Episode 1107
Episode 1107
"What's the matter?"
"M-My Lord. There aren't many students who can set things on fire, right? Moreover, Lord Wardanaz doesn't seem particularly dissatisfied with the current situation."
"Wrong! Lee Han is absolutely furious!"
Jowurin firmly denied the knight's words.
With Uman currently preventing the contractor from meeting the dragon, there was no way he wouldn't be angry.
"Regardless of anger, didn't that Wardanaz brat say he'd come personally? Then he must have set the fire."
The Skeleton Principal answered coldly.
Statistically speaking, this was a highly probable conjecture.
By now, he'd probably learned <Escape to the Shadow Fortress>.
But considering he'd weakened the magic by modifying an excessively difficult original text, it wouldn't be easy to break through the dragonkin's foresight that Uman had laid out.
In that case, that student would inevitably have to confuse the dragonkin to weaken their foresight abilities.
"I... I see!"
The death knight found himself nodding in understanding without realizing it.
At first, he thought it was far-fetched, but upon hearing it, it seemed quite plausible indeed.
As they say, no one knows a student better than their teacher?
"Forgive me, my Lord! How dare this foolish knight...!"
"Hahaha. It's fine. Not everyone can be as wise as this great mage."
Flattered and in good spirits, the Skeleton Principal generously forgave him.
However, Jowurin looked extremely sullen.
"To think Lee Han would burn down the estate because of Jowurin..."
"Don't worry too much about it. To become a great mage, one must know how to set a few fires."
Normally, Jowurin would have fallen for the Skeleton Principal's nonsense, but this time it didn't work. She kept sighing deeply, looking utterly dejected.
'He's really grown so much.'
The Skeleton Principal marveled inwardly before casually suggesting,
"Why don't you ask Wardanaz himself? That brat wouldn't care at all."
"Jowurin doesn't seem like she'll become a dragon like Azirmo..."
"Why would you need to become such a dragon anyway...?"
"Huh?"
"It's nothing. Go ahead and ask."
Jowurin gloomily grabbed her quill.
And after a while.
"...Huh? Lee Han says he didn't do it."
"Tell him not to lie. That cunning brat."
The Skeleton Principal snorted.
Indeed, this student truly had what it took to become a great mage.
To think he could lie even in this situation!
"......"
Having slipped past surveillance and reached the fifth floor of the Main Building, Lee Han glared at the Skeleton Principal and the knights.
The knights wouldn't have had anything to say even with ten mouths each.
'Damn it. It sounded so convincing when I heard it.'
"Logically speaking, if someone set a fire, wouldn't it have been the seniors rather than me?"
"You might have done it too..."
The Skeleton Principal averted his gaze and grumbled.
Who would have thought his prediction would be so off?
"You've got means to escape Uman's surveillance, and even if Uman later inspects you with the Scale, it'd be hard to catch you. So naturally, we thought you'd set the fire."
"I'm just terrified of the Principal's thought process... Wait, hold on. What do you mean His Highness Uman wouldn't be able to catch me even with the Scale?"
At Lee Han's question, the Skeleton Principal looked at him with the expression one reserves for the dumbest person in the room.
"Don't you know what kind of artifact the Scale of Souls is?"
"I heard it's an artifact that binds souls and makes them confess their crimes by placing them on a scale."
"...Have you been eating nothing but bad meals lately that your intelligence dropped?"
The Skeleton Principal flipped Lee Han's eyelid as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Lee Han swatted his hand away in displeasure.
"U-um, Lord Wardanaz. Just like how the freshman protection magic doesn't work on second-years and above, it seems soul-binding magic that pulls you out wouldn't work on you either..."
"Ah."
Only then did Lee Han understand.
"If you explain it like that, how is anyone supposed to understand?"
"How do you keep getting more shameless? More importantly, if you didn't start the fire... Wait, something's off with <Escape to the Shadow Fortress>. What exactly did you learn?"
"Huh? Didn't you know I had the score and send me there?"
Lee Han, puzzled, briefly explained what had happened.
Though Professor Paselet had fled, he'd somehow managed to complete it using existing Music Magic with the Senior's help.
The Skeleton Principal listened, nodding slightly, then spoke.
"Just as I expected."
"......"
That doesn't seem right...
While Lee Han gave him a suspicious look, the Skeleton Principal summoned his Death Knights.
"Track down Professor Paselet. Even if capturing her is impossible, weaken her foresight abilities as much as you can."
-Understood.
"Well, at least you learned <Escape to the Shadow Fortress>! That's good. You can come visit here more often now."
Though it would conflict with Uman's insistence on 'Ensuring Student Wardanaz's Healthy Daily Routine,' this much should be fine.
As expected, Jowurin's face brightened immediately. Part of it was due to the blazing fire outside, but even accounting for that, her face had clearly lit up.
"Wow!!!!! Then...!"
Excited, Jowurin began counting on her fingers.
"We have to play chess, finish that ball game from last time... Hmm... Hmm... Right! How about coming over for about ten days next week?"
The sheer audacity to rewrite the Empire's weekly system was impressive, but Lee Han couldn't bring himself to agree.
"Ah, Your Highness."
"Hm?"
"I have to go outside soon for a request."
"......"
Jowurin's mouth snapped shut. Lee Han and the Skeleton Principal cautiously studied her silent expression.
'Is she okay?'
'She'll be fine. Her Highness has grown a lot recently.'
If this were the old Jowurin, she would have reverted to her dragon form and cried enough to flood a village. But the current Jowurin was not the same as before.
Hadn't she been growing remarkably fast—enough to surprise even the Skeleton Principal himself?
Waaaaaah!
"Damn it."
The Skeleton Principal swiftly dodged the torrent of tears sweeping through the room. Lee Han, a step too slow, was drenched in the downpour.
"......"
"Predictions can be wrong sometimes. One must learn to accept that humbly."
'I should never trust him again.'
After shooting a glare at the Skeleton Principal, who had dodged alone, Lee Han turned back to console Jowurin.
Jowurin, now in her dragon form, sobbed miserably.
Sniff... Sniff...
"Your Highness. Your Highness."
Jowurin, still sniffling, looked up at her contractor.
"Your Highness, you've grown so much lately. You shouldn't cry over something like this."
Jowurin hasn't grown at all!
-Wow...
The Baby Basilisk in Lee Han's sleeve covered its face with its tail.
It was embarrassed just listening.
'I wasn't that bad!'
"You certainly seem that way."
"Quiet, you."
Lee Han shot a glare at the sarcastic Skeleton Principal before returning to persuasion.
"We can meet again after I finish the request."
Really... really? How long will the request take? Just once this semester?
Jowurin, slightly tempted, asked. Lee Han felt his breath catch.
"...A little longer than that."
Twice?
"A little more..."
Three times?
"Just a bit more than that..."
......
The Gold Dragon blinked her large eyes and glared. Tears welled up, ready to spill any second.
Unable to bear it, the Skeleton Principal spoke up.
"Your Highness. If you're going to be like this, why not just accompany him on the request?"
"...No. Headmaster, are you coming along?!"
Lee Han was utterly shocked.
What sinister scheme was this wicked archmage plotting now?
The Skeleton Principal grinned as he spoke.
"Surely you don't dislike accompanying His Highness?"
"......"
Lee Han resolved that once this matter was over, he would seriously consider ways to have Uman reappointed.
What kind of...
"Your Highness. When I go on requests, I don't go alone—Professors Bagrak and Garcia usually accompany me. Sometimes other students come along too."
Then Jowurin can come along too!
"...Yes... well... if you say so."
Lee Han hesitated but ultimately gave up.
Seeing Jowurin like this, he could clearly tell she absolutely wouldn't give up.
A Death Knight listening nearby cautiously asked:
-But Your Highness... Won't the Inspector be disappointed if they find out you tagged along without permission...?
"!"
Lee Han's face brightened at those words.
Could there actually be a reversal here?
Jowurin had indeed given some thought about Uman.
The Gold Dragon spoke with a serious expression, mumbling to himself.
There was no avoiding the backlash from following Lee Han.
"Then what?"
Hmm! Jowurin decided she'd worry about that later!
"......"
Lee Han was horrified by this ship-burning idea—deciding to deal with the consequences after tagging along—something only an Einrogard student would think of.
What the—???
"Magnificent, Your Highness. Frankly, if Your Highness insists, what can Uman possibly do about it?"
"Could you please just be quiet for once?!"
Lee Han really wanted to smack this teacher.
"So that's why we're all here together?"
"Yes... I'm truly sorry."
Inside the carriage, Lee Han kept bowing his head apologetically to Professor Garcia.
Even with ten mouths, he wouldn't know what to say.
"Ah, no. It's not your fault, Lee Han. More importantly, you weren't the one who started the fire, were you?"
"......"
"...Just kidding! It was a joke!"
At her student's sorrowful gaze, Professor Garcia hastily changed the subject.
She had assumed it would naturally be included!
While the two were talking, Jowurin was excitedly pressing her nose against the carriage window, gazing at the scenery outside.
Professor Garcia glanced at the Princess once before lowering her voice to a whisper.
"So... will you be coming along on future requests too?"
"Well... I suppose we'll just have to trust His Highness Uman."
For some reason, Professor Garcia felt an ominous premonition at that answer.
A premonition that she would keep tagging along from now on!
"...Shall we talk about the request? I know you've taken on many requests, Lee Han, but I'm curious why you chose this one. It's not something you can do with friends, is it?"
Professor Garcia checked the requester.
Strangely enough, it was a request submitted by the Daylily Magic Tower.
"It's the tower the Headmaster visited during last vacation to extort donations from. I felt a bit guilty about that..."
'Headmaster...!!!!'
At her student's answer, Professor Garcia screamed internally.
She had never felt more ashamed of being an Einrogard professor than today.
In fact, hadn't she herself been similarly exploited by the Skeleton Principal before?
The Headmaster's despicably cunning trick—dangling talented students before towers while hinting, "This one might join your tower after graduation?"—was utterly vile.
"Lee Han... you're truly too good a student for the Headmaster."
"Not at all. If anything, you're far too kind a teacher to me, Professor."
"Lee Han!"
For a moment, Professor Garcia's eyes stung, nearly bringing her to tears.
Tap tap.
-When she turned her head, Professor Voladi was patting her shoulder reassuringly. Professor Garcia was even more moved.
"Professor Bagrak...! You're moved too—"
"Time's up, Professor Garcia. Let's switch shifts."
"......"
Professor Garcia felt her tears instantly dry up.