Episode 499
by CristaeEpisode 499
Leaving the sulking Ratford behind, Lee Han stood in front of the mirror.
A new master?
‘Hmm.’
Lee Han recalled the things he had learned from Direte.
What should one do when talking to an anonymous Einrogard senior?
-Of course I’m the new master. Do you think I just remembered after keeping it for years and opened it now? Why would you ask such a thing? Honestly. It’s a good thing this is a school; if this were a guild, I would’ve buried you upside down on the spot.
Are you from the Black Turtle Tower?
‘Oh. Did it work?’
When Lee Han’s cover was not blown, he kept pressing forward.
Ratford, who had been glancing at the letters Lee Han wrote on the mirror from afar, wore a very displeased expression.
‘Isn’t that person just crazy?’
Even in the Thieves’ Guild, he didn’t think there was anyone this violent…
-Don’t you dare arrogantly try to test me. I’ll send my subordinates and have you thrown in the punishment room.
Understood. Let’s get on with the deal instead.
Even though they were only talking through written words, a surprising impression of the other person could be felt.
Lee Han felt that the other person was quite calm and composed.
To meet someone for the first time and rampage without thinking, yet not care at all and just say whatever he wanted.
‘Probably an upperclassman, maybe from the Blue Dragon Tower or Phoenix Tower?’
There was a chance he could be wrong, but Lee Han thought it was reasonably plausible.
I need Cheonghuidanbocho. At least three pouches or more. Do you know anything about it?
- * *
The person on the other side of the mirror waited for a reply with a calm gaze.
Cheonghuidanbocho wasn’t an impossibly rare herb, but it wasn’t exactly common either.
On top of that, it was a reagent often used by upperclassmen, so second or third years didn’t usually have it on hand.
The reason the other person brought up Cheonghuidanbocho was partly because they needed it, but also because this simple question could help gauge the other side.
If the other person had information, they were at least a fourth year—at the very least, a third year.
Given the rough tone, it seemed very likely they were from the Black Turtle Tower, probably even from the Stonemason Guild.
-I know.
‘So it really is a student from the Black Turtle Tower, and at least a third year.’
The person on the other side of the mirror quickly organized their thoughts.
The Black Turtle Tower student’s way of speaking was rude, but he didn’t particularly care.
From the start, he’d never expected a dignified and polite conversation when using this kind of artifact.
The important thing was usefulness.
In fact, people like this Black Turtle Tower student—rude and arrogant—never made many mistakes.
They were all the more attractive as trading partners.
If we’re a good match, let’s trade. What do you want?
-I need a spell that can effectively subdue the giants of the mountain range. Do you know of one?
‘…Are they a fourth year or above? Surely not a fifth year?’
The other person was honestly surprised.
Looking for a way to subdue the giants of the mountains.
What on earth are they after?
‘Is there even an escape route in the mountains? No reason to target that area, though, is there?’
Creatures with strong magical resistance like giants were always a wizard’s nightmare.
When facing them, even if you poured out all your magic, it would never be enough; the best option was just not to get involved.
And honestly, the person on the other side of the mirror couldn’t think of a spell that would effectively subdue a giant. Giants were not opponents who could be tricked by loopholes.
That’s unfortunate. I don’t know.
It was a little humiliating, but he had no choice but to admit it. The Black Turtle Tower student was silent for a moment before replying.
-Incompetent. In our guild…
The eyebrows of the person on the other side of the mirror knit slightly.
He knew that guild students had strong feelings of belonging, but seeing it first-hand was extremely annoying.
What meaning did such attachment have for a wizard?
When you could barely have enough time to focus on your own path…
Anything else?
-There’s a golem in the school that uses spatial teleportation. I need a spell to subdue it; do you know one?
“……”
The person on the other side glared at the letters with surprised eyes.
Each question was more astonishing than the last.
Normally, he wouldn’t have asked such things, but he was so surprised by now that he carelessly asked.
If there’s a golem that uses spatial movement, wouldn’t it be better to just avoid it?
-This is why people who haven’t shed blood and sweat in the guild… Are you saying you’ll run away when faced with an obstacle?
“……”
The Black Turtle Tower student continued on for a few more lines with a short speech.
The person on the other side admitted his own mistake and endured.
-Understood. If you don’t know, it can’t be helped. Do you know how to obtain the following materials?
- * *
‘I’m barely managing to bluff my way through.’
Lee Han let out a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, it seemed the other person hadn’t noticed Lee Han was a first-year student.
Now that it had come to this, he absolutely couldn’t get caught.
He’d be meeting seniors once he became a second-year later; he didn’t want his school life to be tangled from the second year on.
‘Cheonghuidanbocho…’
A reagent that appeared more often in high-level magic than easy ones.
Mainly used in imbued magic, alchemy, and the like.
The person on the other end of the mirror didn’t realize he was also giving away bits of information about himself.
He’d never imagine his counterpart was a lunatic who was taking every kind of magic class.
‘Upperclassman, focused on imbued magic, alchemy… If you include a bit broader, even transmutation magic…’
Lee Han’s guess, that the person was an upperclassman, was further reinforced by the request for Cheonghuidanbocho.
The luckiest point today was that Lee Han actually knew something about Cheonghuidanbocho.
The chance of a first-year knowing its location was slim, but Lee Han had seen a box containing Cheonghuidanbocho last time in Professor Thunderstep’s mage tower, on the third floor’s Kaksoo Hall.
Room 17 of the third floor’s labyrinth!
The room where, because of spatial distortion, water falling from the desk ran along the ceiling.
Among the reagents stored there, Lee Han had definitely seen Cheonghuidanbocho.
Professor Thunderstep would never imagine a first-year apprentice would remember the reagent in the corner of his third-floor lab.
‘But are subduing a giant or a golem really that hard?’
Lee Han felt a bit sour.
Of course, he’d picked those questions to avoid getting caught as a first-year and to leave a strong impression.
But the other side’s reaction was different than expected.
He acted as if Lee Han was asking ridiculous questions.
‘I knew Professor Voladi was making me do something outrageous, but seeing the reaction like this…’
It was a bit—no, very—bittersweet.
I know how to get Blue Meanil Flower, Donghaso…
“!”
Lee Han’s eyes brightened.
The ingredients just mentioned by the other side were the ingredients for the foresight-enhancing potion that Yoanen of the Meikin family had told Lee Han about.
He hadn’t had time to make it before midterms, but was now planning to try it again.
‘Given the difficulty of midterms at this school, foresight is a must.’
No matter how capable he was, Lee Han didn’t think he could keep surviving with just his bare hands. He needed an emergency measure.
-Let’s trade.
Will you go first?
-Sure.
Lee Han decided to take the risk, in case the other person bailed after taking what they wanted.
If that happened, he’d immediately report to Professor Thunderstep.
However, to the other person, Lee Han’s bold attitude left a different impression.
‘He’s bold and fearless. If there’s a new student in the Black Turtle Tower who’s making new potions with such a straightforward and daring personality…’
Normally, the other person didn’t get unnecessarily curious about these things, but this time was different.
He was curious about what kind of student would ask such things as Lee Han had earlier.
-What you want is in Room 17, third floor maze of Kaksoo Hall.
“…!”
The other person was even more shocked.
How did this Black Turtle Tower student know the location of an herb deep in the third floor of Kaksoo Hall?
‘He must be a student who’s deeply involved in the alchemy school.’
Are you a professor’s protégé?
-Think what you want. Now. Say what you promised.
The other person thought that whoever this Black Turtle Tower student was, he really was a tough one.
Toughness was, of course, a required quality for any Einrogard student, but even so, it was rare for a professor’s protégé to casually sell information.
He was definitely a cold-blooded person who would do anything to get what he wanted.
- * *
“It’s done. I’ll have to pick it up later.”
Finishing his communication with the mirror, Lee Han stood up, organizing his notes.
Unlike his conversations with Direte, this one with the unnamed person was tense and exhausting.
But there was that much gain. He was now ready to make the potion to enhance foresight.
‘I’ll finish it before finals.’
“Wardanaz. I have something I’m curious about.”
Since about halfway through the conversation, Ratford had been blatantly watching from the side and now asked cautiously.
“What is it?”
“Where did you learn to talk like that? Even my fellow guild members didn’t speak that way… Didn’t the other person get suspicious?”
“I copied Salko.”
“……”
Ratford was appalled.
Was that the image of someone from Tutanta!?
‘I must never let the actual person hear this.’
What was more surprising was that it had actually worked on the other person.
“I’ll have to ask my friends in the White Tiger Tower to bring it over.”
Just in case, Lee Han prepared to make a request to the White Tiger Tower students.
If there were any traps or the information was fake, his White Tiger Tower friends would gladly take the hit.
Having finished everything, he left the base, and saw some friends loitering on the first floor.
Of course, those on duty could be outside, but wandering around at night was a surefire ticket to the punishment room.
Lee Han, puzzled by how openly his friends were loitering, asked,
“What are you guys doing there?”
“Eek! …Oh, it’s Wardanaz. …Huh!”
‘Didn’t that guy just get surprised a second time?’
It was understandable to be startled when thinking it was a ghost or an intruder, but why be surprised again after seeing it’s Lee Han?
“I came out because of duty. Don’t get any weird ideas.”
“If you’re on duty, you should be working, so why are you here? Doesn’t seem like it’s because of duty?”
“……”
“……”
The students exchanged guilty glances.
Eventually, one student from the White Tiger Tower gave up and whispered to Lee Han.
“Wardanaz. Just keep this to yourself. Today… We’re getting a visitor.”
“What?!”
Lee Han was genuinely surprised.
A visitor on the weekend.
Of course, quite a lot of outsiders did visit Einrogard, but for students to wait around for a guest like this, there could only be one person.
“Is it an imperial official coming to investigate Einrogard?”
“…No? Why would we wait for that?”
The White Tiger Tower student looked at Lee Han as if he were talking nonsense.
Who would loiter all night when an imperial official was visiting?
“Then who is it?”
“Ipadur!”
Not just the White Tiger Tower student, but even the Blue Dragon Tower students all looked at Lee Han with great anticipation.
As if expecting Lee Han to exclaim, ‘Gasp! That person is coming!?’
Unfortunately, Lee Han couldn’t. He was baffled.
“Who’s that?”
“……”
“…You know… the bard… Ipadur… You don’t know? He’s famous… Even appeared in the imperial newspaper…”
“I don’t really read those parts. Sorry.”
Lee Han consoled his disappointed friends. Ahsan said expectantly,
“I was going to show him a song I wrote.”
“…?”
Lee Han tilted his head.
A song written by Ahsan…
-Einrogard, Einrogard, it’s so great here. A place with warm meals and soft beds. Einrogard.
‘Isn’t that song an imperial-law-banned rumor-mongering tune?’