Episode 62

Ihan received the potions and stuffed them into his pocket.
“I’m so happy to receive such excellent potions, I could cry…”
“What brings you here? If there’s anything I can help with, I’ll do whatever I can.”
Ihan told Sister Siana about the nasty trap hidden in the alchemy assignment.
Sister Siana listened with a cautious expression, then said “Ah,” as if she remembered something.
“Come to think of it, there were some ingredients that looked suspicious, so I was planning to look them up in books and compare them later…”
“We’re going to gather the ingredients together and experiment to find out what’s wrong—would you join us? We really need the matchless alchemy skills of Sister Siana.”
At Ihan’s words, Sister Siana nodded without hesitation.
“Of course, I must help. I’ll bring the Phoenix Tower students!”
Watching the excited Sister Siana run off, Ihan thought,
‘If only the White Tiger Tower were that easy…’

• * *
  The Black Tortoise Tower was even easier.
  Nilia and Ratford brought out their friends.
  Actually, convincing friends to come out was easier than dealing with the Black Tortoise Tower students who gathered at the black market to line up, thinking Ihan had brought something again and all wanted to trade first.
  -Wardanaz! How about this sword-cane?! If only White Tiger Tower students had this!
  -Move aside! Wardanaz, how about this talisman to avoid golems?!
  By comparison, the White Tiger Tower students…
  “It’s Wardanaz!”
  “Never face him alone!”
  “……”
  Even when Dergeu went in to try bringing out friends on behalf of everyone, the White Tiger Tower students were not easily moved.
  Ihan eventually gave up and went back.
  ‘Well… there should be enough people even without them.’
  With students from three towers gathered, there were enough leftover ingredients.
  Ihan and Yoner sorted out the surplus ingredients with Sister Siana’s help and measured out precise amounts.
  These were the materials for experimenting in search of the correct recipe.
  “It’s all ready. We can test straight away now.”
  “Everyone worked hard.”
  The students gathered around let out a sigh.
  To think they’d have to go through so much pain again because of Professor Thunderstep’s damn t… no, trap.
  “Wardanaz, come to think of it, you’re going out tomorrow using your outing pass, right?”
  “!”
  The Azure Dragon Tower students knew about Ihan’s outing pass, but the others didn’t.
  Of course, the Black Tortoise and Phoenix Tower students stared wide-eyed at Ihan in astonishment.
  “You… you got an outing pass?!”
  “As expected of Sir Wardanaz.”
  “No, seriously, how do you even get one? Do you have to defeat a golem or something?”
  “That’s not what matters right now! Wardanaz, will you bring something back?!”
  The students surrounded Ihan in a circle.
  They were already envious of spending a whole Sunday outside, but more important was what Ihan would bring back.
  “From outside… If I can go out, what should I bring back? There’s too much to choose from!”
  “C-calm down and let’s get this organized.”
  Ihan himself sat quietly, but his friends made a bigger fuss than he did.
  ‘If you could go outside, what should you buy and bring back?’
  “It has to be food no matter what. Sweet stuff that’s as small as possible.”
  “Let’s rent a wagon and bring it all, Wardanaz!”
  “Don’t you remember? Wagons aren’t allowed since enrollment, are they?”
  “Food is good, but how about clothes? Honestly, what we’re wearing isn’t clothing—it’s rags.”
  ‘Isn’t it comfortable…?’ Nilia cocked her head.
  This seemed comfortable enough…
  “Yeah, I really do want to wear something sturdy and comfy.”
  “Shoes too! And a hat, and a cloak! And also—”
  Asan chimed in from the side.
  “I need books and things like pens.”
  “Dalkard… does that even make sense? Can you eat books? Drink ink?”
  “No. I’d also like food, but seriously, I just need some books.”
  Asan was quite sincere too.
  As they worked on assignments, students were starting to set foot in the magic school’s library one after another.
  But, of course, this library was not a warm, cozy place organized so books could be found easily by a clear system.
  ‘Who on earth organized this?’
  Students couldn’t help but grumble at the chaotic disorder!
  That was this school’s library.
  So, even if assignments required a reference book, just finding that book was a job in itself.
  Students couldn’t help but long for bookstores outside the school.
  “Please give me such and such book,” and the kindly bookseller wraps it in paper and presents it to you—students missed that comfort and convenience.
  “If it keeps up like this, there’s a 95% chance we’ll collapse before finishing our assignments. We need at least the basic textbooks for each subject.”
  “Uh… you might have a point.”
  Students who had been craving butter cookies, chocolate cookies, caramel waffles, milk roll wafers, maple syrup candy, etc., all nodded seriously.
  “And not just books, but a calculation artifact, too. Doing this by hand is killing me.”
  “That’s true as well.”
  “I’m bored with nothing to read, so magazines or novels would be nice. Maybe new cards or a chessboard.”
  “…?”
  Friends nodded, then paused.
  Something felt off.
  “Gainand, you jerk! Is that really urgent?!”
  “It’s urgent to me! Why do you all get to ask for stuff but I can’t?!”
  “Guys, Wardanaz went to bed.”
  “?!”
  Since he had to leave early Sunday morning, as soon as he finished the alchemy assignment, Ihan went straight to his private room.
• * *
  ‘I can’t sleep.’
  Ihan was dumbfounded.
  He wasn’t a child, yet here he was, tossing and turning the night before going on a picnic…
  But this wasn’t childish anticipation.
  It was more like the tension before a difficult exam.
  ‘Will I really do well?’
  Anyone would think he was taking a graduation test, but Ihan was serious.
  Even though this outing was legitimately earned by using an outing pass, Ihan did not let down his guard.
  He was sure the school had some trap waiting.
  ‘Let’s think. What kind of problems could there be?’
  Ihan figured using a wagon or horse would definitely be forbidden.
  It was the same at enrollment—no one would allow such a thing.
  ‘Surely they’ll at least let me bring what I can carry myself, right? I have to carry as much as possible… how far is the nearest village?’
  Distance was another issue to consider.
  He had had a carriage during the first escape, but not now.
  This school was the type that would place the nearest village farther than a day’s round trip and call it an outing.
  ‘Damn. Should’ve learned some fast movement magic!’
  Ihan lamented.
  If only he’d picked up some body-strengthening magic, he wouldn’t have to worry like this.
  …But that was no concern for a typical freshman.
  Flap flap flap!
  “…?!?”
  Suddenly, one book on the shelf flew out and opened on its own.
  It was the black coverless book given to him by the skeleton principal.
  Tentacles made of letters shot out from the book and wrapped themselves around Ihan.
  “Wha…?”
  Before he could finish speaking, he was elsewhere.
  A barren wasteland, nothing on the sky, nothing on the distant horizon.
  Ihan instinctively knew.
  It was an illusion made by the black book.
  Bang!
  The black book appeared in front of Ihan, fluttering in the air and opening its pages.
  On the page was written the magic that Ihan had been taught before but hadn’t mastered, .
  “So you want me to learn this now?”
  The black book shook up and down. That looked like a yes.
  “Did you recommend it because you saw what I was worrying about?”
  Again, the black book nodded up and down.
  That was so cute, Ihan felt his mood lift a little.
  It was more reliable than he’d thought.
  “Wait. But I don’t have time to learn it right now. I need to go out tomorrow. Please send me back.”
  The black book stopped midair, then slowly shook from side to side.
  It seemed almost stern.
  “……”
  Ihan reflected on how he’d just thought it was cute.
  Should’ve known the principal’s book wouldn’t be so nice.
  “…Ignite!”
  Ihan tried firing off a flame.
  But the spell didn’t activate. The black book just shrugged and opened its pages again.
  As if to say, you’re not allowed to use anything except .
  “……”
  Ihan sighed and gripped his staff again.
• * *
  Prisoner number 24601!
  “Uh, Master. I’m not a prisoner…”
  Oops. My mistake, sorry. I’m old, I get confused sometimes.
  “……”
  Listening to the skull principal and his summons converse, Ihan yawned.
  He was no longer so shocked by conversations like this.
  Though the black book had forcibly dragged Ihan into a dream training, at least it hadn’t taken away his sleep.
  He had trained only in his dreams.
  Mentally exhausting, but what could he do…
  ‘I hate that I feel grateful even for this.’
  Congratulations on your outing, Wardanaz! It’s a just reward for your accomplishments, so be proud!
  “Thank you.”
  The rule is simple! Leave when the sun rises today, and return to the front gate by sunrise tomorrow. If you don’t return, I’ll send out a pursuit team.
  “……”
  He’d suspected it, but hearing it aloud was a whole new level.
  The only luggage you can bring in is what you can carry yourself. No carriages, no horses, no other means of transport allowed!
  “I understand.”
  Then do your best!
  “…?”
  Ihan was puzzled.
  ‘The rules are looser than I thought?’
  He had expected there to be limits on the money he could spend, the weight he could carry, even the volume.
  But there weren’t any.
  What the hell?
• * *
  Ihan ran hard.
  Thanks to that, he reached his destination as the sun climbed overhead.
  Filone Village.
  The village closest to the magic school.
  “…So there are no noble family mansions in this village right now?”
  “Tsk tsk. You must have come from the magic school, huh? That’s the way it is. When the semester starts, the school’s people come and tell everyone to move their mansions far away.”
  “……”
  Imperial great houses didn’t just leave the area when a semester started.
  They’d buy mansions in the nearby villages and leave servants and slaves to wait for them over break.
  It was an extravagant waste befitting great houses, and Ihan had been counting on it.
  He’d planned to take the ledger with the students’ signatures and go get some allowance money…
  Ihan was speechless.
  ‘What a crazy school.’
  “So, where did the mansions go?”
  “Over there, to Granden City.”
  “How long to Granden City…?”
  “Riding hard for several days at least…”
  “……”
  Ihan realized why they hadn’t set limits on money, weight, or volume.
  They’d already blocked every way for students to get money in the first place.
  Just in case a runaway student reached the nearest Filone Village, they’d make him realize his mistake and then despair!
  “…Did they really have to go this far??”
  “What was that?”
  “Nothing at all.”
  Ihan lifted his head.
  Now that it had come to this, he absolutely wouldn’t back down.
  “Where’s the nearest merchant company building?”
  “Merchant company? It’s on that street… but why?”
  “I’m going to borrow some money.”
  “……”
  The villager gaped in shock.
  The boy looked like he was from a noble family no matter how he saw it…
  ‘Is this really okay?’