Episode 420

-How fascinating. I wonder what happened here.

When the Death Knight murmured with curiosity, the skeletal headmaster made a bones-clacking sound instead of clicking his tongue and spoke.

Still not there yet. I figured it out right away.

-Is that so?

The Death Knight was astonished.

To have discerned the secret hidden behind this mysterious scene. He thought his master truly deserved to be called the Empire’s greatest sage.

Even the printing guild that produces the Empire’s most popular magazine, “Toberiz the Beastkin Detective,” always sought the advice of Gonadaltes, so renowned was his name.

The culprit is definitely that Wardanaz brat.

-…?

The Death Knight looked at his master in bewilderment.

Of course, he knew his master tormented his favorite disciples even more, but wasn’t this just groundless blaming?

If he tormented a student so unfairly, it’d be hard to recover if they ever became rebellious…

It’s not groundless. You empty-headed fool.

-Understood. I believe in you, master.

If you really believed it, you wouldn’t say that. Now, think it through. You’ve at least guessed that some first years came here, right?

-That much…

The Death Knight nodded.

Though neither the knights nor mages would admit it, from the atmosphere it was clear first-year students had come and gone.

But among the first years, the only one who’s friendly with both mages and knights is the Wardanaz kid.

-But the ones who escaped were the White Tiger Tower students. How could—no matter how close he is, is that really possible…?

There must be a reason behind it. Remember this. Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains—no matter how strange—must be the truth.

The skeletal headmaster spoke with a voice full of insight. The Death Knight bowed his head in awe.

He’d known they were friendly, but never imagined anyone could mediate between them. How talented he truly was.

-Indeed. It still amazes me. Those two little bastards…

Hey now.

-Sorry. That was disrespectful.

No, you can keep your voice down and go on. They really are bastards. If words don’t work, are they even human?

The skeletal headmaster was genuinely amazed.

The Empire is a land of many geniuses.

Of course, Lee Han was a bit more exceptional, but even among his seniors, there were several who demonstrated astounding talent in their fields.

But geniuses like those were usually interested only in their own scholarship—they didn’t make sure their friends were fed, help professors with their work, or mediate for outsiders in their spare time.

But Lee Han could do all that.

Judging from now, he had clearly mediated between the knights and mages.

This wasn’t easy even for a veteran imperial official…

It was absurd when you thought about it. This is supposed to be the professor’s job. How can the student be more socially skilled than the professors?

The Death Knight thought to himself, ‘Aren’t most of these professors here because you personally recruited them?’, but wisely kept silent.

Instead, he changed the subject.

-You must be happy to have such a talented disciple.

I am. Now that I know he’s capable of this much, I can try assigning him to something new next. What should I have him do next…

-……

The Death Knight thought it might be a bit much for a first year, but silently kept it to himself.

A loyal summon knows when to be silent.

Oh right. I almost forgot. You take care of it.

-Of what? A reward?

The Death Knight wondered if the headmaster would reward his disciple as much as he was given extra work.

Honestly, mediating between mages and knights and handling that problem was harder than defeating an evil archduke demon.

Are you mad? What reward? Do you think Einrogard is some soft place to give prizes to runaways?

-…Understood. Sorry.

I meant find out how the Wardanaz kid managed to slip away.

-Perhaps he left together with the White Tiger Tower bunch?

At first I thought so, too, but on further reflection, the Wardanaz kid wouldn’t be so careless. Didn’t someone release the staff? He probably left separately. Go find out.

The skeletal headmaster, surprisingly, was someone who strictly observed his own rules.

Unless he caught someone in the act or had solid evidence, he wouldn’t punish a student based on intuition or testimony alone.

If he were to punish, he would do so only with overwhelming evidence so there could be no argument!

-But for a first-year student, isn’t this impossible, except in the most unusual circumstances?

That sort of complacency is real arrogance! Haven’t I told you not to underestimate your opponent? Keep that in mind! Just forget the idea that he’s a first year. Act as if he’s a grizzled fourth year!

-…Yes. Understood…

• * *

After surviving his wild weekend and barely making it back at dawn, Lee Han took a brief nap and got up right away in the morning.

The acolytes didn’t show it, but there was murmuring over the suddenly transformed breakfast menu.

“Is today some special day…?”

“No. For proper nutrition, you need to eat at least this much.”

Lee Han said this, pushing a slice of bread thick with jam toward the skinniest-looking acolyte.

Suddenly, one acolyte remembered and asked,

“By the way, did you Blue Dragon Tower students eat like this last semester?”

“Generally, yes?”

“Ah…!”

The acolytes nodded as if enlightened.

No wonder, last semester the Blue Dragon Tower students didn’t seem desperate for snacks, and even if the acolytes tried to give treats, they’d say, ‘Haha, it’s all right. Please, you acolytes enjoy it,’ but lately their hollow-eyed stares had been worrying.

“I knew it…”

“But if the ones who used to eat like this aren’t eating much nowadays, wouldn’t they be hungry? Maybe we should bring some…”

As one acolyte loaded a plate with egg custard, pumpkin pie, egg rice, and cured duck roast to bring over, Lee Han immediately warned.

“Anyone who brings food to another tower is automatically out of the order selection lottery.”

“Wha—no!”

“Why…!?”

The acolytes who’d been about to deliver food were flustered.

Since they’d been hoping the next divine spell Lee Han awakened would be their order’s, they couldn’t risk losing their place in the rotation.

“It just feels wrong to eat this lavishly…”

“I’ve heard from the order it’s not good for us to eat like this…”

Lee Han ignored the acolytes’ grumbling and kept feeding them.

“Siana, you put too little on that plate. Pile on more.”

“This is the third plate you’re giving m—no, this is just too much…!”

Acolyte Tijilling tried to protest, but it didn’t work.

After making sure the acolytes all ate their fill, Lee Han looked out the window with satisfaction.

‘Something’s odd.’

Even after just a semester, Lee Han had adapted very sensitively to Einrogard.

Thanks to this, he could feel the shift in atmosphere.

There were more Death Knights patrolling around the tower and the walls, and undead summons he hadn’t seen before flying overhead…

He had more than enough of an idea why.

‘Those White Tiger Tower brats are no help.’

Of course, Lee Han had some responsibility too, since he’d joined the weekend job to earn a bit of money, but the real ruckus had all been caused by those White Tiger Tower idiots.

And after all that, they even gave him grief for “lucking out by meeting the knights.” Useless, every one of them.

‘Did I get found out?’

Lee Han glanced toward the spire.

He’d cautioned everyone present to keep it a secret, but there were just too many people. Lee Han wasn’t holding out much hope the secret would keep.

Since he wasn’t immediately dragged off to the punishment room, the skeletal headmaster must not have caught them red-handed, and he’d gotten away with it…

‘But he’s definitely not one to just let this go.’

If he assumed Lee Han left with the White Tiger Tower students, all the better, but he didn’t seem that lenient. It would be best to be careful for a while.

‘If I get out three or four times a semester, I’ll have enough supplies…’

Despite the search, Lee Han’s spirit was at peace.

He’d brought in a ton of supplies, and with an outing pass, things were much better than he’d expected.

There wouldn’t be another mage festival like last week, so as long as he kept up with the assignments…

CRASH CRASH!

Entering Professor Voladi’s lecture room, Lee Han rolled across the floor.

The lecture content had changed while he wasn’t looking.

“…You’re attacking the moment I enter now?”

“There’s no other choice.”

Lee Han wasn’t even that curious, but forced himself to ask.

“And why is that?”

“If you want to defend against teleportation magic at your current level, there’s nothing for it but repeated training.”

“What? Teleportation magic, all of a sudden…? I still need to practice transforming lightning spells, and there’s a lot to….”

Lee Han was confused, not knowing why the curriculum had suddenly shifted to counter-teleportation training instead of relatively safe tasks like caring for the basilisk egg or transforming lightning spells.

Then, Professor Voladi showed him a note.

To Voladi Baegrek:

Lee Han Wardanaz is getting discouraged by constantly losing to a teleporting golem. Help him out.

Osu Gonadaltes

“……”

Lee Han’s face contorted.

‘Is this because I went out? Seriously?’

It was a note sent before his outing, but Lee Han didn’t know that.

He would rather be sent to the punishment room!

“…So that’s why we’re practicing against teleportation magic?”

“Yes. You’ll encounter it someday, so you should prepare in advance.”

Professor Voladi spoke in a serious voice.

The headmaster’s point was reasonable.

If Lee Han ever ended up in the most remote, sinister corners of the Empire and encountered a battle mage who’d specialized in teleport magic for life, his life could be in danger.

“……”

Lee Han had to bite his tongue to stifle an urge to say, “Why don’t you also teach me how to fight a dragon while you’re at it?”

If he did, Professor Voladi might just say, “Very well,” and start the dragon-slaying lessons then and there.

The only thing Lee Han could do was be just a little sarcastic.

“I’m really glad to be learning how to deal with a professional battle mage who specializes in teleport magic—something I might encounter once or twice in my entire life.”

“That so?”

Professor Voladi was pleased at Lee Han’s apparent happiness.

As a teacher, there was nothing more satisfying than giving a student exactly what he wanted to learn.

“In the future, just tell me directly.”

Professor Voladi thought that Lee Han, respectful as a disciple to his master, hadn’t spoken plainly out of deference.

“I’ll say it directly from now on, so please don’t listen to words from other professors. You know how messages get misunderstood as they get passed down the line.”

“That’s possible.”

Professor Voladi nodded as if he understood. Lee Han let out a sigh.

“Offensive use of teleportation magic is one of the hardest things to counter. There are no warning signs.”

Space-time magic ranks among the most arcane and difficult of all schools of magic.

Accordingly, there were very few mages who could even use teleportation magic, and even fewer who could cast it so quickly and accurately for combat purposes.

Not to mention the mana consumption. If you wanted to kill someone, one arrow would suffice—who’d take the trouble to use such a complicated spell?

“Professor. Should we really be preparing for this, as you say?”

“But you did face it recently. If it’s happened once, it can happen again.”

“……”

When Professor Voladi’s points literally checkmated him, Lee Han felt the most self-loathing.

To lose to such logic…

“There are few ways to counter, but it’s not impossible.”

As the headmaster had mentioned, teleportation magic didn’t have openings, but the ones who used it did.

If you could predict the opponent’s patterns ahead of time, you could avoid even the strongest magic.

“That’s where divination magic comes in.”

“!”

Lee Han was surprised at how sensible this solution was.

Divination magic did fit this situation.

“Oh. So I don’t have to just learn by getting hit?”

“No. You need to get hit a lot to activate your divination magic.”

Instinctively, Lee Han leapt aside. Sure enough, a chair appeared right where he’d just been, flying at him.

Before he could relax, a desk materialized from behind and struck him as it passed. Lee Han went rolling across the classroom floor.

“That first evasive move was excellent. You have talent.”

“That wasn’t divination magic, it was just luck…”

Lee Han didn’t even have time to answer before the next attack started.