Episode 1297
Episode 1297
"...Uh, yeah. Give it a try."
When his junior asked for a chance to explain, Diret told him to go ahead.
To be honest, he was somewhat curious about what kind of explanation the junior had in mind.
'What exactly does he plan to explain?'
What possible circumstances could have led to creating a living, moving dragon statue under the identity of Stedal Nago alongside a fake Yukveltire?
Even Diret, who had completed up to the fifth year at Einrogard, couldn't begin to guess.
"Actually... I'm sorry. It was entirely my fault. Sniff."
Lee Han, who had intended to explain, quickly gave up.
After brief consideration, he couldn't see any way to talk his way out of this.
How on earth could he possibly explain this away!
"...Oh, no. You don't need to be so disheartened. It's fine!"
Diret was flustered when his junior became despondent instead of explaining.
Honestly, there was no need to be so discouraged.
Considering all the things Yukveltire had done to her junior, the fact that the junior hadn't attempted assassination within Einrogard already showed considerable restraint.
Compared to assassination, borrowing someone's name outside was practically forgivable.
"And it's not like you failed—you did a great job, didn't you? Yukveltire's reputation even improved. Well done. You did well."
If Yukveltire heard this, she'd be rolling on the floor in wounded pride, but Diret paid no mind.
His friend wasn't present anyway.
"But you said enchanters would find this extremely humiliating, didn't you?"
Lee Han asked with evident confusion.
He distinctly remembered getting that exact response when he'd discreetly asked senior enchanters, including Yukveltire.
-Think carefully, Wardanaz. A more skilled mage steals my commission and completes it perfectly under my name. What do you think that means?
-That they're truly kind and virtuous?
-No. It's closer to mocking and provoking my skills.
-......
Apparently, it wasn't just Senior Sigunting who had a particularly twisted personality—they all thought similarly.
Diret didn't deny that point either.
"That's true enough."
"......"
Lee Han stared at his senior in disbelief.
Then it's not actually fine, is it?
"It doesn't seem fine to me?"
"No, no. In this situation, the one most at fault is Yukveltire for lacking the ability to cast that spell herself."
'Has senior been under too much stress about advancing to the next grade?'
Caught off guard by the unexpected remark, Lee Han was slightly taken aback.
Who would have thought the senior with the noblest character in Einrogard would say such a thing.
But Diret wasn't making baseless claims.
"By the way, junior, don't get the wrong idea. These are Yukveltire's own words."
"Ah."
Lee Han found himself nodding in understanding without realizing it.
It was exactly the kind of thing Senior Yukveltire would say.
"Yukveltire has always butted in when I was handling enchantment magic, cast the spell herself, and then said things like, 'You lacked the magic, so I helped. Why are you angry? You're being irrational right now.'"
Diret imitated his friend's tone convincingly—so convincingly that Lee Han almost scowled reflexively.
"So if you get caught, junior, just say the same thing. Something like, 'Senior couldn't cast this spell, so I did it for you.'"
"Won't that sound terribly rude?"
"It's fine. Yukveltire's lived rudely too."
Lee Han looked at Diret with moved admiration.
How could someone be so brilliantly straightforward?
'In my opinion, Senior Diret should be appointed as the Empire's Chief Justice.'
"So... what exactly happened?"
"Hmm. Actually, I had to go out with His Highness Jowurin."
Diret didn't point out that his junior had gone out to a festival near the capital during his time in the Punishment Room, though he knew about it.
At this point, bringing it up would just feel redundant.
'Honestly, it would've been more surprising if he hadn't snuck out...'
Though the junior denied it, Diret could tell he was quite serious about breaking school rules.
So much so that it almost seemed intentional at times.
"Then a situation arose where we had to reveal our identities. I had no choice, so I introduced myself as Stedal Nago, and His Highness claimed to be Yukveltire."
"Wait. Hold on."
Diret felt something was off and paused the conversation.
"You're saying you presented His Highness Jowurin as Yukveltire? Not Gainando or Adenart, but specifically Yukveltire?"
"......"
"Junior... you can be honest with me."
"Actually, His Highness was the one who said it first."
"I knew it. ...But why on earth would His Highness choose that alias? They're both imperial family members, but still."
The baby basilisk hidden in Lee Han's sleeve suddenly let out a hiccup.
The reason Jowurin had picked that name was because of the basilisk's suggestion.
'If they're both imperial family members, wouldn't any name have worked?'
"I don't know? He probably just picked the first name that came to mind."
"You don't think he overheard you guys badmouthing Yukveltire and remembered it, do you...?"
Diret felt a twinge of concern.
Even he, as a longtime friend, sometimes wanted to smack Yukveltire with a pot—how much more so for the juniors?
"Nah. That's not it."
"Really?"
"Yeah. There are quite a few people who respect Senior Yukveltire."
"Junior. Even so, let's not tell blatant lies."
"...Sorry. That was a lie."
An awkward silence briefly hung between them.
Lee Han cleared his throat and continued.
"Anyway, because of that alias, the requests meant for Senior Yukveltire naturally fell to us."
"Ah, of course. Wait a second. Then doesn't that mean Yukveltire shares a lot of the blame here? If he didn't want imposters showing up, he should've handled the requests faster."
"??"
Lee Han tilted his head at his senior's words.
Though he'd grown accustomed to making unreasonable arguments as an Einrogard student, even he found Diret's logic a bit too forced this time.
It wasn't like Professor Verdus, who took payment and ran—this wasn't even really procrastination, was it?
"Isn't this level of delay pretty normal?"
"No. Enchantment mages are so popular that they drag out requests right up to the deadline. This is Yukveltire's fault, so if you get caught, make sure to point that out too."
'Your arm seems a bit too bent inward...'
As fellow Black Magic practitioners, some inward bias was expected, but this was almost a full 180 degrees.
Seeing Lee Han's continued confusion, Diret hammered the point home decisively.
"It's Yukveltire's fault."
"Ah. Right."
The more he listened, the more it did seem like Yukveltire's fault. Lee Han decided to stop doubting.
"Then, one last thing... how did you make that living, moving dragon statue? Even Petrogard mages would struggle to succeed in one attempt with such little time."
The reason people had marveled at the magic of Yukveltire—or rather, the fake Yukveltire—wasn't just because the dragon statue was alive and moving, but also because it had been completed on the spot with no preparation.
Unlike Petrogard mages, who constantly whined about 'needing inspiration for art' and begged for 'just one more year,' this fake Yukveltire had pulled it off in one stroke—despite it not even being his specialty.
Not only did it amaze the nobles at the festival, but it was also an act that thoroughly deflated the pride of the Petrogard mages.
"And as a bonus, you could say it also knocked the real Yukveltire down a peg."
"Senior..."
"S-sorry. But isn't it exciting? I'm a little excited."
Diret tried to console his gloomy junior.
It seemed his junior had a slightly sensitive spot. There was absolutely no reason for him to be like this because of Yukveltire.
Hadn't his junior personally given Yukveltire a taste of her own medicine—the very phrase she always had on her lips: "If you feel wronged, win with magic"?
'If it were me, I'd be so excited I'd write it in my diary.'
"Actually, I didn't do that intentionally. It was completed unconsciously while I was working on another spell."
"What?"
Diret couldn't believe his ears.
But his junior explained the events in detail, as if it were no lie.
When Jowurin showed interest in Enchantment Magic, Lee Han got excited and explained various spells needed for artifact creation. Then, he started applying the enchantments one by one as Jowurin desired...
...and in the brief moment he lost focus, the living, moving dragon statue had somehow completed itself.
Diret, who had been listening with a dazed expression, suddenly exclaimed as if he'd figured it out.
"I get it! You're unusually close with His Highness Uman, right? So that's why it turned out... mmph!"
"You absolutely must not say things like that!"
Lee Han panicked, covering his senior's mouth while frantically looking around.
Fortunately, Jowurin had gone to the capital and wasn't present. Lee Han also sternly ordered his baby basilisk, hidden in his sleeve, to keep quiet.
"You didn't hear anything!"
-I didn't hear anything! Master is closest to Lord Jowurin!
Lee Han patted the clever little creature. Diret, freeing himself from his junior's grip, spoke up.
"R-right. I understand what you're worried about. But didn't you say His Highness went to the capital? It'll be fine."
"That may be so, but 'daytime words are heard by birds, nighttime words by the undead.' There could be a traitor."
'Is His Highness Jowurin more obsessive than I thought?'
Diret pondered internally.
Outwardly, he had seemed like such a gentle and kind person...
Then again, people could never be judged by appearances.
When Diret first saw Yukveltire, he'd thought, 'How can someone look so doll-like?'
Now, seeing how he thought, 'How can someone be like that?' it was clear appearances truly meant nothing.
"I'm closer to His Highness Jowurin than to His Highness Uman. My transformation into a Black Dragon or creating a living Black Dragon statue was purely coincidental, I swear."
"Y-yeah. Got it. Got it."
Having heard the explanation, Diret decided to accept it for now.
It was hard to believe someone could unconsciously complete such advanced magic by accident, but magically speaking, it wasn't impossible.
Of course, if Yukveltire heard this, she'd be even angrier, rolling around on the floor in fury—but that was Yukveltire's problem to deal with...
"Don't worry too much. If Yukveltire somehow figures it out and comes to confront you, don't forget to counter with what I told you."
"I'll remember. Thank you again, Senior."
"What's there to thank me for? If anything, you deserve praise."
Aside from the minor mistake of impersonating a senior, it had been an excellent job.
Hadn't he (technically, it was a request his junior had taken on too) resolved the matter splendidly?
As a mage, he could hold his head high.
After patting his junior on the shoulder and sending him off, Diret returned to organizing the books in the archive when he suddenly froze.
"...?"
Huh?
"Junior. Junior! Did you just say something about transforming into a Black Dragon? Can you explain that part again?!"