Episode 1059

Lee Han was a bit taken aback by the man’s reaction.

“How does he know my family? Could it be…”

…Is he suspicious of me?

Perkuntra seemed bewildered by his contractor’s look.

No matter how disposable the accomplice, wasn’t this a bit hasty?

“Maybe he blurted it out in excitement?”

Looks like the fortress is all cleared out. I’ll be going back now.

The Thunder King felt a sense of pride in his own self-control. To hear such nonsense and not lose his temper—

It wasn’t something ordinary training could achieve. Forming a contract with this contractor, Perkuntra, too, had grown mentally.

Rumble!

“Hmm. Maybe not.”

“I know I’m not one to talk, but is it okay to be that suspicious of a high spirit?”

“I’m not suspicious, I was just checking. Or maybe we made a mistake with our disguises?”

Lee Han checked his and his friend’s clothing.

They weren’t wearing their usual ragged Einrogard—no, Einrogard uniforms, but instead had put on plain coats with no markings. It shouldn’t be easy to guess their identity from this.

“Even if he knew we were from Einrogard, he shouldn’t have been able to name the family.”

“That’s true.”

“Maybe just guessed from all your recent notoriety?”

“……”

Lee Han shuddered involuntarily at his friend’s chilling speculation.

“No way. You think a guy who’s been holed up underground this whole time could pin me down just based on rumors?”

‘I think it’s pretty possible.’

To be honest, Giselle thought it was quite plausible, given the recent notorious rumors Lee Han had stacked up.

“Absolutely not, Moradi. Got it? Don’t bring up such ridiculous theories.”

“…I get it, calm down. But I think he really did recognize you. Let’s ask once he comes to.”

Calming her rarely-excitable friend, Giselle tied up their opponent tight.

‘That really is an unusual cloak.’

She could see why Wardanaz had taken interest. Lee Han whispered knowingly beside her.

“You’re calculating how much that cloak could fetch in gold, right? To be honest, I am too…”

“…No. I didn’t think about that at all.”

“?!”

Lee Han was startled.

Then what thought first came to mind at the sight of that cloak?!

After a while.

The two Einrogard students stripped the bandit boss completely clean. Lee Han even used search magic on the soles inside the boots.

“Nothing. Disappointing.”

Supplies sometimes showed up in Einrogard, so Lee Han was all the more let down.

“No way he’d hide things that petty with an organization this big.”

“These bandits sure live lavishly for their kind!”

While Lee Han fumed over strange details, Ibinta regained consciousness.

Realizing that all his equipment and magic items were gone, Ibinta felt utterly empty.

“What cursed fate! I worked so hard to avoid getting tangled up with mages, and this is what happens?”

“You’re awake? How did you know I was from the Wardanaz family?”

“I saw a mage from your family once.”

Ibinta answered straightforwardly.

Any other bandit might have tried to bluff it out of pride, but Ibinta wasn’t that kind.

Besides, in front of Wardanaz blood he couldn’t act arrogant.

He acted calm, but inside he was terrified of what they might do to him.

“You saw a Wardanaz mage before? When?”

“During the southern eruption chaos.”

“The southern eruption chaos…”

Counting on his fingers, Lee Han paused. Giselle, listening nearby, also seemed reminded and asked,

“Wasn’t that ten years ago?”

“A bit more, yeah. Then it must have been Brother Hiereudan who resolved things.”

Hearing Lee Han mention other members of the Wardanaz family, Giselle showed rare interest.

Among imperial grand noble families, the Wardanaz family was particularly shrouded in mysterious veils.

There were other reclusive houses in the Empire, but given the Wardanaz renown, their level of self-seclusion was unusual.

Surely Wardanaz had two older brothers, and one of them owned that spirit from last time…

‘The eldest. The first son.’

“Still gives me chills thinking about it. One archmage clearing up all that chaos.”

Ibinta confessed unprompted, his voice still alive with fear.

“Figured.”

Giselle wasn’t surprised.

Laymen couldn’t help but be shocked at an archmage’s magic.

Just witnessing a Personal World opening made you feel all the laws you knew collapse beneath your feet.

“Brother Hiereudan really is a bit unsettling.”

Lee Han nodded in agreement with Ibinta.

Giselle tilted her head slightly at the reaction.

Huh?

‘That’s… a bit… off?’

What Ibinta called “scary” and Wardanaz called “unsettling” felt like they meant different things.

The former sounded like he was overawed by the transcendence of magic, but the latter…

‘No way is Wardanaz put off by magic itself.’

If it were overwhelming magic, he’d be the first to be interested. It didn’t make sense for that to be why he’d find his family disconcerting.

Giselle asked cautiously.

“Why do you find him unsettling?”

“Hm? Well, Hiereudan’s a bit… about efficiency.”

“…Aren’t you the same way?”

“He has perfectionistic tendencies.”

“So do you.”

“He… manipulates people a bit.”

“You do tha—”

“Moradi. If you’re going to ask something and then be rude, why ask at all?”

“N-no…! Never mind. I apologize.”

Giselle shut her mouth, realizing she’d overstepped.

It could definitely be a rude thing to say, and more importantly, she was really curious about the rest of Wardanaz’s story.

“He’s on another level from me. Let me give you an example.”

Lee Han began telling about his own experience to persuade his friend.

-Young master… here are the new books you requested…

-Thank you, demon servant with eighty-eight eyes.

“Wait.”

“?”

“No, never mind. Go on.”

Giselle had to bite her lip not to ask about the servant.

The Moradi family also got lots of startled reactions from visitors since they lived far up north, but it was nothing compared to the Wardanaz house.

-‘Empire’s Most Promising Profitable Businesses Even Fools Can Do’? Who on earth brought in such a fine book? Never heard of it before?

-Hehe… Thank you for the compliment…

-The section about business with red pine flowers is especially interesting. If you dry and store the bulbs, you can sell them dearly to the Empire’s gardeners. Plus, red pine flowers survive as bulbs even when dried out, right?

-That’s… correct… Sir… Actually, there are some planted in the mansion garden…

-M-mind if I dig some up?

-Of course… Anything that helps you… Please give the patriarch some praise for me later if you’d be so kind…

“Wait. Hold on.”

Unable to take it anymore, Giselle cut in.

The thought of Wardanaz just doing all this alone at the mansion was amusing, but this was way off topic.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Listen to the end, Moradi. It’s all connected.”

“…Fine.”

Lee Han continued his story.

Having gotten info and permission, he wandered the huge garden, found red pine flowers, and started digging up bulbs.

While busily collecting, Lee Han suddenly had a doubt.

-…But is this really profitable?

Looking at it coldly, just because the petals are special and pretty didn’t mean people were going to throw gold coins at it.

Lee Han checked ‘Empire’s Most Promising Profitable Businesses Even Fools Can Do.’

The alluring title had drawn him in, but the author matters for a book.

A ‘How to Survive Einrogard’ book by Gainando feels nothing like one by Professor Garcia, even if they share the title.

But surprisingly there was no author.

-Who wrote this?

-Young master… wisdom is what matters, not who wrote the book…

-If you don’t tell me, I’ll falsely accuse you of vandalizing the garden!

-P-please…! Anything but that…!

When Lee Han interrogated further, the demon servant coughed up the unbelievable truth.

The author was someone he’d never have guessed.

“The Skull Headmaster?”

“Huh? What Skull Headmaster?”

“No, nothing… Just couldn’t think of anything else more surprising.”

“Moradi, there’s only one possible answer here. Of course it’s Brother Hiereudan.”

“?”

Giselle was still unconvinced, but Lee Han was already continuing.

-Brother, may I ask you something…?

-“Is that you, Lee Han? I’ll give you 2 minutes 24 seconds. Be brief.”

-“Yes. I’ll finish in under thirty seconds. Did you write and plant ‘Empire’s Most Promising Profitable Businesses Even Fools Can Do’ in my library?”

-“Yes. I did.”

-“…Why though???”

-“I heard you and Allarlong have been wandering around reading too many books lately. Before diving into magic, you need to keep your body balanced.”

-“Uh… you could have just told me to take a walk…”

-“You’d have resisted. Forcing you would have made it less efficient. But you happily, willingly made your body healthy. Why aren’t you pleased?”

-“…How can I be pleased when the book was fake?!”

-“Then you shouldn’t have dug for the truth. Take this as a lesson and don’t do it again.”

-……

Had he not been an archmage in another dimension, then…

“No. Even if he wasn’t, I still wouldn’t have been able to do anything.”

“……”

Back in reality, Giselle was overwhelmed by Lee Han’s story.

She’d always thought her older sister Ziklin was quite eccentric, but compared to Wardanaz, her sister seemed pretty down-to-earth.

Just a little better at swordsmanship and a bit more competitive, that’s all!

“So, now you understand why I find it unsettling?”

Lee Han often got accused by other tower kids of “Wardanaz, that guy! Always controlling people!” but compared to his oldest brother, that was nothing.

He only caught the luckiest cases like that “Most Promising Profitable Businesses Even Fools Can Do” book—how many had he missed?

“Maybe even my encounters with powerful beings from other dimensions are part of my brother’s plot.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s absolutely not it.”

Giselle flatly replied, but Lee Han pretended not to hear her.

He just wanted someone to blame for his misfortune.

“Anyway, Ibinta. I’m a totally different kind of mage from my brother, with a human heart—so don’t worry.”

“……”

Ibinta involuntarily glanced up and down the corridor. The scars left by the lightning were still vivid.

‘This kid… might be more insane than his brother…’