Episode 1141
Episode 1141
"Why are you acting like this?"
-Isn't that too brazen of a lie?
The Baby Basilisk whispered.
Even though Jowurin had become much more perceptive lately, to tell such an insincere lie...
"You still don't understand something."
-?
"When there's no evidence, even such a brazen lie isn't so bad."
-......
The Baby Basilisk thought, 'Master, why are you proud of something like that?' but quietly wiggled its tail instead.
If it spoke carelessly, it might get kicked out of the sleeve with a "Then go to Jowurin!"
Lately, its master's temper had grown much rougher...
"It feels like a lie..."
Jowurin muttered softly.
"Huh?"
"A-ah, it's nothing."
Unfortunately, this young Dragon couldn't even bring himself to voice the thought of strongly suspecting his contractor.
If other senior Dragons who had made contracts had seen this, they would have sighed, saying, "No matter how much you cherish your contractor, you should still be suspicious."
Having achieved his goal, Lee Han hid a triumphant smile and changed the subject.
If they kept talking about this, even Jowurin might catch on.
Since Lee Han planned to hunt down Evil God Worshippers first—no, look for them first—every time he took on a request from now on, he absolutely couldn't let Jowurin know.
There were likely two possible reactions, neither of which was acceptable.
-Jowurin will come along too!
-It's too dangerous, so absolutely not!
'Hmm. I wonder which way he'd react.'
"So what have you been up to?"
"Ah... Uman... Uman has been making Jowurin work!"
Jowurin huffed as he tattled.
He wanted his contractor to scold his wicked younger brother harshly.
Not only had he been made to uproot forests, but he'd also been forced to inspect oases in desert regions, check the condition of mountain bedrock, repair walls and Main Building structures—all without a moment's rest!
"That's amazing!"
Lee Han exclaimed in admiration at Jowurin's accomplishments.
Who would have thought that while he was out running errands, Jowurin had been doing such commendable work?
"...Huh?"
"Wow, Your Highness. You're really incredible!"
"That's amazing. I'm moved."
Not only his contractor but even the priests looked genuinely impressed, leaving Jowurin even more flustered.
Huh? What?
"What's going on with everyone?"
"Actually, Your Highness..."
Even Professors Garcia and Kirmin, who arrived late, were astonished when they heard the story.
Who would have thought Jowurin had been doing such grueling work himself?
"Your Highness, you did really well!"
"I'm impressed!"
"...Hmph. Such tasks are hardly difficult for Jowurin."
Intoxicated by the praise, Jowurin quickly flipped his attitude.
He had truly learned much from the students of Einrogard.
"I came out while purifying the forest, but I shall return to finish the work!"
"Your Highness, why not rest a bit before continuing?"
Lee Han tried to stop him, thinking Jowurin might be overworking himself.
It seemed he had taken a liking to repairing and maintaining Einrogard as if decorating a garden, but overdoing work in one go was never good.
However, Jowurin, his shoulders squared with determination, immediately transformed back into a Gold Dragon and roared heartily.
Jowurin would protect Einrogard for the students!
"I was going to make snacks from the hidden supplies... Ah. He's gone."
Lee Han watched Jowurin's rapidly disappearing figure with a hint of loneliness.
He knew he was growing up, but who would have thought he'd now refuse even snacks and fly off like that?
-I'll eat them for you!
"...Thanks."
Lee Han looked warmly at the Basilisk in his sleeve.
At least with this little one, he wouldn't feel lonely about growth for a while.
"We can eat them for you too."
"Will the Punishment Room be okay?"
Lee Han was puzzled.
He was confident he wouldn't get caught even if inspected, but his priest friends...
Yet Siana nodded confidently. Seeing that, Lee Han wondered if she had a plan.
'Impressive.'
"I'll just pop out for a bit and come back."
"......"
Lee Han stared at Nigisor and Dijiling with a dumbfounded expression. The two priests subtly averted their gazes.
-Professor Verdus. You're being released.
"Ugh."
-But why are you crawling...?
The Death Knight questioned as they watched Professor Verdus not walking but crawling out of the Punishment Room.
Professor Verdus answered in an irritated voice.
"I lost a bet, okay?!"
-I know. I just asked again because it's always amusing to hear.
Truthfully, Professor Verdus hadn't originally been dragged to the Punishment Room.
No matter how much Lee Han had advised otherwise, Uman was fundamentally a gentle dragon and not cold-hearted enough to immediately imprison one of Einrogard's professors in the Punishment Room.
So Uman had first confined Professor Verdus to a private room.
Then, while assigning him Professor Garcia's work (which was originally Professor Verdus's responsibility), he made a proposal.
-Professor Verdus. If you diligently complete all this work, I will definitely release you. There will be no additional punishment. Do you accept?
-Got it! I'll work hard!
-Is that so? Thank you for understanding. Though there are many unfavorable rumors about you, Professor Verdus, Uman believes in you. People can always change, can't they?
-Right, right. Don't believe the rumors.
-Thank you. Then I'll entrust this to you with confidence.
Five minutes after Uman left the private room.
Professor Verdus attempted to escape but was caught by the Death Knights and dragged back.
-......
-I was just too bored, I couldn't help it.
-How can you say that so shamelessly... Work isn't something you do for fun. You do it out of responsibility, Professor Verdus!
-I get it. I'll do it, alright?
-I'm really trusting you with this.
And three minutes later.
Professor Verdus tried to escape again and was immediately caught. The knights cheerfully dragged him back, grinning.
Uman was appalled.
What kind of mage behaves like this?
-Professor Verdus, shouldn't you be working instead of wasting time like this?!
-I said I'll do it...
-I don't believe you!
-No, trust me. I'll really do it this time!
-......
Uman pretended to leave the private room but secretly hid in a corridor corner.
Immediately, Professor Verdus turned the cell door into liquid and attempted to escape.
Uman, who had vowed never to become someone like the Skeleton Principal.
That Uman finally lost his temper and roared.
-Confiscate all his belongings and lock him in the Punishment Room!!!
The knights chuckled as they escorted Professor Verdus to the Punishment Room.
Everyone had seen this coming.
Only after being placed under much stricter and more relentless surveillance than in the private room did Professor Verdus finally accept that working was more efficient than escaping.
From Professor Garcia's tasks (originally his own) to other miscellaneous duties.
Of course, escape attempts didn't stop entirely. Whenever the work became unbearably dull, Professor Verdus would slyly try to bargain.
-If you help me escape, I'll make you an item that can evade Gonadaltes's tracking... Ow! Agh! Why'd you hit me?!
-Haha. When else would we get a chance to retaliate against the professor, right?
-Damn it. Let me hit them too! Why do you guys get all the fun?
-Should've drawn lots better, then.
Naturally, it didn't work well.
Few held as much resentment toward Professor Verdus as the Death Knights did.
And now.
Professor Verdus had finally completed his primary tasks and was released. Having spent so long doing others' work instead of his own, his expression was thoroughly sullen.
"I feel like my soul's gone stiff from all that boring work..."
-But Professor, handling the Enchantment Magic department's ledgers and accounting was originally your responsibility.
"Professor Garcia is a professor too, isn't she?"
-......
-Just bear with it. You bear with it.
As one furious knight raised a foot to kick him, the others held him back.
Inside the Punishment Room, escape attempts were one thing, but outside, they had to restrain themselves.
They really wanted to take a swing at him, but...
-Go prepare your lecture. If you half-ass it, you'll get dragged back in again.
"It was nice not having to teach while I was in the Punishment Room."
Professor Verdus muttered as he pulled out a crumpled bundle of papers from his pocket.
His artifact could remember even the smallest details like the volume and weight of a tiny screw, yet he couldn't recall his own lectures without glancing at these crumpled notes.
"<Magic Architecture and Its Materials>... What kind of lecture was this again?"
-...It's the magic architecture lecture attended by students in the Stonemason Club or those interested in construction, isn't it?
One of the fields where imperial mages excelled was precisely this—architecture.
Since food, clothing, and shelter were all deeply intertwined with magic, embedding magic into buildings was only natural.
This kind of magical architecture didn't rely on just one school of magic. Various schools were evenly utilized.
Alchemy and Transmutation Magic for materials, Divination Magic to test durability and earthquake resistance...
...But the one that tied all these together was the Enchantment Magic school.
In that sense, it wasn't strange at all for Professor Verdus, an Enchantment Magic professor, to be in charge of this lecture.
Yet Professor Verdus jumped in shock, nearly leaping on all fours as he shouted.
"This is Professor Knighton's lecture, isn't it?!"
Professor Alpen Knighton, a former high-ranking imperial bureaucrat, taught not only various arithmetic-related lectures but also this architecture course to students.
In a way, it made perfect sense.
Because magical architecture wasn't something a mage could handle alone just by being skilled in magic.
One had to communicate with stonemason and carpenter guild workers, understand their demands, and even negotiate with local nobles and officials.
If a newly constructed magical building ended up draining the region's mana and ruining existing structures, the ensuing disputes could take decades to resolve.
Given that, it wasn't strange that Professor Alpen—an exceptional mage himself, with connections to multiple stonemason and carpenter guilds, and even bureaucrats—had been handling this lecture.
-Yes. While you were in the Punishment Room, Professor Knighton submitted a petition to His Highness the Inspector.
Of course, Professor Alpen himself wasn't exactly thrilled about the situation.
There was a far more qualified expert like Professor Verdus, yet he had to take over just because the latter refused to teach.
The Skeleton Principal had practically begged, saying, 'I absolutely cannot leave this to that guy,' so it wasn't like he had accepted it willingly.
So when Uman told Professor Alpen, 'We're receiving complaints about Professor Verdus,' it was only natural that the lecture issue came up immediately.
"T-That's despicable! I never knew he could be this underhanded!"
Professor Verdus squeaked in anger, venting his fury.
But that fury was also directed at himself.
He could've submitted a petition to the Inspector first and gotten out of all his lectures!
'Where does he get the confidence to think they'd even listen to that?'
'Just leave him be.'
-Professor Verdus. With all due respect, please try not to be rude to outsiders.
The knights, who had surrounded him to prevent escape (though it looked a bit odd since Professor Verdus was walking on all fours), advised him.
Given the nature of this magic architecture lecture, many external parties visited, and as everyone knew, Professor Verdus had a special talent for angering outsiders.
"Got it. Don't worry."
-......
-You hold back. You hold back.
The knights sighed as they opened the lecture hall door.
Frankly, they were certain Professor Verdus would cause trouble 100%.
"If it were me, I'd try using <Bible's Flight Enchantment> and <Zarun's Inelastic Rubber>. It's this kind of magic..."
"Oh! That's a splendid idea! Honestly, the atmosphere is so good even without Professor Verdus here—maybe it's better if he never shows up again!"
"Haha! What a joke!"
"Hahaha! It's no joke!"
-......
-......
The knights were horrified by the cheerful atmosphere inside the lecture hall.
The stonemason guild members, invited from outside, were laughing happily.
Lee Han was assisting Princess Yukveltire with the lecture, and even they, along with the other students, looked perfectly content.
"Looks like they're doing fine without me. Can't you just let me go?"
-...No, you can't! Get inside!
Feeling apologetic toward the students and guests but remaining firm, the knights shoved Professor Verdus into the lecture hall.