Episode 69

By now, it might be redundant to say, but the magic school was not a safe place.
Even discounting the professors, it was a place where dangerous incidents were bound to happen.
The novice wizard students, learning magic, couldn’t avoid making accidents no matter how hard they tried.
The rampaging familiar right now was one such example.
Upperclassmen, preparing for early-semester magical experiments, lost control of the familiars they’d been setting up.
‘…No, but even if you lost control, how can it rampage this wildly within school grounds? Isn’t that a fundamental flaw in the school system?’
Having listened to Professor Garcia’s explanation, Lee Han was stunned.
Still, clinging to a shred of hope, he asked again.
“I heard other familiars also escaped… they’ll be taken care of soon, right? The most outstanding wizards in the Empire are here at this school, aren’t they?”
“Of course.”
Relieved by Professor Garcia’s words, Lee Han felt reassured.
At least it would be handled!
“They’ll all be caught in about a month, Lee Han.”
“……”
Lee Han’s face hardened. In the darkness, and with Professor Garcia focused on the vine monster, she didn’t notice his expression.
“…Then what are we supposed to do for a whole month?”
“You’ll just have to be careful.”
Professor Garcia was dead serious.
She didn’t mean any harm by it; if roaming familiars were hiding on campus, of course everyone should be careful…
…But to Lee Han, it was an absurd response.
‘A professor is a professor after all!’
No matter how gentle, every professor here had a certain amount of madness inside.
Slice!
“Th-thank you! Thank you so much!”
Professor Garcia called forth a sharp ring of wind, sliced through the vine monster’s tendrils, and safely rescued the captured White Tiger Tower student.
It might have looked simple on the outside, but it was a highly complex chain of spells—threatening the vine monster with a mental magic, slicing the tendrils with wind-elemental magic, then safely catching the falling student with gravity-distortion magic.
Lee Han could hardly believe that Professor Garcia compressed all of this into simple movements without even pausing for a breath.
‘Amazing!’
Now that he saw her in a calm moment, not in a fluster like before, Professor Garcia’s magic reminded him of a ballerina.
Just as a great ballerina creates an aura with the simple extension of an arm or raising of a leg that’s unmatched, so did Professor Garcia.
“Are you alright?”
“sob sob sob!”
The White Tiger Tower student was so scared that, despite being from a knight family, he burst into tears.
Or maybe it was simply the first time, since coming to this school, that a professor had spoken kindly to him.
“But what were you doing out here at night?”
“Uh, Wodanaz… came into the lounge… stole our tower’s flag…”
“……”
Professor Garcia turned her head with an incredulous look.
Coming out at night was odd enough, but breaking into a magically protected lounge was even more unthinkable.
How?
But Lee Han was no longer there, having already run away.

• * *
  Though they’d safely returned with the flag, the Blue Dragon Tower students had complicated expressions.
  Even before they could celebrate, there was a voice outside announcing:
  Familiars have escaped on campus, so students should be careful. I’ll say it again. Familiars have escaped on campus…
  The students had nothing left to say.
  This was a school that brought new shocks every week.
  Every time they thought, ‘Nothing new could possibly happen now,’ something new would show up.
  How could they be expected to stay on guard on their own campus?
  “……”
  “Didn’t one of the professors let them out?”
  One of the Blue Dragon Tower students muttered.
  If this was week one, everyone would’ve brushed it off as impossible, but now, everyone seriously suspected it.
  “It had to be a professor. I think it was the headmaster…”
  “No way! Professor Uregorum is suspicious!”
  “Then why can’t they catch them right away?”
  Listening quietly, Lee Han thought,
  ‘Is it just because the professors can’t be bothered?’
  Thinking about it, taking a month seemed a bit odd.
  With how many wizards there were in this vast school…
  With all these outstanding professors mobilized, whether it was familiars or even a dragon escape, you’d expect it to be solved quickly.
  But professors basically rarely took action themselves.
  Even if they made a mistake, they had their students fix it, and if a student made a mistake, that was all the more left for students to fix.
  Given that, no wonder they wouldn’t get involved in a familiar escape incident.
  ‘I’d better keep my mouth shut about this, or everyone will be shocked.’
  For the sake of the students, Lee Han kept quiet.
  “They should at least tell us what kinds of things escaped! Aren’t those supposed to be our seniors? They’re way too irresponsible!”
  “Exactly!”
  The anger turned from professors to unknown upperclassmen.
  The freshmen grumbled and cursed the upperclassmen.
  Wasn’t it their incompetence making the freshmen suffer!
  “Enough griping, let’s have breakfast. You all had a rough night, so I really put in extra effort.”
  Lee Han lifted the large cauldron hanging in front of the fireplace.
  The red color of tomato beef stew brought happiness back to the faces of the Blue Dragon Tower students.
  He’d brought plenty of food from outside, but Lee Han had no intention of wasting any. Who knew when he’d get to go out again?
  But in times like this, maybe it was okay to be generous. Everyone had been through a lot.
  ‘I should try to grow more vegetables.’
  Lee Han planned to expand the hut’s garden.
  Not just sweet potatoes or potatoes, but he’d plant some wheat, maybe get fruit trees around too…
  ‘I want to get more chickens. Would Professor Uregorum think I’m insane if I started raising pigs?’
  One thing Lee Han was learning from managing the garden was just how important fresh veggies were to human life.
  Just being able to secure them changed the quality of the meal.
  Even with the tomato beef stew he’d made—while the umami and aroma came from the tomato sauce and spices, and the visual impact came from the big chunks of beef…
  It was the onions, garlic, carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, and other veggies that deepened and enriched the flavor.
  Because he’d sautéed the veggies ahead of time as prep…
  ‘Wait, what am I thinking about right now?’
  Lee Han paused as he realized something.
  Ever since coming to this school, he’d been discovering more wisdom outside of magic than inside.
  After a long night, the Blue Dragon Tower students filled their bowls high with stew and enjoyed breakfast with bread.
  Eating a warm breakfast in sunlight streaming from the stained glass windows, it felt like being back home.
  Familiars have escaped on campus, so students should be careful. I’ll say it again. Familiars have escaped on campus…
  “…Killed my appetite…”
  “Should I eat yours then?”
  “Try touching that and I’ll challenge you to a duel.”
  Lee Han got up, bowl in hand, and headed to the princess’s private room.
  He’d gotten used to it and didn’t even need to be asked anymore.
  “?”
  But the door didn’t open as usual. Even after knocking several times, there was no answer, so Lee Han gave up and returned.
  “What’s wrong? The princess isn’t going to eat?”
  “No. She just didn’t answer.”
  “Ah, guess she’s sleeping. She must’ve been really tired after yesterday…”
  The students who waited on the princess nodded in understanding.
  Given what happened last night, being tired made sense.
  Lee Han felt a little guilty.
  ‘She’s not still upset about me threatening her as a hostage, right?’
  Unlike Gainando, Arnenart was competent and had many devoted followers.
  Even if not now, if Arnenart went home during break and tattled, ‘Wodanaz threatened me and used me as a hostage,’ it’d become a real hassle.
  That’s why he’d piled extra beef in the stew…
  “Then let’s not wake her for nothing. Thanks, Wodanaz. The princess is a picky eater, but if you bring it yourself, I think she can’t refuse out of courtesy.”
  “…?”
  Lee Han tilted his head.
  Really?
  ‘She always seemed to eat well, though…’
  Next to him, Gainando scraped his wooden bowl clean as he asked,
  “Isn’t it better to wake someone early than have them skip a meal? You can always sleep more, but you can’t always eat…”
  “Don’t be ridiculous, Gainando! You think the princess is like you?”
  “Yeah! She’s not that obsessed with food!”
  Actually, Lee Han kind of agreed with Gainando.
  You could always go back to sleep later, so waking up to eat and then sleeping again seemed better…
  ‘Whatever, the followers must know better.’
  “But Lee Han.”
  “?”
  “Are you okay for morning class?”
  “Morning class… ah.”
  Lee Han paused as he checked the schedule at Yonere’s words.
  “I should be fine.”
  “……”
  Yonere’s eyes clearly said, ‘I don’t think you’ll be fine at all, though.’
• * *
  “……”
  “……”
  Basic swordsmanship class.
  As if to be expected after last night’s incident, the White Tiger Tower students glared at Lee Han with extremely, extremely displeased expressions.
  The only one still speaking to Lee Han was Dergew.
  Dergew spoke strongly.
  “You didn’t have to do that for my sake, Lee Han.”
  The moment he was hit in the jaw and collapsed, Dergew realized it.
  That the honorable Lee Han had played the villain for Dergew’s sake.
  After he woke up, the other White Tiger Tower students fumed, “Do you know what that bastard said about you?!” but Dergew didn’t waver.
  “If I can’t act as I should because I’m worried about how others see me, then that’s not a real friend. A real friend is one who understands both honor and friendship.”
  “Very touching, Dergew.”
  Lee Han thought to himself, ‘It’s not like my sneaking in to steal the flag really had anything to do with honor…’ but nodded in respect for Dergew anyway.
  If the victim forgives you, the best thing you can do is shut up and accept it.
  “So there’s no need for you to play the villain for me from now on.”
  “Sure, sure.”
  Of course, Lee Han planned to behave the same way if something similar happened again, regardless of what Dergew said.
  Dergew might not care, but surely the other White Tiger Tower kids would.
  Even now, those students glared at Lee Han.
  “Dergew got tricked again…!”
  “Don’t let anyone get near that bastard!”
  Some were even grinding their teeth and blocking him physically so he couldn’t come close.
  To an outsider, it would look like Dergew had been brainwashed by Lee Han.
  “Good morning, everyone.”
  The elf swordsman and professor, Ingeldel, appeared, using his sword as a staff. The students, who had each been scattered, straightened up and greeted him politely.
  Professor Ingeldel continued in a gentle, un-swordfighter-like voice.
  “I heard that familiars let loose are roaming the school grounds this morning. What a ridiculous place this is.”
  “……”
  All the students nodded. No matter the tower, anyone could agree.
  “But since you all have to keep living here… I thought about what I could do to help.”
  “?”
  Lee Han suddenly grew anxious.
  In this school, a professor ‘thinking about how to help students’ rarely led to good results.
  “So I went and caught one of the loose familiars. Let’s practice together by facing it.”
  “……”
  Lee Han was starting to worry that Professor Ingeldel was being influenced by the school.