Episode 257
Episode 257
"You passed," it said.
The demon gestured for the next student to come forward. The meaning was clear—since he'd passed, he should quickly step aside.
"???"
Of course, that explanation didn't make any sense.
The students standing behind Lee Han also seemed flustered, whispering among themselves.
"What part of that conversation qualified as a pass?"
"Ah! Maybe it was because he greeted them politely?"
Hearing his peers' speculations, Lee Han thought that sounded quite plausible.
Though it hadn't been intentional, his courteous greeting and manner of speaking must have earned the demon's favor.
"As expected... I've learned something today. So it was thanks to my polite greeting."
Lee Han felt a quiet pride in his habitual politeness—it was always good to be courteous.
After all, what harm could come from being polite...
Wait, what nonsense is this?
"...That's not it?"
'Your mana met the contractual conditions satisfactorily, so you passed.'
"Hold on!"
Professor Rojinet, who had been listening, couldn't stay silent any longer and intervened.
She pulled the demon aside.
"Mr. Orythulas, this won't do. You must perform your duties diligently."
'I am being diligent...'
"You just rushed through it."
Professor Rojinet returned to her strict administrative demeanor, clicking her tongue in disapproval.
Though a powerful demon, Orythulas was bound by contract and protested in an aggrieved tone.
'The instruction I received was clear: if students present reasonable contractual terms, I should pass them.'
Eloquence and persuasive speech were far more important for mages than one might think.
Living as a mage meant frequently encountering beings stronger than oneself.
A mage who relied solely on power, lacking wisdom, would be helpless in such situations.
But a clever mage could turn crisis into opportunity, persuading even stronger beings to their advantage.
Thus, from the first year, it was crucial to learn the rules of otherworldly beings and master the art of negotiation...
'But you can't just pass them like that!'
'But his mana is sufficient... If the conditions are met, are you saying I should reject him anyway?'
"......"
Faced with this argument, even Professor Rojinet had nothing to say.
After all, she had indeed instructed them to treat this as a real-world scenario.
For races like demons, who subsisted on mana, a steady supply of it was always a highly desirable contract condition.
Of course, the "steady supply" mentioned here far exceeded what ordinary mages could imagine.
Mages, with their flesh-and-blood bodies, could survive without mana, so they could never truly understand the endless hunger of races like demons.
More.
Even more!
It wasn't for nothing that dark rituals and sinister offerings were common in demon contracts.
Ordinary means simply couldn't satisfy a demon's insatiable craving for mana.
But very rarely, there were times when a mage possessed exactly what a demon wanted—without any special preparation.
This was one of those times.
"...Fine. But at least emphasize the warnings more strongly."
'Understood.'
Orythulas called Lee Han back.
'Truthfully, it would be incredibly foolish to recklessly attempt contracts with demons just because you have abundant mana.'
"...Who would be that insane?"
Lee Han was baffled.
Were there really mages who, without proper research or preparation, would approach a demon and say, "Let's make a deal!" just because they had some extra mana?
That wasn't a mage—that was an idiot...
'There are always a few like that from time to time. So remember well. Underestimating demons is...'
Orythulas sat Lee Han down and proceeded to list "101 Reasons to Be Wary of Demons."
Lee Han wondered what he had done wrong.
'Wasn't I supposed to have passed?'
'Do you understand?'
"Yes. Thanks to you, Mr. Orythulas, it's crystal clear now. I will never recklessly attempt contracts with demons just because I have abundant mana."
'Good. That's all I needed.'
"But, Mr. Orythulas..."
'What is it?'
"What kind of contract did you make to end up working for the Empire?"
Lee Han asked out of pure curiosity.
Knowing what price Orythulas had paid would be useful for Lee Han to reference later.
'Gold coins? Gems? Magic? Sacrifices?'
I... was tricked into the contract.
"......"
Lee Han's face stiffened as he waited for an answer, only to freeze in shock.
So you must be careful when making contracts too, understand? Contracts are this dangerous.
"Ah... Yes."
Lee Han was horrified.
To deceive a demon and force them into servitude...
The Empire's officials were no less ruthless than Einrogard.
Thursday.
Lee Han yawned as he walked down the hallway. Even though it was morning, he still felt groggy from lack of sleep.
Hmm!
"......"
Spotting the Skeleton Principal's round, white skull in the distance, Lee Han felt all traces of sleepiness vanish instantly.
'Impressive. My mind is startlingly clear now.'
"Good morning."
Yes, good— Wait.
Lee Han's heart sank.
Since he was planning to leave the school grounds for the Spire Stables the day after tomorrow, running into the Skeleton Principal naturally made him uneasy.
But if the Skeleton Principal was one of the Empire's top education specialists, Lee Han was no less an expert in handling teachers.
Without a single change in expression, Lee Han asked again.
"Is something the matter?"
Did you happen to see anything unusual around here yesterday?
"No, I didn't."
This wasn't a lie—it was the truth.
After all, he hadn't seen anything particularly noteworthy in the exact spot where the Skeleton Principal and the death knight were standing.
'What's going on?'
Honestly, cut the nonsense and do your job properly.
-Kill me! I apologize! I have disgraced my master's honor!
Stop begging for death every time you make a mistake. When will you finally drop that outdated habit? Modern knights don't die over a single blunder, you know.
The Skeleton Principal scolded the death knights.
Not long ago, an arrogant intruder had infiltrated the school.
In response, the Skeleton Principal had pulled off an outrageous stunt—stationing undead throughout the entire school to track the intruder's steps.
Then, while meticulously searching the main building room by room for the intruder...
He had just discovered that the barrier around this area had been breached last night.
Of course, it could have been a coincidence. The main building of the magic school was ancient, woven with countless spells, making its mana as volatile as the Otherworld.
The barrier might have broken due to a fluctuation in mana flow, but the Skeleton Principal wasn't taking any chances.
Increase the patrols here. Search this area first. If the intruder shows up, chew him to pieces. Understood?
-We obey!
"The intruder hasn't been caught yet?"
He will be soon. Or he might already be dead.
The Skeleton Principal grumbled in reply.
He added, just in case there was any misunderstanding, that there was no issue with the investigation or security—the damaged barrier was only a very minor section.
'Hmm. Why do all the professors react the same way when they make mistakes?'
Of course, Lee Han had no intention of needlessly provoking the Skeleton Principal's temper.
If he messed up, his weekend plans could be ruined.
Most likely, the intruder was...
"A grand mage?"
It wasn't something just anyone could pull off—evading death knights and bypassing other barriers.
But it was more likely that the intruder had some unknown artifact. Thieves tended to carry those around quite often.
From the Skeleton Principal's perspective, if the intruder had breached the barrier here, they probably possessed a powerful concealment artifact.
No matter how strong the artifact's stealth was, it wouldn't let them slip past both death knights and magical barriers—so they must have accidentally damaged this section of the barrier.
Tsk. Foolish, isn't he? If he surrendered now, I'd make sure his death was as painless as possible.
'Even if it were me, I wouldn't dare come out...'
Listening to the Skeleton Principal's words, Lee Han asked without much thought:
"Wouldn't it help to increase the number of Death Knights?"
Even if we increase the numbers, it probably won't make much difference.
The Skeleton Principal was skeptical about simply adding more numbers.
Death Knights were already stationed throughout the main building.
Yet the intruder moved around undetected, meaning they must have a way to evade the Death Knights' gaze.
"Can't Death Knights see through stealth magic?"
To some extent they can, but against a powerful artifact, even Death Knights would... Though we've prepared various barriers against that possibility.
Skilled mages could use stealth magic capable of blocking the gaze of powerful undead monsters.
Naturally, knowing this, the Skeleton Principal had layered numerous barriers throughout to weaken such stealth magic.
As long as the barriers remained intact, that type of magic should be...
No.
While conversing with Lee Han, the Skeleton Principal suddenly realized.
A powerful artifact might even temporarily disable the surrounding barriers. That must be it.
If the barriers placed throughout were temporarily disabled, one could potentially move around avoiding the Death Knights' gaze.
The Skeleton Principal clicked his tongue. Lee Han spoke up as if relieved:
"If we've identified the weakness, doesn't that mean we can prepare countermeasures?"
Exactly.
The Skeleton Principal stared intently at Lee Han.
Feeling uneasy for some reason, Lee Han asked:
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
One of the simplest countermeasures would be having a skilled mage carry these barrier stones.
Whatever the artifact might be, the principle behind disabling barriers was simple.
It involved forcibly shaking the barrier stones containing the enchantments to temporarily disable them.
But if a powerful mage carried and defended those barrier stones, the situation would change.
"No, I don't know any defensive magic."
I'm not telling you to use defensive magic - I'm telling you to use your brute mana.
When mana quantity reaches a certain level, it naturally resists other magic.
Simply by holding the barrier stones, Lee Han would likely block any external forces trying to affect them.
"...Wouldn't it be better if you did it yourself, Headmaster?"
I'll be doing it too. Didn't you see I was already searching? We'll take turns.
"But I'm in the middle of final exam projects..."
That's why I'm only asking for about two hours a day. Help search with these Death Knights.
"......"
Lee Han, suddenly roped into joining the search with Death Knights while passing by, was too flabbergasted to speak.
Now...
The Skeleton Principal coaxed:
Wouldn't working together help us finish faster?
"Headmaster. I'm a first-year..."
When Einrogard faces crisis, we must all cooperate regardless of being students or professors.
"This doesn't seem like much of a cris—"
Thank you. If you produce results, I'll be sure to reward you.
"You're just doing this because you don't want to spare two hours—"
Now then, Knights of Death. Are you prepared to conduct the search with this bright student here?
-Just leave it to us! We shall reclaim our honor through vengeance!
'I really want to kill him.'
Lee Han walked the corridors carrying an armful of barrier-engraved stones alongside the Death Knights.
Though the stones varied wildly in size and weren't particularly impressive in appearance, Lee Han could guess how advanced the magic on them must be.
Their structure was completely beyond comprehension.
So these were meant to weaken the intruder's stealth magic...
-We've really wanted to talk with you, what an honor. Wardanaz junior.
-Your reputation is quite lively among us knights.
"Ah. Yes. Thank you."
For undead, the Death Knights were remarkably sociable.
To the point of making Lee Han somewhat uncomfortable.
"Shall we start by opening doors one by one?"
-Let us proceed! Stand back. We don't know what might be inside.
"...Actually, would it be alright if I checked any rooms that seem suspicious?"
-Of course!
Completely unaware of Lee Han's ulterior motives, the Death Knights cheerfully nodded.
If it helps find the intruder, what's the harm in checking other floors!