Episode 711

Lee Han felt indignant at the unexpectedly intense reaction.

The seniors had pressured him to pick quickly, so why were they all acting like this now?

And why was the name “Gonadaltes” such a problem?

They all had ancient names for aliases—Vakantalana, Iactus—so why not him?

Gonadaltes: Is there a problem?

Iactus: Everything is a problem. This Gona… wow. I can’t. It actually gives me chills.

Iactus tried to explain what was wrong with Lee Han’s alias, but shuddered instead.

It was simply an ill-omened, unsettling name—enough that just reading it out loud gave him goosebumps.

Magic, after all, is as emotional as it is logical.

Using the most ominous name in the empire, even as an alias…

Vakantalana: Alias is… your choice. We can’t really say anything.

Iactus: Really? There are limits! What, am I supposed to feel like I’m talking to the principal every time?

Vakantalana: We should be able to distinguish an alias from the truth.

Iactus: Come on. Vakantalana, you wouldn’t want to chat with Gonadaltes either. I can talk to you, because you’re not going to break down my dorm door and drag me off to the punishment room. Gonadaltes, though, is different!

Gonadaltes: Should I change it to Bible Verdus?

Iactus: ……

Iactus suddenly realized this newcomer was more insane than he’d thought.

‘Who the hell is this guy?’

Even with Einrogard’s reputation for eccentricity, he hadn’t expected someone like this.

‘Is it a fifth- or sixth-year?’

To use the principal’s name as an alias, you’d need more than the usual brand of madness. Maybe only a sixth-year would do it.

Frankly, Iactus wasn’t sure even a sixth-year would dare.

He decided to probe the newcomer.

Iactus: Are you an enchanting school student, by any chance?

Gonadaltes: Yeah. How’d you know?

So not a real one, then.

Iactus clicked his tongue.

The dread around Professor Verdus’s reputation extended well beyond enchanting. Students from any discipline knew it.

If this nut was bringing up Verdus as an alias, he must not be an enchanting student.

No actual enchanting student would pick that name.

He himself had picked an unrelated alias for exactly that reason.

Vakantalana: Aren’t we all here to resist the tyrant’s oppression? Are we going to let one name frighten us? Maybe this is an opportunity. Let’s use it to overcome those fears.

Iactus: Makes sense. Why not hang a skull from the ceiling at bedtime?

Even so, Iactus half gave up on getting the new member to change names.

Someone with enough nerve for this alias wasn’t going to back down.

And by club rules, aliases were up to their owners.

Iactus: Fine, do what you want. Just hope no one here has a heart attack.

Vakantalana: If you’re a member here, you should be able to handle that much.

Gonadaltes: Right, right.

Iactus: ……

The new guy was giving him a headache.

Better to just change the subject, fast.

Iactus: So, since you’re new, got any news to share?

Gonadaltes: News about what?

Iactus: Anything’s good. A missing professor came back, a long-lost class is running again, word of the principal’s treasure… If it’s useful, I’ll pay for it.

Gonadaltes: Professor Bendosol is back. A time magic class is running again.

“!!!!”

Iactus was stunned by the quality of the tip.

Professor Bendosol was back, and time magic lessons restarted?!

He didn’t care about the latter, but the former was huge.

How did Gonadaltes know this stuff?

‘Almost certainly a sixth-year.’

Iactus: Is that true?!

Gonadaltes: Why lie? Anyone can check for themselves.

At this point, Lee Han started planning.

Now that he had a feel for the “Wardens” club, he wanted to turn things around—see if he could mine them for info.

Gonadaltes: I’ve heard a number of people are taking the time magic class. Why don’t you folks give it a try?

There were two reasons for this.

First, it would throw off suspicion—since he actually was taking that class, he needed to make it sound like a neutral suggestion.

If he got the student count wrong, people would just think he’d heard it secondhand.

Second, it might flush out Wardens club members who joined the class—a tell.

Iactus: I’ll pass. I can barely handle what I’m already studying.

Vakantalana: Time magic is an excellent field, but even the basics demand far too much. Not efficient.

Iactus: That’s right—time magic is a waste of time.

Iactus: That was a joke, friends. Please laugh?

Gonadaltes: (laughs uproariously)

Iactus: Thanks. Gokokyo-Gonadaltes.

Vakantalana: Did you spill your ink?

Iactus: No. My hand shook while writing Gonadaltes again. It’s really hard.

‘Failed.’

Lee Han felt a pang of disappointment. No one was taking the bait on time magic.

Except noticing that Iactus was no good at jokes, he hadn’t learned much.

‘Vakantalana must be an enchanting school senior… I’ll ask Professor Verdus someday.’

He could have picked an unrelated alias, but the feat Vakantalana just pulled—remotely hacking the artifact—could only be pulled off by someone advanced in enchanting.

If even Professor Verdus knew this student, they must be impressive.

Iactus: Anyway, Professor Bendosol is back this year. His lessons are brutal.

Vakantalana: He cares more for animals than students.

Iactus: Damn, think I’ll have him this semester… Oh, right—was supposed to pay for the info. Both of you, listen, this is real gold.

Vakantalana: Go on.

Gonadaltes: Me too.

Iactus: Blue Dragon Tower, Marcan family, Eurde. Third year.

Vakantalana: So?

Iactus: Let me finish. This guy is the only one who managed a successful smuggling this year—apparently he’s got a mountain of goods stashed somewhere.

Vakantalana: Noted. Much appreciated. That is valuable info.

“……”

Lee Han found himself looking at the Wardens club with new suspicion.

‘Isn’t there an awful lot of fake info in here?’

Eurde-senior hadn’t even been released from the punishment room, and no one had split up or shared anything yet…

***

It was impossible to know exactly how the conflict between official clubs was progressing, but Lee Han realized that the clubs had changed their strategy.

The upperclassmen of each club started to come and suggest he observe their club.

Of course, Lee Han avoided it as much as possible.

Although they called it an “observation,” there was no knowing what might happen after he went.

But evasions do have their limits.

On his way out after attending the -Tragic History of Ancient Artifacts and Summoning Magic- lecture, one upperclassman he had seen before on the seventh floor was standing there with arms crossed, waiting.

“Wardanaz?”

“Ah, senior! I didn’t notice you at all. Is something the matter?”

Lee Han lamented to himself, ‘I’ll have to react more quickly from now on.’

But one cannot reveal such feelings in front of an upperclassman.

Remaining polite and courteous, Lee Han looked at the senior.

His counterpart was a fourth-year at the Black Turtle Tower.

Being a hamster beastkin, he was much shorter than Lee Han, and being skinny as well, he gave off a sharp and impatient vibe.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Sebius.”

“I’m Lee Han.”

“I know. Though you wouldn’t know me. I’m a member of the library club. Do you know what the library club does?”

“I don’t really know…”

“Follow me.”

Without realizing it, Lee Han checked for an escape route and considered his options for getting away.

Sebius, oblivious to such thoughts, opened his mouth.

“Like the other clubs, I have no intention of forcing you to join, so relax.”

“Yes.”

Of course, Lee Han did not believe him.

A senior who tried to force you into a club was less suspicious than one who said, “I have no intention of forcing you into a club.”

‘If things look bad, I’ll attack.’

“Our library club checks out, stores, and spreads books. Have you been to the Einrogard library? You must have to catch the rock drake.”

“I was lucky.”

“It’s not something a first-year can catch with luck. The library is a maze. The most complex and difficult labyrinth in Einrogard.”

At the hamster beastkin senior’s words, Lee Han nodded.

Though there was still much Lee Han didn’t know about Einrogard, he felt deeply that the library was no ordinary place.

A place where the layout changed every visit, monsters could appear, and one could be lost forever—it was no ordinary library.

“From the second year onward, you’ll need more and more books. And most of those books are in the library. We make a map of the library, go inside, and retrieve magical books.”

“!”

At Sebius’s words, Lee Han was astonished.

Going into that labyrinth often to make maps and fetch books.

It was a club much rougher and tougher than its name suggested.

“Just for the other students?”

“That’s right. Though we do get paid.”

“……”

Lee Han understood immediately.

The library club’s source of income was the wallets of students who hired them to find books.

Sometimes, outsiders who obtained permission from the skull principal to come fetch books from the Einrogard library were also clients.

“Is it alright to give books to outsiders?”

“Once a book enters the Einrogard library, it never really disappears. Even if it’s burned or taken out, it’ll reappear after some time.”

“That’s not what I meant. If you give a dangerous magical book to an outsider and something happens…”

“Then it’s the principal who allowed it who’s at fault. Not us.”

‘That is fair enough.’

Lee Han agreed before he realized.

Sebius, walking ahead, spoke.

“You know the clubs are fighting now.”

“…Yes.”

“They’ll probably compromise in the end. By having everyone join every club. Since it’s in the rules, even if everyone complains, there’s nothing to be done.”

“Couldn’t they keep fighting?”

Lee Han carefully suggested such a hope, but Sebius didn’t even acknowledge it.

“That’s why I said I wouldn’t force you to join. If you have to join every club, you’ll have much less time for each, so there’s no point in forcing you.”

“!”

Lee Han was surprised by Sebius’s words.

He hadn’t expected such consideration.

“Then has the library club decided not to have me join at all?”

“No, that’s not it. If we did that, the other clubs would be happy, wouldn’t they? We’ll just make you join, that’s all.”

“……”

Lee Han glared at the senior’s fluffy back of the head with a disgruntled expression.