Episode 1045
Episode 1045
"Come to think of it, there's no way Eandurde would act that foolishly."
"That would be the case."
"...You knew all along!?"
Lee Han was taken aback by the professor's response.
Indeed, as the master of their academic faction who had observed things far longer than Lee Han, it wouldn't be strange for Professor Voladi to have accurately assessed Eandurde's character.
'Wait, but then why didn't you stop me??'
"Then why did you come to look for her?"
"?"
Professor Voladi slightly raised the ends of his eyebrows as he looked at his student.
Though not someone who showed intense emotional expressions, Lee Han had enough experience to read what that meant.
That was a question mark. To be more specific, it could be interpreted as 'What on earth are you talking about?'
-You're the one who made all that fuss about Eandurde disappearing, running around like a headless chicken, aren't you?
'Ah.'
Lee Han felt extremely embarrassed.
Upon reflection, it was he who had heard Alhidel's words and immediately panicked, shouting "Eandurde went to the underground arena! We have to save her quickly!!"
From Professor Voladi's perspective, even if he had doubts, when his senior student was running around in such a frenzy, he had no choice but to accompany him to search.
"...My apologies. I should have judged the situation more carefully."
"No need. As fellow members of the same academic faction, your deep camaraderie is commendable."
'There are only two of us in the faction.'
If there were only two members, it seemed Gainando and Angrago would have to become close too.
As they left the slums together, Lee Han reflected once again.
From now on, he would make it a habit to verify facts before blindly charging in...
If the guild members—half lying unconscious and the other half being dragged away by the capital guards—heard this, they'd be furious.
"I see how it is."
Professor Garcia looked at her student with an ambiguous expression, unsure whether to praise or scold.
Eandurde proudly shook an old pouch of gold coins.
She had remembered hearing that one of the slave traders had hidden gold coins in the closed arena, never imagining she'd actually get to use that information.
Indeed, the saying 'knowledge is power' wasn't wrong.
"That's not how that saying is supposed to be used... Well, at least you're safe, so that's what matters..."
"Shouldn't we tell them Lee Han went looking for her?"
"Shh. No need to make him feel unnecessarily guilty. Keep it quiet."
The second-year students who had gathered upon hearing the news whispered among themselves. Noticing this, Alhidel asked curiously,
"What are you all discussing so intently?"
"Huh? Oh, um... We were debating how the ratio of fire-repelling herb reagent affects the potency when casting Black Magic."
Gainando hastily made up an excuse.
Alhidel looked at them with renewed respect. Even during vacation, they were so deeply engrossed in magic.
Truly, second-year seniors were on another level.
'We can't even compare to them.'
Their diligence was incomparable to friends who, the moment vacation started, indulged in delicacies and novels, reveling without a care.
"Hey, how did you come up with that?"
"Shh. I just repeated a topic the seniors were researching."
"......"
While his friend looked at Gainando with pity, Lee Han and Professor Voladi returned.
Seeing the gathered wizards in front of the hall, Lee Han let out a sigh of relief.
"Sorry for the delay, Professor."
"No need. I'm just glad you both returned safely. Nothing serious happened, right?"
"No. Nothing serious."
At Lee Han's response, his friends nodded as if to say 'That's good.'
However, Giselle tilted her head in confusion. There was an unfamiliar bloodstain on the upper left shoulder of Wardanaz.
'Isn't that blood?'
Though she sensed something amiss, before she could ask, Lee Han called everyone together.
"Gather around, everyone. A graduated senior left a gift for you all before leaving."
"What? Really?"
The friends expressed their bewilderment at the unexpected statement.
They had wondered why such a pile of gifts was left there, but now they were being told those were presents meant for them?
"I thought Wardanaz bought all that with his own money."
"Did Wardanaz buy them himself and then make up an imaginary senior as a cover?"
The friends, who had zero trust in this so-called 'Einrogard senior,' whispered among themselves.
Considering the graduates they'd met so far, it was impossible to imagine any of them leaving behind such generous gifts.
"Why would I do something like that? Just hurry up and line up."
'He didn't deny it strongly... That makes it even more suspicious.'
The second-year students inwardly grew more doubtful.
But when they recalled Wardanaz's background—born into a great noble family and constantly taking on commissions even during the semester—such wealth wasn't all that surprising.
"Well, Wardanaz doesn't really care about gold coins anyway."
"...What?!"
Yoner was shocked by the comment from a student of another tower standing nearby.
Why on earth would they misunderstand that?
"Why would you think that?"
"Huh? What, Maykin. Do you have a problem with Wardanaz?"
"N-No... It's not like that. I was just curious about the reason?"
"He cooks for us without taking money."
"......"
Yoner was momentarily speechless.
It was such an irrefutable statement that the only response she could muster was:
"He... he does take money."
"Huh? Oh, silver coins? But compared to what the seniors charge, that's practically nothing."
"That's... I mean... No..."
Yoner struggled to figure out how to clear up the misunderstanding before sighing deeply and giving up.
Even if she explained that Lee Han was more interested in gold coins than they thought, they probably wouldn't listen.
"Yoner. Here—the <Triangular Flask of the Water-Horse Mountains Magic Tower>."
Lee Han handed the enchanted flask to his friend from the Alchemy School. After reading the description, Yoner's eyes widened.
"Component identification, replication, purification, and even transformation? Isn't this too many functions?"
Yoner tilted her head in confusion as she examined the flask closely.
One might wonder what the problem was with an artifact having many functions, but there was indeed an issue.
Each additional enchantment exponentially increased the difficulty and cost.
From magical interference to mana supply problems to the need for stabilizing reagents...
At that point, it would've been better to just use multiple artifacts with separate functions. There was no need to cram everything into one.
"Yeah. Apparently, the mage who made it got disciplined for it. Another mage brought it to the auction house on their behalf."
"...Th-Thanks. I'll put it to good use."
Lee Han nodded. Her reaction confirmed that he had chosen the right gift for his friend.
Ashan received a crystal astrolabe (his declaration that he "didn't need his older brother or sister anymore" after getting the gift left Lee Han flustered), Durgyu got a leather gauntlet with a reverse-field shield, Ratford received a new lockpick and a magical beetle that scouted keyholes, and Nigisor was given a lantern that reacted with fire spirits to produce flames of various attributes...
"Wait. Wardanaz. Were you the one who bought up everything in the hall before the auction even started?"
"It wasn't me, it was the graduated senior—"
"Ah, of course."
'That sounds like there's some hidden meaning...?'
Lee Han felt puzzled by his friend's response but decided not to press further.
There wasn't enough time to distribute all the useful items he'd acquired today.
"Here. Nilia. This is for you."
"Th-Thank you...?"
Nilia was flustered as she accepted the <Cursed Red Spear>.
She couldn't understand why this was being given as a gift, but since Wardanaz was the one giving it, she assumed there must be some intention behind it.
"...No! Why are you taking that?! The gift is this quill pen next to it!"
Belatedly startled, Lee Han snatched the spear back and pointed at the quill.
This enchanted quill, which assisted in writing under its owner's command, was an artifact meant for Nilia—who would soon need to write hundreds of invitations for social events.
'...'
'I think the spear would be more useful...' Nilia thought to herself as she accepted the quill pen. No matter how she looked at it, it seemed like spear > quill.
Lee Han continued distributing the remaining gifts.
To Lafadell, he gave a thick book listing undead creatures that black mages could contract with (Lafadell grumbled but ultimately expressed gratitude). To Siana, a monocle of wisdom. To Salko, a pitch-black shovel imbued with dismantling magic...
"Moradi. This sword here—"
"I already have a sword I'm using."
Giselle answered slightly flustered.
She didn't want to refuse the gift, but she already had her family's ancestral sword.
"Let me finish. This looks like a sword, but it's actually a magic artifact with hidden daggers inside. A famous duelist mage used to favor these. When you pretend to draw the sword like this, compressed wind bullets shoot from the hilt—"
"......"
Giselle was horrified watching Lee Han excitedly explain.
The gift was far more pathetic than she'd imagined. 'It sounded so plausible that it's even more absurd!' She felt slightly ashamed of herself for being momentarily intrigued by the description.
Seeing no reaction, Lee Han's expression fell slightly.
"Don't you like it? I thought it was a really good weapon..."
"Ah, no. It's not bad... Might be good... Thank you..."
Giselle fastened the gifted sword at her waist. If anyone dared ask why she was carrying three swords, she planned to smack their mouth.
To Dijiling, he gave the Cursed Crimson Spear (Nilia shot him a slightly envious look). To Adenart, a Blessed Picnic Basket (Adenart tilted her head in confusion upon receiving it). To Sharukal, a conch shell imbued with Water Element magic. Finally, Lee Han called Gainando.
"Gainando. This inkwell is an artifact for absent-minded mages. If you sit at your desk and do anything else, it sprays ink in your face."
"...I, I think my gift is the weirdest one..."
"And here's a bonus—Wizard Cards. I got them at an auction."
Lee Han handed over a thick stack of cards.
Seeing the familiar card list, Gainando's eyes welled up with moved tears.
"This is a miracle!!!"
"...I don't think it's that miraculous??"
After returning to the mansion with his friends, Lee Han called Eandurde aside separately.
They needed to discuss when to meet Jowurin.
"Should we buy your gift first before meeting her?"
"That seems like a good idea. But..."
Eandurde hesitated unusually. Lee Han was slightly surprised. 'Huh?' Why would Eandurde act like this? 'Is she short on gold coins?'
"I have a question."
After raising her hand and agonizing several times, Eandurde finally spoke.
Though she circled around and expressed it verbosely, it ultimately boiled down to this:
When friendship with peers conflicts with respect for seniors, which should one choose?
'This kid...!'
Slightly moved, Lee Han called Yoner.
"Yoner. Yoner."
"Huh? What?"
"Looks like Eandurde has already made many friends."
Lee Han explained what he'd just heard to Yoner.
Clearly, Eandurde was torn between spending the remaining vacation with seniors or choosing to have fun with friends.
"?"
Yoner tilted her head. 'Something feels off?' She strongly sensed that wasn't the case, but Lee Han had already started speaking.
"Of course you should choose friendship. Eandurde. Seniors are meant to be used conveniently and then discarded."
"...Hey..."
Yoner looked at Lee Han with an extremely complicated expression.
We're seniors too!
"...Is that so?"
"Absolutely! Do you have plans with friends?"
Eandurde shook her head side to side. Then with a resolute face, she declared:
"I shall accompany you to meet His Highness tomorrow!"
'Was that something to declare so solemnly?'