Episode 881

Though he was puzzled, Lee Han nodded in agreement for now.

After all, the Mad Clone surely knew more about giants.

All Lee Han knew about giants was what he’d seen after coming to Einrogard, but the Mad Clone would have met countless giants in her lifetime…

“Let’s be off, Lord Lee Han of House Dalkard.”

Intarendals, ancestor of the Dalkard family and noble from the time of the Three Kingdoms, emerged from the workshop, ready to leave.

Behind her, several self-moving carts waited, likely containing the tribute for the giants.

Joulin wants to go too!

“Noble descendant, giants are fierce and wild beings.”

Then why is Lee Han going?

“…A disciple must be able to handle this much, after all.”

It was rare to see the Mad Clone so flustered—she who could keep her composure even in front of the skeleton headmaster.

Lee Han started to follow Intarendals, then paused to watch the scene—he might never get to see something like this again.

“What are you doing?”

“I was just checking the goods on the carts.”

Lee Han quickly made an excuse. Intarendals looked at him approvingly.

As expected of a mage chosen as a disciple by Gonadaltes, he was exceptionally meticulous.

Joulin wants to go too! Joulin wants to go too! Joulin wants to go too!!

“Depart.”

When Joulin began to roll left and right, the Mad Clone hurriedly ordered her disciple to set off.

Amid the confusion, Eandurde cautiously asked,

“Can I come along too…?”

“What are you talking about? No. It’s dangerous.”

“……”

Eandurde was dumbfounded.

Then why was he just going so willingly himself?

• * *

“Are giants really that dangerous?”

“Ah. Giants… Well, you could say so, Lord Lee Han of House Wardanaz.”

Intarendals heaved a sigh, as if recalling memories from long ago.

During the Three Kingdoms era, giants were mercenaries who appeared wherever there was need for destruction and pillage.

Yesterday, the giants smashed walls on the offensive side, but today, they were hired for siege defense and broke war machines.

As long as they got gold, giants fulfilled any request—sometimes it seemed they even wanted the war to last forever.

“…The giants in these mountains don’t seem like that, though…?”

Lee Han was surprised at how brutal the giants’ history was.

True, those giants would have been the ancestors of the ancestors of today’s mountain giants, but it was still jarring.

“Of course. With time, kingdoms decline and heroes grow old—everything changes. Perhaps giants’ fury has mellowed as well. But Lord Lee Han, don’t forget: inside every giant’s chest, embers sleep. When those embers blaze, giants…”

-Did you find us?

“!”

From behind a peak, a huge head suddenly appeared—it was the giants.

Intarendals coughed, then signaled. At once, the tarps covering the carts fell away, revealing dazzling gold meant as tribute for the giants.

Lee Han stared, entranced by the gold’s shine.

‘Just how much of the Dalkard family fortune has been lost?’

Surely, the Mad Clone hadn’t recovered any new fortune in the meantime—this had to be gold Intarendals brought.

It would feel unfair from the Dalkard family’s perspective.

Their ancestor was investing their inheritance for some strange ancient archmage instead of passing it down…

-What’s this?

“?!”

But the giants seemed indifferent. Biting into cheese made from mountain-destroying sheep’s milk, they said,

-Mages all love shiny gold. We’re not that dumb.

“What…!”

Intarendals was flustered by how unenthusiastic the giants had become.

Giants indifferent to gold?

It was as surreal and unbelievable as demons being tricked by humans and ended up as their servants.

-Wardanaz!

The giants, about to brusquely shoo off the outsiders, saw Lee Han and their eyes went wide.

-It’s been so long since you visited!

-We missed you! We thought the mages locked you up!

All the giants grinned widely at Lee Han.

-Heard you were kidnapped. Mages are pathetic.

-We’re strong. We never let our sheep get kidnapped.

“Have you ever been kidnapped yourselves?”

Intarendals asked Lee Han in disbelief. Lee Han looked at her incredulously.

If it wasn’t her master, who else could possibly kidnap Lee Han!

“…Anyway, I came with a request.”

-Follow us! We’ll show you the way.

-It’s just in time for a meal.

“I’ve eaten, thank you.”

Knowing giant food, Lee Han replied at once, making the giants very happy.

-As expected, Wardanaz, you have manners!

-Worst is mages who show up asking for food! Come on, follow us!

The giants stomped ahead. Once Intarendals snapped out of her shock, she spoke again.

“Giants really have changed… I expected time to change all things, but not this much.”

“Hm. Is that so?”

Lee Han, listening, asked, suddenly curious.

“By the way, were demons even more wicked in the old days?”

“More wicked?”

“I mean… most of the demons I know now are tricked into contracts and work as slaves for the demesne. But historical records make them sound way scarier…”

“Ah. I see your point. I was also quite surprised, visiting Einrogard again.”

Intarendals nodded, understanding what Lee Han meant.

Not just kingdoms and giants had changed over time; so had demons.

During the Three Kingdoms era, demons were truly symbols of terror and calamity.

When a demon appeared, eliminating it wasn’t the end—those seduced by demons, and the minions of those cultists, too.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the whole region became corrupted.

But now, even in Einrogard, mages reverse-trick demons and use them with surprising ease.

Those who suffered under demons in the Three Kingdoms would probably be moved to tears to see it now.

“Time makes kingdoms decline, heroes grow old, but it seems wisdom is accumulated all the while—seeing how demons are handled now.”

“Did the Headmaster perhaps spread the secret methods?”

Lee Han posed the question carefully.

It was just a theory, but a convincing one. There weren’t many alive from ancient times like the skeleton headmaster, and fewer still who were so proactive.

‘And he’s the one who profits most from enslaving demons, too.’

In the past, it wasn’t like that, but now—seeing how he has dozens, hundreds of demon slaves—the skeleton headmaster did seem suspicious.

Of course, Intarendals, as a loyal servant of the Mad Clone and an opponent of the Headmaster, was cautious; the question sounded almost like flattery.

“Hmm… I cannot entirely deny it. Of course, the current Lord of Einrogard pretends to be my master, which is impudent, but still, he is the clone of my master. That would be a truly great achievement…”

“Excuse me? You mean managing hundreds of demons?”

“No, Lord Lee Han. I mean spreading the secrets for dealing with demons throughout the continent.”

“Ah.”

Lee Han felt a bit embarrassed.

‘True, that is…quite a feat…’

Just as inventing the cure for an incurable disease is praiseworthy, so too is compiling and distributing secrets for subduing demons.

Even if he kept hundreds of demons for himself in the process!

‘So much has changed with both giants and demons. Of course, that makes sense.’

Lee Han keenly felt the difference between the past and the present, just as ancient figures like the skeleton headmaster described.

And to think, even after all those years, the skeleton headmaster continued his mischief with such persistence…

“By the way, Lord Intarendals, may I ask one more thing?”

“Go ahead, ask anything.”

“Is Arna really such a dangerous star?”

Magicians’ contracts usually start with accessible spirits, and end with demons or cosmic beings—stars are rarely involved.

Even among the divination mages, the difficulty and danger mean it’s only taught in limited cases; there’s no real reason to force a star contract.

As a result, there are few books on astral magic, and Lee Han hadn’t had much opportunity to study in advance. He had no idea why people reacted just to hearing Arna’s name.

“Arna! I haven’t heard that name in a long time. And why do you ask?”

Intarendals hadn’t heard the prior conversation, so she asked the reason.

“…I just happened to hear it.”

Lee Han hedged, not wanting a repeat of earlier reactions if he admitted he’d actually contracted.

“Hm. It’s not a name one hears by chance… But anyway, Guest Star Arna is not a dangerous star. Rather, it’s a star of glory.”

“Oh, really?”

For the first time, Lee Han brightened.

Since the contract, he’d only heard negative things (even though the Mad Clone had responded positively, that hadn’t helped much), so it was good to hear something nice at last.

“Yes. It’s the star of reform, the one that destroys kingdoms and melts crowns.”

“……”

Lee Han’s face stiffened.

For a brief moment, he pictured headlines splashed across imperial newspapers.

…Wardanaz Heir, Shocking Treason—Charged with Imperial Insurrection… Revealed to Have Dreamed of a New Dynasty…

…Ambitious Manipulator Who Fooled Royalty Reveals True Colors!…

“How is that not a dangerous star???”

“Excuse me? My master also contracted that star. It’s not dangerous, but glorious.”

Intarendals was honestly surprised.

In ancient astrology and astral magic, Guest Star Arna would appear for heroes when the continent was in chaos and grief.

It was the star that blazed brightest to guide a hero’s path!

The chosen hero would also blaze just as brightly and devote himself to the continent, never betraying the star’s choice.

“……”

Lee Han’s face froze as hard as it ever had. Not even a petrification spell could have stiffened it more.

“…If the continent is stable and peaceful, but someone contracts with that star, what does that make them?”

“Hm. That’s a tough hypothetical. But…”

Intarendals racked her brain to come up with an answer.

Because the meaning of a star contract could be interpreted in so many ways, and only the aftermath revealed the truth, it was difficult even for an expert like her.

But as the disciple of her master was asking, she did her best.

“Two possibilities come to mind.”

“I’d love to hear your wisdom.”

“The first is—some great crisis will soon fall upon the continent, and that person will heroically sacrifice themselves to stop it.”

“…And the other?”

“The continent may look peaceful and stable, but is in fact rotting away inside, so perhaps the person is an usurper intent on becoming emperor themselves.”

“……”

Lee Han suddenly ran off to the roadside and started shouting down into a deep valley.

Startled, the giants who’d been waiting for Lee Han ran out and, waving their arms at Intarendals, demanded an explanation.

-What did you say to Wardanaz! That kind Wardanaz is yelling like that!

-By the way, who is this Yaksha King?