Episode 545

‘Is he sharing them?’

For a moment, Nillia wondered if she was the strange one and hesitated.

Come to think of it, Wardanaz was indeed selling goods at a very low price.

In fact, most of their friends understood Wardanaz’s sales in a rather different way.

-Is Wardanaz really trying to earn silver coins with this?

-Right. There are people who can’t accept things for free out of pride, so he creates a pretense like this for them.

-Geez, Wardanaz. We’d be fine if you just gave it to us without such trouble, right, Wardanaz?

-Nope. Pay up. Don’t talk nonsense.

-Haha. Sure, sure.

Nillia had wanted to share things she made with her companions for free, just like in the mountains, but maybe Wardanaz’s method was right.

The others might secretly hate accepting things for free, after all.

“…True. Friends might not want to just receive things. Right?”

“What are you talking about?”

Lee Han looked at Nillia as if she was saying something strange.

He had planned to make and sell things well and collect a nice haul, so he found Nillia’s odd remark quite puzzling.

“No… uh… I mean, sharing things with friends. I just thought maybe I should just share them…”

“Nillia. Like I said last time, you’re good at this, which is why you should price your work and realize its value in coin.”

‘Ah.’

Nillia realized her mistake as soon as Lee Han started speaking.

That attitude meant he’d talk for at least ten minutes.

Last time, she’d just said, ‘I shared the hunt with hungry friends yesterday,’ only to get pulled aside by Wardanaz and Yoner for a thirty-minute sermon about, ‘How will you survive harsh Einrogard if you keep this up, Nillia? We’re seriously worried about you.’

“No, that’s not it! For a price! I forgot to mention the price!”

“Really? Do you truly mean that?”

“Of c-course!”

Nillia’s eyes darted left and right. Lee Han, suspicious, studied her, then nodded.

“Hmm. Alright.”

“By the way, Lady Nillia. Thank you very much for the leather gloves you gifted me last time. Thanks to those, I can work easily today, even with this cold.”

Rowena, having finished her task, wiped her sweat and thanked Nillia.

“……”

“……”

Lee Han stared intently at Nillia.

Nillia quickly grabbed a crate and ran to the classroom.

• * *

Sssssk—

“Ugh.”

Angrago flinched as the smell of burning leather wafted up and looked nervously around.

From the far corner of the classroom, where he was repairing an artifact, Professor Verdus didn’t even look up and said,

“Pour the neutralizing solution—wait. Too late. Use a different piece of leather.”

“…S-sorry, Wardanaz.”

Knowing he’d ruined precious leather, Angrago apologized.

Lee Han responded gently and generously.

“It’s fine. You’ll just pay me back.”

“Huh? I thought it was free?”

“It’s only free if you finish properly and you’re compensated for the work. If you mess up, I can’t sell it, can I?”

“That’s right, Alpha. You need to understand the value of materials.”

From behind, Salko swung his hammer in admonishment.

“This is why the knight family kids—they train with swords all day and never learn how hard it is to make something, always wasting the materials.”

“Ah, Tutanta is right. You’re only wasting it because you didn’t bring your own. Sheesh, you White Tiger Tower punks…”

‘Damn these guys.’

The Black Turtle Tower and Blue Dragon Tower weren’t friendly, but their unity was strong when it came to mocking other towers.

Snap!

Salko groaned.

While inscribing the magical pattern, the gold thread he was embedding snapped from excessive mana.

“Ha! Tutanta, you jerk!”

“Wasting materials! Wasting materials! You’re wasting the resources Wardanaz sweated for!”

The White Tiger Tower students immediately jumped up and yelled.

“The gold thread isn’t material I collected…”

“Apologize to Wardanaz! Apologize to Wardanaz!”

“Shut up. Even if I apologize, it won’t be because you told me to!”

“I said, it’s not material I collected…”

As Lee Han tried to break things up, he got annoyed and just started hitting his friends with his staff.

Thwack thwack thwack thwack!

“Agh! Ow!”

“Cut it out, cut it out. Thanks to you, the work’s getting delayed.”

The students refocused on their work.

Of course, the air was still full of vigilant glares. Everyone was just waiting for someone to slip up.

“Ah.”

Nillia paused as her leather tore. Trying to finish the edge neatly, she had ripped it.

Some White Tiger Tower students, noticing the distressed Nillia, lit up. The Black Turtle Tower students braced themselves to defend their own.

“……”

“……”

But the White Tiger Tower students, seeing Nillia’s face, quietly looked away and pretended not to notice.

They’d received too much from Nillia to attack her here.

“Are you kidding me?!”

“Hey. Quiet down.”

“S-sorry, Wardanaz.”

• * *

‘Hmm. I always wondered why the seniors stored armor and stuff; it all makes sense now.’

Lee Han nodded, recalling the gifts from seniors Anpagone and Valpatan, given as payment.

They’d each had not only all sorts of cloth, but even sets of finished armor. He once wondered if there’d been a war or something. But now he saw how useful armor was in everyday Einrogard life.

Making new coats and such made him realize once again the importance of defensive gear.

“Make it thicker, so it can block arrows.”

“Block arrows, seriously?”

“It’s best if it can. Can you dodge arrows the moment you see them? Or, say, arrows reinforced several times over with magic? Why be so arrogant? If someone sets up a multi-layered magic arrow trap outside your dorm, would you just die?”

“……”

Angrago, having asked a simple question and gotten scolded for it, took up his tools in silence.

It felt like Wardanaz’s standards were just too high.

‘How’s he doing it…’

Angrago glanced at Wardanaz’s work.

And was shocked.

The inside of the coat was lined with so many complex, overlapping magic circles that it was impossible to understand at a glance.

Naturally, Wardanaz was frowning, stuck on some puzzle.

“The hardening isn’t working.”

“Uh… Don’t you think you’re asking too much?”

“Yeah?”

Lee Han looked up, thought for a second, then shrugged.

“Nah. If I’m using all these materials, I might as well do it right.”

“You put in too many spells, didn’t you? Tone it down. Lucky it didn’t explode.”

Passing by, Professor Verdus took one look at Lee Han’s coat and dismissed it instantly.

Lee Han looked sulky and cut down on the spells.

‘Madman…’

Angrago thought maybe he should just make a nice warm coat instead and moved on.

“By the way, the finals are in two weeks, right?”

Students, busy making clothes, all simultaneously looked up.

They couldn’t help but be interested once Professor Verdus mentioned exams.

“You’ll be making makeshift artifacts here, on the spot.”

“Should we prepare materials or reagents?”

“What kind of artifact do we make?”

“Wait.”

Professor Verdus, faced with these questions, rummaged through his inner pocket for some papers.

“Let’s see… Bible, if you ignore me and do as you please one more time, I’ll hang you upside down in the punishment roo—oh, wrong side. That’s the back.”

“……”

Professor Verdus flipped the page and read. Anyone could see the instructions had been given by the skull headmaster.

“‘Students must use materials and reagents used and discarded during this year.’”

“Excuse me?”

“How are we supposed to do that??”

There may be an old saying that a master craftsman chooses no tools, but in reality, it often wasn’t true.

The better the craftsman, the more obsessive they were about their tools.

Professor Verdus was a prime example.

He didn’t care about any insult directed at him, but mess with his gear and he’d go nuclear with every artifact he owned.

And now, they had to use discarded materials.

“This isn’t even leather anymore, it’s just a lump of charcoal.”

Angrago looked at the leather he’d burned and tossed aside in a crate.

Make an artifact with this?

The other students were no different.

When they discovered just how thoroughly they’d destroyed supplies over the year, their faces went pale.

Lee Han didn’t waver.

He immediately picked up a carving knife and was about to scratch up the unspoiled leather.

‘I can just increase the amount of usable discards, starting now.’

“‘Wardanaz, don’t just go increasing the usable discards after hearing this. I’ll personally check and collect everything.’”

“……”

Lee Han looked at the professor, stung by the skull headmaster’s message.

To be outmaneuvered!

‘Damn. Still a long way to go.’

Professor Verdus, having finished reading -Finals Guide: So Easy Even Professor Verdus Can Do It!-, looked at the students and said,

“No need to prep materials, isn’t that great?”

“……”

“K…Kraaaah!”

One White Tiger Tower student lost it in rage and rushed at Professor Verdus.

Professor Verdus, baffled, hurled the student out the window.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“Every year, there’s always someone who snaps like that among the students.”

Professor Verdus nodded knowingly at Lee Han’s words.

“I see them every year.”

“Indeed.”

Tsking as he heard yet another story of the seniors’ youthful days, Lee Han clicked his tongue.

If you’re going to attack, at least be meticulous about it!

• * *

“Everyone, come get your clothes.”

“Wardanaz, this one’s too small for me.”

“Bigger sizes are in the back. Imirg, I made your robe separately, so take that. Gainando, you punk. Don’t just pick by color—check if it even fits.”

“But… no, this fits just right!”

Gainando waved a pair of pants that looked three sizes too big for him.

He liked how the pleats looked like skulls.

“If you spend all day holding up your pants again like last time, I’ll take your card away.”

Phoenix Tower priestesses helping on the side looked puzzled and asked,

“Don’t you have a belt?”

“He lost his belt playing cards.”

“……”

“…Maybe you should take it.”

Gainando hurriedly grabbed proper pants and ran off.

Right now, Lee Han was handing out winter garments for cold protection, with help from Phoenix Tower students.

It looked easier than making them, but testing if the finished item worked for each person was tricky.

They had to verify each item’s performance and fit the friends.

“Thanks for all the help, everyone.”

“Of course we’d help with such a good cause.”

“Huh? I’m selling these. For money.”

“…Uh…”

The priest looked to Nillia.

Didn’t she say they were being given out?

Priestess Siana reassured him.

“If you’re selling far below market price, it’s basically sharing.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course.”

‘As expected of the Fleming Order.’

Lee Han’s fondness for the Fleming Order ticked up a notch.

The students, now armed head to toe in new winter wear, wore expressions of relief.

Going around with a proud expression, Angrago asked for reactions to his handiwork and then, seeing the pile behind Lee Han’s stand, asked in puzzlement,

“Wardanaz, what’s that?”

“Ah. Tents and sleeping bags I made from extra materials.”

“…Why would you need those?”

“You never know when you might need them.”

“??”

In Angrago’s mind, there was no reason for such camping gear.

Sure, maybe if you went off into the mountains, but in this winter, who’d go camping in the mountains?

• * *

“For the final, you’ll be spending a day in the mountains.”

“……”

“……”

The students stared at Professor Ingeldel with faces full of betrayal.

The elf professor, startled by their reaction, asked again.

“Aren’t such overnight training exercises common even in knight families?”

“Well…”

“…That’s true…”