Episode 753

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Lee Han was puzzled as Antagondals stared from behind his silver mask.

He subtly shielded his plate with his hand. There simply wasn’t enough left to share.

“…I’m not taking any. Do I look interested in that slop?”

“Ha! Wizards always say that sort of thing.”

Antagondals realized the Wardanaz boy had a new talent.

This boy had the talent to make people angry.

Whether the magical criminal fumed inside or not, Lee Han just focused on eating.

He would need to be well-fed to make his escape.

As Lee Han took a bite of egg and bacon on well-toasted bread, Antagondals shook his head.

A kid who could eat with such calm in front of the crazy doppelgänger and an imperial magical criminal…

“Live long enough and you’ll see truly appalling things…”

“Are you talking about Einrogard?”

“No.”

Antagondals wanted to explain just how dangerous it was for Lee Han to be offering a meal to the crazy doppelgänger, and just how shocking it was that the doppelgänger didn’t get mad and even ate it quietly.

But he couldn’t, not with the crazy doppelgänger right there.

One never knew what might happen with a careless word.

While he hesitated, the crazy doppelgänger finished eating, neatly wiped his mouth and hands, then picked up Antagondals and slammed him into the wall.

“Chattering during a meal. Trash. Don’t you know your manners?”

-…Forgive me, master.

Only then did Antagondals realize he hadn’t been hit during the meal just because it was mealtime, and he regretted it.

He should’ve slipped out while the doppelgänger was eating…

“That was a meal fit for slaves. Lowborn. Prepare a more dignified meal next time.”

“Ah, yes.”

Lee Han bowed respectfully but cursed inwardly.

Eat every last bit and still complain about it—even Gainando wasn’t that bad.

-Master, do you require tribute worthy of your palate?

Antagondals asked respectfully from inside the wall.

If the crazy doppelgänger really was a gourmet, that was priceless information.

For someone who needed to keep this wicked being happy, a new opportunity was opening.

“Hah! I have no need for filth a piece of trash has touched.”

Both Lee Han and Antagondals cursed inwardly at those words.

‘No matter who cooks, he probably can’t even tell the difference. Why not just ask?’

‘He really does have a soft spot for his disciple.’

Antagondals’ silent curse was slightly different from Lee Han’s.

He understood, from knowledge of the crazy doppelgänger, that from the perspective of a former royal kingdom, it was fine for a disciple to prepare food and serve, but anyone lower had no such right.

In short, the crazy doppelgänger’s words meant that he recognized the boy from the Wardanaz family as his true disciple, but Antagondals never could be.

‘What’s the difference, anyway?’

Antagondals racked his brain, trying to figure out how this young boy had earned the crazy doppelgänger’s favor so quickly.

No matter how talented, it was abnormally fast.

But the more he analyzed, the more lost he felt.

‘Is it about answering back boldly? Would it have helped to approach as someone even younger?’

“I shall go collect songs from the mountain peaks.”

The crazy doppelgänger checked the time and started moving.

Though it seemed like he just tormented Lee Han and Antagondals in a corner of Einrogard’s mountains, he was actually quite busy maintaining his grand magic across his domain and extending his own lifespan.

It was truly a hassle for a mana will-entity, rejected by the world, to resist in the realm of another archmage.

Guessing at his daily tasks, Antagondals asked,

-Master, do you need the songs of the mountain spirits?

“They are needed for that lowborn’s magic. I’ve heard him spit out some noise and dare to call it a spell.”

Lee Han was confused for a moment, then quickly realized.

The crazy doppelgänger was talking about music magic.

‘It wasn’t that bad, was it?’

With a sliver of conscience, Lee Han refrained from asking a grand archmage if he thought the music magic performance was alright.

Instead, he waited for the crazy doppelgänger to leave before asking Antagondals,

“What does it mean to go collect songs from the peaks?”

“I don’t know the exact details. With so many ancient magics lost… maybe it’s like a swan song.”

Antagondals, now out of the wall, seemed curious.

Some magical materials included the most beautiful cry a bird left as it died.

Such a reagent was capricious and carried destructive power, so it made sense in ancient magic.

“Since it’s that powerful, wouldn’t it boost your music magic learning super fast?”

“Probably. If you survive.”

“Excuse me?”

“Brat, don’t you know a swan song is a deadly poison if used wrong, something that instantly snuffs out a wizard’s life?”

“I didn’t know.”

“……”

Antagondals then remembered his companion was just a second year student.

What was common sense for older mages could be news to him.

“The more beautiful and precious something is, the more dreadful it is. It’s a bird’s last song, so it’s deadly; it’s the most beautiful, so it’s the most lethal.”

“So would the music being collected from the peaks be that dangerous too?”

In response to the obvious question, Antagondals nodded as if to say it was even more dangerous.

If it were as easy as a swan song, the crazy doppelgänger wouldn’t bother collecting it himself.

Lee Han declared firmly.

“I really have to get out now. Get ready.”

“?!”

Lee Han had no intention of testing his body against a reagent potentially far more dangerous than a swan song.

No matter how much magic he’d used to resist poisons, he couldn’t be sure he could survive the crazy doppelgänger’s live experiments.

Antagondals was baffled by the junior.

“Do you not realize how valuable an opportunity this is? Aren’t you even curious about the ancient secrets that monster might bring back?”

“I’m not curious.”

‘Is this kid even a wizard?’

Antagondals gave him a look of shock and disdain, but since he was hidden behind a silver mask, Lee Han didn’t care.

Even if he had seen, he’d have ignored it.

‘If it’s so precious, do it yourself.’

If Antagondals would take the mountain spirit’s song himself, Lee Han would watch with keen interest from the side.

“You could awaken a syllable—a word—of Word Magic. Are you really running away?”

“Then why don’t you do it?”

“If I could, I would, you disgrace to wizards!”

Lee Han grew even more suspicious at the deflection.

Shady types usually had answers like that.

You might gain Word Magic, but you might die—and to Lee Han, the latter seemed much more likely.

“Enough with the traps. Get ready.”

“……”

At that moment, Whisperings of Einrogard summoned Lee Han.

-Junior, we’re ready. Just signal when you are.

-I’m ready! Please begin now!

Lee Han was overjoyed at Direte’s message.

He wasn’t sure he could trust only Antagondals’s power, but in the end his senior had come through.

“They’re ready outside.”

“Really? You really believe that? Think again.”

“Is this just because you don’t want to do it?”

“Truthfully, it’s not a pleasant task. But that doesn’t mean I’m lying. Do you really think fifth-year students could break the magic of this mountain range? Really?”

“Ha. You’re only saying that because you don’t know my senior. He’d never bluff.”

“Is that so? Well, I warned you.”

Antagondals no longer tried to stop him.

It didn’t concern him anyway, and it’d be fun to watch the Wardanaz kid try and fail to escape.

“You won’t give them my name if you get caught, right? A student of Einrogard values honor.”

“If you keep jinxing it, I just might.”

“……”

Readying himself, Antagondals watched Lee Han hastily pen a note.

It wasn’t for Direte, but one to leave for the crazy doppelgänger.

To Master,

I am leaving briefly to research magic.

From your disciple.

It was insurance for the future.

The note was a little short, but Lee Han didn’t have any more time.

-Junior, ready?

-Yes!

-Good. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…

KWAaaAAAAANG—!

The collision of magic was so intense, even an apprentice could sense it shaking the whole mountain range.

It was a shock you’d only expect worlds to collide.

Antagondals, who’d been quietly mocking the whole thing, was amazed.

‘No way?!’

It was true—a crack appeared in the crazy doppelgänger’s grand spell over the mountain.

As that crevice quickly spread, the doppelgänger turned into black magic and shot into the sky.

His frantic movements showed even he hadn’t expected this.

‘Now—!’

Antagondals acted as promised to the Wardanaz boy.

If he could get this disciple out, he stood to gain.

A fierce flare appeared behind the silver mask as Antagondals attacked the now-cracking grand spell.

One, two, three…

‘Here it comes!’

He realized the crazy doppelgänger was now rushing to grab him before he could escape.

“This is goodbye. Young wizard, let’s meet again on the path of evil!”

Pop!

Casting several teleportation spells, Antagondals began to slip away while the doppelgänger struggled to both seal the cracks and catch him.

Lee Han tried not to get distracted by the dazzling aerial display and bolted for the exit.

‘…At last!’

If he missed this chance, he might be trapped in the workshop until the end of the semester. Lee Han ran for his life.

• * *

“This much power…?!”

“It’s the Stone of Saint Iaactus… Mmmph.”

“Student Direte, where’s Lee Han now?”

“His location is…”

“Mmmph? Mmmph mmmph?”

“Professor Bible, now’s not the time for jokes! Be quiet!”

With nerves on edge, Professor Garcia gave off a murderous vibe.

Professor Verdus wilted under the glare.

“…Sorry. What’s wrong?”

“The griffon just flying by looked like Wardanaz’s…”

“Why mention that now?!”

“Cough. Cough, cough.”

Shaking his fellow professor up and down, Professor Garcia belatedly recalled Lee Han’s griffon.

Come to think of it, even in such situations, a beast could track its master quickly.

“See?! Didn’t I say a griffon could break through?!”

Gainando shouted in triumph atop the griffon.

But their friends remained tense.

No matter how they’d tried, a griffon’s power alone couldn’t have broken this spell.

“How did the spell get broken?”

“I’m not sure… Did the principal come?”

“…Everyone quiet down. No point worrying about that now. Focus on finding and getting Wardanaz out!”

“Mo—Moradi, the sky’s melting over there…”

“It’s Einrogard. Sometimes the sky melts. Shut up and focus on looking!”

“U-um.”

The second years averted their eyes from the sky melting and spells scattering in all directions, burying their heads and scanning only the mountain peaks.