Episode 1136
Episode 1136
Clap clap clap—
When Zandanni unconsciously began clapping, the junior from Baldrogard next to him flusteredly spoke up.
"No. Is that really allowed?"
"Why wouldn't it be?"
"......"
There was a saying that if you did something crazy with enough confidence, it became difficult for others to point it out.
When Zandanni boldly asked "why wouldn't it be" about something that was obviously not allowed, the junior was left speechless.
"Well... according to imperial law... uh... isn't it prohibited? Or perhaps I'm mistaken about imperial law?"
Had the imperial laws been revised without his knowledge?
"Of course the empire's sacred laws wouldn't permit such things. But do you really think His Majesty the Emperor created those laws specifically to prevent this kind of situation?"
"...What kind of nonsense... Oops. My apologies."
The junior—Jean-Bir, a third-year student from the Raban family at Baldrogard—apologized. Fortunately, Zandanni was too excited to hear his junior's words.
"Um, Senior. Isn't it prohibited precisely because the laws were created to not allow such things?"
"No. Laws are originally made to help people, aren't they?"
"...By that logic, Count Bouillon is also a citizen of the empire."
"Well..."
Zandanni hesitated, caught off guard. Seizing the opportunity, Jean-Bir pressed further.
"If someone looted your family's mansion, would you react the same way!"
"Our family would voluntarily donate our assets first if something like this happened!"
"P-please, both of you. Stop arguing."
Priests intervened to mediate.
They could overlook other things, but if mages who came to help started fighting over such trivial reasons, it would be beyond laughable.
Being the proper senior, Zandanni was the first to apologize.
"My apologies."
"No, I'm sorry too."
"But I think that kind of boldness... might be what builds Einrogard's reputation."
Zandanni spoke earnestly.
Though Baldrogard and Einrogard were the twin leading magic academies of the empire, most people tended to regard Einrogard as slightly superior.
Zandanni suspected that this difference in boldness might be one of the reasons.
While Baldrogard students hesitated, Einrogard students acted first and thought later.
Even Jean-Bir, who had initially reacted skeptically, began to waver slightly under his senior's persistent words.
"...Perhaps there's some truth to that."
"Right? Let's go ask them how they did it. We'll just steal the good parts."
'How exactly does one "steal only the good parts"?'
Was that even possible when it came to raiding mansions and confiscating assets?
Jean-Bir thought to himself as he followed along.
No matter how he looked at it, that seemed impossible...
"Medicinal potions are over here! Feel free to take them!"
"Don't serve rich food right away! It might have the opposite effect!"
By the time the Baldrogard students arrived, Lee Han and his group had already finished their work.
With the priests' help, the group had distributed supplies to the endless stream of people and now sat slumped on the ground, exhausted. Even the iron-willed Professor Garcia looked worn out.
"Greetings, Professor."
"Ah. You all are..."
Professor Garcia immediately recognized the Baldrogard students.
In truth, the luxurious, shimmering fabrics of the Baldrogard students' uniforms made them unmistakable even from a distance.
"You've come from Baldrogard to help too!"
"Yes. That's correct."
Professor Garcia abruptly turned around and whispered to the students behind her.
"No asking why they're here, no asking why they didn't just send money—basically, just ban all questions."
"...We weren't going to say anything, Professor."
Lee Han and his friends replied, bewildered.
They were just tiredly sipping water when suddenly they were being scolded like this.
As the students looked aggrieved, Professor Garcia finally relaxed her expression and apologized.
"Sorry, everyone. It's just that Einrogard students keep picking fights whenever they see Baldrogard students."
With the seniors having accumulated too much bad karma, Professor Garcia had no choice but to preemptively stop them.
Lee Han nodded as if understanding.
"The seniors really... But we're different, so you don't need to worry, Professor."
Poke poke-
"Lord Wardanaz."
"?"
When Siana poked his side and called out, Lee Han turned his head in puzzlement.
"What is it?"
"Actually, I was about to say 'why didn't you just send money'..."
"...Thank you so much for not saying it."
Lee Han nodded deeply at his friend's honest confession.
'From now on, I'll need to keep a close eye on Siana whenever we encounter Baldrogard students.'
"Ah! Wardanaz!!!"
Zandanni spotted Lee Han and greeted him.
Who would've thought he'd see that Einrogard sixth-year student from last time here!
"Do you know him?"
"He's my friend. I told you about him before."
"......"
At Zandanni and his junior's conversation, all the priests turned to look at Lee Han. Lee Han responded in an awkward tone.
"That's a one-sided claim from their side."
"It's truly a pleasure to see you, Wardanaz. Who would've thought we'd meet like this."
"Ah. Yes. Likewise, Mr. Zandanni..."
"I told you to just call me Zandanni! Hahaha!"
"Seeing you here makes it all the more pleasant, Mr. Zandanni."
Lee Han absolutely refused to drop the "Mr."
With so many eyes watching, if rumors spread like "Einrogard's Wardanaz is that close with Baldrogard's Aljadk," he'd be rolling around in frustration.
As Zandanni openly acted chummy, Siana whispered snake-like from behind again.
"Should I say it now? 'Why didn't you just send money'..."
"...Get lost. Dijiling. Nigisor. Please hold onto this priest for me."
The two priests quickly dragged their friend away. As she was being pulled, Siana kept grumbling.
You'll definitely regret this later!
"Wardanaz. On our way here, we heard a rumor. That you seized Count Bouillon's assets."
"Ah. Yes."
"...So it's really true!!"
When the other party readily admitted it, Zandanni exclaimed with a deeply shocked expression.
Zandanni's junior Jean-Bir, standing beside him, was equally shocked.
Hearing something as a rumor versus having the person involved confirm it made all the difference.
"We were surprised when we heard the rumor, but thinking about it, even among Einrogard students, there can't be many who'd dare do something so bold. As expected of Wardanaz... I'm impressed. I couldn't have done that myself."
"...?"
Lee Han felt something was off.
It felt like these Baldrogard students had some strange misunderstanding.
"You're not thinking we just barged into the mansion and forcibly seized the assets, are you?"
"Huh? You didn't?"
"...How could that be possible!"
Lee Han exclaimed as if astonished.
Because of people like these who can't think for themselves, not just the Empire but even other dimensions were probably being flooded with false rumors.
"Absolutely not. This was the result of following proper procedures."
Suppressing his exasperation, Lee Han explained the circumstances of the incident in detail to the Baldrogard students.
Originally, this count was in charge of relief supplies, but he was caught embezzling them...
"Understand now?"
"?"
This time it was Zandanni's turn to feel something was off. Jean-Bir asked as if wondering what was wrong.
"Senior, what's the matter?"
"Something's strange. Relief supplies like those aren't easily discovered even if there's corruption."
Count Bouillon's territory was administratively separate from the disaster-stricken areas, so the supplies hadn't been mobilized yet.
In that case, the only people who'd check such things would be imperial bureaucrats on patrol or priests sent for inspection.
The fact that the busy Einrogard mages had noticed that seemed suspicious.
"Maybe they received a tip?"
"If it was a tip, they would've gone to the imperial officials or priests first, not busy Einrogard mages passing by. With the disaster, there are so many officials and priests around right now."
"I-I see. Wait. Then what does that mean? Don't tell me..."
"...They might have beaten everyone up first and then found a plausible reason afterward."
Though slightly different, Zandanni had roughly guessed correctly. Jean-Bir got goosebumps.
No matter how eccentric they were, to storm into a Count's mansion, beat everyone up, and then look for a reason afterward...
If they hadn't found a plausible reason, what exactly had they planned to do after committing such an act?
"Are they insane?"
"Hmm. But they're impressive madmen."
"Insane is insane...! Senior, don't you know the saying about not getting involved with the Wardanaz family?"
"That's just nonsense from people who don't understand magic."
"Even mages say that!"
Lee Han faintly overheard their conversation and could guess what they were talking about, but he didn't intervene.
In fact, he hoped that junior would persuade Zandanni well.
Having a Baldrogard student (especially a senior) following him around would just be annoying.
But Zandanni stubbornly insisted on an odd point. His visit to Einrogard hadn't been for nothing.
"Keeping your distance just because a friend is violent and eccentric isn't true friendship. Wardanaz is my friend."
"That may be, but..."
"......"
Lee Han almost told that junior not to give up but restrained himself.
Instead, he gave up and changed the subject.
"Of course, we acted as quickly as possible due to the urgent situation, but we had no intention of unnecessarily tarnishing Count Bouillon's reputation more than needed. So please don't go around spreading this."
"Understood. But..."
"?"
When Zandanni hesitated slightly, Lee Han was puzzled.
What could this Baldrogard student, who usually seemed to have no worries at all, be concerned about?
"Actually, a friend of mine at Baldrogard just sent me a letter. He asked if it was true that a mage from the Wardanaz family ransacked Count Bouillon's place..."
"......"
Lee Han turned around in shock. The knights hastily waved their hands.
-It wasn't us!
-Frankly, with so few people in that area, who else could've spread the rumor?
"...Just don't go spreading it further."
With those final words, Lee Han turned away sharply. Professor Garcia, watching her student's slumped figure, thought to herself.
'Lee Han has given up...'
A sense of resignation, as if he had half-surrendered to the spreading rumors, emanated from his retreating back.
Night.
While everyone else was fast asleep from exhaustion, Lee Han got up and summoned the knights.
"Alright. I may have given up on the rumors, but I haven't given up on the search."
-......
'He's still angry about the rumors spreading.'
Separate from his anger over the rumors, Lee Han hadn't abandoned his plan to proactively search for Evil God Worshippers wherever they went.
Just let them show themselves once!
'Maybe his anger over the rumors has transferred to anger toward the Evil God Worshippers...'
Professor Garcia would have stopped him immediately, but the knights were different.
After all, when people were angry, they needed to take some revenge. Even Professor Garcia wasn't in a position to lecture her student about that.
She had lived her own stormy life...
"Mr. Ibinta. Please guide us to all the suspicious places in Bepaim City where shady people might gather."
"Yes! Understood!"
Ibinta's eyes gleamed at finally getting a chance to prove himself.
This was exactly why the Skeleton Principal had assigned him, but it felt like he'd been doing everything but the actual mission since the request began.
"But even if we enter taverns, won't this many people stand out too much?"
"I've thought of that. We'll disguise ourselves as merchants and split up... Wait."
Lee Han paused.
He had just heard the voices of his friends—who should have been sleeping in the mansion's upper-floor lodgings—among the knights.