Episode 1179
by Cristae“Kruruk (Is he talking about the knights)?”
“Don’t play dumb… Of course I’m talking about you lot!”
Direte shed his usual polite manner and snapped sharply.
The black magicians present were taken aback by his attitude.
The empire’s black magicians didn’t generally get along all that well, but on certain points, they shared some common ground.
One of those was how they evaluated future students who would carry on the Imperial Black Magic School.
A steady influx of talented new members was necessary for an unbroken lineage and a thriving school.
In that respect, having a magician like Direte in the Black Magic School was an undeniable blessing—even stubborn old men like the Heirs of Ahrak couldn’t refute that.
But to see such a junior get this angry…
“What do you mean? What have we done?”
“Let’s stop lying. It’s pointless. You all know very well what you’ve done.”
“……”
The black magicians finally looked abashed.
Now that they thought about it, it was only natural for Direte to be furious.
During this northern incident they’d invited everyone except Einrogard’s Black Magic School.
“Kruruk (That’s the Heirs of Ahrak’s doing).”
“…Sorry. Mortum was acting up so unpleasantly… But we still should have sent the invite.”
“?”
Direte suddenly felt puzzled.
What was this about an invitation?
“An invitation? I’m talking about your plan to forcibly take my junior.”
“!”
“What do you mean invitation…”
“Oh, that’s what you meant. Yes! That was it!”
“Kruruk (Right)!”
The black magicians quickly answered. Direte still felt something was off, but let it go.
“If you’re thinking of dragging away my junior by force, I’ll formally protest.”
“There’s a misunderstanding. Of course we did make an offer! But right now, we were discussing something else!”
“Kruruk (We were talking about something much more important)!”
The black magicians, indignant, pointed to the magic documents strewn all over the table.
Certainly, there had been mention of recruiting the magician of House Wardanaz.
But that was only for a brief moment—in fact, the ongoing main topic was an in-depth magical discussion.
“A discussion about magic?”
“We were talking about the spells necessary for the commission to reinforce House Moradi’s fortress.”
Catten kindly explained, and Direte’s expression softened just a bit.
Learning they’d been engaging in a constructive conversation for the good of a regional family, not dragging off his junior, eased him.
Maybe he’d been too harsh on the empire’s responsible black magicians, after all.
“What’s this? Is this spell design, too?”
“That’s written by each of the magicians for a bet to see how far your junior can go.”
“……”
Direte’s face stiffened again. The black magicians glared at Catten.
“Kruruk (It takes a while to explain)…”
“No need. You probably showed him a spell, he was too good at learning it, and then you all started to compete to see how far he could go.”
“!!!”
The black magicians recoiled in shock.
How did he know that?!
‘Is there a spy among us?!’
Luckily, Direte didn’t notice that they were actively making the commission harder—forcing his junior to jump through pointless hoops.
If he had, he wouldn’t have remained so calm.
“You should all be ashamed! Forcing a spell like -Eye of Ahrak- on a second-year student!”
“Kruruk (We already taught him that one)…”
“Keep your mouth shut?”
The Heir of Ahrak berated the undead beside him.
Such a tactless fool!
Just then, the Obsidian Tower magician spoke up.
“May I say a word?”
“What is it?”
“Choosing the Obsidian Tower over the destitute Einrogard Black Magic School is a rational decision, not something to be ashamed of.”
“……”
Despite his friends’ attempts to stop him, Lee Han revised the completed blueprint once more.
“I think it’s much improved.”
“It’s perfect. Don’t change a thing.”
“It’s so well done, Lee Han. If you tweak it any further, you might ruin it.”
Angrago and Deorgyu fussed with praise, then looked at Giselle. She shook her head in disgust.
‘Are you crazy?’
The two gazed at Giselle again, eyes pleading. Since they didn’t usually act this way, it felt many times more awkward.
“…I think it’s great, too, so let’s leave it there, Wardanaz.”
“Hm. If even Moradi says so, it really must be… Oh. Senior Direte?”
Lee Han paused, spotting a familiar senior’s wings in the distance.
Why was his senior here?
“Why is Senior Direte here?”
“No idea. Maybe because all the black magicians are together?”
“No. The black magicians didn’t invite the Einrogard Black Magic School at all.”
“……”
“……”
The White Tiger Tower students fell silent at the unexpectedly sad story.
How were they supposed to react to this?
Direte arrived just then, breathless from running nonstop. Lee Han looked at him inquisitively.
“Did something happen?”
“Ah, nobody fought anyone.”
“?”
“Nothing happened at all. Nothing!”
“Then what brings you here, Senior?”
“I came for the black magicians’ gathering!”
“Didn’t they leave out the Einrogard Black Magic School?”
“What!?”
Only then did Direte realize what his senior black magicians’ conversation really meant.
Those cowardly, shameless…
“…Even without an invite, a black magician can learn about these gatherings. Don’t ask how.”
“How did… Ah, yes.”
Lee Han stopped himself before asking, ‘How did you get in?’
“While I’m here, let me see the commission you worked on. Can I take a look? How far along is it?”
“Uh…”
Lee Han hesitated at his senior’s question.
Seeing this, the White Tiger Tower students felt a foreboding sense.
No way…?
“It’s not really finished enough to show you yet.”
“Really? Catten said it was almost done.”
“Senior Catten doesn’t know the first thing about magic. Don’t trust him.”
Lee Han uttered a harsh line that would’ve made Catten tear up if he’d heard it.
Direte didn’t buy it, giving his junior a suspicious look.
“You can just show me, you know.”
“It’s really not done—”
“He’s lying, Senior! It’s finished! Please stop him from changing it again!”
Angrago couldn’t stand it and shouted, hiding behind Deorgyu to avoid Lee Han’s glare.
“…He says it’s done?”
“Angrago doesn’t know a thing about magic either—”
“Hand it over.”
Direte took the documents by force and quickly reviewed them.
The result exceeded even his expectations. It not only perfectly blocked both outside intrusion and inside escape, but also did so with far less spellwork than usual.
True magical beauty emerged not from piling on more and more, but from refining things down to their simplest form. Direte nodded, impressed.
“Excellent.”
“Really? Are you just saying that…?”
“Proceed as is. Before the black magicians come back and interfere anymore.”
Lee Han’s friends heaved sighs of relief and sent their thanks.
‘Thank you!’
“And you, junior. You should get back to Einrogard as quickly as you can.”
“Huh? Why’s that?”
“It’s… If you’re away too long, it’s hard to keep up with the professors’ lessons.”
“Of course. Thank you for your concern.”
Unlike Lee Han, who got it, his friends looked shocked and confused.
Why now all of a sudden?!
The black magicians gathered at the fortress grumbled and grumbled.
Ever since Direte from the Einrogard Black Magic School arrived, it had become nearly impossible to get close to the magician from the Wardanaz family.
Direte, with help from Professor Garcia, Professor Kirmin, and even the Death Knights, put up a thorough barrier. For a black magician to visit, there was now an endless gauntlet of scrutiny.
–Please cooperate with the inspection.
–Tch.
–There are traces of dangerous magic cast with this staff.
–You idiotic undead! With my age, of course there are!
–We’ll need to call the professor for a more precise check before you can pass…
–Just tell them we won’t let them in!
–Really? You’re not getting in.
–……
Resentment toward Einrogard sharpened anew, and the black magicians finally had to keep backing off.
“Today at least deliver this. It’s the masterpiece these black magicians created after much struggle…”
–Fine, whatever.
“…I wasn’t finished!”
–See, this is what makes black magicians such a pain. They always think whatever they’ve invented is a masterpiece for the history books. I’ve seen hundreds like you, kid.
“……”
The Heirs of Ahrak really hated these knights.
These undead, who oppressed them with age every time they met, were basically their natural enemy.
“Deliver this too. These are the spells the black magicians each picked for the bet. Let us know which spell the kid learned the fastest and which the slowest in a letter.”
–That’s a trash request.
The knights showed their blatant dislike, but they didn’t outright refuse.
With blueprints of an insanely difficult magical building, and the high-difficulty spells chosen for the bet, the knights suddenly remembered something.
–By the way. Wardanaz left a letter for you guys, too. He said to open it after he’s gone.
“Why should we honor that?”
–Don’t worry. We know you won’t, so we’ll only give it out after everyone’s gone.
The knights put the letter away again. The black magicians were left speechless.
What the…!
And true to form, the Death Knights didn’t hand it over until after the Einrogard-flagged carriage had left. Only then did they send the letter from a distance.
The black magicians muttered as they opened it.
What on earth was in there, to make it such a pain…
To the esteemed black magicians,
While you were picking out spells for your bet, the Most Cantankerous Hag appeared and left again. I wanted to inform you right away, but she told me to tell you later, so I had no choice. Sorry.
Lee Han Wardanaz
“……”
“……”
“Student Lee Han. Are you looking at the spells those black magicians gave you?”
“Huh? Why would I do that?”
Lee Han asked back, surprised by Professor Garcia’s question.
Those black magicians had nothing to do with the commission or their lectures—they were really nothing more than bothersome outsiders.
Why would he look at the spells those black magicians had forced on him?
“Ah, not then.”
Professor Garcia was a bit embarrassed.
He’d assumed, since Lee Han was intently reading, it must have been another hard spell—
“So what is it?”
“Oh, I was putting together a wanted notice based on advice from the knights.”
“…A wanted notice? You’re making one?”
Garcia was bewildered to hear he was making, not receiving, a commission.
Wasn’t it usually the other way around?
Seeking This Person
Voladi Baegrek
Description:
…
…
Features: Extremely aggressive
…
…
If found, do not approach. Immediately contact the nearest knighthood!
“…Wh-wh-what is this, Student Lee Han?”
“Huh? The knights first asked if I’d help with their search for this person.”
“That’s not what I meant…”