Episode 728
by CristaeProfessor Bendozol’s shouts, of course, had no effect.
After all, the relationship between the polo club members and Professor Bendozol wasn’t close. If anything, it was more like hostile symbiosis.
The polo club had to find, tame, and care for various rare imperial animals.
So they definitely needed the help of Bendozol, the top animal expert at Einrogard…
…but at the same time, Bendozol was also someone who, while helping with the animals, kept trying to steal the club’s creatures for himself.
Any attempts by such a person to undermine a promising new member sounded like nonsense.
Hormashi suddenly grew curious and asked,
“But Professor, why aren’t you attacking him yourself?”
Sure, even at lawless Einrogard it was rare for professors to attack students at will.
But Bendozol was especially crazy even among professors.
“There are two reasons. First, if I attacked in person, I would risk earning the unicorn’s hatred.”
‘Don’t you already have it?’
Hormashi thought this but, not wanting to provoke a mad professor, kept it to herself.
“I see… What’s the other reason?”
“I promised the Headmaster I wouldn’t attack him over the unicorn. Damn it!”
“?”
Having listened without much thought, Hormashi pricked up her long ears in confusion.
‘What kind of nonsense is that?’
The skeletal headmaster would never tell someone not to attack a student. If anything, they’d order the opposite. Or was there some kind of special protection for multi-school students that Hormashi didn’t know about?
“How did you end up making such a promise…”
-I didn’t do anything great. We just met by chance over winter break.
The dark elf senior who was about to ask the professor stopped.
The junior had begun explaining how he got close to the unicorn.
Professor Bendozol’s story was interesting, but this was far more fascinating.
“So, what happened?”
“Wait, let’s hear it later.”
“……”
Hormashi cut off Bendozol and listened in.
“You met it over winter break? How?”
“I went with Professor Lightningstep to find the unicorn as an errand over the break.”
“Why in the world would you do that?”
The club seniors murmured.
Of all the bad choices one could make during break, helping a professor was the absolute worst.
“…Well, someone has to.”
“Doesn’t seem like it. Anyway, go on. You went looking and found the unicorn? How’d you get close?”
Lee Han briefly explained what had happened in the mountains over winter break.
Went in to protect the unicorn with some hunters, encountered Professor Bendozol…
“Oh man!”
“Of all the rotten luck!”
The seniors sighed.
It was already bad enough by helping a professor during break, but to run into another professor in the process? Too much misfortune.
“…Then the Headmaster arrived and everything got sorted out.”
“I see… huh?”
The polo club members murmured among themselves.
A unicorn in the mountains, an evil monster after it, Docheol, Bendozol, then wizards and hunters trying to save the unicorn.
What an exciting story—right up until the Headmaster suddenly arrived and solved everything.
“Did Professor Lightningstep call in the Headmaster?”
“No way. Lightningstep has common sense. They’d never call the Headmaster.”
“…I called.”
“You did?”
“Yes.”
Seeing the seniors’ shifting mood, Lee Han hurried to explain,
“Professors Lightningstep and Bendozol were fighting. There was nothing else I could do. Docheol was about to attack…”
“Hm! Makes sense. In that situation, you really had no choice.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
The seniors smiled and nodded.
Then, in unison, they all rushed away.
“……”
“It couldn’t be helped.”
The only senior who hadn’t run, Hormashi, spoke up.
Lee Han replied a bit bluntly.
“What else couldn’t be helped?”
“Summoning the Headmaster, no matter the reason, sounds dangerous on its own.”
The dark elf senior sounded casual but was right.
No matter how dangerous the situation, it didn’t matter.
What mattered was that this junior was close enough to summon the skeletal headmaster.
“…I just got a summon artifact by pure chance.”
“I see. I trust you!”
Thus spoke Hormashi, yet stepped back a pace.
A junior who’d gotten a summon item from the Headmaster—if he turned into some other-dimensional monster all of a sudden, it wouldn’t even be surprising.
“Anyway, don’t mind the other members’ reactions. They’re just afraid of you now…”
“They’ll come around after a while?”
“Uh. Actually, I was going to say, what’s it matter—just play polo and let them think what they like. What’s there to misunderstand? It’s all true.”
“……”
Hormashi continued regardless of Lee Han’s glare.
“Anyway, junior. Let’s talk polo! Honestly, I’ve been waiting for a junior like you. Even if you’re the Headmaster’s prized pupil, I don’t mind at all.”
“Who said that again? Who is it?”
“Again?”
‘Oops.’
Seeing Hormashi’s look, Lee Han realized he was overreacting.
Hormashi asked warily,
“Do people often call you the Headmaster’s prized pupil?”
“No? First I’ve ever heard it.”
“…Let’s get back to the point.”
Despite herself, Hormashi stepped two paces further away.
“Right now, the Einrogard polo club is short on strikers. Senior Kimbeldan graduated, and Senior Board couldn’t graduate, so he went mad.”
“Excuse me?”
Lee Han wanted to ask more about Senior Board, but Hormashi seemed uninterested in those who’d left the club.
“But you have the talent of a great striker. You might fill the gap.”
“Thank you, but honestly, I haven’t played much polo.”
And it was true.
While his friends enjoyed horseback polo, bare-handed polo, table polo, assignment polo (where the assignment is crumpled up as a ball), and even Wardanaz polo (White Tiger Tower members dodging Wardanaz’s staff as the “ball”), Lee Han himself hadn’t played much.
“Doesn’t matter. Talent has nothing to do with experience.”
Suddenly Lee Han became curious.
What could this senior possibly see, to rate him so highly?
“I’m really that talented at polo? Why?”
“You’re close with a unicorn, aren’t you? That’s all you need.”
“…Isn’t that just animal-handling skill?”
“Animal handling is 90% of polo. Riding is 50%.”
‘Must be bad with numbers since you’re from White Tiger Tower.’
Watching the unicorn nuzzling Lee Han, Hormashi murmured contentedly,
“To like you that much. You and the unicorn will make a great pair.”
“But, senior, I’m not planning on playing polo on the unicorn.”
“!?!?”
-!?!?
Not only Hormashi but the unicorn too stared at Lee Han, shocked.
“Why not?!”
-■!
“Well… there’s someone else I already promised to ride with. If I rode the unicorn, it would get upset.”
“You just need to explain! What are you talking about?!”
Apparently stunned, the dark elf senior shrilled.
It was an insult to polo, unicorns, and the Empire to refuse to ride the unicorn.
“I guess it could feel like a betrayal if you don’t ride with your close animal friend. But it’s even crueller to force it if there’s a better match.”
“It’s not a horse, though.”
“It’s not a horse?”
Hormashi tilted her head; if a second-year talked about a close mount, it was naturally assumed to be a horse.
“If not, what is it? Goat? Boar? Ostrich?”
“Please promise not to think I’m weird, no matter my answer.”
“A senior’s not so easily surprised! No matter what you tamed, I won’t be shocked.”
If he could summon the headmaster, there was nothing his junior could do that would shock Hormashi now.
Even if he tamed a griffon…
‘Well. Maybe that’d be surprising.’
“All right. Actually, it’s a griffon.”
“…What the hell are you?”
After consoling the wounded junior (while the junior consoled a wounded unicorn), Hormashi spoke seriously,
“Let me see your griffon.”
The unicorn, with an angry whinny, tried to attack Hormashi.
Hormashi quickly backed away, keeping the unicorn at bay.
“Back off, you horned horse. Now that the junior has a griffon, I’m done with you!”
-■!
“Aren’t you being too harsh?”
“Not like I’m going to ride it.”
Hormashi replied indifferently.
Riders only cherished the animals they actually rode, not those belonging to others.
“Actually, before seeing the griffon, let’s check out my own mount. Come along.”
Hormashi was clearly excited to have a griffon-riding junior join the club.
‘If we charged together, side by side…!’
To do that, she wanted to show off her own animal first. She planned to explain her mount to the junior.
“Hormashi! Have the junior apply for the support grant!”
“Ah, right.”
Prompted by Perse from a distance, Lee Han asked curiously,
“What’s a support grant?”
“In the polo club, members who raise animals get regular coins from the club vault. To support and encourage them.”
Some of the club’s winnings went to the top members, the rest was stored up and used for these grants.
The rarer and stronger the animal, the more support you got, since it helped the club.
“One griffon, one unicorn. Wow.”
Hormashi whistled, calculating. This could be a club record.
“Any others? Even horses count a little. If so, mention it.”
“I’m raising a baby basilisk, too.”
“Baby basi… …Basilisk?”
A tail poked out from Lee Han’s sleeve and flicked about.
Hormashi saw it and slowly shook her head. Then she called out to Perse.
“Perse! Come help with the grant application!”
“Do that yourself! Are you just calling me because you’re too lazy?”
“You’re all going to come check anyway when I apply, so just do it now while you’re here!”
Hormashi wisely predicted the future.
If she submitted it on her own, the club members would only get mad—‘Hormashi, stop playing games with the junior’s application!’
Might as well show them everything now.
“What kind of nonsense…”
Perse grumbled, not getting it, but came over.
Just explaining to the new second-years where to find rare animals and how to tame them was keeping him busy enough.
Meanwhile, Professor Bendozol didn’t help—instead, kept getting in the way by shouting “You aren’t worthy to tame them!”…
“Just hurry up and come take a look.”
“If you called me over here for nothing, you’re in charge of junior training, Hormashi… Hormashi, stop playing games with the junior’s application!”
Hormashi winked at Lee Han as if to say, “Told you so.”