Episode 1100
Episode 1100
"Then Your Excellency Should Reflect on This"
The Great Race's inspector resolved to sternly point out this fact to the Skeleton Principal upon returning to the Main Building.
For a disciple being taught by an archmage to respect and cherish another mage more...
This was undoubtedly due to the archmage's own habitually indulgent attitude.
"Professor. Is it really necessary to go this far just to get into the Dragon's good graces?"
Lee Han asked seriously.
Of course, Lee Han didn't particularly like Professor Bendozol.
If one were to divide Einrogard's professors, Professor Garcia would be at one extreme and Professor Verdus at the other—Professor Bendozol clearly belonged to the latter category.
But even if he wasn't fond of someone, seeing them grovel like this made his heart ache slightly as their student.
Was the Dragon's attention really that important?
"Shut up!"
Professor Bendozol shot Lee Han a look brimming with resentment.
"No, what did I do wrong—"
"How could someone like you, basking in the Dragon's favor, possibly understand my feelings?!"
"......"
Though Lee Han usually held his own even when arguing with professors, this time he was completely overwhelmed by Professor Bendozol.
There was just that much raw emotion in the professor's voice.
"Professor."
"What?!"
"Truthfully, being favored by the Dragon isn't entirely a good thing."
Lee Han offered this advice sincerely.
Just considering the status the Dragon race held in the Empire was enough to understand. Once entangled with them, troublesome matters inevitably followed.
For example, being invited to their mansion only to be handcuffed...
"Lee Han. That doesn't sound like very good advice."
Yoner, standing nearby, whispered.
No matter how you looked at it, this advice seemed like pouring oil on fire.
Of course, her friend meant well, but there was no way a narrow-minded professor would take it that way.
"You... this... grrr..."
"P-Professor!"
Finally pushed beyond his limits by his student's brazenness, Professor Bendozol clutched his chest and collapsed forward, foaming at the mouth.
"Wardanaz assassinated the professor!"
"No, you lunatics!"
Lee Han vehemently denied it.
He was the only one here who'd tried to advise the professor, and now he was being misunderstood like this?!
"Ah, I see! Sorry, Wardanaz. I understand now. Wardanaz didn't assassinate the professor! Everyone remember this! Wardanaz didn't assassinate the professor!"
"......"
Though unsure what exactly had been understood, Lee Han kicked his friend's shin once before borrowing a potion from Yoner.
"Yoner, can you lend me a potion?"
Yoner hesitated briefly between handing over a potion that would completely knock someone out and one that would restore their senses, but trusting her friend, she chose the latter.
'Did I choose right?'
Fortunately, she had. As Professor Bendozol regained consciousness, Lee Han sighed in relief.
"Professor, are you alright?"
"You... this... ugh... damn..."
"Professor Bendozol. Are you feeling unwell?"
Just then, Uman appeared after surveying the surroundings. The giant humanoid Dragon inspector cast a concerned look at the professor.
Startled, Professor Bendozol struggled to move his stiff tongue to respond.
"I-I am perfectly... healthy. Please don't worry."
With superhuman willpower, the professor altered his own physiology to break free from the paralysis.
He repeatedly assured Uman that he was absolutely fine.
"See! There's no need for concern. Teaching Einrogard's students is both my joy and my sacred duty!"
"......"
"......"
Though the students stared at him with looks of disbelief and disdain, Professor Bendozol paid them no mind.
To the professor, this gathering was nothing more than the Dragon and a bunch of pebbles.
"Understood. I, Uman, shall trust Professor Bendozol alone."
"The honor is mine! Sniff!"
"But Professor, there's one thing I'd like to ask."
"Ask me anything!"
"It's about the barghest you brought..."
Before Uman could even finish his sentence, Professor Bendozol quickly flattered him.
"It's a completely harmless baby barghest! Because I am a professor who cherishes my students!"
The moment he heard that a dragon had come as an inspector, the first thing Professor Bendozol did was scour the mountains for two whole days to find a baby barghest.
It was obvious what would happen if he brought out a fully grown barghest and the inspector saw it.
'Professor Bendozol. I'm deeply disappointed that you would expose students to such a dangerous creature. There will be no contracts with you. Moreover, I, Uman, will spread this rumor to every dragon I know.'
'No!!!'
Since he couldn't arbitrarily change the lecture content he'd reported to the Skeleton Principal, he had at least tried to switch it to a baby one.
Fortunately, his all-night search for a baby barghest had paid off. Who would have thought he'd receive praise from a dragon like this?
"However, a baby barghest seems too weak to be of much help in learning how to deal with them. Is there perhaps some hidden secret that Uman is unaware of?"
"......"
Even a mage witnessing the sky collapsing probably wouldn't make the same expression Professor Bendozol wore right now.
The professor was so utterly devastated that he couldn't utter a single word. 'I should just die,' he resolved inwardly.
To miss such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity (though, come to think of it, he did meet His Highness Jowurin last year) to impress a dragon and instead make such a humiliating mistake...
There was no more value left in this life. It seemed he'd have to go die in some desolate, monster-infested place.
But then, the sly, arrogant, cunning, and enviable voice of a certain student reached his ears.
"Professor, pull yourself together. It's not over yet."
"You..."
Professor Bendozol choked up.
Who was the one who caused him to collapse like this, only to say such things now?
Yet, the weakened professor found himself unconsciously listening to his student's words.
"...What do you mean, it's not over?"
"You just need to convincingly explain that there was a purpose behind choosing the baby barghest. Anything but admitting you picked it to flatter him."
"How can I possibly lie to a dragon's face?"
Professor Bendozol asked in horror, as if the mere thought was terrifying. The idea of lying before such a magnificent creature... 'Isn't it easy?' Lee Han thought to himself.
Just thinking about it, Lee Han had already lied to Jowurin multiple times with promises like, "I'll definitely play with you tomorrow..."
"Or would you rather be remembered as a disgrace for the rest of your life?"
"......"
Professor Bendozol's face twisted in agony.
It was as if someone was slicing open his stomach with a knife.
"...Let the lecture begin now! Your Highness, I will show you the reason I chose a baby barghest!"
"Ooh...! Professor Bendozol, I look forward to it!"
"You brats—no, you little—no..."
"...Just say 'students.'"
Lee Han muttered under his breath, exasperated.
How long had it been since he last called them students that he was stumbling over it?
"Right, you students! You must be wondering why I chose a baby barghest instead of a fully grown one."
"Didn't you pick the baby barghest just to flatter him?"
"I thought you just couldn't afford a grown one."
"Shut—ugh. You all have such excellent senses of humor."
Professor Bendozol forced the words out while suppressing his anger. The students' eyes gleamed at the sight.
Could they torment him without retaliation?
"Everyone, stop. The professor is about to lecture."
"Wardanaz, don't you feel like getting revenge after what he did to you?"
"...Be quiet."
Lee Han, who had almost wavered, covered his ears. His friends' words were dangerously persuasive.
"I think Wardanaz... pities Professor Bendozol for failing to contract with a dragon, while he himself already has."
"Indeed. That makes sense. Even though he's only a second-year, he's already contracted with a dragon. Seeing a professor who couldn't manage it in his entire life must be pitiful..."
The students casually exchanged insults that would have given Professor Bendozol a second heart attack if he'd heard them.
Fortunately, Professor Bendozol was too preoccupied with calming the baby barghest to notice.
"Look! The real purpose of today's lecture isn't learning how to deal with an adult barghest, but how to tame and make a baby barghest obey!"
"......"
The sudden professor's shout made the classroom atmosphere turn icy.
It was far too abrupt.
"...You can make a barghest obey?"
"First I'm hearing of this. Are they really tamable monsters?"
Despite their cute appearance, these death-calling wolfhounds were notoriously vicious. The fact they appeared in the <Just Vile Creatures> lecture proved they weren't ordinary monsters.
Considering the dark mana shrouding their entire bodies, they shouldn't be monsters that could normally be tamed...
"I underst... I understand why you students are skeptical! But there exists a secret method known to few."
"Is that really true?!"
Durgyu asked in surprise, causing Professor Bendozol to flare up in anger.
"You brat! You're only asking because you want to poach baby barghests, aren't you!"
"...Ah, no..."
The orc friend, suddenly branded as a future poacher, was left speechless. Uman, sitting nearby, asked with clear confusion.
"Are you suspecting students who've done nothing wrong?"
"I-it was a joke! Just a joke!"
"Hmm. Still, please be careful, Professor Bendozol. There's a clear distinction between professor and student—too many jokes can disrupt academic decorum."
"I'll remember that! I'll carve it into my bones, Your Highness!"
"That won't be necessary."
Having narrowly escaped disaster, Professor Bendozol wasted no more time and revealed his secret method.
Though unknown to most mages, Professor Bendozol—who'd spent years with monsters—knew how to tame baby barghests.
"First, you must reduce the mana shrouding their fur. This mana is what creates distance between barghests and ordinary lifeforms."
"But... isn't that mana connected to the barghest's life force?"
The yin mana shrouding these wolfhounds was akin to blood flowing through a human body.
Just as draining all blood to remove its vitality would kill a person, the same went for barghests.
"Listen carefully to the potions and spells I'm about to mention. When combined, they can suppress the barghest's mana while preventing it from leaking out!"
Professor Bendozol listed three potions and four spells, explaining their combination.
The potions respectively reduced mana quantity, reversed its nature, and suppressed its flow, while the spells acted as stoppers, sealing the mana inside and preventing leakage.
'Impressive.'
Lee Han listened in admiration. True to a mage who'd spent his life chasing monsters, Professor Bendozol's method was remarkably ingenious.
While any moderately skilled mage could cast those spells and brew those potions, combining them to tame a monster like a barghest...
Whimper.
Mid-lecture, the baby barghest crawled close and clung to Lee Han's leg.
The baby basilisk bristled and flicked its tail out to chase it away. Lee Han quietly warned the tail peeking from his sleeve.
"Tsk."
Hng.
Lee Han scooped up the clingy dark wolfhound pup with one arm and continued listening attentively.
'Indeed. Until all three potions are administered, even a baby remains dangerous...'
"......"
Giselle, sitting beside him, stared intently.
She glanced once at the baby barghest in her friend's arms, once at her friend, then back at the lecture.
"What's wrong? Did the White Tiger Tower brats cause trouble again?"
"...Don't you find anything strange?"
"Strange?"
Lee Han tilted his head.
"Are you saying that if you've reduced quantity and reversed nature, flow suppression becomes unnecessary? But considering spell duration, flow suppression seems quite essential—"
"Never mind. Just listen to the lecture, idiot."
'No!'
Suddenly insulted, Lee Han felt deeply indignant.
White Tiger Tower students truly had no manners whatsoever.