Episode 1099
Episode 1099
Ignoring the half-sibling having a fit behind her, Yukveltire spoke to Lee Han.
"More importantly, junior. A commission proposal letter arrived."
Yukveltire held out the letter.
Looking at the contents written on it, the conditions were extremely generous. It was a proposal sent from a certain magic workshop, and unusually, it was formatted to require both Yukveltire and Lee Han to come.
Yukveltire would take the lead in the work while Lee Han would play a supporting role.
Looking at the list of planned magic tasks, the work wouldn't take too long and the difficulty wasn't high either... 'But the compensation is too generous for something like this?' Lee Han, who had been puzzled, belatedly realized. 'Ah. The purpose is networking rather than the commission itself.' Having already received dozens of similar commission letters even before entering Einrogard, he could recognize it immediately.
The commissions pouring in for Lee Han these days largely fell into two categories.
The first were commissions that genuinely valued his magical abilities highly and sought to recruit him.
Commissions sent by Giselle's father or Yoner's older sister fell into this category.
And the second were commissions that valued his fame and sought to recruit him.
While ability mattered, the stronger purpose was to meet the scion of the currently renowned Wardanaz Family and build connections.
Even for Lee Han, who loved easy gains, these kinds of commissions weren't easy to accept. If he wasn't careful, they could become several times more bothersome than straightforward work commissions. 'If attending social gatherings—balls, networking events, exchange meetings, tea parties—back-to-back right upon arrival, maybe just working would be better...' This commission was clearly aimed at building connections not just with Lee Han but with Yukveltire as well.
Personality issues aside, purely in terms of magical ability, Yukveltire was the next successor of Einrogard's Enchantment Magic school.
"The sender is quite clever. Sending it to two people rather than one separately would have a higher success rate."
The senior would likely cooperate to help the junior, and the junior would cooperate to save the senior's face, even if reluctantly.
But if the sender was mistaken about one thing, it was the dryness within the Enchantment Magic school.
The relationships among Enchantment Magic students were utterly devoid of any warmth.
"I'll decline for now, senior."
"Why?!"
Yukveltire's voice changed slightly, as if genuinely surprised.
If it were Diret, who sometimes acted emotionally, it might be understandable, but this junior should know the value of this proposal?
"My current list of received proposals is about this much..."
Lee Han unrolled a scroll with a genuinely apologetic expression. Even though only the commission titles were written, the long scroll was densely packed from end to end.
If it had been a trash proposal, he would have just told them to get lost, but this proposal was decent enough to make him feel slightly sorry.
"......"
Yukveltire was overwhelmed by the list of commissions her junior had received.
Not being overwhelmed by that list was harder than one might think.
Barely nodding, Yukveltire staggered slightly as she turned away. Adenart muttered with concern as she watched her retreating back.
"She seems to have taken quite a shock. I'm worried."
"She's probably just hungry."
"......"
Adenart stared at her friend as if dumbfounded.
The person who was as gentle as a caretaker when dealing with same-year students was treating Yukveltire like she was dealing with a Baldrogard student. 'What on earth did you do...?' "Wardanaz. Isn't there any way?"
After the senior left, the friends requested a serious discussion with grave faces.
If the dragon had such a powerful Scale Artifact, no lie would work.
"There is a way."
"!!!"
At Lee Han's answer, his friends' pupils shook.
Truly worthy of a Wardanaz. To come up with a solution in such a situation.
"We'll tell the seniors to pressure His Highness Uman. If we can just stop him from using that Scale..."
"Exactly! I'll go!"
Gainando and several other students rushed off to contact seniors from other years. 10 minutes later.
Gainando returned with slumped shoulders, dragging his feet.
"...They told me to get lost..."
"What? Just like that?"
Lee Han was utterly shocked.
No matter how you looked at it, it was bizarre for seniors to treat their own tower juniors so harshly. If it had been a different tower, he might have understood, but this was too much.
"The seniors already knew everything..."
As soon as Gainando arrived, the seniors had said:
—Hold on, junior! Did you come here to rally students against the rule banning cooking for others or helping with assignments?
—How did you know!?
—Hah! Then get lost!
And just like that, the seniors coldly chased Gainando away.
Lee Han closed his eyes tightly and muttered,
"The Headmaster must have spread the word."
"!?"
The truth was, the fact that Lee Han fed his friends wasn't widely known.
Starting with the Kitchen Club, since there was no benefit in others finding out, Lee Han had kept it under wraps.
Even earlier, most seniors hadn't grasped the hidden intent behind the rule—so this sudden reaction could only mean one thing.
"No matter what, this is too much. Letting personal feelings ruin tower affairs!"
"Exactly! I never expected seniors to act so emotionally. Disappointing!"
"If they're so bitter, they should've enrolled a year later. They're the ones who got here first!"
Hmm. Good thing there are no seniors around right now.
Yoner watched her friends' embarrassing outbursts and thought to herself.
Had any seniors been present, they would've attacked on the spot—even if they were from the same tower.
And at the same time, similar scenes were unfolding in other towers.
—Seniors! Let's work together to somehow ease this rule—
—Wait, were you guys freeloading last semester too?
—That's irrelevant!
—Get lost!
No matter how much the second-years wailed, time flowed on impartially.
The next morning.
Stepping out for class, Lee Han took one look at Professor Bendozol's face and thought:
Is there anyone in Einrogard as happy as him right now?
Even the Skeleton Principal, who indulged in petty malice, probably wasn't truly happy—after all, the reality of the inspector's interference remained unchanged.
In fact, maybe that very frustration was why he lashed out even more.
In contrast, Professor Bendozol's face was pure bliss. It was as if someone had condensed satisfaction and happiness into human form—and that form was now Professor Bendozol.
"Good morning, Professor."
"Ah. Good morning, Wardanaz. Did you sleep well?"
"......"
Lee Han stared at him with eyes full of shock and horror.
Did I come to the wrong place??
No... This is definitely Professor Bendozol, not Professor Garcia...
Normally, Bendozol's greetings ranged between "You're here?", "Why are you here?", "Back again?", and "Get lost."
But this gentle greeting? Unbelievable, even for a happy Bendozol.
As Lee Han stood frozen, he noticed the professor's eyelids trembling faintly.
Though smiling brightly, his expression also seemed to be forcibly suppressing something.
"...Professor, are you... forcing yourself to act cheerful?"
"I've no idea what you're talking about, Wardanaz. Hurry inside. Shouldn't you be attending class?"
"If His Highness Uman ordered this, you don't have to force yourself—"
"Shut your mouth and get inside."
The moment Bendozol's true colors surfaced, he snarled.
Here he was, straining himself to greet students in an unnatural, dragon-pleasing manner—and this brat had the gall to interfere.
"I'm only saying this out of concern, Professor. Forcing yourself to act against your nature will only hurt you in the long run."
"I can't hear you! Get in!"
Lee Han gazed at him with pity.
And here he'd thought Bendozol was the happiest one. Turns out, even he was suffering inside.
Just how much does he like dragons to grovel like this...
Bendozol's second-semester course was titled Just Terrible Creatures—a name that made its difference from the first-semester's Terribly Beautiful Creatures painfully obvious.
Lee Han checked his attire and magic defenses. He wasn't the only one—the other second-years were also scrambling to maximize their protection.
"Damn it. Who knew the Bark Skin spell would actually come in handy."
"Can't you cast a spell for me too?"
"No way. What if the inspector checks later? If it were possible, I would've already asked Wardanaz. What do you think we'll face?"
"I really hope it's not a large monster."
Though only a day had passed since the new semester began, their friends already looked haggard.
Gainando muttered in a pitiful voice,
"Today's breakfast will be that thing again, right? That porridge made by crushing and boiling demons and chimeras together."
"...I'm curious where you got that description from, but cheer up, Gainando. There must be a way."
"What way?!"
Lee Han was slightly taken aback by his friend's overly intense reaction to his offhand remark.
He hadn't really thought about it...
"Well, for example... um. You could go out and gather supplies yourself."
"......"
"Or you could roam around the school and loot the Headmaster's storeroom."
"......"
Seeing his friend sink further into gloom, Lee Han hastily added,
"Quests! There are quests, right? If you take a quest, you can go outside and catch your breath."
"!"
This seemed somewhat plausible, as Gainando's eyes lit up.
"That's right. There are quests, aren't there?"
"Yeah, Gainando. It's too early to despair."
"...But I doubt any quests will come to me. I'm from the Black Magic faction, after all."
'Oh no.' Lee Han belatedly realized his mistake.
This would only backfire on Gainando.
"And we'd have to evade surveillance. If that lizard adds more watchers, we won't be able to slip away..."
"Hey, look, Gainando! The professor's bringing a new creature!"
It was an obvious attempt to change the subject, but Gainando went along with it.
Given the lecture's title—Just Vile Creatures—it was hard not to look.
"Good heavens! A Barghest!"
A Barghest.
At a glance, it just looked like a large black dog or wolf, but any mage would instantly sense the ominous Yin-attribute mana swirling in its fur.
No wonder it was infamous as a harbinger of death.
Merely touching it could drain one's mana or vitality, yet the professor had brought one here.
Truly, Professor Bendozol...
"...It's a baby?"
"It's... a baby Barghest."
The students, initially terrified by the name, belatedly noticed its size and froze.
It was adorably tiny. Being a juvenile, the sinister mana cloaking its fur was also extremely faint.
'At this level, touching it shouldn't be a problem, right?' Lee Han wondered.
If they were supposed to learn how to handle Barghests, shouldn't they have been shown an adult? Why bring a baby Barghest they could just cuddle and roll around with?
He couldn't fathom the professor's reasoning.
"Does the baby Barghest have some hidden danger I don't know about?"
"I've never heard of anything like that..."
"Professor, why did you choose a baby Barghest?"
At Lee Han's question, Professor Bendozol's eyebrows twitched upward.
"What's wrong with a baby Barghest?"
"Uh... this is Just Vile Creatures, isn't it?"
"This is vile enough. Are you some Empire bureaucrat defining what counts as a vile creature?!"
"???"
As Lee Han stared blankly at the fuming professor, Uman emerged from behind.
"Ah, the lecture is in progress! Professor Bendozol, it's truly an honor to audit your class."
"Th-th-th-the honor is all mine, L-l-l-l-Lord Dragon!"
Professor Bendozol stammered like a lovestruck boy. Uman tilted his head curiously.
"Did I hear you scolding Wardanaz just now? Was that correct?"
"...No! Absolutely not! We're very close. That Wardanaz brat—no, Wardanaz himself respects and cherishes me most among all his teachers!"
"??"
When Lee Han shot him a what nonsense is this? look, the professor desperately pleaded with his eyes.
Please!
PLEASE!!!
Trapped like a desperate beast, Lee Han found himself speaking without thinking.
"...Well... in some aspects... there might or might not be such a side to it..."
"That's the first I've heard of it!"
Uman, intrigued, made a mental note.
Who would've thought Wardanaz favored Professor Bendozol the most among his teachers...?