Episode 1132
Episode 1132
Fortunately, contrary to the knights' worries, no unprecedented magic criminal was born.
After receiving a reply from the Skeleton Principal, Lee Han briefly read it before immediately tossing it into the campfire.
'Too much unnecessary content.'
Having faced not only his teachers but even beings from entirely different dimensions, this level of provocation wasn't even enough to make him yawn.
Deciding to get his revenge on the Skeleton Principal later, Lee Han first reviewed the contents of the reply.
'...It should be fine, right?'
If it had truly been a dangerous situation, the Skeleton Principal would have taken immediate action instead of sending such a pointless reply.
He would have given Lee Han specific instructions on what to do...
The fact that he didn't meant the situation was still under the Skeleton Principal's control. Thinking this, the sarcastic reply actually felt reassuring.
'Right. The professors are correct. Professor Bagrak's underhanded combat style would be difficult even for evil god worshippers to handle.'
When it came to fighting dirty, Professor Voladi was undoubtedly one of the top contenders at Einrogard. As a student who had personally experienced it, Lee Han could say this with certainty.
-Your Highness the Successor. Are you alright?
"Huh? I already said I was fine earlier."
Lee Han looked puzzled as the knights expressed their concern.
The shock from Professor Voladi's desertion had mostly subsided, so why were they asking again now?
-Well, you see... Normally in these situations, students who receive letters from their masters have a high probability of deserting as well...
"...If you know that, you should try to stop them."
He was almost afraid to ask how many seniors had deserted before him.
'Hmm.'
While his friend from the Blue Dragon Tower consulted with other professors about his teacher's desertion, Nigisor fell deep into thought.
What exactly was the identity of that spirit earlier?
'A spirit that powerful wouldn't have helped without reason.'
"Lord Nigisor. Lord Nigisor. Are you okay?"
"Are you talking about when I called Lord Wardanaz 'Hey, Wardanaz!' earlier? I don't think he heard it though..."
"...Not that."
The snake beastkin priest glared at her flamingly idiotic friend.
Of all things to have a good memory for!
"By the way, that's a secret. If you tell anyone, I'll report to the inspector that you participated in the last fire incident."
"Don't worry. This Nigisor isn't so idle as to go around saying such things. So what exactly are you worried about..."
"Obviously it's about Professor Bagrak, isn't it?"
Dijiling intervened, unable to watch any longer. She was worried they might start grabbing each other's collars if left alone.
"Professor Bagrak, you say?"
"What else would it be? Honestly, I never expected Lord Wardanaz to be so sad about it?"
Siana spoke frankly.
Truthfully, among Einrogard's professors, there weren't many whose disappearance would make students sad.
Just take Professors Verdus or Bendozol as examples (Professor Bendozol had actually disappeared before). No one would miss them.
And from Siana's perspective, Professor Bagrak wasn't exactly...
'Didn't he get beaten every time Lord Wardanaz saw him?'
"P-perhaps they had a master-disciple relationship we couldn't see from the outside."
Dijiling had actually thought similarly but kept it to herself.
Lee Han had looked far too gloomy.
"Actually, I was surprised too..."
"Sorry to keep you all waiting. What were you talking about?"
"Eek!"
Siana, who was the most startled, began hiccuping. Lee Han asked curiously:
"Are you okay?"
"I-I'm f-fine. Hic."
'She looks exactly like Gainando when he got caught secretly playing Wizard Cards.'
Lee Han briefly thought this but dismissed his suspicion.
Priestess Siana wasn't like Gainando—there's no way she'd do something like that. It would be rude to his friend.
"I was contemplating about spirits. During the fight earlier, I sensed an unusual spirit helping us..."
"Hic."
The most startled one, Siana, began to hiccup. Lee Han looked at her curiously and asked,
"Are you okay?"
"Y-y-yes, I'm f-fine. Hic."
'She looks exactly like Gainando when he got caught secretly playing mage cards.'
Lee Han briefly thought this to himself but quickly dismissed his suspicion.
Priestess Siana wasn't Gainando, and there was no way she'd do something like that. It was rude to even think that about a friend.
"I was just thinking about spirits. Earlier, during the fight, I felt an unusual spirit helping me..."
"Hic. Are you sure it wasn't just a misunderstanding?"
Siana reacted skeptically to her fellow tower member's claim.
In truth, priests were generally well-liked by spirits. Their personalities were sincere and gentle, so spirits had little reason to dislike them.
But even considering that, Nigisor's statement was quite peculiar.
A spirit that hadn't even formed a contract, hadn't even revealed itself, was showing him favor?
The more she knew about spirits, the more she realized how absurd that sounded.
"Hic. Unless it's a spirit with some grand, elaborate scheme, I don't think it would do something like that."
"Actually, it is a spirit with a grand, elaborate scheme. Sorry. It's called the General of Fire Heaven, and it's been chasing me relentlessly."
"......"
Siana's hiccups stopped instantly out of sheer shock. As she stammered incoherently, Nigisor asked in surprise,
"Wait, if it's a spirit as powerful as the General of Fire Heaven... was the Daylily Magic Tower's request really about subduing a spirit?"
"Right?"
Not just Siana, but the other two priests also stared pointedly at Lee Han.
Back when they first received the request, hadn't Lee Han vehemently insisted, "No! The Daylily Magic Tower just wanted to recruit... recruit me!" when they asked if it was a spirit-subduing request?
'It was a spirit-subduing request after all!'
No matter how you looked at it, there was no way the Daylily Magic Tower would summon an Einrogard student for such a petty reason when their name was involved.
It was definitely a spirit-subduing request.
"...Originally, the Daylily Magic Tower really did summon me to recruit me, but by sheer accident, the General of Fire Heaven got released."
"......"
'Damn. Even I think that sounds like a lie.'
Feeling defeated, Lee Han quickly changed the subject.
"That's not important. Anyway, Nigisor, listen—this spirit is extremely wicked and despicable. No matter how nicely it treats you, never trust it. Even if it tries to coax you into a contract, ignore it."
If the General of Fire Heaven had heard that, it would've been furious.
Though it had been relentlessly chasing Lee Han due to its bizarre tastes, the General of Fire Heaven was a spirit that never sought a contractor in the first place.
What reason would such a violent spirit have to form a contract with a novice priest like Nigisor? That statement was practically an insult to the General.
"Lord Wardanaz... That doesn't sound like very convincing reasoning."
"There's no need to say all of that..."
Siana and Dijiling both tried to stop Lee Han at the same time. Their expressions showed not even a shred of faith in their friend.
Nigisor protested, looking displeased.
"I don't see why you can't tell me."
"Why? Why? Every other priest here already knows the reason."
"W-well, we're just worried you might act... a little rashly..."
As the two priests ruthlessly criticized him, Lee Han spoke up again.
"No. I trust Priest Nigisor."
"Huh? Really? Maybe you should reconsider?"
"...That aside, if we don't tell him, he might get swayed if the spirit tries to coax him later."
Lee Han whispered, and Siana finally understood. She hadn't considered that possibility.
Of course, the General of Fire Heaven had no such intentions whatsoever...
Slightly indignant, Nigisor declared loudly,
"Hmph! I swear this to you—even if that spirit approaches me, I won't give it any response."
"Even if it tempts you with fire?"
"Of course!"
"Even if it offers you a truly magnificent and powerful Authority of Flame? Even if it promises you an Authority of Flame that burns endlessly, just like Lord Wardanaz's mana?"
"Priestess Siana..."
Lee Han gave her a dry look.
Why did his name have to come up in that context?
"Ugh... O-of course."
Nigisor even hesitated for a moment after hearing that. Lee Han sighed but decided to trust his friend anyway.
...Well, he did refuse...
"Alright. I'll trust you, then. We'll be setting off again soon—is everyone ready?"
"We're fine, but Lord Wardanaz, you..."
"Don't worry, Priestess Dijiling. I'm completely fine too."
'He doesn't look very okay at all.'
'Honestly, I'm a bit worried.'
Siana and Dijiling exchanged subtle glances and nodded slightly.
Wouldn't it be better to just send him back to school to rest?
"Wait."
Lee Han, who was about to turn away, stopped again and looked at his friends.
"If you see anyone suspicious on the way, make sure to tell me first. Understood?"
"...Wh-what for?"
Siana, who somehow sensed a murderous intent, asked hesitantly.
"'What for?'... After what just happened, we should be more cautious about safety when taking requests from now on. Why, would you rather report to the professors first instead of me?"
"Ah! I just—"
"Just?"
"...It's nothing! Haha. Haha... hic."
Siana, who had been about to say 'I thought you were planning to hunt down the Evil God Worshippers first and grind them to dust,' quickly shut her mouth.
"You've been hiccuping a lot. You're not tired, are you?"
"O-of course not!"
"Good, then."
With those final words, Lee Han finally left to report the situation to the professors.
The three priests exchanged looks.
"...Shouldn't we really send him back? If he's planning to hunt down Evil God Worshippers first and strike preemptively..."
"N-no way he'd do that."
"......"
After wrapping up affairs in the village and persuading the Fire Giants, the heat subsided quickly enough to be noticeably felt.
Amidst the villagers' gratitude, Lee Han's group set off again.
-Here, have some drinks for the road. We mixed fruit juice and sugar with ice.
"Thank... you?"
The oddly courteous attitude of the knights was an unexpected bonus.
It was hard to believe there was supposedly a rule forbidding students from snacking outside during missions.
"Lord Wardanaz. I heard from those mercenaries earlier—there's a restaurant about 30 minutes further this way that serves amazing mushroom quiche."
"No... I'm fine."
"Eh, why?! Do you dislike pie?"
"Because that village wasn't affected by the disaster, right?"
Lee Han replied as if the question itself was absurd.
They were here on a mission, not to indulge in the culinary delights of the Empire's western regions.
Ibinta inwardly winced at his words. Beside him, the knights clicked their tongues in disapproval.
-Idiot. What did you learn as a bandit if you can't even flatter properly?
-If the heir changes his mind because of you and reports this as a mistake, will you take responsibility?
"......"
Ibinta, who had been relieved at surviving his earlier blunder, cursed the knights inwardly.
It wasn't just him who messed up, yet these knights were singling him out.
'Honorable my ass...!'
For all he knew, those bastards might've been bandits in their past lives too. Or at the very least, their consciences were bandits.
Professor Garcia, sipping chilled apple juice through a reed straw, turned to her colleague.
"Should we buy something for Lee Han when we reach the next village?"
'He's not a child—I doubt something like that would cheer him up...'
Professor Kirmin thought so but nodded anyway.
Perhaps it was worth a try. If not for Wardanaz's sake, then at least for Professor Garcia's peace of mind.
"Don't worry too much, Professor Kim. Wardanaz is a strong enough mage not to be shaken by situations like this."
"Is that so?"
-Halt!
A distant checkpoint at a wooden bridge ahead shouted at their carriage.
Despite flying the Magic Academy's banner—which granted passage anywhere in the Empire—the professors were puzzled when ordered to stop.
"What's the matter?"
"Can't tell you! Scram!"
"What the hell..."
-Are they insane?
While even the knights looked baffled, Lee Han suddenly leaned out of the carriage.
Then he swung his staff and unleashed a spell without hesitation. The soldiers panicked and scrambled aside.
BOOOOM!
The outpost—barricade and all—was obliterated, leaving the checkpoint guards in shock.
They never expected their opponents to react like this.
"How dare you—?!"
"Disregarding Imperial law like that—sounds like Evil God Worshipper behavior to me. Shouldn't we subdue them first?"
"......"