Episode 1036
Episode 1036
"There was such a prince?"
While Lee Han was shocked, Professor Garcia beside him looked puzzled.
The outstanding enchanters of Petrogard knew how to temporarily breathe life into their works using primitive magic. This was something even Professor Garcia was aware of.
However, if it had been in the Senior Artist's residence, the story would have been different.
If it was a painting that Senior had deemed worthy of hanging there...?
"Prince Amritvirma?"
"Who is that?"
Lee Han tilted his head at Professor Garcia's muttering.
The Red Knight answered in her stead.
"A prince from the era of the Seven Kingdoms. He left behind many outstanding works."
"Ah, I see."
"...You said you're from the Wardanaz family, didn't you? A scion of a great noble house, yet you don't know this?"
Knight Ram's genuine question stung Lee Han slightly.
While he knew every detail of the fake gold speculation incident from the Seven Kingdoms era, he had never paid attention to famous artist princes.
"I know about the fake gold speculation incident."
"There was such an incident? No, why would someone who knows that not know about Amritvirma..."
"Lee Han is just very smart. Anyway, Lee Han. So it's not Prince Amritvirma?"
Unable to watch her student struggle, Professor Garcia intervened.
But the answer she received was beyond imagination.
"No. It's the Headmaster."
"......!"
Professor Garcia was so shocked that she froze momentarily.
Her reaction was as if she had been hit by time magic itself.
"Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-who?!"
"The Headmaster..."
"Don't lie! Why would there be a painting of the Headmaster in Senior's residence?!"
"Well, it's a long story..."
Lee Han gave a brief summary.
The plan was so characteristic of what Senior would do that Professor Garcia found herself nodding along unconsciously. 'Of course he would!' Given his personality, it was exactly the kind of thing he would do...
Though that didn't make it any less bizarre.
"So, was the painting originally animated?"
Breathing life into a work had its stages.
Starting from simple movement all the way to speaking.
From what the knight said, it had been friendly, which meant it could likely speak. 'Even for Senior, that's really impressive.' For it to speak without the artist present implied a certain degree of permanence.
Even considering the Great Artist's magic, it was a truly astonishing result.
"No. It wasn't."
"Huh?"
"At least among the paintings I saw, I don't remember any being animated... Senior's goal was to create a perfect work, not some half-baked painting."
What the Great Artist wanted was a fully living, benevolent archmage—not a kind archmage who just spoke from a painting.
Naturally, there was no reason to waste effort on achieving something like that.
"I see. Then there's only one possibility left."
Professor Garcia spoke with a stiff expression.
"Which is?"
"The knight must have been mistaken."
"......"
"......"
Lee Han stared at Professor Garcia in disbelief as she tried to escape reality. Even Professor Voladi seemed slightly exasperated.
Knight Ram muttered under his breath.
"Even so, how could I mistake that for...?"
* * *
"Disciple! It's been a while."
"AAAAAAAH!"
As soon as she entered the residence, Professor Garcia let out a shrill scream.
Ram asked in confusion.
"Why—why are you screaming?"
For such a powerful combat mage to scream like that—what could it be?
Was it a cursed painting?
"No. All Einrogard mages scream when they see that prince's painting."
"'These mages!' The knight clicked his tongue inwardly. The mages of the Empire's Magic Academy were each famous for their eccentricities, but the most peculiar by far were those from Einrogard."
"Hurry and close the door, Lee Han."
"Ah. Shouldn't the knight hear this?"
"Are you trying to embarrass the academy... Just get inside quickly!"
Ram kindly stepped outside for them.
Though inwardly, thoughts like 'Could that be the prince those despicable Einrogard mages ambushed in the past?' crossed his mind, but ultimately mages' business should be left to mages to handle.
Once only three remained (or four if you counted the painting), Professor Garcia finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Are you alright, disciple? You don't look well—I'm quite worried."
"I'm fine."
"Not you, disciple—the other disciple next to you."
The young prince in the painting pointed at Professor Garcia.
"Ah. Professor Garcia will be fine soon too. She just received too much information at once... More importantly, Master."
"......"
The prince pretended not to hear. Puzzled, Lee Han called out again.
"Master?"
"......"
"Ah. My apologies. It's just such pleasant words to hear... No matter how many times I hear that such outstanding disciples belong to a mediocre mage like myself, it never gets old."
"Uwaaaaah! Uwaaaaaaah!"
"Calm down, Professor."
Lee Han struggled to soothe Professor Garcia.
Even though she'd experienced this once before, seeing her react like this suggested that encountering it in reality was far more shocking than expected. 'It is surprising.' And this was equally astonishing for Lee Han too.
While Professor Garcia beside him had grown oddly calm from sheer shock, the more he thought about it, the more astounding it became.
First, that a painting could maintain enough sentience to converse despite the Great Artist's absence was shocking enough—but the fact that this entity happened to be the skeletal headmaster Lee Han had met in the past dimension made it doubly so.
How was this even possible? 'Senior Artist definitely never visited that past dimension, though...'
"Master. May I ask you a few things?"
"Ask me anything, disciple. Assisting you brings me nothing but joy."
The young prince replied bashfully. Lee Han had to bite his tongue to keep from losing his composure.
"Ahem... Right. By any chance, have you ever met Senior Artist?"
"No. That mage and I have no connection whatsoever."
"Huh? But technically speaking, that senior is also your disciple—"
"No."
As Lee Han tried to explain the school's lineage and structure, the prince cut him off firmly.
"That person is not my disciple. He denied it himself."
"......"
"......"
Lee Han and Professor Garcia exchanged glances.
So does that mean right now...
"You're... upset???"
"Shh, Lee Han. Anyone would feel hurt in this situation."
"I... I see."
Lee Han decided not to provoke him further.
True, this was the benevolent prince-era version of the skeletal headmaster, but he was still just a manifestation sustained by the painting's magic.
There was no telling how unstable he might be—no point in needlessly agitating him.
"Wait, Master. Then how did Senior Artist summon you here?"
"He didn't summon me, disciple."
The prince in the painting readily explained.
Until just yesterday, the prince hadn't existed in this dimension at all—he'd been nothing more than an ordinary painting.
But while Lee Han was practicing Music Magic under the Artist's guidance, the prince gradually became aware of his own awakening.
"...What?!"
Lee Han was startled to realize he himself was the culprit.
Professors Garcia and Voladi silently stared at their student.
Though their gazes might have been blank, Lee Han could've sworn he heard phantom voices saying, 'You did it again without even realizing, didn't you?' 'But... it makes sense.' There was no way the Artist—who'd never met the living skeletal headmaster in the past dimension—could've summoned him like this directly.
There were only two mages present, so if the other wasn't responsible, then Lee Han must have been the culprit.
"I was just practicing without any particular intention."
"Hmm. Disciple. That's something even I find difficult to comprehend. But magic inherently holds mysteries we can never fully understand. Perhaps the bond between us filled in the gaps of an incomplete magic."
"Lee Han. You're bleeding from your mouth. Bite gently."
"My apologies."
Professor Garcia cast Healing Magic. It seemed the disciple had bitten his tongue too hard to regain his composure. Having done the same herself, she could understand.
"So did Senior Artist leave you behind to tell us about this?"
"No. I was simply hiding."
The prince was kind and virtuous, but not naive enough to explain his awakening and circumstances to mages who weren't his disciples. He had hidden immediately upon awakening, only revealing himself after the artist gathered his works and fled.
"......"
"It's fading."
"I'm fine, Professor. I'm perfectly alright."
When Professor Voladi suddenly voiced his concern, Lee Han waved his hand dismissively. But the professor stared at his disciple with a look reserved for strange individuals.
"The painting is fading."
"Ah!"
Embarrassed, Lee Han quickly averted his gaze. Professor Voladi was right.
Too shocked to notice, Lee Han and Professor Garcia hadn't seen that the painting's colors were gradually lightening.
"Perhaps it's consuming mana to maintain its form. Disciples. No need to be alarmed."
The prince remained unperturbed. Merely being able to meet and converse with his disciples again was already marvelous and something to be grateful for.
This mage's residence had abundant residual mana, which the painting absorbed to maintain its form somehow. But once the mana was exhausted, the time for farewell would surely come.
"I'll lend you my mana!"
Lee Han stepped forward urgently. With the painting fading, there was no telling how much time remained.
Approaching the painting and releasing his mana forcefully, Lee Han asked, "How is it?"
"It's becoming vivid again. Lee Han. But..."
"?"
"...Wouldn't it be exhausting for you to keep replenishing the mana periodically?"
Professor Garcia asked cautiously. Storing that large painting and periodically replenishing its mana might have been manageable somehow. Of course, for any other mage, even this would be impossible—but this disciple had an unusual habit of generously sharing his mana with others. Even now, wasn't the line of recipients, from monsters to ores, quite long?
But a living painting of the young prince was a different matter altogether. Starting with Senior Artist, then the Skeleton Principal, and even the Empire's mages—who knew how they would react if they found out?
This was an object destined to drag them into endless trouble if kept! Just imagining strangers demanding, "Hand over the young skeleton headmaster!" was already horrifying.
"Disciple. Don't force the painting to remain. Where there are meetings, there must also be partings."
The prince urged without concern, telling Lee Han to release his mana. He didn't want to burden his disciple just to prolong his stay a little longer.
After struggling with indecision, Lee Han finally made up his mind.
"...Ugh. I'll be fine. I can just carry it in my backpack!"
'Oh no. I shouldn't have asked.' Professor Garcia regretted it too late. She should have either forcibly taken it away or concealed the truth and let it fade naturally. The moment she asked her kind-hearted disciple, there was no way he'd give up.
"Will it be alright in the backpack?"
"Disciple. Even if you threw this painting into a bottomless swamp, its interior would always remain serene. A backpack would be more than sufficient."
As Lee Han carefully tried to place the painting into his backpack, the prince spoke again.
"Disciple."
"Yes?"
"This doesn't look like the inside of a backpack. More like a basement."
"...?!"
Another mansion basement?!