Episode 944
by Cristae‘Maybe this is my fault.’
Looking at the ruined palace, Sevius deeply reflected on himself.
Letting the one Junior with the power to half-destroy a palace go in alone…
He should have disguised at least one or two Seniors as servants and sent them along.
They could have stopped things before they went wrong…!
“Sevius! Get a grip!”
“I’m listening.”
“There’s only one thing we can do now!”
“Right. We find our Junior fast…”
“Then clean up any evidence linking us and run for it!”
“……”
Even in this situation, the Teleportation Club students hadn’t lost their Einrogard spirit.
If there’s no evidence, you’re innocent.
If they just erased any traces related to the Drama Club and fled…!
Sevius sighed deeply and said,
“That’s pointless. Think about it. How many Einrogard students are even in Granden City right now.”
“W-we could say it was the Drama Club guys.”
“The Drama Club would never keep that secret. It’s too late now. Let’s just find our Junior.”
“Grr…! I can’t go to the punishment room this month! I have to graduate!”
Sevius’s friends complained as they followed him.
Unlike them, Sevius, who always prepared in advance for graduation, calmly checked his surroundings.
‘Who are those? Magicians from somewhere else?’
He spotted a band of magicians near the bridge. Judging by their artifacts and staves, they seemed to be of the Illusion School.
‘Then they might be the magicians who joined the play.’
Thinking so, Sevius carefully approached.
It looked like the devastation at the palace had shocked these magicians as well—they were murmuring gravely.
-So those illusions were prepared by Stedal of the Nago family and Alsicle of the Pengerine family?
-That seems to be the case.
-Wow. Both have vanished… The playgoers and critics really wanted to meet the magicians responsible for this illusion magic…
“Excuse me, could I ask a question?”
Sevius politely addressed a magician whose robe hood was pressed down.
“Y-y-yes?”
Startled by the unexpected question, Baldororn lifted his head.
His hands still trembled after the clash of Transcendents.
“What happened here?”
“Did… did you not hear? Evil god worshippers summoned a monster here.”
“!?!”
The students were horrified.
One of them muttered softly to himself.
“N-no way… There’s no way our Junior would ever … d-d…”
Sevius calmly asked,
“Were the evil god worshippers’ identities confirmed?”
“Oh. Yes. I heard they all died.”
There was an audible sigh of relief from behind.
So it hadn’t been their Junior after all!!
Baldororn misinterpreted the sigh and nodded.
“Yes, I also think it’s fortunate those fiends couldn’t escape.”
“That’s not… Never mind. Did the Death Knights defeat the monster?”
“The Death Knights, Sir Alsicle of Pengerine, and Sir Stedal of Nago handled it.”
“…Uh, Stedal of Nago?”
When the students paused, Baldororn kindly explained.
He’s an extremely powerful combat magician; he probably came to the palace along with Alsicle in preparation for just such an event.
Along with a summoned spirit king, he brought down the blasphemer—it was truly a mythic sight…
“Wow. There was a magician like that?”
“There really are a lot of weirdos in the Empire.”
The students were intrigued by Baldororn’s account.
The Empire was vast, and it wasn’t unheard of for magicians who’d trained over centuries in unknown lands to suddenly pop up.
“Right? And apparently, the bandit hero of Granden City—it was also said to be this Stedal.”
“……”
“……”
All the students’ faces went white at once.
“Grr! We just did something heroic—so why are we running away?”
“Are you really asking?”
Lee Han looked at Alsicle, incredulous.
After casting difficult spells and sprinting away, Alsicle was drenched and panting.
“Hold on. Just let me catch my breath!”
Like a floundering penguin, Alsicle flapped and refused to move. Lee Han had no choice but to yield.
“Huff, huff… I think we could’ve stayed a bit longer.”
“Would you take responsibility if the knights changed their minds and arrested me?”
“…Okay, that’s a fair point.”
The reason Lee Han hurried out of the palace was simple.
He worried the Death Knights might change their minds and send him to the punishment room.
Though they’d pretended not to know on the spot, he’d even summoned Perkuntra—there’s no way they hadn’t recognized him.
“…Still, they let it slide, right? Like I said before, the Death Knights actually respect you.”
“Hah. Sir Alsicle, that’s the trap.”
Lee Han shot Alsicle the classic “this is why non-Einrogard folks…” look. Alsicle bristled a bit.
‘Wait. Actually, I could have just stayed out of it, couldn’t I?’
Even if Death Knights changed their minds and dragged Lee Han to the punishment room, Alsicle wouldn’t have had to care.
“No matter how kind the Headmaster’s underlings act, you must never trust them. The moment you relax completely—that’s when the enemy will strike.”
“…You do have a point.”
Knowing Skull Headmaster’s temperament, Alsicle couldn’t wholly disagree.
From his perspective, the Death Knights did seem to see Lee Han almost as a successor and treat him with respect—but that too could be a trap.
“Young master, over here!”
Beyond the open carriage door, Arian and Amur waved.
They had agreed to help them escape after the fight. Lee Han and Alsicle hurried inside.
“What on earth did you do?! From the eastern city gate to the western canal, rumors are everywhere!”
Arian called out in utter exasperation. Lee Han looked at Alsicle. Alsicle looked back at Lee Han.
“…Ah. You meant me.”
‘Who else, if not you?’
Alsicle was baffled. Lee Han, a bit embarrassed, explained.
“Something happened that was totally unexpected.”
“Of course it was unexpected…”
If Arian found out he’d planned all that, she would have fainted on the spot.
Beside her, Amur spoke up.
“Still, at least the students escaped safely.”
“Well, that’s good, but…”
After battling evil god worshippers, Arian found it hard to simply laugh it off just because the students had escaped.
“If I’d known how dangerous this would get, I never would have helped! What would the Wardanaz family have thought of me if something had gone wrong?”
“They’d think of you as a friend who kindly helped me out…”
“No more jokes!”
‘But I’m not joking.’
Lee Han then had to endure half an hour of Arian’s scolding.
A student should retreat if things turn dangerous; call other magicians; and so on…
Listening, Lee Han thought to himself,
‘Hmm. If this is how Arian is, I’d better avoid Professor Garcia for a while.’
If Arian was this upset, Professor Garcia would be even more fearsome.
He resolved to avoid -The Inn of a Thousand Schemes- for the time being. Thankfully, the Teleportation Club’s commission was pretty much wrapped up.
“Sigh… I shouldn’t lecture survivors of such a battle for so long. Sorry. What will you two do now?”
“My first thought is to gather my scattered friends, then try to find Sir Alsicle’s patron.”
“You…!”
Alsicle was moved.
Even after all that chaos, Lee Han hadn’t forgotten his promise.
“…Sir Alsicle, you’re not crying, are you?”
“Penguin beastkin just have bright, sparkling eyes!”
Alsicle snapped. Lee Han refrained from asking so he wouldn’t get pecked.
“Do you have enough time left?”
“Yes. I joined so many clubs, my outing days are quite plentiful.”
His friends would have to find their own way back, but Lee Han had plenty of time left to help others and handle Alsicle’s affairs.
“First, we’ll need somewhere to stay.”
“Then I’ll find you a place.”
“N-no, that’s a bit…”
Lee Han balked at Arian’s offer.
She’d already helped enough, providing lodging for him and his friends as well would be pushing it.
“No, you should accept.”
But Alsicle urged him seriously.
“Why?”
“The Death Knights might check all the inns in the city.”
“…!”
Thinking it over, Lee Han realized the authorities might well search inns to track down the Drama Club escapees.
After a moment’s thought, he counter-proposed.
“Would there be any warehouses left by your company?”
“We have lots of warehouses, but you needn’t settle for that…”
“We’d prefer a warehouse. For tracking reasons, it might actually be safer.”
Arian thought to herself,
Einrogard students really are weirdos!
“Alright, then. Let’s do that.”
Lee Han took out the -Whispers of Einrogard- to contact his classmates.
There were contact networks not just for the -Watchman Club-, but also others like Adenart and Angrago’s groups.
-Guys, gather at the Kaako Company warehouse beside the dwarf bridge at the North Gate. We have permission to use it.
-What’s with the sudden message?
Giselle, who wasn’t in the Drama Club and was still confused, replied.
Angrago hurriedly reassured her.
-Got it! We’ll head that way!
-What’s going on, exactly?
-Let me explain… Wait, what if you turn us in?
-…Alpha, are you nuts?
-I’m not Alpha??
‘Your handwriting is identical…’
Watching Angrago’s feeble denial, Lee Han explained directly.
-The Drama Club used the chaos to escape. We’ll wander until the time limit and then regroup.
-What? Should’ve joined Drama Club. How’d you escape that cordon? Set a fire or something?
-Uhh…
-Um…
-So…?
-It’s a long story—I’ll explain later.
-Liar. You just don’t feel like discussing it now.
-No, it really is long.
-Hah!
Giselle smiled coldly.
If she found the explanation wasn’t really long, she’d take revenge on these liars.
-Wardanaz. There are several warehouses by the dwarf bridge—how do I know which one? Is there any way to tell?
-…I’ll come meet you. Please wait a minute.
Having written that, Lee Han asked Arian for help. Friends without the papers would have to be fetched in person.
“Could we make a few stops before getting to the warehouse?”
“Of course. Where will you go?”
“First, to the alchemy shop run by Lord Yoanen of the Meikin family, then the administrative office where Lord Daihal of the Dalkard family is. I expect my friends will be waiting at each.”
Alsicle, overhearing, was amazed at Lee Han’s thoroughness.
“Wow. You even arranged rendezvous points in all that chaos?”
“Huh? No, not at all.”
“Then?”
“I just made a guess.”
When the carriage stopped at each spot, the friends hiding there emerged right on cue. Opening the door with a smile, Lee Han greeted them as if nothing was amiss.
Alsicle shuddered at the sight.
‘If this kid becomes a professor, the students won’t even be able to run away…!’