Episode 60

When Lee Han realized he was getting through, his responses became even more dramatic.
Lee Han slapped his forehead and exclaimed,
“Amazing! As expected of Siana of the Flemang Order!! Incredible!!!”
“…Are you feeling okay?”
Yoner whispered quietly so others couldn’t hear.
No matter how he looked at it, it seemed like Lee Han had eaten something wrong.
But except for Yoner, everyone seemed satisfied. Especially Priestess Siana looked extremely pleased.
“As expected of Lee Han of the Wardanas family… you have a discerning eye.”
“Even if you were a blind man with no eye, you could tell how amazing this potion is.”
“You flatter me too much.”
Priestess Siana covered her rising lips with her sleeve and laughed softly. Lee Han smiled back at her.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Siana returned to the Phoenix Tower students with a very satisfied expression.
Lee Han let out a sigh.
‘That was exhausting.’
Putting on such a dramatic fake reaction was more draining than he’d thought.
But it was well worth it.
Priestess Siana was now boasting of Lee Han’s praise to the Phoenix Tower students.
-As expected from the Wardanas family, so polite and with such discernment…
-Did something happen, priestess?
-Nothing like that, he just really has an eye for quality…
Seeing this, it seemed Lee Han didn’t need to worry about the Phoenix Tower students.
“Yoner. Even if you get first place in alchemy class, I won’t poison your cup.”
“You’re really not sick or anything?”
Yoner’s gaze grew increasingly worried.

• * *
  Once they finished giving first aid, the students started the return journey.
  Students with broken legs were carried by those who weren’t injured.
  Thankfully, no more monsters appeared on the way back down.
  “Bartek, you weren’t put through anything by Wardanas, right?”
  “Bartek, did Wardanas brainwash you…?”
  “Bartek, did Wardanas use forbidden black magic on you…?”
  “I told you, nothing happened!”
  Bartek was dumbfounded.
  Even when he explained Lee Han had helped him, none of them really listened.
  “And besides, how could a fellow first-year cast forbidden black magic on anyone?”
  “I thought that at first too. That it was all just rumors. But did you see Wardanas’ magic skills?”
  “I didn’t believe it either, but after seeing Wardanas, I’m inclined to believe the rumors.”
  The White Tiger Tower students nodded with grave faces.
  Surprisingly, they half-seriously believed the rumors.
  “The Wardanas family probably put him through secret magical training from an early age.”
  “Truly frightening, the Wardanas family.”
  Lee Han’s powerful telekinesis spell (even though he’d missed his target) and his displays in the basic black magic class had already been exaggerated into rumors.
  Other tower students who had chances to hang out with Lee Han didn’t hold such strange misconceptions.
  Or at most, they’d say things like, “He’s certainly charismatic, fitting of a Wardanas,” or “He rules the Blue Dragon Tower students with cold rules, no mercy.”
  But the White Tiger Tower students were different.
  He was genuinely scary to them!
  “Like Moradina and the others said, Wardanas doesn’t really seem that scary…”
  Bartek tried to clear up the misunderstanding.
  After all, Lee Han had saved his life—he figured he owed him at least this much.
  “Bartek. Who used that spell to take down the golem earlier?”
  “…Wardanas, technically.”
  “And that fire—was it normal magic?”
  Bartek fell silent. There was no way to refute them.
  To think he was losing out in logic to people who believed such nonsense…!
  “Hey.”
  “!”
  While the White Tiger Tower students were chatting, Lee Han approached.
  As soon as they saw him, the students instinctively grabbed their practice swords, trembling and tensing up.
  ‘…Are they herd animals or something?’
  “Wh-w-w-what is it, Wardanas…?”
  “It’s nothing… you guys worked hard, you must be tired.”
  Lee Han pulled out some snacks from his backpack.
  They were the oldest treats from the pantry—no, from his personal room’s cupboard—but still tasted fine.
  Flat bread filled with sweet jam, and sugar-sprinkled cookies.
  Lee Han was clearing out the food before it expired and taking the chance to look generous.
  The White Tiger Tower students had come at him first, so he played along— “You say you hate me for no reason? I’ll give you a reason,”—but in truth, Lee Han disliked meaningless fights.
  “Th-thank you. Wardanas.”
  The White Tiger Tower students had conflicted looks between ‘Can we really eat this and be okay?’ and ‘But I’m starving…’
  And hunger won.
  At their age, too hungry to stand, nothing could stop them from eating.
  “Bartek of Bark family? I heard you’re from the east. Here, take this rice ball and rice cake.”
  “…!”
  Bartek was a bit moved by Lee Han’s gesture.
  For Lee Han to know he was from the east and show such consideration.
  The empire was broad, and students normally didn’t care much for local foods outside their own region.
  And Wardanas himself wasn’t even from the east.
  To show such kindness…
  Maybe the Wardanas rumors were overblown after all.
  After Lee Han left, the White Tiger Tower students scarfing down snacks seemed to think similar things.
  “Maybe we misunderstood…”
  “Did you guys hear?! I heard from the Blue Dragon Tower crowd that Wardanas took down their mud golem with a single water spell!! They said he summoned a dragon made of water???”
  “……”
  “……”
  The White Tiger Tower students were shocked.
  He really was… really scary, Wardanas!
• * *
  While drinking with Professor Ingeldel, Professor Thunderstep suddenly realized.
  ‘Huh? Where are the vegetables?’
  He’d brought the ones harvested by his student, Lee Han, but now they had vanished without a trace.
  It obviously wasn’t the skull principal who ate them, so there was only one possible culprit.
  “What’s the matter?”
  Professor Ingeldel noticed Thunderstep’s gaze and asked curiously.
  “Oh, it’s nothing. You just really like vegetables, don’t you.”
  Oh dear, Thunderstep. Assuming all elves must like vegetables—that’s an ancient stereotype. As the school’s representative, this saddens me. By that logic, since you’re a dwarf, do you love beer?
  “I do, actually.”
  “My apologies.”
  Professor Ingeldel apologized.
  “It’s not that I only like vegetables, but they were so oddly delicious I kept eating…”
  “Really?”
  You don’t even like vegetables that much, anyway.
  “That’s not true! I do eat them.”
  You probably just dab them in meat juice and nibble a bit. Why scold Ingeldel over that?
  “I’m really so—”
  “No, not at all! Please, enough!”
  Professor Thunderstep resolved never to invite the skull principal to his hut again.
  The skull principal, unable to eat food or drink, found life’s joys only in bothering others.
  ‘Still, I am a bit curious…’
  When you can’t have something, the curiosity grows. Thunderstep smacked his lips.
  The students are returning. Didn’t I say so? They’d all handle it well.
  “!”
  Professor Ingeldel jumped up and ran to the door. The skull principal shook his head at the sight.
  So soft-hearted…
• * *
  When the students found Professors Thunderstep and Ingeldel waiting, they weren’t surprised.
  Lee Han had already told them.
  Instead, they glared at the professors with looks of deep grudge.
  ‘When I become a great archmage of the empire, the first ones I’ll stomp are these professors.’
  ‘When I become the empire’s greatest swordmaster, I’ll tear these professors to pieces.’
  ‘When I become a high imperial official…’
  Professor Thunderstep burst out laughing.
  “Back already, all of you!”
  “Yes… thanks to you, Professor, it was great fun.”
  “Looks like you all figured it out. Good. Alchemy is like this. You must never get complacent. Danger can strike anytime, anywhere, in any form.”
  “……”
  “……”
  The students seriously plotted ways to ambush Professor Thunderstep.
  They really wanted to give him an unexpected crisis.
  Professor Ingeldel apologized with a remorseful look.
  “I’m sorry, all of you. I really did mean to stay with you…”
  “Of course you did.”
  “Hah. They’re all the same.”
  “?!”
  Even the White Tiger Tower students glared at Ingeldel. He was flustered.
  “It’s true! The principal appeared and forcibly teleported me—”
  “It’s fine, Professor.”
  “We just don’t trust anyone anymore. Isn’t that what the school wants?”
  Having passed through trials, the students had grown a level tougher and more mature.
  No matter what tower, basic distrust of professors had set in.
  Watching their students, who had shared sword and soul, glare in suspicion, Ingeldel felt his heart break.
  “……”
  Professor Thunderstep pretended not to notice Ingeldel being stared at.
  ‘Not my fault, Professor Ingeldel. Blame Gonadalthes.’
  Seeing Professor Ingeldel’s reaction, Lee Han tilted his head.
  ‘Huh? Did Prof. Ingeldel really not know?’
  Of course, it could have just been acting, but Ingeldel’s response felt sincere.
  No one believed the principal’s story about abducting professors, but the excuse was so outlandish…
  ‘Actually, it’s not that far-fetched. He’s definitely the type to do that…’
  Klink klink klink—
  The bone summon rattled, pointing toward the hut.
  “!”
  A faint magic signature, similar to what Lee Han had felt in the mountains, flowed from the hut.
  At that moment, Lee Han recalled whose magic it was.
  It was the principal’s.
  ‘He wasn’t lying?!’
  Lee Han was appalled.
  Seriously, to just kidnap a professor?
  ‘Come to think of it, it’s not that surprising. He’d definitely do it.’
  Lee Han quickly regained his composure and said to Ingeldel,
  “Professor, I believe you. The principal must have abducted you.”
  “Wardanas student…!”
  Professor Ingeldel was moved nearly to tears.
• * *
  After checking that all the students had returned, Professor Thunderstep suddenly grew curious.
  How had these students overcome the trial he’d prepared?
  “So, how did you solve the problem?”
  “Wardanas blew up the mud golem with the spell.”
  “And he burned up the other golem with fire magic.”
  “…?”
  Professor Thunderstep was left speechless as a series of completely unexpected answers came at him.
  He didn’t even know where to start.
  “Wait… wait. Just a minute.”
  “??”
  “Why is there a mud golem? What about the bull? Where did the bull go?”
  “What’re you talking about, Professor? Enough already. What do you take us for, little kids?”
  The Blue Dragon Tower students scoffed.
  Professor Thunderstep was clearly trying to pull another trick on them.
  They weren’t falling for it now!
  “No—! Seriously, why did a mud golem show up? I didn’t prepare that!”
  “Yeah, sure. ‘Just happened’ to show up, right?”
  “Everyone heard that, right? Professor Thunderstep says it just ‘coincidentally’ appeared! Let’s believe him!”
  “……”
  Professor Thunderstep reflected—just a tiny bit—on how he was living his life.