Episode 990

‘I was worried for nothing.’

Giselle decided that from now on, if Wardanaz ever said things like, “Dealing with insane spirits is exhausting,” “Dealing with a crazy demon is a pain,” or “Getting mixed up with those mad giants is so annoying,” she’d just ignore him.

After all, everyone sometimes says things they don’t really mean.

Even White Tiger Tower students, when offered a polo match right before big exams, would moan, “Ah, I really don’t want to do this, but I have no choice, just this once.”

Wardanaz was probably the same.

“Looks like this lesson deals with the science of learning.”

“?”

Sitting across from the mad clone, Lee Han tilted his head.

Right now, the mad clone was reading books on -Magical Algebra & Arcane Geometry-.

“Magical algebra and arcane geometry…”

“In the royal era, they weren’t called that. Much progress has been made in the content as well.”

“!”

Lee Han brightened.

If what the mad clone said was true, she might be a bit more lenient with this subject.

In the old days, even the terminology was different, less specialized, and many handy formulas now in use hadn’t yet been discovered.

So the current Einrogard students were actually ahead of expectations.

“Indeed. Then maybe we can just move on for this one?”

“But there are many places where carelessness shows. Any student should not just blindly memorize formulae, but understand and be able to prove them.”

‘Uh-oh.’

Lee Han suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.

It was an instinct, honed as a veteran student.

Don’t tell me…

“Go gather the other wizards. The royal will begin her lecture.”

“…Yes…”

As Lee Han left to fetch his friends, he thought,

‘Thank goodness -Magical Algebra & Arcane Geometry- is a second-year subject.’

Pain is easier to bear when shared with friends.

…Though he couldn’t guarantee his friends would feel the same…

• * *

“Wizard. With only a ruler and compass, construct a cube double the size of this cubic sanctuary.”

“Huh?”

With the others, Gainando had pulled up a chair and sat before the headmaster’s—I mean, the mad clone’s—lecture. Suddenly, he was caught off guard by the question.

“I… I can’t!”

“I figured.”

The mad clone nodded.

They had many imperfections, but as the disciple’s friends, their fundamentals were rather solid.

The problem she had posed simply didn’t have a solution.

“This is impossible to construct without recourse to vision or magic. It’s been a famous problem since ancient times. Twenty-three wizards died trying to solve it…”

“Wow. How’d you answer so fast?”

The Blue Dragon Tower kids were impressed.

Of course, on reflection it was a problem they’d learned before, so with thought, anyone could recall it—but Gainando answered instantly without hesitation.

Could it be Wardanaz’s lessons were finally producing results?

“I just said I couldn’t because I didn’t know.”

“……”

The others gave him a look of disdain and turned away. Gainando felt wronged for some reason.

All he did was answer that he didn’t know…

“Simply memorizing the impossibility and truly understanding why are different. As wizards, you must be able to explain it.”

The students, absorbed in the mad clone’s explanation, suddenly had a question and turned to Lee Han.

“Wardanaz. Wardanaz.”

“What is it?”

“Is this our final exam topic?”

This semester, -Magical Algebra & Arcane Geometry- had been rather exceptional.

With the professor absent, senior Yukveltire had taken over the lecture.

Fortunately, Senior Yukveltire’s lectures were far better than expected (at least compared to Professor Bu Mo’s lectures). Even those flustered by the professor’s disappearance had adapted by now.

But what the mad clone was teaching today was totally different from what Yukveltire had been focusing on.

What’s going on?

“Uh. Don’t think so? No way Teacher would know the topic anyway.”

“…So why is she teaching this?”

“Hm. Good question.”

Lee Han nodded at his friend’s words and raised his hand.

“Teacher.”

“What is it?”

“Our final is supposed to be on spirit polynomials, right? If we’re on track…”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“?”

The students murmured.

It doesn’t matter?

“What does that mean?”

“Is she canceling the final?”

“Can she even do that?”

“She’s the headmaster’s clone—maybe she has that authority…”

Regardless of the whispers, the mad clone’s expression didn’t change.

“What matters is you wizards tracing your discipline’s roots and recalling them.”

“……”

“……”

“I will begin anew. The purest, most artistic elements of arcane geometry are the straight line and the circle. Great wizards could conjure infinite transformations with just these two. Although many tools, magics, and laws have since been discovered, the wisdom within has never faded…”

“Wardanaz. What’ll we do?”

“This seems bad.”

“Quiet. Stand.”

“!”

A few chattering students—Gainando among them—were singled out and made to rise.

“Now, explain why the problem I just mentioned is impossible to solve.”

“Uh, that’s…”

“W-without magic or the help of spirits, that’s… It’s hard because… um…”

“To do what you just described, you’d need to construct irrational numbers with just lines and circles, and that’s impossible. The constructible numbers…”

“!!!!”

Everyone, including the other students standing, was shocked as Gainando rattled it off.

“Did Wardanaz teach you?”

“N-no way. If he can do that, he could teach a rock to sing.”

When Gainando’s explanation was done, the mad clone gestured and the standing students sat again.

“Not perfect, but you grasp the point. This time I’ll forgive it. If you disrupt the royal’s teaching in the future, expect proper punishment. Let all wizards beware.”

Seated, the friends discreetly gave thanks and signaled.

-How’d you answer that?

Gainando signaled back.

-Lee Han told me.

-What? When? There wasn’t time.

-He stuck a note to my hand with telekinesis as I got up.

“……”

The students were amazed.

It wasn’t the legendary prince’s magic getting scarier—but Wardanaz’s.

‘What a monster. How can he…’

‘How delicately can you handle telekinesis magic?’

‘What’s even crazier is that he timed it so Teacher wouldn’t notice!’

While the others marveled, and the mad clone lectured, Lee Han was thinking of something else.

‘Am I the only one taking a different final again?’

Surprisingly, Professor Knighten, who taught -Magical Algebra & Arcane Geometry-, had a whimsical educational philosophy of adapting the exam to the student’s level (in practice: Lee Han, and only Lee Han).

So since last year, he basically had to solve much harder problems solo. It was outrageous, even thinking back on it.

He’d hoped this year would be better with the professor away and the mad clone helping out…

‘No, maybe it’s worse.’

With study time lost to ancient history and lectures on the basics of geometry, was this really right?

As he mused, the mad clone called on him.

“Disciple, you’ll need to teach your fellow wizards.”

“What?”

“They’re not getting it. The royal needs someone to explain things at their level.”

Looking up, Lee Han saw his friends’ hollow, desperate faces.

Apparently, the mad clone’s questioning had steamrolled them all.

“Ah. That’s me, huh.”

At his answer, the mad clone nodded as if to say, “You finally realized.”

Lee Han grumbled inwardly as he got up.

‘Yeah. Definitely worse.’

• * *

The mad clone’s chamberlain, Intarendals, carried out the master’s orders and left the smithy in the mountains for Einrogard.

Thankfully, with the skeleton headmaster absent, there was no need to worry about the Death Knights.

With the headmaster in residence, even wandering near the main building by day would be unthinkable.

‘But… isn’t the master acting strange lately?’

Recently, Intarendals had sensed something off.

It was the sort of dissonance only a servant of long-standing loyalty could notice.

Who was his master?

A seeker of truth, hoping to solve the world’s void through magic—right?

True, a tragic accident had cost him his body and exiled him from the world itself, leaving him a mere remnant. But for a great archmage, such setbacks were just trials.

His current feats proved it.

How long had it been since the descent? He’d already found and started training a disciple to continue his legacy. That was more than great—it was a sign that the gods favored him.

But…

‘Then shouldn’t he be passing down knowledge even more boldly?’

The real reason for saving the disciple was so the master could fulfill the longing for completion that exile had denied him.

With that wretched skeleton headmaster gone and quiet, why wasn’t the master barrelling ahead more aggressively?

-Master. I think things have settled, so I’ll prepare to transmit advanced magic.

-No. Wait.

-Then… Small World…?

-No need for that.

-???!

-Wait. The royal has her own ideas.

Intarendals wondered if this meant the darker aspect within the master had awakened recently.

It had been surprising—but ultimately, expected.

Both the clone and Intarendals had always known such things were possible.

To lose one’s body, to be shunned by the world itself—that was what it meant.

Constant rejection, never knowing when disaster would strike.

…If even now the master feared being forcibly summoned away, shouldn’t he be driving the disciple even harder?

So why this languid pace? It was baffling.

Intarendals, more than just a chamberlain, wondered if it was time to offer some unsolicited counsel.

‘None of these supplies seem like things the Wardanaz Lee Han should inherit…’

The things he was carrying now were what the mad clone had instructed. Materials and reagents gathered since the descent, used to set up the smithy and wards.

And several books written by the mad clone.

All valuable items, but giving them now to such a relaxed disciple seemed almost careless.

“How strange… How is it the lesson content keeps increasing, even after the royal herself taught personally?”

“Isn’t it because Teacher keeps adding things that’ll never be on the test?!”

“!?”

Intarendals, witnessing the scene, nearly fainted.

What on earth was this?