Episode 1050
by CristaeBut Professor Garcia was already too worked up to hear him.
“Lee Han! Lee Han!”
‘He’s even more pessimistic than me, isn’t he?’
Normally he always complained that the Skull Headmaster was too negative and cynical, but here he was in a panic himself. It was almost funny.
Chasing the long chain, Professor Garcia ran frantically. He even used time acceleration magic, so he barely even saw the scenery passing by.
Meanwhile, the Skull Headmaster noticed something odd about this dungeon.
“…This is a dragon’s dungeon!”
He realized it was a kind of dungeon that dragons used like a vegetable patch, utterly different from a normal dungeon.
There was only one reason to have something like this in a mansion.
‘She built it in secret.’
Since Joulin was a dragon, she too must have wanted a secret lair.
The Skull Headmaster wasn’t surprised or upset about the fact itself.
Seeing that other dragons had helped, they must have done a good job taking care of things…
‘…But isn’t this overprotectiveness a bit much?’
Joulin was a relatively slow-to-mature dragon, but this was excessive.
Really, a dungeon with lounges and bathhouses?
The only ones likely to come in here were underlings, anyway.
Meanwhile, Professor Garcia finally spotted Lee Han and his companions.
“Lee Han!!”
Gasp.
Joulin, who had been digging in a dungeon corner with her forepaw in search of monsters, jumped at the familiar voice.
That voice…?
“Get away from him, you evil spirit!”
-!
Joulin only flinched, but the water spirit beside Lee Han was truly horrified.
The presence radiated by the magician who always topped Einrogard’s unofficial fighting rankings was even enough to terrify a high-ranking water spirit.
Bubbling with fright—
As the water spirit trembled in fear, Professor Garcia cast his magic.
The space between Lee Han and the spirit expanded, and the spirit was frozen in place—caught in a momentary lapse of time.
“Headmaster! Please finish off that wicked spirit!”
“…Calm down, Professor Garcia.”
The Skull Headmaster, appearing belatedly, calmed his disciple in exasperation.
No matter how you looked at it, the water spirit was clearly innocent.
It seemed the dragons had put it to work maintaining the dungeon…
W-what should I do? What should I do?
With both professor and headmaster suddenly here, Joulin’s face went pale.
Her ambitious plan to keep Lee Han locked in the mansion for a hundred years had been completely exposed.
“Don’t worry, Your Highness.”
!
Joulin brightened up at the reassuring words of her contractor.
Lee Han…!
“I’ll be with you when you get scolded.”
…Lee Han!
At the heartless words that he wouldn’t help but would stay by her side while she got scolded, Joulin’s face crumpled.
That’s not fair!
“You must have had a hard time.”
- Th-thank you, Your Excellency Spirit Hall.
The Skull Headmaster released and consoled the spirit.
Then he looked at Lee Han.
“I definitely warned you, so how could you carelessly wander into the mansion and get yourself kidnapped?”
“……”
For a moment, Lee Han wondered if he wasn’t the disciple and the spirit the actual pupil.
So gentle with the spirit, but scolding the actual abducted student.
“If you were going to warn me, you should have been clear! How was I supposed to know?”
“Did you boil and eat Bibble while I wasn’t looking? How can you be so shameless?”
The Skull Headmaster usually knew when he was being unreasonable, but not this time.
He was certain…
-If you go looking for her, she’ll trap you until the end of break.
-She might not even let you go after break is over.
-Haha. You’re quite the dragon expert. Anyway, if you’re going to meet her, just brace for anything. I definitely warned you.
…That’s what he’d said.
For once, he really hadn’t been mean—he had honestly advised him not to go.
“How could I be any more specific than that?”
“……”
Lee Han switched the subject.
“Anyway, can you please take off these cuffs?”
“These dragon shackles? Wait. They’re not easy to undo; it’ll take some time.”
“…!”
Lee Han was surprised.
At first, he thought the Skull Headmaster was joking, but he was serious.
“You mean, even you have trouble breaking these?”
“Well, these are made by dragons to hold criminals imprisoned forever. You actually managed to bring them out, huh.”
“……”
-……
Everyone present, except the Skull Headmaster, looked at Joulin.
Joulin hung her head in shame.
I was going to return them if Lee Han promised to stay in the mansion…
“I understand, Your Highness. I also promised the Emperor I’d abdicate when the empire is stable. That’s just how these things go.”
The Skull Headmaster lightly twitched his fingers and drew a magic circle on the shackles binding Lee Han.
These so-called “dragon coffers” were shackles that changed according to the prisoner’s characteristics—a kind of living metal.
Infused with the collective power of dragons and bound by word-magic, it was a semi-living metal.
To neutralize and unlock such a thing required all the Skull Headmaster’s cunning.
“Mana dispersion? Dragons probably never bothered with that. Who added this?”
There was little point in mana dispersion for holding other dragons.
After all, what convict among them had near-infinite magic power?
“No kidding.”
Lee Han feigned ignorance and pretended to be just as indignant.
Dragons really were an insanely thorough race.
The Skull Headmaster sensed something fishy, but ignored it and continued inscribing the magic circle.
This was a magic circle drawn with ink he himself had breathed life into. With time, it would move on its own and restrict the power of the shackles.
“Now then…”
The Skull Headmaster turned away. Joulin hiccupped.
“Ten-year outing ban, only boring guests allowed to visit…”
Ah, no!
“That’s what happens when you cause trouble, Your Highness. It hurts me too, but nothing can be done.”
With a heartless hand, Spirit Hall assigned a penalty and sentence.
For the foreseeable future, only dull, boring guests could visit Joulin’s mansion—not fluffy, adorable ones.
“Do good deeds. Then I’ll lower your sentence.”
…Helping Einrogard students sounds like a good deed…
Joulin said, watching for a reaction.
The Skull Headmaster felt that Joulin had really grown, mentally.
How clever and sly she’d become?
‘Well, I suppose. She fooled both the Emperor and me at the same time.’
“Two hours a day of listening to imperial hymns, as an extra.”
!!!!
Joulin fluttered her wings and begged, but the Skull Headmaster coldly ignored her.
“Aren’t you being too harsh?”
“Even if I forgive later, you have to be strict sometimes. Dragons need to be taught firmly.”
He replied decisively to Lee Han’s whisper, then looked around.
“But is Pengerine not here, either?”
“I-I don’t know?”
Lee Han averted his gaze with exactly the same movement as his master.
“Oh well. Wardanaz, I came to find you because I need to tell you something about Professor Voladi.”
Lee Han gave a wry smile at those words.
Professor Garcia, who was apologizing to the spirit beside them, noticed and asked curiously,
“Why, Lee Han? Do you have an idea?”
“Heh. Isn’t it obvious? If Professor Baegrek starts making a move to report something to the palace, you want me to tattle right away, right?”
Whack!
The Skull Headmaster whacked his cheeky student with his staff.
“No.”
“…It’s not?”
Lee Han was embarrassed. Professor Garcia looked embarrassed too; honestly, they’d both thought that was the answer.
“Do you remember when you caught that Krasaksarigol riffraff last time?”
“Yes.”
It was during that hunt for extra-dimensional monsters, when Alsicle and capital explorers accompanied him.
All sorts of criminals, magic cultists, anti-mages, separatists…
It was like a criminal parade.
And at that time they’d captured an elf prophet from the Krasaksarigol cult.
A sinister figure who kept calling Lee Han a “monster who devours prophecy,” trying to slander him.
“Huh? When did Lee Han ever get tangled with the Krasaksarigol cult?”
Professor Garcia tilted his head.
He’d gotten involved with so many evil forces and criminal masterminds in the Empire that it almost slipped his mind, but now that he thought, there was something off.
‘Anti-mages, magic criminals, Ghoul King, Frost Giant King, Prachgal order… but never the madmen from Krasaksarigol, right?’
“……”
“……”
The Skull Headmaster and his star pupil exchanged a very complex look.
Explaining that you got involved in a hunt for extradimensional monsters would not be good for Professor Garcia to hear.
The two nodded ever so subtly at each other.
“That time, you know. That time. Seriously, it was Krasaksarigol, right, Professor?”
“Exactly. That’s right.”
“????”
While Professor Garcia tried to puzzle out which memory he’d lost, the Skull Headmaster smoothly continued.
“Anyway, after interrogating that so-called prophet, I got more information… and some of it concerned Professor Voladi.”
He didn’t want to explain the details.
Sensing this, Lee Han carefully spoke.
“If it’s not something I’m meant to hear, just tell me what I need to do.”
“But Headmaster, in Lee Han’s case, he’s already involved in such dangerous things—all hiding the info will do is backfire, won’t it?”
“That’s true. Best to just tell you everything.”
The Skull Headmaster agreed with Professor Garcia right away. Lee Han looked sour.
“……”
Of course, it was better to know everything from the start than to have secrets revealed later and be shocked…
…But it was still an uncomfortable, awkward feeling.
“There’s a type on the continent that Professor Voladi especially hates.”
“?”
Lee Han was confused at this abrupt opening.
Professor Voladi especially hates a type of person?
…Wasn’t that way too many?
‘Criminals, beaver beastkin, anti-magic zealots, Professor Verdus, magic criminals, the head of Einrogard’s enchantment school…’
Reading his mind, the Skull Headmaster said irritably,
“Not just anyone he dislikes—there’s a specific type. And it’s not Professor Bible, by the way.”
“!”
Not even Professor Verdus?
He truly couldn’t guess.
Looking beside him, he saw Professor Garcia listening just as intently.
“There was an ancient evil cult that fell and was erased from history… but it sounds like the mad prophet claims they’re back.”
“I see…”
Now Lee Han understood what the Skull Headmaster was getting at.
“I get it. If Professor Baegrek leaves in secret to hunt them down, you want me to stop him.”
Emotions like anger and obsession can be fatal for a magician.
And for one like Professor Voladi, who enjoyed solo action without backup, it could be even more dangerous.
“What do you mean, stop him? Don’t be cocky and try to butt in—just watch quietly and report. Professor Voladi isn’t going to go easy on you just because you’re his student.”
“……”
The Skull Headmaster was brutally realistic.
Trying to block him could only make it worse; it made more sense to just observe and report any feelings of unease or suspicion, so the old teacher could help.
“But I’m at least half a disciple of Professor Baegrek’s school…”
When Lee Han grumbled, Professor Garcia quietly said,
“Lee Han. Just watch and report, don’t try to stop him.”
“…Yes, sir…”