Episode 111

Episode 111

The white horse was flustered.

Wasn’t this not the kind of atmosphere for this moment right now?

The griffon and the human, who had distrusted each other.

Wasn’t this an emotional moment where the human’s devotion cleared away the griffon’s long-held distrust, and the griffon was finally about to acknowledge Ihan as its master…?

-Neigh. Neighhh.

The white horse bowed its head again and rubbed its head against Ihan. Ihan was calm.

“I told you. I’m not taking off either the bracelet or the belt.”

-……

The white horse was upset.

No!

-Neighhh! Neigh!!

“So you’re finally revealing your true colors! Did you think I’d be fooled!”

As the white horse huffed, Ihan replied as if he had expected this.

The white horse, angry, shoved Ihan back with its head.

No!!!

“Are you okay?!”

“I’m fine. I think it’s probably angry because I touched its body without permission.”

“I’m not talking about the horse!”

Yoner and the students rushed over in a hurry.

They were worried that Ihan might have been badly hurt.

Rowena looked at Ihan in disbelief. To carry a white horse out in a surging torrent.

…At this point, isn’t it better for him to be a knight than a mage?

“Really, I’m fine, so there’s no need to worry.”

Ihan shook off the water and said.

The other Tower students felt sorry that an accident happened during Ihan’s turn, but from Ihan’s perspective, it wasn’t the students’ fault.

It was the evil and twisted scheme of Professor Lightning Step that was the problem.

“Wh… what happened?”

Tutanta and friends from the Black Tower, who arrived late, were shocked.

Ihan suppressed his anger and explained calmly.

“Be careful, everyone. There are traps set by Professor Lightning Step.”

“…!”

Tutanta and his friends were appalled by the explanation.

“He did something like that?! Even the horse’s life could be in danger?”

“No matter if it’s a test, isn’t this going too far?!”

Unlike other professors, Professor Lightning Step was a famous adventurer of the Empire.

Students who had respected him after reading his travelogues as children felt betrayed and shocked.

“Let’s go back and protest. Even if it is a test, we can’t participate in something like this.”

“That’s right. This horse is pretty much my friend now. Asking me to send my friend to a place where its life is in danger? I could never do that.”

Ihan was moved by the reaction of his friends from Black Tortoise Tower.

‘Maybe the future of this school is brighter than I thought.’

And then, just at that moment, Professor Lightning Step came flying from the sky, riding a thunderbird.

The thunderbird landed gently and hissed at Ihan. It seemed vexed for having been deceived by Ihan last time.

Professor Lightning Step got off the thunderbird along with Nilia.

The students from Black Tortoise Tower walked over, their faces resolved, and spoke.

“Professor. We cannot do this test!”

“I’d rather get an F than risk my friend’s life…”

Rather than get angry at the students’ defiance, Professor Lightning Step simply nodded.

“I know. Isn’t the river spirit being capricious? I came to try to stop things. Wait a little.”

“……”

“……”

Huh?

The students from Black Tortoise Tower looked at each other, bewildered.

So it wasn’t Professor Lightning Step’s trap?

“Professor, wasn’t this something you prepared?”

“What?”

“Well… the river rose and…”

“And tried to sweep away the students…”

“Why would I prepare that?! Are you insane?!”

Professor Lightning Step shouted in disbelief.

“Why would I prepare such a dangerous trap where the horse could even die?”

“Ah… I see.”

“Now that I think about it, that makes sense.”

‘Shouldn’t a professor first think about the possibility of students dying?’

Professor Lightning Step really loved animals. Maybe even more than students.

There was no way such a professor would send animals where there was a risk they could get hurt.

“By the way, if the river spirit is being capricious, why did you suspect me?”

The students felt embarrassed.

On reflection, they realized that the Skull Principal had made them too distrustful of the professors.

Professor Lightning Step clicked his tongue and shook his head, seeming pitiful.

‘It seems this school’s education can develop magical ability, but ruins their character.’

• * *

It was Nilia who told Professor Lightning Step that something was wrong with the river.

Nilia was the first to arrive.

The water spirit contracted with Nilia noticed something was off and sent a signal.

Realizing that something was wrong with the river, Nilia left a mark used by the so that Ihan and Yoner, who would arrive later, could see it.

-Danger. Do not approach.

Then she returned to Professor Lightning Step. Since it was urgent, she ran back in a straight line, not along the road.

-Professor! The river spirit is acting capriciously!

-The horses are in danger! Lead me!

…That was how they had rushed over.

After hearing the explanation, Ihan felt a bit sorry towards Professor Lightning Step.

‘I suspected an innocent person because of the Skull Principal.’

“Wait. Rather than that, did you just recklessly go in without waiting?”

Professor Lightning Step was dumbfounded, seeing the students’ wet clothes.

Seeing that the river was raging, shouldn’t they have thought ‘it’s dangerous’ and avoided it, instead of thinking ‘this is the test’ and entering?

However, the students felt it was terribly unfair.

The Skull Principal’s atrocities were still fresh.

“We really thought it was the test!”

“Since the Principal was preparing an underground dungeon beneath the sand last time, we thought this was another trap!”

“Shouldn’t you have checked the river thoroughly from the beginning, Professor?!”

“Yes. Yes. I’m sorry.”

Professor Lightning Step tried to calm the students, waving the hand with the cigarette holder back and forth.

What fault was it of the students?

It was this magical school that was at fault.

“But though the river spirit was acting up, how did you manage to water the horse? Did you succeed in persuading it?”

“We tied it up with a rope and entered.”

“……”

Professor Lightning Step was dumbfounded.

Of course, persuasion wasn’t the only answer when a spirit was angry.

Like now, tying it up with rope and overcoming it by force was another good method.

…It’s just that most students don’t bring rope to lectures!

“You were the one who brought it, right?”

“Why do you think it was me?”

Ihan protested confidently as he got singled out. He looked so self-assured that Professor Lightning Step apologized without realizing it.

“Oh. Wardanaz, you didn’t bring it? Sorry.”

“I actually did bring it.”

“……”

Professor Lightning Step was about to throw his cigarette holder but held back.

Nilia, who was listening, tilted her head and asked.

“But I left a mark saying it was dangerous and not to approach. Why did you still go in?”

“……”

“……”

Yoner’s face turned a bit pale. Ihan had turned pale too, but it didn’t show thanks to his face.

‘Damn. From now on, I should check for marks as I walk.’

Nilia had taught him, and Ihan had learned hard, but he hadn’t checked for marks while walking.

Ihan resolved that from now on, he would check for marks wherever he went.

“You… you didn’t miss it, did you?”

“No, I saw it. But others kept insisting we go.”

Ihan immediately shifted the blame. Rowena happened to be far off with the princess.

“They were stubborn, like true White Tiger Tower students, so I couldn’t break their will.”

“That’s really how it was.”

At their words, Nilia was indignant.

It was always the nobles and knights who were the problem.

Even when they were in the mountains, it was the sightseeing visitors who always did what they were told not to and annoyed her so much.

Ignoring the safety rules of hunters working in the field!

“How arrogant. It’s disappointing, even from the Princess!”

“That’s how knights are. Nilia, don’t be too hard on her. We already told them off harshly.”

Ihan completely blocked any follow-up. Nilia nodded.

While this was happening, the white horse who had been waiting approached again, bit Ihan’s sleeve, and pulled.

“You’ve become friends?”

“We didn’t become friends. It’s a trick.”

-Neighhh! Neigh! Neighhh!

“See? It just gets mad. Don’t be fooled.”

“…?”

Nilia looked at the white horse as if she couldn’t understand.

Since Nilia had gotten to know animals in the mountains, she could tell.

Right now, the white horse seemed to really like Ihan.

This seemed to be more like ‘Please pay attention to me.’

Nilia said timidly.

“I think you’ve become friends, at least to me…”

“What are you talking about?”

Professor Lightning Step, back from calming the river spirit, joined the conversation.

And then, seeing the white horse, he was startled.

‘It acknowledged him as its master!?’

Amazingly, now the griffon—no, the white horse—was acknowledging Ihan as its master.

What kind of creature was a griffon?

Just as it had the wings of an eagle and the claws of a lion, its pride was as fierce as those two combined.

Normally, if a person were unworthy or evil, it would rather die than submit.

Even after growing close for years, there was no guarantee it would serve anyone as master, yet it now served Wardanaz as its master.

Professor Lightning Step could hardly believe it and blinked to check again.

“What on earth… what happened?”

“Excuse me?”

Ihan became wary at Professor Lightning Step’s question.

“Professor, I didn’t steal the rope.”

Of course, the students of Black Tortoise Tower might have, but!

“…I’m not interrogating you, I’m just asking because I’m curious! Do you think I’m like Gonadaltes or something?!”

Professor Lightning Step became a bit emotional.

I’m not the principal, for heaven’s sake!

“I’m asking because you’ve gotten friendly with that white horse. Normally, it’s an aggressive creature difficult to befriend.”

“Aha.”

Ihan nodded as if he understood.

And then he said.

“That animal is using tricks. It’s a very cunning one.”

“……”

‘Are you the professor?’

Professor Lightning Step held back and tried again.

“What happened?”

“Really, nothing special. If anything noteworthy had happened, I would have told you.”

As Ihan insisted so strongly, Professor Lightning Step took a step back.

This boy from the Wardanaz family was diligent and sincere. He didn’t tell unnecessary lies.

Yoner, who had been listening next to him, whispered.

“You saved it from the water.”

“Oh, that… The river spirit acted up and the horse fell, so I supported it and brought it out.”

Ihan said it as if it were nothing. Professor Lightning Step almost accepted it easily, but then stopped.

“Wait. The horse fell because of the river spirit, but how did you support and bring it out? There wouldn’t have been time? You didn’t already learn telekinesis at the intermediate level, did you…?”

“No. So I carried it out. I cast a water shield beside me to buy some time.”

“……”

Professor Lightning Step gripped his cigarette holder tight between his index and middle fingers.

To stop himself from hurling it at this brilliant student in front of him, who didn’t even realize what he had done.

‘If that’s not something special, what is?!’

Now he understood.

Risking his life in a situation where he could have died.

That courage and honor made the griffon—no, the white horse—acknowledge him as its master.

Once the sense of disbelief cleared, Professor Lightning Step just felt proud for no reason.

Many arrogant mages mistakenly believed that vast knowledge or outstanding magic was the key to taming animals.

But, in Professor Lightning Step’s opinion, the real talent lay much deeper than that.

A heart that cherishes others before oneself.

That heart was the true key.

How could he not be happy seeing his student demonstrate such a simple but important principle?

-Neigh.

“I told you, I’m not taking it off. Go away.”

-Neigh neighhh! Neigh neighhh!

“Don’t get mad. I won’t take it off, no matter what.”

“……”

In the end, Professor Lightning Step couldn’t hold on and dropped his cigarette holder.