Episode 142
Episode 142
'Perhaps what I learned from Professor Voladi was precisely for moments like this.'
Lee Han read the words <Dodging Water Orbs> and pondered seriously.
Even if it was for the sake of grades, there were times when being attacked by Professor Voladi made him question, 'Why am I doing this?'—a fundamental doubt.
But now, seeing the words <Dodging Water Orbs>, his thoughts shifted slightly.
Ah, so this is why we study—because it helps in life!
"I'll do my best."
"You must really enjoy festivals."
"...Yeah. Well."
Instead of giving a lengthy explanation, Lee Han simply nodded.
Professor Voladi thought to himself.
'Bringing him along was a good idea—he seems to love festivals this much.'
For an exceptional mage, rest was just as important.
Angrago of the Alpha Family, a student of the White Tiger Tower, felt for the first time what it was like to be in a 'magic school.'
The lively, bustling atmosphere.
The variety of tents and stalls.
This was what a festival truly was.
"Are you a student of the White Tiger Tower?"
"Yes, Father."
"Would you like to try this before you go?"
"Thank you!"
Angrago gratefully accepted the potato the priest had personally roasted.
Since entering the magic school, his picky eating habits had vanished, and he had grown thankful for every meal.
To Angrago, the potato the priest handed him now felt as precious as gold of the same weight.
'To give me something like this... The priests truly are incredible people.'
Feeling an unfamiliar surge of faith welling up inside him, Angrago took a bite of the potato.
It was delicious.
Fluffy, piping hot, and filling his mouth completely—with even a hint of sweetness. It was clearly a high-quality, carefully cultivated variety.
It was undeniably delicious, but...
"Is something wrong?"
"Ah, it's nothing!"
Angrago hastily shook his head, flustered.
He couldn't believe it.
'The one that Wardanaz bastard roasted tasted better...???'
Angrago couldn't understand himself. He even began to suspect he'd fallen under some Wardanaz Family magic.
"Angrago. Look over there. The professors are here too."
"!"
At his friend's words, Angrago lifted his head.
It was true.
Not only were there priests, but professors he'd seen before stood under the tents, dressed differently than usual.
"I heard they were calling students to prepare something, but they're really doing it."
"Moradi went too."
"Rumors say the Headmaster is preparing something as well. Is it true?"
"Ugh... don't say such creepy things."
The White Tiger Tower students scowled and refuted their friend's words.
Students from other dormitory towers also feared the Skeleton Principal, but the terror of the White Tiger Tower students was on another level.
After witnessing the Skeleton Principal emerging from the darkness with eerie glowing eyes while they tried to flee down the mountain at night, it was inevitable for the freshmen to develop trauma.
"Shall we go take a look?"
"Let's check it out."
Filled with curiosity, the White Tiger Tower students moved forward.
And then, they froze.
"......"
"......"
The sight of two masters (teacher and disciple) standing motionless with stern expressions made the White Tiger Tower students instinctively step back.
Both Professor Voladi and Lee Han of the Wardanaz Family were mages whose mere presence alone could intimidate others.
"Is... is this really <Dodging Water Orbs>?"
One White Tiger Tower student, who had heard rumors about Professor Voladi, asked in a trembling voice.
According to the rumors, he beat up incoming students and drove them away...
'No. Why is that Wardanaz bastard taking such a class?'
The White Tiger Tower students couldn't comprehend it.
It was frustrating, but the Wardanaz boy was among the most brilliant of the new students.
So why was he attending a class like this instead of <Basic Dance and Socializing> or <Understanding Imperial Masterpieces and Classics>...?
Was it because he already knew those subjects too well and found them boring?
'That might be the case.'
Given that the Wardanaz brat came from a great noble family, he must have been thoroughly drilled in aristocratic etiquette to the point of being sick of it.
So perhaps he was skipping those tedious classes and only attending the others out of sheer boredom...
Looking at Lee Han's sculpted face standing beside Professor Voladi, their hastily formed hypothesis gained an oddly persuasive weight.
"Dodging Water Orbs is correct."
"B-by any chance... are we the ones throwing water orbs at the Wardanaz kid?"
One White Tiger Tower student asked with a strangely heated voice. Lee Han thought to himself:
'This bastard.'
It was painfully obvious what he was thinking.
Then again, there were plenty among the White Tiger Tower students who'd jump at the chance to pelt Lee Han with water orbs.
Maybe if he ever got really desperate for money, he could set up that kind of business...
"No."
Professor Voladi shook his head.
"...Oh, we're not?"
"Wardanaz throws them. You dodge."
"......"
The White Tiger Tower students' expressions turned grave.
No matter how you looked at it, Professor Voladi seemed to have completely misunderstood the meaning of "festival."
Did he even know what a festival was?
"So this dodging thing... is that..."
The students hesitated, unable to outright ask the professor 'Do you not know what a festival is?'
Angrago clenched his teeth and spoke up.
"If we dodge them all... is there something we get?"
"Correct."
"What's the prize?"
"An exit permit."
"......"
"......"
The White Tower students' faces transformed once again.
Lee Han sighed.
'Damn it. The rumors will spread for sure.'
Why was it that when people saw a shabby tent among luxurious ones, they'd inevitably head straight for the shabby one?
They should just visit the fancy tents instead...
Now that the White Tiger Tower students had come, whether they won or lost, rumors would spread—it was inevitable that other students would visit too.
'But I absolutely can't let it go.'
Lee Han currently possessed one exit permit. A genuine one, no less.
But using it still made him uneasy. Because he had stolen it.
If he happened to run into the Skeleton Principal while using it, he might get questioned—'When and where did you obtain this?'—and the trail could lead back to him.
But if he could legally obtain one more genuine exit permit, the situation would change.
He could use the stolen one under the pretense of the legitimate one, and while doing so, he could identify any loopholes to exploit for his next exit permit opportunity.
'Absolutely not!'
Looking ahead, Angrago's eyes were burning with determination too. No doubt he was thinking along the same lines.
Since Angrago had a forged exit permit, he'd be even more desperate for a real one.
'I will... get my hands on it!'
"Angrago. Are you challenging it?"
"What about it? You guys aren't going to?! You know how badly we need exit permits! Last time... ahem. You know how risky it is to use that thing..."
"But that professor... you know."
The White Tiger Tower students glanced at Professor Voladi.
The vampire's characteristically pale face felt especially menacing today.
No matter how handsome he was, the moment he held his staff while bearing the title of professor, he looked like a deranged serial killer to the students.
"Wardanaz throws the water orbs."
"Ah! Is that so?!"
"Really?!"
"Yes."
Lee Han answered.
And gripped his staff.
"Are you challenging it?"
"O-of course we are!"
The White Tiger Tower students, who had been hesitant just moments ago, now rushed forward as if competing to go first.
As though the exit permit would disappear if their friends got to it before them.
"Prepare yourselves."
A single water orb floated before Lee Han.
Since these were White Tiger Tower students who had personally experienced Lee Han's water orbs before, they immediately took skilled defensive stances.
"Bring it, Wardanaz!"
"Got it."
As he spoke, the number of water orbs swelled dramatically.
"......"
The pupils of the White Tiger Tower students dilated wide.
Kendri Baku, a friend of Professor Alpen Niten and himself a senior imperial accountant.
Upon confirming that the festival was underway, Kendri spotted the mages from Baldrogard and greeted them warmly.
"Have you come to show your students around Einrogard?"
Though Baldrogard didn't quite match Einrogard's prestige, it was still a respectable imperial magic school.
Moreover, in Kendri's eyes, Baldrogard's educational approach seemed more...
...reasonable and befitting of nobility.
No matter how many times he saw it, Einrogard's teaching methods still struck him as somewhat outdated and rough around the edges.
"That is correct, Lord Baku."
A mage serving as a professor at Baldrogard bowed his head in response.
Then, the young boys and girls behind him grumbled in discontent.
"Why do Einrogard students never visit our school, while we have to come all the way here?"
"Are they looking down on us?"
"Shh. Mind your manners in another mage's school. Do you mean to tarnish Baldrogard's reputation?"
The Baldrogard professor, acting as their chaperone, raised a finger with dignified poise.
At this, the Baldrogard students pressed their lips tightly together. Though resentful, their well-mannered demeanor allowed Kendri to immediately discern their upbringing.
Located in the west, Baldrogard only accepted students from the empire's most prestigious families, befitting its splendid appearance and scenic surroundings.
The students could enjoy the warm, mild climate and breathtaking natural beauty of the empire's western region, but...
...that didn't mean their envy and inferiority complex disappeared.
'What a pity, this misunderstanding.'
It wasn't that Einrogard students refused to visit Baldrogard.
It was that the headmaster tormented them into staying put.
In Kendri's estimation, if you asked Einrogard students, "Who wants to visit Baldrogard?" they'd fight tooth and nail for the privilege.
"Precedence in visits doesn't determine status. Baldrogard is simply more generous and open-minded."
At Kendri's words, the students' faces brightened.
Though they were second and third-years, they were still immature. The fact that they fell for such a remark only emphasized it.
"If we meet Einrogard students at the festival, we'll show them our skills."
"......"
Kendri pondered how to explain to the Baldrogard students that 'the only Einrogard students you'll see at the festival are first-years.'
They wouldn't even comprehend the idea of first-years being segregated.
—Why separate the first-years? Can't they interact? Then they can't talk to their seniors, can they? No club activities either... What's the point?
'Hmm. I'll just leave it to that professor over there.'
Kendri quickly gave up.
"Then, Lord Baku, until next time."
"Hmm... Do be careful."
The Baldrogard professor bid farewell with aristocratic grace and began leading the students away.
Kendri felt a pang of regret that his warning hadn't gotten through.
'Oh dear...'
No sooner had he spoken than Einrogard students appeared from that direction.
The Baldrogard students immediately gripped their wands.
"Let us greet them and compare our skills!"
"Everyone, calm down. Such rudeness is—"
"Move aside! Move!"
The Einrogard students rushed past, carrying a fallen comrade. Some had blood streaming from their noses.
"......"
"...???"
The Baldrogard students stared in disbelief.
Just what in the world had happened?
"Was there an accident?"
"An unfortunate mishap. There's no need for concern."
Lee Han answered politely upon seeing the unfamiliar mage and his disciples.
"Guests from Baldrogard, I see."
Professor Voladi murmured quietly. Lee Han recognized the name.
"Baldrogard is..."
"Trash..."
Without thinking, Lee Han stomped hard on Professor Voladi's foot.
Then he startled even himself.
"??"
Professor Voladi looked at Lee Han as if he couldn't comprehend what had just happened. Lee Han answered shamelessly.
"My foot slipped."
"Be more careful."