Episode 930
by Cristae‘Damn. I should’ve stopped them.’
In a way, it was self-inflicted. Lee Han regretted encouraging his friends to break the rules and go rogue.
“Hmm. Accepting another request on top of the professors’ errands… is that really the right thing?”
“Junior, you little…!”
At Lee Han’s words, the assembled Teleportation Club members (all already masked) burst out in commotion.
With that reaction, Lee Han thought for a second they’d seen through his real feelings.
“You already know to restrain your greed as a second-year?”
“You’re definitely going places. As expected of the guy who looted the Headmaster’s villa.”
“…Haha. I’m not really a greedy sort.”
Lee Han lied smoothly with a sly smile.
But the seniors only admired him—they didn’t cancel the job.
“Still, this is one we have to take.”
“Why?”
“A club like ours can’t be picky about jobs.”
The Teleportation Club wasn’t on great terms with professors or with students.
Club members, when relocating items within Einrogard, made no effort to confirm who the rightful owner was.
That’s why the Teleportation Club strove to cement its reputation based on pure skill alone.
No matter how grudges ran, if you needed something moved, you called them.
That was the club reputation they wanted.
“If we turn jobs down, our info flow dries up too. For us, that’d be fatal.”
“That’s right.”
“And the biggest reason: they paid us a lot of gold.”
‘Should’ve seen that coming.’
Lee Han grumbled inwardly; the last reason was surely the real reason.
“Here, junior, your cut.”
“Some of my friends are theater club members. I must help them.”
Declaring seriously, Lee Han tossed his hefty gold pouch into his backpack.
The seniors offered a bit of worried advice.
“Don’t get too sentimental.”
“Friendship is nice, but don’t let it get in the way of work. Understood?”
Clearly, being only a second-year yet, Lee Han still had a bit of naivete. The seniors were a little worried by it.
Work must be done coldly!
The students drove carriages through Einrogard’s main gate. At sunrise, they’d reach the White Oak Gate of Granden City.
Professor Garcia advised the students:
“Time to set your spells.”
“Yes.”
The Teleportation Club members waved their staffs. Their masks turned into faces, settling on the students as new guises.
Lee Han likewise altered his mask. Changing his clothes, he transformed from a ragged beggar to a regular traveler in appearance.
“But Professor.”
“Yes, Lee Han?”
“Well… why did you come with us this time?”
“What are you talking about, junior? With an outside operation, we wouldn’t just go ourselves, would we?”
The seniors laughed as though it was obvious. Professor Garcia joined in.
“Lee Han, you just finished your first year. Of course you might not know.”
“Haha, true enough. Sometimes I forget he’s only a second-year.”
‘Am I the only one who thinks it strange a professor tags along for a job like this??’
Lee Han felt his sense of reason unraveling in the carriage.
Apparently, he was the only one who found this odd.
But Professor Garcia spoke as if it were common sense.
“Once you get to Granden, stay at the -All Kinds of Schemes- inn. Let people know before you teleport. Buying things for club errands is fine, just don’t overdo it.”
“We’ll remember.”
“I’ll be staying nearby, so contact me if anything happens.”
Whenever students went out, Einrogard professors naturally followed as chaperones.
And Professor Garcia was considered a kind and lenient chaperone. The very way he worded things implied he’d look the other way as long as it wasn’t blatant.
So long as you didn’t overdo it, buying needed items and bringing them back was tacitly allowed.
‘Isn’t this favoritism for the Teleportation Club, compared to the Theater Club?’
Lee Han was dumbfounded by the way the skeletal headmaster surveilled the Theater Club to death, but openly favored the Teleportation Club.
As the junior was gaping, Sevius handed him a memo.
“Here, these are the items you need to get. If it’s too hard, or you run into trouble, just quietly let me know.”
Normally, everyone in the Teleportation Club did their part.
No-thumbs, or rather, no-skilled thieves bogged down the rest.
But Sevius told him to speak up privately if it couldn’t be done.
“Senior…”
Lee Han looked at Sevius with grateful eyes. The hamster beastfolk senior grimaced.
“What?”
“Nothing. Don’t worry, I’ll do my very best to bring it back.”
“Do that. Oh, about the Theater Club job—this one’s for the whole team. Everyone gets a role. We need someone to sneak in and support from inside.”
“Yes.”
After all, even a jailbreak needed an inside man to guide and give directions.
“That’s you.”
“Me?”
Lee Han was caught off guard.
“Why me? Isn’t this important?”
“Simple. You’re the only one cultured enough to blend into the Theater Club.”
“……”
Thoroughly breaking through the cordon and connecting with a Theater Club member meant blending in as a cultured Granden son or daughter.
A refined theater-goer.
And none of the other Teleportation Club members cared about theater.
“I don’t actually know much about imperial theater, though??”
“Don’t be silly. You’re from the Blue Dragon Tower.”
“That’s just Blue Dragon Tower humility. Even if they know, they say they don’t.”
“Ah, how could I forget.”
“……”
Lee Han cursed his seniors in his heart.
Is it really OK to bully other towers this much?
“…Understood. I’ll infiltrate.”
“Good. Please do. Now, everyone: good luck. We’ll share info on the inn’s ground floor each evening and wrap this up within the week. If it drags into next week we’ll overlap with other clubs…”
“What’s so bad about overlapping with other clubs?”
Lee Han was puzzled.
Einrogard’s clubs all had their own schedules, so some overlap was natural. Why would that be a problem?
“Because if things go missing and there are tons of Einrogard students outside, people get suspicious. Better to finish before that.”
“……”
“All right. Good luck, everybody!”
‘I’m out this easily? Feels weird.’
Lee Han leisurely strolled down the main street of Granden, relishing newfound freedom.
Of course, upon returning to Einrogard, there would be a strict inspection, so no massive stockpiling like early in the semester. But small purchases were possible.
‘Hmm. Supplies are stocked. Magic items? Nothing urgent. I’ll buy the requested goods and look for useful artifacts.’
If it were first year, he’d have been scrambling nonstop, but as a second-year, experience granted him composure and judgment.
Like an ant living in luxury after working all summer, Lee Han enjoyed the fruits of all his preparations.
With a relaxed heart, he looked out over the street.
Carriages and horses of all kinds were passing down Granden’s main boulevard, and all sorts of races bustling by—some so rare he’d never seen them even at Einrogard.
-You maniac! You let a boar pull your carriage and this is what happens!
-My boar was trained by the magical expert of Ileinas! The problem’s your mangy horse!
-Herbs guaranteed by Einrogard and Baldrogard mages! Herbs guaranteed by the empire’s two-horse wagons!
-The southern oxen rebellion is over! Special deals in honor of the end, come buy, come buy!
As Lee Han looked around, he spotted the Meikin family’s villa.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea to ask a reliable friend’s family to obtain some needed things.
‘I wonder if Lord Yoanen is around.’
-I leave it in your hands.
“Yes. I’ll notify you immediately if the students arrive.”
-Heh heh… The students will receive another lesson…
“……”
Lee Han was appalled as he watched Death Knights lying in ambush at the Meikin family’s estate.
They were preparing traps for upcoming club activities!
If a student used club activities as an excuse to slip out and visit, they’d fall into ambush immediately.
‘Why go this far?’
Once again, Lee Han asked himself the same question he’d repeated so many times.
Why go THIS far??
‘If the Meikin villa’s trapped, other places are probably the same. Any place a student might visit needs to be considered a danger zone.’
Seeing how thorough the traps were, Lee Han decided to delay errands and artifact shopping and finish the job first.
He didn’t want to be the first to land in detention from overreaching.
‘Just how far does “buying things for errands” go? Will the Death Knights check with Professor Garcia? He’d probably cover for us, but…’
“!”
As he mused, Lee Han was startled to recognize a couple of faces in the crowd.
It was Amur, who ran the Amur stables near Einrogard, and Arian, the KAAKO Company branch manager, walking along the street.
“Mr. Amur!”
“…Who are you?”
Amur scratched his cheek with thick fingers, puzzled.
This was clearly the first time a stranger had called out his name.
“I’m the magic school student you helped escape before. I’m in disguise.”
“Oh!”
At that, Amur instantly understood.
If this was an Einrogard student, it was natural to be disguised.
But Arian didn’t get it.
“Who are you?”
“I’m the student you loaned money to last year. Thank you again.”
“I lent you money last year? Me? Who… Oh—wait. Young master of the Wardanaz family???”
Arian was thunderstruck.
It was a memory that was hard to forget.
A boy from one of the empire’s greatest noble families had come in person to borrow silver and, on top of that, left after buying supplies with the eye of a veteran merchant!
It was so unbelievable that she’d even discussed with her staff, “Is he an impersonator pretending to be Wardanaz nobility?”
Had he not repaid that silver by mail over break, they really might have believed it.
“How did you escape this time?”
“This time, I’m out officially, thanks to club activities.”
“Ah, right…”
Answering, Arian sensed something was off.
Why would someone out officially need a disguise?
“…This way, please! Allow me to treat you to a drink!”
Casting aside her suspicions, Arian led Lee Han to -Hot Stones-, a popular cafe in Granden.
To an entrepreneur, what mattered was their counterpart’s value—not unnecessary truth.
Honestly, a student out for club activities might as well use the opportunity to escape…
“May I sit at the second-floor window facing the street?”
“Of course.”
Arian found the request odd, but agreed.
Mages are always mysterious, after all!