Episode 905

The hamster was infuriated at being mocked when he’d meant to corrupt his questioner.

Even as Antagondals, once a magic criminal of greater magnanimity, he’d grown small-minded after being made a hamster.

No one, not even Antagondals, was immune.

“You really only came here to ask me about spelling?”

-Do you realize what you’re saying? You came to ask a tyrant about spelling?

“Yes.”

-……

The hamster, realizing Lee Han was being serious, fell silent, munching a nearby grape.

The grape tasted pretty good.

“Now that you’ve had your grape, please translate for me.”

-Go ask the tyrant. Even if I taught you, he’d get mad. And even if I did, would you really believe me?

“I’ll cross-check, so it’s fine.”

The hamster squeaked in annoyance and anger. This sassy, sharp-tongued young mage was so irritating.

But there was only one thing the hamster could do.

“…Come on. You can’t do this after taking the grape!”

When the hamster retreated to the back of his cage, Lee Han protested.

He could ask the Mad Clone, just as the hamster suggested, but Lee Han preferred to have a backup for everything.

And realistically, the Mad Clone might not teach him the spelling.

‘He hung up on me—it’s a real possibility.’

So it was all the more important to get an answer from the hamster now.

Lee Han took out more grapes and tossed them into the hamster’s cage. The hamster squealed with rage.

-I’ll kill you!

“You threatened the same thing last time. You’ve had your grape, now please translate. I’m busy.”

-What do they mix into Wardanaz family children? The soul of the demon king or something?

The hamster lamented.

He’d made many mistakes in his life, but joining Einrogard to pursue magical secrets was the most recent regret—right behind underestimating this brat.

Being overconfident when the kid was first captured… He wouldn’t be in this state if not for that.

He could accept his genius-level magical skill, but how could anyone have that much nerve…?

-Fine. I’ll translate it. But you must promise me one thing.

“Huh? But you’ve had your grape.”

-……

With great effort, the hamster held his tongue about the Wardanaz habit of making a huge deal out of a single grape.

“First, the translation. I’ll listen to your request after.”

-…Fine. Whatever.

The hamster surprisingly gave in.

His bargaining position was too weak, and translating a fairy-tale level story was hardly difficult at all.

If he turned Lee Han down, the boy would probably decipher it anyway.

Better to do the favor and try to wipe out his own debt.

-Once, at a magic school, there was a good student… damn it.

“Does ‘damn it’ go in there too?”

-Of course not.

“Do it right, please.”

-…The good student had his staff stolen…

It was a childish story, neither long nor complicated. Lee Han quickly took it down with his quill.

“Thank you. Then…”

When Lee Han tried to make a quick exit, the hamster shrieked with hatred. Reluctantly, Lee Han sat back down.

“I just fixed my posture.”

-My request is simple. Help me escape.

“What kind of insane nonsense is that???”

-……

Lee Han instantly dropped all formality, his polite manner vanishing.

-At least hear me out.

“No. I respect you as a magician, but this is too much.”

In truth, Lee Han respected Antagondals somewhat.

Not because he was a great magician, but because he might someday come after Lee Han; no need to add more grudges.

But risking his life to help was out of the question.

The Mad Clone was a hundred times scarier.

“Are you trying to get us both killed? You’ll make another hamster out of me?”

-You won’t become a hamster.

Unlike Antagondals, treated worse than a slave, Lee Han was considered a formal disciple by the Mad Clone.

Even if he burned down the workshop and killed a few villagers, he probably wouldn’t get turned into a hamster.

-And it’s not hard. You don’t have to do anything. Just open our cage while the tyrant is temporarily dissolved.

“???”

Not just absent, but ‘dissolved’?

The word choice made Lee Han pause.

“What do you mean ‘dissolved?’”

-Exactly what I said. Did you think I’d always be stuck in here?

The hamster, adopting the airs of a great archmage, spoke with the confidence of a chess master holding a trump card.

Lee Han was nervous. Had this hamster, or rather this magic criminal, been plotting something he didn’t know about?

“Explain.”

-There are people outside under my command. If anything happens and I lose contact, they’ll come in.

“……”

Lee Han thought of the already nearly-extinct intruders, but held his tongue. He wanted to see what else the hamster would say.

“Even if your people are skilled, they couldn’t beat my master.”

-True.

The hamster admitted easily.

That tyrant was on another level, even among archmages. There were few who had seized as many lost secrets of the ancients as him.

Veteran adventurers would be wiped out as soon as they met his gaze.

-But even the tyrant has a weakness.

The hamster explained calmly.

He was second to none and arrogant because of it; but nothing in the world was flawless.

The tyrant’s greatest weakness was being a magical sentient construct not truly of this world—a will that the world rejected.

What are called “worlds” or “dimensions” accept what is within and repel what is not.

This was why demons from other planes resorted to complex contracts to get here.

The headmaster’s “duplicates” were, strictly speaking, magical constructs that the world itself should have repelled.

But because each fragment was so powerful, they could periodically descend to the continent against the world’s rejection.

“Isn’t that kind of like a natural disaster? I’ve heard this before.”

Lee Han wasn’t shocked, since he already knew.

Just as a persistent toxin continues to poison an environment, the awakened magics of an archmage affected the world over time.

The headmaster’s clones appearing was similar.

-……

The hamster fell silent at having his mystical high state compared to environmental toxins, but quickly continued.

-I hid a spell in my servants’ souls. If their bodies are destroyed, a spell is unleashed from their souls.

“What spell?”

-A banishment spell for manifestations!

It amplifies the world’s connection and ejects magical constructs like unwanted foreign bodies.

The principle was simple, but the execution was advanced archmagic. Lee Han shivered, realizing the difficulty and depth.

To secretly plant that in subordinates’ souls as a contingency…

And it sounded like the henchmen themselves had no idea. Such thorough plans from a magical criminal sent chills down Lee Han’s spine.

If the Mad Clone haphazardly turned all the intruders into hamsters, the hidden spell would spring out and catch him off guard.

‘I’d better warn him immediately.’

Lee Han prepared to betray his promise to Antagondals in under a second and alert the Mad Clone.

It might hurt the magic criminal’s feelings, but Einrogard tradition was one of casual oath-breaking and lying.

Most of the intruders were apprehended, but those still at large could be dangerous. He should warn the giant or other mages…

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: Got it! I caught the last one!

Sir Clzenberg: Congratulations!

Iactus: Ugh! I’m jealous! Did you find the headmaster’s treasure?

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: Huh? They said no? They say they never stole anything.

Iactus: What? Don’t you know how to interrogate?

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: Who do you think you’re talking to? Of course I do. But they say they never stole it.

Iactus: Hah.

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: What? Do you suspect something?

Iactus: Just trying to hide the loot, huh?

Baquantalana: Agreed.

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: Agreed, my ass. I was dumb to tell you lot anything. Just die, all of you.

‘Uh.’

Before Lee Han could warn anyone, the -Einrogard Watchmen- club members relayed their news.

What happens if all the intruders are captured before meeting the Mad Clone?

“Uh, I have something to ask.”

-So you finally figured it out. I knew you would.

The hamster replied coolly.

The reason he told Lee Han, even knowing he might betray him, was simple.

If Lee Han told the tyrant, that proud being would personally move to catch the intruders!

Even present-day imperial mages were proud and noble, but ancient kingdom wizards were on another level entirely.

It would be humiliating for a teacher to have to be warned by his own pupil.

-If the tyrant gets banished, the spell trapping me will also be released. I’ll have plenty of time to escape before he returns. But I’d rather not be here when he does, so just open the cage. You wouldn’t want to clean up the burst flesh and blood, right? I swear to drop our grudge if you do this.

The hamster was magnanimous.

Normally, it would be a grudge never forgiven, but with Lee Han’s connections, no need to overdo it.

Once freed, they could just never cross paths again.

“That wasn’t what I wanted to ask, though.”

Lee Han felt sheepish.

Realizing the hamster had a point—warn the Mad Clone carelessly, and it could be more dangerous.

‘I should have phrased it differently. That was a close one.’

-Master, a student at Einrogard said, ‘Your master must be so weak he has to catch all the invaders himself,’ and insulted you.

-How dare they?! From now on, YOU will do all the menial chores.

That seemed the best approach.

‘No, actually, that’s not good for me.’

It was a message of pure loss for Lee Han.

-What did you want to ask, then?

“Um, what happens if all the intruders get caught by someone else? For example, if they’re captured by students, knights, or giants?”

-…That’s unlikely. Surely one will be caught by the tyrant. And why is a giant involved?

“……”

Lee Han fell silent. The hamster sensed an omen.

Even though his body was a hamster, his well-honed divination magic instinct remained.

-No way?

“Well… um… they’re all caught.”

-Don’t be ridiculous, brat! That’s impossible! Did all the Einrogard magicians go chasing invaders together or something?

“That’s what I’d like to know.”