Episode 1042
Episode 1042
Even if Jowurin could act however she pleased, Lee Han couldn't do the same. Lee Han firmly refused.
"No, that won't be possible."
"Is that so? Very well then."
The Great Artist didn't seem particularly concerned.
Because he had already obtained the mandragora.
While the Gardeners' Club members might feel regretful, the Great Artist was perfectly satisfied with just this one mandragora.
"Wait. Can we stop by over there?"
As they left the hall rented by the Gardeners' Club and walked, Lee Han pointed toward another entrance displaying toy decorations made of white bronze.
The toy craftsmen's guild of Plaher, Granden, and Illeinas City...
"...Shouldn't a second-year student maintain some dignity by playing Wizard Cards instead?"
The Great Artist looked perplexed.
By the standards of the relatively old-school Great Artist, an Einrogard second-year should play Wizard Cards, a fourth-year should play chess, and by sixth-year, they should just give up all life's pleasures.
Wizard Cards were understandable, but toys?
"Ah. I'm not buying them for myself, but as gifts."
"Aha. For a young relative?"
"No. For His Highness Jowurin."
"...??????"
The noblewoman tilted her head in confusion, nearly dropping her large hat adorned with peacock feathers.
She couldn't comprehend why a dragon would need such toys.
'Ah. I see. He must want to investigate or analyze them out of curiosity.'
Come to think of it, even Uman had inherited the business of Wizard Cards from his dragon ancestors.
It wouldn't be strange if His Highness Jowurin suddenly wanted to investigate what kinds of toys the Empire's other races played with.
While the Great Artist was bewildered, Lee Han busily counted his gold coins. Thanks to this mandragora sale, his purse was unexpectedly full.
'Buy Jowurin's gift, buy Basil's gift... With this much, I should have enough left to get what my other friends need.'
"I'd like to participate in the auction—"
"Enough. I'll buy everything."
The Great Artist cut off the conversation between the junior and the manager and intervened. Lee Han, who had been about to apply for participation, was taken aback.
"But I was going to buy these with my own gold coins."
"Don't act so inefficiently for an Einrogard student. If investigation is the purpose, the more you bring, the happier he'll be, won't he?"
"Investigation? What... Well, considering how easily he breaks things, it would be better to bring more."
Lee Han nodded, thinking of Jowurin's monstrous strength.
After playing together, at least a few would inevitably break—better they be toys than Lee Han himself.
The Great Artist took out an emerald-encrusted pocket watch to check the time.
He had obtained his target mandragora, heard about limited cases of artworks coming to life, and now planned to return to his new residence to focus on his work...
There was no benefit in lingering so long in the capital where he might encounter that mad archmage...
"Are we done here?"
"Do you have an appointment? I was thinking of picking out some gifts for my friends."
"You mean your friends from the Blue Dragon Tower, I presume. Well, I suppose that makes sense for someone like you."
A student worthy of being listed under the Skeleton Principal's faction would naturally take a leadership role within the tower.
Just look at Professor Garcia, for instance.
"What about Professor Garcia?"
"Ah. It's nothing."
"...?"
Lee Han was puzzled, but the Great Artist didn't seem inclined to explain.
No matter how senior he was, he was powerless before fists.
"Ah, Senior. But I also need to pick gifts for friends from other towers besides the Blue Dragon Tower, so it might take a little longer."
"...Why????"
The Great Artist was flabbergasted.
After finishing his shopping at the auction house (the Great Artist kept tilting his head in confusion even as he paid for everything), Lee Han bid farewell to his senior and headed toward where his friends were.
Along the way, he spotted an extremely rare species among the crowd.
A species that drew envious gazes and whispers wherever they went—the penguin beastmen.
"Senior Alsicle! ...Oh, it's not him."
Lee Han, who had shouted upon seeing the plump, round back of the head, belatedly realized his mistake.
Though it was indeed a penguin beastman, it wasn't Alsicle.
'Wait. He looks familiar...?'
"Greetings, Senior!"
The penguin beastman scurried over and bowed deeply.
That reaction made Lee Han realize why the face seemed familiar.
It wasn't Alsicle but Alhidel—another member of the Pengerin family.
A first-year junior at Einrogard!
"Alhidel?"
"You remembered me. What an honor."
"...Did you get tortured in the Punishment Room this semester?"
Lee Han asked seriously.
Alhidel, true to his noble upbringing, had always been a boy brimming with confidence and arrogance.
And he had the exceptional talent to back it up.
Sure, the Skeleton Principal might have egged him on by saying, "Hey, this Lee Han here is just average at Einrogard—why don't you try sparring with him, haha!"—but he was undoubtedly an outstanding talent.
For such a talent to be maintaining a demeanor so polite and deferential, as if gauging every breath he took—
There could only be one explanation.
'These insane jailers. They did this to a first-year junior?'
Lee Han inwardly cursed the Death Knights.
Truly undead—utterly devoid of human compassion.
"I have never been to the Punishment Room."
"What? Don't spout nonsense. You must've tried escaping or exploring. Ah—or maybe they just never caught you? Impressive."
"No. I spent my free time studying in my private room."
"......"
Lee Han instinctively took a step back.
He sensed the terrifying madness lurking within the boy.
"By the way, what are you holding?"
"Gifts for my friends."
"Allow me to carry them for you."
"Wai—"
Alhidel rushed to help with the towering pile of gifts stacked on Lee Han's arms.
And then he staggered, nearly toppling over.
'What?!'
The senior had been carrying them so effortlessly that he hadn't realized—they were far heavier than expected.
Just lifting one wrapped gift box alone nearly sent him tumbling.
"W-what is this?!"
"That's why I told you to wait. You okay? That's the reinforced anvil for Salko—it's pretty heavy."
"......"
Alhidel, the top student of the Blue Dragon Tower and a promising mage of the Pengerin family, looked up at Lee Han once more with eyes full of reverence.
I still have so far to go!
"I'll cast Enhancement Magic for you."
"As expected... Senior's magical prowess is the result of relentless training, even in mundane moments like this."
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
Lee Han was baffled.
Of course, at Einrogard, escaping or transporting supplies often meant getting used to moving around under extreme weight.
In Lee Han's case, he had gradually pushed his limits—first with Enhancement Magic, then knight-style physical reinforcement using mana, followed by Psychokinesis, and so on.
Thanks to that, he had earned the title of Einrogard's Best Pack Mule (though he hadn't yet competed with the seniors, so it wasn't definitive). But that was purely out of necessity, not training.
"Eandurde told me about it."
"......"
Eandurde!
Lee Han silently cursed the absent junior's name.
Spreading fake rumors like that!
"This isn't for training—it's just to survive at Einrogard..."
"Truly admirable. I, too, shall start carrying heavy loads from now on."
"If you admire me so much, why don't you listen to what I say?"
Lee Han was exasperated, but Alhidel had already made up his mind.
He was probably already planning to go quarry some rocks and stuff them into a backpack.
"Ah, Senior. Thank you for the rations."
"...I have no idea what you're talking about."
Lee Han feigned ignorance.
Sure, he had been discreetly leaving food supplies for Eandurde to share with her friends whenever they met—but he had kept his name out of it.
He had explicitly told Eandurde not to mention him, so surely—
"But you were the one who gave them to us?"
"What are you talking about? Could it be that you're mistaken about Eandurde being the one who brought the food?"
"??"
When the respected senior said something strange, Alhidel tilted his head in confusion and explained:
1. Eandurde had obtained food from somewhere.
2. When asked about the source, she said she received it from 'a senior whose name she couldn't reveal.'
3. The only seniors Eandurde ever mentions are from Senior Wardanaz's group.
4. Ah, so it must have been Senior Wardanaz!
"......"
'Eandurde!'
Lee Han inwardly shouted the name of his absent junior for the second time.
She should have just said she got it herself instead of making such an awkward lie.
'I'll have to train her in lying properly when we meet next.'
With Gainando around, he could serve as a good teacher.
"Well... whatever... fine. It can't be helped."
Though he quickly gave up, Lee Han still seemed reluctant as he asked:
"But couldn't it have been one of my friends, like Gainando, instead of me?"
"Pfft—HAHAHAHA!"
Alhidel burst into loud laughter for the first time that day.
Perhaps because the joke came so unexpectedly, his laughter was especially intense.
"HAHAHA, HAHAHA! HAHA... Wait, you weren't joking?"
"...You've never met Gainando, have you?"
"No. But according to Eandurde, he's someone who keeps stealing food..."
"......"
Lee Han covered his face with his hand.
The embarrassing rumors about his tower spreading outside were more mortifying than he'd expected.
"...That's a misunderstanding. It was just a prank."
"It seemed like it happened way too many times for just a prank..."
"Be quiet."
"Yes!"
When the junior actually fell silent, Lee Han felt bad and spoke again.
"No, it's not your fault. More importantly, how was Einrogard?"
New students entering Einrogard usually experienced a world-shattering shock.
Especially Alhidel, who had met the Skeleton Principal separately before enrollment and had been fed a few additional lies.
His shock must have been several times worse.
Thinking about it, Lee Han still felt a little guilty.
"It was astonishing and awe-inspiring."
"Eh? You didn't find it miserable or feel like cursing?"
"Of course I did."
Alhidel looked at Lee Han as if asking why he would even question something so obvious.
Awe-inspiring or not, cursing was inevitable.
"...Sorry. More than that, you must have been really shocked later because of the lies the principal told you."
The Skeleton Principal had lied to Alhidel, saying, "Mages like Lee Han are common at Einrogard."
Lee Han worried that his junior might have thrown himself into magic too hard and ended up emotionally scarred because of that lie.
"No. I realized it was a lie on the very first day of enrollment."
"...Oh, good."
Alhidel truly was a brilliant junior.
The moment he enrolled, after hearing the Skeleton Principal's harsh words and the professors' explanations, he immediately understood he'd been deceived.
"Alhidel, by the way, what brought you to the capital? It must have been quite a journey."
"I came for a family gathering, and I heard Eandurde received an invitation from a friend. We took the same carriage."
Hearing that they had traveled together despite being from different towers made Lee Han smile faintly.
Unlike the cold seniors, the juniors seemed to have been at least slightly influenced by Lee Han's year.
'Maybe they became closer because of the food.'
"Did you lend her the carriage to repay Eandurde?"
"That was part of it, but actually, Eandurde threatened me first and forced her way onto the carriage."
"......"
'Eandurde!'
Lee Han inwardly shouted the name of his absent junior for the third time.
If she had just stayed quiet, she would have been invited properly!
But Alhidel didn't seem to mind. On the grand path of magic, petty emotions or grudges felt insignificant.
"Wait. Eandurde received an invitation from a friend?"
Lee Han had a sinking feeling.
The only person he could think of who would send Eandurde an invitation was Jowurin.
'Well, Jowurin is quite affectionate...'
It wouldn't be strange at all if she sent letters to Lee Han, the Skeleton Principal, or Alsicle soon.
"...!!!"
The realization of what felt off struck Lee Han, and his expression changed abruptly. Alhidel jumped in surprise.
"What's wrong?!"
"...We left Lord Alsicle behind!"