Episode 861

“A servant, you say!”

At Gainando’s outburst, Joulin was startled.

D-Did you just get angry at Joulin?

“Of course I’m angry! Who are you calling a servant! I’m royalty…”

“GRRR!”

Eandurde, faithfully following Lee Han’s order to “be friendly with Joulin,” promptly tackled Gainando and pinned him.

Gainando, not expecting an attack from a junior he (in his mind) was pretty friendly with, toppled over.

“Y-you!? Don’t you know who I am!? I’m your senior! Hey! Ow! I said I’m your senior! Lee Han! Lee Han!”

Lee Han! Did you see?! Eandurde stood up for Joulin! Joulin’s friend!

“Truly moving.”

“Lee Han?!”

Gainando screamed, his arm twisted behind his back.

How could his only reliable friend betray him in this chaos?!

“Eandurde, let him go. And Gainando, how can you lose to a first-year?”

“H-he jumped me from the blindside! And I was holding back because he’s a junior!”

“Grrr.”

Eandurde glared threateningly, and Gainando quickly hid behind Lee Han.

Blocking his junior, Lee Han hurried to explain the situation.

“…So as I was saying, Prince Joulin, a member of the royal family, has come to visit for the midterms. Gainando, can you keep it a secret?”

“Of course!”

“Thanks. Since he’s a royal, we have to give him the best treatment we can, but this is Einrogard, so we have to be careful. There are too many crazy upperclassmen.”

“That’s true. You can count on me, Lee Han. …Huh?”

Gainando nodded proudly at his friend’s trust, but then paused.

You have to treat royalty with the best hospitality?

“…Uh, Lee Han. I’m royalty too—?”

“Wardanaz. Are you here?”

Adenart, who had come to find Lee Han, entered after seeing the open door.

She widened her eyes at the scene inside.

“W-what is all this…?!”

Oh? Are you Joulin’s younger sibling?

Joulin looked up and down at Adenart and asked curiously.

Lee Han was surprised.

“How did you know?”

I sensed a subtle feeling! I wasn’t sure for a moment, but now I am!

“Amazing, Your Highness.”

At Lee Han’s flattery, Joulin puffed up his wings in shy pride.

‘Wait. Didn’t Gainando just ask if he was a servant…?’

A sudden doubt came to Lee Han, but he decided to let it slide. There were more pressing issues now.

“Princess, let me explain. So right now…”

Lee Han recounted what he’d just explained.

Then spoke seriously.

“Since you’re of royal blood, of course we have to give you the best treatment.”

“I see… Wait a minute, Wardanaz. I’m also roy—”

Adenart began to feel a little wronged.

She was royalty too—why was only Joulin getting special treatment?

But Lee Han didn’t give her time to push back. He worked with Professor Voladi to tidy up the rest of the room, turning his private dorm into a temporary dragon nest.

Joulin happily wagged his tail up and down.

It’s small, but cozy!

“That’s a relief. So then…”

Lee Han, friend, servant, younger sibling! I’m so glad I came to Einrogard!

Gainando tilted his head and asked,

“Adenart is a servant?”

“No.”

“…Hey! I’m not a servant!”

Enraged, Gainando’s shout made Joulin cower. Adenart quietly advised,

“Gainando, don’t be rude to His Highness Joulin…”

“You! You’re just defending yourself because you don’t want to be called a servant!”

“I— That’s an unacceptable insult.”

“The insult is calling someone a servant! Just because you’re a dragon, you think that’s fine!?”

Joulin shrank, big golden eyes filling with tears.

Seeing that, Gainando wavered a bit.

“Ah, come on… Don’t cry.”

Gainando, you keep getting angry at Joulin…

“Because you keep calling me a servant.”

But Joulin needs a servant…

“……”

Tears shining in his eyes, Joulin stared at Gainando.

Unable to resist that gaze, Gainando finally declared,

“…Fine, fine! I’m a servant! A servant!”

Yay!

“This guy is way too much, Lee Han! If my mother had been a dragon, I’d be treated like royalty too!”

“…Gainando, could His Majesty the Emperor— Never mind.”

“??”

Apparently, Gainando didn’t realize the Emperor’s species.

Lee Han, not wanting to shatter his friend’s innocence, let it go.

Meanwhile, out in the hallway, a flash of red hair peeked inside. It was Yoner.

“What’s all the noise? Gainando, stop harassing Lee Han and come down to clean…”

Yoner, mid-sentence, closed his mouth. Professor Voladi offered his pupil strict but honest advice.

“I think you’d better tell your friends about this.”

It was clear—Lee Han’s private room had far too many visitors compared to what he’d expected.

• * *

When Joulin came down to the second-year lounge, the students there thought, ‘The Skull Headmaster has kidnapped a dragon to kill Lee Han after all.’

The next thought: ‘Professor Baegrek has finally kidnapped a dragon to…’

Once the situation was explained, this is what they thought:

‘If only Gainando were a dragon, that would have been so cool.’

Then fights with students of the other towers would have been much easier.

With everyone staring, Gainando grumbled,

“Yeah, yeah, I’m a servant. Whatever. Speak up if you have a problem.”

“N-no, Gainando. I’ve always admired your dedication.”

“Yeah. Even though you’re also royalty, you set aside your pride to serve His Highness. I really respect that.”

The friends blurted whatever came to mind to hide their true feelings. Gainando, hearing that, seemed to feel a bit better.

“Really?”

“Of course! Who else could do such a thing?”

Gainando is a fine servant!

“Hmph. Hmph.”

Feed the fireplace a bit more. Joulin likes it warm and cozy.

“Understood.”

Gainando fetched more wood.

Cutting, stacking, and drying firewood from the forest was one of the chores students had to do.

Since you had to replace whatever you used, it could be a hassle, but Gainando boldly used it.

Joulin, feeling drowsy, curled up and let out a low purr.

The second-year lounge, now resembling a dragon’s lair, struck the students once again with how surreal Einrogard life could be.

“Can’t believe Einrogard can still surprise me…”

“So, what kind of exam did His Highness come for, anyway?”

“He’s supposed to have a showdown with Wardanaz, apparently.”

“…Wait, are we supposed to assassinate him or something now?”

“Shh. Quiet. If Wardanaz is even thinking of that, we need to lull him into a false sense of security.”

While some students whispered amongst themselves, Yoner was on the other side with the alchemy school students, preparing a meal for the dragon.

“Eandurde. That must have been a tough trip. Here, take this.”

“Thank you!”

Eandurde, delighted to taste Yoner’s warm meal after a long while, accepted the bowl.

“How’s your studying going?”

“……”

Eandurde looked away, his eyes trembling. He was still haunted by memories of the strict education Yoner gave him over winter break.

“Mmmphmmphmmph.”

“Yeah, eat up. …Eandurde, you’re not forcing yourself to eat just to avoid answering, are you?”

Ahsan, working on ingredients with Lee Han, asked curiously,

“By the way, Wardanaz, how is a first-year even able to see us?”

Except for some special cases (mainly Wardanaz), first-year juniors couldn’t sense the seniors at all.

So how could that first-year junior see?

“Professor Baegrek cast a spell for them.”

“Wow. So thoughtful.”

“Because of that, you’ll all get the punishment room if you get caught, you know? Still think it’s ‘thoughtful,’ Ahsan? Think again.”

“…W-Wardanaz. Are you mad at Professor Baegrek?”

Ahsan was startled by his friend’s seriousness.

He was right, in a way, but it wasn’t really Professor Voladi’s fault.

“Mad? I don’t know what you mean. Ahsan. Thanks to that, His Highness was able to visit. And I’m definitely not angry about having to figure out what kind of exam to give him, either.”

“…Meikin, Meikin! I’ll handle the cauldron! Switch places, will you!”

Ahsan quickly fled.

He got the feeling that if he stayed next to Lee Han any longer, he’d be in trouble.

• * *

Once in the classroom, Lee Han let out a long yawn.

Lee Han wasn’t the only one—every Blue Dragon Tower student taking -One Drop of Potion Instead of Complex Magic- looked exhausted.

Taking care of a dragon in the lounge had turned out much harder than expected.

Preparing enough food for a dragon was just the beginning. There was temperature, humidity, lighting—and sometimes you had to sing for him, too.

And Joulin, while he loved Lee Han’s lullabies, would whip his tail and shake his head whenever anyone else sang. He growled menacingly if Gainando tried.

‘So, music magic works even for dragons, huh…’

Nillia, sensing something odd, kept tilting her head.

It seemed like something was going on with Lee Han’s friends, but she couldn’t figure out what.

“Hey. Wardanaz. Wardanaz.”

Nillia came up and whispered.

“Huh? Yeah, Nillia.”

“What’s going on? Did something happen at Blue Dragon Tower?”

“An incident… Kind of, I guess.”

Lee Han hesitated, looking at his dark elf friend.

Should he tell her?

Not out of secrecy, but because the moment Nillia heard, she’d be roped into taking care of the dragon, too.

If she were from the same tower, maybe—but making another tower friend go through that…

‘…Actually, that is for the best.’

At Einrogard, peer pressure trumped friendship every time. Lee Han sighed.

“Sigh. But this is a Blue Dragon Tower secret.”

“Huh?!”

Nillia perked up, restless.

A secret among friends she wasn’t part of?

“Is… is that so?”

“I can tell you, but you have to participate too. Sigh, but I’m not sure that’s a good thing. I mean, it’s rewarding but—”

“Tell me. I don’t know what it is, but I’ll do it!”

The cool and cold-blooded hunter from the Shadow Patrol answered without hesitation. Lee Han smiled.

“Actually, there’s a dragon in the lounge. We’re taking care of him.”

“…Wardanaz. Just say you don’t want to tell me. I’m leaving.”

Nillia turned away, sulking.

Even between friends, a secret ought to be handled with some dignity.

But to brush her off with such an absurd lie!

“No, Nillia. I’m serious.”

“Hmph.”

Before Lee Han could explain, Professor Thunderstep entered and started class.

The professor briefly explained the next week’s exam, then carefully explained how to brew the week’s potion, -Dragon Scale Potion-.

“I repeat, when making this potion, be extra careful! The potion’s name comes not from its toughness, but from the tragic state you’ll be left in if you fail. Never forget to sense the ingredients and process conversions, and pay extra attention to the timing of adding Risus potion! If you fail, you’ll become like a dragon’s—”

“IT’S A DRAGON!!!”

“Don’t start a commotion already, bronze-head.”

The dwarf professor looked pityingly at the student.

When he said you’d become like dragon scales if you failed, he didn’t mean there was an actual dragon—

“THAT’S A REAL DRAGON!?!?!”

Turning his head, Professor Thunderstep nearly fainted when he saw the giant young dragon blinking at them from outside the window.

‘What in the world… Is it finally time for Einrogard to fall?’

Thinking the same thing that both the Skull Headmaster and Lee Han had, Professor Thunderstep struggled to make sense of the situation.

“If anyone can explain what’s going on, speak up now.”

“No idea, Professor.”

Lee Han answered immediately.

‘If Wardanaz doesn’t know, nobody does. Maybe it’s Bendozol’s doing…?’

Where’s Lee Han?

“……”

Hit by the dragon’s psychic voice, Professor Thunderstep glared menacingly at his student.