Episode 544

Lee Han paused for a moment, then immediately responded.

“You’re right. There really are a lot of crazy people in the world.”

“Maybe it was Gonadaltes who broke it?”

“That could be possible.”

“Gonadaltes has been especially irritable lately.”

Professor Verdus put down an artifact that looked like a wrench and dusted off his hands.

“And locking me up the other day, too. Keeps getting angry with me.”

“Seriously. I just don’t get it.”

“Actually, I know the reason.”

“Oh.”

Lee Han was surprised.

Professor Verdus knew the reason the skull headmaster was furious?

‘He was able to figure that out?’

Of course, the real reason, when you look closely, was that Professor Verdus’s well-meaning student accidentally tampered with the skull headmaster’s belongings, although there was no way he’d know that much…

Besides, Professor Verdus himself had done plenty to irritate the skull headmaster.

But for the professor to be insightful enough to recognize that.

Really?

“It’s because it’s the end of the year.”

“Excuse me?”

“When the year ends, the imperial bureaucrats get on his nerves. ‘Why did you spend money on this, why did you spend money on that.'”

“Ah.”

Lee Han understood what he meant.

Einrogard didn’t take a single coin in entrance or tuition fees from students or their families.

Unlike other magic schools of the Empire, which charged entrance and tuition fees so steep even noble families were shocked, the difference couldn’t be starker.

Of course, Einrogard’s operating funds didn’t just fall from the sky. The skull headmaster, as the lord of Einrogard, had to hustle here and there to procure funding. Since Lee Han had joined a few such meetings, he understood some of the struggle.

Donations from various dignitaries or noble families, personal sponsorship from the emperor, and shifty-seeming pouches of gold coins the skull headmaster pulled from his own treasury (these were often accompanied by news articles in the Imperial newspaper about heinous criminals disappearing), etc.

Among the most substantial sources was the official subsidy from the Empire.

The bureaucrats tried to cut it down, while the skull headmaster tried to increase it—a fierce competition!

So naturally, at the end of the year the imperial finance officers would desperately try to cut next year’s budget.

‘I’d better be even more careful.’

Lee Han resolved to be extra cautious if he ever needed to steal from the skull headmaster.

A day in the punishment room could easily become a week.

“Here, take this.”

“What is it?”

“The one we’re going to use during today’s lecture. We’re making winter-ready magic patches.”

He opened the crate, inside of which were all sorts of reagents.

Some to imbue fire properties, others to repel cold or wind, etc.

With the year’s end approaching, the weather at Einrogard was getting ever colder.

Students either padded their coats with rags or carried glass bottles filled with hot alchemical fluids that stayed warm for long periods, but it was never easy.

There were spells like -Imbue Latent Heat-, but in an environment where one had to keep running around campus, this too was a luxury…

At times like these, what came in handy were makeshift artifacts with magic inscribed directly into the item.

You didn’t need to cast a separate spell, and the effect lasted much longer.

‘…But could Professor Verdus really have thought of that?’

“Did you think of this yourself, Professor??”

“Right? I knew you’d catch on!”

Professor Verdus answered as if he’d been waiting for the question. His voice was filled with indignation.

“You think I’d pick something this boring? Of course not. Professor Garcia made me! Said she’d smash my workbench if I didn’t. How can someone be so cruel?!”

“No way. You must have misheard. Professor Garcia couldn’t even kill a fly.”

“I did not! I heard it right!”

Professor Verdus stomped and yelled, but Lee Han pretended not to hear and ignored him.

• * *

“…So today, we’re making winter-ready magic patches for you all.”

When Professor Verdus grumbled this, the students were startled.

They all looked at Lee Han at once and shouted.

“Did you threaten the professor or something, Wardanaz???”

“……”

As Lee Han was left speechless, Professor Verdus explained himself.

“No. Professor Garcia threatened me.”

“Liar, Professor. How could Professor Garcia threaten anyone?”

At Angrago’s words, Giselle fell deep into thought.

‘But maybe…?’

Professor Garcia was known for her kindness, but really, if you overlooked your bias, she was certainly someone who met the conditions for threatening someone.

“It’s true! I swear!”

When Professor Verdus jumped up and down, Lee Han calmed him.

“Please calm down, Professor. If the students don’t finish today, your workbench could be destroyed.”

“Right.”

Professor Verdus, who wouldn’t blink if students studied magic 25 hours a day, instantly came to his senses at the mention of his workbench.

“So. Among the things you wear in winter that can have magic inscribed…”

He explained hats, scarves, coats, cloaks, vests, sweaters, shirts—various garments that could be magically imbued.

“What about gloves?”

“You can inscribe those, too.”

“Oh. Even gloves…”

As his friend tried to make a note, Lee Han admonished him and asked again.

“Can we manage this at our level?”

“Uh, which circle spells can you cast again? Can you manage fourth circle?”

“Wardanaz probably can…”

“Shut up, you idiot.”

While Professor Verdus could calculate artifact statistics in his head in 0.1 seconds, he had to count on his fingers to estimate the students’ skill level. He finally finished counting.

“No, you can’t.”

“Well, gloves are small, so that makes sense.”

“It’s not hard. You guys are just dumb.”

“……”

Some of the White Tiger Tower students whispered things like ‘Can we secretly bury him in a snowdrift?’

Meanwhile, Professor Verdus finished describing possible patches and explained the kinds of spells you could inscribe.

“-Imbue Latent Heat-, -Wind Resistance Imbue-, -Cold Resistance Imbue-, -Snow Hide Imbue-, -Condensation Resistance Imbue-… This should do it, right?”

“There’s some here we haven’t learned, though?”

“Huh? Just learn them now, then.”

“……”

A few White Tiger Tower students began planning, ‘If we do this just right, maybe we can push him into a snow pit ourselves.’

‘Wait.’

Having assisted with Professor Verdus’s lecture prep, Lee Han was the first to spot something off.

“Professor. Even if we’re not making a semi-permanent artifact, the magic should last quite a while, right? Would the durability of regular clothes be enough to withstand it?”

“They can’t. That’s why you need special cloth or leather.”

“Ah. Did you prepare them in advance?”

Lee Han was slightly surprised.

He didn’t expect Professor Verdus to have brought such materials to the lecture room already.

“Nope.”

“Excuse me?”

“Nope. You have to go find them yourselves.”

“……”

“……”

At that moment, a chill wind blew in from outside—an ominous sound, like a ghost’s moan.

“So where do we get that now?”

When asked, Professor Verdus scratched the back of his head.

“Your seniors all stashed them away themselves. Didn’t you? What about leftovers from last year?”

“We’re first-years.”

“I know. So what about leftovers from last year?”

‘He’s not just any ordinary madman.’

As Lee Han used the professor’s and the students’ conversation as white noise, he checked the book.

Usable leathers and fabrics…

“Professor, what about Double-Ox hide?”

“That’s plenty for the spells I listed.”

“Hmm. I have two boxes, but that’s not enough, right? What about Bashala cloth?”

“That’s good, too, but only the stem bark of Bashala harvested in winter works.”

“Oh. I heard it’s a winter mountain plant. What about wool?”

“Most sheep won’t do.”

“What about wool from a Ridge-Crusher sheep?”

“What? You have such wool? Gimme!”

Professor Verdus was astonished that there was Ridge-Crusher sheep’s wool in circulation.

That kind of high-grade wool was wasted on the rags students wore.

Lee Han brushed it aside and compared the fabrics he owned.

Angrago, who’d been listening nearby, couldn’t make sense of it and eventually asked.

“Wardanaz. Hey, Wardanaz.”

“?

“We’re about to go loot the headmaster’s storehouse, right? Take me with you.”

“…No. These are ones I collected.”

At Lee Han’s words, not only the White Tiger Tower students, but others from different towers, broke into grins.

“Sure, sure, Wardanaz. Let’s say you ‘collected’ them. We’ll pretend that’s true.”

“So when are we going?”

“……”

For a moment, Lee Han suddenly worried his friends were starting to see him as some sort of thief.

“I actually collected them, you lunatics.”

“But… how did you collect so much?”

“Wait a minute. Wardanaz, are you… got it. You were held back, right? You’re really a third-year, huh…”

Whack!

“I worked for them, you idiots.”

After cracking the head of the friend who spouted nonsense with his staff, Lee Han said, exasperated.

“W-worked for them?”

“Yeah.”

“Work for the professors? Could you really collect that much that way?”

The friends murmured among themselves.

It wasn’t that they thought Lee Han was born a thief, but rather, they couldn’t see how he could physically amass that quantity of fabric.

They’d entered together just a year ago. Unless Lee Han had been around for years, how did he collect so much?

“I got them from seniors, too.”

“?

????”

All the students were baffled.

Seniors?

…Could you even meet seniors?

And frequently enough to trade?

‘Hey, isn’t Wardanaz actually a third-year?’

‘Then why skip the second-year?’

‘He seems more like a third-year than a second-year.’

Professor Verdus hurried Lee Han.

“If you have the materials, get started. I need them finished today or Professor Garcia will smash my workbench.”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Right. The Ridge-Crusher sheep’s wool?”

“You guys are coming to the tower anyway, so tag along.”

Ignoring the rest, Lee Han stepped out of the lecture room with the White Tiger Tower students.

• * *

Carting the crates, Angrago randomly wondered aloud.

“Hey, Wardanaz. But if this is for the Phoenix Tower, why are we carrying them?”

“You don’t use materials?”

“…Uh… the, the priests use them too.”

“So you don’t use materials?”

“…Let’s just carry them…”

From some distance away, Giselle moved her crate in silence.

It was best, tactically, to quietly bide one’s time when at a disadvantage.

“Hmm. Might be a bit short—better bring more. Rowena. If you dig here about two meters, you’ll find a couple of boxes. Get those out and bring them over.”

“Ah. Yes!”

For an instant, Nillia pictured a squirrel stashing acorns everywhere, but didn’t say anything.

“Why bury them like that?”

“Nowhere else to store them. The lounge or personal rooms are limited. Hmm. Maybe I should get a warehouse.”

Lee Han was beginning to see why seniors risked theft and built secret storages in secluded areas outside.

When he first entered the school, he’d thought his personal room or the lounge would be enough, but that wasn’t so.

Just stockpiling food and supplies quickly drained the available space. Plus, for someone like Lee Han, who had lots of study materials, the inventory kept growing.

‘The base I found last time isn’t easy to access… Should I just use the hut where I kept the basilisk as storage for now?’

As Nillia gauged the supply, she cocked her head and asked,

“Wait. Isn’t that enough? Why more… Ah. I get it.”

Nillia looked at Lee Han with a meaningful glint in her eye and nudged him with her elbow.

“You’re going to… for your friends…”

“You’re sharing them with us!”

“…I have to sell them, though.”

A brief silence passed between them.

Lee Han nodded and spoke again.

“Well, you could say I’m sharing them.”

“No…”