Episode 1158
Episode 1158
This wasn't the time for such concerns. The Undead was waiting for a report.
Soon, the cult's priest would finish his task and come to deliver his report on the mission.
......
However, even after the appointed time had passed, no report arrived.
The dimensional space where The Undead resided twisted violently as fleshy, muscular tentacles expanded outward like spreading vines.
It was a manifestation of his intense fury toward Sanguiros's remnants.
Ibinta kept stealing glances nervously.
Even after leaving the city, that insane mage remained silently lost in thought without saying a word.
'Wh-what if he's angry at me because we couldn't find Sanguiros's followers?'
That was entirely possible.
Of course, the people of Marheim had expressed their gratitude with all kinds of praise.
Preventing a plague before it spread and capturing the associated Evil God Worshippers wasn't an easy feat even for renowned mages of the Empire.
By now, the city's officials and various administrators must be breathing sighs of relief.
But crazy people couldn't be judged by normal standards. If you could judge them normally, they wouldn't be called crazy in the first place.
If that boy from the Wardanaz family started acting as erratically as his older brother...
"Hmm."
"Eek!"
Ibinta nearly rolled off the carriage seat in shock. The horse pulling the carriage kicked at a pile of snow beside the road, snorting irritably.
"I-is something the matter?"
"Ah. It's nothing important. I just thought we should change our strategy a bit."
Lee Han shared his recent realization with his companion.
Their original plan—to randomly grab and beat people until suspicious individuals emerged upon arriving in the area—had a critical flaw.
"If our targets are already prepared or have countermeasures in place, things might escalate unnecessarily."
"You're only realizing that no— I mean, excellent thinking!"
Ibinta cursed his own tongue while quickly offering flattery.
Why would he even consider arguing when his companion was choosing a more moderate approach?
If his words provoked the mage's anger and made him resort to extreme measures again, Ibinta's name would be eternally remembered as a traitor among criminals.
"We'll only use force when absolutely certain. Otherwise, we'll take a more discreet approach."
"Brilliant idea! ...Wait, you'll still do it when you're certain?"
Ibinta flinched.
He wasn't giving it up entirely?
"Is that a problem?"
"Not at all! Hehe, I was just thinking how enjoyable it was to help you sweep away those vile villains—almost disappointing to stop."
Ibinta quickly resorted to flattery again.
His own life was far more important than the fates of some faceless thieves.
"Is that so? Hmm. If you're that disappointed, maybe we should keep doing it a few more times—"
"I'll go scout the road ahead!"
As the conversation took a terrifying turn, the former bandit leader hastily jumped forward to escape.
The Empire's northern regions had many mountain paths, and even flat roads often had broken or collapsed sections.
The harsh climate meant frequent contact with spirits, monsters, and other dimensional beings.
Naturally, this led to numerous incidents and disturbances.
"All clear! You can proceed as is!"
—No idea why he's checking again when we already did, but fine!
The Death Knights near the carriage responded.
Meanwhile, White Tiger Tower students inside the carriage sorted through bounty posters and recorded the bandits they'd dealt with in their notebooks.
They'd accomplished so much on this trip that they needed time to organize everything.
"Iron Skull Bag? Wasn't this guy at that fortress last time?"
"I think you're right. That was definitely his name."
"Wow! I actually caught someone like this!"
"Eh? No. It's not Steelhead Bag. Just Bald Bag."
"...Why does this bastard have the same name and get our hopes up like that?"
The students each meticulously combed through the list of bandits they'd captured, searching for anyone noteworthy.
If they'd caught someone famous, it would've been bragging rights for at least a year.
Giselle watched this scene and gave a low cough.
But her friends were immersed in the wanted posters with an intensity they rarely showed.
"Why does this one have the nickname 'Steel Teeth'?"
"Probably replaced all his teeth with metal."
"Then did the Steel Shoe senior's ancestors walk around wearing iron shoes?"
"Well... I doubt Professor Thunderstep's ancestors made thunder sounds every time they walked..."
"Hey."
"!"
At Giselle's voice, the White Tiger Tower students jumped in surprise.
"Wh-what is it, Moradi? Did we do something wrong?"
"Does anyone here secretly sneak out? No, right? If anyone went to buy polo magazines, come out now. Making others suffer isn't what a knight should do."
"......"
Durgyu privately thought that what they were doing now wasn't exactly knightly behavior either.
Especially with someone like Senior Catten present—this was downright disgraceful.
"Apologies, Senior."
"Hmm?"
Catten looked up.
He'd been so deeply absorbed in his book that he hadn't heard any of his juniors' conversation.
"Were you reading a book, Senior?"
"Indeed, junior."
"If it's a book Senior is reading, it must be something impressive..."
Durgyu checked the book. Strangely, the handwriting looked familiar.
'What's the title?'
"Basic Summoning Magic Theory Even First-Years Can Understand"
"It's a book the Wardanaz family junior wrote for me. Quite touching, don't you think, junior?"
Catten smiled warmly. Durgyu quickly pulled out a book cover—the same one he used to hide his romance novels.
"Senior, please use this. It'll protect the book's cover."
"Oh! Thank you! Seeing you carry this around, you must read a lot too, junior."
"Ah... well... Lee Han studies so hard that I ended up studying too."
Durgyu spoke while feeling a pang of conscience.
Meanwhile, Giselle glared at her friends with contempt and said:
"You haven't forgotten why we came out here, have you?"
"To subdue the bandits..."
"...Wasn't it to catch evil god worshippers?"
"......"
When Giselle's gaze turned as cold as the frozen peaks of the distant snow-capped mountains, her friends finally regained their senses.
"Right! We're here on a request from the Moradi family!"
"Tell me what the request was about."
Silence fell. Angrago desperately tried throwing a paper bird out the window to call Lee Han.
"It's a request to assess the territory's condition and problems, then propose improvement plans."
"That... that's right."
"Actually, I've been thinking about it since earlier."
Another White Tiger Tower student elbowed the one making excuses hard in the ribs.
Why tell such an obvious lie when she might actually test them on it!
Click—
The front window opened, and Lee Han suddenly stuck his head in. In his hand was the paper bird Angrago had sent.
"By the way, I planned new patrol routes to prevent knights from sneaking out at night in the Moradi family territory. Got the idea from watching seniors' nighttime roaming patterns."
"...Do you even sleep??"
The incensed White Tiger Tower students berated Lee Han.
When did he even have time to prepare something like that?
In response to their complaints, Lee Han shrugged and closed the carriage window again.
And then he said to Ibinta,
"I really don't understand why none of you prepare these things in advance."
"......"
Ibinta thought to himself:
'It's certain—the Wardanaz family definitely has a similar strain of madness running through them!'
Jiklin, Giselle's older sister and the Moradi family's proud genius knight, was patrolling the area alongside the northern knights.
The only difference from usual was that this time, they were heading out to welcome guests arriving from Einrogard.
"Magnificent, Lady Moradi! Seeing such beautiful sword energy makes me feel I must devote myself even more to training."
A knight from the Dulak family exclaimed in admiration.
Just moments ago, Jiklin had split a massive Grendel charging down the snowy mountain slope with a single strike.
This enormous man-eating monster, known to have traces of giant blood mixed in its lineage, was so threatening that even knights hesitated to face it one-on-one.
Yet here she was, instantly slaying such a foe with nothing but the pure power of her sword—no mage support or items used.
"Is that so?"
Unlike her younger sister, the elf knight with her long hair tied back stared seriously at the Dulak family knight as she asked.
"Yes!"
"Since when will you be devoting yourself?"
"Pardon?"
The Dulak knight was taken aback, but Jiklin didn't stop staring.
Since when would he be dedicating himself to training?
"F-from now on...?"
"Is that so. Begin, then."
"Excuse me??"
The knight looked around helplessly at the others, wondering if Jiklin was mocking him.
But the other knights only shook their heads sympathetically.
'See, you shouldn't have spoken so lightly in front of Lady Moradi.'
'She absolutely doesn't take jokes.'
Every single word had to be chosen carefully around Jiklin.
If you absentmindedly admired the beautiful snowy mountain scenery and said you'd like to climb it once?
Then you absolutely had to climb it.
If you saw a crime listed on a bounty poster and declared in anger that you'd definitely catch them?
Then you absolutely had to catch them.
Otherwise, every time you met, you'd be subjected to questions like, "Did you climb it?" or "Did you catch them?"
Unfortunately, it seemed the Dulak family knight either hadn't heard the rumors or had taken them lightly.
"...Hup! Hah! Hah! Ugh..."
As a result, the Dulak knight found himself suddenly performing sword-swinging drills while following behind his comrades.
Thankfully, the desolate snowy mountainside was empty, so at least no one else saw his humiliation.
"Ahem, ahem. Lady Moradi."
Perhaps the awkward sound of frantic sword swings from behind was too much, as the other knights cleared their throats and changed the subject.
"More importantly, we were quite surprised to hear the news about the Einrogard mages. As expected, the Family Head must have had everything planned out."
When Jidorf Moradi, the current head of the Moradi family, had invited Einrogard students under the pretext of a commission, even the territory's knights had been confused.
Why go to the trouble of commissioning magic academy students—second-years, no less—just to hear their opinions on territory surveys or improvements?
Given that the Family Head was renowned as an efficiency-focused rationalist, gossipmongers had floated all sorts of theories.
That it was due to relations with the Wardanaz family, or Gonadaltes's threats, and so on.
And then came the news that the Einrogard students were making their way up while wiping out multiple bandit groups along the way.
Only then did the knights realize:
This was exactly what the Family Head had been aiming for!
Normally, mages wouldn't have come to the territory. They were notoriously difficult, after all.
And what about Gonadaltes? He would've nagged endlessly and obstructed things.
But thanks to the Family Head's well-planned commission, the students could come without any interference, allowing the Moradi family to receive the mages' help in resolving the recent chaos...
"No. The Family Head genuinely wants to hear Wardanaz's advice."
Jiklin cut them off bluntly.
Her father truly wanted advice from her younger sister's friend.
Specifically—how could the knights be trained even more brutally?
"......"
"......"