Episode 301

Episode 301

“Huh? It’s already over?”

Friends who had been hiding behind tables preparing their magic asked in confused voices.

Checking with a mirror, the basilisk was truly knocked out.

Yoner put the potion away and stood up. Nillia, who had been about to enchant an arrow, also stopped and stood up.

Gainando as well, together with the skeletal warrior he had summoned…

“Put it away, quickly!”

“What are you doing, really!”

“N-no… why…! Isn’t this magic too?!”

Gainando felt wronged.

They had all prepared to fight the basilisk, so why was he the only one being scolded?

“Necromancy is magic too!”

“Yes, yes—just put it away! People are watching!”

Gainando, crestfallen, dismissed his skeletal warrior.

‘The dirty Empire, always discriminating against necromancy.’

Summoning me is not such a simple thing.

Perkuntra delivered a stern lecture to Lee Han before being unsummoned.

This young mage kept wasting precious opportunities by summoning needlessly, when once summoned, he couldn’t be summoned again for some time.

Lee Han asked, surprised.

“Is there another penalty besides the time limit?”

……

Perkuntra nearly lost his composure for a moment and almost truly got angry with the young mage.

Magic power consumption… No. Forget it. In any case, remember this! If you squander precious opportunities, you’ll only end up regretting it yourself.

“This time, it really was dangerous, so I summoned you. But why did the basilisk collapse like that?”

He was probably hungry or something. How should I know?

So said Perkuntra, turning his gaze.

However, it wasn’t hunger or fatigue that brought the basilisk down. Its whole body showed signs of a powerful petrification curse, as if it had been hit by its own evil eye.

It was hit by its own gaze…

“Huh?”

The power of the eye is no small thing. If blocked, the backlash hits the user. Did it have some artifact of gaze protection?

“No.”

……

Perkuntra quickly grasped the situation.

This young mage had simply deflected the basilisk’s gaze with sheer magical power.

‘What is this…’

I’ll be leaving now.

“I’m fine. Why don’t you stay a little longer?”

No.

Perkuntra, not wanting to compliment Lee Han, hurried to prepare for dismissal.

His departing figure seemed rather sullen.

Lee Han thought that, if he ever had to visit the punishment room, he should bring a gift the spirit would like.

“Is… is it all over?”

“Yes. It’s all finished. Still, please wait a moment, just in case.”

Lee Han summoned the guards waiting outside. He wanted to make sure the basilisk was securely detained, just in case.

The startled guards rushed in, and the situation was roughly resolved.

Grab!

“?”

Prince Bogajun clutched Lee Han’s right hand tightly.

Bogajun cried out, tears pooling in his greedy eyes.

“Wardanaz-nim, you’re the savior of my life.”

“No… Even with a petrification curse, this isn’t the middle of nowhere—a curing mage would have been here in an hour.”

Lee Han was dumbfounded by the prince’s fuss.

Seeing Gainando make a similar fuss about being a life-saver after giving just a snack, Lee Han thought maybe making a fuss was a royal family trait.

Grab!

This time, Princess Judrantas grabbed Lee Han’s left hand.

“Savior of life…!”

“Like I said, that’s not it.”

“Let me repay this grace with a visit!”

“We must have another gathering soon!”

“I said it first! Move aside!”

“Go deal with the plague first!”

“How rude, after your bodyguard’s bribery incident!”

Both royals pulled Lee Han to their respective sides and growled. But with their strength so far below Lee Han’s, he wasn’t budging at all.

‘Is this okay?’

Lee Han wondered.

Just a moment ago, these royals were all keeping their dignity for the watching eyes, but maybe the shock from the basilisk made them bicker rather disgracefully.

Was it really okay to take it this far?

-That’s a bit much…

-To force something on Lord Wardanaz when he’s declining—that’s improper.

‘It’s not okay.’

Hearing the nobles’ whispers, Lee Han was certain it wasn’t okay. He decided he should intervene.

“You two. Your behavior right now is a little…”

“Ihan. Ihan.”

Gainando scurried over and whispered. Lee Han shot him a stern look.

“I told you to stick to ‘yes’, ‘no’, or ‘hehe’ only.”

“It’s an emergency! My mom’s here!”

“……”

• * *

At the news that Gainando’s mother had arrived early, the visiting guests tensed up.

Normally, arriving early wouldn’t warrant such a freeze, but today was different.

Hadn’t they nearly caused a disaster by letting loose a basilisk during a gathering at someone else’s mansion?

As the owner of the mansion, she had every right to be furious.

Brodon, who had brought the egg, bowed his head deeply, like a criminal.

“I’m sorry, everyone.”

“It’s alright, Brodon-nim. We all attended the gathering together. How can it be only your fault?”

With everyone so tense, Lee Han looked at Gainando and asked,

“Is your mother really that strict?”

“We’re done for… we’re done for…”

“……”

Seeing even Gainando so dejected, Lee Han was caught off guard.

This incident wasn’t Gainando’s fault.

“Why are you like this? It’s not your fault.”

“She told me not to mess up the house while she was out.”

“Since others caused it, she’ll surely take that into account.”

At Lee Han’s words, Gainando looked up at him with a glimmer of hope.

“Really? Do you think so? Will you explain it for me?”

“No. I’m a guest, so you should speak up.”

“…Please, you do it…! I’m not confident!”

Gainando clung to Lee Han’s sleeve.

He figured things would go much smoother if Lee Han explained it to his mother instead of himself.

“Lady Kraha is coming in.”

At the servants’ call, the guests quickly straightened their clothes and stood up.

Even the royals checked their attire and stood up as well.

Flaaaash!

As the door opened and Gainando’s mother entered, an overwhelming light swept through the hall.

Those who faced the light couldn’t help voicing their awe.

“Ahhh…!”

“Lady Kraha’s beauty is blinding…!”

“???”

Lee Han was bewildered.

Everyone but him wore entranced looks.

He couldn’t even see her face properly with all the shining light pouring out.

Yet, if this was happening…

‘Is this a charm power?’

Not just monsters like succubi possessed the power of charm. Some spirits did as well.

It wasn’t surprising that Gainando’s mother, who supposedly had spirit blood, would have that kind of power.

Lee Han, thanks to his high resistance to status conditions, was able to endure…

“Gainando. Don’t you have any abilities like that?”

“What ability?”

‘Guess not.’

Lee Han felt sorry.

If he had abilities like that, Gainando could have gathered followers like the other royals.

The light faded.

Gainando’s mother draped herself in a veil.

“So. What happened here?”

“I’m sorry!”

Brodon, the noble most responsible, stepped up to explain.

“It was our fault, Lady Kraha!”

“It was our fault!”

Veiled, Gainando’s mother fell silent in thought instead of answering.

Then she asked,

“Who resolved it?”

“Uh… Gainando-nim and his friends…”

“No need for flattery. Who resolved it? The guards?”

“N-no. Truly, Gainando-nim and his friends resolved it…”

“I told you, enough with the flattery!”

Bang!

When Gainando’s mother slammed the armrest, her cold voice filled the hall.

A strong belief that Gainando couldn’t possibly have resolved the incident.

‘Hmm. I guess parents really do know their children best.’

Unlike Lee Han, who bore no responsibility for this incident, the nobles and royals froze up even more.

“Well… it’s true that Lee Han of the Wardanaz family took the lead, but Gainando-nim really was involved…”

“It isn’t a lie… He really did help.”

The nobles who had been huddled behind the table when things went wrong couldn’t recall the situation accurately.

They only guessed that Lee Han had called to his friends and done something.

Given that, it wasn’t so strange to think they had all helped together.

“That’s not it! Lee Han did it alone… oof.”

When Gainando, puzzled, tried to point that out, three people pinched his back in unison.

Read the mood!

Only then did Gainando’s mother seem to accept the nobles weren’t just flattering her. She slowly turned her gaze to Lee Han and spoke.

“I’m sorry you had to hear such harsh talk even though you did nothing wrong. You’re of the Wardanaz family?”

“Yes.”

“If you don’t mind my asking, what is your relationship with Gainando?”

“Uh, we’re friends.”

“……”

“…?”

A heavy silence fell.

Lee Han wondered if he’d answered wrongly for a moment.

‘Could saying “friend” be an insult in this house?’

“Is that true?”

“We really are close! The closest!”

Gainando, suddenly emotional, answered in his stead.

Ignoring him, Gainando’s mother looked to Yoner and asked,

“Is that really…”

“We’re friends.”

“How come…”

“Because he’s nice?”

“If some family issue arises in the future…”

“I don’t think Lee Han is petty enough for that to be a problem.”

The nobles and royals didn’t understand, but Lee Han more or less got it.

‘Hmm. Looks like Gainando has made quite a few friends angry in the past.’

Through the veil, Gainando’s mother fixed her gaze on Lee Han.

He couldn’t see her eyes, but he somehow felt she viewed him with a mixture of pity and gratitude.

‘It must be my imagination.’

“Thank you for preventing it from becoming a bigger disaster.”

“I only did what was necessary.”

“It feels so humble to offer this, but… I do hope you’ll accept it. Here.”

At her gesture, one of the servants carefully handed Lee Han a pouch of jewels.

While Lee Han was wondering, ‘Should I refuse once, then accept? But what if she actually takes it back?’ Gainando’s mother spoke again.

“I truly hope you will not refuse. It’s not the value, but the sincerity inside I want you to accept.”

“If you put it that way, I will gratefully accept your sincerity.”

Lee Han tucked the pouch of jewels inside his robe, deeply moved.

Gainando’s mother really was truly remarkable.

Thoughtfulness on a whole different level from someone who gave a Boeun Medallion that couldn’t even be exchanged for cash!

‘So this is a real noble.’

“I hope you’ll stay as long as you like. Well then…”

As Gainando’s mother left, only then did the nobles sigh in relief.

“Thank you, Wardanaz-nim.”

“We truly owe you for today.”

They hadn’t only been saved from the basilisk; he had also shielded them from Lady Kraha’s rebuke.

No amount of thanks would be enough.

Brodon and Jolvabden resolved that, at the next gathering, they would be sure to tell everyone what the boy from House Wardanaz had done.

Lee Han, unaware of their true feelings, simply nodded appropriately.

“No, I only did what was necessary.”

“Gainando-nim was amazing, too. To think you could stop the basilisk. What kind of magic did you use?”

“Uh… um… hehe.”

“Ah, so it’s a secret.”

Some mages didn’t reveal their area of specialization. The nobles interpreted things positively.

Being praised from all sides, Gainando was instantly in high spirits.

“I can handle that much… hehe…”

As he was speaking, he noticed the two royals glaring at him fiercely, and was horrified.

‘So it wasn’t Adenart, but this guy who’s even more devious.’

‘So you were hiding this even though you’re such close friends?’

They had been on guard against Adenart, thinking she was close with Lee Han, but it turned out the real person to watch was someone else.

“I-Ihan. Those people are staring at me…”

“Just ignore them and pretend not to notice.”