Episode 1263
Episode 1263
'Was it about magic?'
Thanks to the Baby Basilisk, Jowurin belatedly realized what 'tormenting' actually meant.
In a way, magic education could indeed seem a bit like torment.
"But... I was told that learning magic is inherently painful and tormenting."
-Who told you that?
The Baby Basilisk frowned at such nonsense.
Whoever said that must have been a very wicked person.
"Lee Han said it..."
-......
The Baby Basilisk immediately shut its mouth.
Come to think of it, though it was easy to overlook, this wizard—the Basilisk's owner—was also quite strict when it came to magic.
Just as professors grilled Lee Han relentlessly, Lee Han grilled his friends just as hard.
"Your Highness Yukveltire."
"So even if it looks like torment, it might not actually be real torment..."
"Your Highness Yukveltire?"
"Ah! It is Yukveltire!"
Jowurin, who had been ignoring the calls and whispering with the Baby Basilisk, finally realized belatedly after being repeatedly addressed and hastily exclaimed.
The wizard who had approached spoke with a gaze full of reverence.
"Your magical energy feels even more profound and overflowing with majesty than when I last saw you. Have you had some enlightenment recently?"
Though Yukveltire usually kept her magical energy tightly contained, now it was different.
An overwhelmingly powerful and pure magical aura was subtly leaking out, unable to be fully suppressed. It was almost dragon-like in its intensity.
"Yukveltire gains enlightenment every moment. It's like snacks that keep coming."
"Ooh...!"
Though the other's appearance, magical energy, and even speech patterns had changed somewhat, the wizard couldn't bring themselves to doubt.
After all, everyone else had already confirmed it was Yukveltire.
"If this is your fifth year at Einrogard, there must be many trials you need to overcome. I was curious if they're proceeding smoothly."
"Hmm. Yukveltire has already finished them all."
"W-what, really?!"
The wizard was stunned.
Though this wizard wasn't from Einrogard, they were well aware of how monstrous the senior students who remained at Einrogard without graduating were.
And just how high the difficulty of the tasks those monsters had to accomplish was.
As a fifth-year, not only did they have to complete their studies, but they also had to pass all sorts of presentations and research...
And they finished everything without even needing to stretch into next year?
"Of course!"
"That's incredible, truly!"
The wizard resolved to send a letter to Einrogard as soon as this festival was over.
If Yukveltire's research was complete, no self-respecting wizard could just sit still.
Countless wizards would flock to it—even if seeing it in person was impossible, they'd at least want to get their hands on the thesis.
After seeing off the wizard, Jowurin said proudly,
"Hmm. At first, Jowurin was worried, but now it seems fine!"
Mimicking others wasn't as hard as she'd thought. Jowurin was gaining confidence.
The Baby Basilisk cautiously suggested,
-Still, speaking too long might be dangerous. Maybe try keeping it shorter...
"How?"
-How about something like this? 'Step aside.' 'Do not interfere.' 'This is useless.'
"T-that's far too rude...!"
Jowurin was horrified.
How could anyone respond to people like that?
-But that's how she usually answered...
Jowurin couldn't believe the Baby Basilisk's words.
How could a person possibly act like that?
"Lady Yukveltire! Could you perhaps take a look at the magical works created by the pilgrims?"
"Stop it! Her Highness Yukveltire despises shoddy works—"
When someone tried to show Yukveltire the festival participants' works, others immediately tried to stop them.
It was obvious how this royal would react to subpar creations. It would only make the atmosphere uncomfortably tense.
"Hmm! Truly magnificent!"
"?!!!"
Those who had met Yukveltire before were utterly astonished.
Who would have thought she'd give such high praise to a piece hastily crafted by pilgrims?
The magical artifacts, crudely carved from rough logs, were rustic and childish in nature. Only children would appreciate them—any accomplished mage would scoff.
Yet Yukveltire clapped her hands in genuine delight.
"I wish to see more!"
"Your Highness...!"
"Though this is my first time meeting Your Highness today, I now realize how malicious and false the rumors about you have been!"
The moved participants and pilgrims erupted in cheers for the fake Yukveltire.
Imperial rumors truly couldn't be trusted.
Who would have thought she was such a wonderful person!
"What's lacking now?"
Though a masked friend came running over, Yoner wasn't flustered. The alchemists beside her startled and asked,
"Who are you?"
"Ah... a mage here to help. Don't mind it too much."
Before Yoner could even finish speaking, the masked mage infused additional mana into the subpar reagents, enhancing their potency.
Not stopping there, they filled all the remaining empty cauldrons with water and simultaneously began brewing potions.
Cold-protection potions were something they'd been making since first year. Lee Han measured nothing, simply tossing divided reagents into the cauldrons before using psychokinesis to manipulate all the tools at once.
After checking the mana levels inside the cauldrons, they cast additional spells where it was lacking and used liquid manipulation to transfer excess into other cauldrons.
In an instant, five cauldrons' worth of potions were perfectly prepared. Lee Han shouted to the alchemists,
"Turn off the heat in 30 minutes and bottle them!"
The masked mage vanished as swiftly as they'd arrived. The alchemists stood dumbfounded.
They'd never seen potions brewed so hastily and aggressively before.
Alchemy was the most delicate and complex discipline among magic—every motion and sequence required meticulous care.
This was like some riverside innkeeper haphazardly boiling soup in a cauldron...?!
"What?!"
The alchemists checked the cauldrons and gasped.
Astonishingly, the contents of all five cauldrons were flawless, without a single margin of error.
Staring at the bubbling potions, the alchemists couldn't believe their eyes.
How could such perfect potions be completed in such a short time—and in such large quantities?
"Wh-who was that? An alchemist of that caliber couldn't possibly be unknown..."
"Ah... um... well, it's Stedal of the Nago family."
Yoner, unsure what new alias to use, tossed out the one her friend frequently employed.
"Indeed...!"
"I've heard of him! If it's Stedal of the Nago family, he must excel in alchemy too!"
"Huh? You've heard of him?"
Yoner was slightly taken aback by the unexpected response.
Was he that famous?
She hadn't realized the alias her friend used was well-known enough to garner immediate recognition...
"Lord Paridim!"
"Ah. You've arrived. I was preparing the offerings to cast the Bone Dice Divination."
The divination mages were carefully preparing the magical offerings.
Since glimpsing the future placed a heavy burden on mages, it was only natural to attempt cushioning the cost by offering tribute first.
This Bone Dice Divination involved rolling a hundred-faced die made of bone to divine the vulnerabilities of the current location—a common practice at such events.
Suitable offerings included five brass ingots, a candleholder aged over a year, a mirror, and a week's worth of sincere prayers, among others. The mages were deliberating how to divide and bear the burden of these offerings.
"Wasn't this a divination where you could pay with mana?"
"Huh? Well, yes, but..."
Lee Han picked up the bone die among the mages and tossed it. The divination mages yelped in alarm.
"That's dangerous...!"
But Lee Han didn't cough up blood or collapse under a curse. The masked mage rolled the die again and again, completely unbothered.
"1, 17, 45, 88, 94. Nothing else is coming up. This should suffice. Well then, I'm off!"
As Lee Han vanished, the divination mages left behind were just as shocked as the alchemists earlier.
How in the world did that happen?!
"Uh... how did you do that? Just who is that person?"
"Which magic tower does he belong to? Please tell us!"
Unlike Yoner, Paridim wasn't particularly skilled at thinking on his feet.
Flustered to the point of pity, this Oculogard mage could only exclaim in the end:
"I... I don't know that mage either!"
"......"
'I'm a bit worried about Nilia.'
Moving toward where the Enchantment Magic practitioners were gathered this time, Lee Han became lost in thought.
Both the alchemists and enchanters were busy during the festival, but there was one key difference.
The enchanters were far more likely to fight amongst themselves.
This didn't mean the average personality in the Enchantment Magic school resembled Professor Verdus. Of course, there were many eccentric craftsmen, but Professor Verdus was truly an exceptional outlier.
The bigger reason was the nature of the tasks assigned to the enchanters.
While the alchemists only needed to keep producing a set number of potions, the enchanters had to not only set up magic circles but also manage and inspect the magical sculptures created by festival participants.
Such issues inevitably led to disputes. Mages were, by nature, a stubborn profession.
With all the "I'm right, you're wrong" arguments...
"?!"
Upon arriving, Lee Han was startled by an unexpected scene.
Nilia and the enchanters were amiably adjusting the magic on an ugly Evil God statue together.
"I think we should apply more weight-reduction magic here."
"No, the weight is fine. We should focus on adjusting the durability instead. The participants rushed it, so there are cracks..."
Of course, there were still arguments.
But in such cases, rather than insulting each other or fighting, the enchanters asked Nilia to mediate.
"Applying Enhancement Magic would be better."
"Grr... You're right."
"We'll follow your suggestion!"
"?????"
Lee Han couldn't help but be astonished.
Had they really grown that close in just a few hours?
'She didn't threaten them, did she?'
Though confused, one thing was clear: Nilia likely didn't need any help.
Seeing this made Lee Han suspect that Nilia's usual complaints might not have been exaggerations after all.
She always said she struggled to talk to strangers!
"Alchemist! Thank you!"
"I'm not an alchemist...!"
"Huh?"
"...Fine, I am an alchemist. Sniff."
"Thank you!"
Gainando was making detoxification potions alongside the priests.
Detoxification potions weren't limited to curing deadly poisons.
The category was broad enough to include potions that healed fatigue or minor curses.
As a Black Magic practitioner, Gainando also knew how to brew curse-warding potions. The festival participants were deeply grateful for these precious gifts.
"Doing well, I see."
Arriving at the scene, Lee Han felt relieved.
He'd been worried something might go wrong since Gainando was working in a different area from Yoner, but Gainando was handling things just fine.
His skills were so polished that it was hard to believe he was the same person who'd looked down on alchemy in their first year.
"Lee H—!"
"Shh. I'm wearing a mask. Don't say my name carelessly."
"Ah, right. Anyway, I have something to report."
"It's not another report about needing to check a toy shop or magazine store in the capital, is it?"
"......"
Gainando flinched at his friend's words.
How did he figure out I'd been considering that?
"N-no, it's not! Earlier, some people who took potions mentioned that there are some suspicious folks in the Golden Leaf Forest."
"How were they suspicious?"
"I tried pressing for details, but everyone avoided answering..."
From the participants' perspective, reporting fellow attendees based on vague suspicions felt uncomfortable.
How could they spill everything when they didn't even know what kind of mage this alchemist was?
"Hmm. Wait a moment."
Lee Han briefly disappeared into the crowd before returning. His expression had grown sterner.
"I asked around. Sounds shady. We should probably check it out."
"...Huh?! How did you ask?!"
'Did he threaten them?!'
Gainando wondered if his friend had resorted to intimidation.
Truly befitting an Einrogard expert, managing to extract information so quickly...
Lee Han shook his head.
"No. I just took off my mask and told them who I was. They were so moved they told me everything immediately."
"......"
No wonder I heard cheering from over there earlier!