Episode 96

Episode 096

When the professor forgot his existence, it was best to stay quiet and hold his breath.

The forgotten beast’s statue was a being who had mastered that wisdom.

But boredom was unavoidable. Thank you for coming to visit like this.

“The great statue… I heard you know the wisdom needed, not, uh, to escape from this school.”

Ihan almost talked about escaping, then changed his words.

It was because he could not know when the forgotten beast’s statue would betray him.

Wisdom… Calling it that is embarrassing. Maybe not wisdom, but I can tell you what I know. I can also help with things I can help.

“Really!”

Ihan was thankful that the forgotten beast’s statue was bored.

If it hadn’t been like that, it wouldn’t have given such help.

Of course, I can’t help with things outside my ability. So don’t ask me to save a dragon or something like that.

“Could you possibly make the principal a bit kinder?”

…What color dragon do you want? A dragon would be easier.

“I’m sorry. It was a joke.”

Of course, Ihan never intended to ask for something so absurd.

What Ihan wanted was just one thing.

The way to the spire stables, located in the main building’s upper floors.

“Do you know where the stables in the main building spire are?”

I know about three places.

Ihan’s eyes trembled slightly. He had finally found what he was looking for.

“Of those… I’d like to know the path to the easiest place to reach.”

That’s not hard.

“!”

But first, you must beat me!

“?!?”

Ihan was startled when the atmosphere suddenly changed.

He gripped his staff and watched the statue warily. But instead of attacking, the statue laid out a bronze chessboard in front of him.

Let’s play a game!

“……”

The opponent really was simply bored.

• * *

Boredom was the deadliest of poisons. Even the statue, which had loyally endured under the professor for a long time, could not endure boredom.

The forgotten beast’s statue liked chess.

The nice thing about chess is you can play alone.

Along with the words, the statue’s tail and other head waggled.

Ihan asked to judge his opponent’s strength.

“Have you played chess with any other freshmen who came before me?”

Yes, I did.

“How many times did that student win?”

Not even once.

Ihan’s expression grew grave.

‘Tutanta didn’t win even once?’

He didn’t know just how strong Tutanta was, but the fact that he kept challenging and never won meant a lot.

That this forgotten statue was very skilled at chess…

‘And that it was cunning enough to hide that.’

If the difference was overwhelming, the opponent wouldn’t keep coming back; you had to win just barely, so the challenger would have hope and try again.

To control things like that, a huge skill difference was needed.

‘Can I win?’

Ihan didn’t regard himself as particularly good at chess.

Of course, it wasn’t like he’d never played.

As is common among students confined in labs, Ihan enjoyed pointless gambling activities.

And chess was the most popular.

Ihan had never lost among the other students…

…but that was just being a big fish in a small pond. He had never once beaten the foreign professor from the next lab.

That foreign professor seemed to greatly enjoy beating the weaker, so he’d call Ihan over when bored and thrash him.

The statue in front of him would at least be as good as, if not better than, that professor.

‘But I just need to win once, just once.’

However he shook or unsettled the opponent, just one win was enough.

Ihan planned on winning by sheer number.

Chess, unexpectedly, had many variables, so maybe if he played a hundred games, he’d win once.

Oh. Let me tell you in advance. There’s a penalty if you lose.

“…What is it?”

Ihan flinched.

The statue, cast in shadow, suddenly seemed to exude pressure.

If you lose, you have to play one more game without any reward.

“…That’s it?”

The penalty was weaker than expected. The statue nodded.

And if you lose again when you try again, then you have to play two games. If you lose on the next challenge, then three games…

‘If it’s that boring, he may as well get work from the professor.’

Thinking so, Ihan picked up the white pawn.

• * *

The king lay sideways, and the game ended. Ihan was appalled.

‘Tutanta…!’

You play really well.

The statue praised him, but Ihan was slightly dumbfounded.

Amazingly, Ihan had won.

On the very first game, at that!

At this point, he had to start doubting the skills of the statue and Tutanta. How could Tutanta never win a single game against this statue?

‘All that tension for nothing.’

Here. This is a map I made myself.

“Thank you.”

Ihan put the offered map into his chest pocket. Then he asked,

“Would you like to play one more game?”

Now that he realized the opponent was easier than expected, there was no need to hesitate. Ihan tried to push for a bit more.

But the statue didn’t fall for it.

No. I was really satisfied today. It was such a fun game.

“……”

Thanks to you, I think I’ll sleep really well. Thank you.

Ihan couldn’t tell which part of this game satisfied the statue so much.

Could it be that he’s acting like this because he thinks he can’t win next time?

“Yes… I’m glad to hear that.”

With a rather awkward feeling, Ihan congratulated him and left.

Salko was waiting in the hallway, carving a small statue with a chisel and mallet.

“You’re back.”

Salko brushed off the crumbs and spoke without looking at Ihan.

He didn’t like nobles, but he intended to respect Ihan’s pride.

It must be quite humiliating to come out without winning even once.

“I’ll guide you until you win. You can’t get in alone. Tell me when you want to go next.”

“I won.”

“…??!?!!”

Salko couldn’t believe his ears.

He couldn’t believe what he just heard.

That beast statue’s chess skill was truly formidable.

Even Salko, who had no rival within the Tutanta family, had never won even once.

He had planned to prepare together with Wordanaz and challenge it next time…

But just, won?

“Re…really?”

“Yes. He said he’ll sleep well, thanks to me.”

Salko didn’t doubt the words of someone he had decided to respect without reason.

But Ihan’s words were hard to believe until he saw for himself.

“Wordanaz. If you don’t mind, can I check for myself?”

“Sure. Go ahead.”

With Ihan’s permission, Salko repaired the statue in the hallway, opened the door, and went inside.

Then he walked out looking as if he’d seen a ghost.

The statue really was sleeping.

Ihan said to Salko.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I got the information I needed.”

“I’m glad to hear that…”

For a moment, Salko looked at Ihan with deep respect, then collected himself and fixed his face.

Never did he imagine he’d feel this kind of respect toward someone from a noble family!

Salko cleared his throat and turned away.

“Let’s go back. I’ll show you the way.”

With his back turned, Salko didn’t notice that Ihan’s gaze had changed slightly.

The way Ihan was looking at Salko now resembled the look he gave Nilia at first.

• * *

Ihan opened the break room door with a very tired expression.

Salko, who looked like he was chiseled from rock, was more talkative than expected.

-If you play the pawn to e4, and if your opponent responds with e5, you push to f4. I want to tell you about this ‘Dwarf Gambit’ that’s the Tutanta family specialty.

-If the opponent takes the pawn, my specialty is sending out the knight to f3, and about this…

• There was this thing in the game last time…

-Do you know? Those elf guys push the pawn to d4 instead of e4, and hit c4 in response to d5! Crazy bastards!

On the way back, he endlessly talked about chess.

Ihan was not someone who staked his life and passion on chess, like Salko.

He tried to respond sincerely so Salko wouldn’t sulk, but he couldn’t help feeling mentally weary.

“Wordanaz! You’re back!”

The friends who were working on their assignments in the lounge greeted Ihan with joy.

Yoner was checking potions with other students, heads together.

They were the potions from the box he and Ratford had stolen from the carriage before.

Thanks to the reagents they’d gotten from Professor Stormstep’s lab, they could do all sorts of experiments.

“Did you find anything?”

“Wordanaz. We did it.”

“??”

A student sitting next to Yoner spoke excitedly.

“We found the miracle potion!”

“You mean a teleportation potion?”

Ihan asked in puzzlement.

The students replied sheepishly.

“No… not teleportation.”

“But it’s still an amazing potion! Let me show you! Gainando!”

They brought Gainando over. Ihan realized Gainando looked a bit different than usual.

Somehow…

He seemed intellectual.

‘What? Is this a fake Gainando?’

Gainando nodded to Ihan with a very calm and composed expression. Somehow, he looked like he kind of wanted to punch him.

“Gainando. Who teaches ?”

“Professor Garcia Kim.”

“How do you make a low-grade mana recovery potion?”

“You cut off the base of the galamardo, then cut the remaining part to the length of two pinky joints. At the same time, you have to shred seolhyang grass thinly by hand, but you have to do it quickly before the galamardo dries.”

As Gainando answered fluently, the Blue Dragon Tower students cheered.

“See?? It’s the potion of wisdom! The potion of wisdom!”

Among alchemy potions, there was one that temporarily increased the drinker’s intelligence.

From the look of Gainando now, it was clear.

This reddish liquid was surely the potion of wisdom!

‘Wait. Did these guys test it on Gainando?’

Ihan wondered, but decided to let it go. There were more important things for now.

“Do you really think this is the potion of wisdom?”

Ihan asked Yoner in a low voice. Yoner answered cautiously.

“I can’t be certain yet. But judging from Gainando’s reaction, it’s possible.”

“You didn’t check everything first?”

“No, he just came while we were testing and drank it…”

“……”

Ihan started to say something, then stopped.

‘If it’s the potion of wisdom, it’d be nice.’

Just like the cheering students, Ihan could think of a lot of uses for the wisdom potion.

Drink a little during Professor Garcia’s class, a little during Professor Voladi’s class, a little during Professor Stormstep’s class, a little when meeting Professor Mortum, a little with Professor Millei…

Counting on his fingers, Ihan reflected.

Potions aren’t harmless. There’s always a price. If he drank that much, he’d destroy his body.

But there was so much at this school that called for wisdom.

‘Let’s check a bit more.’

Ihan looked at Gainando and asked,

“What’s 14 times 19?”

“417.”

As the answer came immediately, the Blue Dragon Tower students cheered again.

But Ihan, Yoner, Asan, and the princess all had odd looks on their faces.

…Huh?