Episode 1222
Episode 1222
"Thanks to you guys, I won't fall behind even while I'm in here."
At Lee Han's words, Gainando made an expression that clearly showed he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Why on earth would someone need to study even inside the Punishment Room?
"Lee Han. It's okay to take a little break in the Punishment Room. There are magazines and Wizard Cards here..."
'But you can't play Wizard Cards alone, can you?'
Yoner, who was listening nearby, thought to herself.
Playing Wizard Cards by yourself?
As if sharing the same thought, Adenart spoke up.
"You can't play Wizard Cards alone, can you?"
"...Why does everything I say get picked apart?!"
Gainando was indignant, as if he were facing a lowly political attack from another imperial family member.
Of course, his friends didn't agree. They all sided with Adenart and looked at Gainando as if he were ridiculous.
Even Yoner joined in (in fact, Yoner was the first to side with Adenart).
"Hmph. If you can't play alone, just find someone to play with. Wait and see!"
"Wai—"
Lee Han tried to stop him, but Gainando quickly dashed to the adjacent cell. Without even checking who was inside, he shouted,
"Excuse me! Would you like to play Wizard Cards with Lee Han?!"
"Fine."
"...P-P-Professor Bagrak???"
Gainando was so startled he stumbled backward and fell on his rear.
The last person he expected was in the neighboring cell!
"Professor, why are you here?!"
"Did none of you know Professor Bagrak was here?"
Lee Han looked puzzled. Yoner whispered with an awkward expression,
"Lee Han. You're his only student..."
"Ah."
Come to think of it, unlike other professors, Professor Voladi was someone whose absence wouldn't be noticed.
In fact, when he had gone missing before, most people hadn't even realized he was gone except for a few...
Still, being a respectful disciple, Lee Han defended his teacher.
"Eandurde is here too."
"......"
"...Mmm..."
Honestly, whether it was one or two people didn't make much difference, but his friends respected Lee Han's feelings.
Meanwhile, Gainando was sweating profusely as he explained the Wizard Cards deck to Professor Voladi.
"W-Well, this is... the deck I'm lending you... It's made up of giant monsters... very flashy... and even has a Dragon..."
"It looks like it would struggle in the early game."
"N-No, it doesn't! Of course, if you face someone who plays without honor, it might be at a disadvantage, but it's decent enough—"
"What is he even doing?"
The students from the Blue Dragon Tower stared at Gainando as if they couldn't believe what they were seeing.
Explaining Wizard Cards to Professor Voladi?
Lee Han called out to help his friend.
"Gainando. Stop bothering the professor and come here."
"Couldn't you have called me sooner...!"
Gainando sniffled as he hurried back. He couldn't even remember what he had just said.
He had lost a few decks, and what else had he said?
As the conversation threatened to derail due to another undignified imperial family member, Adenart lightly cleared her throat.
Then, she brought up what she had intended to say.
"Wardanaz. As a fellow student, I must say that your recent subjugation of the Anti-Magic Zealots alongside Professor Bagrak was truly something to be proud of."
Some students took it for granted because they were close, but having a mage like Wardanaz in the same year was truly something to be proud of.
The more Wardanaz built his reputation, the more his fellow students would share in that glory.
As classmates, they should express their gratitude when it was due.
But Lee Han didn't respond. Caught off guard by his unexpected reaction, Adenart was slightly flustered.
Huh?
"Did I say something wrong...?"
"Did you say Anti-Magic Zealots?"
"Y-Yes? Wasn't that it?"
Adenart grew even more confused.
Hadn't Lee Han gone after Professor Bagrak to subjugate the Anti-Magic Zealots?
Gainando couldn't hold back his laughter.
"Anti-Magic Zealots?! How could you mistake it for that?!"
"T-Then...?"
"Lee Han went with the professor to subjugate Magic Criminals!"
"......"
Lee Han was speechless.
Adenart could be excused for misunderstanding. After all, many rumors must have spread while Lee Han was away.
But Gainando was also mistaken, even though he had been there when they fought the Evil God Worshippers.
Thwack!
"Why?!"
Gainando's eyes widened in indignation as he was struck by a staff that slipped between the prison bars.
"What do you mean 'Magic Criminal' all of a sudden? They were Evil God Worshippers. You saw the Sanguiros Cult too, didn't you?"
"Huh? Uh... huh? Then, what about the Magic Criminals?"
Gainando fell into confusion.
Right?
Lee Han, utterly dumbfounded, turned to Yoner.
"How did the rumors spread to the point where even Gainando, who was there, got confused?"
'Anti-Magic Zealots, Magic Criminals, Evil God Worshippers, Separatists—they're all mixed up in this.'
Yoner smiled ambiguously, her thoughts inscrutable.
Lee Han had certainly told some friends about the Evil God Worshippers, but rumors had a way of spreading regardless of the truth.
The students of Einrogard had taken liberties, adding their own interpretations to the story.
"Wardanaz finished all his midterms and left early? To chase Professor Bagrak? Makes sense. Magic Criminals have been running rampant lately—he must be hunting them down."
"No doubt he's after the Anti-Magic Zealots again. It's not like it's his first time."
Just seeing Yoner's ambiguous smile made it clear how exaggerated the rumors had become.
Lee Han sighed.
"I wish you all would take the truth and quell the rumors."
"Of course. We can do that much, Wardanaz. What should we say?"
As Ashan puffed out his chest confidently, as if to say, "You can trust me," Lee Han thought once again that friends were the only ones who could help in times like these.
"We were chasing Evil God Worshippers and actually discovered the domain of an Evil God. We entered it and fought the Evil God. Luckily, we managed to destroy it."
"......"
"......"
"...Is Lee Han telling us what actually happened, or is he joking?"
Gainando, looking bewildered, turned to the others for clarification.
One by one, friends from other towers came to visit.
The White Tiger Tower students pushed a neatly wrapped, sizable chunk of wild boar meat through the bars.
"Wardanaz! Congratulations on defeating the Separatists!"
"...Yeah. Thanks."
Too exhausted to correct them, Lee Han accepted the gift.
After nearly two years at Einrogard, the White Tiger Tower students had become remarkably skilled. Their abilities were incomparable to when they had first enrolled.
Back then, they hadn't even known to drain the blood or scrape the fat from the hide after hunting a boar, making mistakes left and right. Now, they knew how to butcher the meat by section and prepare different preservation methods for each.
After hanging the salted and smoked meat from a corner of the ceiling, Lee Han turned to Batrek and asked:
This time, Batrek's older brother, Amrek of the Moonless Night Knights, had been a great help to Lee Han.
"Did your brother say anything?"
"He asked why I couldn't be more like Wardanaz, even though we're both Einrogard students."
"......"
The White Tiger Tower friends exchanged looks of sympathy.
Batrek wasn't the only one who heard things like that. Every second-year at Einrogard had heard something similar at least once.
"Uh. Sorry."
"No... It's my own fault..."
The mood grew awkward. Giselle, who had been listening from behind, shooed the others away before asking:
"What happened to the Evil God Worshippers? Were they all defeated?"
"Hey, Moradi, you knew the truth—why didn't you correct them?"
"...I tried, but they wouldn't listen!"
Sparks practically flew from Giselle's eyes.
She had subtly hinted the truth to these White Tiger Tower idiots, but they just couldn't grasp it.
She couldn't exactly explain Professor Voladi's past in detail, so she'd only said, "There might have been some Evil God Worshippers involved." But the White Tiger Tower students conveniently interpreted it as, "Oh, so there were some Evil God Worshippers among the Separatists."
Even the ones who had gone on the last mission and fought the Evil God Worshippers were acting like this...
-Moradi, think about it. Sure, Wardanaz went after Evil God Worshippers last time. But does that mean he did this time too? Given the Wardanaz family's political stance, Separatists seem far more likely.
"Gatono's insight is truly razor-sharp!"
From Giselle's perspective, it felt like being the two-eyed person in the land of the blind.
"Indeed. I understand. Even the Blue Dragon Tower kids were believing strange rumors."
"...Did you find the professor?"
"Huh? Ah. He's doing fine."
Lee Han glanced sideways. Giselle couldn't possibly imagine that Professor Bagrak was in the adjacent cell.
"So what about the Evil God Worshippers?"
Giselle asked again.
Rumors were already circulating that the Evil God Worshippers had suffered major losses, but the most accurate information would come straight from the source.
Just how thoroughly had they been annihilated?
Lee Han answered with a serious expression.
"While chasing the Evil God Worshippers, I ended up fighting the Evil God directly. Since I completely eradicated it, the remnants won't be able to hold out and will quickly decline."
"...Are you mocking me right now??"
The Black Turtle Tower students immediately started cursing the White Tiger Tower students upon arrival.
"Wardanaz. Those idiots are downright despicable! They overheard us discussing preserved foods and immediately made the first move!"
"But it doesn't matter. We prepared a different gift anyway. It won't even compare to that measly meat."
"Oh? What is it?"
Lee Han grew curious seeing his friends' confident expressions.
Ratford, as their representative, pushed the gift through the bars.
"Here you go."
"...A hammer, chisel, shovel... rope...?"
"Escape tools!"
"......"
The Black Turtle Tower students were dead serious.
Even if this was the Professor's Punishment Room, it would naturally have countermeasures against magic.
In that case, such physical tools might unexpectedly hit a weak spot.
They'd actually worked several times before in punishment rooms.
"These tools are made from gathered frost iron and glowstone. If we start digging from the corner now, you could be out before the semester ends."
"I'm truly grateful to all of you."
While inwardly half-skeptical, Lee Han expressed his thanks nonetheless.
His skepticism stemmed from the Skeleton Principal's attitude.
Truthfully, students could escape punishment rooms because the Skeleton Principal didn't impose severe surveillance or restrictions.
If he really went all out with surveillance, escape would be nearly impossible for students.
Currently, the Skeleton Principal was being pressured and threatened by a certain professor to seriously confine Lee Han.
In such circumstances, escape would likely be extremely difficult.
As Lee Han pondered how to use these escape tools, a sudden curiosity made him ask:
"By any chance, have you heard about what fight I had with Professor Bagrak?"
"Wasn't it about coming back from subjugating doomsday cultists this time?"
"...No."
"Then what?"
"Hmm. I'm not sure if you'd believe me even if I told you."
At Lee Han's words, Salko showed a hurt expression.
"Wardanaz. We may be from different towers, but I've always respected your diligence. Do you really think we wouldn't believe your word?"
"Fine. I directly confronted and fought an Evil God. I even eradicated it."
"Can I take back what I just said?"
The Phoenix Tower students came last. Lee Han waved at the priests.
"Thank you all for coming."
"Lord Wardanaz! To think you fought an Evil God directly—that's truly amazing!"
Siana said with sparkling eyes.
Unlike other students, these priests had received news from their respective churches.
The news of the Evil God's eradication had been relayed from multiple churches, and each church had accurately shared the information they'd received, so the Phoenix Tower priests had no reason to believe other rumors.
Lee Han stood perfectly still. The priests were puzzled by his reaction.
Had he not fully recovered yet?
"...Among all the students in your tower, you're the most reliable and intelligent! Thank you!"
"??!?"
The priests were startled by Lee Han's intense reaction.
They hadn't expected him to respond so strongly to such simple praise.
After belatedly hearing the circumstances, the priests nodded in understanding.
"Aha. To be honest, even we found it hard to believe at first and had to reread it several times."
"I'm just glad you believed me right away. Really."
"Don't worry, Lord Wardanaz. There's a way to convince even those who don't believe."
Siana said confidently.
"What is it?"
"I heard the Imperial Newspaper will soon make an official announcement."
"...About what?"
"The Evil God Subjugation! Now that the cleanup is done, it's time for the announcement."
"......"
He hadn't expected such a large-scale method of persuasion...?!