Episode 1235
Episode 1235
'Ugh. I can't accept this.'
Though he'd listened to the professor's lecture, Lee Han couldn't accept it at all.
Wasn't that performance easily worth full marks?
In Lee Han's opinion, Professor Bagrak had clearly raised the grading standards unconsciously due to his discomfort from being confined in the Punishment Room.
Under normal circumstances, he would have definitely given full marks.
"Sorry about that, Eandurde. Could you come down again?"
"That's fine with me, but..."
Eandurde's expression turned slightly peculiar.
Hadn't the senior just arbitrarily canceled the magic and arbitrarily declared it full marks?
'Must be my imagination, right?'
There was no way that senior—who was strict with both him and other students in the same year (especially Gainando)—would do such a thing.
He must have misunderstood something in the chaotic situation.
"Alright. Let's go again!"
"Eandurde can do it!"
-Since our positions have changed, I'll secretly send a signal this time!
"Keep it down!"
Jowurin, who was cheering, hurriedly stopped the baby basilisk.
He was trying to send signals without getting caught, but this basilisk might give them away.
"Your Highness."
"J-J-J-Jowurin hasn't done anything yet...!"
"Well done. You may continue as you are."
"!??"
Lee Han turned around again and sent a signal.
The magic circle, similar to before but differently structured, launched an attack, sending water orbs flying toward them.
Having failed once already, Eandurde wasn't about to be caught twice. Just as she broke through the obstacles prepared by the senior, Professor Voladi readied his attack.
This assault employed both smoke screens and illusions simultaneously, aiming to confuse vision, smell, and even magical senses.
Novice mages would freeze the moment their primary senses became disoriented.
Sure enough, Eandurde's feet stopped. Professor Voladi's eyes gleamed sternly.
Stopping at a time like this was the worst move. She should have kept moving, focusing on her existing senses or utilizing other senses to distinguish reality from illusion.
Then, in an instant, Eandurde moved. Even Professor Voladi was startled by her bizarre motion.
How could she glide like that without any preparatory muscle movements?
"......"
The reason became immediately clear. Eandurde looked toward the senior with an expression of utter disbelief.
Lee Han had used psychokinesis to move Eandurde.
It was truly astonishing skill—to make her move just enough to evade in such a tense situation.
...And to use such skill for mere cheating!
"Full marks!"
Even though he'd been completely caught, Lee Han shamelessly clapped. Professor Voladi gestured again.
Eandurde spoke with an awkward expression.
"Um... Senior."
"What's wrong, Eandurde? Surprised you got full marks? You totally deserve it, so no need to be shocked."
"...I think it might be better if I just practiced separately with the professor..."
"...!!!"
Lee Han focused on his work with a sullen expression.
He looked so dejected that even the usually strict Yoanen tried to console him.
"Um, Lord Wardanaz. It's only natural for disciples to leave their master's care once they grow. ...Well, strictly speaking, it's a bit different since it's a junior, but... Anyway, you get the point, right?"
"Professor Bagrak took the role of the bad teacher, so I just took the role of the good one."
Lee Han kept grumbling. Yoanen thought to herself:
'That doesn't seem quite right.'
To be precise, Professor Voladi was playing the proper teacher's role, while Lee Han was closer to being a saboteur.
But Yoanen had no intention of provoking a genius who was both a dragon's contractor and a future great alchemist.
After all, Stedal Nago might suddenly appear and terrorize her alchemy workshop.
"I was really sad too when Yoner wouldn't listen to me and acted on her own."
"That's because Lady Maykin tried to make her work 25 hours a day in the workshop. My situation is different."
"......"
The red-haired alchemist glared at the profile of this arrogant genius.
Meanwhile, Yoner, who had briefly left to attend a lecture, returned.
"I'm back. Are they still not letting you participate?"
"Yeah. Hey, Yoner, could you go and protest on my behalf?"
At Lee Han's request, Yoner pretended not to hear.
No matter how strong the power of friendship was, going to Professor Bagrak and saying, "Please let Lee Han participate again because he's reflecting on his actions," required courage.
And honestly, even if Lee Han were allowed back, he'd probably do the same thing again.
...Because he wasn't reflecting at all!
"Here, take this. The lecture notes... Oh, right. What did you do to Professor Thunderstep?"
"???"
Lee Han froze.
What did he do?
'What is she talking about?'
"Why? Did the professor say something?"
"Well, during this lecture..."
Yoner explained what had happened in the Advanced Alchemy for Fools class.
-"In this alchemy session, the material of the cauldron is crucial, so check it at least three times."
-"Professor, why are you wearing bandages?"
-"I tripped and fell on the way here."
-"That seems like an awfully big injury for just a tri—"
-"Are you from the Healing Magic school or something?!"
"Wait. I was in the Punishment Room—what does the professor getting hurt have to do with me?"
Lee Han spoke as if he found the accusation utterly unfair.
No matter how suspicious he might be, suspecting someone who was in the Punishment Room was too much!
But Yoner shook her head.
"That's not what I meant."
"Oh. I see."
To Yoner, Professor Thunderstep being bandaged up wasn't particularly important.
That was just context.
The real issue arose at the end of the lecture. After answering Yoner's question, Professor Thunderstep fell into deep thought for a moment.
-"Wait. Maykin, are you going to bring the lecture notes to Wardanaz?"
-"Yes."
-"By any chance... do you think Wardanaz will... seek guidance from the Young Headmaster again this time?"
-"Huh??"
-"Never mind. Forget it. Here, take these predicted final exam topics too. Give them to Wardanaz."
-"Dobruk's Soul-Returning Potion"... Professor, this has nothing to do with what we learned this semester, does it?
-"This final exam will focus on surprise elements."
-"But why are you giving us the answers?"
-"...Grr! If I hadn't wasted time running from Professor Garcia, I could've prepared this properly so you wouldn't notice!"
-"????"
Professor Thunderstep shouted in frustration and then vanished.
Yoner was baffled but had no choice but to bring back what she'd been given.
"He said they were predicted final exam topics, but he never mentioned them during the lecture... It feels like a trick..."
"Not just 'feels like'—it is a trick."
Lee Han tossed aside the fake final exam topics Professor Thunderstep had written.
He had a pretty good idea why the professor was doing this.
During the midterms, Lee Han had borrowed the Young Prince's power to turn the tables and evaluate Professor Thunderstep's exam instead.
The professor had defended himself with excuses like, "I could've thought of gold too, but you didn't pay me!", "You're the one using expensive reagents!", and "It's not that obtaining demon bones is easy—it's just what alchemists do!"—but the emotional wound must have lingered.
This fake final exam topic was probably his petty revenge.
"Can you pass a message to the professor later? Tell him I'll take the exam this time without the Young Headmaster's help."
"Got it."
Lee Han set aside the final exam topics and focused on the lecture notes Yoner had brought.
The substance called Paragranum's Adamas was notoriously difficult to create.
Using a cauldron with even slightly mismatched materials would not only guarantee failure but could also cause explosions or reverse reactions...
"It's not that hard. Once you get the process down, it's actually one of the easier reagents to make among Paragranum's concoctions."
Yoanen remarked with interest, lost in old memories.
To her, an accomplished alchemist already running her own workshop, what students handled naturally seemed simple.
Lee Han nodded as if he understood.
"It must seem easy to you, Lord Maykin."
"What if we adjust the angle of the furnace slightly?"
"Thank you for the advice."
"It would be good to cast a bit of Enhancement Magic before using the cauldron. The lecture didn't mention it, but using this improves efficiency."
"I see..."
"Give it here. I'll cast it for you."
"No, I need to practice this myself—"
"With Lord Wardanaz's skills, you don't really need to practice this. Hand it over."
"I still need to do it myself."
As Lee Han resisted Yoanen's attempts to snatch the cauldron away, a sudden thought struck him.
'...Wait, is this why Eandurde kicked me out?'
Professor Mortum coughed as pitifully as he could.
Yet Diret's expression didn't change in the slightest. Seeing his cold demeanor, Professor Mortum lamented inwardly.
'I should have stopped Wardanaz from going to the Punishment Room!'
Because his cherished junior had been sent to the Punishment Room, even this usually kind-hearted beastman student seemed to have frozen over.
Otherwise, there was no explanation for why he wasn't helping at all with this grueling task of brewing a curse-neutralizing potion.
"Cough. The Headmaster is truly excessive. Giving us work while making such absurd excuses."
"What excuse did he give?"
"He claimed it was by order of His Excellency the Inspector."
'How utterly insincere.'
Diret thought to himself.
The reason Professor Mortum was struggling alone with the workload assigned to the Black Magic department was entirely due to the Skeleton Principal's orders.
Originally, this was work meant for the department's students, but for some sudden whim, the Skeleton Principal had commanded, "Mortum, you handle this yourself."
But to use such a blatantly shameless excuse—it was unbelievable.
"If he's in the Punishment Room right now, how can he give orders?"
"Cough, right?!"
Professor Mortum brightened slightly, sensing his disciple's anger might have softened a little.
Perhaps he might still get some help.
"As a protest against the Headmaster's actions..."
He glanced sideways, but Diret's expression remained unchanged. Professor Mortum gave up and sighed.
"Cough. How about this? We could ask Wardanaz to—"
"Go on."
"There were professors trying to assign work to Wardanaz while he's in the Punishment Room. We could discreetly ask him..."
"I'm listening. Continue."
"So you could— Cough. Wait. What are you writing?"
Only then did Professor Mortum notice Diret scribbling something with his quill.
"Nothing."
"...Please! Please don't send that to Professor Garcia!"
Realizing the situation, Professor Mortum turned even paler than usual and let out a shriek.
Unlike sturdy Professor Thunderstep, Professor Mortum could genuinely die if hit.
"Cough, I'm not like Professor Thunderstep—this is truly dangerous!"
"Then you should have been more careful. If you finish today's work, I won't send this letter."
"......"
Professor Mortum suppressed his coughs and threw himself back into his work.
The other juniors in the Black Magic department tiptoed around cautiously, not even daring to breathe. Gainando gulped audibly.
'If they find out I'm friends with Lee Han, I might die. If they find out I'm friends with Lee Han, I might die...'
"Gainando?"
"Ah! Uh, well. I-I'm actually not that close with Lee Han!"
"......"
"......"
Imirgue and Lafadell stared at Gainando as if he were insane.
Was that even a coherent sentence?
"...Actually, we are friends..."
"...Don't be nervous, I'm not angry..."
Diret suddenly felt guilty.
His anger at one junior had made the others terrified.
"Is our junior doing well?"
"......"
Gainando broke out in a cold sweat.
If he said Lee Han was doing well—
"How dare he be doing well after I got angry? Die!"
If he said Lee Han wasn't doing well—
"How dare he not be resting properly after I told him to? Die!"
"U-uh... sniff..."
"Why! Why are you crying!?"
Flustered, Diret hurriedly tried to console his junior.