Episode 1145

“Just how many requests have you received?”

Until now, they had only heard stories of Einrogard students being sad about not being able to get requests. It was the first time they’d seen someone troubled because too many were pouring in.

“Um. Several dozen…”

“Several dozen?!”

“…Except for a few, it seems almost all the Einrogard requests are coming to me…”

“……”

The guild members were speechless at yet another unexpected answer.

They had never imagined the scale would be this overwhelming.

“I didn’t expect that. Well, if you’re the kind of talent who can beat up Count Buyong, it’s more surprising if you aren’t getting requests.”

“Pardon?”

“Ah. Slip of the tongue. I meant the Pocketknife Fortress story. For someone who helped design the Pocketknife Fortress as a first year, it’d be strange if you weren’t getting requests.”

“……”

Lee Han was a bit put off but let it pass without pointing it out.

Meanwhile, Yukveltire arrived last. This Blue Dragon Tower senior let out some faint anger in her voice.

“You ran off by yourself…!”

“Ah, sorry. I didn’t have the chance to signal you. Are you angry?”

“It’s not an irrational emotion, but your reckless behavior of not following procedures…”

The capital stonemason guild members lightly cleared their throats. Unlike Professor Verdus, Yukveltire actually remembered what social etiquette was, so she stopped the scolding.

“What were you all talking about?”

“We were asking him if he’d be willing to participate as an advisor in a magical architecture construction request.”

“!”

Yukveltire was greatly surprised by the offer.

A mere second-year, receiving such a request.

The other foolish third- and fourth-year juniors of the Enchantment Magic School really ought to learn from this Wardanaz junior.

“But I refused.”

“Why?!”

“As I said before, my list of requests right now is…”

Lee Han took a scroll from his pocket. Only then did Yukveltire remember.

“Right. That’s why you rejected our offer before.”

A senior with an already stellar reputation and the junior quickly gaining it at lightning speed, both getting offers.

Of course Lee Han had to turn it down. He couldn’t possibly accept when he himself didn’t know how his time would play out.

“Yes. But I only turned it down for now, so if things get better later…”

“Right. So you agreed to accept it after finishing up the current requests?”

“No. I didn’t say that far.”

Lee Han was dumbfounded by his senior’s selective memory.

What, is she turning into another Verdus?

“Pretty sure you did…”

Not caring what his senior mumbled, Lee Han pushed ahead with what he wanted to say.

“By the way, is this request really that great?”

“It’s definitely good. Having the chance to join a request like this as a second year is rare.”

Not only would it hone one’s magical skills, but the process also built lots of connections and reputation.

A building, once completed, rarely disappeared.

If luck was on your side, the building would serve as proof of the wizard’s abilities for years, like an inscribed monument celebrating a king’s achievements.

And evidence like this often led to invitations from other exceptional wizard craftsmen or guilds—so objectively, it’s right to take the opportunity as a second year.

“What about quitting work helping Direte and focusing on the request?”

“……”

Lee Han shot the coldest, most disdainful look of the day at his senior.

Yukveltire flustered and tried to explain.

“That was something Direte always says…”

That wasn’t even her own idea, but something Direte would constantly tell her.

‘If a junior gets a good request, helping me (and Yukveltire’s things too) should be put aside to focus on the job.’

So it slipped out without thinking!

“Are you shifting the blame just because Direte isn’t here? Honestly, how can a person—Even Professor Verdus wouldn’t do that.”

“…Get Direte! Now!”

‘Truly like Gainando—pulling a Gainando move like that because she’s also a royal.’

To use Direte’s absence to pull that kind of move…

Lee Han shook his head.

Thinking the two were about to argue, the capital stonemason guild members quickly intervened.

“Don’t fight about a request.”

“We’re not fighting about the request… Uh, never mind.”

“We never imagined Wardanaz here would get so many good offers. When we heard the Daylily Tower entrusted a spirit relic job to a second-year, we should’ve realized.”

The guild members lamented to one another about their lack of foresight.

When they’d heard about the Daylily Tower entrusting a second-year with a spirit relic job, they thought it was just a rumor, but now seeing for themselves, they understood.

“That was… uh… not really.”

Lee Han started to clarify but just gave up.

He felt like he was giving up a lot today.

“How about this: what if the magical building was constructed inside Einrogard?”

“!”

The capital stonemason guild members made a bold proposal neither student had expected.

The project they were currently handling was a mid-sized magic lighthouse to be installed near the rapids.

Though a lighthouse brings up images of a beacon, with magic added, it needed to serve many complex functions.

In particular, a magic lighthouse near wild rapids would have to control the raging whirlpools, calm the angry spirits of water, rivers, and seas caused by these whirlpools, and at the same time help guide passing ships.

With this level of complexity, it was a magical building even Professor Verdus might secretly enjoy tackling.

Either way, this magical construction project was still basically at the drawing board. No workers or wizards had been recruited yet, and even the plans weren’t finished, so changing locations wasn’t an issue.

It wasn’t difficult to move the finished building to its actual location anyhow…

“Are you sure that’s okay?”

“Of course. Wardanaz, if it were an unreasonable offer, we wouldn’t have brought it up to begin with. The capital stonemason guild doesn’t force senseless losses on itself by giving jobs to incapable people.”

Just as he was feeling grateful, Lee Han suddenly grew curious.

“Then if that’s possible, why haven’t I ever seen this kind of request carried out inside Einrogard before? Or was it always done away from the main building?”

“That’s partly true, but really, it’s probably just because of Professor Verdus.”

One of the guild members replied coolly.

If you built something with Verdus watching, the anger and hatred would make everyone mess up even things they’d never otherwise mess up.

“Hey! You can’t just say that!”

“He should know, and Wardanaz seems to already understand.”

“…Anyway, thank you.”

Tap tap-

Yukveltire tapped Lee Han on the shoulder again, so Lee Han turned his head.

“Senior, bringing in Direte can wait. I already agreed, didn’t I?”

“……”

Yukveltire entirely revoked any previous opinion that this junior was somewhat like Direte.

This junior gave her emotions Direte never could.

Rage.

With trembling fingertips, Yukveltire calmly continued. Still, she had to say what she needed to.

“It probably won’t work.”

“Pardon? The request?”

Yukveltire nodded.

Neither the capital stonemason guild members nor the Wardanaz junior realized, but as a fifth year, Yukveltire saw the hidden pitfall in this request.

It was the necessary manpower.

Not many people were willing to come work this deep inside Einrogard. Among both wizards and stonemasons, quite a few people held an irrational fear of Einrogard.

‘Doesn’t seem that irrational to me,’

Lee Han actually thought it sounded pretty reasonable.

And one more thing—

“If you get fewer outsiders, couldn’t you just use internal people?”

There wasn’t anywhere with a higher density of wizards than Einrogard. And the stoneworking club had the necessary experts, too.

“That’s how you might think. And that’s the mistake.”

“Why?”

Lee Han couldn’t understand.

After all, participating in this work was a good opportunity for the other students and the stoneworking club.

You got reputation and rewards, so why would anyone refuse?

“It’s probably because it’s a high-level job and there aren’t many students confident in their skills. The last time I suggested it, it got rejected, too.”

“What if they were all busy at the time?”

“No, it wasn’t just a handful.”

Yukveltire answered firmly.

Maybe if it had been just a few, but literally everyone offered turned it down, so it wasn’t a coincidence.

Even so, Lee Han still didn’t get it and tilted his head.

‘I don’t get it. Why would they all refuse?’

Lee Han sent out paper cranes to the stoneworking club seniors he knew.

And also to other senior participants in today’s lecture, senior enchanters, and even seniors from other disciplines who might be interested.

To Wardanaz

Thanks for bringing such a good request. Honestly, we should have brought things like this to you instead of the other way around, so it’s a little embarrassing, but since you offered, I’ll do my best to help.

Anpagone

To Wardanaz

Was it the stonemason guild members at today’s class who asked? You’re amazing, Wardanaz! Taking on a construction request inside Einrogard lands. Actually, last year, some crazy senior pitched the same idea, but everyone tried to talk him out of it so we gave up. Anyway, thanks for inviting me! Really worth having you as a junior!

Marcang

…
…

Rapid replies came in, and Lee Han’s face froze.

Seeing it, Yukveltire spoke as if she’d known this would happen.

“So everyone turned it down, huh.”

“…Uh, no. It seems like more people than I expected said they’d participate.”

“How many? How many said no, so far?”

“Z…”

“Ten?”

“Zero.”

“……”

Yukveltire was baffled.

How?!

Lee Han, having realized the truth, made eye contact with the capital stonemason guild members.

With their experience, the seasoned guild members already seemed to know what was going on and nodded.

For this kind of building, a wizard’s skill matters but character is also important.

Just look at Professor Verdus—no matter how good your magic, you’d never be able to boss around a team of people like him.

“I don’t understand. What’s different about this year and last?”

“It’s probably the weather last year, or the wandering star was dim, maybe even that the King of Thunder Spirits got locked up.”

Lee Han just strung together some random nonsense. Yukveltire was even more confused.

“Is there some kind of divination magic I don’t know about? I’ve never heard of that kind of fortune-telling…”

“That’s not really your specialty, is it, senior? By the way, senior, what role did Anpagone take on the last time there was a request?”

Anpagone, now a fourth-year, was a relatively sociable enchanter in the school.

If Yukveltire had pushed ahead with the request last time, Anpagone would likely have had an important role.

“Anpagone turned it down. I told you—they all said no.”

“…Ah.”

Lee Han reread the letter.

Come to think of it, Anpagone hadn’t written about taking the job last year at all.

He hadn’t said he hadn’t, either, but…

‘Maybe Enchantment Magic School should just drop the “school” part from its name.’

With this kind of team spirit, “magic school” sounded too generous—maybe just “list of enchanters,” or even that would be too formal…