Episode 261

“Why is that?”

Professor Voladi was puzzled when Lee Han wobbled atop the griffon.

Lee Han gritted his teeth and spoke.

“I didn’t realize you were next to me, Professor.”

“Work on your awareness.”

Professor Voladi lightly admonished Lee Han’s carelessness.

A skilled battle mage must always maintain a certain level of focus, never letting their guard down no matter the place or time.

And that focus included observational skills.

Even when waiting on a bench in the Spire Stable, one should be able to suspect, ‘Could the person sitting next to me be a professor?’

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

Lee Han engraved Professor Voladi’s advice deep into his bones.

At a magic school, one should be able to recognize someone just by their footsteps.

A student who couldn’t even do that didn’t deserve to survive!

“But since you were here, you could have spoken to me.”

‘Or never speak to me ever.’

Lee Han wondered why he hadn’t spoken up earlier, and instead chose the moment Lee Han was on the griffon.

Was he trying to make Lee Han fall?

Professor Voladi’s eyebrows twitched slightly. The professor spoke slowly.

“You should be quiet inside the stable.”

“……”

At the magic school, there were some people who were more annoying when they spoke the truth.

One of them was Professor Voladi.

It was absurd for someone who did whatever he wanted to suddenly talk about etiquette.

‘Is there no imperial etiquette about not taking first-years into dungeons?’

“Th… That’s true.”

Lee Han took a deep breath to steady his mind.

Although Professor Voladi’s appearance was shocking, upon reflection, it wasn’t the worst-case scenario.

Unlike other professors, Professor Voladi didn’t care much about Lee Han breaking the rules.

“Professor, could you keep my going outside a secret?”

“I will.”

Professor Voladi answered immediately without hesitation. Lee Han was deeply moved.

‘Crazy professors do have their advantages sometimes!’

He didn’t expect him to accept so readily.

Up ahead, Amur, who noticed their conversation, carefully asked,

“Is everything alright?”

“It’s fine, Amur. He’s a close professor, so he’ll keep it secret.”

“Really? You’ve found an excellent mentor.”

Amur was relieved at Lee Han’s words.

He thought an unlucky other wizard had caught them, but it turned out to be a mentor who understood the situation.

Even in Einrogard, with all its grim and violent rumors, there seemed to be a thread of warmth. Amur wiped under his nose in satisfaction.

“Even if they’re not a wizard, meeting a good mentor is a stroke of luck for any student.”

Amur praised Professor Voladi. Professor Voladi nodded calmly.

Lee Han had to struggle not to open his eyes wide.

‘You really have no shame…!’

While Lee Han could praise Professor Voladi, for Voladi to nod at the praise was something else.

If it were the skeleton headmaster, that would be better; Professor Voladi likely truly believed it.

“May I ask why you’re going out, Wizard?”

“For final exam preparation.”

“Aha.”

“Aha. …?”

Lee Han, who had been nodding along, paused.

Wait a minute?

“Well, professors have to worry not only about magic, but also about teaching students. It must be tough.”

“Mm.”

Professor Voladi nodded again.

Lee Han had to suppress the urge to shout.

The nerve…!!

“What do you need? Since we’ve met like this, if you don’t mind, I’d like to help.”

Wrinkles formed on Professor Voladi’s brow. After pondering for a moment, he spoke.

“Something immune to fire, water, and lightning attributes, with strong magic resistance, and a speed of over 60 km/h…”

“W-wait a minute.”

The flustered Amur forgot his manners and interrupted Professor Voladi.

“Why do you need such a monster?”

“For sparring.”

“…Wait… Didn’t you say it was for final exam preparation?”

Professor Voladi nodded.

Amur was silent for a moment.

Then, realizing the truth, he stared at Professor Voladi in terror.

“C-could it be…”

“You’re probably thinking the right thing,” Lee Han whispered.

Amur asked again, as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Ah. Is it for upperclassmen’s…”

“No.”

“…No…”

Lee Han could understand Amur’s confusion.

And in truth, the one who should be most shocked right now was Lee Han.

‘No wonder I thought my luck was too good.’

He shouldn’t have been happy when Professor Voladi said he’d cancel class.

So this was what he’d been planning—going outside to prepare to bring a monster back to fight Lee Han…

He had to stop it.

No matter what!

Lee Han whispered again to Amur.

“Would it be okay if I invited one more guest to your house?”

“Of course.”

Amur had previously said Lee Han could stay at his house if he needed to get away.

Now, with additional permission, Lee Han’s eyes sparkled as he spoke.

“Professor.”

“?”

“Where will you be staying when we arrive in the village?”

“Inn.”

“If you don’t mind, you should stay at Amur’s house here with us. It’s bothersome to go all the way to the inn, isn’t it?”

Professor Voladi’s strong point was that he nodded well. The professor nodded.

‘Got him.’

Lee Han made up his mind.

He would never let Professor Voladi go.

…It might sound like he was planning to poison him, but he just meant he’d keep him occupied, not kill him.

“It seems it’s time to focus on flying.”

“!”

Amur pointed ahead. Lee Han looked ahead with surprise at the obstacles that had appeared.

Rings of burning fire had appeared all across the sky.

“What on earth is that…??”

“A trap to filter out unauthorized entrants. Today, you just go through the leftmost ring.”

“I-I see.”

Even as he passed through the ring of fire, Lee Han felt oddly uneasy.

‘I feel like I had a dream like this before?’

• * *

Amur’s house, located near the huge stable, wasn’t very large, but it was sturdy and cozy.

The problem was a lack of groceries.

“Hmm. There’s plenty of feed for the animals here, but…”

“That won’t do.”

For a moment, Lee Han thought about cooking the feed for the professor, but came to his senses right away.

He hadn’t lost it to that extent yet.

“I’ll go gather the ingredients I need nearby. Do you raise chickens?”

“…If you need groceries, couldn’t you just go buy them?”

Amur asked, puzzled.

“Ah!”

Only then did Lee Han come to his senses.

This wasn’t some lawless frozen land, but a village in the Empire with order and rules.

‘Right, I can just buy them.’

Amur’s canned beans for quick meals weren’t suitable for serving to a professor.

In truth, Lee Han wasn’t sure what food was suitable for Professor Voladi, but those definitely weren’t it.

‘Just keep him eating and drinking as much as possible.’

If he had a hearty and warm meal and drank, even a professor would get lazy and lie down on the bed.

And when he woke up, another hearty and warm meal and more drinks…

“Then I’ll go buy them.”

“I think it’s better if I go with you…”

Amur looked at Lee Han with concern.

No matter how you looked at it, he seemed to be from a great noble family, likely having grown up without ever having to do anything himself.

Would he even know what to pick?

One hour later.

Amur was more surprised than when Lee Han tamed the griffon.

“N-no! This is even more amazing than when you tamed the griffon!”

‘That’s a bit much, though.’

Lee Han, who was busily making sherbet, meringue, pies, and biscotti, thought to himself.

No matter what, it couldn’t be more amazing than taming a griffon…

“Why don’t you two sit down and eat first?”

“But we couldn’t possibly…”

“That’s actually helping me.”

Lee Han signaled with his eyes.

Amur exclaimed, “Ah!” and nodded.

He understood the student’s effort to appease the crazy professor.

‘He might be misunderstanding, but that’s fine.’

Even if it was a misunderstanding, it wouldn’t be a huge one.

A professor who brought a powerful monster to fight his student couldn’t complain about being misunderstood.

“Wizard, you should eat first, at least out of respect for all this preparation.”

Professor Voladi nodded.

The large rectangular table was already filled with steaming, freshly made food.

Big, freshly baked white bread, honey and spices to dip the bread in, steamed vegetables, porridge, and soups to soothe the stomach before heavy food, a huge chunk of brisket marinated and smoked, similarly firm smoked salmon, steamed fish with flounder and clams cooked in wine, and more.

Even without the fruit and sweet desserts Lee Han was still making, the table was already lavish. Amur, who usually just ate whatever, swallowed his saliva without realizing.

“Wizard, here…”

Amur, about to offer Professor Voladi a drink, was surprised.

The professor was picking out only vegetables, greens, and fruit from the table.

“Do you not care for meat?”

“Don’t like it.”

Lee Han was not fazed at all.

From the start, not knowing Professor Voladi’s tastes, he’d planned to try all sorts of things.

‘I see.’

Seeing Lee Han instantly change his cooking direction, Amur was impressed.

Even an alchemist who’d worked in Pillone Village for over a decade probably couldn’t shift gears so smoothly.

With a lively sound, Lee Han cut the vegetables into bite-sized pieces. Then he fried them in oil.

As the pumpkin and eggplant sizzled in the oil, they made an appetizing sound. Lee Han placed the lightly fried vegetables with sauce on a plate.

“How about this?”

“It’s good.”

Seeing Professor Voladi eat well, Lee Han kept working.

He chopped tomatoes and leeks, beat eggs, stirred and fried them, peeled and lightly blanched the asparagus he’d bought earlier, then sautéed it in butter.

As each dish piled up and Professor Voladi ate well, Amur felt reassured enough to start offering drinks. Hearing the two drinking behind him, Lee Han smiled meaningfully.

Thunk!

Someone banged their forehead. Lee Han kept his composure as he turned.

“Would you like some wine salad…”

Lee Han stopped mid-sentence.

Amur, face flushed, was snoring away, and Professor Voladi, without a change in expression, was sipping his drink.

“……”

Lee Han didn’t resent Amur. Amur had done his very best.

…It was just that Professor Voladi was insane.

“The food seems sufficient. Let’s start eating.”

“…Ah. Yes.”

At Professor Voladi’s voice, completely unaffected by alcohol, Lee Han sat down with a bitter smile.

He cut into the meat. Perhaps because it was so well made, the meat was moist and tender.

‘Even in all this, the meat is delicious…’

“It’s not good to skip meals or eat irregularly.”

Professor Voladi lightly advised Lee Han.

Lee Han almost threw his fork, but stopped.

“I’ll be more careful from now on.”

“It’s late, so you should sleep right after dinner. We’ll depart as soon as you wake.”

“Sorry? Depart where?”

“To trade monsters.”

After answering, Professor Voladi asked again as if it was odd.

“Wasn’t the meal to see that?”

“…I’m embarrassed that you saw through my shallow intent.”

“Ambition and curiosity are virtues of a wizard. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Just say so directly next time.”

He couldn’t ignore his student’s hospitality, so he accepted the meal, but Professor Voladi originally didn’t like to talk around in such a roundabout way.

‘I will definitely ruin this plan.’

Regardless of Professor Voladi’s pride, Lee Han resolved to become the worst customer possible.