Episode 521

Lee Han’s eyes flickered for a moment.

Fortunately, Professor Lightningstep didn’t notice.

“Whoever did it must be really awful! Stealing such a rare creature.”

“Forget it. If you need to blame anyone, it’s the principal’s fault for constantly bothering students.”

Although Professor Lightningstep continued to grumble, he wasn’t seriously angry that the students had stolen it.

After all, the rules of Einrogard encouraged that kind of theft in the first place.

If you keep pressuring students to steal if they’re able, would those who have endured harsh training just sit by and not steal?

“Do you have any suspects in mind?”

Lee Han casually prodded Professor Lightningstep.

If the other party had any suspicions, he was prepared to take care of it as soon as possible.

“Well, probably a third-year? The fourth-years would be too busy at this point to bother stealing and raising a ghost chicken.”

Professor Lightningstep spoke while repairing the fence with a hammer.

In his view, it seemed the third- and fourth-year students about to take this semester’s final exam had become interested in the Skull Principal’s garden.

Although there were many rare beasts, the two hydras brought in recently were what would most directly attract the students’ attention.

Given that the fourth-years had more to prepare, they probably didn’t have time to pay attention to the ghost chicken, so the likely culprit was a third-year.

‘Thank goodness.’

Lee Han let out a sigh of relief inside.

If the third-year seniors took the suspicion, Lee Han was safe.

Seniors might suffer a bit, but isn’t it the duty of the seniors to take the pain on behalf of their juniors?

“It’s amazing they managed to take that tricky thing with them.”

“Is it that tricky?”

Lee Han was a bit puzzled.

He had gotten the ghost chicken out relatively easily.

At first, the ghost chicken had run wild, but after getting close, covering it quickly with a cloth, and grabbing it, it didn’t resist and quietly followed along.

“Yeah. Its temper is nothing to scoff at.”

“??”

Lee Han started to doubt whether he had really taken the right ghost chicken.

Maybe he brought out a fake?

‘Oh. Was it scared because it got caught?’

“Is it a fearful one?”

“No. It’s not just its nasty temper—the problem is that it’s fearless, which makes it even more troublesome.”

“……”

Lee Han decided to check the ghost chicken again after the lecture.

Maybe its docility yesterday was just his imagination…

“Plus, it’s a monster that emits curses.”

“Oh. I knew that.”

Lee Han didn’t care much about curses.

Other third-year students might worry about the curses these monsters released when handling them, but Lee Han didn’t have to.

When the ghost chicken had tried to peck at him with a curse yesterday, it had no effect.

-Kokokoko… kokokoko!!

In fact, the ghost chicken, who had furiously tried to peck at him at first, became very docile once it realized its curse had no effect.

“It emits different kinds of curses depending on its food or the climate. Pretty unique. I thought it was a good way to learn how to handle curse type monsters…”

Feeling a twinge of guilt, Lee Han made a slight excuse.

“How about practicing reading the flow of magic and determining what kind of curse it is instead?”

“…?”

Professor Lightningstep looked at Lee Han as if he were a bit crazy.

Determining what kind of magic something is just by glancing at the surface of the magic would require both the talent to perceive the structure of magic not cast by oneself from afar and the knowledge to identify it by looking at that structure.

“If you could do that… you wouldn’t be a first-year, would you?”

‘Huh?’

Lee Han was a bit flustered at Professor Lightningstep’s gaze.

He had often read mana flows, memorized patterns, and identified them first.

If he didn’t, he couldn’t maintain control against stronger opponents.

‘Maybe I’m the weird one?’

“If it’s so vicious, won’t the ghost chicken roam around attacking students?”

Lee Han prepared a few more questions.

The stolen ghost chicken had been left in the old basilisk hut.

It was a remote location with magic that made it hard for intruders to get in—there was no better place to keep a dangerous beast.

“It doesn’t go around attacking like that. It’s more of a territorial animal. It won’t leave its territory much.”

“So what kind of food does it like?”

“It’ll eat regular chicken feed well enough, but if you want to strengthen its curse, bloody raw meat or materials with some magic… Wait.”

Professor Lightningstep, mid-answer, sensed something off and paused.

Lee Han felt a chill run through his chest.

‘Was I too obvious?’

“I see.”

Professor Lightningstep raised his eyebrow and gave Lee Han a sharp look.

“You’re thinking of finding and raising the ghost chicken, aren’t you?”

“…Professor, you really can’t be fooled.”

When Lee Han readily admitted it, Professor Lightningstep grumbled in reply.

“You sure are greedy. I don’t recommend it. It’s got such a nasty and tricky disposition that even if the eggs and feathers are expensive, the medical bills will be higher.”

Sometimes, there were alchemists who tried to raise a ghost chicken to collect eggs or feathers stably.

Most of those experiments ended in disaster. Alchemists lacking the ability to handle dangerous monsters would get pecked, scratched, and cursed, and then call Professor Lightningstep for help.

‘…Will it really be okay?’

Lee Han suddenly became worried.

The ghost chicken had been so docile that he’d left it in the hut, but maybe it had smashed the hut and escaped the barrier while he was away.

‘If so, I won’t forgive it.’

If it had tricked him like that, Lee Han felt he’d never be able to trust monsters again.

Sensing Lee Han’s emotions, the baby basilisk trembled in his arms.

“It’s more realistic to find its nest and collect eggs or feathers than to catch and raise one. If you find it, take it to the professors. They’ll probably buy it for a good price.”

“Oh… Thank you.”

Lee Han gazed at Professor Lightningstep with respect.

How many people at Einrogard would care this much for their students?

“Then are we taking a break today?”

Gainando asked as he brushed straw out of his hair.

He’d just taken a shower of straw while feeding the horses in the stable.

“No. We can’t do that. I was going to do this next week, but I’ve moved it up to this week. It’s about time they arrived… Ah, here they are.”

“!”

The students nearby all turned their gazes.

From the other side, a group of people riding various mounts was approaching.

Each had a different mount.

Some were on horses, some on wolves, some ostriches, some mountain goats, some turtles…

But their outfits were identical. All wore matching uniforms, with Granden City’s crest on their chests.

Ahsan and Angrago shouted at the same time.

“Granden City Polo Club!”

“…What? That exists?”

Lee Han asked, puzzled.

The two friends reacted even more shocked and questioned back.

“You didn’t know?!”

“How can you not know that, Wardanaz! You have time to join a basilisk hunt, but you don’t know about this?”

-??

The baby basilisk was baffled by the students’ conversation.

When did he catch something?

“Was I supposed to know?”

“Of course. Wardanaz. The Granden City Polo Club is an honorable organization any local noble would want to join.”

“But those bringing home the results are our knights.”

“Nonsense! The last time an awarded attacker was a noble-born!”

“That was just a one-off! The real stars are always the knights…”

“Hey, quiet.”

Lee Han shut his friends up.

From the start, Lee Han only read the business section of the imperial newspaper, so he didn’t care how well-known or prestigious the Polo Club was.

“So in any case… it’s a popular group? But why did they call them here? What does polo have to do with mount training?”

“Oh, Wardanaz. Polo is a huge help for mount training.”

Hearing Angrago’s smug remark, Lee Han debated giving him a smack.

Even with muscle pain, if he ordered a skeleton warrior to grab Angrago’s shoulders…

“Alpha’s right, Wardanaz. Polo isn’t just good for mount training; it’s the highlight of it.”

“…!”

Lee Han looked at Professor Lightningstep with betrayal in his eyes.

Given Lightningstep’s easygoing and unconcerned personality, Lee Han had assumed he wouldn’t care about whatever the imperial Polo Club was up to.

But to think even someone like that cared about polo.

“Can’t we just train normally? Why do we need to play polo?”

“Because it’s more fun and interesting… Wait, Wardanaz. Do you dislike polo? I thought for sure you’d be good at it.”

Professor Lightningstep was even more perplexed.

Given his noble background and skill at riding, not liking polo was actually the strange part.

Polo wasn’t just a knightly sport, but a noble social etiquette as well.

“I don’t hate it. I just wasn’t interested.”

“That sounds like dislike… Well, it’s interesting. Surprising to meet a sociable guy who doesn’t care about polo.”

Lee Han flinched at the accurate hit.

He practiced dance and song to improve his social skills, so there was no reason not to practice polo.

If high imperial officials liked polo, Lee Han ought to practice, too, and show an active attitude like, ‘I’m a member of the Granden City Polo Club, haha!’

“…I’ll try to take an interest this time.”

“Good, Wardanaz!”

“Yeah. We’ll show you the charm of polo!”

Ahsan and Angrago gleefully threw their arms over Lee Han’s shoulders.

Lee Han quietly whispered to his friends.

“If you don’t want to get hit, get your arms off.”

“…N-no need to be so angry…”

• * *

Polo was like soccer played on mounts.

You ride your mount and try to hit the ball into the goalpost using a long stick.

But as always, simple rules lead to complex and profound maneuvers.

The polo-mad imperial people had developed all kind of complicated tactics and strategies to win.

“Mounts are generally up to your choice, but by imperial rules there are restrictions on size and weight. Wardanaz, your Fongrif will be a close call, but you should be fine.”

‘Is it okay to ride a griffon…?’

Lee Han wondered if he could ride a transformed monster, but since Professor Lightningstep didn’t say otherwise, he let it go.

“You can’t strike or slash your opponent above the shoulder with your stick. No stabbing, and you can’t knock them off with spells.”

“……”

“…Who would do that?”

As the students asked in disbelief, Professor Lightningstep replied indifferently.

“Your upperclassmen. The ones who aren’t very good tend to get like that. Don’t cast spells before entering… and basically, if you think it’s not allowed, then don’t do it. These are outside guests, remember. But don’t cower, either.”

The students laughed at Professor Lightningstep’s words.

The players from the -Granden City Polo Club- had played together for a long time, after all.

Just being told not to lose didn’t mean it would be possible not to lose.

But Professor Lightningstep was deadly serious. He pulled out a huge sheet of paper, floated it in midair, and said,

“Alright. Have a look. You may be at a disadvantage, but if you catch them off guard, you can definitely win…”

In his eyes, there wasn’t even a hint of a joke—just a burning, serious desire to win.

Seeing Professor Lightningstep’s gaze, the students finally realized the situation.

The professor really wanted them to win!