Episode 633

“Hey. Wardanaz. Should’ve given us a heads-up if devils like that roam around here.”

“No, they normally don’t.”

Lee Han clarified, thinking there was a misunderstanding.

“No matter what my family is like, this isn’t Einrogard. We don’t just have devils wandering around.”

“So, what’s in front of us isn’t a devil but a slime?”

Alsicle checked again, peering at the massive devil outside.

Next to him, Eandurde was growling, hair standing straight up.

“Normally, golems patrol the grounds. Devils almost never appear.”

‘Even that’s terrifying enough.’

Normally, if a golem was seen in the Empire, it meant an enchanter, summoner, or a necromancer had really rolled up their sleeves. Each was powerful and costly and complicated to create.

And a golem advanced enough to patrol such a vast estate on its own?

He couldn’t even imagine how hard it would be to make, from difficulty to production costs—probably beyond imagination.

And they were just using that for patrol? In many ways, it was terrifying.

“We’re guests.”

Lee Han leaned out of the carriage and explained to the devil.

The devil saw Lee Han and nodded.

Why the Wardanaz heir would call himself a guest, he had no idea, but he wasn’t curious either.

Anyway, it wasn’t like he liked this job. He just planned to do what he was told.

-Follow me.

“Hiiik…”

The coachman regretted ever taking a job to drive a carriage to the Wardanaz estate for money.

What a mistake!

“But aren’t golems supposed to guide the way? Why is a devil doing it today?”

-The golems are being maintained and repaired today. I’m out because I rolled the lowest die.

“……”

“……”

Despite not having a face, the amorphous devil could still project, ‘Life is truly suffering.’

Feeling sorry, the three held their tongues and asked no further.

Inside the carriage, Alsicle whispered,

“How do you catch a devil like that? Was it summoned from some ancient arcane ritual?”

“Who knows. Maybe, but normally they’d just… pick one up somewhere, I think.”

“Where do you just pick up a devil?”

“Another dimension, maybe?”

“……”

Alsicle shut his mouth and just quietly took in the scenery.

He had a rough guess now why that devil was in such a foul mood.

• * *

After traveling along the forest path for a while, the huge Wardanaz mansion appeared in the distance.

Normally, you’d see people working in the nearby fields or forests, but no one was in sight—giving it an eerie, ghost-town feel.

‘Honestly, even I’d be scared.’

Alsicle looked at Lee Han in dismay.

This Wardanaz boy seemed so used to his family’s lands that he couldn’t even sense anything was wrong.

“Don’t tell me there’s no one inside either?”

“There are a few. Some knights, the steward who manages the mansion, and a few servants…”

Alsicle waited for more.

A place this big should start with a minimum staff of a hundred.

There’d be workers for the fields, wardens for the woods, lumberjacks to bring in timber, hunters to offer game, jesters and bards to do regular performances, priests for the estate’s chapel…

But Lee Han didn’t add anyone else.

“…That’s it?”

“Yes? That’s all.”

“W-What about all the other jobs?”

“Usually the golems do those. Sometimes a devil, but that’s really rare. Please don’t misunderstand.”

Lee Han eagerly clarified, not wanting their house to be misunderstood as one that constantly used devils.

Of course, it had little effect. Alsicle already felt lightheaded.

Clip-clop, clip-clop!

“K-Knights!”

Alsicle shouted in a hoarse voice at the sight of knights riding toward him.

He was touched at seeing people again, even though it had only been a few hours since he last had.

Next to him, Lee Han asked, confused.

“Do you like knights?”

Alsicle ignored him and waved.

“Over here! Over here!”

“Alsicle of the Pengerine family, I presume? An honor to meet you.”

“It is also an honor for me to meet Sir Allarlong, famed throughout the Empire!”

Alsicle flapped his wings and greeted Allarlong.

He was indeed a famous knight, but most of that enthusiasm came from having seen no one else for so long.

Allarlong looked at the devil and spoke.

“I will take over guiding you from here.”

-Gladly.

“Can’t you behave properly in front of guests? If I tell the patriarch, your sentence might get extended.”

-S-Sorry… Sir Knight, please forgive me.

Allarlong glared sternly at the amorphous devil, who wilted and slunk away.

Now that guest escort was over, he needed to go pick grapes in the orchard.

“Oh. Alsicle of the Pengerine family. Please don’t misunderstand—normally, the Wardanaz family does not use devils. It just happened that the golems are down for repairs today…”

“R-Right! Of course I wouldn’t misunderstand. I’ll never mention this anywhere.”

Not noticing the cold sweat running down Alsicle’s back, Allarlong twirled his mustache in satisfaction.

Having served the Wardanaz family so long, Allarlong, too, had become a bit numb.

“Lee Han. I’m glad to see you return. And the person beside you…?”

“My junior.”

“I’m glad you have such a bold warrior as a junior. Greetings!”

“Grrrr.”

Eandurde, making eye contact with Allarlong, stealthily hid behind Lee Han.

He sensed a completely different kind of enormous strength from this man compared to someone like Alsicle.

“And the patriarch?”

“He’s in the outer plane. I’d recommend sending a message right away.”

Lee Han nodded.

Alsicle, eyes glimmering with curiosity, asked,

“Send a message?”

“Yeah. You know the patriarch explores the outer planes, right?”

“Yup.”

Alsicle nodded up and down.

Only a select few in the Empire knew exactly what the head of the Wardanaz family did.

The outer planes—the places connected to the continent, alternate dimensions—were what the current Wardanaz patriarch explored.

People who didn’t know better wondered why he’d stick his head in such dangerous places, but it was really something he had no choice about.

Even if you kept still, beings from other planes would eventually grow interested in the continent.

Rather than reacting passively and waiting, wizards wanted to go out and handle things proactively. The Wardanaz patriarch was a wizard’s wizard.

And really, even if there was no threat of invasion, wizards would want to stick their heads in for the mysteries and knowledge. It’s their vocation, after all.

“This is quite a serious operation. He spends almost all his time on the outer planes. My eldest brother helps out, too.”

“Almost all his time… How many hours in a day is that? Four? Five?”

“He’s out there for all but maybe a day or two out of the year.”

“!!!”

At this, Alsicle was stunned.

Entering another dimension was dangerous and draining; wizards always tried to get out as quickly as possible.

Just look how careful they were summoning elementals and entering the spirit world.

Wizards layered every possible magic circle and barrier before going in.

Even when dealing with relatively peaceful and safe elementals, they were very cautious—yet here someone was making another dimension their home.

“How is that even possible?”

“They made a dimensional gateway artifact for going in?”

“N-No, not how they got in… Still, it’s amazing.”

Alsicle nodded, heart pounding at the thought.

Just this was enough to make the visit to the Wardanaz house worthwhile.

Who would’ve thought even that was possible?

He felt like he’d glimpsed the far horizon of the field of magic.

“But a message—can you really send one in?”

“Yes. Some kind of magic artifact, I think, though I don’t really know how it works myself.”

“An artifact that can send messages across dimensions…!”

Alsicle shivered.

Of course, with enough restrictions, he could send a quick telepathic message to someone taking a brief, safe trip into a shallow dimension.

That was like talking to a friend who’d just stepped into a shallow puddle.

But a wizard who freely explored and roamed those other dimensions? That was a different story.

No rope, just plunging into the deep sea—how did you send them a message?

If that was possible, then…

‘I must meet him!’

“But there’s a downside.”

“A downside? What?”

“The other dimension is far away, so it takes about thirty minutes for an answer.”

“…Well, yeah, that makes sense.”

With such a realistic answer, Alsicle could only nod.

Of course…!

Lee Han took up a quill and wrote a letter.

-Patriarch. Greetings. After one year at Einrogard…

As he wrote, Lee Han frowned and paused.

Alsicle cautiously asked,

“What’s wrong?”

“Um. I wrote it too long out of habit. I have to keep it short.”

“How much shorter?”

“Like this.”

Lee Han crumpled the paper, tossed it, and rewrote.

-Lee Han, mansion arrived. Alsicle, too.

“Hmm, maybe even shorter.”

“…Hey, isn’t this going too far?”

“Ah, sorry. Should I write Pengerine instead?”

“That’s not it…!”

Noble dignity and authority were above blood ties.

Even between parent and child, you used formal titles in official settings—the same went for letters.

And no matter how close, Alsicle was a guest. Wasn’t this too abrupt?

“J-Just a little more.”

“No, even four words is a bit much. If I don’t shorten it, the patriarch might get mad.”

“As if! Well then, just one more—write Pengerine Alsicle.”

“That’s two words, though.”

After bickering and debating, they finally completed the final draft of the letter.

-Lee Han, Pengerine Alsicle.

“Then I’ll send it like this.”

Lee Han stood in front of the huge hall on the mansion’s first floor—called the Exploration Room—and tossed the letter into the mouth of the door.

Just from the powerful, complex flow of magic inside, you could tell this was the leading edge of their outer-plane explorations.

‘Amazing. Just one year at Einrogard, and it all feels so different.’

Feeling the swirl of magical power within, Lee Han was amazed.

A year ago, it just felt like a big lump of mana, but now he could perceive distinct patterns within it.

Next to him, Alsicle was alternately admiring the magic and sighing deeply.

“What’s wrong? Are you hungry?”

“No! It’s just… the letter seemed so rude…”

“That’s plenty. Let’s wait for the reply. Oh, right—I’ll go ask the kitchen for a sardine dish.”

“N-No, you don’t have to. We didn’t come here to eat…”

Regardless, Lee Han went to ask the kitchen for sardines.

From behind the kitchen, the giant amorphous devil with dozens of hooves walked out, looking despondent.

“…Where’s that devil off to?”

“Probably to get sardines. Okay, junior, let’s study at the desk while we wait.”

Eandurde, not listening, just pretended to be fascinated by the mansion like Alsicle. Lee Han unceremoniously dragged his junior to the desk.