Episode 1073

Chapter 1073

“They probably entrusted it to you expecting your talent.”

True to his reputation as a renowned enchanter, Avalkaigen correctly surmised Lagesa’s thoughts.

Just looking at the magic created with Princess Yukveltire, he could see how extraordinary this boy’s talent was.

He didn’t want to admit it, but it was to the extent that Lee Han was superior to his own disciple. Now he understood why Lagesa entrusted Verdus’s flying sailing ship—which she’d invested so much gold in—to him.

-Oh…!

-I thought she handed it over out of pity, but that explanation makes sense. As expected of Master Avalkaigen!

The Death Knights marveled at his keen insight.

Now that they thought about it, it was odd.

It was simply too expensive an item to give away out of pity.

It seemed they had been duped by Successor’s claim that he’d received it out of pity.

‘Is he playing with us?’

Avalkaigen was a bit speechless at the knights’ unbelievable reaction. But he didn’t show it and went on.

“So you have the sailing ship, then?”

“Yes.”

“Hm. That makes no difference then. If you want, we’ll cast the magic we brought on it.”

“I’ll do so as well.”

The two wizards expressed agreement, but Lee Han was uncertain.

In fact, he still hadn’t grasped the situation fully.

“Wait a moment, everyone. Is this really all right? You came together for the professor, didn’t you?”

-Our mission is escort, not assisting Professor Verdus’s project.

The Death Knights, accustomed to a second life, adaptably let it go.

Their job was to keep Professor Verdus alive, not to ensure his project was finished.

Lee Han regretted asking the wrong people. If he’d asked, “Is it all right if I sell Professor Verdus into slavery?” the Death Knights would probably have replied, “Well, so long as his life is intact, it’s fine.”

Instead, Lee Han directed his question to the two mages who combined common sense and experience.

“Is this really all right? Both of you came for the help you’d get from Professor Verdus, from this godfors… I mean, this place.”

‘Didn’t he almost say “godforsaken place”?’

Avalkaigen thought to himself.

But it must have been a mistake. A mage of the Wardanaz family would never say such vulgar things.

“Technically, yes.”

“You’re okay not getting his help?”

Both mages nodded simultaneously.

“I’d rather forgo it than give into that guy’s nonsense.”

“I feel the same. Cooperation is necessary, yes, but I’m not about to redo all my preparations from scratch.”

“……”

Lee Han was overwhelmed by the steely resolve of the two mages.

He could perceive only one emotion from them.

Rather throw away our magic than give in to Professor Verdus’s demands!

“The prepared magic is of no use anywhere except Professor Verdus’s sailing ship anyway.”

“Indeed. Since we brought it, please accept it.”

“But the current sailing ship is at Einrogard…”

-Don’t worry. We’ve already contacted our colleagues to bring it.

“……”

Since the professor started acting up, the knights had already contacted their colleagues at Einrogard.

To have predicted the situation this far.

Truly, they could be called extraordinary strategists.

“Th-thank you.”

-We’re the ones to thank. Just, if you ever talk to Professor Verdus about this, please call us too!

• * *

While the two mages ran outside, Professor Verdus didn’t bother apologizing or trying to persuade them. Instead, he used the time efficiently.

He immediately immersed himself in his own work.

As he meticulously tuned the shrunken sailing ship, Alsicle became uneasy and asked,

“Uh, shouldn’t you check outside?”

“Why?”

“…Because this is a collaboration, isn’t it?”

“Would me following them outside help?”

“!”

Professor Verdus could be surprisingly sharp at times.

True enough. Even if Professor Verdus went out, those two would not change their minds.

‘Could this person actually be a genius?’

While Alsicle was shocked, he spotted a bizarre spectacle outside the window.

What the…

‘What’s with that sailing ship… That’s… uh…?’

Death Knights floating in the air were cutting open the outer wall on the upper floor and pushing in a small sailing ship.

No matter how skilled a mage one was, such a surreal sight was rare.

Gazing absentmindedly, Alsicle met Lee Han’s eyes. Lee Han gestured for quiet and pleaded with his gaze.

-Please restrain Professor Verdus for us.

“…H-how am I supposed to do that!”

“Can’t you just be quiet?”

Professor Verdus, feeling no sense of dissonance at all, snapped irritably.

He was in the middle of reconfiguring the internal magic while under the shrinking spell. It required great delicacy.

“S-sorry. Uh… do your best. I won’t get in the way. Is there anything I can help with?”

Alsicle decided to do his best.

He wasn’t sure how well he could do, lacking any personal connection to Professor Verdus (with someone else, he might have used the charm of his penguin beastkin looks, but that wouldn’t work on a beaver), but it was worth a try.

“Want to help? Sure.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“Can you make some ice?”

Different kinds of ice, depending on their form and quality, were used as reagents.

A cold magic-user of Alsicle’s level could create several reagents impossible to collect naturally.

“What kind of ice? What shape and attributes…”

Professor Verdus held out a mug.

“Just put it on the water here.”

“……”

Realizing his “help” was needed just for iced water, Alsicle was furious.

Discarding his previously polite demeanor, due to present company, Alsicle shouted,

“What are you doing?!”

“Huh? What?”

“You asked me to help with magic, not to make your damn ice water!”

“Isn’t it the same?”

Professor Verdus looked bewildered.

When he was hot and thirsty, his magic efficiency dropped, didn’t it?

“What kind of mage would do this with magic?!”

“Wardanaz does.”

“……”

Even while raging, Alsicle found himself rendered speechless.

‘Wardanaz, you…!’

Such a talented mage, yet so pitiful.

It was truly mysterious.

Alsicle steeled himself. Now was not the time to vent his anger.

While whatever was happening above (he had no idea what), he must block Professor Verdus for the Empire’s most miserable mage!

“…Fine. Here you go.”

Alsicle tightly packed the ice with resentment. Professor Verdus mumbled and returned to his work.

About an hour passed.

Alsicle, who’d been watching, mentally calculated the time.

‘Maybe I really can keep blocking him.’

At first, he hadn’t been confident in persuading him, but once he thought about it, Professor Verdus didn’t even like moving around.

So long as he gave him ice, he was satisfied and kept sitting.

“Oh.”

“!”

But that hope broke up in a bubble the moment Professor Verdus got up. Alsicle felt a sinking in his chest.

“W-what’s wrong?”

“I need to go to the second floor for a bit.”

“Why??”

Alsicle wondered if Professor Verdus had finally picked up on something wrong.

Had he realized where everyone had gone?

“I need Bellgarung pigment for reagents.”

Several paintings originally belonging to the house owner were hanging on the second floor.

Scraping them would more or less get the needed amount of reagent.

Of course, it would be displeasing for the original owner, an anonymous lich archmage, but Professor Verdus didn’t care.

“Wait! Wait!”

“??”

“…Do you absolutely need that pigment?”

“I need it.”

‘Damn it. Why am I so bad at talking!?’

Alsicle reflected.

Having gotten by his whole life with just his cute looks, he found he had too few tools when that didn’t work.

If it were Wardanaz, he’d have talked Professor Verdus into jumping into the fireplace in a few words!

As he stood at the stairs, Professor Verdus paused. Professor Voladi was standing in the middle.

“I need to go to the second floor…”

Professor Voladi slowly shook his head. He said nothing threatening, nor was there any gesture, but the meaning was unmistakable.

Professor Verdus quietly turned back and sat down. Alsicle couldn’t help but ask,

“Don’t you need the pigment?”

“Mm. I think I can substitute it.”

“……”

Alsicle debated.

…After this, maybe I should train as a combat mage too.

• * *

Upstairs, the two mages found themselves surprisingly focused.

Helping not the professor, but his student, their hearts were lighter and motivation overflowed.

“Thank you so much. Here, have some water.”

Lee Han handed a tin cup to Avalkaigen’s disciple, the orc mage.

Unfortunately, Lee Han couldn’t do much in the current modification of the sailing vessel.

The two mages had already perfectly prepared their spells; the embedding work could only be hindered by outsiders.

So Lee Han could only watch as the orc mage Avalkarn sweated and toiled alongside his master.

‘If only I had a strong heart like Senior Yukveltire.’

Amazingly, Yukveltire didn’t even blink an eye. She acted as if there was no need to butt in on the embedding of another mage’s spell.

On reflection, maybe it wasn’t strength but sheer shamelessness. Lee Han decided she wasn’t a role model.

“Thank… Was there an ice artifact here on the second floor?”

Avalkarn was puzzled by the ice-cold water.

Other than the paintings for decoration, there was nothing else up here. Where had this water come from?

“I made it with magic.”

“…?!”

Avalkarn was appalled by such unthinkable waste of magic power.

Even a third-rate street mage wouldn’t be so wasteful. That a mage far greater than himself from Einrogard would be?

“How… why…”

He stammered, but Lee Han asked first,

“By the way, what was the spell you wanted Professor Verdus’s help with?”

“Ah, -Bibble’s Lament-. I was hoping he could cast it.”

Avalkaigen was an expert in ancient relics but could not personally cast every spell.

Bibble’s Lament, a unique spell by Professor Verdus—reinterpreting Baquantalana’s Lament—was meant to be used in restoring broken relics.

“Is that magic impossible to imitate?”

“Yes, I think so. It’s not a simple casting; Professor Verdus must use his Small World…”

The difficulty was certainly high.

Professor Verdus needed to expand his Small World to cast it.

Lee Han pondered for a moment.

“Could you show me the broken relic?”

“That’s not a problem…”

Handing it over, Avalkarn was puzzled.

Was he about to go down and ask Professor Verdus?

It seemed absolutely impossible, but since this was Professor Verdus’s disciple, you never knew.

But Lee Han didn’t go down—instead, he slipped into a guest room for a moment.

As the orc mage’s curiosity was about to burst, Lee Han emerged from the room.

“I’ve cast it here. Could you check if it’s adequate?”

Thud!

Avalkarn’s legs gave out, and he collapsed in shock.