Episode 335
by CristaeLee Han fell into thought.
In truth, he had no need to become famous in the Empire’s ballroom scene, nor did he have to master every dance.
As long as he could join in when others took to the floor, it was enough to learn just the basics.
There were outstanding dancers who could pick up on every subtle regional difference in the Empire’s waltz…
‘Is that even possible?’
Lee Han marveled anew, then reflected.
Wasn’t he, who took every discipline available, the last one who should be talking?
‘The best way to learn something like this…’
It was easier to practice with a friend who was also a poor dancer than to practice alone.
It was easier to ask for help, and to practice together.
‘And I can prepare beforehand so they don’t blabber needlessly.’
“Gainando isn’t here?”
“Yes. My apologies.”
But surprisingly, Gainando wasn’t at the mansion.
“How…? No, that was a rude question. Well, Gainando could go out on his own, of course.”
The head butler thought to himself, ‘He could have other friends, couldn’t he?’ but didn’t say it aloud.
Gainando really had gone out on his own.
“He apparently went out to test the new mage card deck he made.”
“As expected of the Wardanaz Family…”
“That assumption has nothing to do with the family. But, I understand.”
“Do we have guests?”
“!”
From deeper in the mansion, Gainando’s mother—whom Lee Han had met before—appeared.
The head butler bowed his head before her dazzling spirit’s radiance. Gainando’s mother recognized Lee Han and greeted him warmly.
“You’re Gainando’s fri… fri… acquaintance… from the same tower… uh… Lee Han of the Wardanaz Family, aren’t you?”
“Yes. And since I’m a friend, you can speak comfortably with me.”
Lee Han could feel her thinking, ‘Is he really a friend? Are they still friends? If I call him a friend and he says no, it’ll be awkward, so I need to be careful.’
Gainando’s mother still seemed unable to believe it.
“Understood. What brings you here today?”
“There’s a big social gathering hosted by the city soon, and I came to practice dancing with Gainando.”
“……”
Again, Gainando’s mother looked at him in wonder—as if asking why he went to such lengths.
‘I’ll just pretend I didn’t see that.’
“That’s… very considerate of you. If I’d known, I’d have locked him in so he couldn’t leave.”
“It’s fine. I can just wait until he’s back.”
The head butler spoke up carefully.
“If you need any help with your practice, we can prepare whatever is needed.”
At that, Gainando’s mother frowned.
A proud noble might take offense at such an offer.
Helping with etiquette to a noble of an equal family could easily sound condescending.
“How rude. Would the heir of the Wardanaz Family be unable to handle such a thing himself?”
“M-my apologies.”
“……”
Lee Han felt a little awkward.
‘I was actually going to ask for help.’
“He’s someone who can’t even handle such things on his own, so it would be better to help him.”
“!!”
A noble Lee Han recognized appeared from inside the mansion.
Dressed in deep blue silk finery, holding his staff with the unique grace only a noble could possess, his coldly handsome face bore a glint of wicked mischief in his eyes.
“That skull b…! No, Headmaster!”
“I could tell you were about to greet me informally, but I’ll take it as a sign of affection.”
The Skull Headmaster lightly tapped his staff on the floor as he spoke.
Perhaps it was just his mood, but Lee Han thought the Skull Headmaster looked very tired.
‘That’s strange.’
The Skull Headmaster was one of the most powerful mages Lee Han knew.
Such a mage wouldn’t get tired just from casting a few spells.
“Did something happen?”
“…Why do you ask?”
“You seem a little tired.”
“It must be your imagination.”
But his fierce glare at Lee Han made the claim very unconvincing.
‘You say it’s my imagination, but…’
Lee Han wondered if he’d done something wrong.
“Was it because of the King of Ghouls? But that wasn’t my fault—it’s the Adventurer’s Guild for not investigating properly…”
“Wait. The King of Ghouls, you say.”
The Skull Headmaster interrupted.
His divination-trained intuition sent him a warning of impending doom.
Nothing good could come of this!
‘I spent all last night wrangling with the Emperor, and now…’
After the vacation started, the Skull Headmaster had been summoned for a one-on-one audience at the imperial palace until this morning.
It was called an audience, but in reality, it was close to reproach and criticism.
-Osu… I respect your policies. But surely you must see you go too far at times. I heard a mage who graduated from Einrogard caused trouble again recently…
-Mages are naturally out of their minds, Your Majesty, not just those from Einrogard… Einrogard just produces capable mages, so of course it’s overrepresented in incidents…
-Stop with the excuses. That’s not what I called you for. I heard the Wardanaz Family accepted a very talented student this year?
-Yes.
-You agree so readily, so he must be very talented. Well, it is the Wardanaz Family.
-I will personally ensure he receives proper instruction.
-Don’t try to dodge the issue. I heard he’s been subjected to unreasonably harsh teaching. Is it true this freshman is learning every school of magic?
-…It hasn’t never happened before…
-That child was a troll half-breed. Even then, there were strong calls to dismiss you. This time, since it’s the Wardanaz Family, nobody’s said that.
-If anything, it shows how blind the bureaucrats are, doesn’t it? Would a troll half-breed endure better, or would a pure human?
-There’s a certain level of extraordinariness to be expected from a Wardanaz. Don’t change the subject. I have only one thing to say. Teach that student well.
-Yes.
-Osu. When I say “teach well,” I don’t just mean magic. Guide him properly, so he doesn’t turn crooked.
The Emperor’s point had merit.
A mage was inherently a dangerous being.
A brilliant mage even more so—and a brilliant but twisted mage was extremely dangerous.
Given the caliber of mages Einrogard produced, it was only natural the Emperor was so stern.
But the Skull Headmaster still felt wronged.
Why were mages causing incidents blamed on him?
He wanted to argue for hours but held his tongue.
Trying to reason with a tired Emperor would only backfire.
Besides, the Skull Headmaster had let the Emperor catch him out on far too many things.
-I’ll do my best.
-I’m saying this now so you don’t try to weasel out of it later… What I mean by guiding well are things like: if there’s going to be a fight with a Rock Drake, get him out of it; if he’s already in ten classes, don’t let him take an eleventh; if there’s an external incident, don’t let the freshman be the one to handle it; same goes for when the King of Frost Giants is summoned…
-I swear, none of those things were my doing.
-Really.
-But you don’t believe me, do you?
-No. Don’t resent me too much, Osu… It’s because you’ve tricked me so many times.
-……
It was his own fault, so the Skull Headmaster couldn’t argue.
This was karma for always denying responsibility after every incident.
But as for the things involving Lee Han—truly, the Skull Headmaster hadn’t forced him into them.
Almost all the time, Lee Han had jumped in himself!
-I’ll try not to let freshmen go through such harsh trials in the future.
-That answer satisfies me… I trust you, Osu. Still, can’t help wondering if you’ll end up piling hardship on him in three days anyway…
-No, Your Majesty. Times have changed.
-Just count the students who’ve run away from you. You could fill a magic tower. Anyway… I’ll trust you.
Having endured such unfounded rumors and insults, the Skull Headmaster couldn’t help being anxious hearing the very instigator now say something ominous.
“Let me guess. King of Ghouls… Did undead rise up from a cemetery? It is about that season. Idlers will give big, menacing nicknames to anything.”
“Oh. How did you know? Actually, it wasn’t the King of Ghouls, but an Undead Chimera. I tracked and caught it with Senior Direte.”
“……”
The Skull Headmaster felt a phantom headache in his non-existent body.
He’d only been gone a little over a month—what on earth had happened in the meantime?
“…Then maybe some noble brats caused trouble? They’re always so clueless about danger, always buying and tinkering with forbidden things.”
“Oh, you heard? But that was a Basilisk.”
“…What is wrong with you!”
The Skull Headmaster finally exploded.
“Other Blue Dragon Tower students just waste the vacation blowing their family riches, but you—why are you like this?! You’re not a lich, you don’t have extra lives!”
“……”
“……”
Not just Lee Han, but everyone else in Gainando’s mansion was dumbfounded.
“My friends are working during the vacation too…”
“Because you influenced them!”
“Not really… Maybe?”
As Lee Han accepted this, the Skull Headmaster’s annoyance only grew.
Gainando’s mother stepped in to defend him.
“Lord Gonadaltes. Lee Han of the Wardanaz Family is nothing like those madmen who risk their lives for fame even though they aren’t suited for it. There was an unfortunate accident with teleportation involving the Scarlet Lotus Forest subjugation team recently, and thanks to Lee Han, they survived and expressed much gratitude.”
“……”
He was supposed to be happy to hear of his student’s achievements, but instead the Skull Headmaster just sighed even deeper.
His greatest fear was the sense that there might still be more of Lee Han’s exploits out there.
After a few more sighs, the Skull Headmaster resigned himself.
‘At least I have an alibi.’
Even if the Emperor asked later, he could claim he wasn’t in Granden City at the time.
Not that it would necessarily help…
“Fine… If you were the sort to be stopped by interference, you wouldn’t be worth much to begin with. Just learn to dance. Lady Kraha, he didn’t take social dance class, so please instruct him.”
“Really?”
Gainando’s mother looked at the Skull Headmaster as if to say he was being too harsh.
The Skull Headmaster realized what misunderstanding she was having.
“No… Lady Kraha! I didn’t keep him from taking it!”
“Then he just didn’t take it on his own?”
“That’s right!”
“Yes… Understood…”
“The reliquary’s going to break from stress…! You explain!”
The Skull Headmaster suppressed his headache and called to Lee Han.
“Yes? Explain what?”
“Not taking dance was your own choice, right?!”
“Yes, I chose not to.”
“See…!”
He was about to continue, but stopped at the shocked look Gainando’s mother gave him.
At that moment, the Skull Headmaster realized that no matter how he explained, there was no way to clear up the misunderstanding.
“…Just go ahead and give him dance lessons.”