Episode 1152

Episode 1152

“…Why are you planning that? Wait. More importantly, which evil god worshippers are you talking about? Phrakhgal?”

Giselle knew at least that the priests of that evil overabundant life cult had a long-standing bad relationship with Wardanaz.

Was he finally planning to draw his sword at them on this side?

“What? No.”

“Then Ksasari Gol?”

“Of course, it’s Sangvilos. Seriously, why do you and Senior Catten keep bringing up other evil god worshippers?”

“……”

“You even helped hunt them down during break, Moradi.”

“Yes. Sorry I didn’t guess right.”

Giselle said sarcastically.

“I accept your apology.”

“……”

“Anyway, because of those guys, Professor Baegrek disappeared.”

“He was kidnapped?!”

Giselle reacted in exactly the same way as Senior Catten.

A professor from Einrogard getting kidnapped…

“No. He went missing trying to assault the cultists. By the way, Moradi, you didn’t know the professor had disappeared?”

“That’s right.”

“White Tiger Tower is really too cold-hearted, isn’t it? So little interest in others.”

“…Enough, explain more.”

Holding back the urge to punch him, Giselle tried to listen to her friend’s explanation.

Information was what she needed now, anyway.

A while later.

After her friend finished explaining, Giselle gave a small nod.

‘I see.’

After hearing the whole story, she understood.

Although Wardanaz usually played the nanny so well, making him seem like a kind and benevolent magician, inside, there lurked a wild beast that could never be tamed.

Someone who would fearlessly speak his mind even in front of kings from other dimensions or the crazy clone of the skeleton headmaster would have no reason to shrink in front of evil god worshippers.

It was as if someone had slapped Wardanaz when he was just trying to stay quiet…

Lee Han spoke in a slightly worried voice.

“This is a bit different from your usual request. I don’t know how they’ll take it.”

“That’s true.”

Agreeing, Giselle hesitated.

Huh?

‘Wait a minute. Does this guy just assume I’ll accept no matter what?’

Of course, as someone from a knight family, Giselle wouldn’t reject something like hunting evil god worshippers, but for some reason, she felt a strange surge of emotion.

It was annoying that he hadn’t explained it up front, and even more annoying that his guess was correct even when he hadn’t explained it.

“Hm. No. It’s better to just tell the truth.”

“What else are you hiding?”

Giselle asked irritably, but Lee Han waved his hand in denial.

“Not from you, Moradi. From the other White Tiger Tower friends. If I tell them the truth, they’ll back off on their own.”

“Wa—…”

“Everyone, gather round! I have something to tell you!”

She tried to stop him, but Lee Han had already called over the others. The White Tiger Tower students, who were waiting anyway, quickly gathered.

“To be honest, there’s a hidden goal in this job. It’s to hunt evil god worshippers.”

“!”

A quiet shock spread among the students.

“So even now, if you want to back o—…”

“If you’re going to leave me behind on something like this, take my head, Wardanaz!”

Angrago shouted, eyes blazing. Giselle sighed deeply behind him.

“…I was about to say this would have the opposite effect.”

---

When living in Blue Dragon Tower, it was easy to fall into the illusion that students from other towers lived similarly.

But that wasn’t the case. Since their races and backgrounds were all different, of course their behavior and customs would vary as well.

For example, if you asked Gainando, “We’re going to hunt evil god worshippers. Want to come with?” there was a high chance Gainando would burst into tears (which is why he never asked).

And not just Gainando—among Blue Dragon Tower students, there were few who would show interest or come running in surprise at the words “hunt evil god worshippers.”

But the White Tiger Tower students were different.

Most were from knight families, so to them, such a hunt was an honor they couldn’t afford to miss.

“I see. So that’s why.”

Catten looked at the White Tiger Tower juniors gathered behind and gave a look of understanding.

If you were from a knight family, it was hard to ignore such an opportunity.

It didn’t matter how strong and dangerous the opponent was. On the contrary, the greater the opponent, the greater the honor of facing them.

‘I must be out of it lately. I can’t believe I made such a rookie mistake.’

Lee Han reflected on himself.

To think he’d unconsciously treated his White Tiger Tower friends like Blue Dragon Tower friends.

“Still, good thinking, junior. Giving your fellow juniors an opportunity like this.”

Catten looked at his junior with gratitude.

Indeed, having a competent friend was helpful in many ways. Catten himself wouldn’t have learned magic to this extent if he didn’t have friends like Direte or Illeg.

“A gift?”

The White Tiger Tower students in the back murmured.

The price they had paid hardly felt like a gift.

---

• Ah… I see.

Lee Han belatedly realized after Giselle pointed it out.

Warning the White Tiger Tower friends about the danger was meaningless, after all.

• Wardanaz! If you’re going to leave me behind too, I’ll—
• Understood.
• H-hey, you really were going to take my head, you brat!
• Dodged well.

Seeing Angrago retreat, Lee Han muttered to himself.

Lately, he’d noticed how much his friends’ magical skills had improved beyond expectation.

Especially White Tiger Tower friends, most of whom typically kept two or three enhancement spells active by default, so when Lee Han tried to catch them for assignments, he had to brace himself.

The rapid improvement of the current second years’ magic skills was largely thanks to a certain mad magician in their grade relentlessly pushing them, but Lee Han hadn’t realized this at all.

Angrago, who quickly retreated to distance, shouted to his friends.

• Everyone be careful! Wardanaz’s attack patterns are mainly telekinesis, lightning, fire, water orbs, flying swords, teleportation, evil eye curses, undead summons, etc.! Don’t forget, he uses swordplay up close too!
• …Thanks, Angrago! You give me such courage!
• Let’s settle this through conversation, Wardanaz! Violence isn’t befitting of a wizard!

Although they were the students who revered violence the most among the four towers, when facing Lee Han they became more formal and polite than Blue Dragon Tower students.

Lee Han exclaimed in disbelief at the shameless claims of the White Tiger Tower students.

• You just barge in on someone else’s mission, and then say we should settle it by talking?
• Wardanaz, think about it! Wouldn’t having strong frontliners like us be even more helpful for your magic?
• I have Senior Catten and Moradi, so I’ll be fine.
• …That’s not enough. The vanguard always needs to be numerous. Don’t you know how knight orders protect magicians on the battlefield?
• Hm.

The White Tiger Tower students’ hastily contrived logic sounded surprisingly plausible.

Indeed, the more combat-capable members, the better.

• Then… how about this: only those who beat me one-on-one can come?
• ……
• …Just tell us not to come, you brat.

The White Tiger Tower students booed in outrage. Even Deorgyu shook his head at that.

That’s just too much!

Slightly flustered, Lee Han changed the conditions.

• Alright, alright. Then… only those who can use aura can go?
• ……
• …Now you’re really going too far, aren’t you?

With the continued backlash, Lee Han put his heads together with his friends to come up with a compromise.

Two versus one, three versus one…

After fierce negotiations, and even fiercer battles than the negotiation, the White Tiger Tower students barely got permission to come along.

The students who won permission gritted their teeth, enduring the pain from their bruises.

And they thought to themselves,

‘Those evil god worshipper bastards… I won’t forgive them…!’

---

“There’s a vigor in your juniors’ gazes, and from their whole bodies comes the intense energy of people who look like they just came out of battle.”

Catten praised his juniors.

Normally, second-year students would be all delighted and carefree at the chance to go outside, but today, the White Tiger Tower students gave off the aura of knights fresh from the battlefield.

“Th-thank you.”

The White Tiger Tower students didn’t know what to do at the praise from their lofty senior.

This senior from the Jahan family was a sort of legend within White Tiger Tower.

Fifth years were rarely seen, but Catten was particularly special among them.

Most fifth years were either in the punishment room or wandering the deep mountains and valleys of Einrogard…

And the few students who knew the whole story remained quiet, not wishing to taint Catten’s mysterious image.

They wanted him to remain the White Tiger Tower’s mysterious swordsmanship genius.

“So, how are you going to hunt the evil god worshippers? Do you even know where they are?”

“I’m planning to use the same method as last time.”

At Lee Han’s words, Ibinta, who was driving the carriage up front, flinched.

Was he planning to use that maniacal scorched-earth method again?!

‘Insane.’

On the way north, they’d have to pass at least one or two cities and four or five villages, and if he repeated the same hunt in all of them as last time…

Ibinta unconsciously rubbed his neck. After all this was over, he figured he should never visit the western or northern empire again.

Everyone from thieves to mercenaries would probably put a bounty on his head!

‘When I get out, I’d better flee to the eastern edge and never return.’

“It worked pretty well, didn’t it? Right, Ibinta?”

“Ah… uh… y-yes! It was good.”

Ibinta looked over at the Death Knights driving the carriage next to him with watery eyes.

It was a plea for help.

But the knights coldly shook their heads.

‘It’s not for us to intervene.’

After the last commission, what surprised the knights most was that the skeleton headmaster, upon hearing the shocking news, had no reaction at all.

The headmaster just asked a few questions.

• The bureaucrats just let it slide?
• Yes.
• Those despicable bastards. If I did it, it’d be a disgraceful act shaking the very laws of the empire, but when Wardanaz does it, it’s righteous? Fine.
• …Don’t you have anything more to say?
• Nope. Want me to say something?
• N-no, sir.

At the very least, some thought they’d end up in the punishment room for “letting things get out of hand,” but when everyone was released without harm, the knights were baffled.

Why?

They didn’t know, which led to all sorts of conspiracy theories among the knights.

Some said the master orchestrated it, maybe the evil god worshippers were also recruited by the master, maybe he was still in touch with Professor Baegrek…

If the skeleton headmaster heard it, he’d send them straight to the punishment room—it was malicious slander pouring out non-stop.

Anyway, since they hadn’t been given a reason, there was only one course of action left for the knights.

‘It means there’s no problem, so do it the same as last time.’

If the commotion last time had been a problem, surely he would have said something.

Since the skeleton headmaster let it go, the knights took it as permission.

“So what method did you use last time? Did you infiltrate by sending in a spy?”

“It’s a bit different. First…”

While Lee Han was speaking, on the horizon a group of people appeared in a cloud of dust, riding their horses hard.

“Are you from Einrogard?!”

“Yes, that’s us.”

“We’ve already captured the suspicious ones! Please, have mercy, and let’s not have a repeat of Befaim City…!”

“……”

Giselle was appalled.

‘What on earth did you do in Befaim City?’

What had they done for Befaim City to have become a byword of terror for suspicious criminals?