Episode 694

Episode 694

Lee Han’s group drove the wagon through the underground passage.

Whenever the wagon wheels hit the solid stone floor, echoes resounded up to the high ceiling of the tunnel.

Eurde clicked his tongue inwardly as he looked at the lights illuminating the long underground passage.

It was no exaggeration to say that there were so many tunnels beneath Einrogard that even the principal did not know them all.

Who could have guessed there was a passage like this here.

“This passage reminds me of the one we found last year.”

“You mean a passage?”

Lee Han asked, his expression brightening.

Now that the junior’s face was freed from pain and resentment, Eurde answered, feeling a bit relieved.

“Yeah. Do you remember last year’s flood?”

“Yes.”

There was no way he could forget.

The hardships that Lee Han and the first-year students went through were unforgettable.

Lee Han had even personally faced down an enraged spirit to solve that problem.

“Natural disasters in Einrogard are painful, but for students they can also be an opportunity.”

‘You sound just like the principal.’

Lee Han thought, feeling a little exasperated.

“When the school’s rigid order is shaken, hidden byways are revealed. That was the case then, too.”

“You were lucky.”

“Well…”

Eurde made a bitter face.

“There was a path, but it turned out to be a sewer where magical waste is disposed of. And I got caught, so it was a failure anyway.”

Escaping from Einrogard was always full of failures and dangers.

Just because a road appeared did not mean there would always be glory there.

“Junior. I’m sure you can handle things yourself given your skills, but never let your guard down. Einrogard is a swamp. If you’re careless, you’ll find yourself up to your neck before you know it.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

“Let’s hope nothing goes wrong.”

Eurde looked back with a worried expression.

He was anxious about what lay ahead, but honestly, he was just as worried about what was behind.

Since this plan was built on such a tight schedule, any variable could complicate things.

He wasn’t sure if the first-years covering the rear would do as well as the one beside him.

“It’ll be fine. All my friends are every bit as skilled as I am.”

“True. Judging by the potions, they’re not ordinary. Professor Thunderstep will be pleased.”

“Priest Siana, who made them, is in the back.”

“That’s reassuring. What about the others?”

“Deorgyu is a fine knight. In swordsmanship, he’s about equal to me.”

“Really… hmm?”

Eurde hesitated.

If he’s about equal in swordsmanship to a Blue Dragon Tower student, is that really that great?

“R-right. Anyone else?”

“Nillia is a hunter from the Shadow Patrol.”

“What’s the Shadow Patrol?”

“How can you not know the empire’s best patrolmen who guard the northern mountains?”

The junior, who was usually calm, grew angry, and Eurde was flustered.

“S-sorry. I’m from the south.”

“Even if you’re from the south, everyone should know this!”

“I-I’ll remember it. Any other friends?”

“Hmm. I think that’s everyone…”

Yoner, driving the wagon behind, spoke up softly.

“Gainando.”

“Ah. Gainando. Gainando’s a good friend too.”

“You just forgot him, didn’t you…”

“I was nervous, that’s all.”

“So what’s so special about him?”

“Senior. That’s too loud. Please keep it down.”

“……”

This brat?

• * *

“They’ll be okay, right?”

“They’ll be fine.”

“They’ll be okay?”

“They’ll be fine.”

“They’ll be okay…?”

“They’ll be fine.”

“They’ll be o—”

Nillia, Deorgyu, and Siana exchanged glances.

Then quickly grabbed Gainando’s arms and covered his mouth.

“Mm! Mmm!”

As much as they tried to tolerate it, asking every five seconds if their friends would be okay was too much.

When the real Gainando signaled for release, Deorgyu carefully removed the gag.

“Gainando. If you keep that up, we’ll have to tie you up again.”

“Sniff. I’m just worried…”

“I’m worried too, Gainando. But it’ll be okay. Lee Han went.”

“Yoner can get caught, but I hope Lee Han escapes.”

At Gainando’s muttering, Nillia and Siana sent him contemptuous stares.

What a piece of crap!

“Let the senior get caught instead.”

“Yeah. The senior will be fine.”

“True. Maybe he’ll be okay…”

While they were privately deciding on a scapegoat, a dim light appeared in the distance.

At that, Nillia felt her chest drop.

“A… wagon!”

“What? Impossible. It’s too soon!”

Nillia quickly dropped down from a tree and whispered urgently.

“Three wagons. Two lanterns each. It’s definitely the merchant caravan.”

“Damn, Fleming!”

“?”

Deorgyu doubted his ears at Priest Siana’s curse, but there was no time to ask again.

Merchant wagons arriving at this hour was the worst-case scenario they’d anticipated.

Lee Han had gone to the merchant group, forging the principal and Verdus’s signatures for a fake message.

That message had included a delay of the real carriage’s arrival by about three hours.

They had planned to use that time cushion for Lee Han’s team to act quickly and get out…

“I guess, being the people delivering goods to Einrogard, they came early to wait.”

“Why is Einrogard’s reputation so stupidly infamous?”

“Doesn’t matter. Get out what you prepared! Gainando, can you do it?”

“W-well…”

Even though he’d prepared, Gainando felt nervous as the moment arrived.

Deorgyu grabbed both his shoulders and said firmly,

“You must do this, Gainando! If you fail, Lee Han could get caught!”

“Okay… I’ll do it! Let’s go!”

“Good. Everyone, get to your positions!”

The merchant wagons rattled closer from a distance.

Usually the workers would be humming as they drove, but today they were deathly silent.

Just quietly muttering to themselves.

-Please, let us drop off and leave safely…

-Please, safely in and out…

Delivering goods to Einrogard was terrifying no matter how many times they’d done it.

“Please, help!”

“?!”

“My friend has collapsed!”

Nillia ran out and shouted to the workers.

The workers looked over, startled. In the bushes lay a blond boy foaming at the mouth.

“What happened?”

“We came out to see a moon-giant flying squirrel, but I think he ate a weird flower by mistake!”

“Why would he eat that?!”

The workers unintentionally snapped.

He seemed to come from a well-off, high-status family, but what he’d done was just too absurd.

“S-sorry. I just… the color looked pretty…”

“You can’t eat things just because they’re pretty!”

The workers rushed to check Gainando’s condition.

Gainando closed his eyes in concentration.

‘I am sick. I am sick.’

Remembering all his past fake illnesses from when he didn’t want to study last year, Gainando foamed at the mouth and trembled.

The workers got serious at the sight.

“He looks really sick.”

“If it’s here, maybe he ate a Kalai-bee or Lanaton flower?”

“Either way, we need to get him to town at once.”

The supervisor thought for a moment, then made his decision.

“Get him in the wagon! It’s a freight wagon, but what choice do we have. Good thing we’re leaving early after all.”

When they succeeded, the students’ faces brightened.

They’d managed to buy time!

Clip clop, clip clop—

“?”

Hearing hoofbeats from another direction, the workers and students turned.

A traveler on horseback was riding toward them, someone they’d never seen before.

“Pardon me. Is someone hurt? I was passing by up the road and it seemed like someone was in trouble…”

“Are you a healing mage?”

“Yes. I’m Phil, a healing mage and Einrogard alumnus.”

“Ah!”

The workers brightened, but the students despaired.

Of all people, a tactless senior had to show up!

“An Einrogard graduate! What luck! Someone ate a weird flower and collapsed!”

“Why did he eat that?!”

“We don’t know either!”

“Understood. Coming over!”

As Phil approached, the juniors exchanged looks full of despair.

At that moment, Gainando whispered to Siana.

“Priest Siana.”

“Yes?”

“Give it to me. Quick.”

“No way…”

Siana was taken aback.

At Gainando’s request before they left, she’d made a real poison.

It wasn’t fatal, but it would really make you sick!

She’d thought he’d just use a drop if his acting was bad, but now…?

“Quick!”

“H-here.”

“Tell Lee Han… tell him I drank it heroically…!”

“I will!”

Gainando downed the poison in one go.

Then began foaming at the mouth and convulsing.

“Guaaaagh!”

“Oh, gods! Hurry! His condition is bad!”

Phil rushed over and checked Gainando’s symptoms.

And cried out, shocked. There wasn’t just one kind of poison in his body.

“How many flowers did he shove down his throat—no, how many different flowers did he eat?!”

“W-we don’t know…”

“To the village! My potions alone might not be enough!”

“Got it!”

“Hang in there! I’ll heal you soon!”

As Phil gripped Gainando’s hand and called out, the other friends watched with complicated feelings.

• * *

-Put them inside, please.

At the end of the tunnel, the warehouse revealed itself.

It was a warehouse Lee Han had seen before.

‘The warehouse supervisor isn’t here!’

Lee Han and Eurde exchanged glances.

With Death Knights uninterested in organizing the warehouse, they wouldn’t come inside.

All they had to do was get in quickly and move.

Luck was on their side.

Clatter!

Lee Han’s team unloaded boxes from the wagon into the warehouse like seasoned workers.

“Yoner, Ratford. I’m counting on you. If we don’t make it back…”

“Forget it. Let’s just get caught together.”

“No. At least get the wagon going if you can. No point all of us going to the punishment room.”

Just in case, two had to stay behind in the warehouse to explain.

Even if the Death Knights didn’t care about such things, having no one at all would be suspicious.

“Arise, warriors of the bone.”

Lee Han summoned skeleton warriors empowered with shadow element and called Gonadaltes to lead them.

With so much cargo, they needed more hands.

Eurde stared, dumbfounded, at the undead summons, then just shut his mouth.

“Let’s go.”

“Right, let’s go!”

Lee Han and Eurde grabbed the cargo and started running.

They sprinted through the deserted underground storage area and climbed the stairs to reveal the back hall behind the central foyer.

A deserted banquet hall, a grand hall, and a few closed doors.

“This way!”

From here, Eurde also knew the way, so they ran without issue.

They crossed into the front foyer, and ascended the stairs to the main building’s second-floor warehouse!

That was the original plan…

“!”

“!!!!”

The two froze in surprise.

Where the door to cross into the front area should have been, there was a wall.

“Damn you, Einrogard! The layout’s changed!”

Eurde cursed.

The geography of Einrogard changed often, but for it to change now!

“We need to find the door!”

“Impossible without a clue, in this situation…”

Despite the senior’s words, Lee Han was unmoved.

‘The main building of Einrogard is known to change, but for the first floor, where outsiders often enter, it doesn’t change that easily. The door has to be close.’

Lee Han sharpened his senses and tried to feel the flow of magic around him.

Where there is magic, there is a path.

If he could spot a sense of incongruity, he’ll surely find…

“Senior. This wall isn’t a wall, it’s a door!”

“What?”

Eurde reacted belatedly and waved his staff.

Amazingly, the junior was right.

It was not a wall but a cleverly disguised door!

If you specialized in illusion magic, you should have noticed first, but Eurde had made a mistake out of anxiety.

He reddened in embarrassment.

“Sorry! I should have found it. I’ll dispel it right now.”

Dispel the illusion wall, and the door would appear. Eurde knelt on one knee, placed his staff, and began chanting.

“Senior, how long do you think you’ll need?”

“Five to ten minutes!”

“That won’t do. Let’s break it down!”

“How can we break this down?!”

At such a reckless suggestion, Eurde’s eyes went wide.

Lee Han put his staff to the wall and smashed the illusion away with a magic hammer.

Boom!

The wall vanished and the door was revealed.

“Let’s go!”

“You… what did you just…”

“Baldororn’s Magic Hammer!”

“…You’ll have to explain that to me later!”

Eurde, bewildered by the name of an illusion mage he’d never heard of, ran after him.