Episode 1040
by CristaeWhile the newly appeared imperial millionaire was clearing out the auction halls one by one, another wizard, second to none when it came to wealth, was making his entrance elsewhere.
It was Jandanni of House Alzadrk, a fourth-year from Baldrogard.
“Senior, isn’t this a bit wasteful?”
“Wasteful?”
A fellow Baldrogard enchantment major researching gem magic fretted, but Jandanni only questioned him in return.
Waste? Where was the waste in what Jandanni had done?
“Even so, buying things out before the auction starts by offering extra seems a bit… wasteful…”
“Hahaha.”
Jandanni laughed heartily.
This junior, who was highly regarded even within Baldrogard, sometimes showed this kind of timid side despite his remarkable talent.
-Isn’t tomorrow the exam? Shouldn’t we study magic rather than go hunting?
-There’s nothing to worry about. The professor’s coming too. What matters more than magic is the friendship between students.
That kind of reaction was understandable coming from such a junior.
Buying things out through negotiation before the auction even started by paying a huge sum.
You could call it wasteful from one perspective.
But it wasn’t wasteful at all.
“As a Baldrogard student, squabbling at an auction hall with others is far more wasteful.”
“Riiight…”
The junior trailed off.
He acted like he bought it, but a close look revealed clear disbelief.
‘Couldn’t we just join the auction and save money?’
He thought about asking students from other schools whether it was just them who avoided buying with extra gold like this…
Eastern Gatherers’ Guild Potion Auction (Rare Potions in Bulk)
“Oh!”
Spotting a promising auction, Jandanni straightened up and approached the attendant.
“I’d like to buy this in advance—!”
“Sorry.”
“?!”
Jandanni was shocked.
There was something money couldn’t buy?!
“Why? If you’re worried about the amount, reconsider after seeing this seal.”
“Would I dare doubt the credit of a noble from House Alzadrk?”
The attendant hastened to clarify without losing manners.
“It’s not possible because it’s already been purchased by someone else.”
Eastern Gatherers’ Guild Potion Auction (Rare Potions in Bulk)
(CONCLUDED)
With that, the attendant hung out a sign. Only then did Jandanni realize he was a step late.
“Who would dare—!”
“Uh, can someone else still…?”
“Unforgivable!”
Jandanni was genuinely furious.
His junior, unaccustomed to Jandanni ever losing his temper, was bewildered.
“Think about it. If some upstart takes the gems we need before us, then what?”
“That would be…frustrating, sure. But what can you do?”
Jandanni ignored his junior and moved on.
Once bitten was enough. As a proud Baldrogard student, he couldn’t let himself lose twice.
But shortly thereafter, Jandanni was defeated again.
“Sorry.”
“Someone else.”
“Already…”
“Grrr!”
When he did it to others, it felt great—but being on the receiving end was infuriating.
Jandanni stamped his foot and looked around.
At this point, honor aside, it was becoming a practical problem.
‘I need expendables for second semester.’
Usually he dismissed cheap gems and potions, but not having them at all would be its own hassle.
Even if he got them through other channels, it’d take time and come in smaller quantities.
“If we’re careful and ration—”
“No! It has to be plentiful!”
People called that “wasteful,” but Jandanni didn’t see it.
-Antique Chess Relic Auction, -Trick Artifact for Mage Cards Auction, -Southern Wine Auction, -Petrogarde Art Auction, -Eastern Riders’ Guild Mount Auction, and so on. Jandanni desperately scoured the halls for gem and potion auctions.
“!!!”
He stopped dead, eyes wide.
A flashy flyer had caught his eye.
“Senior! That’s Baghni’s Red Diamond!”
A diamond engraved by the fire-mage Baghni centuries ago—his junior was stunned and shouted.
The moment he saw it, all other failed gems vanished from Jandanni’s mind.
He had to have it!
“Attendant! I’ll buy that! Five times the price—”
“Five times, you say?”
‘Just in time!’
“Yes!”
“Please wait.”
The attendant at the entrance sent a paper bird to someone.
A moment later, they wore a troubled expression.
Jandanni, who had exulted in a fleeting taste of victory, felt his heart sink at that face.
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“There is a competing advance-bidder. That party has offered ten times the price. According to our rules…”
“Urrrrgh!”
Jandanni let out a wail fit for a failing Einrogard student.
It was humiliating.
And the worst thing was that it was his own dithering that had lost him the prize!
-They already sold Baghni’s Red Diamond? The auction didn’t even start. The big spenders are out early.
-Told you. I heard a Wardanaz bought it.
-From Einrogard? That 5th-year, right?
-5th-year? Wasn’t it a 4th-year?
“!!!”
Like thunder, realization struck Jandanni.
The only Wardanaz mage likely to buy up second-semester supplies here was a single person.
“Damn…! If I’d known it was Wardanaz, I would’ve acted accordingly!”
Had he known his rival was from a high noble house, Jandanni wouldn’t have let his guard down.
He’d have anticipated that outrageous wealth and strategized for it.
‘Just wait. Next time, I’ll never lose. Even if I have to stake Baldrogard pride on it!’
- * *
“Found something decent!”
Madam Azirmo—or rather, the great artist—was well pleased.
To think she’d land Baghni’s Red Diamond here.
Baghni, a renowned fire mage, used to engrave his spells onto gems rather than in books.
If unlucky, the gem might contain a well-known spell, but with luck it might hold a rare, unknown Baghni spell.
“When you break it later, let me know what happens.”
“Ye—huh????”
Exceptional confusion hit Lee Han two beats late today.
Break it—what now?
“Why?”
“You want me to break it?”
“Well, yes…? Why do you think it’s red?”
“Because the ones who broke them wept tears of regret so deep the color stuck?”
The senior brushed off her junior’s nonsense and replied.
“You can’t see the magic inside without breaking it. Baghni wasn’t what you’d call a generous mage. …Wait. Don’t tell me you’re hesitating because you don’t want to break it?”
Suspecting, the artist asked.
Even when buying gems earlier, there was a sense of something odd about this junior.
Supposedly a Blue Dragon Tower kid, from a high noble family, wasn’t he?
“O-o-of course not!”
“Or do you already owe money?”
The great artist eyed Lee Han with suspicion.
For an Einrogard mage, debts weren’t surprising. One of the professors was famous as one of the empire’s biggest debtors.
When you crave a spell but can’t afford it, do you borrow or wait for later?
Most Einrogard mages went with the former. The better they were, the more they suffered the temptation of debt.
Considering Lee Han’s skills as the youngest…
“You’re not Professor Verdus, are you? No, I’m not.”
“You say it so strongly, it sounds even more suspicious. You’re oddly stingy in weird places for a noble.”
“Isn’t it weirder to get used to wasting money if I’m going to be at Einrogard for years?”
There was truth in Lee Han’s words.
The strict Headmaster didn’t let rich students spend as they pleased either.
If you got used to wasteful habits, you’d suffer once back at Einrogard.
But the artist shook her head.
“If you’re so worried, don’t be a cheapskate—learn how to accumulate gold. Even that madman is lenient toward income earned during the term.”
There were two pieces of advice the artist would give an Einrogard junior.
Work and smuggling.
The latter depended way too much on circumstances to give advice on, but earning money during the term could be coached.
“Hmm. Anyway, I do save up as much as I can…”
The artist smiled at the “cute” answer.
How much could a student in only his second year of Einrogard have possibly saved?
“Go on, tell me. I’ll give you pointers.”
“I started with what I earned during club week, then the gold I made over break…”
Lee Han listed the jobs and payments he’d done in his spare time.
Even without counting the inheritance from the chamberlain or silver coins from his friends, the artist’s face twisted in shock.
This kid’s already saved this much—so why’s he acting so poor!?
“They say people will start giving out requests in second semester—what would you recommend?”
“Hmph. Seems you already know what you’re doing.”
“!?”
- * *
“How could anyone raise mandragora so quickly?”
“I don’t buy it. I still say it’s a trick.”
“Watch your words. Are you insulting Professor Willow?”
“No, but even Professor Willow could make a mistake, being human and all.”
Right now, the members of the Horticulturist Club gathered in the hall had just one question.
How could anyone get mandragora to grow so fast?
“Zahraq’s purple poison?”
“That’s just not enough. It won’t work.”
“Ahlkan’s growth elixir?”
“That’d leave traces.”
“Dragon fire?”
“Don’t be crazy. Why not say it was some ancient mystical watering-can relic?”
Even people who considered themselves plant experts had no clue, which made it all the more frustrating.
The wilder their guesses got—up to “dragon’s breath”—the more flustered they sounded.
“Lady Azirmo has attended too. I hear she’s curious about the mandragora.”
“Makes sense.”
This batch was definitely worth the attention.
There had never been such a mysterious mandragora before.
“She might know. She’s an extraordinary mage.”
“True…! Good idea.”
Just then, the elegant noblewoman entered. The imperial horticulturists welcomed her and immediately bombarded her with questions.
“Welcome, Madam Azirmo! Have you seen this mandragora?”
“Indeed, I heard the rumors myself.”
“Any guess as to how it was raised?”
“Not sure. What do you think?”
The artist cocked her head, asking Lee Han as well.
Maybe he’d offer something new.
Lee Han replied without much thought.
“It was grown with dragon’s breath as a substitute for sunlight.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Why not just claim it was grown with an ancient mystical watering can already?”
The artist rebuked her junior without hesitation.