Episode 1010
Episode 1010
After finishing their conversation and exiting the magic tower (the Skeleton Principal had to set fire to the main gate to distract the mages' attention), the Skeleton Principal asked.
"What did you mean by handling the Nago Family's reagents?"
"During Club Week when I went outside, I took on some commission work to earn pocket money. That's when it happened."
'You seem like such an earnest kid. Sometimes I wonder if you really belong in the Blue Dragon Tower.'
"To take on and complete commissions in that short period of time..."
Not to mention there was even a battle with Evil God Worshippers in between.
In his admiration, the Skeleton Principal overlooked his questions about the Nago Family.
With countless noble families in the Empire, it wasn't easy for the Skeleton Principal to keep track of each one.
Some of the knights listening to the conversation broke out in cold sweat internally.
It was fortunate they didn't have flesh-and-blood bodies. Otherwise, they would have been exposed long ago.
"Let's depart."
"Will it be alright? What if the next magic tower is like this one..."
"No need to worry about that."
The Skeleton Principal said with confidence.
"Though I may have slightly underestimated how your achievements would appear to outside mages."
-'Slightly...?'
"Slightly?"
Ignoring the noise, the Skeleton Principal continued.
"But now I've figured it out. I'll selectively share just enough to make the mages agree to extend the debt repayment period."
What happened at the Daylily Magic Tower had been outside even the Skeleton Principal's plans.
He had wanted to deceive the mages moderately, not drive them insane.
After deep reflection, the Skeleton Principal decided to properly control information to achieve the intended effect going forward.
-'But Principal. With such a commotion here, wouldn't word have spread to other towers?'
"Impossible."
The Skeleton Principal declared firmly.
"Mages only care about themselves, so they would never spread rumors about such matters."
-'How insightful!'
"......"
Lee Han was dumbfounded but couldn't deny it.
Frankly, even Lee Han thought the Daylily Tower mages seemed like they'd keep secrets.
Even if a knife was at their throats...
'Wait a minute. But how did Maykin know I learned Small World?' Thinking about it, it was strange.
The contract with the Spirit King was one thing, but learning Small World was relatively recent.
'Did Yoner write about it in a letter? But I don't think there's been any recent opportunity to send letters outside.'
-'Which tower is next?'
"The Green Jade Magic Tower."
-'Ah, those friends who specialize in telekinesis.'
"Yes. The staff we commissioned from Professor Verdus has finally been completed after so long."
Occasionally, requests commissioned to Professor Verdus would actually be completed successfully.
This time's lucky clients happened to be the mages of the Green Jade Magic Tower.
"We might not even need to bring out Wardanaz to persuade them."
-'That won't be the case.'
The knights bluntly stated their opinion.
The mages weren't so naive as to happily overlook an artifact completed far later than the promised deadline.
"'To request delaying payment...'"
"Please do so."
-!
When the Green Jade Magic Tower mages readily agreed, the knights were startled.
Lee Han was equally surprised. 'No way. Even so, this easily?'
'Just how much has Professor Verdus delayed his commissions that they'd show such favor just for completing one?'
Lee Han felt something akin to awe at the professor's notorious reputation.
Truly, it was perception management skills of the highest caliber.
"So we're just moving on like this?"
-'It seems we can.' The knights answered Lee Han's question gladly.
Neither did the knights want a repeat of the <Daylily Tower Frenzy> incident.
As the group whispered among themselves, one of the mages from the Green Jade Magic Tower pointed at Lee Han and asked,
"Is this gentleman Professor Bagrak's disciple?"
"......"
"...Oh no."
At the Skeleton Principal's words, Lee Han instinctively sensed that something had gone terribly wrong.
"Principal?"
"I forgot these bastards are close with Professor Voladi."
"......"
You should've forgotten it and kept it forgotten!
Lee Han was dumbfounded, but what was done was done. The only option now was to grasp the situation as quickly as possible.
So right now...
He couldn't even begin to guess how much Professor Bagrak had revealed.
He probably mentioned the Water Prison Bomb, and likely Wardanaz's Telekinesis as well...
"At our Green Jade Magic Tower, we naturally have a considerable number of combat mages. A young and talented mage like Lee Han of the Wardanaz Family would be especially welcome."
"...May I ask how much you've heard?"
"What do you mean?"
The tower mage answered with a beaming smile that seemed suspiciously mask-like.
The Skeleton Principal gave a meaningful glance to a knight standing nearby. The knight cleared his throat and moved toward the reception room door.
Click!—......
The Death Knight, who had opened the door to check outside, was overwhelmed by the sight.
The tower mages had somehow already gathered in front of the reception room like a pack of starved rats.
—We're screwed.
"Right. Understood."
The Skeleton Principal replied curtly. The grinning mage continued speaking.
"Since the door's open anyway, about the gifts we prepared—"
"Gifts aren't necessary! We'll just accept the sentiment!"
"Your Excellency! You've never refused donations before! Why reject them now when we've already prepared—"
"Take a good look in the mirror before spouting such nonsense! Have you lost your minds even more than when slaughtering magic criminals?!"
Having achieved his goal, the Skeleton Principal prepared to retreat once more.
This tower had far too many combat mages, making escape several times more troublesome.
"Your Excellency! Your Excellency!"
"Young master, didn't Professor Bagrak tell you about us?"
"Actually, I'm quite close with Professor Bagrak! There's much to share about him—why don't you sit down for a quick chat before leaving?!"
"Oh, really?"
"Like hell it's true!"
The Skeleton Principal grabbed his disciple by the ear and flung open the reception room window. The alerted knights had already prepared a carriage.
"Bagrak, you useless bastard!"
—But Professor's connection with the Green Jade Magic Tower was always...
The Death Knights tried to defend Professor Voladi.
It was common knowledge among the knights that Voladi had ties with the Green Jade Magic Tower. Since combat mages were mobilized whenever the Empire needed military force, it was only natural they'd have connections.
Hadn't the Skeleton Principal himself laughed uproariously when he heard Voladi had sent letters to the tower mages to intensify his successor's magical training?
"Shut it."
—Yes.
The master always particularly despised irrefutable logic. The knights fell silent.
Even as the carriage attempted to flee through the air, the mages refused to give up, creating psychokinetic staircases to chase after them, making the Skeleton Principal sigh in exasperation.
"You too, hel— No. You stay put."
Dispelling the various psychokinetic barriers hindering the carriage and safely subduing the pursuing mages to send them back was an incredibly tedious task.
The Skeleton Principal, who had initially planned to make his disciple help, changed his mind.
The more his disciple stood out, the more these tower mages seemed to lose their sanity.
"Who'd have thought these bastards would've heard about the Small World too..."
The Skeleton Principal, who had been muttering to himself, suddenly paused.
Come to think of it, even if Professor Voladi had inquired about psychokinesis magic through lectures or correspondence, he probably wouldn't have mentioned anything about Small World magic.
"You there."
"Yes!"
The magic tower mages who were floating in midair using psychokinesis (having been shoved aside by the Skeleton Principal) responded.
"By any chance, do you know about Small Worlds?"
"Eh? Small Worlds? Of course we know what they are, but why the sudden—"
"...Never mind! Let's go!"
The Skeleton Principal felt chills run down his spine for the first time in a while.
Even though they hadn't known he'd mastered Small World magic, they were already this troublesome...!
"My lord, perhaps we should stop visiting magic towers from now on?"
"Indeed. Regardless of achievements, I'm somewhat concerned about how the disciple will fare later..."
"......"
Lee Han wore an extremely conflicted expression at the knights' words.
"...Specifically, what kind of dangers might there be?"
"The magic towers we visited today... it would be best to avoid visiting them in the future if possible."
"Even if you do visit, never consume any food or drink offered there."
Lee Han engraved the Death Knights' warnings deep in his heart.
It didn't seem particularly helpful, but still...
"No! The remaining towers will be perfectly fine."
"......"
"......"
Lee Han and the knights exchanged looks brimming with distrust. The Skeleton Principal placated them with an understanding tone.
"I understand your concerns! Admittedly, there have been more unexpected incidents than usual."
"Frankly, you should've warned us about the Green Jade Magic Tower at least..."
"How am I supposed to remember every single connection like Professor Voladi's acquaintances? The Green Jade Tower incident is entirely Professor Voladi's fault for bragging about his disciple in excruciating detail like some doting parent."
'Wow. The audacity is almost on par with Professor Verdus now.'
"The remaining towers have perfectly controlled information to achieve their intended effects."
"Though it seems whenever the Headmaster deals with mages, there's always some strange backlash..."
'As expected, he's brilliant.' The knights inwardly marveled.
To have already discerned such a secret... Truly worthy as a successor.
"My lord, a letter."
A knight seated in the driver's seat pointed at a paper bird flying from afar. The Skeleton Principal asked languidly:
"From the Green Jade Magic Tower?"
"No."
"The Daylily Magic Tower?"
"No."
"No? Then don't burn it—bring it here."
He'd planned to immediately burn any letter from a magic tower, but this was different. The Skeleton Principal received the paper bird and checked its contents.
"It's from Erindarbel."
"!"
She was a renowned archmage whose name even Lee Han had heard before.
"What's the occasion for sending this?"
"Hmm. Last time she sent an apology letter... Did Yukveltire cause trouble again?"
"Eh? Why is my senior involved—"
"What? Aren't you two close? Erindarbel is Yukveltire's mother."
Lee Han was greatly shocked.
And even in his shock, he made sure to accurately deny the false claim.
"We're not close."
"...I-I see. Understood."
If memory served, the last letter's contents were clearly an apology for an incident during vacation where Yukveltire had dragged in several mages, including a friend from the Black Magic faction.
Back then, the Skeleton Principal had magnanimously replied—what's life as a mage without causing some spatial distortions and overlaps? That's how you grow, isn't it?
Of course, the affected mages had slightly different opinions, but that wasn't the Skeleton Principal's concern.
Letter Contents:
To the Honorable Gonadaltes,
I have received word from Yukveltire that your disciple grasped Small World magic during their second year.
If you permit, I would like to personally observe the capabilities of the Empire's future pillar during your upcoming magic tower visit.
With gratitude,
Erindarbel
P.S.
- Yukveltire is attempting to sue you in Imperial Court for allegedly commandeering her research advance payment. I await your explanation.
"......"
The Skeleton Principal froze while pondering the letter's contents.
If Yukveltire told Erindarbel, and Erindarbel knows the disciple mastered Small World magic...?!
"Turn the carriage around!"
"My lord, the mages have already come out front to greet us..."