Episode 1125
Episode 1125
'Well, the Headmaster might need some distractions too.'
Upon reflection, taking over the work of the Illusion Magic department wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
There's even a saying that people suddenly age when they stop doing the work they used to do.
Of course, the Skeleton Principal was an archmage far removed from aging, but he clearly needed proper distractions.
In fact, he'd been grumbling nonstop because of the inspector's visit...
'If he gets absorbed in the work, he might even forget about having his authority taken away by His Highness Uman.'
Though there was also a chance it might fuel his resentment further, at least that fire would be directed at Professor Kirmin.
It wasn't a bad outcome for Lee Han.
"Thank you, Professor."
"What's there to thank me for?"
"Oh, by the way, will you be giving extra lectures when you go outside too?"
"What nonsense is that? ...Wait, did other professors give lectures when they went outside?!"
Even if Voladi did that, to think Professor Garcia would stoop to such things too.
Professor Kirmin couldn't hide his shock.
...Had he picked up bad habits from hanging around them?!
'You really shouldn't learn those kinds of things...'
He worried that his good junior might become rough around the edges because of bad influences.
The request Lee Han carefully chose after much deliberation was one commissioned by a religious order.
It wasn't because the reward was exceptionally high. After all, the Empire's religious orders weren't particularly powerful financially.
In terms of pure financial strength, the great noble families, imperial relatives, or merchant families were far wealthier.
Yet Lee Han didn't refuse the order's request. He did have a bit of a conscience, after all.
'Hmm. Well, I have joined several orders and received divine magic too.'
Though he hadn't sought out divine magic intentionally and had received it somewhat accidentally, he still felt a slight sense of responsibility.
And honestly, the requests from the imperial relatives were too good to be true, which made him wary.
They promised this and that if he just showed up, but who knew what might happen? He might end up having to greet the imperial relatives' in-laws and distant cousins.
The next day, the Imperial Newspaper might run headlines like <Lee Han of the Wardanaz Family Declares Support for Imperial Relative A... Shocking!>
In comparison, the order's request was more trustworthy. They said it was fine even if he couldn't come, and their purpose was sincerity itself.
A request to help solve the drought and heatwave problems in the western regions. Just hearing about it made the request feel earnest.
The problem was...
"...Why are you all here?"
"W-well, we're priests too, you know. Lord Wardanaz."
Priestess Siana answered in a fluster.
Of course there would be priests from the order since it was their request!
"I see..."
Lee Han realized he'd overlooked one crucial fact.
That his friends could also take on requests.
'I let my guard down.'
He'd assumed it would be a solo request, like the one he'd taken with Moradi, not one where others would join.
But thinking about it, there was no way the order would leave spare hands idle when doing this kind of work. It was only natural they'd call others if needed.
"Is there some reason you can't go with us?"
Siana gave him a slightly suspicious look.
Wardanaz's reaction was a bit stranger than usual.
Of course, Wardanaz was always a little odd, but today's reaction was oddly hard to understand.
"Well... Hmm."
Lee Han glanced at his priest friends. Priest Nigisor and Priestess Dijiling were looking at him curiously.
"Fine. I shouldn't hide this. The truth is, I currently have a grudge against an evil god cult whose name I can't reveal."
"Is it the Prahgal Cult?"
"No."
"The Ksaxarigol Cult?"
"I said no."
"Then..."
"...I said I can't reveal the name."
Lee Han glared at his friends in disbelief.
"Do you think this is some kind of quiz show called 'Guess Which Cult I Have a Grudge Against'?"
The priests whispered in disappointment.
"I thought we could guess it right..."
"Maybe we did guess right, and he's just pretending otherwise. Lord Wardanaz is quite skilled at that sort of thing."
"In my opinion, the Ksaxarigol Cult seems the most likely..."
Lee Han irritably slammed his staff against the floor. With a loud bang, the priests fell silent.
"Anyway, I have a grudge with this Evil God Cult, and I'm worried you might get dragged into it unnecessarily."
If it were the White Tiger Tower guys, he wouldn't feel as bad, but these were his kindest priest friends in the same year—that was a different story.
Hearing this, Siana raised her hand and asked,
"I have a question."
"Go ahead. But asking which Evil God Cult it is—that's off-limits."
"That's not it. Um... but didn't Lord Wardanaz usually get dragged into trouble even without having a grudge?"
At Siana's sharp question, even Dijiling—let alone Nigisor—gasped aloud.
It was far too brutal a question to ask a friend.
"A-Ah, even so, isn't that a bit too harsh?"
"That's right. It's not like Lord Wardanaz wanted things to turn out that way."
"But... it's something that needed to be said."
Despite her friends' scolding, Siana remained firm.
If she worried about every little thing like this, she wouldn't have been able to stick around Wardanaz in the first place.
And aside from the Evil God Cult, Wardanaz already had plenty of enemies.
From the Anti-Magic Zealots to Magic Criminals, they were probably lined up—why bring it up now?
"......"
Lee Han grew sullen. Seeing his reaction, Siana realized she might have gone too far.
"Ah, no! I didn't mean it was Lord Wardanaz's fault or anything!"
"That's why I said it was too harsh!"
"Please cheer him up quickly!"
"It's not about fault! Would you like a potion to lift your mood?"
Siana pulled out an ice cream float she'd been saving. This drink, stored in a potion bottle, had become something that could land you in the Punishment Room just for possessing it ever since the current inspector's ban.
"...That's not the point."
'He changed the subject.'
'He definitely changed the subject.'
'He changed the subject...'
"Even if we set aside going out together, the important thing is that you need to be careful around these Evil God Worshippers."
Lee Han narrowed his focus.
Thinking about it, these priests weren't the type to stay put even if told not to go, and if he stopped them just because of himself, that would be unfair in its own way.
At the very least, he had to make sure they prioritized safety.
"If you encounter anyone whispering suspiciously outside, don't engage—report it to me immediately."
"By any chance... is it a flame-wielding Evil God?"
Nigisor asked with a hint of anticipation in his voice.
If that were the case, he was already plotting to stab the cultists in the back and steal their flames.
"...No."
"Then... is it related to alchemy...?"
"Do you all think Evil Gods are some kind of traveling merchants or something?"
Lee Han glared at his friends.
The priests quickly shook their heads and exclaimed:
"We won't be swayed by any suspicious whispers! If outsiders approach, we'll keep our distance from the start!"
"I'll do the same! Come on, Priestess Dijiling, you too!"
'I never even considered doing that in the first place...'
Dijiling felt slightly wronged.
He had zero intention of getting involved with Evil God Worshippers from the start!
"Ah! Professor Garcia!"
Professor Garcia, the first of the faculty group to arrive, greeted the students warmly.
"Good to see you all. By the way, Lee Han—the Headmaster mentioned he had some news and said you should hear it directly from him."
"Huh? Why me?"
"Who knows? Maybe someone sent a letter asking the Headmaster to handle matters related to the Illusion Magic school?"
"...Ah."
Rather than dragging out an unfavorable topic, Lee Han quickly reported the matter related to the Sanguiros Cult.
And the fact that his name was on the list as well.
"Could it be because of the Ghoul King? Or the Frost Giant King? The Anti-Magic Zealots? Magic Criminals? Or perhaps because of the contract with His Highness Jowurin..."
"...Professor. Aren't you surprised?"
'Ah.'
Only then did Professor Garcia realize her mistake.
Come to think of it, the proper reaction as a professor upon hearing such news should have been, 'Those vile Evil God Worshippers! How dare they target my student!'
"I... I was really shocked! These wicked beings—if they show their faces, I won't let them get away with it!"
"...Thank you."
"Oh, by the way. Is Professor Ku coming to give a lecture as well?"
Professor Garcia asked as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
If a professor was accompanying them, she assumed there must be a lecture involved.
"No."
"Why not? Is there some kind of problem?"
"Professor... It's not like lectures are mandatory every time..."
"...?!!!"
Professor Garcia's eyes widened.
That...
That's true, isn't it?!
The group rode swiftly in two carriages.
Perhaps still reeling from the earlier conversation, or perhaps out of consideration to let Lee Han spend time with his friends, Professor Garcia dragged Professor Voladi into the second carriage.
-Professor Bagrak. We can easily make up for the lecture progress with the remaining time anyway!
-You're right, Professor Bagrak. Let's leave the students to chat among themselves.
Lee Han looked at his friends with newfound admiration.
Who knew the power of friendship could be this strong? If it grew even stronger, they might even be able to take down an Evil God.
"Lord Wardanaz."
"What is it, Priest Nigisor?"
"I heard you recently vanquished a powerful fire spirit..."
"Ghk. Cough!"
Lee Han choked on the mood-enhancing ice cream potion Priestess Siana had given him.
This was an ambush he hadn't seen coming.
How on earth...?
"Wh-what are you talking about?"
"Wasn't the Daylily Magic Tower's request about subduing a spirit?"
Nigisor looked puzzled instead.
Why would he panic over a request worthy of pride?
Of course, from Lee Han's perspective, it was just absurd.
First, he was surprised the rumors had already spread...
...and second, wasn't Priest Nigisor's motive for asking way too obvious?!
'Whatever his goal is, I absolutely don't want to tell him.'
Whether it was to ask for an introduction to the General of Fire Heaven or something else, he wanted to shut it down at all costs. Lee Han feigned ignorance.
"No. The Daylily Magic Tower's request was just..."
"Just?"
"...just them trying to impress me. With banquets and meals and such. They wanted to recruit me into their tower after graduation."
"......"
"......"
The kind Priestess Dijiling nodded as if she believed him, but the two mischievous priests did not.
They immediately exchanged skeptical glances.
'That sounds like a lie.'
'I think so too.'
No matter how exceptional Wardanaz was, would an organization like the Daylily Magic Tower stoop so low as to lure someone like that?
The towers invited mages based on their achievements and skills, not by bribing them with sweets and drinks.
Nigisor decided to probe further with a question.
"I'm curious about what kind of events took place."
"Well, first they held a banquet, then they invited famous musicians from the Empire for a concert, and after that, a lakeside meditation retreat..."
"......"
"...You don't believe me, do you? Right?"
"Ah, no. We believe you."
"How could we doubt Lord Wardanaz!"
Seeing Siana and Nigisor's blatant disbelief, Lee Han regretted not bringing Jowurin along.
'Maybe I should've brought him.'
"No matter how much you act like that, it really happened. If you don't believe me, you can ask the tower later... No, scratch that. They'd probably deny it. There were adventurers and knights there too... No, forget it."
If they asked the adventurers or knights, they'd inevitably hear about the General of Fire Heaven, so Lee Han quickly dismissed the idea.
"Fine. Professor! You can ask the professors when we arrive."
"......"
"...Priestess Siana, you don't actually think I could bribe the professors too, do you?"
"Gasp. Wh-what?!"