Episode 104

Yoner questioned the claim that White Tiger Tower students had kidnapped Ihan.

He wondered if that was even possible.

Ratford, standing among the Black Tortoise Tower students, also tilted his head.

“I doubt it’d be easy…?”

“No, it’s possible.”

Nillia said with a face full of worry, her long ears drooping on both sides from concern.

“Even the cleverest beast can fall into a trap.”

“Um, but Ihan isn’t exactly a beast…”

“What if the cowardly White Tiger Tower kids set a trap on a path Wardanas would take? Or poisoned the water Wardanas drinks? Or put drugs in the bread Wardanas eats? Or…”

“……”

“……”

Yoner and Ratford wondered how to stop Nillia.

Were they digging Ihan’s grave in advance like this?

The bigger problem was that the Blue Dragon Tower students were starting to take Nillia’s words seriously.

“If a Shadow Patrol scout says that, the kidnapping is probably real…”

“I calculated it’s a 90% chance the White Tiger Tower guys did it.”

“The bastards, I’ll kill them!”

“Everyone calm down. Let’s calm down and carefully plan how to kill them.”

Yoner tried to stop them by looking for other students.

‘Where’s the princess…’

But before he knew it, even the princess was among the students, planning an attack on the White Tiger Tower students with a serious expression.

Yoner hung his head.

Without Ihan, there wasn’t a single sane person left in the tower.

‘Hurry and come back…!’

• * *

On Monday morning, the class was more intense than usual.

Of course, the class was never exactly a happy time.

It always had the gloomy atmosphere of students being dragged to their graves.

But today was different.

Blue Dragon Tower students’ eyes burned as if they might charge at any second.

“Tell us where Wardanas is right now!”

“What nonsense are you spouting, Blue Dragon brats! You think we’d do something like that? We don’t do things like that!”

“You outnumbered him three to one!”

A White Tiger Tower student went red in the face, the accusation striking home.

That reaction made a Blue Dragon Tower student brandish their staff threateningly, ready to cast a curse at any moment.

“Tell us where Wardanas is!”

“We’re in chaos too—two of ours are missing. Did you kidnap them?”

The Blue Dragon Tower students raged at the White Tiger Tower’s reaction.

How dare they shame the honor of noble blood!

“Us? Us?? Do you even know our family’s honor?”

“You’re ones to talk about breaking into other dorm towers at night.”

Giselle said with a sneer.

This time, the Blue Dragon Tower students were the ones stung.

But Giselle hadn’t expected her opponent. Gainando.

“We never did any such thing.”

“……”

“You have proof? If so, bring it. Got anything?”

“…Is that guy really a royal?”

White Tiger Tower students whispered among themselves. Even the Black Tortoise Tower students didn’t have anyone so shameless.

“I probably shouldn’t get involved, but if you did kidnap Wardanas, wouldn’t returning him and making up be wiser? Class is about to start.”

Salco, the dwarf—no, elven—student of Black Tortoise Tower, spoke up.

The White Tiger Tower students scowled as if to say who asked you, but the Black Tortoise Tower students standing behind Salco didn’t back down.

They came from rough backgrounds and weren’t intimidated by knight families.

Phoenix Tower students joined in as well. Siana the priest and Tigilin the priest spoke cautiously.

“If you kidnapped Lord Ihan of the Wardanas family, you should return him…”

“I told you we didn’t!”

Accused by students from three towers, the White Tiger Tower students finally exploded.

They too had two missing and spent the night wondering, ‘Did Wardanas kidnap them?’ ‘Were there really two missing?’ ‘But didn’t we lose even when three of us attacked?’ and so forth…

But these treacherous Blue Dragon Tower brats were making things worse.

Giselle tried to take control.

The elf who led most of the White Tiger Tower students bit her lip, clearly unhappy with the situation.

“I swear on my family’s name, we haven’t so much as touched Wardanas. If you don’t believe me, ask the other students. Some might be close to you.”

There were students among the White Tiger Tower who kept their distance, like Rowena, follower of Princess Adenart, or reliable figures like Der-gyu.

All eyes now turned to Rowena, who answered carefully.

“Princess. As far as I can tell… there didn’t seem to be any plan to kidnap.”

That turned the Blue Dragon Tower’s gaze toward the princess. The princess shook her head coldly—meaning she didn’t believe it.

“Princess?! Princess?!?”

Rowena was devastated that her lady didn’t believe her.

The Blue Dragon Tower students shouted triumphantly.

“She doesn’t believe you either!”

“So there was something suspicious going on after all. Der-gyu of the Choi family! What do you think? Tell us your thoughts!”

Giselle, not to be outdone, turned to Der-gyu.

“Yeah. Let’s hear it. What do you think?”

Der-gyu realized that Giselle’s voice had gone cold as ice. She was furious.

Had the other tower students not been present, there might have been swearing and swords drawn in an instant.

“In my view… Well, I haven’t heard anything about a kidnapping plan.”

“See!”

“I wasn’t finished yet!”

The reactions were split. Giselle looked at Der-gyu and asked,

“I just swore on my family’s name. You’re not saying you don’t trust that, are you?”

“……”

Der-gyu hesitated.

If it was before coming to the magic school, Der-gyu would have replied, ‘If you’re swearing to that extent, I have to believe you.’

But since joining the magic school, her perspective had changed.

Even someone from the prestigious Wardanas family like Ihan threw their own name around, so there was no rule saying Giselle wouldn’t do the same.

“…Choi! You really…!”

As Giselle cried out in disbelief, an icy air settled over the lecture hall.

All the students felt it.

Good morning! What were you doing?

“We were doing nothing.”

“We were just greeting each other.”

They were all furious, but they weren’t stupid enough to spill everything in front of the Skull Principal.

Even in this hellish school, there were unspoken rules.

One of them was “Keep your mouth shut in front of the Skull Principal.”

Were you fighting? Why not fight more?

“It’s a misunderstanding.”

“You know how close we are?”

The Skull Principal clicked his tongue openly in disappointment.

Even students who’d been glaring daggers now felt like making up.

Boring kids. Fine. So, did you bring the permission slip?

Awkward silence. The principal spoke again as if anticipating it.

What a shame. No one? Your seniors all handled these assignments on time.

If Ihan were here, he’d tell everyone not to believe such nonsense, but unfortunately, he was out on the island for “pre-study.”

The students became meek and deflated.

Oh well. Just this once, I’ll give you a chance. All right. Everyone, stand. Walk to the lake!

The students were shocked at the Skull Principal’s unexpected generosity.

Of course, it was because they didn’t know what was waiting on the island.

As Ihan always said, whenever the Skull Principal was friendly, you should be suspicious.

The Skull Principal grinned happily as the students walked to the lake.

It was a lake impossible for freshmen to cross on their own.

He didn’t actually expect them to succeed in the assignment.

He only gave out the task so that when his class started with “From now, cross the lake to the island,” there wouldn’t be anyone who tried to refuse or escape.

After dumping them an impossible task, if he kindly let them cross, even the cleverest freshmen wouldn’t suspect a thing.

How many years had the Skull Principal taught at this magic academy?

Freshmen could never escape the Skull Principal’s grasp.

‘Wait. Where’s that little dragon from the Wardanas family?’

The Skull Principal thought to himself a nickname Ihan would hate if he heard it, rotating his floating head 360 degrees.

Still no sign of Ihan.

The Principal wondered if he had crossed the lake in advance.

Wardanas was a freshman, but by no means an ordinary magician. With his abilities and disposition, it wouldn’t be surprising if he tried.

But even if so, as soon as he stepped onto the sandy beach, he should have been moved underground. If, by great luck, he managed to avoid that…

Jorban II, who was waiting on the sand, would have grabbed him.

‘If he missed class for another reason, that’d be lucky. If he went to the island in advance, unlucky.’

The island trial was meant for students of different towers to come in together, so if only students from the same tower entered, the dungeon wouldn’t start.

If someone went during the weekend?

They’d just have to sit underground and wait.

Crackkk!

The Skull Principal’s eyes gleamed as an ice path formed across the lake. With a single glare, a thick sheet of ice appeared, and the students couldn’t help but marvel.

I’m being so kind—surely none of you would chicken out? Not at Einrogarde, where only the empire’s best are gathered? Go in pairs.

“Do we have to go in pairs?”

To this, the Skull Principal replied kindly.

If you all go together, you’ll smash the ice, and the monsters under the lake will get a feast.

“…We’ll go in pairs.”

The reason for sending them in pairs was simple.

Otherwise, one or two might try to escape without stepping onto the sand.

Sending them two at a time made sure no one could get away.

Such was the Skull Principal’s teaching philosophy at the empire’s top school.

The students crossed the ice in pairs.

???

But as soon as the first stepped onto the sand, the Skull Principal’s instincts sensed something was off.

And that sense quickly became reality. The students weren’t sinking beneath the sand.

As his carefully planned class fell apart, the Skull Principal felt such soul-rending pain, it was as if his nonexistent spirit was being torn apart.

Why?!

“Huh?!”

The students nearby were shocked at how distraught he sounded.

They had never heard such anguish before.

Why! Jorban II, I gave you a name, yet you dare to slack off…

He tried to summon the spirit, only to realize Jorban II had been reverse-summoned.

Missing Wardanas, the disobedient sand, the reverse-summoned Jorban II.

All these signs pointed to only one thing.

When every impossibility is eliminated, the remaining answer, however hard to believe, must be the truth.

The Skull Principal hadn’t been this surprised in centuries.

Wardanas! Wardanas, you wretch!!

Almost as if in answer, Ihan appeared, pale and exhausted, from the depths of the island.