Episode 164

Amur, who had grown up in the empire's harshest lands, quickly recovered and stood up.

"To think I was startled by a horse's name... What a disgraceful sight."

Brushing off the dust and straw clinging to his clothes, Amur clicked his tongue.

Come to think of it, no matter how prestigious Einrogard was, there was no way they could have obtained a griffin.

The horse's name must have just been "Griffin."

Naming horses after terrifying monsters was fairly common, after all...

"No. It's a real griffin."

"......"

Amur, who had just gotten up, staggered again.

"Are you alright?"

"N-No. Where did you even get that? No, more importantly, what are the mages doing?"

Amur's voice was uncharacteristically sharp with anger.

While it was surprising enough that a student had captured a griffin, what was even more shocking was that the mages had just stood by while it happened.

What kind of teacher doesn't protect their students?!

No matter how eccentric Einrogard's mages were known to be, this was a bit much...

"Well... You see..."

"A professor brought it here."

Unable to bear it any longer, Yoner answered for him. Amur's mouth simply gaped in stunned silence.

"...Is that true?"

"There's actually a reason for this. If you hear it, you'll understand."

"I doubt ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I will..."

Still, Amur waited for Lee Han's explanation.

Lee Han explained that the griffin wasn't actually a griffin—it was a griffin cursed to take the form of a horse.

A professor had done this to help students get accustomed to monsters...

"It's not as strange as you'd think, right?"

Lee Han asked after finishing his explanation. Amur answered firmly.

"It's strange."

"!"

Oh... Was it?

As Lee Han faltered slightly, Amur continued.

"I've heard plenty of rumors about how eccentric Einrogard's mages are, but I never imagined it was to this extent..."

"No, honestly, this is pretty mild compared to usual."

"Lee Han... I think you should stop talking now..."

Yoner hastily cut him off.

At this rate, Amur was only going to develop even stranger misunderstandings.

And the worst part was—this wasn't even a misunderstanding.

After suffering for a long while over the sheer eccentricity of Einrogard's mages, Amur barely managed to pull himself together.

"Well, at least you've found a flying mount. That's good."

"Yes. We haven't found the way to the Spire Stables yet, but we'll figure it out soon."

"Take your time. Rushing increases the chances of failure. When escaping, not getting caught is more important than speed."

'This conversation is weird.'

Yoner listened to the two and thought to himself.

"What does the griffin like to eat?"

"Hmm. Fresh horse meat."

"...Anything else besides that?"

"It also likes less fresh horse meat..."

Setting aside horse meat for now, Lee Han packed some snacks the griffin might enjoy.

Canned meats and sugar were neatly stacked in his backpack.

"By the way, Igor came to the village. Have you met him?"

"Who is this Igor person?"

Seeing Lee Han's confusion, Amur realized his mistake.

It had felt so natural that he'd forgotten—Lee Han wasn't a villager or an adventurer here. He was a student from that magic school.

"He's my cousin. He sells rare animals to adventurers in this village."

Just as mages raised summons, well-trained animals were always an adventurer's best friend.

As such, rare and powerful creatures were highly sought after, commanding exorbitant prices.

"He's usually never around, so I guess you missed him."

"Thank you. But wouldn't creatures like that be too expensive for me?"

Though Lee Han had been extorting—no, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rightfully collecting—money from his fellow students, he was still far from being truly wealthy.

He had enough to buy food and books in the village, but not enough to purchase expensive animals.

"Not all of them are pricey. You should take a look. I'll let him know, so he'll treat you well. Bring your friends too."

'Do I have to?'

Lee Han wasn't sure if he really needed to drag along the kids from Black Turtle Tower or White Tiger Tower, but he kept quiet.

He wanted to maintain the image of a kind and diligent student in front of Amur.

"You're the student who tamed that griffin, right?!"

"......"

The moment Igor met Lee Han, he urgently whispered to him.

His voice was so quiet the other students couldn't hear.

"It wasn't exactly that I tamed it—"

"No?"

"Well, yes, but—"

"So you did!"

The fellow adventurers helping Igor in the shop came running over and surrounded Lee Han.

"Did you really tame a griffin?"

"How on earth?"

"Shh. Keep your voices down. We agreed to keep this secret."

"R-right. So how did you tame it?"

Igor looked and dressed much like Amur, but with one key difference.

He was brimming with curiosity about how the griffin had been tamed.

To be fair, Amur hadn't been entirely without curiosity either. He'd just refrained from pestering Lee Han out of pity for an Einrogard student...

"It was mostly luck. I once saved its life—"

"You saved its life? That explains it!"

"Now that makes sense!"

Seeing the dust-covered, scruffy-bearded adventurers nodding in understanding, Lee Han relaxed.

But that was a mistake.

"Still, even then, griffins don't just accept anyone as their master..."

"No doubt he's got a natural gift for it."

"Any chance you could join us next time we hunt a gorgon? We could really use your help..."

Skilled adventurers were always in high demand.

But even more prized were those with a natural affinity for winning over monsters.

The adventurers were practically drooling at the thought of recruiting Lee Han.

"Everyone, calm down. This student is from Einrogard."

"Oh..."

"If he's from Einrogard, there's nothing we can do."

Igor's friends gave up quickly.

With an Einrogard student, they had no choice. The mages might come after them and turn them into beasts otherwise.

"But we can wait a few years. If you change your mind after graduation, be sure to contact us."

"Our work is full of danger, hardship, and romance. More than enough to share."

"...?"

Lee Han was slightly taken aback by the adventurers' proud declaration.

Were they seriously making that offer right now?

'They say many adventurers are crazy, and it's true!'

To think they'd make such an offer with complete sincerity...

"Come along now. Sorry for wasting your time."

Igor apologized and led them inside the shop.

Given that most of his time was spent traveling the empire tracking rare creatures, the shop interior was a mess.

But that didn't matter one bit. The newly acquired animals were far too eye-catching.

Whoosh!

A bird caged inside suddenly burst into flames, then froze solid. Igor explained:

"A spirit bird. A rare creature that only eats gems infused with elemental energy."

'What a mad creature.'

Lee Han was horrified.

Keeping it for just a week would bankrupt him, and a month would leave him drowning in debt.

"Sorry, but that one's already spoken for. Promised to a local noble."

"No problem."

Lee Han wouldn't have taken it even for free.

"For a magic school student... a pigeon or rat might be more practical."

Trained pigeons could deliver secret messages, while trained rats could navigate tight spaces to disable traps.

Lee Han nodded.

'Wouldn't hurt to have one or two handy.'

"How much?"

"Free. Consider it payment for the griffin info earlier."

"Oh, no need— Thank you."

Lee Han decided not to refuse too strongly and accepted gratefully.

...Maybe he should've brought some griffin feathers to trade?

-How much for this deer?

-Ugh. No way. Can't afford that.

-Can't we borrow more money from the Wardanaz?

-Even the Wardanaz would kill you if you asked for a loan to buy that...

-Forget it. We'll learn summoning magic eventually anyway.

'These guys have no tact.'

Lee Han frowned.

You shouldn't go into someone's shop saying things like "we'll just use magic instead."

No wonder people called mages socially clueless.

But Igor, overhearing the students, didn't seem bothered.

In fact, he nodded with an intrigued expression.

"Actually, mages can summon creatures through contracts too. It's difficult, but costs nothing... What about you?"

"Lee Han has already made a contract with a spirit."

At Yoner's words, Igor expressed admiration.

"As expected... Well, if someone has enough affinity to earn a griffin's loyalty, it's only natural they'd receive a spirit's love too."

"...That's not it."

Lee Han was flustered by the absurd misunderstanding.

Far from receiving a spirit's love, he was only getting heaps of fear from them...

But Igor took Lee Han's words as mere humility.

It was only natural.

Even seasoned, experienced adventurers couldn't obtain a griffin's loyalty without risking their lives—unless they were terribly unlucky.

Receiving such loyalty was impossible without innate affinity.

"But may I ask you one thing?"

"Go ahead."

"That summon hanging from your waist—could it be... a Sharkan?"

Igor looked at the bone-shaped ornament dangling from Lee Han's belt and couldn't help but wonder.

It was a dormant Sharkan.

"Yes. It's a Sharkan."

"I knew it! I thought it might be..."

Worried the other might get the wrong idea, Lee Han quickly clarified.

"It's an undead."

"I can see that. Even more impressive."

"...I didn't make it. Another black mage crafted it and gave it to me as a gift."

"Of course I knew that. Did you really think a student could make something like that? An undead monster, and a Sharkan at that—those things are notoriously foul-tempered... Yet you've tamed it enough to carry it around while it's dormant. Your affinity truly is remarkable."

"......"

Lee Han simply nodded with a resigned expression.

"Yes. Thank you."

"May I ask what material you use to reconstruct its body when summoning it?"

"I use water to form its body."

"That must require a tremendous amount, no? Surely it wouldn't respond to a summon unless there was a river or pond nearby?"

"I summon it with magic."

"......"

Igor was stunned.

Using summoned water to fully ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠reconstruct the muscles and flesh of a monster as powerful as a Sharkan...

Was this what it meant to be a student of Einrogard?

'Amazing!'

He'd known they were exceptional, but even a freshman at this level...

Igor looked around at the students browsing his shop with newfound awe.

The Empire's greatest mages were right here!

"Why's he acting like that?"

"D-Did we talk too much without buying anything?"

"I was gonna buy a messenger hawk..."

Unaware of the students' whispers, Igor basked in his own satisfaction before pulling out a small green vial and placing it in Lee Han's hand.

"Take this."

"What is it?"

"Beryl Solution. A liquid made from essence. Mix this with water, and your Sharkan will love it."

"Can I... really just take this?"

Lee Han hesitated.

Small freebies usually came without strings, but something this valuable might have hidden consequences.

But Igor patted Lee Han's shoulder as if to say it was fine.

"Being kind to those loved by monsters and spirits is important for adventurers like me, who rely on their favor. It brings good fortune."

"...This is really a misunderstanding."

Lee Han was genuinely concerned for Igor.

Lee Han clicked his tongue as he examined the gifted Beryl Solution.

No matter how much he'd refused, Igor had absolutely insisted he take it.

"Can't we stay in the village for a day?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Then you'd be staying behind."

"...N-No! I was just asking!"

Originally, they could have left at dawn and still made it back to school in time.

But Lee Han had no intention of doing that.

'I have to stay ahead of the Skeleton Principal's expectations at all costs.'

By now, the thoroughly infuriated Skeleton Principal might have laid out some bullsh—no, some kind of trap.

"The priests are all here, right? Let's go."

"But, Lord Lee Han of the Wardanaz family... What about the other Tower students?"

At one priest's question, Lee Han pretended not to hear.

He didn't want to waste time convincing the other Tower students.

"Alright. Let's go!"

"Did he not hear ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠us?"

Swoooosh—

As they walked along the dimly lit path, Lee Han felt a sense of unease.

Even though it was night, they were using magic to light their way.

So why was it getting darker ahead?

Ah, students of the Magic School.

With the clanking of armor, a heavily armed knight appeared.

An undead knight, radiating an aura of death from head to toe.

A single name surfaced in Lee Han's mind.

'...Death Knight!'

"I guard this path by my master's command. Students of the Magic School may pass... if they offer one among you."

Unconsciously, Ashan glanced at Gainando. Gainando tried to poke Ashan's eyes with his fingers.