Episode 1031

Episode 1031

“…Alright, I understand for now.”

It was confusing and bewildering, but, as expected, a Great Mage really was different.

He quickly regained his composure.

He still couldn’t quite understand the youngest for showing such grand ambitions without a hint of greed…

…But the great artist decided to just accept it as it was for now.

“If you’re determined to bear the empire’s most tragic and pitiful fate and voluntarily become a sacrifice mage to be burned, how could I say anything about it.”

“……”

Lee Han looked at the artist with a displeased expression.

He said he understood, but his attitude didn’t seem accepting at all.

“I feel like you’ve already said plenty about it…”

“But you should keep in mind that even before you, apprentices who tried the same thing suffered miserable fates.”

The artist didn’t give up easily.

With everything he had seen and experienced until now, it was too much to simply say, ‘Alright, give it your best shot,’ just because of a word from the other person.

If the other’s resolve was firm, then he’d approach it slowly, like spring sunlight thawing the eyes of winter.

“Let me guess why you came. Since you came with the two professors… I suppose you were asked by the Petrogarde mages, who found me suspicious?”

“!”

Lee Han was startled by the sudden topic change.

Standing before someone so sure, he thought denying it would only irritate them, so Lee Han decided to admit this as well.

“I won’t deny it.”

“It’s only natural to be concerned. Most of the Headmaster’s former apprentices stir up all kinds of trouble and turbulence, after all.”

The great artist didn’t get angry at the Petrogarde mages.

It’s not like the other was the Headmaster, so there was no reason to get angry.

And he could understand their concern, since all of the Headmaster’s former apprentices had a few unstable aspects.

“But there’s no need to worry in advance. Either way, once I finish what I want, I’ll leave. Causing a disturbance is actually more dangerous.”

“A disturbance?”

Lee Han wondered if causing a disturbance would make the Headmaster come flying in.

But the artist shook his head.

“I may have left my order, but there are many who don’t see it that way. There’s no reason to shout my identity and attract enemies, is there?”

The great artist was actually even more wary of other enemies than the Headmaster.

There were many enemies, starting with magical criminals, around the Headmaster, and even if the artist declared, ‘I’m no longer an apprentice!’ it wasn’t very convincing to those enemies.

“I see. Wait, in that case, do we not need to worry about the Headmaster?”

“That’s not it.”

‘So that’s not the case…’

Though the Headmaster wouldn’t be as proactive as the other enemies, there was no benefit in going out of his way to alert the Headmaster to his presence.

No matter if the artist himself felt he had no debts left, there was no way of knowing if that eccentric man felt the same way.

“I don’t want to cause a scene or start fights at all. So if you want me to leave Petrogarde, there’s only one way to do it.”

As he spoke, the great artist pointed at Lee Han. Lee Han asked in a tense voice.

“A duel?”

“…Did you not hear me just say I have no intention of starting a fight?”

“Ah. I’m sorry. Force of habit because of the professors.”

“You’ll be helping with my work.”

“Me?”

Lee Han looked puzzled.

Leaving aside the difficulty of assisting a Great Mage’s work, above all else…

“Wouldn’t the professors be better?”

“I don’t want to spend even one second with those dim-witted traitors.”

“…Ah, yes.”

• * *

“Don’t worry too much. There was probably an error in the teleportation.”

Dalsere tried to comfort the two professors.

Especially in Professor Garcia’s case, he cared greatly for and worried about his students, so this must be even more shocking for him.

But, in truth, there wasn’t much reason to worry in this situation.

After all, nothing magical had interfered, nor had any enemies attacked—which meant it was just a glitch in a space magic spell.

At most, Lee Han must have exited through another carriage door, so it stood to reason that he was somewhere within Petrogarde’s territory.

“I’m not worried about Student Lee Han. Honestly, that kid would manage no matter where he ended up.”

The students in the back were a bit surprised by Professor Garcia’s words.

Of course, they agreed, but Professor Garcia was usually a bit more…

…Wasn’t he a little more caring than this?

“Aren’t you being just a little unconcerned?”

“Frankly, maybe it’s just Wardanaz’s own fault…”

As the students whispered, Professor Garcia continued to speak.

“Right now, what’s worrying me is the Headmaster’s former apprentice. If anyone makes a rash approach while Lee Han’s not there, we might all get kicked out on the spot.”

“You’re exaggerating a bit, aren’t you? Still, they’re your fellow alumni.”

Dalsere thought Professor Garcia was overstating things.

Surely, the great artist wouldn’t just refuse to even hear a word and cast out his juniors from the same school, right?

But Professors Garcia and Voladi shook their heads gravely.

“…R-really??”

“Yes.”

The apprentices who fled from under the Headmaster’s tutelage—whether they were pre- or post-Einrogard—didn’t care much for the faculty.

They were generally treated as the Headmaster’s lackeys, agents, spies, etc.

And, to be fair, that wasn’t even completely wrong.

“We need to find Student Lee Han quickly and go with him. Otherwise, we could all be thrown out except for Lee Han.”

-The Wardanaz family, was it? Truly lucky. To have the chance to meet the great artist alone like that.

-The artist must be trying to pass on enlightenment. It’s a great opportunity for the barbarian descendants of Einrogard.

“……”

“…Found him.”

The group let out a sigh of relief.

It was a wonder how he had managed to find the place again so quickly, but at least the immediate danger was over.

Tap tap-

Professor Voladi lightly tapped Professor Garcia on the shoulder.

“What’s wrong?”

“I think we should stop them.”

“?”

Professor Garcia was puzzled by the senior professor’s words.

“Are you worried? But that person really isn’t all that dangerous.”

Since he had entered Petrogarde and had gotten more information from the students, Professor Garcia was almost certain about the other party’s identity.

If he was right, the artist was not the kind to do something threatening. On the contrary, he might even pity and help Einrogard students.

“Wardanaz could be persuaded.”

“…Uh…”

Professor Garcia was momentarily speechless at an observation he hadn’t even considered.

Until now, he’d only thought about how to persuade the other party to leave Petrogarde, but now that he thought about it, the other party could try to persuade them, too.

Especially in a situation without the professors nearby.

‘That artist’ was the kind of senior who considered helping Einrogard students escape as his life’s work—a sacred duty.

If Student Lee Han was persuaded and decided to say, “Goodbye, Professors, I’m going to find my happiness and quit Einrogard” and then just left…

Alsicle, who had been listening in, widened his eyes and said,

“…Wait, but isn’t that a good thing? For Wardanaz, wouldn’t that make him happy… Why, why are you looking at me like that, Voladi Baegrek.”

Alsicle shrank from Professor Voladi’s gaze and tried to hide behind Professor Garcia.

Professor Garcia, looking annoyed, picked up Alsicle and put him back in place.

• * *

“Petrogarde is more boring than I thought.”

“Shh. Be quiet. You’re showing your lack of culture.”

The White Tiger Tower students tried hard to hide their boredom with the Petrogarde field trip.

They loved swords more than books, but there was no need to advertise that everywhere.

“But look, those Blue Dragon Tower guys are just as bad.”

-Ah! This is so damn boring!

Gainando shouted as he rolled back and forth on the grass.

Adenart tried to put as much distance between herself and him as possible. She really didn’t want to be thought of as part of the same group as Gainando.

“There were some decent paintings and sculptures, go take a look.”

Yoner, who had walked around with Nillia, commented.

But Gainando just snorted.

“I’d rather read a magazine again than look at that stuff.”

“Bored?”

“!”

Gainando opened his eyes in surprise at the Petrogarde student speaking to him.

Looking closely, it was the same Petrogarde student they had met on the way here, the one they’d mistaken for a corpse.

“You, you are…”

“It’s Bunarrojo.”

“G-Gainando. He’s imperial royalty.”

Adenart hurriedly pulled her hood over her head, glancing around nervously.

She was worried Gainando might say, “She’s also royalty.”

“I see. Gainando.”

“You’ve been goofing off outside this whole time. Why’d you come back?”

“Why are you angry?”

“I’m not angry!”

Bunarrojo didn’t understand why the Einrogard students were angry.

Some weird magic school students got angry just by seeing someone else play.

“Strange kid. I got everything I wanted, so I came back.”

Bunarrojo then started pulling out equipment.

Carving magic items like chisels, punches, hammers, and saws clinked and jangled as he arranged them.

The Einrogard students, who had been loafing around out of boredom, also gathered out of curiosity.

Would Petrogarde, true to its reputation, show off some impressive enchantment magic?

“Your Highness, what do you think of this sculpture?”

“It’s excellent. Though it does seem a bit rough…”

Bunarrojo replied to that.

“It’s my style.”

“Still, isn’t it too rough?”

The Petrogarde student shrugged and went back to work.

The wyvern statue, looking even rougher and fiercer than its original form, quickly took on its imposing shape.

“…Wait. Did you see that, Nillia?”

“Huh? Huh? I wasn’t dozing off.”

Nillia flusteredly replied to her friend’s question. Yoner pointed at the wings and asked.

“Look at those wings.”

“Wings? Uh… Wyvern wings don’t look like that. That’s inefficient. Has he never seen a wyvern?”

“…It just looks cooler this way.”

Bunarrojo, who hadn’t shown any emotion all day, stammered his reply.

But Yoner wasn’t bothered. That wasn’t the important thing right now.

“Didn’t those wings just move?”

“He hasn’t even cast magic yet, how could they move?”

The other friends nearby were puzzled.

That Petrogarde student had only done the carving so far, with no magic cast yet. The wyvern was just a lump of stone, unable to move.

“They can move.”

Bunarrojo answered, as if a bit annoyed.

“What?”

“I said they can move. Sometimes, when I’m fully inspired, the works themselves become magic even without me casting any spell.”

‘…Primitive magic!?’

Gainando grumbled as if not believing it, but a few sharp students realized what he meant and were shocked.

A form of magic that worked differently from current imperial magic.

Yoner thought to herself.

‘No way. For a statue like that to move, you’d have to layer multiple enchantments and transformation magics…’

There was a reason primitive magic hadn’t been adopted into imperial magic.

It was either too weak, inconsistent, or unstable—so there was no good reason to use it.

“Today isn’t bad at all. You all will get to see.”

“See what—huh!”

All the Einrogard students stood up.

The half-finished wyvern statue was slowly moving its wings.

Bunarrojo spoke with pride.

“Real magic should be able to summon magic that the mage themselves can’t even use or imagine. Like this.”

Bunarrojo himself couldn’t actually cast magic to make the wyvern statue come to life.

But sometimes, with inspiration and luck, such magic would randomly occur.

The wyvern statue slowly returned to stone. Bunarrojo lightly tapped the sculpture and said,

“I’m only at this level, but there are even more amazing mages. They realize even stronger and harder magic. Especially, the artist who’s here now is beyond imagination.”

“Beyond imagination?”

“He’s trying to breathe eternal life into his works.”

“…Shouldn’t we go get Wardanaz?”