Episode 1005

Without a hint of hesitation, the mage’s instant acceptance deeply moved Uman.

There was clearly good reason for the lavish praise his great elder sister Joulin had given him.

‘Truly an excellent mage. He surely understands what a great cause is.’

Crunch!

Overwhelmed by emotion, Uman’s head began reverting to its original form—that of a dragon’s head covered in jet-black scales.

“Oh dear. What a blunder!”

Uman quickly regained his composure and polymorphed back to human, but a dent remained in the ceiling.

Seeing this, Uman grieved deeply.

“Uman still has far to go! For my spiritual discipline to be so poor…!”

“A-ah, I mean, anyone can accidentally lose their transformation sometimes.”

“You’re generous as well! Hard to believe you’re Lord Gonadaltes’s disciple!”

By now, Lee Han could sense that the skeleton headmaster and the dragon before him didn’t get along very well.

But that didn’t bother him.

In the Empire, it was rare to find anyone actually friendly with the skeleton headmaster…

‘The more someone talks like this, the more trustworthy they seem.’

In a way, being at odds with the skeleton headmaster was almost a virtue.

Not just because he’d received an enormous sum of gold, but Uman’s words alone made it clear he was a just dragon who refused to compromise with injustice.

For such a person, a poor relationship with the headmaster was only a plus.

“Well then, Uman will take his leave. Look after my sister for me! The other dragons are watching your exploits with interest too!”

“…Yes…”

Lee Han had already heard this when contracting with Joulin, but hearing it from another dragon had a different pressure.

Once you contract with one dragon, word gets around to the others as well.

Lee Han prayed that the other dragons, being lazy creatures, would forget this fact in time.

‘Given dragon personalities, there’s a chance… Or I might grow old and die first.’

“Oh! By the way, do you have any recommendations for restraining a mage?”

Uman, striding away, suddenly stopped to ask.

“A method for restraining a mage?”

“Yes. My sister made a request!”

Uman’s hurry was for a reason—Joulin had asked for help.

She’d requested he prepare a way to firmly restrain a mage!

Though Uman himself, as a dragon, was skilled in magic, perhaps a mage himself would have better suggestions for restraining a mage.

Especially if he’s a student of Einrogard and the skeleton headmaster’s own disciple.

‘Is she planning to attack the headmaster?’

Lee Han wondered.

Joulin rarely left the house, so there weren’t many mages to target.

Given her kind personality, it wouldn’t have been surprising for her to be furious over the headmaster’s misdeeds toward her clone. Lee Han was a bit moved.

‘Time to expand the gift budget.’

“The best method I know is transforming them into a hamster, but that’s a bit difficult. Have you prepared for pure mana shocks?”

“Mana shock? Tell me more. I’d value your insight!”

Lee Han advised him as best as he could.

Many mages underestimated the possibility of someone simply smashing magical restraints with brute-force mana, thinking, ‘Ha, as if anyone in the Empire has that much mana to waste.’ But there’s always an exception.

A great archmage like the skeleton headmaster could, with just a snap of his fingers, summon a vast store of mana from elsewhere.

Rather than having all your carefully-prepared restraints torn apart, better to be ready in advance.

“…Indeed! Brilliant. Uman learned something. I’ll prepare for this, too, and offer it to my sister!”

“Her Highness will be very pleased. Haha.”

Seeing Uman leap with joy, Lee Han felt genuinely proud.

As Joulin’s contractor, he’d done at least some good.

• * *

The skeleton headmaster was not usually an expressive mage.

But there were times he expressed emotion—and that was when his disciple returned after sweeping away the bureaucrats.

“Listen up eve—”

Lee Han quickly yanked the headmaster’s sleeve.

He couldn’t let him shout through the entire café, “This kid who swept the bureaucrats is my disciple!” like last time.

“Aren’t you ashamed?!”

“You talk about shame. If I had any shame, could I march to the bureaucrats with those trash research topics?”

Lee Han was left speechless. He was too right.

‘Well, yeah, that’s true.’

“But since you want it, I’ll let it slide quietly.”

For the first time since last year, the skeleton headmaster showed him a warm look. A gaze of such kindness, it felt as if he’d forgive Lee Han even if he set Einrogard on fire.

‘…Feels like I’d only seen such an expression in ancient times.’

“Excellent! Of course, I expected you to succeed, but still…”

“Excuse me?”

Lee Han was bewildered.

“To just naturally assume I’d succeed…”

He didn’t get this confidence at all.

Without Uman showing up, he probably wouldn’t have even gotten a deferral, let alone payment.

“…You went and erased the debt entirely. Your technique grows day by day!”

-Doesn’t this seem odd?

One of the Death Knights guarding the carriage raised a question.

-We know the disciple’s eloquence can fool even high devils, but…

“???”

Lee Han was even more baffled.

-But aren’t the empire’s bureaucrats tighter-fisted than hundreds of devils combined? And not only did they not grant a deferral, they canceled the debt entirely?

The knights’ doubts were valid.

They’d believed Lee Han could persuade the bureaucrats, but to get the debt erased entirely? That was another level.

It was just too unrealistic.

The imperial bureaucrats wouldn’t approve even a penny of child’s allowance without a massive report. For them to waive repayment so simply?

“The disciple’s persuasion skills have achieved the highest level.”

In a rare good mood, the skeleton headmaster ignored his minions’ doubts.

-But still…

“Think about it. Who would have expected Batnaz to persuade a remnant spirit and even learn a Small World?”

“I’m right here.”

Lee Han grumbled, but the headmaster ignored him. The Death Knights all nodded.

-Indeed…

-That’s true.

Thinking about it, the path of a prodigy is hard to predict by ordinary means.

The current successor was superhuman in many respects, but the most outstanding of his abilities was still persuasion.

Who could ever have predicted he’d make a pact with the Mad Clone and inherit a Small World?

-True words. Shameful, really. I underestimated our disciple.

-But how did he do it? Did he create his own Small World for bureaucrat-slaying?

-Or maybe he learned a word-magic for debt erasure…

As the knights whispered theories about how Lee Han erased the debt, the skeleton headmaster suddenly spoke as if remembering something important.

“Ah. About Prince Joulin.”

“…Yes!”

“Why are you surprised?”

I was afraid maybe she’d absconded again.

Lee Han quickly covered up. Fortunately, the headmaster didn’t catch on.

“Her Highness barely ever goes out… Anyway, there’s word spreading that you’re contracted to her.”

“!!!”

Thinking back, Silvas hadn’t been surprised when Lee Han said he contracted with Joulin, even when shocked by Uman’s appearance.

If he hadn’t already known, that reaction wouldn’t make sense.

“The nobles who need to know already know, so be careful not to accept any reckless requests. It could get troublesome.”

Currently, the imperial nobility was split between royalist loyalists and the opposing noble factions.

Even among the loyalists, factions formed according to which imperial child they supported for heir, but there was a way to pull everyone together, or even attract the noble factions.

It involved bringing in one of the nine pureblood imperial children—those who most fully carried the Emperor’s blood.

The noble and neutral factions skeptical of the current heirs’ abilities would likely be swayed if even one of the nine pure children declared, “I’ll be Emperor.”

That’s how overwhelming their specs were.

“If there were someone like that, wouldn’t they have already stepped up? Even His Majesty seems eager to find an heir and hand things over…”

“He did. But dragons aren’t well-suited to ruling as Emperor.”

Just look at the Emperor for proof—dragonkind is overwhelmingly individualistic.

If you order such a species to care for a whole empire and its peoples, it never really lands.

But there was an exception—vow.

“There’ll be nobles trying to persuade you to bring Prince Joulin in. Of course, it’d be amusing if Her Highness did become Emperor…”

“No need to worry. That will absolutely never happen.”

Lee Han declared firmly.

If someone had to suffer as Emperor, better the Emperor than young Joulin.

‘Hmm. Is that too mean-spirited?’

But it couldn’t be helped.

Lee Han was contracted to Joulin, not the Emperor.

“Wait. But why did the rumor spread? Did…”

As Lee Han fixed a suspicious look on the knights, the Death Knights frantically waved their hands.

-It wasn’t me!

-How could a knight with any honor have such a loose mouth!

-Please believe us!

“It wasn’t the knights who spread it.”

“?”

At the skeleton headmaster’s words, Lee Han stopped eyeing the knights and turned.

Then who?

“The dragons did. Actually, they didn’t spread it, they sent letters.”

“????”

“You’ll understand better if you see it for yourself.”

The skeleton headmaster pulled out a letter and tossed it over. The old-fashioned parchment was filled with unfamiliar characters.

“Translate.”

At the headmaster’s word, the letter turned into standard imperial script. The content was as follows.

…To the Meikin family, we respectfully inform you. A new dragon contractor has appeared… If you wish to file a complaint about the contractor, please write above the seal with three strokes and enter your text below. If you threaten or harm the contractor, know that those dragons with any motivation left will take vengeance at that very moment…

“Quite kind, no?”

“…What is this?!”

Lee Han almost dropped the letter in shock.

If it went to the Meikin family, it must’ve gone to all the major noble houses.

A Death Knight helpfully explained.

-In the old days, senseless bloodletting occurred due to racial misunderstandings, disciple.

It’s hard for ordinary people to understand dragon culture.

In the past, nonchalantly messing with a dragon contractor would get the area around you reduced to ashes, so the dragons decided to take a more polite approach.

Now, they sent early warnings to all influential powers in the Empire.

So anyone who didn’t want to get caught up would take care to prevent problems before they started.

-Can’t you feel the wisdom of dragons who understand and care for differences between species?

“I don’t really feel it.”

-?!

The knights were flustered by the disciple’s lukewarm answer.

Why not?!