Episode 1104
Episode 1104
"Such an absurd joke! Jokes like these should be banned by imperial law!"
'I actually found that a bit funny.'
Lee Han was glad Jowurin wasn't in front of him right now.
Lately, she had become strangely perceptive, and there was a real chance she might have noticed.
"By the way, Your Highness. I have a question... If there's a way, couldn't Headmaster just cast the spell on me directly? Why do I have to learn it?"
"Eh?"
Jowurin froze at her contractor's pointed question.
Huh?
Now that you mention it...
"..."
"Th-There must be a reason! Probably...!"
"......"
Lee Han maintained an indifferent expression.
Frankly, he doubted there was any real reason.
If anything, it was probably just to torment his student or to force them to learn another spell!
'Well, it doesn't make much difference either way.'
Given the Skeleton Principal's personality, even if Lee Han begged him to cast the spell now, he wouldn't oblige. In the end, it was decided—Lee Han would have to learn it.
'...Wait, is His Highness Uman's presence actually working in my favor??'
He had never considered this before, but now he found himself seriously contemplating it.
If, among all the students at Einrogard, he was the only one benefiting from Uman's arrival...
As the contractor fell silent, Jowurin grew uneasy and called out in a hurried, scribbled tone.
"Lee Han?"
"Ah, my apologies, Your Highness. I was just thinking about what kind of spell it might be."
"See! Jowurin knew she could trust you!"
Relieved by her ever-dependable contractor's response, Jowurin beamed.
"Actually, Jowurin has been thinking too!"
"Oh? What is it, Your Highness?"
"Since you're already going to learn Divination Magic, why not master all the spells for this semester at once!"
"..."
"And then?"
"Then, do the same with Transmutation Magic—learn all the semester's spells in one go... If you finish everything like that, Uman will have plenty of time left, so surely he'll allow..."
Lee Han quietly closed his book.
'Hmm... I should seriously start considering ways to keep His Highness Uman here until next semester.'
On his way to the Void Hall to meet Professor Paselet, Lee Han spotted a familiar senior and greeted them warmly.
"Good day, Senior Falkrius."
"Wahahaha! Wardanaz! Long time no see! Did you have a good break? Though I doubt it!"
"?"
The unconventional greeting left Lee Han slightly bewildered.
Was this some kind of Flemeng Order greeting ritual?
"Why do you assume I didn't have a good break?"
"Pfft. Weren't you stuck with the professors the whole time?"
"No...!"
Lee Han was speechless.
What kind of rumors had spread that far?
"Where did you hear—and just because I spent time with professors doesn't automatically mean it was a miserable break."
"Of course it was miserable. What kind of nonsense are you spouting, kid?"
The club seniors stared at him as if he had said something absurd.
Just as throwing mud into water turns it murky, throwing professors into a break turns it miserable.
This wasn't up for debate. It was an absolute truth.
"..."
"So, where are you all headed? I've heard everyone's been groaning about the inspector lately—is the Kitchen Club doing alright?"
The inspector's storm had swept through all of Einrogard, and even the Kitchen Club wasn't exempt.
Especially given Uman's temperament—there was no way he'd let students freely make and sell food without permission.
"Ah! We're actually doing great."
"Eh??"
"His Highness hired us. To make his... uh, 'leftovers'—"
"Hey. Health food. Health food."
"Right, sorry. Health food. Who do you think's making it?"
"......"
Lee Han realized the truth and was impressed.
As expected, the seniors were no pushovers.
Just as reeds survive storms while oaks break, they had adapted flexibly to the situation.
Faced with the threat of shutdown, they had immediately switched sides and gotten hired!
"Pfft. Honestly, the work itself is even easier than before. Since His Highness provides all the ingredients from scratch."
"But the meals are still quite the ordeal, aren't they?"
Falkrius waved his hand as if to dismiss the notion.
"Pffft. I lived through the Great Spirit Famine myself, Wardanaz. I'm grateful to eat anything."
"Actually, that's just Senior Falkrius. For the rest of us, the food still tastes terrible. So we sneak bites while cooking."
"!"
Lee Han's eyes widened at the senior who was glancing around furtively while revealing this secret.
Such a trick existed?
"But with the dragonkin's magic, won't violations be detected later?"
"Hehe. Actually, it's all permitted. We convinced them that tasting ingredients is essential for proper cooking. Wardanaz, you should drop by secretly when you have time and grab some bites too."
Mages were always adept at tipping the scales in their favor.
The seniors of the Kitchen Club were skillfully exploiting the rules to fill their bellies during the cooking process.
While grand feasts were impossible, it was still far better than the 'healthy' meals.
"...Huh? Wait a minute. They've started working, so why wasn't I called?"
Lee Han was puzzled.
Come to think of it, he was also a member of the Kitchen Club and prided himself on being a fairly skilled cook—so why hadn't anyone called him?
At his question, the seniors looked at him strangely.
"The inspector told us not to call you. Didn't you know?"
"Excuse me?"
"To be precise, he said to limit calling students who've joined more than a certain number of clubs."
"...I-I see. Thank you for letting me know."
Who would've thought such consideration extended even to club activities...!
Upon arriving at the Void Hall, Lee Han was about to greet the Golem Senior loitering ahead when he froze in shock.
"Senior! Why have you turned into a stone golem?!"
Just last semester, the senior had been a bronze golem (occasionally turning into brass), but now he had transformed into stone.
Other school mages might scoff—'Why make a fuss over such a trivial thing?'—but Lee Han was a student of the Divination Magic School.
Divination mages were those who could read the future in the tiniest of differences.
This senior had already turned into a golem to avoid misfortune, and now he was changing materials again?
Something was definitely up.
"The inspector said bronze was too dangerous, so I had to switch to stone."
"......"
The exhaustion in the Golem Senior's voice was palpable.
Though his golem face showed no expression, it was clear the inspector had worn him out. Lee Han quickly changed the subject.
"I came to see the professor. Is he inside?"
"Ah. Here to learn magic? Come in. I'll teach you."
"?"
Lee Han felt something off about the Golem Senior's reply.
Huh? 'Didn't the Skeleton Principal assign me to Professor Kraer?' He was sure the Skeleton Principal had entrusted him to Professor Paselet—so why was the senior offering to teach?
"Did something happen to the professor?"
"Something happen? Well... I suppose you could call it that. Though you'll find out soon enough. You know the professor has multiple personalities, right?"
"Yes."
"When news of the inspector's arrival spread, the professor brought out a personality he doesn't usually use."
Professor Paselet, a Banshee half-blood and exceptional divination mage, had split his personalities to distribute the risks of divination.
But this came with drawbacks—one being that students found it extremely annoying to deal with him.
Sometimes he was normal, other times unbearably timid, and still other times downright foul-tempered...
"There was another personality?"
"Of course. The one that surfaced this time is the personality of the greatest archmage."
"!"
Lee Han was stunned.
The personality of the greatest archmage? Just the name alone sounded impressive.
"If it has a name like that, it must be extraordinary..."
"Right. In this state, the professor's divination reaches an entirely different level."
"But what does that have to do with the professor not being here now?"
Lee Han thought that if the professor's level had increased, shouldn't he be able to teach even better?
Perhaps he went to obtain something else needed for magic?
"Hmm. You still don't understand... junior. Outstanding divination is often difficult to comprehend from an outside perspective. You know that, right?"
"Ah? Yes."
Lee Han nodded for now.
It was true that once divination magic reached a certain level, it became hard to understand from the outside. When he'd heard the prophecy 'If you wish to avoid impending misfortune, you must avoid all members of the imperial family,' how could anyone possibly grasp what it meant?
But what did that have to do with the current situation?
"The professor probably thought meeting you would bring him misfortune, so he entrusted you to me and ran away."
"......"
Lee Han's expression immediately turned serious.
What kind of nonsense was that?
"That's...! How rude!"
"Why are you getting mad at me? The one who ran away was the professor."
Golem Senior shook off some dust as if feeling wronged.
As if it wasn't bad enough dealing with the professor's eccentric orders in his genius state (like covering the Void Hall's exterior with thick ivy or filling up the Lake of Uncertainty prepared for lectures)—now this!
"My...my apologies. That was such an absurd slander that I lost my temper for a moment."
'Though it's not entirely wrong,' Golem Senior thought to himself.
This junior truly had a talent for attracting dangerous figures.
Just last semester, hadn't he been wandering around not only with the Headmaster's Crazy Doppelganger but even a dragon?
It made sense that Professor Paselet, with her keen senses, would perceive the danger and flee.
"Where is the professor? Since it's the Headmaster's order, let's contact him and tell him to return quickly. I'll prove his prophecy was mistaken."
Overwhelmed by the junior's blazing enthusiasm, Golem Senior slowly replied.
"Give it up. When an outstanding divination mage decides to flee, finding them is nearly impossible. And I can teach you in the professor's place, so..."
"Wouldn't that be wasting Senior's time!? We must find the professor!"
Lee Han was practically jumping up and down. Golem Senior felt slightly moved by his earnestness.
Despite all the frightening rumors about him, he really wasn't a bad kid.
"Enough. Give up. Here, let's see what the professor left behind."
Golem Senior unrolled the scroll Professor Paselet had entrusted to him.
What kind of magic could it be? 'Star divination? No, he wouldn't recommend star divination in this season. Lake divination? Or perhaps something more aggressive. Ancestral Voices... but that's 5th Circle magic—too advanced for a second-year. No, he wouldn't care about that.'
Snap!
[To Lee Han of the Wardanaz Family: Please teach him <Escape to the Shadow Fortress>.
P.S. Do not call for me, attempt to locate me, or report me to the inspectors.
—Paselet Kraer]
"...Are you out of your mind?!"
Golem Senior shouted in shock.
The magic that appeared was far more difficult than he'd anticipated.
Teaching this to a second-year??
"Why teach this? It's not like he needs to flee from the surveillance of some evil dragon!"
"!"
Lee Han hesitated.
His senior was sharper than he'd expected.
"Senior. To be honest, though it's not the conventional method, I have been practicing <Escape to the Shadow Fortress>."
This was a piece he'd obtained when receiving sheet music for Music Magic.
Unlike other Music Magic spells, he hadn't mastered it yet but had been practicing it diligently.
"Ah, really?"
"Yes. So if you could just instruct me—"
"Got it, got it. Hold on."
Golem Senior told Lee Han to wait briefly and tried to sneak out of the room.
In that instant, Lee Han immediately grabbed the rock serving as the senior's hand.
"...Senior. You weren't planning to dump this on another senior and run away, were you?"
"You...! What divination magic did you use to foresee that?!"