Episode 1274
Episode 1274
Beaver-Penguin-Fox: Then just stand back and watch.
Senior Ilendil, perhaps feeling provoked, returned to the Watcher Club and began taunting their opponent.
Things like 'You can't answer, so it must be a lie!' and 'You're just bluffing!'
Watching this, Lee Han thought to himself:
'This guy. His personality really changes inside the Watcher Club.'
Outside, he was so timid he avoided crowded places, but inside the Watcher Club where he didn't have to meet people face-to-face, he became quite aggressive.
It was his own business, but Lee Han couldn't help feeling slightly concerned.
After all, nothing in this world stays completely secret.
He'd already been exposed by his junior Lee Han...
While Lee Han was lost in thought, an unexpected one-on-one message suddenly arrived via notebook.
It wasn't from a Watcher Club member. It was Senior Diret.
-Junior. You doing well? Sorry for getting so angry last time.
'His anger has subsided!'
Lee Han let out a sigh of relief.
Truth be told, aside from Professor Garcia, Senior Diret had been the most furious about this Professor's Punishment Room incident.
Given that his cherished junior had secretly escaped to slay an Evil God, such a reaction was only natural.
When he'd visited the Punishment Room, he'd looked absolutely livid, so Lee Han had been worried. But true to his reputation as one of the most virtuous seniors, it seemed he'd forgiven Lee Han.
-I'm doing well! Thank you for your concern!
-Good. Um... Sorry for contacting you suddenly with a strange question, but... are you using the alias 'Gonadaltes' in some secret club within Einrogard?
"......"
Lee Han nearly dropped the notebook and screamed.
Not even when facing the Evil God had he felt such primal terror.
How?!
'Did Senior Diret cast a tracking spell on the Punishment Room?!'
When the junior fell silent, Diret seemed flustered and quickly scribbled his next words. His handwriting was shaky with several typos, showing his urgency.
-Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you. Remember when I integrated your <Whispers of Einrogard> artifact before?
'Ah.'
Only then did Lee Han realize how Diret had figured it out.
There weren't any Black Magic spy bugs in the Professor's Punishment Room—it was purely the result of logical deduction.
Since Diret had previously combined Lee Han's communication artifacts into the <Whispers of Einrogard> notebook, he must have thought of his junior when seeing this secret club.
'Wait. Even if he knew I was in a secret club, how did he figure out my alias?'
This was genuinely puzzling.
As Lee Han pondered, a belated realization struck him, filling him with awe.
'Could it be... Did Senior hack the Watcher Club like the Young Headmaster did to analyze members' mana patterns?'
Since Diret had created <Whispers of Einrogard>, he might still remember its mana signature.
If so, all he needed was to hack the Watcher Club and analyze each member's mana pattern for comparison.
It was truly astonishing. Lee Han felt newfound respect for this fifth-year senior.
'I should study hard like Senior Diret and hack the Watcher Club too.'
-And honestly, you're probably the only one who'd use an alias like 'Gonadaltes.'
"......"
Lee Han's expression turned serious.
The reason was far more trivial and forced than he'd imagined.
'Seriously? You suspect people over something like this?'
-Senior. While it's true that's me, I'm not the only one who'd use that alias. For example, the Headmaster would've used 'Gonadaltes' too.
-...Hmm. I guess...
Diret fell silent for a moment.
Lee Han assumed it was because the senior felt embarrassed about misjudging.
At Einrogard, one should never jump to hasty conclusions.
"So it was you after all?"
"Yes."
"Then do you happen to know who BeaverPenguinFox is?"
'Gasp.'
Lee Han literally felt his breath catch.
So he was telling him not to provoke when he didn't even know who it was...!
He couldn't just lie to his senior, but he also couldn't betray one of his few comrades in the Watcher Club. Lee Han carefully chose his words.
"Senior. The Watcher Club operates under strict anonymity."
'That wasn't a lie.'
He hadn't said he knew or didn't know—he'd simply stated the facts.
Lee Han desperately wished this uncomfortable topic would pass.
"You're right, junior. Honestly, asking about your identity like this is rude of me... I just thought I was certain it was you. If I were the only one who knew your identity, that wouldn't sit right with me either."
"You didn't have to go that far to be considerate..."
"And I think BeaverPenguinFox is from the Alchemy School."
'Gasp!!'
Lee Han, who thought the topic was over, nearly dropped his notebook again.
How?!
"I've watched a few of their magic discussions, and they give off an Alchemy School vibe. Especially with the reagents they need and the spells they're researching."
"You can tell that? I've seen them too, but I could never guess from just that."
Club members were extremely cautious about hiding their identities since everyone had something to hide.
The same went for discussions about reagents and spells.
Revealing one's school meant the chances of their identity being exposed skyrocketed.
That's why members mixed in fake information when discussing such topics.
In Lee Han's case, since he listened to all schools, he could just pick and choose what to say...
"They do mix in some fake info, but if you pay close attention to the timing of their posts, you can make an educated guess. They write the real stuff quickly, but hesitate and take longer when it's fake."
"......"
Lee Han was stunned.
As expected, being a fifth-year at Einrogard wasn't something just anyone could do.
To distinguish truth from lies by comparing the speed at which characters appeared!
"But was there really a junior like that in the Alchemy School? I don't recall anyone that rude."
"People tend to act a bit differently in person compared to when they're writing letters, don't they?"
"That's true. But there's still a certain way people talk. Feels like a junior I'm not close with."
"......"
Lee Han began seriously considering cutting ties with Senior Ilendil.
If Senior Diret had already figured out his identity, he probably wouldn't be able to show his face in the Watcher Club anymore...
"Right. Now's not the time for this. Professor Verdus has truly fallen deep into black magic, junior. He's probably seeking out either the Descendants of Ahrag or the Legion of Oondorgu."
"What? Is he insane? If he steps outside, assassins, bounty hunters, and Einrogard graduates will come to kill him!"
Lee Han immediately realized his mistake.
Now that he thought about it, asking if a crazy person was insane was pointless.
'Well, he is crazy.'
"I'm baffled too, but you know how Professor Verdus is—once he gets obsessed with magic, he never gives up."
"I know that all too well. How on earth did he get obsessed with black magic?"
"Not sure. He seemed to be asking about <Ahrag's Eye> and the <Living Wall>. Oh, Yukveltire asked about them too. Why is black magic suddenly trending in the Empire?"
Despite his composed tone, a hint of excitement seeped into Diret's writing.
If black magic became popular in the Empire, black mages would outwardly scoff—"What nonsense!"—while secretly feeling thrilled.
Human nature was just like that.
Of course, Lee Han couldn't share his senior's enthusiasm.
"......"
'So I was the culprit...!'
He belatedly realized that he himself was the culprit.
<Ahrag's Eye> and the <Living Wall> were both spells Lee Han had thrown at Professor Verdus to mess with him.
To be precise, when he needed to submit his final exam but Professor Verdus kept holing up in his office, Professor Thunderstep had egged him on from the side.
-Keh keh keh... Don't you want to finish off Professor Verdus? You're the one who can do it...
'Hmm. I think he phrased it slightly differently. My memory's a bit fuzzy. It was roughly along those lines, though.'
In any case, Professor Thunderstep had corrupted Lee Han with his sinister whispers from the sidelines.
The course Professor Verdus taught was <Magic Architecture and Its Materials>.
And Lee Han happened to possess a high-difficulty blueprint from his visit to the North—one that contained forbidden black magic spells (forcibly) provided by the Empire's black mages.
Though it had been completed with orthodox, stable designs and thus remained unused...
...what if he submitted this to Professor Verdus?
There was no way Verdus—a professor greedy and endlessly curious about magic—would just let it slide.
Knowing this, Professor Thunderstep had tempted Lee Han into submitting that blueprint.
'Ugh. It's Professor Thunderstep's fault. If not for him...'
Lee Han blamed the absent professor.
Of course, he had enjoyed watching Professor Verdus struggle and groan over how to cast those black magic spells, but as a professor, shouldn't he have stopped Lee Han instead of encouraging him?
Letting out a deep sigh, Lee Han decided to focus on what he could do. Regretting it wouldn't bring back Professor Verdus, who had fled in panic.
-"I believe the diverse aspects of black magic, combined with the warm personalities of mages belonging to its schools, have moved people's hearts."
-"Junior, stop flattering! ...Do you really think so?"
After finishing the conversation, Lee Han proceeded to grade the Basic Enchantment Magic assignments.
Seeing the names of a few familiar first-year juniors brought a faint smile to his face.
'This Karre guy...'
For the question <Which magic would be most advantageous for maintaining body temperature in a blizzard-stricken snowy mountain?>, he had written , then gone on to elaborate in detail about Invisibility Magic!
From an Einrogard perspective, Lee Han wanted to give full marks, but as the junior temporarily handling the task, he couldn't. He coldly deducted points instead.
'Sorry.'
Not all juniors were like Karre, though. Alhidel of the Pengerin Family, for instance, had left Lee Han impressed with his flawless answer.
...While most would assume enchanting clothing is the most efficient, in extremely low temperatures, the magic's effectiveness drops significantly. Prioritizing magical investment in heat sources like campfires is ideal. The applicable spells are as follows...
'Impressive.'
...However, exceptions exist. For instance, in Senior Lee Han of the Wardanaz Family's case, enchanting clothing would still be viable...
'Pointless.'
Lee Han's expression soured.
It wasn't enough to deduct points, but he felt the need to add a note advising against including irrelevant details.
As he was wrapping up the grading, Lee Han overheard hushed voices from another room.
'What's going on?'
He couldn't help but feel uneasy.
Already, everyone was working in the Punishment Room because of him, and if you traced the root of Professor Verdus's escape, it also led back to him.
It was only natural to worry that the seniors might be badmouthing him behind his back.
'...Are they cursing me? Even though I'm working so hard?'
-"So... isn't it entirely possible?"
-"No way. Absolutely no way."
-"Wasn't that possibility just disproven by recent events, Senior Anpagon!"
"???"
As the two voices rose in argument, Lee Han grew even more bewildered.
What were they fighting about?
-"In my opinion, that Wardanaz brat is highly likely to go fetch Professor Verdus himself. We should stop him in advance. How is that a waste of time?"
-"...Even if that's true, it's his own choice, isn't it?"
-"How can you say that?! That's not freedom—it's being deceived!"
"......"
THUD!
Unable to hold back his anger, Lee Han slammed his fist against the wall. The two seniors jumped in surprise.