Episode 1159
by CristaeEpisode 1159
If it were anyone else, they might have thought she was joking, but the problem was that it was Ziklin who spoke.
The knights were at a loss for words and just nodded.
“I-I see.”
‘What kind of advice would he want to hear?’
Since Ziklin didn’t elaborate on what kind of advice it was, the knights could only imagine.
No matter how renowned the Wardanaz boy may be as a genius, he was still only a second year. What sort of advice could he offer?
‘Does he need advice on some secret magic from the Wardanaz family?’
“If so, Lady Moradi, why are the Einrogard mages so determined to wipe out the bandit gangs?”
“Isn’t it because they’re dutifully fulfilling a knight’s role?”
“I see… But the Wardanaz family isn’t a knight family…”
Even if you stretched the point, you could justify knightly wizard behavior for knightly houses, but Wardanaz was by no means a knightly house.
The knights grew only more confused.
Regardless, Ziklin focused on her work. Even if guests from Einrogard were coming, she had her duties to see to first.
“Is this the place where the ruin was discovered?”
“Yes. The entrance was found in a cave on the mountainside.”
The empire was vast, and dangerous places were discovered as easily as breathing. One of the duties of the local noble houses was to find and manage such places.
If a lich, sealed thousands of years ago, woke and swept the region with an undead army, the devastation would be catastrophic.
In the worst-case scenario, the lich might even establish a magic school and proclaim itself the new headmaster.
“Has the era of the ruins been identified?”
“Sorry. The mages we have aren’t much connected to archaeology…”
The mages who worked with knights were basically half combat mages.
They might be skilled in healing or enhancement, but there were few mages who could estimate the era of an artifact at a glance.
Ziklin expertly used magic to enhance her vision. She saw people already gathering below, near the cave on the mountainside.
It resembled a pioneer settlement.
Astute northern merchants had set up tents and were selling daily necessities and items for exploring ruins, while adventurers and explorers sprawled in sleeping bags, sharing information nearby.
Seasoned knights could estimate a ruin’s prospects just by the size of the crowd gathered.
“Looks like what’s coming out of there is pretty decent. For so many to have gathered so quickly.”
“No wounded people in sight yet. That’s a small blessing.”
“I’ll go check numbers and make a record.”
Ziklin stated firmly.
For now, she had no intention of locking down the ruins, but neither could she just ignore it.
Northern regions had been so turbulent lately that suspicious people could easily slip in with the crowd.
Of course, the gathered crowd would surely hate this. Who wants to have to report to a neighboring knightly house for every ruin they explore?
The moment you find a suspicious object you’d have to report it and, if it’s prohibited, give it up for next to nothing.
“No! We’ll do it!”
“This sort of grunt work is our job!”
The knights shouted in a panic.
They absolutely could not leave something like this to Ziklin. If an ill-mannered adventurer so much as got sassy, the area would be devastated.
“Why is it your job?”
‘Oops.’
Only then did the knights realize they’d made a slip in their haste.
You can’t get away with weak excuses against someone like her!
“That is… for such grunt work… low-ranking…”
“You consider yourself low-ranking? Why is that?”
Ziklin’s expression grew serious.
For knights serving in the territory to consider themselves inferior…
That wasn’t a trivial matter.
Was it because the current patriarch had become too strict with the knights lately…
“…Sorry. That’s not actually how I feel.”
“Then? Why did you say that?”
“Well… ugh.”
A hardened veteran who wouldn’t flinch after three days fighting monsters in the glacier now had tears welling in his eyes.
How had it come to this?
“Look! The Einrogard students!!”
“!”
The knights turned with much brighter faces. Even the Dulak knight, swinging his sword, cheered.
“So this is the empire’s greatest magic academy!”
“Let’s go greet the students!”
“The knights are charging over?”
Lee Han wore a serious look.
Of course, it was natural for knights to greet northern guests, but the energy was overwhelming.
With his guilty conscience, Lee Han couldn’t help but feel a pang.
“Moradi. Don’t tell me we’ve been found out? That it was me who advised the quarantining and nighttime lockdown…”
“How’d I know?”
Giselle replied incredulously.
They’d only just been in Einrogard until recently!
“Look for yourself. They’re the knights working for your family, aren’t they?”
“Technically, they’re from all the northern families… never mind.”
She gave up on correcting him and narrowed her eyes. Sure enough, the knights’ pace wasn’t normal.
“Either they’re rushing for some urgent knight business, or, Wardanaz, you really have been found out.”
“If we’re found out, I’ll say you advised them too.”
“……”
People rarely know how to react to an insult beyond their expectations, as Giselle just did.
What the…?
“Why drag others down with you?!”
“It was the lord who asked, so of course your family shares the responsibility.”
“Is that—”
“Welcome! We’re delighted to have you!”
“We heard about your defeat of the bandits too!”
But contrary to their worries, the knights only offered praise rather than vengeful retribution upon arrival.
Even Lee Han, still wary, nodded in agreement.
“Good. Looks like we haven’t been caught.”
“……”
“But why are they so friendly?”
“The north is always short-handed.”
The land was vast, the population small, and there were many accidents—so the Empire’s north was always a land where only the strong survived.
The greeting knights poured out their woes.
“???”
Lee Han was baffled.
“How come Lady Ziklin can’t do it herself?”
“You really don’t get it.”
Giselle sighed as if he was hopeless, and the other knights nodded. Unfortunately, this was something only northern knights could understand.
No matter how wise an outsider was…
‘Aren’t northern people a bit much?’
As Lee Han grumbled inwardly, a voice came from inside his staff.
-Don’t miss that ruin!
“!”
It was Saratan’s voice.
-It looks ordinary, but that’s no regular ruin. I’ll explain later, but get inside that ruin as soon as possible!
“…I see.”
At the heartfelt advice of an imprisoned spirit, Lee Han nodded.
He suggested to the knights,
“Then, we’ll record everyone gathered near the ruins.”
-Yeah! Use that as an excuse to drive others off and…
“After recording, let’s head to the Moradi citadel right away.”
-Huh? Wait, wait. Then we can’t go inside the ruin!
Saratan was flustered.
He thought the mage was following his advice but couldn’t understand his actions.
Lee Han answered honestly.
“You were wrong last time too.”
-……
He’d correctly guessed there was a spirit in the relic, but hadn’t realized there was a powerful spirit like General Hwacheon trapped inside.
Had Saratan given more accurate intel, Lee Han could’ve had it much easier.
-T-that’s only because the opponent was so irregular…! Besides, my warning did help!
“Strictly speaking, your warning wasn’t much use… It wasn’t really different from the warning the adventurer party gave.”
-…I’m telling you, that’s no ordinary ruin!!
Despite the spirit’s protest, Lee Han methodically did his work.
He summoned those gathered near the mountainside ruin’s entrance and announced an identity check.
A few people reacted strongly and tried to protest, but a group from the west saw the Einrogard flag mounted on the wagon, turned pale, and stepped up to persuade the others.
-So… not a single one survived…
-Can you really… no, that can’t be legal under imperial law…
-Some folks… have extralegal authority…
-The empire… is truly terrifying…
“Yes! We’ll cooperate fully!”
“Thank you all kindly.”
Lee Han and the White Tiger Tower students checked the identities and inspected the belongings of those gathered.
If there were any banned magical items among them, it was best to seize them now.
“Wardanaz, why’d you confiscate this Ranberia flower?”
“Strongly poisonous. It’s banned under imperial law.”
“But they grow them in Einrogard, don’t they? Professor Thunderstep even has them in her garden… ack!”
“Are you sure you’re not mistaken? Try that again.”
“…Come to think of it, I guess it wasn’t a Ranberia flower.”
The calmer Lee Han grew as he worked, the more anxious Saratan became.
The more he knew, the more nervous he was.
And Saratan thought that if something went wrong due to delay, this wizard would get mad at him.
‘If it was really that important, you should have found some way or another to explain it in detail!’
-Listen. You’re probably assuming that’s an ordinary ruin, but it’s a disguise. That ruin is the legacy of Magician Baquantalana!
“?!”
Lee Han turned around, startled.
The name Baquantalana was far more familiar to mages than to spirits.
He had been a renowned enchantment mage from ages past.
Even Professor Verdus, in particular, was known to use several spells from Baquantalana, which spoke to his greatness.
Verdus normally preferred to modify magic into his own version, but there were some of Baquantalana’s spells he left unchanged.
For it to be a ruin of Baquantalana…
And for Saratan, a spirit, to say so made it even more surprising.
“How do you know Baquantalana?”
-…I met him long ago.
Saratan trailed off, hesitating. His tone suggested there was something suspicious.
Having already witnessed this spirit’s mistakes several times, Lee Han couldn’t just let it slide. He spoke sternly.
“If you don’t tell me, I won’t enter that ruin even if it’s the headmaster’s, not Baquantalana’s.”
-If it’s that lunatic archmage’s relic you definitely SHOULDN’T go in, what are you even saying?
Though Saratan grumbled, he resigned himself and opened up.
Since he’d said this much, he couldn’t refuse to explain further to this mage.
-Actually… I once worked under Baquantalana.
“You had a contract?”
-…No. I just worked for him.
“??”
Lee Han grew even more confused.
Normally, for a spirit to work under a mage, there’d be a contract or else…
“…Don’t tell me you were forced to work, right?”
-……
Saratan said nothing. That silence was answer enough.
‘Baquantalana, what a truly remarkable mage!’
Lee Han felt a swelling respect for this ancestor-mage he’d never even met.
He probably wasn’t very good at befriending spirits, either.