Episode 1225
Episode 1225
Lee Han's gaze unconsciously drifted toward the empty cell opposite Professor Voladi's.
'Please don't tell me they're adding another person.'
That absolutely couldn't happen.
While Professor Voladi might be tolerable, there was no way he could allow Jowurin to stay in this wretched place.
Lee Han calmly asked first.
"Are you alright?"
"Hmm? Jowurin is fine."
"...I meant His Highness Uman."
"Ah!"
Jowurin let out a slightly sulky grumble.
"Uman isn't the contractor."
It was Jowurin, not Uman, who had formed the contract with Lee Han.
So even if she reverted to her dragon form and threw a punch, shouldn't she be more concerned about Jowurin first?
"?"
Lee Han tilted his head at that logic.
'Has staying at Einrogard affected her?'
This level of shamelessness was on par with a first-year, second-semester student at Einrogard.
Who knew she'd learn so quickly?
"Your Highness. You are of higher standing than His Highness Uman, aren't you? It's only natural for those of higher standing to look after those beneath them."
"That is true... Hmm, Uman barely got hurt."
Phew.
Lee Han let out a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, the other party was also a dragon, so they must have been sturdy. To withstand Jowurin's strike and still be standing—
Of course, that didn't mean they were completely unharmed.
Especially when it came to emotional wounds—those would be even worse!
At first glance, this dragon inspector seemed tough and brimming with confidence, but in some ways, he was more fragile than Jowurin.
Just the other day, when the students had rioted in anger, he had reverted to his true form and sulked. So if his respected elder sister Jowurin were to swing her foreleg at him...
'Wouldn't he fall into depression?'
Lee Han was genuinely worried about Uman. That attitude only made Jowurin even more irritated.
"Hmph! I should've hit him one more time!"
"...Your Highness, you misunderstand. It's not that I care more about His Highness Uman—it's just that, well... he's younger and weaker than you."
Calling a fully grown Black Dragon—one that could swallow him whole in a single bite—"young and weak" felt incredibly awkward, but Lee Han kept a straight face as he said it.
Jowurin seemed slightly mollified by his words.
"...Uman is a bit young, I suppose."
"Right? Please be magnanimous and understand. Besides, the Emperor himself is aware of this Evil God Subjugation, so His Highness Uman won't be able to pull any strings to get me out."
Jowurin fell into thought.
If she went to the Emperor and threw a punch...
"Your Highness. You're not thinking of going to the Emperor to protest, are you?"
Lee Han asked warily, sensing something ominous.
Surely not...
Surely she wouldn't, right?
Jowurin quickly changed her expression and feigned ignorance. The time she had spent at Einrogard had truly taught this Gold Dragon many things.
"Jowurin wasn't thinking anything!"
"Understood. In any case, please don't stir up more trouble, Your Highness. I'm doing just fine here. In fact, this might even be good for you. We haven't had much time to play together lately, have we? Would you like to play Gold Dragon Chess?"
At Lee Han's question, Jowurin hesitated for a moment.
Then, with a strained expression, she replied.
"Regular chess would be fine too."
"??"
Taken aback by the unexpected answer, Lee Han was puzzled but brought out a chessboard.
Separated by the prison bars, the dragon and the Dragon Contractor moved their pieces.
Jowurin attacked fiercely, but she couldn't break through Lee Han's solid defense. Soon, her pieces were blocked.
"Uuugh."
Jowurin scowled, glaring holes into the chessboard. Being a dragon, she might have actually been able to pierce through it with just her gaze.
"Your Highness. Was there a particular reason you chose regular chess?"
"...Jowurin is a wise dragon, so she no longer plays with Gold Dragon pieces that can move in all eight directions and breathe fire across the entire board."
'So something must have happened.'
Lee Han realized that Jowurin had come to yet another realization.
Einrogard wasn't just having a bad influence—there were positive effects like this too.
Jowurin kept glancing furtively behind Lee Han. Startled, Lee Han wondered if his escape hole had been discovered, but Jowurin was looking at something else.
"Ah. Would you like some cocoa?"
"Yes!"
"Please wait a moment."
The moment Lee Han stood up with a smile, Jowurin swiftly rearranged the chess pieces like lightning.
It was one of the tricks he had learned from Eandurde.
When Lee Han returned with a mug, he glanced at the chessboard and then stared piercingly at Jowurin.
"......"
"......"
'Is this really just a bad influence?'
Perhaps feeling a pang of guilt, Jowurin quickly changed the subject.
"By the way, Lee Han. When I told you not to cause any more trouble, that means the things you did before are fine, right? Right?"
This Gold Dragon tended to revert to his natural speech pattern when flustered or excited instead of using formal language.
Lee Han chose not to point it out and focused on the question instead.
What did he mean by 'things done before'?
"Did you cause some other trouble?"
"Not necessarily... but it's fine, right?"
"Hmm. It depends on what kind of trouble it was. Was anyone hurt?"
Jowurin fell into brief thought.
After Gonadaltes didn't respond and Uman refused to release Lee Han, Jowurin had gotten slightly angry and gathered a few students and professors.
—Until Lee Han is freed, set fires and raid the magic towers! If you do, Jowurin will personally train your Cerberus for you!
—Now I understand why our junior pledged loyalty to Your Highness! We'll do it!
—And... uh... um... the professor...
—Your Highness. I need no reward. Loyalty to you is the most precious and noble reward of all. Please allow me to raid the other professors' magic towers in your name.
—...Can't you just take a reward? Jowurin feels a bit uncomfortable...
These seasoned mages caused a commotion as promised, but the effect wasn't particularly great.
Since Einrogard already had plenty of people who set fires and raided magic towers even without provocation, a few suspicious anonymous mages causing trouble only elicited reactions like, 'Oh, they're at it again.'
From Jowurin's perspective, he couldn't help but be flustered by such indifferent reactions.
Shouldn't such a commotion make everyone exclaim, 'Gasp! How could such an outrageous thing happen at Einrogard! Come to think of it, there was that junior who was unfairly framed, right? We should release him!'
Why was everyone just saying things like, 'Who is it this time?' or 'Who cares? Let's take this chance to loot the seniors' stuff—Wardanaz would love that'...
'Hmm. But it doesn't seem like anyone got hurt.'
"Your Highness?"
At his contractor's call, Jowurin snapped out of his thoughts.
No one had been hurt, that was certain!
"No one was hurt, but..."
"Then it should be fine. Don't worry too much about it."
Jowurin grinned brightly.
Lee Han couldn't possibly imagine that the dragon before him had gathered professors and students to cause a commotion.
"Oh. Your Highness. Both bishops are on black squares."
"...N-n-n-no, that's astonishing. It, it must be ghosts in the Punishment Room..."
Flustered, Jowurin averted his gaze and then noticed something strange inside Lee Han's cell.
It wasn't the fact that it was filled with all sorts of furnishings and household items...
"Lee Han. What's that wall?"
"Huh?"
Lee Han turned his gaze absentmindedly and froze in horror.
The blanket covering the escape hole had fallen off without him noticing!
"...That wall has always been like th—"
"An escape attempt!!!"
Jowurin's golden eyes sparkled with delight as he leaped up.
Didn't magazines like <Toberiz Escapes the Fortress> have similar plots?
As expected, his contractor had everything planned out.
"Oh, no. It's not an escape attempt. I was just trying to dig a small hole to the next room to make things more comfortable. Your Highness, you mustn't tell anyone about this."
Especially not Professor Garcia.
Jowurin wasn't foolish. She nodded with a serious expression.
"If anyone finds out about this hole, Jowurin will swallow them whole."
"Th-that won't be necessary... Just keeping it a secret would suffice."
"I distinctly heard... Professor Verdus is in the next room. Is that not so?"
"No. It's Professor Bagrak."
"Ah."
Jowurin looked disappointed.
Even though she'd clearly heard it was Professor Voladi, she'd gotten confused again.
Strangely, whenever a professor was locked in the Punishment Room, her mind always defaulted to Verdus.
"Then Lee Han must be exchanging secret ink letters with Professor Bagrak! Made from blood and ashes!"
"No. We can just talk normally here since it's quiet."
In fact, there was even real ink available.
Jowurin, who had been excited by the idea, now looked slightly disappointed.
"What about the stationery? You must have woven blankets and leather to make it, right?!"
"They sell stationery at the market..."
Jowurin grew even more dejected. Seeing her like that, Lee Han felt an inexplicable guilt.
Had he brought too many comforts into the Punishment Room?
"Fiction differs from reality, it seems..."
"......"
"Ah! Jowurin has had a brilliant idea!"
Undeterred by the cold reality, Jowurin enthusiastically came up with a new plan.
Lee Han asked curiously,
"What idea is that?"
"Jowurin possesses the perfect tool for digging through walls. It is none other than..."
Jowurin rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a familiar material.
It was a dragon's fang!
Lee Han's expression immediately turned stern.
Afraid her contractor would scold her again for recklessly extracting a body part, Jowurin hastily exclaimed,
"Wait! No! This isn't Jowurin's tooth!"
"Huh?"
"This is His Highness Uman's tooth... It, uh, fell out when Jowurin struck him..."
"......"
"B-because Jowurin didn't pull it out herself, technically, this doesn't break our previous agreement..."
Jowurin hesitated, gauging her contractor's reaction. Lee Han felt deeply conflicted at the sight.
Was Einrogard truly having a positive influence on Jowurin?
"Phew."
After Jowurin left, Lee Han sighed and picked up the dragon's fang.
He felt slightly guilty toward His Highness Uman, but he couldn't just not use what he'd been given. It was the perfect tool for digging through the sturdy prison wall.
"Professor Verdus is here."
"Huh?"
Lee Han froze at the sudden, out-of-nowhere remark.
Professor Verdus was here??
Regardless of how he'd noticed, the idea itself was absurd.
If there was a list of professors least likely to visit, Verdus would be at the very top!
'Did Professor Garcia send Professor Verdus in her place because she was embarrassed? No way. She wouldn't be that desperate for help.'
Or did she choose him because she'd feel less guilty about threatening him?
Soon, Voladi's words were proven correct. From down the hallway appeared a beaver beastman mage with a mischievously cute face.
"How did you notice, Professor?"
"Footsteps from above."
"...!"
Lee Han mentally kicked himself.
He'd only been considering presence and mana in the hallway, but the sound of footsteps from above was just as crucial.
Though he really didn't want to memorize the sound of Professor Verdus' footsteps...
"Professor Verdus. I didn't expect you to come."
"Do you know how to use <Ahrag's Eye>?"
Verdus cut straight to the point. Lee Han was slightly taken aback.
Of course he knew. Wasn't it the spell those insane black mages he'd met this year had forcibly crammed into his head?
"I do, but..."
"What about <Living Wall>?"
"I know that one too."
"Then write it all down in detail here!"
Professor Verdus shoved a thick book filled with blank pages through the bars.
Immediately, a sharply honed knife flew from the adjacent cell toward Verdus' nape.