Episode 1154

Episode 1154

Professor Kirmin was teaching the White Tiger Tower students how to handle aftermath in these situations, when she was called over.

However, her response after hearing the explanation was different from what Professor Garcia had expected.

“Hm. Maybe letting Wardanaz handle it once wouldn’t be so bad…”

“What????”

When her answer wasn’t what he’d anticipated, Professor Garcia jumped in shock.

“Professor! Even if student Lee Han is upset, shouldn’t he have calmed down by now? Don’t you think it’s time for a bit of restraint?”

Professor Garcia desperately tried to convey his intentions through his fiery gaze.

As his shoulder, held in a tight grip, started to ache, Professor Kirmin quickly whispered,

“Professor Kim. That hurts.”

“Oh, sorry.”

Rubbing his shoulder, Professor Kirmin continued.

“If the affliction in Marheim City really is a cursed plague, approaching it with Fall magic might not be a bad idea. After all, Wardanaz has the strongest resistance here.”

“That’s… true… but student Lee Han is still only a second-year.”

“There are few second-years who can fit in with the fourth-years and not stand out.”

‘Why did I even bring her?’

Professor Garcia cursed inwardly.

When they’d traveled together before, Kirmin had been supposed to help keep Professor Voladi in check with him, but once the professor disappeared, here she was, doing the role of Voladi herself.

He’d sensed it since the last job, but he was now paying the price for letting his guard down.

Magicians in the empire were split into those who taught their friend’s students more generously, and those who were stricter. Unfortunately, Professor Kirmin was the latter.

“No matter how much you try to hold him back, Wardanaz is going to keep making preemptive strikes against the evil members of the cult. You won’t gain much by restraining him too much.”

“Professor!”

Lee Han cried out in a slightly moved voice.

“Professor!”

Professor Garcia also raised his voice, but his tone was more of a snarl.

Even the Death Knights in the back unconsciously flinched.

“Calm down, Professor Kim. There are a few more reasons. We investigated those the White Tiger Tower students caught, and there are rumors of a suspicious priest in Marheim City.”

Lee Han’s eyes blazed like stars. Professor Garcia cried out again.

“Professor…!”

At this point, wasn’t this just adding fuel to the fire?

Professor Kirmin hurried to finish what she wanted to say before her shoulder bone broke.

“It would take time and preparation to distribute potions to everyone in need, and we can’t focus solely on that right now. Besides, if we do that, news will spread quickly, too.”

“Thank you, professor. I’ll go prepare immediately.”

“Wardanaz. Wait—”

Professor Kirmin tried to stop Lee Han as he left.

If her student disappeared now, she would have to face Professor Garcia’s wrath alone.

But just as cold as his teacher, her student left briskly.

Professor Kirmin sighed.

“Professor.”

“Professor Kim. You have to admit, Wardanaz has earned at least this much autonomy as a wizard.”

“…You’re right.”

Professor Garcia let out a sigh.

His student had grown so fast that, even as the person who’d watched him the closest, it was sometimes hard to adjust.

Perhaps Professor Kirmin, who’d watched him from a slight distance, was reacting more objectively.

“Thank you for understanding, Professor Kim.”

“And by the way, don’t come along on the next job. There’s really no reason for you to come since Professor Baegrek’s not around.”

“……”

Faced with the old Garcia’s temperament, Professor Kirmin could only stay quiet.

If he cooled off later, she’d have to convince him all over again!

‘Hang in there, Wardanaz.’

What she’d said to Professor Garcia just now was sincere.

Objectively, she thought Wardanaz truly deserved that much autonomy now.

And besides that, she wanted to see evidence that her friend’s only… no, one of his two, students had truly grown.

That way, when she saw her friend again, she could scold, “Why did you act so rashly without even knowing your own student’s ability?”

“Actually, why don’t you just go home at the end of this job?”

“…I’ll apologize, so please calm down, Professor Kim.”

---

“So you want me to visit the sick, heal them, and the rest of you search for anyone suspicious nearby?”

“Exactly.”

“That’s not hard.”

The White Tiger Tower students nodded cheerfully at the instructions.

Such a simple and easy trick was something even a first-year at Einrogard could pull off.

“Hide your weapons and look as non-threatening as possible.”

“That’s so the sick people don’t get scared, right?”

“No. It’s to slightly increase the chance that the suspicious ones will approach.”

“Uhh…”

Shivering at such unexpected tenacity, the White Tiger Tower students headed to their posts.

So that’s why the professors and knights were kept waiting in the back…!

Giselle tilted her head.

“But Wardanaz.”

“What?”

“I’m not an expert in healing magic, but isn’t it rare for healers to work alone?”

Healing magicians rarely worked alone.

Healing magic burned through focus and mana at a rapid rate, so sharing the load among several was advantageous.

But now Wardanaz had set out to cure a curse-based plague by himself.

She’d wondered if he’d prepared an antidote with alchemy in advance, but there was no sign of that…

What was going on?

“Heh. I have secret magic.”

Lee Han replied with a strangely satisfied look.

Seeing her friend brag about his magic—a sight she didn’t often see—Giselle wasn’t so much angry as a bit flustered.

‘What’s with this guy?’

“-Gonadaltes’ Fall-. You’ve actually seen it before. During the battle with the frost giants, remember? It was the spell that healed their poisoning.”

Tracing its history and lineage, this magic went back to ancient times; it was a very peculiar spell that transferred pain, curses, or decay to the caster.

Lee Han had thought, “What kind of spell is this?” at first, but now he was rather proud of it.

“…Wait! You healed a frost giant like that?!”

She’d thought for sure he’d analyzed the poison and created an antidote spell, but it turned out he’d used such a brute-force method.

Giselle was speechless. She didn’t know whether to be amazed or dumbfounded.

“I knew you’d be impressed. Pretty great, right?”

“Uh, well… it’s impressive… but why that kind of spell? More importantly, you’re going to cure everyone in the city with it?”

“Yes.”

“…?”

Giselle was puzzled again.

It wasn’t that she didn’t understand what Wardanaz was saying.

There was a powerful spell that absorbed the plague, and he planned to overcome it with his own resistance.

The problem was, not everyone in the city was sick with the same plague.

There would be a diversity of symptoms, and some among them couldn’t just be brushed off with resistance, right?

‘Well… Wardanaz isn’t stupid. I’m sure he’s thought it through.’

Giselle decided to stop asking and trust her friend.

Because when it came to schemes like this, he was especially reliable.

Knock knock—

“Is anyone home?”

“What… a m-mage?”

At a cramped row house in an alley, a pale elf poked his head out.

The elf was startled to see Lee Han, dressed in full mage regalia.

Normally, mages rarely visited such poor places. If a mage suddenly appeared, people tended to suspect he’d come to extort money.

‘So it really is a curse-based plague.’

Lee Han opened his soul sight to confirm the symptoms.

Whoever had spread this through the city, the creeping energy was clearly a curse.

“Have you been feeling fatigued for no reason lately—no matter how much you eat or sleep you still feel drained?”

“H-how did you know?”

“Please, take my hand.”

Lee Han didn’t say much or poke around, so as not to agitate the other.

This was different from squeezing information out of suspicious criminals—here, even if you wanted to ask, you’d better cure the plague first.

Pop!

Suddenly feeling his strength return, the elf was astonished.

Just holding his hand and murmuring a few words had brought back his vitality.

“You—you’re a healing mage!”

“That’s right. Are there others nearby who are ill? If so, please let me know.”

“Please wait! I’ll bring them right away!”

Lee Han stood at the alley entrance and began immediately absorbing the plague from all who came.

‘Strange. The feeling of this plague is somehow familiar.’

Feeling an odd sense of déjà vu, Lee Han blamed Professor Mortum.

He’d handled so many curses in the black magic department that even a brand-new curse felt familiar.

“That’s it. You’re good to go.”

“O-ohhh…!”

“Which order are you from?”

“Yes? Prisinga… Afha… Fleming…”

“Wardanaz. I don’t think they meant which club you’re in.”

Giselle whispered from behind. Lee Han realized belatedly.

‘Ah, they meant what group I’m with.’

The sick were confused but didn’t ask further.

They didn’t want to upset this holy figure.

“Next. Please come forward. …Ugh!”

Lee Han staggered.

He’d absorbed it carelessly; the person had a minor internal bleed. He immediately cast a healing spell, muttering to himself.

“I see. There were other symptoms as well.”

“……”

Giselle regretted not saying more earlier.

She’d assumed he’d thought it through…

‘Isn’t he being a bit too hasty, for once?’

That wasn’t like Wardanaz at all.

To see him striving so recklessly—maybe fighting evil god worshippers was making him impatient.

…Well, no one but an impatient person would try to round up all the criminals in the city.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes. I’ve already healed it. Next.”

Despite a few exceptions, Lee Han chose to push through rather than stop.

Wasn’t this exactly the kind of thing he’d learned healing magic for?

That brute-force approach made Giselle’s face grow more and more tense.

She might have to knock him out from behind at this rate.

While she worried out of friendship, a crowd began to form.

The rumor about the mage instantly curing the plague brought people from across the city.

And, naturally, as the crowd grew, someone was bound to ask about Einrogard.

“Are you from Einrogard?”

‘Damn.’

Right now, the students, Lee Han included, wore regular mage robes instead of those tattered Einrogard uniforms.

Despite that, some recognized the school due to his magical skill and selfless actions.

Lee Han hesitated.

Should he admit it or deny it?

The group had genuinely disguised themselves before entering Marheim City.

The knights posed as porters, the mages as merchants.

Displaying the Einrogard banner on their carriage would’ve attracted criminals coming from the road’s end just to surrender, so the disguise was a necessity.

So he could deny it if he wished…

…but the number of plague victims was unexpectedly high.

Might as well admit it’s Einrogard.

That way, anyone still hiding could come out, trusting the name.

“No way. These days, Einrogard mages just slaughter bandits wherever they go.”

“Yeah, I heard that too. They go around the west killing anyone with a bounty. So fierce in wiping out the bad guys, the crooks there are fleeing to other regions.”

“……”

Lee Han endured his friends’ gazes and continued to focus silently on healing.