Episode 1076

‘What rude people these are.’

Even if they had no other way to get in touch, why bother Alsicle?

“So, what did you do?”

Alsicle was already certain Lee Han had done something as Stedal Nago.

“I might not have done anything.”

“Like hell you didn’t.”

Such firm faith.

Of course, if you considered the actual timing, Lee Han had barely had time to do anything lately.

During break, he had hunted void beasts from beyond dimensions, visited other magic schools to resolve their problems, been kidnapped by an evil dragon, and purged evil god cultists.

‘Wait. Why is this guy spending his break like this, anyway?’

Alsicle suddenly found himself with a fundamental question.

Shouldn’t a student spend their break in a more refreshing, cheerful way?

Limitations aside, even for an Einrogard student, Wardanaz’s break seemed too professor-dense.

“Actually, there is something I did.”

Lee Han gave up and confessed.

“When did you do it?”

“I went around as Stedal Nago last night.”

“…What!? When!?”

Alsicle was shocked.

He’d figured Lee Han did something recently, but not last night.

Weren’t they modifying the small sailing vessel on the second floor?!

“I flew around briefly as a test… By the way, didn’t Professor Verdus notice something off when we all disappeared?”

“Would he notice?”

‘Fair point.’

While Lee Han and the others were working on the second floor and flying, Professor Verdus was engrossed in the world’s most interesting thing: his own work.

Even after he was told the two mages had left, he just said, “Oh? Well, I’ll go back after I finish this,” and kept at it.

The knights, however, were cold—grabbing Professor Verdus by the scruff and tossing him into a carriage bound for Einrogard.

“It’s a shame Professor Verdus went back, though.”

“Excuse me!?”

Lee Han, mid-explanation, was startled by Alsicle’s words.

Was there magical contamination or something?

“Well, Professor Verdus being here would guarantee that Voladi Baegrek would attack him instead of me.”

“Indeed.”

Lee Han admired him.

Truly, the name of a genius mage was not undeserved.

To make such calculations in an instant?

“So you were flying the airship and, when people gathered, you said you were Stedal Nago?”

“Yes. Aren’t people going a bit too far?”

“I mean, if I heard there was a mage who took something from Professor Verdus, I’d want to check it out myself…”

“……”

Alsicle was serious.

If there was a mage who had completed the magic of permafrost and one who had robbed Professor Verdus, he would go see the latter first.

“You can’t reply to all these, but you can’t ignore them either. Why not pick one or two decent invitations and respond?”

“I was thinking of ignoring them all.”

Alsicle shook his head and explained.

“You’re planning to keep using this lazy alias, right? In that case, brushing off all invitations would only backfire. It would look too suspicious.”

“Lazy alias?”

Alsicle brushed off the protest and continued.

“And when a mage of great deeds is invited, the hosts prepare matching proposals and gifts. You might refuse the offer, but the gifts would be tempting, right?”

It was a bit embarrassing to call stealing a professor’s treasure a “great deed,” but Alsicle’s words made sense.

Just by attending, he could receive gifts.

‘That does suit my tastes.’

“And one last thing.”

“What is it?”

“When you go, tell them we aren’t that close…”

Alsicle’s voice, nearly suffocating after a night buried in letters, was desperate.

Lee Han could only nod in agreement.

• * *

“Direte. Are you all right with this?”

Koholt asked hesitantly.

Unlike the black magic students, Koholt was a graduate.

Maybe that’s why he worried more about his same-year friend.

“With what?”

“About not meeting that friend, and only hanging out with the juniors here.”

At once, protests rose from black magic juniors.

“What’s wrong with us that you say that?”

“Come to think of it, you’re not even a senior anymore, are you, Koholt? Why are you here? Go back to your job!”

‘You little punks.’

Koholt felt a surge of resentment.

True, he hadn’t been the most dependable senior in school.

He still thought he’d helped the juniors plenty per Direte’s instructions, yet this is how they repay him.

“Which friend?”

Direte looked puzzled.

She couldn’t guess who Koholt meant.

“Don’t you mean Her Highness, the princess?”

“You mean Senior Yukveltire.”

As soon as the juniors supplied the answer and Koholt nodded, Direte exclaimed,

“Why would she show up here?!”

“H-huh? Aren’t you two really close… or not?”

The black magic juniors hesitated.

“We’re not that close… N-not… We are close, but I definitely don’t want to see her even during break, okay? Actually, not seeing her is a relief!”

“Still, don’t you take too much care of us?”

“Senior is just really affectionate. Last time she even contracted that ugly undead out of pity.”

As the juniors whispered, Direte snapped.

“It’s not ugly. Hush.”

“Sorry.”

“And Yukveltire’s probably busy with her own matters. Got it? I’m perfectly comfortable not seeing her for once, don’t get any ominous ideas. I have no complaints about spending time with juniors.”

Her words immediately triggered a renewed attack on Koholt.

“Exactly. Mr. Koholt, why say that?”

“Direte Senior made time for us and has no complaints. Please don’t try to sow discord.”

Faced with such coldness from the juniors, Koholt resolved never to acknowledge them if they visited his workplace.

‘You’ll see…’

Still, Direte changed the topic for his sake.

“Koholt. Tell us about your job. So the juniors can learn.”

“Hmph. Only fifth-years are allowed.”

“……”

“……”

The mood froze.

It was the worst thing to say, angering even Direte for a moment.

“…I made a mistake. Sorry.”

In the end, Koholt had to buy the black magic juniors ice cream with lots of peach and plum.

Even while licking the ice cream from their waffles, the students glared at him.

“I said I’m sorry…”

“Hmph.”

“I’ve just had a tough time at work lately.”

Koholt spilled about his recent work.

Even if Black Magic wasn’t popular, a student who graduated from Einrogard would get offers. Naturally, Koholt got several.

Imperial army mage in the northern contaminated region, research mage at a black magic tower, guest mage for a knight order tracking magic criminals, black mage overseeing local gravekeepers…

Koholt chose to become a watcher for the western Wasteland Star-Catchers.

As fine hunters and patrolmen, they needed a strong black mage to police devils and magic crimes.

“Why did you join the Wasteland Star-Catchers, Koholt?”

“Hm? The pay was the best.”

‘Shouldn’t have asked.’

The juniors immediately regretted it.

How could someone same-year as Direte command no respect?

Maybe they should drop “senior” and just call him “Mr.”?

“Anyway, this job is tougher than it looks.”

“Because you have to cover harsh routes…”

The western wilds are some of the broadest in the Empire. For the Star-Catchers, it’s normal to ride three nights straight across this land.

“That wasn’t so hard. The physical strain was less than Einrogard, honestly.”

“Really? Strange. Maybe they cut slack for mages?”

“……”

Direte fell silent.

How pitiful the juniors’ sense of hardship was.

It wasn’t consideration—Einrogard life was just that tough!

“So what was hard about it? Was the enemy strong?”

“Nope. Haven’t even seen one yet. Devils and magic criminals aren’t that common. The people are tough.”

“People? You said you barely saw any magic criminals.”

“Not magic criminals—regular people.”

The patrolman’s job was, more than pursuing after an incident, to prevent it beforehand.

If someone got hold of a wicked artifact, you went to intervene before an incident. If someone was poisoned by a bad potion, you went to detoxify them…

In this, Koholt realized that Imperial citizens were a lot less willing to listen than he expected.

-You have to throw that amulet away!

-What nonsense! Do you know how much I paid for this?

-The mirror is cursed! Let me inside to break it!

-Would I let an outsider into my mansion? Dream on!

“…Even if I warn them, no one listens.”

“Oh dear.”

“It’s natural if you don’t understand magic well. Try persuading them like you learned at Einrogard.”

‘Did we ever learn such a thing?’

Some of the students felt bewildered.

They didn’t recall being taught how to persuade people…

Koholt slumped a little at their words.

“Like at Einrogard? I tried, but… it backfired.”

“Backfired?”

“I tried sneaking in and breaking it secretly, but got caught.”

The black magic students were sincerely regretful.

“What a waste! If only you hadn’t been caught!”

“If only…!”

“Right? That’s what I thought, too.”

Direte fell silent once again.

She wanted to say, “The problem isn’t that you got caught—it’s that you tried to destroy it secretly,” but it felt pointless.

“So did you get fired? Are you going to re-enter Einrogard?”

“Don’t ever say such a horrifying thing, even as a joke.”

Koholt glared seriously and made eye contact with Direte.

“…Ah, I don’t mean fifth-year is horrifying…”

“Shut up and keep talking.”

“So I came to the capital. To apologize.”

Direte and the juniors were in the capital during break for some requests, research, and visits.

They heard Koholt was there too, so they met up.

“Was it a noble who owned what you broke?”

“More like the eldest of a noble family. Count Zau. Known for his generosity.”

Arriving at the count’s mansion, Koholt shook the present he’d prepared.

He’d explain his work as a Star-Catcher and offer the gift. Surely a kind count would resolve the problem personally.

“Isn’t that a bit optimistic? Is there any guarantee His Excellency the Count will fix everything?”

“He’s known for his generosity. You’ll see.”

Direte couldn’t help but worry.

Count Zau’s reputation for kindness might not be a lie, but even so, kindness didn’t mean solving everything unconditionally.

The others seemed to have similar thoughts, whispering,

“Direte, should we just ditch Mr. Koholt and go off on our own?”

“…Let’s not do that, though…”

While they whispered, a carriage from an unfamiliar house stopped in front.

A rough, intimidating person jumped out. Direte assumed it was a guest of the count and stepped aside.

…Until the person spoke in a familiar low voice.

“Direte senior. It’s me.”

“…?!!”