Episode 904

Whoosh!

A heat different from before burst forth.

A condensed, destructive flame of a different quality than ordinary fire.

If ordinary flame produces heat via the chemical process of substances combining with air, blue flame was a magical fire, uniting the concepts and information of “burning” itself.

A flame that would burn even fireproof equipment or substances theoretically impervious to fire.

After Lee Han passed both the second and third stages, Professor Jorzik’s euphoria reached a peak.

Already, in his mind, he could hear colleagues at gatherings, chanting that Jorzik should become headmaster of Einrogard for nurturing such a student.

“Marvelous!”

“Is there anything I can improve, Professor?”

Lee Han asked while maintaining concentration.

If there was anything to improve, he wanted to fix it immediately.

“If there was, I’d tell you at once. Perfect score, Wardanaz!”

Pop!

Releasing the blue flame, Lee Han let out a sigh of relief.

The practice had paid off. As expected, he’d passed the test.

“I’ll be going now, Professor.”

“Oh, oh? Go ahead, then.”

“See you next time!”

He hurriedly said goodbye and left the classroom.

He finished so early that none of the seniors had arrived yet.

Watching his student’s back, Professor Jorzik muttered,

“I was going to ask why he’d finish up through to the finals in one go, but… there’s no need, then.”

On reflection, asking for a reason would have been silly with a student like Wardanaz.

Like asking a bird why it flaps its wings—nobody does that.

Just as a wizard ought to pursue knowledge, that boy pressed forward for knowledge with all his might.

Professor Jorzik gazed after his student, full of anticipation.

Just how much achievement would this student show him this year? The thought alone was thrilling.

• * *

Lee Han, focused solely on finishing his exams quickly, didn’t notice the hints of incongruity in Professor Jorzik’s reaction.

He threw himself immediately into the next test.

“Professor, here is the dimensional map.”

“Excellent. However…”

Professor Millei adjusted her monocle with a slight frown.

For the -Tragic History of Ancient Relics and Summoning Magic- exam, students had to visit another dimension and complete a map.

With Arsil’s help, Lee Han, of course, completed the map faster and more accurately than any other year.

But…

Relic of the frost giant (check this)

Relic of the frost giant (do not pass by, must check)

Relic of the frost giant (really do not skip, absolutely must check)

There were strange notes on the map.

They all said ‘relic of the frost giant.’

And not just once—multiple times!

The handwriting looked as if someone was forced to go somewhere they didn’t want to, pressing hard into the page.

Remembering how students had once babbled about “found a relic guarded by a frost giant” or “how do we steal it”, the elderly professor asked,

“What is this? Is this the relic the students talked about earlier…?”

“Yes.”

“I told you to complete the map, not to find relics.”

Millei said in her usual crisp tone.

She wondered whether Lee Han, the boy from House Wardanaz, had misunderstood the assignment.

“No. This was just my personal memo. I plan to check it one day.”

“You marked the relic’s location so you could check it in person?”

“Yes.”

“……”

Millei raised her eyebrows, then swiftly started writing with her quill.

“Is there a problem with the map?”

“The map is perfect.”

While making her note, Millei recalled Professor Lightningstep.

She’d wondered what Lightningstep meant about Wardanaz seeming a bit crazy lately—but now she understood.

Setting out to deliberately acquire a relic guarded by a powerful race like frost giants?

Sometimes, if a student is too smart, it’s worrying in a different way.

Taking off her monocle and rubbing her nose, Professor Millei remembered having similar problems teaching Professor Garcia.

‘No, this is even worse than Garcia.’

“Professor, I’ll head out now.”

“Any more exams today?”

By now, it was dusk, so she assumed he didn’t have any more tests scheduled.

Lee Han’s answer made Millei look puzzled.

“Senior Jarun of the Steelshoe family said I could submit early, if confident.”

“…?”

Millei grasped what he meant a beat late.

Jarun of the Steelshoe family was a fourth-year student under Professor Yonramo.

So the test Lee Han meant was clearly a transformation magic test.

And that last bit, ‘if confident, submit early’…

‘He didn’t really mean to submit this early, did he?’

She thought to point this out, but Lee Han had already finished his farewell and exited the room.

The professor shook her head and sighed.

• * *

Lee Han was tearing through exams at a record pace for Einrogard’s history, but few took notice.

It was hard for anyone except professors to know what he was up to.

From the perspective of his seniors, their only reaction was, “Wardanaz is always busy,” or, “Well, that makes sense, since he takes every department’s lectures.”

A few seniors like Direte—who helped professors and cared about junior students—felt unease, but Lee Han moved too fast to ask.

“Yukveltire, don’t you think something’s strange?”

“Hm.”

“Why run around so much during exams? Did I get his schedule wrong? There’s no reason to go over there, is there?”

“Hm.”

“Are you even listening to me?”

“Hm.”

Smack!

“?!”

As Yukveltire stood there, stunned from a slap on the back, Lee Han dashed off toward the next exam.

Professors thought, “Is Wardanaz finally testing his true limits?”—but Lee Han had troubles of his own.

Some exams could be finished fast, but others couldn’t.

Surprisingly, even Lee Han had difficult tests.

For this midterm, that was Professor Rosine’s -Languages of the Empire That Become Your Blood and Flesh- exam.

‘What the heck is this script?’

“All right! This is your exam—decode this before the end of the week!”

“That’s just not fair, Professor!”

“■ ■■■■■?”

“…What?”

“I said you can’t hear? Well! Good luck to everyone!”

The exam, which involved deciphering documents written in the script of some tiny kingdom not even recorded in the histories, was unsolvable even by a top student unless he poured in time and effort, guessing letter by letter.

“Wardanaz, let’s hit the library… Wait, where’s Wardanaz?”

“Uh, I don’t know?”

Friends searching for Lee Han were flustered at his sudden disappearance.

They thought he’d be at the library with them.

But there was a reason Lee Han was gone.

‘I just remembered.’

He had figured out a way to break through a test that would otherwise take ages.

That was to ask someone who would know—someone knowledgeable about this script.

—Wardanaz!

The giant, sitting hunched, guarding the entrance, spotted Lee Han and leapt up.

“Hello.”

—What brings you? Here to see the sheep?

“No, I have something to ask about the exam.”

Thinking it over, he realized the best way to decipher ancient scripts was to ask an ancient person.

Once he had that thought, Lee Han immediately contacted the Mad Clone.

—Teacher, may I ask you something?

—What sort of magic is it?

—Can you read this document?

—…I can, but the content is weird. It’s the sort of sample that would only appear in a schoolchild’s exam…

—Exactly. It’s my exam. It’s a bit too hard for me, so I wanted to ask… Teacher? Teacher?

The Mad Clone, connected via the Stone of Echoes, hung up coldly.

But Lee Han didn’t give up. Sincerity melts even a frozen heart.

Even the giant admired Lee Han’s idea.

—Wardanaz is clever! Those who ask the knowledgeable when they don’t know—wise!

“Ha ha. Thank you.”

—Go in!

With the giant yielding, Lee Han moved toward the workshop.

There, he was greeted by Steward Intarendals.

“Master Lee Han of the Wardanaz family, welcome. What brings you here?”

“I came to ask Master something.”

“!”

Intarendals’ face lit up.

Lee Han, while talented, was a bit lacking in zeal for his teacher’s taste.

So for him to visit in person like this—Intarendals was sure it meant his master’s wisdom and excellence were inspiring.

A fine teacher raises fine students, after all.

“Come in! What would you like to know?”

“I got ancient script on my exam and didn’t really know it, so I came to ask. I tried the Stone of Echoes and got no answer.”

“……”

Intarendals looked dissatisfied at such a trivial-sounding question.

It was good for Lee Han to seek with passion… but this was a bit…

“…This isn’t something you could do alone? You’re a Wardanaz. Even the sentences look easy.”

“How can you say that? There’s no such thing as a lowbrow question. If you don’t ask easy questions, you’ll never ask the hard ones.”

“But this one just seems so simple?”

Intarendals would have usually let it pass, but even he was shaken by how easy it was.

The content of the document contributed.

Once there was a good student in a magic school. The good student was robbed of his staff and cried. Then a good professor came and said…

“And Lord Gonadaltes is away at the moment.”

“It’s not that he’s dodging me, is it?”

“Of course not.”

Despite the rude core of the question, Intarendals didn’t get angry. He was an exceedingly patient steward.

“Lord Gonadaltes regularly checks and inspects the magic in the area…”

—Little brat is here.

A voice like a hamster trying to imitate human speech rang out.

Lee Han looked and saw that, inside a cage, one hamster was glaring at him murderously.

“You! Did you learn human speech at last?!”

—If I could just use magic right now, I’d turn you into a hamster, brat.

“Wait, it wasn’t me. I didn’t do it.”

Lee Han protested, but the former magic criminal turned hamster wasn’t interested in hearing it.

As always, a master’s guilt is passed to the student.

“I’ll give you grapes! Let it go!”

—What brings you, this time?

“I came to ask something.”

—Magic? If it’s magic, I can teach you.

The hamster spoke in a greasy tone.

Of course, there was no intention of teaching proper magic. He only planned to pass on knowledge leading to ruin.

“Really?!”

—…?!

But Lee Han’s reaction was beyond the hamster’s expectation.

“Then, could you interpret this?”

—…Once upon a time in a magic school… What the hell kind of crap is this, you brat?!