Episode 801

Episode 801

The friends shouted strictly.

“Delete!”

“Erase everything!”

This time, Lee Han couldn’t take it and protested.

“Hey. If you delete everything, how will I get investments?”

“……”

“…It’s already more than enough!!!!”

At his friend’s heartfelt outburst, Lee Han, feeling stifled, called over Senior Falkrius who was passing by.

“Senior Falkrius, is there such a thing as enough preparation when trying to get outside support or investment?”

“Puhuhu. No. The more overprepared you are, the better. Prepare excessively. Even then, it won’t be enough!”

“Thank you, Senior.”

“Don’t mention it!”

Falkrius laughed heartily while carrying a heavy iron cauldron and walked off to the other side.

Because of that, Lee Han’s friends missed their chance to argue back.

“Wait a sec—”

“Senior! Senior, you have to listen to our side too!”

“I’m sure he heard. There’s never such a thing as enough.”

At Lee Han’s triumphant words, his friends shot him looks filled with annoyance.

No matter how you thought about it, if they included everything Lee Han wanted, it would feel like, ‘Is Einrogard really okay like this?’

“Lee Han.”

Yoner cautiously raised his hand and spoke.

“What’s up, Yoner?”

“When you see the accomplishments the Principal supposedly did in his youth, what do you think?”

“…?”

Lee Han tilted his head.

What do I think when I see the accomplishments the Skeleton Principal supposedly did in his youth?

“That he was a really crazy wizard?”

“I think outsiders would probably feel the same when they see what you wrote…”

“……”

Lee Han made a deeply wounded expression.

Yoner felt a bit guilty and glanced away. The friends whispered in shock.

“Wasn’t that too cruel?”

“How could he say something like that…”

“…Everyone be quiet. I just did what needed to be done!”

• * *

In the end, Lee Han had no choice but to complete a greatly shortened self-introduction.

Courses in all schools and being top student, participation in several outside wizards’ projects, exchanges with fifth-year seniors, and completion of 5th Circle magic were the main points.

‘Hmm. But I’m uneasy. Will this be enough?’

While Lee Han was worrying, Yukveltire and several students of the bestowal magic school walked out from the Blue Dragon Tower dorm’s hallway connected to the 7th floor village.

He didn’t really want to interact, but since Yukveltire was a senior, Lee Han greeted them anyway.

“Hello, Senior.”

“What are you doing there?”

“I’m preparing a self-introduction for outside guests during Club Week…”

“I didn’t actually ask out of curiosity. That was a metaphor for asking you to help with my research instead. Was that metaphor too difficult?”

“……”

Lee Han looked back at the seniors from the bestowal magic school behind him.

It was a plea for them to stop this crazy fifth-year.

But the seniors who joined the bestowal magic school even after seeing Professor Verdus were nothing like Direte.

From the start, they had no interest in whatever Yukveltire was babbling on about.

Regardless of what Lee Han and Yukveltire said, they stared holes into the papers with their own research, lost in deep thought.

‘What a garbage school. Even if I got a mountain of gold, I won’t donate a single coin to the bestowal magic school.’

“Senior Direte told me not to go to the workshop.”

“You could sneak in.”

“…And what brings you here, Senior?”

“Same thing—because of Club Week. Oh right. You don’t have many friends, do you?”

“…???”

Lee Han realized that when you hear something too absurd, you’re left speechless.

Who was this person who’d have no friends at all without Direte at Einrogard, saying such things?

“I do, actually.”

“You hang out with Ellendil, so you’re an oddball, and you belong to the dark magic school, so your circle of friends must be narrow and difficult. Not that it matters. Having a lot of friends isn’t essential for a wizard. But sometimes you need to socialize. To prepare for those times, I’m inviting you to my club.”

“What the…”

Lee Han learned something.

When you spout bullshit, don’t say just one thing—say dozens at once.

Then the other person won’t even know where to start refuting, and they’ll always react a beat late.

“What… club? I didn’t know you were in any club, Senior.”

“Einrogard Social Club.”

“?????”

Lee Han was even more shocked by the club name, having nothing to do with the disciple of Verdus standing before him.

‘Wait. Is it not social(-社交) but social(-邪敎, cult)?’

If it was some evil religion club, Lee Han was ready to report it before anyone else.

But surprisingly, the social(-社交) meaning was correct.

-Hey. For this research presentation you need at least five bestowal magic users in a party, they say.

-What? Where am I supposed to find four more?

-…You have lots of people in your school, idiot.

-What does having many people in my school have to do with finding four?

-……

If you only looked at social wizards like Lee Han, you could easily miss that there were quite a few unsociable wizards at Einrogard.

Especially in the bestowal magic school, the rate was extremely high, causing trouble now and then.

-Pre-dance party to join this magic project… Must attend with a partner…

-Guess there’s no choice. I’ll have to give up on the application.

-The sponsor says he doesn’t want to fund a cranky wizard with no companions, since they might cause problems?

-How cranky. What does having companions have to do with magic?

Yukveltire himself had lost out a few times for that reason, so he felt the need for countermeasures.

And that countermeasure was the -Einrogard Social Club-.

-Do you participate in any clubs?

-I’m a member of the Einrogard Social Club.

-Any hobbies?

-I’m a member of the Einrogard Social Club.

-Any close wizard friends?

-I’m a member of the Einrogard Social Club.

An ironclad shield to fend off the rough and blunt questions of outside social engagements.

That was exactly what the -Einrogard Social Club- was.

‘…He’s really crazy.’

Lee Han had always thought this senior was crazy, but today he decided to rate him even higher.

About 0.85 Verdus level…

“So, what does the club do?”

“Do?”

“…Most clubs do activities, you know?”

Even the transportation club, at least, had regular and steady activities.

“We just put names down when we need to fill a headcount.”

“That’s not really an activity… Understood. Anything else?”

“Not really. Spending lots of time on club activities doesn’t help with magic at all.”

“Any rules?”

“Yes.”

“What are they?”

“No idle chitchat.”

“……”

Pretty novel rule for a social club.

Lee Han held onto his sanity and spoke.

“I’m fine, Senior. I already belong to a lot of clubs.”

“Really? Surprising.”

‘Don’t argue about what’s surprising. Don’t ask what’s surprising…’

Lee Han tried not to get mad at a crazy person.

Otherwise, he’d just be getting stuck even deeper.

“As I think I mentioned last time…”

Yukveltire tilted his head.

Whatever Lee Han had said, if it wasn’t something Yukveltire needed, he just didn’t remember.

“…Never mind. Anyway, so you’re out here for club matters too, Senior? Wait. You said there were no activities besides headcount?”

“Sponsorship money is an exception.”

“!”

A surprise twist: this -Einrogard Social Club- was a club that steadily received sponsorship money from outside.

The members had flashy magical records (most were bestowal magic students), periodic social activities (heavily embellished), etc.

On paper, there were plenty of investors or sponsors to be impressed by.

“People actually sponsor this club?!”

“Outstanding members. Flawless motto. Perfect achievements. It would be weird to not get sponsorships.”

“Do you split the sponsorship funds?”

Yukveltire nodded.

At that, Lee Han immediately responded.

“Actually, I don’t have any friends, Senior. Please help me.”

“I thought so. I’ll put your name down in the club.”

• * *

Saturday.

With the weekend began, outsiders started to appear one by one in the 7th floor village.

Seeing that, Einrogard students from second to fourth year started murmuring.

“That person is…! It’s really a master from the Capital’s Bakery Guild!”

“I can’t even imagine how much gold they must’ve earned developing that magic leavening dough!”

“Get lost, all of you! This guest is for the kitchen club. Anyone who comes close will be put in my cauldron!”

Club members showed ferocious vigilance, afraid their visitors might get snatched away by outsiders.

But students who didn’t belong to clubs weren’t to be underestimated either.

If a wizard would just give up because they were stopped, they wouldn’t have gotten into Einrogard in the first place.

Bang! Pop pop pop!

“Oh, what’s going on here?!”

“Fusion spirit! The fusion spirit’s been summoned! That only happens once in a hundred years, friend!”

“Oh. I have to see this!”

Seniors desperately tried to catch their attention.

If the outside guests were curious and wanted to have a look, even club members couldn’t stop them.

“Interesting. May I watch?”

“Kgh. Those punks…!”

“Go ahead and try! You’re not getting a single coin with cheap tricks.”

“Be careful! You could get kidnapped!”

“Haha. Are you joking?”

“Is it your first time at Einrogard? You really could be kidnapped!”

‘It’s a festival, but… what a fierce festival.’

Lee Han, who was waiting together with other students in the 7th floor village, thought to himself as he watched the fierce battle between seniors.

With a few guests drawn away by curiosity, the seniors were using every trick in the book to entice them.

-Do you see this pitifully dying seedling? With just a bit of not-so-special liquid, you could make it lush and green again!

-What kind of liquid do you need?

-Dra… dragon’s blood, just a little…

-……

“Shouldn’t we move too?”

“No, let’s wait a bit. If we rush now, we’ll just get overwhelmed by the seniors.”

“Wardanaz, aren’t you thinking of kidnapping someone?”

As the second-year friends chatted, more outsiders gathered, attracting even more seniors hoping to target them.

Thus, introductions began on the spot.

“Honored guests. Thank you sincerely for visiting this prestigious magic school today. I’m from the Summoning Magic School…”

“Boo! Fifth place!”

“Summoning magic, fifth place! Failed one course last year!”

“You’re a disgrace to Einrogard!”

“……”

“……”

Lee Han and his friends shut their eyes tight at the seniors’ dirty sabotages.

They never thought they’d be this underhanded!

‘I really don’t want to end up like that.’

Still, despite those tactics, the introductions from the seniors ended up going fairly well.

Some of the seniors’ appeals were quite persuasive, and a few outside guests seemed to genuinely pay attention.

“Excuse me.”

“?”

When a guest Lee Han had never seen before spoke to him, he turned his head.

It was a guest dressed in a very unfamiliar style.

‘Which region is that outfit from?’

“I’m looking for someone.”

“Oh, yes. Who would that be?”

“Lee Han of the Wardanaz family. Do you know him?”

“…Sounds familiar…”

Lee Han responded out of habit.

His experiences at Einrogard had changed him.

“May I ask who you are?”

“I am Intarendals. I have come at the command of Gonadaltes.”

“…Ah, you’re an underling of the Principal?”

“The Principal?”

“……”

Seeing that the other person seemed to hear that for the first time, Lee Han’s face briefly turned pale.