Episode 1143
by CristaeLee Han glanced at his senior for a moment.
‘Would it be too much to dump this on them?’
No matter how you looked at it, it seemed unreasonable to make Yukveltire out as the one who beat up Count Buyong.
“I did do it, but strictly speaking, it wasn’t a beating…”
“You are my hero!”
“……”
Hug!
The stonemason guild members competed to hug Lee Han. They were so strong that Lee Han was pushed back by their force.
“You beat up Count Buyong!”
“It wasn’t a beating—I only seized things through proper procedures…”
“How and where did you hit him? Hm?”
Stingy clients were always resented by guild members.
And if there was a client even more resented, it was one who didn’t pay the fair price and tried to pull tricks.
Count Buyong was exactly that kind of client.
Many of the capital stonemason guild members had been robbed by Count Buyong in this way, and their grudge was so deep it could only be soothed by execution and dismemberment.
“…I punched him in the face the moment I saw him!”
Lee Han, half resigned, exclaimed.
What was the point explaining he’d only done what he had to? These guild members wanted a specific answer, so he decided to give it to them.
“Oh! So you could be so daring because you had evidence!”
“…Exactly. How would I have done that without proof?”
“Right. No matter how angry, a wizard always keeps their cool.”
“……”
“Can I talk about how you beat up Count Buyong during a lecture?”
“Come now, that’s unreasonable. What does that have to do with the lecture?”
“Beating up a cheat who withholds payment is an essential lesson.”
The stonemason guild members whispered to themselves. Thankfully, the mood wasn’t bad.
Successfully getting through the first meeting, Lee Han cautiously made a request.
“Um, I’d like to consult with you about the lecture content beforehand…”
“Ah. Understood. But there’s something I’m curious about.”
“What would that be? Did Count Buyong sustain internal injuries?”
“Oh. That does interest me, but I was actually asking why Professor Verdus isn’t here and it’s just two students.”
“……”
“……”
Lee Han and Yukveltire both fell silent.
Even if they were Einrogard’s second-year top student and a fifth-year senior, it was no easy task to mention a professor stuck in the punishment room.
‘Senior. Do something about this.’
‘H-how am I supposed to…’
Yukveltire couldn’t hide his embarrassment.
How could you put a positive spin on a professor being in the punishment room?
“…Senior here is so capable that she’s temporarily taking over Professor Verdus’ classes. It’s an Einrogard tradition, you could say.”
It wasn’t a lie.
After all, the more capable the student at Einrogard, the more they were saddled with professors’ duties—a tragic reality.
“That’s good.”
Yukveltire nodded, satisfied with her junior’s resourcefulness. Lee Han shot him a faint look of disdain.
Is this the time to be satisfied?
“I see. Understood. But can I ask just one more question?”
“What would you like to know?”
“Understandable about the princess, but why is Wardanaz, a mere second-year, involved…?”
“……”
The other stonemason guild members also nodded absently at that question.
Why was a second-year student discussing lecture content with them?
This time, Yukveltire took the lead. Her junior had shown quick thinking, so it was her turn.
“He’s helping me out of admiration and respect. As a fellow junior in the same school… Ack.”
Yukveltire let out a quiet yelp as her junior stepped on her shoe.
“Oh, sorry. I twisted my ankle.”
“……”
Ignoring the suspicious gaze of her senior, Lee Han took charge again.
“From what I heard from Professor Knighten, in the last class, you had students build models of buildings you’ve constructed and discussed magic and materials.”
“That’s right. But…”
The capital stonemason guild members suddenly looked skeptical.
Lee Han was baffled by the attitude change.
Why?
“…Professor Verdus is notorious for not providing necessary materials even for class. Can you really supply materials for the models?”
“Of course, that’s impossi— Argh.”
Yukveltire cried out again as her junior jabbed her side.
This was definitely not an accident. Yukveltire glared at her junior with teary eyes.
“Of course it’s possible. Just tell us the list, and I’ll bring it.”
“??”
Yukveltire, forgetting her pain, looked puzzled.
How in the world were they going to get the materials?
-How did you bring them?
The knights also wondered.
Surely you didn’t plunder your own supplies?
The heir had some generous tendencies, but even so…
“Um, well…”
Lee Han glanced at Professor Verdus beside him.
Oblivious as ever to the professor, Yukveltire replied confidently.
“We took them from Professor Verdus’ storeroom.”
“Mmmmmmph!!!!!”
Professor Verdus yelled ‘Thief!’ but no one cared. The knights were impressed.
-Now that you mention it, that makes sense! Why didn’t we think of that?
-It’s because we’re overly honorable.
“…Yes. I asked His Highness the Inspector and received permission to access the Hall of Sacred Engravings’ basement storehouse.”
-Did you also stock up on potions that the heir could use, aside from the lecture materials?
“Mmmph! Mmmph!!”
“No, I didn’t.”
-Oh, why ever not!
“We should go back and fetch some more, then…”
“Ah. Quiet, please.”
Lee Han answered, annoyed at the noisy senior.
He himself didn’t dislike raiding Professor Verdus, but there were limits.
If he took more than lecture materials, even Professor Verdus might go insane from rage.
…Besides, the reason Professor Verdus was in confinement was, technically, because of something Lee Han said, so he felt a bit guilty.
“Black Shadow Sand should be enough. As for flame iron…”
“The quality is a bit lacking, but I can compensate with magical processing. One minute is enough.”
Lee Han was a bit moved when his senior said it would take just a minute to process all the materials in the crate.
‘When it comes to magic, this person is genuinely respectable.’
“About this tower that controls lightning—could it function the same in a small model?”
“If you apply the same principle, the effect will be the same, though weaker. And as a learner, it’s more important to understand the principle than to simply copy. To put it extremely, if you could only replicate the magic by imitating the materials exactly, you haven’t really learned anything.”
“…!”
After two consecutive statements about magic, this senior looked as reliable as a professor.
Lee Han spoke in a voice full of trust.
“Senior, I think you’ll be excellent at teaching this lecture.”
“What? It’s already my turn to lecture, isn’t it?”
“Haha. Right. I must’ve forgotten.”
With the materials and lecture content ready, there was nothing left to worry about.
At least not until the capital stonemason guild members shouted this:
“Wardanaz student helped build the Pocketknife Fortress for the Kudrin Stonemason Guild?! And as a first-year last year?!”
“…Can’t we save that story for after the lecture?”
-So, the key point was making a model of a lightning control tower.
The knights summed it up simply.
Looking around, each student had plenty of materials and had created a model of a lightning control tower in their own way.
The capital stonemason guild members advised on realistic problems one would face in actual construction, while Yukveltire provided insight on magical issues.
‘This is almost too perfect—I feel bad for letting Professor Verdus out.’
But since he was here, Professor Verdus had to be released. The knights warned him.
-If you say anything unnecessary, we’ll send you right back to the punishment room.
“Mmmph.”
-No complaining about missing storeroom potions, no offending the capital stonemason guild members, nothing—no, only talk about magic, please.
“Mmmph. Mmmph.”
Professor Verdus nodded as if to say he understood.
The knights, really not wanting to release him, reluctantly undid the gag. The freed Professor Verdus immediately sank his teeth into the models in front.
Of course, not literally—he tore into them figuratively.
“Which idiot thought up the bright idea of putting the lightning induction spell right in the middle? If there’s a heavy thunderstorm, it’ll backfire and blow up the tower!”
“…B-but it’s more efficient when the lightning is weak…”
“Why would you need this tower in a place with so little lightning? Are you stupid?”
The third-year student looked pleadingly at the knights, face saying, ‘Can’t you shut him up again?’
The knights shook their heads in apology. They couldn’t interfere with a magic lecture.
Professor Verdus looked at Yukveltire and asked,
“Why did you let them build it like that?”
Yukveltire, proud of her magical skills, bristled at once.
It was obviously the fault of the third-year junior for building it like an idiot, not Yukveltire’s fault at all.
“It’s because my junior is an idiot, my juni—Ah!”
“Please think before you speak!”
Lee Han whispered, jabbing her side again.
The previously happy mood in the lecture hall was already splitting up.
Students vs. Professor Verdus.
At the very least, Yukveltire needed to be on the students’ side, not the professor’s.
Yukveltire thought she really needed to get some sort of side-protection artifact and muttered to herself.
“I wasn’t even wrong…”
“Professor. As mentioned, this class isn’t about creating a perfect product, but about understanding the principles of the magic embedded in architecture. Of course, there will be lots of free experimentation.”
“Hmph. Stupid is stupid, period.”
Having been locked up for so long, Professor Verdus was even sharper than usual.
He was determined to point out magical flaws the moment he saw them!
The students, overwhelmed by his energy, held their breath and looked away.
What they’d forgotten was, Professor Verdus was scariest of all when picking apart magic. Because he did it with genuine honesty, it only made it more painful for the magician on the receiving end.
‘For the students’ sake, should I just punch him right now?’
While the capital stonemason guild members worried over the mess the lecture hall became, Professor Verdus spotted his next prey.
“Why is the top of this tower missing?”
“Oh. I tried an application with -Bible’s Flight Enchantment-. It’s the spell you taught us about airships, professor, and I figured it would be more efficient to keep the upper part hovering in the air for control instead of on the ground.”
Lee Han brought in a floating upper section of a tower model he was manipulating.
Seeing his own magic perfectly realized, Professor Verdus pursed his lips with a sour face.
No matter who’d hammered it home, there was nothing to criticize.
“…Raising and lowering the tower like that will weaken its durability! How are you going to fix that?!”
‘Since when have you ever cared about that problem…!’
The capital stonemason guild members clenched their fists.
This was the kind of wizard who’d often say if his own spell worked, he’d build the walls and pillars out of glass, too—of course this made them want to kill him.
“I thought you might say that, so I prepared a -Jarun’s Inelastic Rubber- spell too.”
“…It’s perfect! Why did you have to make it perfect!”
Professor Verdus was mad at his overly outstanding disciple for no reason at all.