Episode 1122
Episode 1122
In truth, the Hamster was trembling so violently with rage that he couldn't even muster a reply. Seeing such a pitiful and cute sight, Orlach internally lowered his evaluation several notches.
'This bastard. Judging by his bluster, he seemed no less than an Archmage, but it was all just empty bravado, wasn't it?'
Mortals were originally quite skilled at lying, after all.
Even if that Hamster had put on a show of bravado to escape danger, it wouldn't have been strange at all.
Orlach felt a renewed sense of pride in his decision.
Thanks to his time working for the Wardanaz Family, he hadn't been fooled by such a shallow lie. Any other demon would have been tempted and fallen for it.
"Hmm. I don't have anything to give you, but here, have some seeds as a snack..."
Now, the Hamster was foaming at the mouth and making gurgling noises. He seemed too indignant and furious to even speak.
Still, Lee Han's attempt to calm him down had some effect.
The Hamster had realized that no matter how angry he got, it wouldn't do any good.
-...Fine. I'll believe you were busy.
"No, of course you should believe me. I was busy."
This time, Lee Han retorted bluntly.
Come to think of it, he had been so busy all vacation that he barely had time to breathe. How dare they doubt him like that?
"Quite right, quite right. Should I get rid of that Hamster somewhere out of sight?"
The demon rubbed his hands together obsequiously. The Hamster clenched the seeds in his paws tightly.
To think he had considered collaborating with a demon bastard like this!
-So, what kept you so busy?
"Uh... well..."
Lee Han thought back to the events during his vacation.
He had been busy, but now that he thought about it, he felt strangely embarrassed to talk about it in front of outsiders.
Persuading the mages of the Magic Tower and nobles for Einrogard's funding, visiting another magic academy to meet a senior...
Still, fortunately, Lee Han managed to find things that were relatively less embarrassing and plausible.
"Evil God Worshippers! That's right. I was busy tracking down Evil God Worshippers. They were utterly vile and despicable scum."
-Evil God Worshippers? Really...
A normal mage would have reacted with, 'What kind of second-year chases Evil God Worshippers during vacation? Don't lie!' But the Hamster didn't find it strange at all.
For a boy from the Wardanaz Family, it wasn't the least bit unusual. Even if it did seem odd, the most he'd think was, 'The Skeleton Principal really trains his disciples harshly.'
-Which Evil God Worshippers? Prahgal?
"Sanguiros."
-Didn't those guys perish?
When the Hamster looked puzzled, Lee Han slowly shook his head.
"You're quite behind on the news outside."
-......
The Hamster barely stopped himself from throwing the seeds.
-That's right... I am behind. And whose fault is that?
"It seems they've made a resurgence this time."
Lee Han relayed the fact that the Sanguiros Cult was stirring in the shadows once more.
Hearing this, the Hamster squeaked mockingly.
-How wonderful. Chaos and discord should spread across the continent... Ack! What are you doing?!
"Why must you say such things?"
Lee Han used telekinesis to pick up the seeds and pelted him. The Hamster rolled around, cursing.
-Then what, am I supposed to cheer for Einrogard or something?!
"You asked me to lift your curse, didn't you? If you want my magic skills to improve quickly, you should wish for the cultists to disappear. That way, I won't be distracted and can focus."
-Well... I'm not sure if I can trust that...
The Hamster muttered under his breath.
He was worried that if he spoke too loudly, he might get pelted with seeds again. Becoming a hamster had made him a little more timid.
Given that he had received arcane knowledge from that Crazy Doppelganger, it was true that he had initially placed his hopes on this guy.
But after spending the vacation squeaking in this dark, chilly storeroom and nibbling on seeds, the Hamster had gradually grown more level-headed.
...Can I really just wait around, hoping his magic skills will become advanced enough to break the curse?
Simply waiting like this didn't suit the Hamster's temperament. Especially when there was a chance the other party might have forgotten altogether.
That was precisely why he had risked danger by coaxing the demon into preparing reagents and magic for him.
-How much of the inherited Spirit Book have you deciphered?
The hamster suddenly grew curious.
This boy from the Wardanaz family was utterly detestable—arrogant, petty, and miserly—but even so, one couldn't deny that he was a magical genius.
Just how much had he deciphered from the white magic tome left behind by the Skeleton Principal's Mad Clone?
If he had even the slightest clue about lifting the curse, there might still be hope...
Upon hearing the question, Lee Han's expression darkened slightly as he replied.
"I haven't heard the book's voice since then."
-......
"But if I keep working hard, won't the book open eventually?"
-...Couldn't you just gather the reagents and magic for me, please?
"Are we back to this again? Forcibly breaking the curse could damage your soul."
-I'll be fine! I'm telling you, I'll be fine!!
The hamster squeaked frantically, as if throwing a tantrum.
Regardless, Lee Han sternly refused before turning to leave with Orlach to meet the seniors, who had already been waiting for some time.
"Seniors. Here's the demon. Ask him anything you need."
"...Weren't you two just having a very long conversation? Do you know each other?"
Ogoldos asked, his voice tinged with confusion.
He knew asking a junior, 'Are you acquainted with a demon?' was a strange question, but he couldn't help himself.
"No. We just met today. The long conversation was because of that hamster over there."
"Indeed! I am a demon with absolutely no ties to the Wardanaz family—completely clean!"
Orlach eagerly chimed in to support the young master.
Hearing this, the Black Magic students all thought to themselves:
'So he's a demon connected to the Wardanaz family.'
'He must be a demon who's been caught by the Wardanaz family before.'
While the seniors questioned Orlach about matters they were curious about—such as which locations in their dimension were worth looting or attacking—Diret quietly called the junior aside.
"Junior. Junior."
"Yes?"
"Be honest with me."
"...Very well. I admit I've abused the inspector's authority for personal gain. But I stand firm. The balance between the schools—"
As the junior began rambling about something entirely unexpected, Diret grew bewildered.
"Wait. Hold on."
"?"
"What I asked was what you were talking about so extensively with that hamster and the demon."
"Ah... We were discussing the curse on the hamster. My magical progress has been slower than expected."
"I see. Understood. Then what was that about misusing the inspector's authority just now?"
"......"
Lee Han reflected deeply.
Even though he thought he'd grown somewhat resilient at Einrogard, he still had a long way to go.
To think he'd expose such a glaring weakness in his composure...
"...Actually, I've become the inspector's right-hand man."
"......"
"Senior?"
Receiving no response, Lee Han grew slightly flustered and pressed again.
"Sorry. I heard you, but I'm struggling to comprehend it."
"If you listen from the beginning, it'll make sense."
"That seems highly unlikely..."
Under his senior's skeptical gaze, Lee Han did his best to explain the situation as briefly and clearly as possible.
"...And that's how it happened."
"Wait, so when the professor suddenly said he'd write the reports himself—"
"That was just the professor awakening to his conscience... Yes. Exactly."
"And when Yukveltire volunteered to handle the Nightmare Echo Forest countermeasures—"
"That could've been a coincid— Actually, yes. That was me too."
Diret stared at his junior in utter shock.
He'd suspected something was up, but to think he'd been manipulating the inspector like this!
'Does he have some innate ability to earn the trust of dragons or something?'
One dragon might be plausible, but two? It was enough to make anyone suspicious.
"Senior... Please don't try to take the work back now..."
Lee Han cautiously interjected.
After going through the trouble of delegating tasks to Professor Mortum and Senior Yukveltire, it would be too unfair if Diret reclaimed them now.
"I won't. Don't worry."
"Are you truly serious?"
"Of course. Do you think I'm some fool who only does nice things for others?"
'A little bit.'
It was absolutely something he couldn't say out loud.
"Whether it's the professor or Yukveltire, doing a bit more work won't hurt them. Thanks. But..."
"Thank you, Senior! I'll use the inspector's authority to massively increase the Black Magic department's budget!"
"...I was about to tell you not to do that."
Diret let out a deep sigh and spoke.
He had been meaning to say it, but his junior had already given an example before he could.
"I'm grateful you helped me, but that's as far as it goes. Department budgets should be increased fairly through established rules. Forcing it will only make things harder to manage later."
"But how can we increase it fairly when our department has fewer members and receives fewer requests compared to others?"
"...Shut up."
Though Diret had always confidently answered his juniors' questions head-on, this time, he forcefully shut them down with his seniority.
Because he had nothing to say in response.
"Anyway, I've said my piece? Don't do it. And here—this is the list of spells we'll cover in this lecture. Read it during breaks. Ask if you don't understand."
The second-semester lecture, <Forbidden Arts of Black Magic (Not a Teaching Lecture)>, was about countermeasures against forbidden spells.
Given that the Black Magic department often dealt with dangerous spells and mysteries, it made sense to practice countermeasures in advance.
As Lee Han received the list, he tilted his head in confusion.
Some of the countermeasures looked oddly familiar.
Countermeasure for the Art of Malevolent Spirit Creation... <Dark Wave Diffusion>
...
...
Countermeasure for the Art of Toxic Domain Expansion... <Black Magic Cloak>
...
Countermeasure for Catoblepas Summoning... <Crow's Evil Eye>
...
These were spells Lee Han had either learned or been forced to master last semester.
When he gave his senior a puzzled look, Diret gave a small nod.
That nod carried a hidden meaning:
'Keep it a secret from the Headmaster.'
As the lecturer, giving students this kind of break was something the Skeleton Principal would never tolerate.
Even if the students had been running around busily all semester.
But Diret didn't care. She followed only her own conscience.
If she were afraid of the Skeleton Principal, she wouldn't have made it to fifth year at Einrogard in the first place.
"Senior."
"Yeah. Speak."
"Some of these spells are ones I've already learned. Shouldn't you fix that?"
"......"
As Lee Han returned to the dormitory with his hamster cage, he fell deep into thought.
Why had Senior Diret gotten so angry?
"Lee Han!"
"What is it?"
"The inspector—"
"No."
"?!"
Gainando was startled.
How had Lee Han guessed what he was about to ask?
"Wardanaz!"
"What is it?"
"Insp—"
"You too? No."
"?!!"
Ashan looked utterly disbelieving.
If Gainando was one thing, but even his own thoughts?
"Rumors seem to be spreading that I'm manipulating the inspector at will, but that's absolutely not the case. I've only given appropriate advice."
"Like how you manipulated His Highness Jowurin?"
"Who said that? Step forward."
The students of the Blue Dragon Tower fell deathly silent. Gainando swiftly kicked the friend who had just spoken in the rear.
The shoved-out student glared at Gainando with a look of betrayal.
"Traitor...!"
"Hmph. Talking about betrayal now."
"And it's much better than before, isn't it?"
Lee Han handed the student a bucket full of water as he spoke.
Thanks to Lee Han's advice, Uman's policies had indeed become relatively more lenient.
Even the seniors had praised it, saying, "Hmm, this is about on par with the Skeleton Principal, if not better."
"It might be better than before, but compared to our original lifestyle, it's still too harsh!"
"Whatever you do, don't say that in front of the seniors..."
Lee Han advised his friends.
Some seniors were already realizing that second-years had been living a bit too comfortably, and spreading rumors further wouldn't help.
"Also, you won't be able to meet the inspector for about two days. After hearing all my advice, he left to take separate action."
"What about after two days?"
"After two days, I'll be heading out to resolve the next request."
"......"
The students suddenly grew solemn. Someone muttered, "See, I told you guys not to mess with Wardanaz."