Episode 1024
Episode 1024
'Was He Perhaps a Great Mage?'
To be honest, even after hearing Alsicle's explanation, Lee Han hadn't thought particularly highly of this mage.
The fact that he'd been instantly blown away by the Water Prison Bomb, and by Lee Han's standards, truly outstanding mages either became liches or postponed death through the secrets of dimensional travel.
But upon reflection, there was no rule saying an outstanding mage had to become a lich.
Especially now that he'd heard the magical content explained by this mage ghost...
'Absolutely not at my level.'
He'd known it was a space-time series spell, but beyond that, he couldn't even begin to comprehend it.
A door that creates a space determined by the mage's will? He couldn't even fathom whether it'd be possible with a Small World...
"Eh? Wardanaz?"
Nilia and Yoner, who were organizing the remaining reagents after cleaning the potion preparation room, looked up in surprise at Lee Han's arrival.
They'd thought he'd still be solving the problem left by the mage ghost.
"What's wrong? Did you solve it already?"
"No. It's too difficult. It doesn't seem like something I can handle."
"What?!?!"
They were so shocked they nearly dropped empty glass bottles. Nilia, showing reflexes worthy of her Shadow Patrol background, swiftly caught the falling bottle.
"G-gosh... More importantly, Wardanaz. Are you sure you're not mistaken? You're saying it's beyond your level?"
"......"
Lee Han stared at Nilia with an unreadable expression. But Yoner also took Nilia's side.
"She's right. Lee Han. Don't just say you can't do it without trying. You might surprise yourself."
Resolving to have a serious talk with his friends someday, Lee Han explained the conundrum the mage ghost had asked him to solve.
"That ghost tried to create an infinite possibility space determined by will, but it got tangled and turned into an infinite spatial labyrinth. At this level, it's beyond my capabilities."
"......"
"...Wait. But if it's Wardanaz, he might still be able to do it."
Nilia caught herself almost being convinced and whispered to Yoner.
How many times had they thought, 'Ah, even Wardanaz can't solve this,' only to be proven wrong?
Yoner also seemed swayed by the words, her expression faltering slightly.
"Hey. I can hear you."
Lee Han glared at his friends.
'Is this all our friendship amounts to?'
Grumbling at his two friends who wouldn't even believe him when he said he couldn't do something and kept spouting nonsense, Lee Han moved his steps.
Looking through the first-floor window, he saw Giselle, Durgyu, and Lafadell diligently cutting and burning vines.
"Does this seem enough?"
"No. If we're using it as a training ground, it needs to be wider. We have to clear all the way over there."
"But Moradi... Isn't this Wardanaz's villa? Why would he need a training ground?"
Lafadell asked why a mage family's mansion garden would need a training ground.
Giselle's face stiffened. She'd instinctively started by making a training ground out of habit and had touched a sore spot.
"......Wardanaz practices swordsmanship too."
"Enough to need a training ground?"
"......He will. And having a training ground in a mansion is cool."
Giselle made eye contact with Durgyu, signaling for help.
"L-Lee Han would like it too. Training grounds are cool, right?"
"Is that so? Last time I talked to another guy from the Blue Dragon Tower, he said something about how putting a training ground in a mansion was uncultured and tacky."
"......"
"......"
Though Lafadell was just recounting his experience, Giselle and Durgyu's expressions changed drastically.
Was...was that so?
Durgyu, who'd trusted his friend only to face this predicament, whispered urgently.
"Moradi! You said Lee Han would like it!"
"Q-quiet. It's not confirmed yet."
"Now that I think about it, it was weird! Lee Han's from a great noble family too, why would he want some uncultured training ground in front of his mansion..."
As Durgyu anxiously shuffled his feet, worried he'd ruined his friend's villa, Lee Han called out to the three as he approached.
"Need some help?"
"?!"
The three of them turned their heads in surprise.
Giselle quickly gestured for Durgyu and Lafadell to move, trying to block the view of the temporary training ground.
"Wh-what? Wardanaz. You're done already?"
"No. It was too difficult—seemed beyond what I could handle."
At those words, the three exchanged glances.
Then they chuckled.
"Lee Han. Don't say that and go try again. You can definitely do it."
"Yeah. Wardanaz. Stop whining so much."
Encouraged by Durgyu and Lafadell's words, Lee Han laughed and replied.
"Lafadell. Let's have a sparring match at the training ground. Black magic allowed too. Get up here, you bastard."
"Wh-what?! Why?! Why just me?!"
"What? What's wrong with sparring?"
Though Lee Han was smiling, Lafadell could clearly sense killing intent. Giselle inwardly sighed in relief.
She had been about to say something herself but was beaten to it by Lafadell.
"I was trying to create a spell to form the space I wanted, but it got tangled up and created an infinite labyrinth. How the hell am I supposed to fix that, huh?"
"...Uh, you can't?"
At Lafadell's innocent question, Lee Han nodded.
"You come up here. Should we each summon a golem?"
Knowing his friend possessed a rare Dragon Tooth Golem—something seldom seen even at Einrogard—Lafadell panicked.
Durgyu fidgeted nervously, trying to intervene.
"Lee Han. Calm down. The training ground isn't even finished yet."
"True. It still needs some refining. Need help?"
Lee Han waved his staff.
Though not particularly confident in his magical abilities overall, Lee Han had unwavering confidence in certain areas.
And one of them was precisely this kind of menial work.
No matter which mage he faced, he wouldn't lose easily!
"...Uh, but is the training ground really okay?"
At Lafadell's question, Lee Han gave him a look as if to say, "What are you talking about?"
"Of course it is. Why?"
"It's a great noble family's estate?"
"Durgyu, you've been to our family's territory, right?"
"Yeah..."
Durgyu recalled his past memories.
The territory was filled with demons, golems, and all sorts of...
Wait, why was I even worried about a training ground? Now that he thought about it, the Wardanaz family's territory had far more bizarre and grotesque things than a mere training ground.
Remembering that, a single training ground in the villa's estate seemed utterly insignificant.
"Having a training ground is good. It's great for sword practice and looks cool."
"R-really? Last time, someone said they hated training grounds..."
"Who?"
"The crown prince..."
"......"
"......"
"...Gainando hates every facility except the Wizard Card storage room. How can you just take his words at face value?"
Under Lee Han's scolding, Lafadell honestly felt wronged.
How was he supposed to know the difference!
"We'll finish the rest, Lee Han. You go deal with that mage ghost first."
"Thanks, Durgyu."
Grateful for his friend's kindness, Lee Han nodded in appreciation.
Watching this, Lafadell muttered under his breath.
"Anyone want to bet whether Wardanaz can solve it alone after saying that? I'm betting 'yes.'"
"I'd bet 'yes' too."
"Hey. We can hear you."
Lee Han moved around, grumbling even more than before.
Hearing a clattering sound, he peeked out and saw Gainando, Adenart, and Ashan talking in the kitchen he had just cleaned.
"Got it."
Without needing to ask, Lee Han called out to his friends with an expression that said he already knew. They turned to him in surprise.
"You were looking for snacks because you're hungry, right?"
"...Uh, no?"
Ashan answered, looking baffled.
He had no idea what basis Lee Han had for saying that.
Adenart thought to herself.
It must be because of Gainando that he said that!
"What? You weren't looking for snacks?"
"There's an artifact storage room on the upper floor that seems to be running low on connected mana. We were discussing whether we could redirect some surplus mana from the kitchen."
In noble households above a certain size, magic was essential for maintenance and operations.
Storage rooms in particular required considerable amounts of mana due to the multiple isolation and amplification spells needed.
"Ah, so that's what it was."
"But Wardanaz, shouldn't you be solving the ghost problem right now?"
"I came out because it's difficult and I need help."
"I see."
"Understood."
"...????"
Adenart was flustered by Ashan and Gainando's indifferent reactions.
"W-wait! How can you all act like this when even Wardanaz couldn't solve it?!"
"No... well... Wardanaz will probably solve it soon even while saying that, right?"
"Exactly. Lee Han always says things like that but solves everything immediately."
Lee Han felt deeply betrayed.
He could understand Ashan, but Gainando hadn't even digested the sandwich he'd just eaten yet!
Suppressing his anger, Lee Han explained the problem left by the mage ghost. Ashan and Adenart's expressions immediately turned serious.
"So... Wardanaz genuinely couldn't solve it. This wasn't a joke."
"......"
"It's certainly difficult...But you're saying your mother gave this to you intentionally?"
Adenart sensed something odd and tilted her head.
If the mansion was gifted specifically because of this riddle, wasn't that ultimately a mistake?
"Then it seems she might have chosen wrong—"
"The process of solving it with help also has meaning. Haha. Don't jump to conclusions."
Lee Han quickly diverted the princess's attention and changed the subject.
"Anyway, I'm going to get help. You guys can handle things here, right? Oh, and prepare dinner too when you're done. Gainando."
"...D-did I do something wrong?!"
"Do we really need to help with temple work after coming all this way? Honestly. We could be having some fun instead."
Alsicle looked troubled by the requests from the Phoenix Tower students.
The Empire was vast, and with that size came all sorts of incidents. Whenever they occurred, priests from various temples took the lead in providing charity.
It was good for students to help with temple work in their spare time while in the capital, but the temples had been doing this for ages—they'd manage fine without assistance.
Wouldn't it be better for the students to do something for themselves?
"A fair point. Priests, don't you have anything else you'd rather do?"
Salko seemed to agree, chiming in after Alsicle. Siana stared pointedly at him and asked,
"Last time, when I asked for just half a cup of honey, you refused so harshly—"
"T-that was because we needed it too! I'm sorry."
Though the Black Turtle Tower got along well with the Phoenix Tower, they didn't have an endlessly replenishing warehouse like Wardanaz.
They couldn't just hand things over so easily.
"Salko, Ratford, how about you two go explore the capital's market with the priests?"
"That's a good idea— Oh, Wardanaz. Did you already solve it?"
At Salko's question, Lee Han flared up in anger.
"I might not have solved it! Why do you assume I did?!"
"N-no... but you probably did, right?"
"I didn't. I need help. Master Alsicle."
When Lee Han explained the situation and asked for help, Alsicle smirked.
"Wardanaz."
"If you just tell me to go back and try again, I'll kick you out of the mansion even if you are Master Alsicle."
Alsicle looked shocked when Lee Han glared and said that.
"Huh?! How did you—?!"
To read someone's thoughts—especially a mage's—so precisely, one would need to observe their soul deeply and accurately, even when using illusion magic.
No matter how much of a genius Wardanaz was compared to Alsicle himself, how could he already—?!
"Soul magic?!"
"Just a prediction."
"What?! Divination magic?!"
"...Master Alsicle. Just listen for a moment."
"Mm."
When Lee Han turned serious, Alsicle pouted slightly.
'No need to get so angry...'