Episode 1184
Episode 1184
"What the hell is that on your head??"
Professor Thunderstep asked the question that anyone would have asked upon seeing his student's current appearance.
Practicing alchemy with a hamster perched on his head—it wasn't like he was imitating some failed adventurer from an old fairy tale who inherited a rundown inn despite having terrible cooking skills...
"He's a mage who infiltrated the school. He transformed into a hamster and is helping me."
-......
The hamster wobbled, nearly toppling off his head.
Of course, this wasn't some grand secret. The Skeleton Principal knew the hamster was trapped here, so the Einrogard faculty must have heard about it too.
But hearing it stated so bluntly was hard to stomach sober. The hamster glanced around, wondering if there was any alcohol nearby.
Given that this was the Alchemy School's magic tower, there had to be some liquor somewhere...
"Ah. So it's that magic criminal. You're taking his advice, then?"
Understanding the situation, Professor Thunderstep let out a snort of laughter.
There was a certain pride in that laugh.
No matter how infamous a magic criminal might be, even one who had reached the realm of a Great Mage, they couldn't possibly excel in every school of magic.
Especially if they were a magic criminal who had been drifting outside the Empire's academic circles—they would naturally be even more ignorant due to lack of scholarly exchange.
A professor of Einrogard wouldn't easily be intimidated even by a Great Mage, let alone a mere magic criminal...
"Do you really think he'll be of any help?"
"You don't need to worry, Professor. He's just supervising some basic tasks."
"???"
Professor Thunderstep didn't know that the Young Prince had already finished giving all the necessary advice.
Regardless, the hamster wanted to bite his tongue in humiliation.
Being looked down on by some brat was shameful enough, but now even this dwarf bastard!
'What does he mean, "just supervising basic tasks"?'
Professor Thunderstep, who had been about to leave, seemed intrigued and dragged over a round iron chair before plopping down on it.
Pulling out a pipe and lighting it, the professor gestured with one hand.
"I'll watch from here. Go ahead, show me what you've got."
"Ah. Professor."
"What?"
"I wanted to ask if it would be alright for me to extend my outings."
"Oh dear. You must have a lot of requests piling up."
Professor Thunderstep wasn't particularly surprised by his student's words.
This semester, with external requests now open, the boy from the Wardanaz family had received the most requests by far.
The number was so high it far surpassed the record previously set by Professor Garcia.
Given that, it made sense he'd want more time outside.
Even if he only took on the absolutely unrefusable requests among the ones he had now, the entire semester would pass in a flash.
"Do as you please. The first-years are already tending to the herb garden, and you won't fall behind in your studies just by spending a little more time outside."
Professor Thunderstep clicked his tongue in regret.
Nothing in this world lasts forever, but comparisons were inevitable.
When comparing the current first-years to Lee Han's first year, no matter how hard the first-years worked, they still fell short of their senior.
"The first-years were tending to it?"
"Yeah. Those kids need to learn how to work sooner or later."
'Wasn't it just because the professor couldn't be bothered?'
Lee Han thought to himself as he boiled water in the distiller to evaporate the reagent.
Of course, managing an alchemist's herb garden wasn't without its lessons.
But that was beside the point. The fact remained that Professor Thunderstep was dumping work onto his students.
'I should leave some food supplies near the garden.'
Thanks to His Highness Uman, the first-years' diets had probably improved somewhat, but they were likely still struggling.
Lee Han resolved to set aside some high-calorie, long-lasting canned goods and various preserved foods for them.
The juniors probably wouldn't even know how to sneak food from Thunderstep's cottage basement...
"Separate."
Alchemists often referred to their school of study as 'comprehensive magic.'
This was because alchemy required such a diverse range of skills.
Not only did one need to memorize spells, but also various combination formulas and structural patterns, and sometimes even demonstrate intuition that surpassed calculation.
Even now was no exception.
Today, the mana density in the Alchemy Hall was slightly thicker than usual, causing the reagent to evaporate faster when mixed with basilisk oil. This carried the risk of altering its properties.
Yet Lee Han didn't miss a single step of the process even while conversing with the professor. With keen senses, he detected the change in mana, lowered the flame intensity, and separated the evaporated reagent first.
'What an annoyingly competent brat.'
Thunderstep grumbled internally.
There was one sight every Einrogard professor secretly wished to see (though Professor Garcia would never admit it) - Wardanaz making a mistake and pulling a miserable face.
Just show it to me once before you graduate!
Hiding such wicked thoughts, Thunderstep spoke again.
"Things were easier when we could still make Professor Bendozol do our bidding."
"After all the arguments you had, you say that?"
"I won't deny he made my blood boil. But he's still a professor. You can't compare his skills to a student's."
Thunderstep exhaled smoke with a nostalgic expression.
Professor Bendozol had personally taken on menial tasks to give Lee Han time to care for the unicorn.
With new inspectors coming in the second semester and first-years to order around, he'd eventually run out of excuses to keep exploiting him, but it had been good while it lasted.
Though the professor himself probably gnashed his teeth at the memory...
"This year's first-years are such a disappointment. Well, ironheads are always disappointing... Oh right, you. Weren't you friends with Eandurde?"
"First-years tend to bond after fighting each other sometimes."
Lee Han answered immediately.
"......"
Both the hamster and Thunderstep were rendered speechless by this absurd response.
"I hadn't even said anything yet."
"My apologies. Did Eandurde happen to hit someone?"
"No idea. Might have happened."
"As long as she's not getting hit back, it's fine."
Professor Garcia would have lectured them, but Thunderstep cared little about kids throwing spells at each other.
His interest lay elsewhere.
"I saw Eandurde using Maykin family alchemy. How'd that happen?"
"Ah. She spent winter break with Yoner too."
"I see... Then what about Pengerin?"
"Senior Alsicle? Oh, you must mean Alhidel."
Lee Han immediately realized he meant the junior. There was one first-year junior from the Pengerin family.
"How come Alhidel knows Maykin family alchemy too?"
"I asked permission from Yoner during break and taught him."
"...Did you open some external Einrogard tutoring center over winter break?!"
Thunderstep was flabbergasted.
This year's first-years seemed excessively devoted to magic instead of causing trouble or going on trips during vacation.
Perhaps it was the senior's influence. Thunderstep stared pointedly at Lee Han.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Nothing. Never mind."
"Any other juniors standing out besides those two?"
"Standing out? Hmm... There's Karre at the Phoenix Tower."
"Oh."
Lee Han, who had been extracting components from the tightly compressed reagent, looked surprised.
He hadn't expected that name to come up.
This junior - a squirrel beastman from the Vildotskal Order - was someone Lee Han had personally invited along with the Skeleton Principal.
Even if they were juniors from the same background, it was only natural to take a bit more interest in those he had personally invited alongside the Skeleton Principal.
"Phoenix Tower priests are generally excellent at alchemy, after all. They must have received elite training at the temple before coming here."
"That iron-headed brat stole all the reagents I prepared in the Alchemy Hall for my lectures."
"......"
Lee Han paused briefly before speaking again.
"Stealing is also a skill, isn't it? Didn't you say yourself, Professor, that acquiring reagents is one of an alchemist's essential abilities? Truly an outstanding junior."
'What kind of bastard is this?'
The defense was so twisted it could bend inward. Professor Thunderstep stared at his student in disbelief.
There was a world of difference between stealing only the reagents you needed and hiding all the lecture materials just because you didn't want to attend class!
The former might make you an exceptional alchemist, but the latter just qualified you for the Punishment Room.
"Did you teach him this?!"
"I don't know what you're talking about. As you well know, contact between first-years and their seniors is prohibited by the rules."
"Says the one who breaks the rules most often... I almost forgot about White Tiger Tower. There's a remarkable kid there named Ulgan."
"Oh."
Lee Han's face lit up.
Ulgan was another first-year he had gone to fetch with the Skeleton Principal.
Looking at it this way, the Skeleton Principal really did have an eye for talent. All that effort to recruit them was paying off.
"If only he'd stop brawling inside the tower."
"What nonsense are you spouting? That's not like him at all."
Lee Han protested vehemently.
Though Ulgan belonged to White Tiger Tower, he was unusually not from a knightly family and, above all, had a peaceful disposition that hated fighting.
So much so that if his friends started quarreling, he'd beat them up to stop the fight.
"...Didn't you notice how contradictory that sounds just now? Breaking up fights by turning them into brawls is why the furniture keeps getting destroyed."
"Please consider the intention. His heart's in the right place, isn't it? Compared to those who only pick fights..."
"Shut up."
Lee Han shut up. Professor Thunderstep, who had been watching him work, suddenly seemed to remember something and asked again.
"But how much extra time outside are you trying to get?"
Come to think of it, Lee Han had already sought permission from the professors regarding requests at the start of the semester.
And now he was asking for even more time?
"I plan to finish everything and leave before the midterm exams begin."
"......"
Professor Thunderstep was so shocked he nearly dropped his pipe.
'What kind of monster is this?!'
Not just the exams—he intended to finish everything before the exam period even started.
Of course, this was someone who had the right to say such things, having already demonstrated the absurd feat of finishing exams before they began last time.
But now he was talking about shortening the timeline even further!
At this point, even Professor Thunderstep—who wasn't particularly burdened by professorial responsibility—felt his pride and stubbornness flare up.
If you're so damn talented at magic, let's see you solve this too...
"All done, Professor."
"Huh? Oh. Right."
Professor Thunderstep, who had been deep in thought about how to raise the difficulty of the midterm exams, looked up.
Somehow, the pipe's embers had gone out, and Wardanaz had not only completed the preliminary work but had also finished the secondary and tertiary processes.
"Could you verify the Scholar's Fragrance for me?"
"Sure... Wait, you made Scholar's Fragrance too?!"
"Pardon? Yes."
The professor's pupils trembled slightly at the revelation that, instead of just practicing with basic Ascending Fragrance, Lee Han had also synthesized the far more challenging Scholar's Fragrance.
For some reason, he felt an ominous premonition.
Though he didn't realize it himself, it was the dread that part of his pride might crumble upon confirmation.