Episode 1053
Episode 1053
'Oops!'
Gainando finally regained his senses.
Unlike the Skeleton Principal, Gainando could actually be kicked out of the villa (and once the semester started, the tower as well).
"Principal, why are you mocking Lee Han?!"
Had he finally lost his mind?
When Gainando suddenly turned serious and blamed him, the Skeleton Principal was utterly dumbfounded.
What kind of guy was this?
"Lee Han! I only laughed because the principal laughed first! I was just sucking up!"
"You laughed a little earlier than him, though?"
"No! It was him!"
"Enough. Follow me."
Lee Han decided to take Gainando along.
It wasn't necessarily to hold him accountable for the recent mockery. It was just in case Professor Voladi found their behavior suspicious.
'If I say Gainando came because he was interested in bounty hunting, he won't suspect anything.'
Others might not be suspicious if they just went, but Lee Han thought differently.
How awkward would it look if someone like him suddenly took an interest in bounty hunting?
"Hmph."
Gainando's shoulders slumped dejectedly at the sudden prospect of being dragged into something as troublesome as bounty hunting. Seeing this, the Skeleton Principal chuckled smugly.
"Lee Han. Can't we take the principal along too?"
"..."
"Gainando. Sometimes I wonder about the source of your courage."
Lee Han was horrified at his friend's suggestion to bring the Skeleton Principal along.
Who in the world could possibly drag the Skeleton Principal around?
"Ah!"
As Giselle descended the stairs and spotted a floating skull, she quickly cast Invisibility Magic and hid behind a pillar.
The Skeleton Principal, noticing this, called out to her.
"Moradi. Perfect timing. I need you to escort them."
"..."
"Excuse me?"
Giselle peeked out with a suspicious look in her eyes.
She couldn't fathom what the Skeleton Principal was scheming.
Escorting the Wardanaz?
"I don't understand why Wardanaz needs an escort. He's perfectly capable of taking care of himself—"
"Not Wardanaz. This imperial brat here."
The Skeleton Principal spoke nonchalantly.
Had Lee Han gone alone, he wouldn't have worried much. But since he was dragging along Gainando—no, baggage—the situation changed.
A Black Magic practitioner weak in close combat needed at least one escort.
As the top student of the White Tiger Tower, she was more than qualified to serve as an escort.
"Ah."
Giselle immediately understood.
'But if he needs an escort, why drag the imperial brat along in the first place?'
From Giselle's perspective, who didn't know why Gainando was being dragged along, she couldn't help but tilt her head in confusion.
"If anything happens, send a Paper Bird. In an emergency, use the ring. You haven't lost the summoning ring, have you?"
"Yes. It's probably somewhere in my bag..."
"At least remember where you put it."
The Skeleton Principal was exasperated by his safety-oblivious student's answer.
After everything he'd been through, how could he still be so careless?
It was hard to tell if he was brave or just plain stupid.
"Last time, I got it back and hurriedly stuffed it away... Ah. Here it is."
"Wardanaz. Wardanaz."
When Giselle called out in a hushed voice, Lee Han checked the ring's location before turning his head.
"I know what you're curious about, Moradi. The truth is, Professor Bagrak went to get a new Wanted Poster, and we need to quietly follow him to confirm something..."
"No. I'm not curious about that."
Giselle cut him off.
She wasn't particularly interested in where Wardanaz was taking the imperial brat.
At most, it was probably a toy store or a Wizard Card shop.
"Then what are you curious about?"
"Why are you wearing handcuffs?"
"Wait. It's off now. Thanks for letting me know."
Lee Han expressed his gratitude as the Dragon Armor finally released its grip.
The magic had taken effect, but he'd missed it while talking.
'...'
'No, I mean why were you wearing it in the first place...!' Giselle screamed internally.
The shackles had come off, but her confusion remained completely unresolved.
"Bounty hunting?"
At the mention of going to collect wanted posters instead of toy stores or Wizard Card shops, Giselle's eyes sparkled.
"That's quite interesting. Wardanaz, are you already preparing for the second semester by looking for requests?"
"No. I hadn't really thought about that."
Lee Han was slightly taken aback.
Given that he was taking courses across all schools, he was currently the student at Einrogard with the broadest range of requests he could accept.
For someone like Lee Han, bounty hunting wasn't that attractive of an option. 'The cost-effectiveness isn't great.' Above all, among various requests, the fact that you wouldn't earn a single penny if you failed was a fatal flaw.
Considering the professors and graduates of Einrogard, there was a reason why Enchantment School mages had higher average gold income.
"Wardanaz, think about it. Breaking free from this stifling school to chase down criminals. Using all the magic and swordsmanship you've learned to engage in fierce battles. Isn't that what you want?" 'No?' Lee Han wondered if Giselle had met some fake version of him while he was away and had a conversation with them.
But Giselle, unusually persistent, continued her persuasion.
Bounty hunting was essentially a high-risk, high-reward request, and obtaining permission was quite strict. If it seemed too difficult for students alone, permission wouldn't be granted in the first place.
On the other hand, going after small-time criminals with meager bounties would just result in a loss...
"Wardanaz, if you participate, the list of permissible targets will greatly expand. Don't you want to taste some freedom during the semester?"
"Even if we go, professors will probably tag along, so it's not like we'll be particularly free..."
Having already experienced how bothersome school-sanctioned outings were during club activities, Lee Han didn't have high expectations.
But Giselle, who had become uncharacteristically persistent, didn't back down this time either.
"Wardanaz, our family's territory goes hunting in the winter."
"?"
"??"
Both Lee Han and Gainando tilted their heads in confusion.
Why was she suddenly bringing this up?
"Is that so?"
"Sometimes we chase mountain beasts, sometimes we go bird hunting, and other times we pursue monsters."
"Ah, like when Sir Jiklin dragged you out hunting last time."
"Quiet. That was an exception."
Giselle's expression darkened.
Her older sister Jiklin's so-called "hunting" was anything but hunting.
Roaming the winter mountain ranges alone to seek out and challenge monsters stronger than herself—what kind of hunting was that? It was more like an ordeal.
Though Giselle unconditionally defended Jiklin, even she had to admit this was a bit much.
"Proper hunting is a much more enjoyable and enriching experience. And the most thrilling hunt for knights is bounty hunting for criminals with rewards on their heads."
"......"
"......"
Lee Han and Gainando exchanged glances.
Gainando's eyes seemed to ask, 'Can I call this barbaric?' but Lee Han shook his head.
Provoking Giselle within her range wasn't a good idea, especially when Gainando was attending as her escort.
"W-well, I see..."
Instead of criticizing the customs of northern knight families, Lee Han restrained himself, respecting the relativity of imperial regional cultures, and waited for Giselle's next words.
But no next words came.
"That's it?"
"That's it. ...Aren't you interested?"
Giselle asked, slightly flustered.
She had just given a thrilling speech about bounty hunting, so why were their reactions so lukewarm?
Gainando sent another glance—a signal to let him speak.
Lee Han quickly waved his hand, signaling his friend to shut up.
"That's really interesting. I'm getting curious about it."
"Right? I knew you'd feel that way, Wardanaz. I still remember when you used to go hunting with my sister when you were younger."
"Wasn't that when she dragged me out last time?"
"That was an exception. I'm talking about normal hunting, you brat."
Giselle sharply retorted.
At her reaction, Lee Han decided it'd be best to stop mentioning Jiklin's hunting trips. Now that he thought about it, even back then, it hadn't really felt like hunting. 'So even by Moradi family standards, that was weird. I thought their family customs were just strange.' He'd wondered if the Moradi family had peculiar traditions like the Wardanaz family did...
"Anyway, you find it interesting, right?"
"Of course. Very interesting. Like that thing knights enjoy... what was it... ah, as exciting as polo."
Even though it was an awkward lie that would've been obvious under normal circumstances, Giselle didn't notice.
People naturally become slightly less intelligent when talking about topics they love.
Lee Han silently nodded without saying a word. It was consideration for his usually smart friend.
"If it's a party of five, we'd go in the city, but if it's around ten, we'd head to the fields or forests..."
"L-Lee Han. How long do we have to listen to this?"
"Since I'll be saving your life in case of emergencies, keep smiling and listen. You too, Gainando."
Gainando listened to the bounty hunting talk with a grimace, despite having no interest in it.
The ones hiding in northern villages were like this, those in rivers were like that, the ones in forests were...
As he listened, Gainando suddenly grew worried and whispered again.
"Lee Han. We're just going to check if the professor is receiving bounty posters, right? Not to actually hunt bounties?"
"Of course, Gainando. We're just observing the professor."
Lee Han reassured his friend.
He couldn't explain why they needed to monitor Professor Voladi, but since Gainando had come this far, he needed to comfort him.
And it wasn't exactly a lie. They just needed to watch Professor Voladi while he retrieved the bounty posters...
* * *
"Are you saying you're going to capture them now?!"
Lee Han exclaimed in shock when he ran into Professor Voladi exiting the imperial palace.
He'd asked if the professor was returning to his mansion, but the answer had been no.
"Yes."
"Why?!"
"?"
Professor Voladi looked slightly puzzled at his student's question.
It was such a stupid question that it was hard to believe it came from a student who usually asked only sharp ones. Giselle beside him nodded in agreement. 'What a dumb question. Did he get nervous because the prince is here?' "Because I can capture them?"
"O-of course, Professor. Um... could we tag along to watch? Actually, Gainando and I here..."
Lee Han was about to launch into the prepared speech he'd rehearsed on the way—'Why I became interested in bounty hunting and why I'm not suspicious'—but Professor Voladi granted permission without even listening.
"Very well."
"Thank you..."
"Though it is odd."
"!"
Lee Han was startled internally by Professor Voladi's remark.
Had the professor figured out why he was here? 'Terrifying. Is this a Combat Magic user's intuition?!' "Wh-what do you mean?"
In response to his student's question, Professor Voladi pointed at Gainando with the same indifferent expression.
"I didn't expect the prince to show interest."
"......"
While Lee Han and Giselle weren't particularly surprised, it was quite shocking that Gainando had shown interest in bounty hunting.
"...It seems Gainando, as a mage of the Black Magic school, wishes to grow further. Right?"
"Bla... bl-black. Yes..."
"More enthusiastically."
"I'm so thrilled to participate in bounty hunting. Bla."
As Gainando answered, Giselle poked Lee Han in the side.
"Wardanaz."
"?"
"Originally, I planned to have everyone except you from the White Tiger Tower, but I'll make an exception for the prince. You can bring him along."
"...Oh, okay. Thanks."
Lee Han answered while side-eyeing Gainando. It was a relief Gainando hadn't heard that.