Episode 1169
Episode 1169
It was unclear whether Giselle's words—"Please consider our grade and show some consideration"—were persuasive or if it was simply because Jiklin cared for her younger sister, but in the end, Jiklin nodded.
"It's a shame. I think Wardanaz would have wanted to participate."
"......"
Huh?
'D-Does he?'
Giselle, unable to immediately refute, was thrown into confusion.
Now that she thought about it, stopping him might have been a mistake...
"Isn't it fascinating that Black Magic was discovered in Bakwantalana's ruins?"
"Indeed it is, Professor Kim."
The two Einrogard professors walked while discussing the events at the ruins.
Unearthing an undiscovered spell of Bakwantalana was a remarkable feat, but not enough to surprise the two professors.
However, the fact that it was Black Magic was more than enough to astonish them.
"I recently read a few papers from the Transmutation Magic faction claiming Bakwantalana was a Transmutation mage, but I never expected Black Magic to suddenly appear like this."
"Now that you mention it, Professor Kim, which faction do you believe Bakwantalana belonged to?"
Professor Kirmin asked out of curiosity.
How did this junior professor view the conflict between the Transmutation and Enchantment Magic factions?
"Huh? Oh, well... isn't it not really important? He could have studied all factions equally... Why does it matter?"
"......"
As expected, a genius who had mastered all factions was different in a way.
While mages from both factions were fighting over pride, he casually said, "Why not just do both?"
'At times like this, I'm glad he's a professor at Einrogard...'
Had he been active in the Empire's magic circles outside, Professor Garcia might have made a few enemies.
Geniuses naturally attracted resentment even when they did nothing.
"We should ask Lee Han what kind of magic it is once he finishes analyzing it. Honestly, I'm curious too."
Professor Kirmin smiled faintly and nodded at Professor Garcia's words.
He considered making a joke about entrusting the analysis of Bakwantalana's magic to a second-year student, but he held back, not wanting to dampen Professor Garcia's rare moment of carefree excitement.
"But, Professor."
"?"
Professor Kirmin flinched slightly, wondering if his inner thoughts had been exposed.
Fortunately, Professor Garcia was concerned about something else.
"I'm a bit worried about the situation in the North. Is it really okay for Einrogard not to intervene?"
As an exceptional mage, Professor Garcia couldn't have missed the anomalies occurring in the North.
Though the damage wasn't as visibly severe as the extreme drought and heatwave in the West, it felt like a precursor, stirring unease.
"I understand the sentiment, but Einrogard can't intervene in every matter. Regional autonomy is an important principle, isn't it?"
Einrogard couldn't—and shouldn't—step in for every issue in the Empire.
If an external magic academy with no ties to the region handled things, wouldn't the local noble families, knights, and officials be publicly admitting their own incompetence?
"Lord Jidorf is wise. I'm sure he'll handle it well."
Just then, a group of mages appeared from the opposite end of the hallway. Professor Kirmin spoke in a cheerful voice.
"Professor Garcia, look! There are the mages. As expected, the Moradi Family Head must have invited them to resolve the issue—"
"Ghk (Gasp)?"
The Black Mages from the Legion of Oondorgu, who had been walking toward them, froze upon spotting the two professors.
Then, they quickly turned around to flee.
Their blatant suspiciousness naturally made the two professors sense something was wrong.
"Wait. Are you from the Legion of Oondorgu?"
"Grrk (We're just ordinary ghouls)..."
Since every member of the Legion of Oondorgu was undead, hiding their identities wasn't easy.
Before they could even flee, the two professors caught them by the scruff.
"You are from the Legion of Oondorgu, aren't you?"
"That's right. Haven't we met before? Professors Garcia and Kim."
The undead looked sullen. Of all people, they had to be caught by Einrogard professors who weren't exactly pushovers.
"Grk (Nice to see you)..."
"...Is something the matter? You don't look well."
"If someone's bothering you, just say so! We're fellow mages, after all!"
As Professor Garcia clenched her fist and spoke, the undead from the Legion of Oondorgu grew frightened, their eyeballs rolling wildly.
Older black mages tended to look down on younger ones, but the story changed when that junior carried the Small World of Destruction in their fist.
"Grk (It's nothing)."
"What brings you here? Is it because of the situation in the North?"
"......"
The undead kept rolling their eyes before suddenly exclaiming,
"Grrrk (The Descendants of Ahrag didn't invite us)!"
"?!!"
The sudden accusation left the two professors even more bewildered.
What in the world was this about?
"Who didn't invite whom?"
"Were the Descendants of Ahrag here too?"
Once they started talking, the rest came easily. The undead spilled every detail.
When the anomalies in the North were suspected to be the work of The Crone, black mages had gathered—but the wretched Descendants of Ahrag had shamelessly excluded Einrogard...
"How dare they!"
Sparks flew from Professor Garcia's eyes.
She couldn't care less if Professor Mortum suffered losses, but the kind-hearted student Diret was an exception.
"Why would they do such a thing?!"
"Grk (They kept bragging about their disciple, so we thought they were insufferable)..."
"......"
"......"
Professors Garcia and Kim were both at a loss for words.
That was...
A reason that was hard to argue against.
"Wardanaz. There's something I need to tell you, but don't say anything after hearing it."
"Hmm. If this were inside Einrogard, I would've refused such a suspicious proposal... But since this is your family's territory, I suppose I have no choice but to accept."
"......"
Suppressing the urge to smack her friend, Giselle relayed the conversation she'd had earlier with her sister.
"They wanted to include you in the black mages' gathering, so I stopped them, but I wondered if maybe you wanted to atten—"
"Are you insane?!"
"...I'll take that as a 'no.'"
At Giselle's response, Lee Han let out a sigh of relief.
The mere thought that she had considered, 'Maybe Wardanaz would want to attend' was utterly horrifying.
"Why on earth would I ever want to attend something like that?"
"Alpha."
Ignoring him, Giselle called out to Angrago.
Angrago, who had been inspecting the grooming of his horns to look impressive for the meeting with the Family Head, turned his head.
"Huh? What?"
"There's a gathering of black mages visiting the territory. Do you think Wardanaz would want to attend or not?"
"He'd probably want to attend."
"......"
"...W-Was I wrong?"
Seeing Lee Han's expression, Angrago panicked.
It was a trick question!
"Never mind..."
"Do you mean 'never mind' as in 'it's fine,' or 'never mind' as in 'I'll get back at you later'?"
"Shut up and show me your horns. What magic do you want?"
At Lee Han's words, Angrago's face brightened.
If Wardanaz was casting magic, the range of options expanded dramatically.
"Turn them golden!"
"......"
"......"
Lee Han, horrified by his friend's bizarre aesthetic sense, turned to Giselle. She glared back, clearly disgusted.
'What do you want me to do about it? Is that taste my fault?'
'Well, she's got a point.'
"...I'll just make it smooth and glossy."
"Why!? Golden—"
"Shut up."
Thanks to Lee Han's friendship, Angrago was spared from a regrettable appearance that would haunt him for the next decade.
When all the students had gathered in the large, desolate reception hall at the top of the fortress, an elf with a cold demeanor—looking even more gaunt and exhausted than usual—made his appearance.
It was Jidorf Moradi, the spiritual leader of the Northern knights and the head of the Moradi family.
"I'm truly delighted that so many outstanding mages from Einrogard have come. I apologize for not being able to offer a grand welcome due to the situation in the North."
"Not at all, Family Head! As knights, none of us here are rotten enough to expect such hospitality!"
Angrago declared boldly. The other friends nodded in agreement, as if sharing the sentiment.
The Family Head faintly smiled at the words of the young students he had seen a few times at knight family gatherings.
Lee Han thought to himself:
'Where do these shameless brats get off acting like this when they're the ones always pestering me to cook delicious food for them wherever we go...?'
Anyone watching would think they'd entrusted him with their meals.
Yet here they were, acting as if they'd be perfectly content eating unseasoned grains and sleeping under the night dew in front of the knight they respected.
"P-please accept this."
The students took turns presenting the gifts they had brought.
When it was Giselle's turn and she stepped forward, Jidorf whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear:
"Giselle."
"Yes?"
"Why did so many other students come along?"
"...I think it's because they're friends with Wardanaz."
Giselle tactfully avoided mentioning how they had literally rolled around on the floor begging to be taken along.
Once the gift-giving concluded, Jidorf expressed light gratitude and immediately got to the point.
"Wardanaz. Originally, I intended to have you inspect the buildings in the external knights' quarters and request the necessary magic."
Jiklin had told them the Family Head summoned Lee Han to figure out 'how to make the knights' training even more brutal,' but even a pragmatist like him wouldn't state such a blatant reason outright.
The actual purpose was to inspect the external knights' quarters within the family fortress and magically redesign the facilities in that area.
...Or, to put it more 'Einrogard-style'...
'Though making their training more brutal isn't entirely wrong...'
Giselle thought inwardly.
If the already struggling knights found out, some might genuinely turn into Anti-Magic Zealots.
"However, I'm ashamed to say... the current situation in the North isn't favorable. Cost reductions are inevitable, and some areas may have to be postponed."
"Any mage who complains about such matters doesn't deserve to call themselves a mage."
Lee Han replied immediately.
In this situation, only a madman—or Professor Verdus—would stubbornly insist on performing magic at someone else's expense regardless of the employer's difficulties.
"Before coming, I requested design plans for some magical structures from the Capital Stonemason Guild and the school clubs. I'll begin work immediately as you instruct."
"Oh...!"
The White Tiger Tower friends marveled at Wardanaz's thorough preparation.
To think he'd already put his experience from fulfilling the Capital Stonemason Guild's requests to use like this.
Jidorf asked curiously:
"Why are you all so surprised?"
They came together—why were they acting as if they were hearing this for the first time?
"...It's just that Wardanaz never ceases to amaze us. Haha."
"We knew about it too! Really!"
"......"
Jidorf maintained a polite smile, but Giselle, being family, could read her father's true thoughts.
The sound of the students' reputations plummeting seemed to echo in his ears.
Perhaps sensing this, Lee Han quickly stepped in to salvage the situation.
"My friends assisted with other preparations. And Family Head, please don't worry too much about the North's situation. I've heard the cause of the anomalies has disappeared, so things should settle soon."
"Thank you, Wardanaz. ...Who did you hear that from?"
Jidorf paused in surprise.
Even the Black Mages were struggling to identify the cause of the anomalies—how could he claim it had already vanished?