like that. Wardanaz.”

Striking a confident detective pose, Siana pointed her finger. At the tip of her finger was Lee Han’s wand.

“It’s the spirit in that wand who’s the culprit!”

-…????!!!!

Saratan, waiting with the sprout, shrieked as Lee Han suddenly made him the culprit.

Of course, only Lee Han could hear Saratan.

“No one but that spirit could have grown the mandrake like that. And that spirit had motive! Since he’s got a grudge against Wardanaz, it wouldn’t be strange if he twisted the order!”

“Of course… It’s spirit vengeance…!”

“So that’s what he meant by ‘wait a day’!”

All the students were impressed by Siana’s deduction.

Strong and ferocious beings from other dimensions might be bound by contract, but they were never easy to deal with.

They always looked for a loophole to trip up the contractor.

-It’s not true! Absolutely not! That damned baby wizard brat is framing me! I’ll kill him!

Saratan raged.

It was humiliating enough to be subjugated by a child, and now he had to make excuses!

But even Lee Han half-believed Siana’s theory now.

“Come to think of it, didn’t you say we’d be surprised when we got to the greenhouse?”

-……