Episode 1154
Episode 1154
Professor Kirmin had been teaching White Tiger Tower students how to handle aftermath situations when he received the summons and rushed over.
However, Professor Kirmin's reaction upon hearing the explanation was slightly different from what Professor Garcia had hoped for.
"Hmm. Maybe we should let Wardanaz handle this once..."
"Excuse me???!"
When the response wasn't what she expected, Professor Garcia jumped up in shock.
"Professor! No matter how angry Lee Han is, hasn't he cooled off enough by now? He should start restraining himself at this point!"
Professor Garcia desperately burned with intensity in her eyes as she tried to convey her thoughts to him.
When the bones in his captured shoulder screamed in pain, Professor Kirmin quickly whispered:
"Professor Kim. That hurts."
"Ah. My apologies."
Professor Kirmin rubbed his shoulder gently as he spoke.
"If the symptoms spreading through Marheim City truly are those of a cursed plague, approaching it with Downfall Magic might not be a bad idea. And Wardanaz has the strongest resistance among us here."
"That... may be true, but Lee Han is still a second-year."
"It's rare to find a second-year who can blend in with fourth-years without standing out."
'I shouldn't have brought this guy along.'
Professor Garcia cursed inwardly.
Back when they'd traveled together before, they had agreed that Professor Garcia would help restrain Professor Voladi—but now that the professor was gone, wasn't she stuck playing Voladi's role instead?
She'd sensed this tendency since their last request, and now she was paying the price for letting her guard down carelessly.
Imperial mages were divided into two types when it came to teaching their friends' disciples: those who taught more leniently and those who taught more strictly. Unfortunately, Professor Kirmin belonged to the latter group.
"No matter how much you try to stop him, Wardanaz will persistently take the initiative against the wicked members of the church. There's no benefit in constantly holding him back."
"Professor!"
Lee Han shouted with slight emotion in his voice.
"Professor!"
Professor Garcia shouted the same words, but her voice carried a faint growl.
Even the death knights behind her flinched unconsciously at the sound.
"Calm down, Professor Kim. There are a few more reasons. After investigating those captured by the White Tiger Tower students, we heard rumors of a suspicious priest in Marheim City."
Lee Han's eyes sparkled like stars. Professor Garcia shouted again:
"Professor...!"
At this point, wasn't this just pouring oil on the fire?
Before his shoulder bones shattered, Professor Kirmin quickly finished what he wanted to say.
"Distributing potions to those in need will require considerable time and preparation—we can't focus solely on that right now. Besides, if we do, rumors will spread too quickly."
"Professor. Thank you. I'll go prepare immediately."
"Wardanaz. Wait—"
As Lee Han tried to leave, Professor Kirmin attempted to stop him.
If his disciple disappeared now, he'd have to face Professor Garcia's fury alone.
But his disciple, as relentless as his master, cheerfully ran off.
Professor Kirmin let out a sigh.
"Professor."
"Professor Kim. You have to admit it—Wardanaz has earned the right to this level of autonomy by now."
"...You're not wrong."
Professor Garcia sighed as well.
Given how rapidly her disciple had grown, there were times when she, having watched him from the closest perspective, struggled to adjust.
Perhaps Professor Kirmin, who had observed from a slight distance, was objectively handling the situation more appropriately.
"Thank you for understanding, Professor Kim."
"By the way, Professor, don't come along for the next request. There's no reason for you to come when even Professor Bagrak isn't here."
"......"
Faced with Professor Garcia's old temper flaring up, Professor Kirmin could only remain silent.
Once her anger cooled, he'd just have to persuade her again!
'Hang in there, Wardanaz.'
What I just said to Professor Garcia was sincere.
Objectively speaking, I truly believed Wardanaz deserved this level of autonomy.
And separately from that, I also wanted to see the clear growth of Wardanaz—one of my friend's only... no, one of his two disciples.
That way, when I meet my friend again later, I can scold him properly: 'How could you act so rashly without even understanding your disciple's capabilities?'
"No. Would you like to return starting from this request?"
"...I'll apologize, so please calm down, Professor Kim."
"Wardanaz, you're saying we should visit places with sick people, have you treat them, while we check if there are any suspicious individuals around?"
"Correct."
"Easy enough."
The White Tiger Tower students nodded readily after hearing the instructions.
A scheme this simple and straightforward was something even first-years at Einrogard could handle.
"Hide your weapons and act as non-threatening as possible."
"So the sick people don't get scared, huh?"
"No. To slightly increase the chances of suspicious bastards attacking us."
"Ugh..."
Shivering at the utterly unexpected persistence, the White Tiger Tower students dispersed to their positions.
No wonder he had professors and knights waiting in the background...!
Giselle tilted her head in confusion.
"But, Wardanaz."
"What is it?"
"I'm no expert in healing magic, but isn't it rare for someone to work alone in such cases?"
It was indeed uncommon for healing mages to work solo.
Given that healing magic rapidly drains both concentration and mana, it's usually advantageous to share the burden among multiple people.
Yet here was Wardanaz, stepping forward alone to treat a curse-based plague.
Had he prepared antidotes in advance through alchemy? But there was no sign of that either...
What's going on?
"Heh. There's arcane magic for that."
Lee Han spoke with an oddly proud expression.
Giselle, seeing this rare display of her friend boasting about his magic, felt more flustered than annoyed.
'What's up with this guy?'
"<Gonadaltes' Downfall>. You've actually seen it before—the spell I used to heal the Frost Giants' poison during our fight."
This spell, whose history and lineage traced all the way back to ancient times, was a truly bizarre magic that transferred the target's pain, curses, or withering effects onto the caster himself.
When Lee Han first learned it, he'd thought, 'What kind of absurd magic is this?' But now, he took considerable pride in it.
"...Wait!? That's how you healed the Frost Giants?!"
She'd assumed he'd analyzed the poison and crafted a detoxification spell, but to think he'd healed them using such a brute-force method—
Giselle was speechless. She couldn't decide whether to be impressed or appalled.
"I knew you'd be amazed. Impressive, right?"
"Ah, no. It is... impressive, but why this spell? No—more importantly, are you seriously planning to heal everyone with this?"
"Yep."
"...?"
Giselle was baffled again.
It wasn't that she didn't understand Wardanaz's words.
There was a powerful spell that absorbed the plague, and he intended to endure its effects through his own resistance, right?
The problem was that the city's sick weren't suffering solely from the plague.
There were bound to be various symptoms—surely some couldn't just be shrugged off through resistance alone?
'Well... Wardanaz isn't an idiot. He must've considered everything.'
Giselle decided to stop probing and trust her friend.
After all, this was someone who rarely made mistakes, especially in schemes like this.
Knock knock—
"Anyone home?"
"Wh-what... a m-mage?"
The door of the cramped tenement tucked inside the alley creaked open, revealing a sickly elf with a deeply pallid complexion.
The elf was startled to see Lee Han—dressed unmistakably like a mage—at their doorstep.
Mages rarely visited impoverished areas. The sudden appearance of one made the elf strongly suspect this was some kind of shakedown for money.
'Definitely a curse-based plague.'
Lee Han activated his soul vision to confirm the symptoms without a doubt.
"Whoever in this city spread it, seeing the creeping, rising energy, it's definitely a curse."
"By any chance, have you been feeling inexplicably tired lately? Even after eating and sleeping well, does your body feel devoid of energy, as if you're inexplicably exhausted?"
"H-how did you...?"
"Here. Please take my hand."
Lee Han didn't waste time with long explanations or unnecessary chatter that might agitate the other person.
This situation was different from extracting information from suspicious criminals. Even if he wanted to interrogate, he had to suppress the plague first before asking questions.
Snap!
The sudden return of vitality startled the elf.
How could his body recover like this just from holding hands and hearing a simple murmur?
"Y-you're a healing mage!"
"That's correct. Are there others around you who are sick? If so, please let me know."
"Wait just a moment! I'll bring them out right away!"
Lee Han stood at the entrance of the alley and immediately began absorbing the plague from the emerging people.
'Strange. The energy of this plague feels oddly familiar.'
With an inexplicable sense of familiarity, Lee Han blamed Professor Mortum.
Just how many curses had the Black Magic department managed for him to feel this way about a curse he was seeing for the first time?
"Done. You may go now."
"O-ohhh...!"
"By any chance, which order do you belong to?"
"Huh? Prisinga... Afha... Flemeng..."
"Wardanaz. I don't think they were asking about your affiliated order."
Giselle whispered from behind. Lee Han also realized belatedly.
'Ah, they were asking where I came from.'
The sick people looked bewildered but didn't press further.
They didn't want to provoke this holy saint unnecessarily.
"Next. Please come. ...Cough!"
Lee Han staggered.
Absorbing without thinking, he realized the person had minor internal bleeding. Casting healing magic immediately, Lee Han muttered,
"Indeed. There could be other symptoms as well."
"......"
Giselle regretted not speaking up earlier.
She had assumed he would have thought it through...
'Isn't Wardanaz acting too hastily, unlike himself?'
He was usually far from making such mistakes.
Yet, seeing him like this, she wondered if the fight against the Evil God Worshippers was making Wardanaz impatient.
...Well, if he weren't impatient, he wouldn't be trying to capture every criminal in the city.
"A-are you alright?"
"Yes. I healed it right away. Next."
Though there were a few exceptions, Lee Han chose to push forward rather than stop.
Hadn't he learned healing magic precisely for situations like this?
Giselle's expression grew increasingly stiff at his reckless approach.
She wondered if she should knock him out from behind right now.
While she hesitated over their friendship, people began gathering like clouds.
Word of a mage who could cure the plague instantly had spread, drawing even those from the opposite side of the city.
And with so many people gathered, it was inevitable that someone would think of Einrogard and ask.
"By any chance, are you from Einrogard?"
'Damn it.'
Right now, Lee Han and the other students were wearing ordinary mage robes instead of the tattered uniforms of Einrogard.
Yet, it seemed some recognized Einrogard from their exceptional magic skills and selfless actions.
Lee Han pondered briefly.
Should he admit it or deny it?
Their group had been thoroughly disguised before entering Marheim City.
Knights as porters, mages as merchants.
It was a necessary choice—after all, the moment they rode in with Einrogard's banner, criminals would come surrendering from the ends of the road.
So, he could deny it if he wanted to...
...But the number of plague-infected people was higher than expected.
Wouldn't it be better to admit they were from Einrogard?
That way, those still hiding might come out, trusting the name.
"Nah. These days, Einrogard mages are out slaughtering bandits."
"Right. I heard that too. They're hunting down bounties across the west. They're so ruthless that the criminals there are fleeing to other regions."
"......"
Lee Han silently endured his friends' gazes and quietly focused on healing.