Episode 513

Lee Han couldn’t understand what it meant to throw stones at each other, so he looked at the skull principal.

Of course, the skull principal looked at Lee Han as if he couldn’t understand either.

Which part of my explanation just now was confusing? You’re not a stupid kid, are you?

“Uh, why do they throw stones at each other?”

Then why do people play chess, or card games, or polo? Because it’s fun.

The skull principal clicked his tongue at Lee Han in dismay.

Think about it. Is there really not a single person you want to throw a stone at?

To that question, Lee Han reflexively looked at the skull principal. The principal replied coldly.

Why are you looking at me?

“I was just looking at you to answer your question, Principal.”

Anyway, throwing a stone infused with your daily frustration and letting it out isn’t really such a strange thing. Of course, you couldn’t call it a noble or intelligent thing… But in the Empire, there are plenty of dumber things going on all the time.

The Festival of Saint Iaactus was roughly held as follows.

Participants gather, split into teams, and throw stones at each other, and the team that’s still standing at the end wins.

‘This is a crazy festival.’

Lee Han regretted berating Gainando when he wanted to do the detective festival.

Compared to this, the detective festival was a fine event.

“Wait. Principal. Whatever’s happening outside is one thing, but this is a hall of learning and the ivory tower of the Empire’s finest intellects—are you saying this festival happens here, too?”

“It’s the most popular.”

The most popular.

“……”

Lee Han looked at the seniors with strong contempt.

‘They say Einrogard’s curriculum is harsh, but it clearly has its holes. Doing such pointless things.’

“Principal. The seniors still seem to have some leeway—how about you increase their curriculum like mine?”

I’m telling you sincerely—do you know you’re sometimes creepy?

A wicked Dragonlord or an imperial inspector hadn’t made his skin crawl, but sometimes his own disciple’s insanity gave the skull principal chills.

“Junior. I get the joke but…”

‘It wasn’t a joke.’

“A genius like you might survive that kind of course, but normal people would die.”

“Even if you die, it’s a le…”

“What’s more important is the students who’ll come in injured because of the festival.”

You mustn’t quit. Hang in there! You all can do it!

The skull principal, putting on an act, encouraged the healing magic students.

This week’s festival was nothing short of a nightmare for them.

There would be a flood of students coming in after getting wounded while throwing stones…

“Stay strong, seniors. You can do it!”

Lee Han quickly picked up on the mood and cheered them on.

Phil and Chil, weakly laughing, thanked him.

“Thank you.”

“Still, we’re lucky to have a reliable junior like you with us.”

“…?”

Lee Han felt something off in the senior’s words.

With us?

“I’m joining too?”

“Yeah? Of course.”

“Can I even do it?”

“You’re already good at -lower healing of lacerations-. That’s enough. There are a few more things to learn, but once you pick those up you’ll be able to learn the other spells too.”

Unlike the other first-year students learning healing magic, Lee Han could already heal lacerations and contusions with lower spells, so he was immediately able to serve as part of the workforce.

With a shortage of personnel, the healing magic school wasn’t about to let Lee Han go.

Sensing his tragic fate, Lee Han tried a bit of resistance.

“But don’t you seniors have Einrogard’s magic on you, so I wouldn’t be able to see you?”

Here. Wear these glasses.

The skull principal kindly put emerald glasses on Lee Han’s face.

It was an artifact that would let him see through the powerful perception-blocking magic cast on the seniors.

“…Thank you.”

For a moment, Lee Han seriously considered joining the Festival of Saint Iaactus to throw some stones.

• * *

The demon of the healing room, the talking book, fluttered as it shouted at the healing magic students.

“Make more anesthetic potion! We’ll need at least two more crates!”

The students worked hard to stack up bottles of powerful anesthetic potions known as -Lagrinde’s Anesthetic Potion-.

Originally, such secret potion recipes weren’t to be shared, but Professor Alcassis had no qualms about teaching this to his disciples.

Thanks to this, the students had to suffer even more as they struggled to make more difficult potions.

“Stack the regeneration potions over here! Quick, quick! We need time to go check out the Festival of Saint Iaactus too!”

The talking book glanced out the healing room window.

Already, a number of students were scattered below, throwing stones at each other.

-Die, you Blue Worm bastards!

-The White Wildcat bastards’ livers must have swelled since they didn’t get hit last time. Hit them!

A demon like the talking book could only find such a festival entertaining.

Of course, cleaning up afterward was annoying, but the fun made up for it.

The Blue Dragon Tower students summoned magic shields in the air to block, then sent stones flying back with magic.

It was as if they were out to prove that their years at Einrogard hadn’t been a waste. In an instant, all the stones lying around on the ground floated up and rained out like buckshot.

The White Tiger Tower students reacted a bit differently. Instead of defending with a barrier in the air, they enhanced their own bodies and dodged the attacks directly.

Seeing them dart out of range and evade, the talking book flapped its pages in excitement.

“Yes, yes! Press the attack!”

The festival originally involved throwing stones, but with outstanding mages participating, ‘throwing stones’ took on many more meanings.

The White Tiger Tower students kicked boulders toward the enemy ranks like catapults, and a Blue Dragon Tower student quickly cast a spell.

The flying rock instantly turned to sand, scattering in the wind.

“Already using that spell! It must drain a lot of mana… What are they going to do when the real battle starts?”

As if in answer, students from Black Turtle Tower appeared behind the White Tiger Tower students.

The Black Turtle Tower students, who brought a magical ballista, began pelting the backs of the White Tiger Tower students with a barrage of stones.

-Got bought off by the Worms, did you?! You trash!

-You thought we’d let it slide after you raided our warehouse this time?!

-The Worms raided it too!

-They paid damages. Die!

“Excellent, excellent!”

“Uh…”

“Did I say to stop making potions?”

When called from behind, the talking book turned around irritably.

But it wasn’t the healing magic students behind.

“You? Did you come to talk about Gonadaltes or something?”

The talking book recognized Lee Han and greeted him cheerfully.

Wasn’t this the student who chatted happily with him last time in the healing room while cursing the skull principal?

Seeing that he’d come back in one piece, the book figured he must be here to complain about the principal again.

“I wouldn’t mind that, but… I came to work today.”

“You came to work?”

The talking book sounded doubtful.

It was a little odd for a demon to say so, but healing magic was a field where an inexperienced mage blundering around could make things more dangerous.

That is, if they started dragging a first-year in just for lack of staff, it could end up being more trouble than it was worth.

“No matter how desperate you are…”

The talking book looked at Phil and Chil, who quickly shouted,

“That’s not it!”

“He really can be helpful!”

“I doubt it!”

The talking book asked with a stubborn tone.

“If I stretch the definition—do you know how to heal lacerations?”

Punctures and cuts were common injuries in this festival.

“Yes.”

“Really? How about healing contusions?”

Broken, twisted, or cracked bones were also common festival injuries.

That was tougher than healing cuts, but still…

“I can do that too.”

“Really??”

The talking book was truly surprised.

At this level, he really might be useful.

“How about -lower life-granting- or -pain anesthesia-?”

Phil and Chil hesitated.

They weren’t sure if their junior could do those as well.

“I don’t know those yet.”

When Lee Han answered in their stead, the two seniors sighed regretfully.

“Damn…”

“If only there’d been a little more time…!”

‘Huh? Am I about to get out of this?’

Wondering at the strangely unfolding mood, Lee Han thought he might just get dismissed for lack of qualification. If so, he’d try to look as disappointed as possible…

“Well, if you can already heal lacerations and contusions, you’ll pick up life-granting and pain anesthesia spells in no time. I’ll teach you.”

“……”

Lee Han hid his pout and followed the talking book.

He succeeded in learning both -lower life-granting- and -pain anesthesia- at once.

• * *

“Ugh, those guys covered the stones with illusions to cheat…!”

“I told you not to do this kind of festival!”

“But, but… there’s just no way not to do it.”

Phil and Chil, and the healing magic students helping them, grumbled as they treated students who came to the healing room.

Sharper criticism was reserved for familiar faces.

“Aaagh! Anesthesia! Where’s the anesthesia?!”

“Suck it up. We’re out.”

“What about those over there?!”

“Those are different potions.”

“You’re doing this on purp—aaagh!”

‘Oh.’

As he worked beside the others, Lee Han’s eyes gleamed.

He’d thought the healing magic school was all hardship, but it had an unexpected perk.

If someone didn’t listen…

“Junior. That bone!”

“Yes.”

Lee Han waved his staff and chanted.

Since the other seniors had already taken care of other things, he just had to add magic to set the bone.

As the bone set and the pain vanished, the injured senior lying there stared at Lee Han.

“……”

“?”

Then suddenly began to have a fit.

“No!! No!!!”

“??”

“I can’t go to the punishment room now! The spell wore off! Hey! Phil! What are you doing?! Help me!”

“…We’re doing it with the principal’s permission, you know.”

“……”

The senior who’d been having the fit suddenly stopped and lay back down awkwardly.

“R-really?”

“Yes.”

“Stop talking—any more and you’re going to the punishment room.”

Phil warned his friend.

No matter how much permission they had, there was nothing to be gained by bantering with a senior.

“It’ll be fine.”

“Really?”

Lee Han wasn’t sure if it really would be, but since he was treating the seniors anyway, he intended to pick up as much gossip as he could.

Of course, it wasn’t an easy situation.

“Damn it! Those lunatic black mages…! They got undead to use an ambush?!”

“……”

“Everyone who uses transformation magic should just get locked up in the punishment room! Those scum disguised themselves as our tower and snuck in…!”

“……”

The patients insulted the other towers and schools in many ways.

And every time they saw Lee Han, they were startled and had a fit.

“No! Magic! Magic, cast the spell!”

“If you end up in the punishment room, Chil—you’re coming with me!”

“……”

Lee Han quietly numbed their pain, healed their wounds, and granted them vitality. If he had time to spare, he made potions with the seniors.

The healing magic seniors working alongside Lee Han stared at him with bloodshot eyes.

“Junior.”

“You’re… too good for us.”

“Not at all, seniors.”

Lee Han cursed the skull principal in his heart instead.

‘What is this?’

From a while ago, he kept feeling magic pulsing from his inner pocket.

He glanced at the basilisk, but it was sound asleep, tied to his body.

The culprit was soon revealed. It was the stack of artifact papers they had gotten from the trial tower.

When he opened it, someone had already written quite a bit on it.

-Who’s entering the Festival of Saint Iaactus this time?

-Wardanaz, you’re joining too, right?

-Hey, nobody’s ignoring Wardanaz, right? Did I do something wrong?

-Ah, right, you’re always busy.

-Still, Wardanaz, you’ll join, right? I think you will? Want to bet something?

-You’re not scared, are you?

The handwriting was the same, so it looked like one person had written it all. Lee Han picked up the quill next to him and wrote a reply.

-Angrago. Tell anyone around you joining the Festival of Saint Iaactus that I’ll break their legs.