Episode 1237
Episode 1237
'Professor Thunderstep is still as shameless as ever.'
The Golem student who had put some distance between them checked his surroundings. Fortunately, it didn't seem like Professor Thunderstep was secretly following him.
You could never let your guard down around him—the moment you showed the slightest carelessness, he'd immediately dump his work onto his students.
"I've come under Professor Kraer's orders."
-Enter.
The Death Knights opened the door to the Professor's Punishment Room.
The Golem student who stepped inside paused his steps. There was something he needed to do before descending further.
'Alright. Shall I open it?'
The Golem student pulled out a carefully sealed parchment from his robe.
The reason why the Golem student hadn't been able to tell Professor Thunderstep the exact purpose of his visit to the Professor's Punishment Room was actually quite simple.
He didn't know it himself either.
True secrets are best kept when even the magician themselves remains unaware.
Though it might seem like an eccentric method of relaying information, this was commonplace among Divination magicians who paid attention to every seemingly meaningless action.
-Now. Once you enter the Punishment Room, open this letter. Never open it before arriving! If you open it prematurely, something dangerous will happen to you!
-Understood.
-I mean it—something really, really dangerous will happen if you open it first!
-I-I understand.
Though he didn't know what perilous future his mentor had foreseen, the Golem student trusted him.
Sure, he could be selfish at times and occasionally used his disciples as human shields against the future... but generally, he was trustworthy...
To avoid misfortune, follow these instructions in order:
1. Descend together with the Death Knights.
2. Upon reaching the target floor, ask the knights to lock the door from the outside.
3. Speak with the mage and Oculogard present on that floor.
'Difficult. The future is always inscrutable.'
The Golem student sank into careful thought.
The more he learned about Divination Magic, the more he realized that before the vast ocean of the future, a magician was nothing more than a mere leaf.
To grow conceited over glimpsing a fragment of the future was no different than boasting about having seen a passing ripple—all while a storm and tidal wave loomed overhead.
Though these instructions were challenging, they weren't entirely beyond conjecture.
'Does descending with the Death Knights mean the person is dangerous? Honestly, I thought it might be Professor Verdus... No, Professor Verdus could be dangerous too.'
Viewed that way, the instruction to have the knights lock the door from the outside also made sense.
If it were Professor Verdus, he might attempt an escape.
But the last part remained utterly baffling.
Oculogard—the Magic Academy where the Empire's most fanatical Divination magicians gathered to hone their foresight.
Naturally, the Einrogard Divination Magic School also had exchanges with them.
Though not as thick as thieves like the Einrogard Black Magic School and Kallarogard (those two had a particularly peculiar closeness), it was only natural for schools of the same discipline to interact.
So why was he supposed to talk about Professor Verdus and Oculogard?
'What possible connection could there be?'
Nothing came to mind except perhaps presenting Professor Verdus's head as a gift to the Oculogard mages.
The Golem student decided to stop speculating and take action.
"Would you be willing to accompany me on the descent?"
-Indeed. That makes sense.
The Death Knights nodded as if they understood the Golem student's request.
Anyone trying to send the successor on an errand had to be prepared to stake their life on it.
Those who entrusted requests from outside were at least outsiders, but if someone from within Einrogard had ordered this out of personal gain...
...it might only be natural to bring an escort for the descent.
However, the student seemed to be laboring under one misconception.
'If Professor Garcia comes flying at us, we'll be stepping back.'
'To think you didn't consider that. How truly unfortunate.'
The knights exchanged glances.
They had no intention of interfering in matters between professors and students.
Especially if it involved an enraged Professor Garcia!
"And could you lock the door behind me when I go in? Please don't open it until the designated time has passed."
-Shouldn't we be locking them inside rather than outside? Well, whatever. We can do that much.
The knights' words made the golem student even more uneasy.
Hadn't his divination just shown a major misfortune this week?
What kind of situation could this be...?
Creak—
The golem student cautiously opened the door and stepped onto the stairs.
"Professor. I've reflected on my actions. Please let me participate in Eandurde's test again."
"Jowurin will beg alongside you as well!"
"Uman doesn't believe the Wardanaz family's Lee Han would make such a mistake—"
"???"
The golem student felt something was off as he descended into the unexpectedly lively hallway of the Punishment Room.
Then he peeked inside.
The first person he spotted was Professor Bagrak.
'Ah. Was the warning about being careful because of Professor Bagrak?'
But that wouldn't explain the Oculogard situation at all.
The next discovery only deepened his confusion.
'His Highness Jowurin... and even the inspector? What? Why?'
For a moment, he wondered if the Skeleton Principal had ambushed and locked up the inspector.
Finally, he spotted the familiar back of a student's head. Hearing heavy footsteps, Lee Han turned around.
"Ah! Senior!"
"...NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
In that instant, the golem student realized everything and wailed like a mage from ancient tales.
All the clues fit together like puzzle pieces, strongly warning of one inevitable future.
Doom!
"???"
"What's going on?"
Even Yoner, who had been working with Yoanen in another cell, rushed out in confusion.
Lee Han and his friends were bewildered by the golem senior's outburst.
"Why is he acting like that?"
"Could it be because His Highness Uman is here?"
"Kuh, kuhk. Everyone... my apologies..."
While Uman was apologizing, the golem senior wailed again.
"It was the Wardanaz all along! Professor Kraer, you! You abandoned me to the Wardanaz not once, but twice!"
"......"
Lee Han looked slightly hurt.
Wasn't that too harsh?
"Now, Senior. Saying you were 'abandoned' to me is a bit extreme, don't you think?"
"Open up! Open up!!"
Ignoring Lee Han, the golem senior sprinted up the stairs and pounded on the door.
Of course, the Death Knights pretended not to hear.
-Ah. So that's why he asked us to lock it from the outside.
-How clever. Divination mages really can see the future, huh.
"Open the door, I said!!"
Only after some time had passed did the golem senior regain his composure.
Or perhaps he had simply resigned himself to fate. Though skilled alchemists had brewed a potion even effective on golems, he only shook his head with sorrowful movements.
"Um, Senior. Don't despair too much. This place isn't so bad."
"...I didn't come here to be locked in the Punishment Room. I came to deliver a message from the professor..."
"Huh? Professor Kraer? Why didn't he come himself?"
"That's exactly the point!"
The golem senior angrily pounded the floor.
That despicable bastard!
Though Lee Han was still stung by the earlier rude remark, he spoke first out of respect for his senior.
"Senior. Honestly, this incident has been a bit exaggerated."
"This incident?"
The golem senior echoed in confusion.
What did he mean by 'this incident'?
"...Uh, by any chance... do you not know what's been happening lately?"
"What's been happening?"
Lee Han realized his senior, who rarely went outside, must have heard no rumors at all.
'As expected. Professor Kraer must have planned for this. Despicable, yet brilliant. Truly worthy of being called a master of Divination Magic!'
"It was nothing. Nothing happened."
Golem Senior wasn't fooled.
If this junior was innocent, why would he be here?
"If nothing happened, then why are you here?"
"I threw a punch at Professor Verdus while walking by. Considering the circumstances, I ended up here."
It was an utterly insincere lie, yet strangely convincing.
Both the motive and the outcome made perfect sense.
"Then why was Professor Bagrak..."
"The professor was holding him from behind so he couldn't run away."
Golem Senior was speechless. At this point, he was almost afraid to ask about the two imperial siblings.
Had they thrown punches too?
'Maybe they threw punches at the Headmaster...'
Seizing the moment while his senior was still in shock, Lee Han took control of the conversation.
"But Senior, if you haven't heard any rumors recently, why were you so surprised? There's no reason for you to be shocked, right?"
"Because there's a great misfortune coming this week."
"I see."
"I said there's a great misfortune coming this week."
"......"
Lee Han nearly choked on his own anger.
This senior?
"And what guarantee is there that it has anything to do with me? Should a Divination mage, who's supposed to read the future, really hold such biases?"
"Do I really need to remind you that last semester you were running around with the Headmaster's clone, and this semester you've terrified Professor Kraer into running away?"
"......"
The upperclassmen of Einrogard truly weren't to be underestimated. Lee Han cursed inwardly.
"Fine. Since we're on parallel paths, let's just drop it."
"From what I see, we're not on parallel—"
"Why did you come here?"
"Because of Oculogard. Ah, I see. Now I understand. So that's why the professor sent me."
Golem Senior shook his head as he spoke.
He had wondered why he had to come all the way to the Professor's Punishment Room just to talk about another magic school, but if the person he was dealing with was this junior, it made sense.
Though only a second-year, this junior's reputation was already widespread, and multiple magic towers were taking a keen interest in him.
If it was this junior, even facing the rigid Oculogard, the odds of a favorable negotiation were high.
"Oculogard? Ah, you mean the magic school for Divination mages?"
"Yes. The professor is currently trying to make contact with Oculogard to organize an exchange meeting. Or at least something similar."
Lee Han wasn't surprised.
He already knew where this conversation had started.
Just this past break, Professor Garcia had gone to the magic school Petrogard to attempt contact...
'It's clear Professor Garcia must have brought this up with Professor Kraer.'
Even the Emperor himself was deeply interested in the exchange and unity of these magic schools.
If the people of the Empire (especially the bureaucrats) saw it, they'd realize these eccentric mages weren't just causing trouble but were actually contributing to the continent.
Of course, the magic schools themselves had no such interest. Most of the Empire's magic schools despised each other.
"I think I understand what you're saying. I've heard similar things before."
"Really?! That's great."
"Wait. Could we discuss this between ourselves for a moment?"
Golem Senior was surprised by his junior's request but nodded.
It seemed there was something serious he wanted to discuss regarding Oculogard.
As the senior stepped back, Lee Han whispered to Professor Voladi.
"Professor. Is the soundproofing spell properly in place?"
"Yes."
"Good. What I'm curious about is..."
Yoanen listened intently to what her younger brother's friend was saying.
Was he preparing some magical scheme to persuade or recruit Oculogard?
"...the senior who came to entrust this task to me—do you think Professor Garcia would see me as guilty or innocent?"
"Innocent, probably? It's official business, after all."
"From Jowurin's perspective, you'd be guilty! It's official business, but it's not Lee Han's job to handle it!"
"......"
Yoanen couldn't believe that the future leaders of the Empire were gathered here, having such a serious discussion.