Episode 1021

Episode 1021

While the students in each carriage were writing anonymous letters that could not be traced by handwriting (transformation magic and fire elemental magic were used), Gainando saw a strange scene outside the carriage.

Several groups of people were gathered in a secluded area in the outskirts of the capital.

And among them, there was a familiar friend’s figure…!?

“Huh?!”

“Gainando. Don’t play around and keep your hands moving.”

“You have to finish writing quickly.”

The two priests scolded at the same time.

Unlike others, where Phoenix Tower students rarely said harsh words to fellow students, Gainando was an exception.

The numerous escape attempts Gainando had pulled off had made even the priests of Phoenix Tower lose faith.

“N-no. There was someone over there who looked like Lee Han…”

“Gainando… the priest is getting angry.”

“Stop telling such ridiculous lies. You’re embarrassing us.”

Friends from Blue Dragon Tower spoke as if they were all ashamed.

It was fortunate that the priests in the carriage belonged to them. If it had been White Tiger Tower or Black Turtle Tower, the entire tower would have been disgraced.

“I’m serious! Look!”

As Gainando fussed, his friends, as if giving in, stuck their heads out of the carriage.

Then they asked a passerby nearby.

“Excuse me. May I ask what’s happening over there?”

“It seems a monster from another dimension contaminated the underground. I heard the wizards have gathered to purify it.”

“Thank you. See?”

The friends who came back with the answer looked at Gainando triumphantly.

There was no way Lee Han would be in a place like that.

“Uh…”

Siana hesitated. Suddenly she had this thought.

‘But couldn’t he be there?’

While hesitating, Siana glanced at Tijilling, who was writing an anonymous letter beside her.

Tijilling, who had been vigorously moving his quill with “The lord of Einrogard is making his students fight monsters!” stopped and turned his head.

“Why do you ask?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

Siana quietly gave up on asking.

Looking to the side, it wasn’t an atmosphere to ask questions.

“Wait! If it’s Lee Han, he really could be there!”

Belatedly, Gainando realized the possibility and spoke, but his friends scolded him.

“Say something that makes sense.”

“Did you forget why Wardanaz is in the capital right now? No matter how amazing Wardanaz is, would he have already finished helping the Headmaster and gone there to work?”

• * *

Wardanaz? He’s probably outside finishing up the dimensional infiltration incident.

“……”

“……”

The Einrogard students who ran into the Skull Headmaster in front of the royal palace gaped in shock at the unexpected answer.

“…Please don’t lie!”

You’ve grown so bold just because you’re outside school, haven’t you? But it’s true.

“Didn’t Wardanaz come along to help the Headmaster?”

That’s right. And he finished all that work before he left.

“……”

“……”

The friends were even more surprised than when they’d heard that Lee Han left early for the capital to help the Skull Headmaster.

He already finished everything??

“Didn’t you take Wardanaz with you to commit a robbery?”

“There weren’t any robberies in the Empire’s newspaper…”

“Didn’t you just not get caught?”

I can hear everything.

The Skull Headmaster spoke in a bored tone.

The speculation that he’d raised funds through robbery was quite amusing, but far from the truth.

And I really did persuade everyone. If you don’t believe it, go check for yourselves.

“No way!”

“Did you sell off Wardanaz on the promise to send him after graduation and take gold in return?”

“No way… Even for you, Headmaster, you wouldn’t go that far.”

While the students unconsciously guessed part of the answer, Gainando recovered from his shock and asked,

“Uh, did you persuade my mother, too? She definitely said she would cut off her own fingers if she had to donate any more to Einrogard??”

…Did she really say something like that?

The Skull Headmaster received a slight wound to his heart.

To think a generous sponsor like Madam Kraha had said such a thing.

Do you remember when that was? The jewelry palace theft in the west two months ago? Or the icebreaker airship disappearance five months ago? Or maybe…

He listed off the sequence of incidents caused by Einrogard graduates as noted in the Imperial newspaper.

But Gainando shook his head.

“I’m not sure about that. But seriously, how did you persuade her?”

He was planning to learn from the Skull Headmaster and use it himself later.

She just did what Wardanaz asked.

“…Wait, that’s it?”

Gainando looked at his friends.

He expected them to shout with him, “Please don’t lie!”

But the friends immediately accepted it.

“Totally possible.”

“I would have done it too.”

“!?”

See? Anyway, if you want to hang out with Wardanaz, go check out the dimensional infiltration site outside the city. Practice some magic while you’re at it. Your Headmaster is too busy to spare a moment right now.

“Even with the Einrogard donation issue all solved, you still have work left?”

Yoner asked, a bit worried.

Back in first year, it didn’t matter, but now as sophomores, the students knew.

If Einrogard’s treasury shrinks, it directly affects the students!

Don’t worry. All that’s left is some trivial explanations.

“Ah, so that’s why you’re here at the royal palace, then.”

No. I’m at the palace right now because of Professor Voladi. I have to stop him from breaking in and making a report here.

“????”

‘What is he talking about?’

Of course, the students didn’t understand. The Skull Headmaster wiggled his jaw as if too lazy to explain.

If you see Professor Voladi, don’t take it too personally. Teaching students always comes with some wounds…

“We do get hurt a lot.”

Not you. You cheeky creature.

After stringing Gainando upside down, the Skull Headmaster got ready to float away again.

As the students were clamoring to head out to find Lee Han, the Skull Headmaster spoke lightly.

By the way.

“Yes?”

What’s with the bundles of paper you’re all carrying?

“……”

• * *

“Alsicle. Why do you keep glancing around?”

Lee Han wondered, as Alsicle would chant a spell once, then check the surroundings twice.

All the nearby wizards were cleaning up after the dimensional infiltration phenomenon.

The foreign substances inside had all been reduced to ashes, but that was not the end.

When worlds and dimensions overlap and infiltrate, instability naturally follows.

They had to confirm there’d be no further disasters and do stabilization work.

“Voladi Baegrek isn’t here, right?”

“No. Why would Professor Baegrek be here?”

“You don’t know…”

Alsicle chanted the spell again and checked the surroundings three times.

Professor Voladi, being a combat wizard, was all the more frightening. For Alsicle, who specialized in non-combat magic, it was not a good match.

“If you’re so scared, just go back to the manor and rest. The rest isn’t dangerous, so I can handle it alone.”

Lee Han swung his staff as he spoke.

This kind of dimensional stabilization work was mostly about perception and magic power, which suited Lee Han well.

He would walk around to sense spots where reality was twisted, and when such a spot appeared, he’d call another wizard…

“Space, solidify.”

…He didn’t even have to call for anyone.

Thanks to learning basic space-time magic from Professor Garcia, Lee Han could complete four or five times as much work as other wizards, all by himself.

“Manor is even more dangerous, you know. Best to stick close.”

Alsicle shivered his beak as if saying not to talk nonsense.

The one thing Alsicle did trust was Professor Voladi’s student.

No way would he hold a bloody interrogation in front of his own student, right?

“Come on. You’re worrying too much.”

“Hmph. You can say that because you’re his student.”

“I’ve been attacked a lot though?”

Lee Han nudged the grumpy penguin-beast wizard aside and approached a spatial fissure.

“Space, solidify.”

“Uh, um…”

The person approaching with the most apologetic look in the Empire was the archmage Erindarvel.

“…Excuse me, could I have a moment?”

“Ah. Yes, what is it?”

“I sincerely apologize for my mistake this time…”

They exchanged looks. Lee Han whispered in a low voice so the other wouldn’t hear.

“But Erindarvel, I thought all archmages were supposed to be wicked. Why are you so kind?”

“Not all archmages are evil… Well, actually they are… but anyway, he is a bit unusual.”

As the two whispered, Erindarvel busily pulled something out of his pocket dimension.

It was a present he’d brought to make up for the trouble he’d caused.

“This artifact is -Athen’s Staff-. It contains a spell that rapidly restores magic related to the light element. As a gift…”

“Ah, Erindarvel… but Wardanaz has so much mana, it’s not really…”

“!”

At Alsicle’s point, Erindarvel realized his mistake.

Come to think of it, the boy from House Wardanaz here had inexhaustible magic. Even if it specifically restored light element mana, it was meaningless for him.

‘Another blunder!’

As Erindarvel bowed his head again, Lee Han jabbed Alsicle’s fluffy side.

“What are you doing?”

“Ah, sorry…”

Alsicle apologized.

His beak just seemed to open on its own when something he knew as a wizard was mentioned.

“Still, you’re the one who has to use whatever you’re given. You can’t just take something useless. Even from an archmage.”

“If you get it, just sell it. At least consider the other person’s feelings.”

“?”

Alsicle tilted his head, sensing something strange.

“…Wait, then shouldn’t you not sell—”

“Anyway, next time, whatever gift he offers, you have to say it’s good. Understand?”

“O-okay.”

Erindarvel put the staff away and rummaged around his pocket dimension again.

After a long hesitation, what he took out was a round egg.

“This is a hippogriff’s egg.”

“That won’t do!”

Lee Han cried out desperately. Erindarvel froze, about to introduce the egg.

Why?

While soothing the baby basilisk tightly gripping his arm as if begging not to be abandoned, Lee Han hurriedly explained.

“Actually, I’m already raising a griffon. It’ll get really jealous.”

“I-I see… If that’s the case, it can’t be helped.”

Erindarvel bowed his head yet again. Now it was Alsicle’s turn to jab Lee Han in the side.

“Didn’t you say you’d just accept it??”

“Sorry. My griffon gets upset easily…”

“Really? I’ve never heard of a griffon being jealous.”

“Maybe my griffon is just a bit peculiar.”

-……

The baby basilisk wriggled in sympathy for Fongrif, who wasn’t in this place.

How wronged he would feel if he heard this conversation?

Maybe feeling sorry for the archmage still rummaging for a gift, Alsicle gave some advice.

“Er, Erindarvel. Wardanaz would honestly be happy with just gold coins, you know.”

“Don’t say such nonsense, Pengherin.”

“……”

At Erindarvel’s firm refusal, Alsicle stuck his beak out in protest.

But it’s true!

As the hesitation dragged on, Erindarvel finally just dumped the contents of his pocket dimension on the ground. He began to mutter through each one, cleaning them up one by one.

“A solid gold angel statue… too plain. The three-story capital wizard villa I acquired last time… doesn’t seem that useful either…”

“Alsicle. Please, just help him pick one.”

Lee Han pleaded with genuine desperation in his voice.

If he let these presents pass him by and ended up with some strange staff or a hippogriff egg, he thought he might really cry.