Episode 1059
Episode 1059
Lee Han was slightly taken aback by the other party's reaction.
"How does he know my family? Could it be...?"
'Is he suspecting me, by any chance?'
Perkuntra was baffled by its contractor's gaze.
Even if this was a case of kicking someone after they'd outlived their usefulness, wasn't this too soon?
"Perhaps you spoke out of excitement?"
'It seems I've swept everything clean lately. I should head back now.'
The Thunder King felt proud of his own patience. To hear such nonsense and still not explode in anger—that was something impossible through ordinary discipline.
It seemed that after forming a contract with this contractor, even Perkuntra was experiencing spiritual growth.
Kurrrung!
"Hmm. Doesn't seem to be the case."
"It's not my place to say, but is it okay to suspect a high-ranking spirit like that?"
"I wasn't suspecting, just confirming. Or did we make a mistake with our disguises?"
Lee Han checked his and his friend's outfits.
Instead of their usual Einrogard rags—no, Einrogard uniforms—they were wearing plain, patternless coats. Under normal circumstances, it would be hard to identify their status from this.
"Even if they knew we were from Einrogard, they couldn't have guessed our families."
"That's true."
"Couldn't they have just heard about your notorious reputation recently and guessed?"
"......"
Lee Han shuddered involuntarily at his friend's chilling speculation.
"That's impossible. How could someone who's been hiding underground recognize me just from rumors?"
'Actually, it seems possible.'
Giselle honestly thought there was a fair chance of that. The rumors her friend had accumulated lately were nothing to scoff at.
"Absolutely not. Moradi. Got it? Don't bring up such ridiculous speculations."
"...Fine, calm down. It does seem like he recognized you, though. Let's ask him when he comes to."
Rarely seeing her friend so talkative, Giselle calmed him down while tightly restraining their opponent.
'That cloak is definitely unusual.'
She could see why Wardanaz had taken an interest in it. Lee Han whispered beside her as if he knew everything.
"You're calculating how much it'd be worth in gold coins, aren't you? Honestly, me too—"
"...No. I wasn't thinking that at all."
"?!"
Lee Han was stunned.
Then what kind of thoughts did you have when you saw that cloak?!
A short while later.
The two Einrogard students had completely stripped the fallen bandit leader bare. Lee Han even cast a detection spell under the soles of the opponent's boots.
"Nothing. What a disappointment."
Since materials were often found in such places at Einrogard, Lee Han felt even more regretful.
"With a force of this size, he probably wouldn't be petty enough to hide things so stingily."
"How extravagant for a mere bandit!"
While Lee Han was getting angry over strange details, Ibinta regained consciousness.
Realizing that everything from his equipment to his magic items was gone, Ibinta felt utterly hollow.
"Damn this cursed fate! I tried so hard not to get involved with mages, and this is what happens?"
"Awake? How did you know I was from the Wardanaz family?"
"I've seen a mage from your family before."
Ibinta answered obediently.
Another bandit might have put up a fight out of pride and humiliation, but Ibinta wasn't that type of bandit.
And honestly, he couldn't afford to act arrogant in front of Wardanaz blood.
Outwardly, he pretended to be calm, but inside, he was trembling, unsure what might happen to him.
"You've seen a mage from our family? When?"
"During the Southern Volcanic Unrest."
"The Southern Volcanic Unrest..."
Lee Han paused as he counted the years on his fingers. Giselle, who had been listening, seemed to recall something and asked.
"Wasn't that over ten years ago?"
"A bit more than that. Then it must have been something Brother Hierdan resolved."
As Lee Han mentioned other members of the Wardanaz family, Giselle found herself unusually intrigued.
Truth be told, among the Empire's great noble families, the Wardanaz family was exceptionally shrouded in mystery.
The Wardanaz weren't the only reclusive family in the Empire, but it was rare for a family of their prestige to remain so withdrawn.
The Wardanaz clearly had two older brothers, and one of them was the master of that spirit they'd seen last time...
'Firstborn. The eldest son.'
"Even now, it sends chills down my spine. Seeing a single archmage resolve all that chaos."
Ibinta blurted out unprompted, his voice still thick with vivid terror.
"Naturally."
Giselle wasn't particularly surprised.
Outsiders couldn't help but be shocked when witnessing an archmage's magic.
Just seeing something like a Unique World unfold would make everything you thought you knew about the laws of reality crumble beneath you.
"Admittedly, Brother Hierdan is a bit... unsettling."
Lee Han nodded in agreement with Ibinta's words.
Giselle tilted her head slightly at that.
Huh?
'Wait, that feels... different?'
What Ibinta had described as "terrifying" and what Wardanaz called "unsettling" seemed to carry entirely different meanings.
If the former was about being overwhelmed by the transcendent level of magic, then the latter...
'There's no way Wardanaz would find his own family unsettling because of magic, right?'
The idea that someone who'd be the first to show interest in overwhelming magic would find his own family unsettling over it made no sense.
Giselle cautiously asked,
"Why do you find him unsettling?"
"Hmm? Well, Brother Hierdan is... very efficiency-oriented."
"...Aren't you the same?"
"He has a perfectionist streak."
"Aren't you the same?"
"He has a tendency to... manipulate people a bit..."
"Aren't you the—"
"Moradi. If you're going to be this rude after asking a question, why did you ask in the first place?"
"Ah, no—! That's not it. I spoke out of turn. My apologies."
Giselle bit her tongue before she could retort further.
It was undeniably a rude thing to say, and more importantly, she was far too curious about the rest of Wardanaz's story.
"It's on a completely different level. Let me give you an example."
To convince his friend, Lee Han recounted one of his own experiences.
—Young Master... Here... are the newly acquired books...
—Thank you, Demon Butler with Eighty-Eight Eyes.
"Wait."
"?"
"...Never mind. Continue."
Giselle had to bite her lip to stop herself from asking about the butler.
Even though the Moradi family resided in one of the harsher regions of the North and often saw guests react in shock, they couldn't possibly compare to the Wardanaz family.
—<Foolproof, High-Profit Empire Business Ventures>? No, who in the world brought in such an excellent book? I've never even heard of it before!
—Hehe... I appreciate the praise...
—I particularly like the business idea using red pine flowers here. If we just secure the bulbs of these unique and varied flowers, we can sell them later to imperial horticulturists for a hefty profit. And red pine flowers are plants that don't die even if you dry their bulbs completely for storage, right?
—Exactly... that's correct... In fact, we've already... planted some in the mansion's garden...
—C-could I... dig some up, perhaps?
—Of course... Young Master... If it helps you, I'd appreciate it if you could put in a good word for me later with the Family Head...
"Wait. Hold on."
Unable to take it anymore, Giselle finally interrupted.
As amusing as it was to imagine Wardanaz behaving like this alone in his mansion, they'd strayed too far from the original topic.
"What does this have to do with anything?"
"Just hear me out. Moradi. It's all connected."
"...Fine."
Lee Han returned to the original topic.
Having obtained both information and permission, Lee Han wandered the vast garden in search of the Red Pine Flowers and began digging up their bulbs.
As he diligently collected them, a sudden doubt arose in his mind.
...But is this really profitable?
Thinking calmly, it didn't seem likely that people would pour out gold coins just because the petals were somewhat unique and pretty.
Coming to his senses, Lee Han checked the book <Even a Fool Can Do It: High-Potential Profit Ventures in the Empire>.
He'd read it without verifying anything due to its overly enticing title, but the author of a book matters too.
Even if they shared the same title, <How to Survive in Einrogard> by Gainando and <How to Survive in Einrogard> by Professor Garcia carried entirely different weight.
But surprisingly, there was no author listed.
"Who wrote this?"
"Young Master... the wisdom within the book is what's important... who wrote it doesn't mat—"
"If you don't tell me, I'll accuse you of dirtying the garden!"
"P-please! Anything but that!"
Under Lee Han's interrogation, the demon servant finally spat out the truth.
The author was someone he'd never have imagined.
"The Skeleton Principal?"
"What? What Skeleton Principal?"
"Ah, no... I couldn't think of anyone when you said 'someone unimaginable.'"
"Moradi. There's only one person here it could be. Obviously, it's Brother Hierdan."
"?"
Giselle couldn't comprehend it, but Lee Han had already resumed his story.
"Brother. I have something to ask you..."
"Lee Han? I'll give you 2 minutes and 24 seconds. Finish within that time."
"Ah. Yes. I'll keep it under 30 seconds. Did you personally write <Even a Fool Can Do It: High-Potential Profit Ventures in the Empire> and place it in my study?"
"Yes. Correct."
...Why would you admit that???
"I heard you've been reading too many books lately instead of training with Alarong. It's only natural to maintain a balanced physique before delving into magic."
"Uh... You could've just... told me to take walks..."
"You would've resisted then. Forcing you might've reduced efficiency. But you happily and joyfully improved your physical health. Why aren't you satisfied?"
No, how could I be satisfied when the book was fake!?
"Then you shouldn't have dug up the truth. Consider this a lesson—don't do it again."
If the other party weren't an archmage existing on another plane of existence...
"No. Even if he weren't, I couldn't have done anything."
"......"
Returning to reality, Giselle was overwhelmed by Lee Han's story.
She'd always thought her sister Jiklin was quite eccentric, but compared to Wardanaz, her sister seemed downright normal and sane.
She was just a bit exceptional at swordsmanship and a tad too competitive!
"Anyway, you understand why I feel uneasy now, right?"
Though Lee Han often got falsely accused by nasty peers from other towers—"That Wardanaz bastard! Manipulating people!"—compared to his eldest brother, this wasn't even manipulation.
He'd been lucky to notice the deception with <Even a Fool Can Do It...>, but how many things had he failed to notice?
"My constant clashes with beings from other dimensions might be because of my brother's schemes too."
"That's definitely not it."
Giselle firmly denied it, but Lee Han ignored her, pretending not to hear.
He just wanted to pin his misfortunes on someone.
"Anyway, Ibinta. Unlike my brother, I'm a mage with a human heart, so you can rest easy."
"......"
Without realizing it, Ibinta's eyes darted up and down the corridor. The scars left by lightning strikes remained vividly gruesome.
'This bastard... seems even crazier...'