Episode 1082

Episode 1082

“What the… You came in person?”

Direte, who had just stepped outside the mansion for a bit, frowned at the sight of his friend.

It was so Yukveltire-like to never show up when called on normal days, but personally come only at times like this.

“Is that magician someone you hired?”

“Huh? Uh… something like that. Actually, it’s…”

“You’d best fire him immediately.”

Yukveltire spoke decisively.

Such a rude magician.

He was sure the magician would act rudely to Direte as well.

“……”

Direte hesitated to reveal the junior’s new identity.

…He was just so annoying—should he just not say anything?

Lee Han, standing in the back, apologized with his eyes.

‘Sorry. I got too into my role.’

‘No, no.’

Direte changed his mind.

Thinking about it, it might be better not to tell his friend.

That way, the junior could disguise himself and catch his breath when things got tough.

“No.”

“…Huh?”

Yukveltire was flustered by Direte’s decisive refusal.

Why not?

“The Stedal of the Nago family here is an outstanding combat magician and a seasoned demon hunter.”

“…If you need security, there’s also a Wardanaz junior in the capital.”

Direte was enraged at Yukveltire’s brazen suggestion to summon a second-year junior for protection.

Lee Han felt the same way. He cursed inwardly.

‘I should have spat when coming in earlier. Does she have no conscience?’

Direte signaled to the junior that it was fine to scold his friend.

“???”

Lee Han didn’t immediately understand and tilted his head in confusion.

What did he want him to do?

As the junior hesitated, Direte spoke up.

“Ah. Yukveltire. Looks like Mr. Stedal wants to say something.”

“Wha… wha… what?”

“He seems very upset. Oh dear. Please, feel free. As magicians, it’s important we all freely express our opinions.”

Wondering if he had really understood Direte’s signal, Lee Han carefully spoke.

“To… call a junior… for protection… because you can’t… protect yourself… must mean… your skills… are lacking?”

“!!!”

‘Nice job.’

Yukveltire’s face froze in shock from the unexpected rudeness, but Direte gleefully signaled that Lee Han had done well.

That really felt satisfying!

“I don’t know what you’re going on about.”

But Yukveltire quickly snapped out of the shock.

Not just anyone could be a fifth-year student at Einrogard. Such forced nitpicking didn’t faze Yukveltire at all.

”The virtue of an Enchanter is not in combat or protection, but squarely within the aims of their school. Don’t you know even that?”

“Hmph… Maybe… you couldn’t… handle Enchanter… spells alone… so you called… your junior…”

“!!!”

Yukveltire’s eyes shook violently.

Not being able to protect herself was a stretch, but this time Lee Han had struck right at the mark.

She had actually received help from a junior (well, technically from the junior’s master) to complete her unfinished magic, so the shock was understandable.

The prouder the magician, the more violently they reacted when their painful weakness was poked.

“…Why you…”

“Why?”

“…Just you wait!!”

Tatata!

Leaving behind such a petty-sounding remark, Yukveltire ran into the mansion at full speed.

Direte nodded in satisfaction at the sight of her back.

A Yukveltire whose pride was wounded and left deflated like that was a well-behaved, compliant friend for a while.

He hadn’t expected it to work this well—an unexpectedly great outcome.

“Wow, well done, junior. I just wanted you to scold her because she annoyed me, but I didn’t expect it to work this well.”

“S-shouldn’t you go comfort her??”

Unlike Direte, Lee Han was extremely flustered.

Thanks to their long friendship, Direte was sure of his friend’s state, but Lee Han had no such background. He immediately wondered if he’d gone too far.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Yukveltire will just go research her magic and figure things out. She’s easier to deal with in this state anyway.”

“……”

Direte, delighted, then realized his junior was looking at him in slight fear.

“Uh, no. I’m only like this with Yukveltire! I’m not like this with anyone else!”

“I-I see.”

But perhaps it was just his imagination—Direte felt that his junior now seemed a little more distant. Maybe the distance was in spirit, not just physically.

Direte quickly changed the subject.

“Oh, right. Junior, I was curious.”

“Yes.”

“How much did you help with Yukveltire’s magic? It seems like you might’ve helped a bit more than you mentioned before—did you go beyond what you said you did last time?”

Even as he asked, Direte wondered if he was just imagining things.

Of course, it was odd that Yukveltire’s pride had been so hurt, but his junior wasn’t a fool.

Knowing his friend’s tenacity, he wouldn’t have dug his own grave by helping more than promised…

Tatata!

Instead of answering, Stedal Nago sprinted into the mansion.

Direte stared blankly after him, then his hands began to tremble.

…These people, seriously…!

• * *

“Senior Yukveltire. Is it alright with an outsider here?”

Dirimpa asked nervously.

He’d once helped with Direte’s work and experienced the difficult nature of that crazy fifth-year.

-I can’t allow outsiders in. If there’s a magician lacking in skill, something can go wrong during mana release.

-Yukveltire. They’re magicians from Kalarogard!

-So? What spells have they mastered?

-Well, they haven’t mastered any yet, but they’re learning the orthodox way…

-So, you’re not ready to prove anything.

-Hey. Come outside for a moment.

-Can’t do that. If I leave my post…

That incident made the Black Magic School students realize something.

Yukveltire didn’t look down on other students—if anything, it was because they were at least Einrogard students that they got this much respect!

Even Einrogard students only got that much; they could only imagine how bad it’d be for outsiders.

“…It’s fine.”

Yukveltire nodded with a dejected face.

Not just Dirimpa, but all the others were startled.

“What’s up with her??”

“Maybe her research investment blew up or something?”

“She wouldn’t act like this just because of that. Did Direte say something to her earlier?”

“Why would he?”

“How should I know? There could be a hundred reasons.”

Koholti nodded in casual agreement.

Indeed, considering what Direte had suffered, it wouldn’t be strange to slap his friend on the back of the head just while breathing.

“If there’s an angel nearby, we can contact them with this magic.”

Once everyone was gathered, Yukveltire took out the Celestial Detection Artifact.

The artifact was made of six candlesticks arranged in a hexagram.

Lee Han was amazed by the magic condensed inside.

‘It lets you find other-dimensional beings, contact them, and even scrambles the tracing so they can’t be detected?’

Looking at it, the other-dimension visits or approaches he’d done in his first and second years felt primitive in comparison.

If the method for lower-year Einrogard students was to literally open the door and wander around until the being interested in them emerged, Yukveltire’s artifact shot detection signals beyond the other dimension, seeking out the entity.

It even included spells to confuse the target by shifting between dimensions to prevent counter-detection—a truly astonishing magic.

‘With that artifact, maybe I could find spirits and approach them first!’

He stopped at the first thought.

And felt a deep sense of regret.

‘…What am I thinking. That approach wouldn’t be meaningful anyway.’

Even if he summoned a spirit by hiding his presence and just sending a signal, the spirit would only be frightened upon seeing Lee Han, so it was pointless.

Unless he intended to forcefully seize them…

Lee Han shook his head determinedly. No matter what, he didn’t want to become a magician like that skeletal headmaster in both appearance and spirit.

Fwoosh!

Flames lit atop the six candlesticks. Yukveltire began chanting, opening a highly localized dimensional passage.

It was an energy channel that a human soul couldn’t actually pass through—only a magical signal could travel through it.

Suddenly, the flames flickered. Yukveltire spoke.

“We’ve contacted them. What should I say?”

“Identify us as imperial magicians. Tell them we’ve caught the demon they’re pursuing, and we’ll be the ones to handle it.”

It might sound rude, but for a magician, it was a natural statement.

In the Empire’s own dimension, there was no reason to yield to outsiders.

/dah-eopsi-ryeok-neung-hal-li-gwan-neun-ge-ne-da-mak-han-heom-wi/

A Black Magic School student exclaimed in surprise.

“Is that angelic language?”

“No. Yukveltire set it backwards so the letters are coming out reversed.”

“……”

/We can’t handle such a dangerous demon./

Reading it correctly this time, the Black Magic School students exchanged careful opinions.

“Doesn’t sound like a hostile angel, does it?”

“Actually, it’s harder to find a hostile angel. They’re only obsessed with their own purposes.”

“Is their purpose collecting demons?”

-Young master. Please…! Don’t hand me over!

Orlach, who had been watching anxiously, pleaded in desperation.

If he had to be a slave, he’d rather do it with the Wardanaz family—being dragged away by some mad angel he didn’t even know was out of the question.

“Young master??”

Stedal—no, Lee Han—glared at Orlach as though to kill him.

Orlach understood and shut his mouth.

-Hmph.

‘Did the Nago family also command demons?’

‘Amazing. I’ve never heard of that. Well, for a magician of that caliber, the family would be out of the ordinary.’

Though they didn’t show it outwardly, the Black Magic School students were deeply impressed.

There weren’t many families with such abilities—having apparently commanded demons in the past.

“Give this answer for now: we’re the Black Magic School affiliated with Einrogard. We have both the experience and ability to handle demons.”

The reply came swiftly.

/Most magicians who lose control of demons are black magicians./

“……”

The students were slightly offended.

Of course, it was usually black magicians who caused trouble with demons. Since they dealt with them directly, incidents were bound to happen.

But most such cases were caused by low-level black magicians.

People with no knowledge of magic and only craving for power.

“Do they not know Einrogard?”

-That’s only natural—they’re an angel.

“…Demon. Be quiet.”

-S-sorry…

Deflated again, Orlach shut his mouth.

As much as the Duke of Pride or Arsil of the Wardanaz family praised his eloquence, it seemed to have no effect here.

“What shall we do, senior? Should we just cut this off and assert ourselves with force?”

“Wait. Let’s try one more message.”

Direte thought deeply, then this time grabbed the artifact himself. The others wondered what he would say.

Just what was he about to send?

/If so, I will acknowledge you./

“!!!”

Everyone present was shocked.

There was a commotion, and everyone buzzed in surprise. Only Lee Han, in an admiring tone, whispered so that only Direte could hear.

“What did you just say?”

“I said there’s a Wardanaz family magician here too.”

“……”

No way…!