Episode 1088

“Were you really going to break it?”

Direte asked, not really believing it.

There’s no way the junior was actually such a reckless magician…

“Huh? How else do you listen in if you don’t break it?”

…He really was!

‘Is his personality getting rougher because he’s been disguised as Stedal Nago?’

Direte worried the junior’s fake identity might be rubbing off on his true self.

‘No, there’s probably another reason.’

She glanced at the friend standing blankly to the side.

If her junior’s personality was rougher, it was probably more because of this friend or this friend’s department professor than the fake ID.

“Hmmm. If I don’t break it, there’s really no good way…”

“Hey, you don’t actually have to listen in, you know.”

“Ah. I just thought of something good.”

Lee Han immediately dashed off toward the stairs. He returned with Joulin, who was playing chess with Eandurde. (It was a chess set with a gold dragon capable of moving in any straight or diagonal direction and even using breath.)

Joulin let out a sigh of relief.

“Whew. Thank goodness! Joulin was losing!”

“?”

Lee Han wondered how even that was possible, but got to the main point.

“Your Highness. I want to hear what they’re discussing inside; could you help?”

“Yes!”

Joulin nodded cheerfully.

For a dragon, nothing was a greater joy than showing off their competence to their contractor.

“They’re probably talking about Uman’s visit to the school.”

“…Huh? What?”

Lee Han, who was about to borrow Joulin’s power to circumvent the soundproofing, paused.

Didn’t he just hear something weird?

“Heheh. With the new semester starting, Joulin really wants to visit the lake!”

“There’s a kraken there, Your Highness. But… Uman? Do you mean Prince Uman?”

“Yes.”

In her polimorphed form as a golden-haired human girl, Joulin explained her younger brother’s new role at the school for the coming semester.

He would be coming as the emperor’s proxy, acting as inspector to monitor the skull headmaster, professors, and so on, for one semester…

“……”

“……”

The students listening were so stunned they couldn’t react right away.

They couldn’t tell if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

“…You sure that’s okay? What if things get worse?”

“Could Einrogard really get any worse? I feel like it’ll be good. If a dragon’s monitoring, even the headmaster won’t be able to pull off anything outrageous.”

With no way to predict how Einrogard would change, the students’ debate was intense.

Lee Han fell into deep, serious thought.

‘No wonder he was so eager to donate gold for no reason. So this was the plan.’

As he was thinking, one student cautiously spoke up.

“Your Highness, will the arrival of a new imperial family member affect our magical training?”

“Don’t worry about that at all! Uman would never do that.”

Joulin boasted confidently.

Uman’s biggest rule was “never interfere with Einrogard’s students,” so even as inspector, he would make absolutely sure not to hinder their studies.

In fact, the students would rarely even see him, as he’d actively avoid interaction.

“Really?”

Lee Han was surprised.

It wasn’t as he’d expected.

“Then… will I also have to be apart from Your Highness…?”

“What nonsense. Of course not.”

Joulin answered instantly, dropping all formality.

Why would he even imagine such a terrible thing?

“You’re an exception, Lee Han. You’re my contractor!”

“……”

Lee Han tilted his head.

Why did that make him an exception?

‘Is this some draconic law? Too complicated.’

Bang!

Once again, the parlor door swung open. The skull headmaster called out.

“Wardanaz, why aren’t you trying to circumvent the soundproofing? I was waiting!”

The skull headmaster, having confidently told the other professors “Wardanaz will try an end-run any minute, just watch,” was left embarrassed and now scolded his disciple.

He closed the door again.

“……”

“……”

“Shall Joulin go scold him for you?”

“Please don’t.”

• * *

Uman coming for the new semester didn’t actually change much for Lee Han.

“Hello, Master.”

-Welcome, Disciple.

The voice of the young prince, cheerful and welcoming from behind piles of crates, greeted him.

The basement of the dimensional labyrinth was so stacked with luggage that you could barely move.

As its owner, the prince might have been annoyed, but he graciously made allowances for Lee Han.

-There’s space atop that box. You could put something there, too.

“Oh. Good idea.”

-I’ll use an expansion spell. Why not put those carving tools in the bronze jar? And the magic cards are well-wrapped, so nothing will happen to them.

“…There were magic cards in the bronze jar? That damn Gainando…”

Lee Han muttered angrily as he searched the jar.

The cards had been hidden with skill.

They’d been slipped inside black magic potion wrappings to evade detection spells!

‘That guy. He keeps getting better at the useless stuff.’

-But disciple, aren’t you bringing anything for yourself?

“Do you have something to recommend?”

Lee Han asked as he moved boxes with telekinesis.

Actually, he was bringing things for himself.

He’d already packed up the food, spices, reagents, and magical supplies he needed for the first semester.

But as the prince saw it, the disciple lacked any personal indulgences. Most of it was stuff other magicians could use, not only himself.

Sacrifice and dedication were good, but it was important to enjoy youth before it faded. The prince didn’t want his disciple to give up all his own joys.

-Disciple, are you not interested in the magic cards?

“No.”

-…I see.

He’d answered so quickly the prince looked a little dejected.

They seemed fun!

-Disciple, what do you do with your free time?

“I mostly catch up on missed studies.”

Lee Han nearly added, “because the skull headmaster forced me to,” but stopped himself.

He wanted to tattle, but to the person right there, it seemed a bit much.

-Disciple, by ‘free time,’ I actually meant time not spent studying magic.

“Huh? Was that what you meant?”

Lee Han was very surprised.

Was that how free time was usually counted?

“If you count even that out… hmm… then I usually calculate my gold income.”

-What do you do with that?

“After counting, I check how much I could rent a workshop in the capital. If I hire a manager and produce goods in my free time to deliver…”

When his gold was only a few dozen coins, his plans were modest. But now that he had four digits’ worth, his imagination had become ambitious.

Rent a staff workshop in the capital, hire a manager, make products in spare moments, and sell them as a “side hustle…”

‘Hmph. I don’t even have to physically participate. A great entrepreneur could dominate the staff-making scene in the capital without leaving Einrogard.’

With the will inherited from the Avatar of Ambition, he might not be able to leave Einrogard right away, but that didn’t mean giving up on his dream.

The wise magician always had a backup plan.

-……

Tears glimmered in the prince’s eyes. His heart ached at his disciple’s plight.

-It may already be too late for you, Disciple…

“Huh?”

-Nothing. Anyway, I understand well now that you only care about magic.

“That’s not really true.”

Lee Han protested, but the prince ignored him and went on.

-At least take an artifact before you go. This is an old cloak I used to wear in my youth, and its defense is quite good.

“!”

Lee Han was startled by this unexpected treasure.

An artifact the prince used in his youth.

Basically an ancient relic by now. He couldn’t help but be shocked.

“Could it still be around?”

-Not so easy to get rid of, so I think there’s a good chance. Oh, and could you take out that notebook artifact?

“??”

Lee Han was briefly confused, but realized the prince meant the -Whispers of Einrogard-.

The artifact used for communication with the Watchman Club, Senior Direte, and his second-year friends.

“Here it is. But why—?”

Flutter!

Suddenly, the notebook opened by itself and turned to the Watchman Club page.

And a new handwriting began to appear.

Hello, everyone. Please take care of me.

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: Who are you?

Ipheldrem: Wow! A new member?

Baquantalana: Wait. How did you get in? There’s no artifact linked to your side right now.

The Watchman Club members reacted differently. Baquantalana, who acted as the administrator, was particularly panicked.

When someone joined, you could normally see what artifact they used. This new member had appeared as if from thin air.

Could this be a magician so skilled they’d completely fooled even Baquantalana?

‘Impossible! No way!’

Lee Han snapped out of his daze and called for the prince, panicked.

“M-master! This is a secret club.”

-Oh. Sorry, Disciple. But to look for the artifact, I needed to communicate outside this basement, and there aren’t many good options.

-Whispers of Einrogard- was a well-made artifact, and among them, the Watchman Club’s page was especially convenient.

As it used multiple participants’ mana, the prince, who couldn’t use his own outside, could just as easily borrow someone else’s power.

“You could have just used my mana…”

-I can’t do that. I’ll only borrow it for this task.

Baquantalana: Everyone, be careful. We don’t know how this new member got in, but there’s no way they’re friendly…

Baquantalana’s message was immediately cut off. Lee Han realized the prince had just muted their speaking privileges.

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: What? Who is it?

Bulgasari: What’s going on?? Who joined??

The prince silenced the other magicians’ voices again when they started to fill up the chat, going so far as to revoke all reading privileges too.

No one can see anything now, so we can talk here, Disciple.

“…I really shouldn’t let anyone find out I did this.”

Lee Han was worried.

If this got out, wouldn’t he be kicked from the club?

“Wait, Master. If you have control… can you get information on other members, too?”

The Watchman Club was a secret society passed down in Einrogard. Baquantalana was only an inherited administrator, not a founder.

Even if he were, you couldn’t just find out everyone’s identities. The magic structure prevented it.

But the administrator could get some restricted information.

Such as what artifact someone used to join, and which artifact they used to communicate…

Without these, an admin couldn’t do their job at all.

What are you curious about?

“Could you tell me what artifacts the active members are using right now? And…”

Alright, Disciple. Since I took control, you want me to impersonate someone else and approach, right?

“…I never thought of that.”

Lee Han shivered at his master’s deep and cunning wisdom.