Episode 302

“They keep staring. What if they look at me like that every time I run into them?”

As Gainando whined, Lee Han thought of a good idea.

It was something he’d already suggested to Ahsan before.

“Just go outside the manor.”

“Huh?”

“What will they do if you’re walking around outside?”

“Oh… Will you hang out with me?”

“If you want.”

Gainando’s face brightened. At this, Ratford felt pity.

‘It’s probably not going to be quite what you think…’

• * *

Taking advantage of the conversation, Lee Han called out to Ahsan as well, and walked along with friends.

Gainando asked expectantly,

“Are we going to buy magic cards?”

“No.”

“To buy the new magazine?”

“No.”

“Then where are we going?”

“The Richmond Family.”

“???”

Gainando and Ahsan tilted their heads at Lee Han’s words.

Because it wasn’t a familiar family name, it took them a moment to process it.

If it was the Richmond Family…

“Where…?”

“You don’t know the Richmond Family?”

Lee Han looked at them as if he couldn’t believe it. The friends shrank back, like students who had missed an easy exam question.

“S-sorry. Which family is that again?”

“It’s the family that runs one of the leading carriage transport guilds in the Empire.”

“……”

“……”

How are we supposed to know that!

While the two looked baffled, Yoner nodded as if she understood.

“Oh. Right. That’s true.”

“See? Yoner knows. Isn’t it strange that you don’t?”

“……”

“……”

While Ahsan and Gainando were left speechless, the group arrived at their destination.

The Richmond transit guild building, located on the outskirts of the city, resembled a large warehouse.

“Hey, you idiot! Can’t you see the carriage is right here!”

“I should be saying that! If you don’t move that carriage right now, I’ll send you to the temple!”

The coachmen were struggling to get the carriages inside the warehouse as quickly as possible, and the guild staff didn’t stop moving for even a second, loading and unloading boxes.

“This place is like Yoner’s estate.”

“?!”

Yoner jumped in surprise at Lee Han’s mumbling.

‘Did my house seem that chaotic…?’

Yoner resolved to ask people not to wait for so long at the entrance when she got home.

“Carriage to Kbalgen City is ready!”

“Depart! Depart!”

“Shyles?”

“?!”

Shyles of the Richmond Family, shouting among the workers, was shocked when his friends showed up.

• * *

“Thank you so much, Wardanaz.”

Shyles offered a heartfelt thanks and handed over a pouch.

Lee Han was moved by his sincerity, paying him money up front without any fuss.

‘The other friends need to learn from this.’

“What’s up?”

When Lee Han eyed them, his friends looked puzzled.

“It’s nothing. Anyway, Shyles. I wanted to consult you about something.”

“With me? Ask anything.”

Shyles was a bit surprised.

For someone from the Wardanaz Family to have a favor to ask him—he couldn’t imagine what it might be.

‘Is there something he wants transported secretly?’

Maybe it was something important that had to be moved without his own family finding out…

“Do you know about any short-term, high-paying jobs suitable for mages in the city?”

“…Uh…uhh??”

Shyles was flustered.

Lee Han’s words were so unexpected.

But Lee Han was serious.

‘You need to look for good jobs in advance.’

Mages were always high-level personnel, but that didn’t mean there were many places where they could work.

More precisely, the problem was that the mage’s wage was so high.

Let’s say you hired just one outstanding mage to load and unload the goods packed on the carriages behind them; you could save a lot of time instantly…

But in that case, the labor cost would exceed any profit.

So while there were plenty of places to work, there were only a few where a mage could earn silver coins befitting their skill.

Moreover, here in Granden City, there were quite a few Einrogard students other than Lee Han.

Considering the number of upperclassmen, good short-term jobs would disappear in an instant.

‘I need to find something as quickly as possible.’

“You’re joking, right—”

Shyles started to speak but stopped when he saw Lee Han’s eyes burning with determination.

That was definitely not a joking look.

‘Why would a Blue Dragon Tower student want to work…’

He wouldn’t be surprised if it were Black Turtle Tower, Phoenix Tower, or White Tiger Tower students.

That actually happened often.

Since the cost of living in Granden City was so high, most students did work during vacation.

But Blue Dragon Tower students…

Didn’t they not need to?

“Well… I don’t know a lot, but I’ve heard stories from friends and guild employees.”

“Anything is fine. Tell me.”

“Uh, something like carriage escorting jobs, well, that’s a bit much, right?”

The empire’s land was vast, and traveling long distances naturally entailed risk.

From monsters to bandits.

So, carriage convoys were accompanied not only by coachmen, but by guards.

Cheap cargo was fine, but when moving expensive and important goods, even high-level personnel like mages would sometimes join in.

“That’s not right. If something goes wrong, you might not make it back for the start of the next term.”

“R-right. I heard there’s work teaching people with magical aptitude, though…”

Lee Han nodded and took notes.

That actually wasn’t bad at all.

Not everyone was talented enough to enter the Imperial School of Magic. Some people lived their whole lives never realizing they had magical talent.

Occasionally, some of these people decided to learn magic late.

They came in all types: adventurers, mercenaries, merchants, sailors, explorers, etc.

Teaching magic to such people was a relatively popular job among Einrogard students.

“Wait. We’re first-years—can we even teach?”

“I heard being a first-year from Einrogard is enough.”

“I see. What else?”

“Uh, that’s about it, but there’s also occasional ingredient-gathering requests.”

“Ingredient-gathering requests?”

Lee Han hesitated.

Usually, such tasks were for low-ranking adventurers or errand boys.

Of course, highly difficult ingredients did command big rewards and would attract veteran adventurers…

But it was unlikely that “those kinds” of requests would become popular with students.

“Can’t other people do that kind of work?”

“Oh, there are ingredients that only mages can gather.”

‘Aha.’

Lee Han understood.

Some ingredients could only be properly harvested with magic.

“Shyles, if that kind of job comes up, let me know.”

“I mean… why… s-sure, since I owe you so much.”

“Any other jobs?”

“……”

Shyles racked his brains again.

He wasn’t crazy from lack of work or something, but still…

“Right! There’s also assisting mages with experiments!”

“That’s not it.”

“?!”

Shyles was shocked by Lee Han’s immediate refusal.

“Why? I heard that kind of thing is a really good job, too.”

“Shyles. When you meet a strange mage, you need to be cautious first. You never know what sort of experiment they’ll have you do.”

Lee Han spoke very seriously.

Having once suffered terribly for mistaking an innocent-sounding job for something normal, he found Shyles’s cavalier attitude worrying.

Even something that sounded ordinary—like ‘Repeated Practice of Basic Magic Combat’—could turn into a trial where the test subject dodges a barrage of attacks.

“W-well, Wardanaz. I mean, even if the mages are strangers, they’re at least reputable here in the city, not wanted mage-criminals. It’s not like they’d do anything weird, right…?”

“No.”

Lee Han replied firmly.

“They could. Remember that. Understand?”

“Y-yeah…”

Overwhelmed by the force of Lee Han’s conviction, Shyles nodded.

He still didn’t really understand the logic, but Lee Han’s voice carried a sincerity that surpassed logic.

“But assisting mages in experiments really is good work, Wardanaz. It’s not like you can get it just because you want to… If you listen to what the experiment’s about and pick one that’s okay, wouldn’t that be fine?”

Not every mage’s experiment was dangerous.

Observing or recording unusual magical phenomena near the city also counted as assisting in experiments.

“Alright. Since you insist that much, I’ll consider it.”

“It really is… good…”

After Lee Han finished gathering basic info, he looked up and asked,

“So, Shyles. Which one of these jobs are you doing?”

“Me? I’m too busy. I have to help with guild work.”

Lee Han was intrigued.

Maybe the bluebird was closer than he’d thought.

“Does guild transport work pay well?”

“No. There’s no pay. I just do it because it’s family work.”

“Oh, Shyles. Even if it’s for family, working unpaid is a bad idea. You’re undervaluing yourself.”

“…Uh, no… it’s my family’s work, so…”

As Lee Han was offering advice and getting ready to stand, a guild member ran up and spoke to Shyles.

“Young master. The merchant company next door is urgently looking for a mage to do inventory for their reagent stocks. Would you be able to go over? I hear the pay’s pretty good.”

“No way. Look at our warehouse. We have to finish organizing today. Can’t you see the coachmen about to riot?”

“Actually, that job works out great. We’ll take it.”

“?!”

“??!”

Shyles was startled by Lee Han’s words, as was the guild member, and so were the friends with Lee Han.

“You, Wardanaz?”

“If it’s work that needs a mage, shouldn’t the pay be decent?”

“N-no, the pay’s good, but it’s boring and tedious.”

“What matters is the pay. So it’s fine if we take it, right?”

“Uh… yeah.”

Lee Han stood up, took the information sheet, and walked off at a leisurely pace. His friends hurried to follow.

Still standing with his mouth agape, the guild member finally regained his senses and asked,

“Wait… Young master, aren’t those friends nobles? But why…?”

Shyles resonated deeply with the question.

Yeah, good question!

• * *

“A mage, and an Einrogard student at that? Absolutely, you’re welcome!”

The merchant company staff exclaimed excitedly, only to look up and be startled.

‘They’re nobles!?’

“…You know what you’re supposed to do here, right?”

“We check the inventory and organize the reagent stocks in the warehouse, right?”

“That’s right, but… it’ll be boring. Not fun at all…”

“But the pay is good, right?”

“That’s true, but… Well, I’ll be counting on you.”

The group headed to the warehouse.

Nillia, Ratford, and Yoner didn’t really mind, but Gainando and Ahsan were still bewildered.

“So why are we doing this again?”

“Because… because it’s probably good for studying magic. If it’s Wardanaz, that must be it.”

While the two whispered, they spotted familiar faces near the warehouse.

It was Salko’s gang.

“!!”

Salko and his friends were shocked to see Lee Han’s group.

“Wardanaz! What are you doing here?”

“We’re here to work.”

“You…”

Salko was speechless for a moment, then shouted in awe.

“…are truly amazing!”

“Are we really… going to work?”

Gainando’s whisper faded into emptiness.