Episode 272
Episode 272
Fortunately, it didn't escalate into a full-blown fire. Thanks to Lee Han stepping forward a moment earlier, the students had just enough time to close the windows and hastily put out the flames.
"My... my assignment..."
"I'm throwing out all those phoenix fairy tale books when I get back to the mansion!"
The panicked students let out heavy breaths and glanced warily out the window.
The phoenix flapped its wings, staring back at them as if wondering what was wrong.
Tap tap!
"Why is it doing that? What's wrong with it?!"
"Isn't it asking us to open the window? It's pointing at the window!"
"D-didn't the wizard in the fairy tale who granted the phoenix's wish receive a great reward?"
"Don't you dare open it!"
At Gainando's words, his friends growled and shouted.
Getting fooled twice was one thing, but getting fooled a third time meant they had no right to call themselves mages.
■■■■■■...
Suddenly, the phoenix began to sing. Its voice was less of a chirp and more of a melodic cry.
The phoenix's song even managed to soothe the rage of the student whose assignment had just burned to ashes.
"...Maybe we should open it?"
Whack!
"Ow!"
"Snap out of it."
Lee Han jabbed his friend's solar plexus with his staff.
Looking around, he was surprised to see that all the students' anger had visibly subsided.
'What the...? Does it have a mental interference effect?'
No matter how beautiful the song was, it shouldn't have been able to quell the fury over a burned assignment. There was definitely some kind of magical force at play.
Among monsters, there were those that could enchant people's minds with sound.
If the phoenix's song had that kind of power...
"Cover your ears."
Lee Han stuffed cotton into his friends' ears. Immediately, the student who had just calmed down exploded again.
"That damn bird is messing with me?!"
'So the song was the cause.'
The students waited with their ears covered. Once the song ended, Lee Han spoke again.
"It's over."
"Wardanaz! Give us orders!"
The student holding his charred assignment spoke with eyes blazing like fire.
"Orders?"
"Yeah!"
"We'll do anything!"
Faced with his friends' fervent shouts, Lee Han responded solemnly.
"Then... sit down and get back to studying."
"......"
"...Huh?"
"What do you mean, 'huh'? Sit down and study."
"W-wait. Weren't we going to catch the phoenix?"
"How am I supposed to catch a phoenix?"
Lee Han's question left his friends speechless.
Huh?
'Good point.'
'Now that I think about it...'
They had unconsciously assumed Wardanaz would handle it, but upon reflection, a phoenix wasn't a monster first-year students could hope to capture.
"Why did I think Wardanaz would catch it?"
"M-me too."
"You just don't want to study. Sit down already."
The students who had been putting on their coats sulkily hung them back up. The Princess quietly returned the Flame Resistance Potion she had taken out from the box.
"At least it's brighter now, so it's easier to focus. Right?"
'He's my friend, but sometimes he really seems like a madman.'
Gainando thought this as he picked up his quill.
Contrary to the expectations of some friends (actually, far more than just some), Lee Han had absolutely no intention of catching the phoenix.
In fact, even if he had wanted to, he had no idea how to go about it.
How could a first-year student possibly capture a phantasmal beast with eternal life, one that revived no matter what kind of attack it endured?
But when the phoenix blocked his path to the morning lecture, he seriously began to wonder, 'Should I catch it?'
■■■... ■■■...
The phoenix chirped as it circled playfully in front of the students.
Its comical, mischievous appearance might have been amusing, but seeing the flames crackling beneath it with every turn made it impossible to laugh.
"T-this is a divine sign telling us not to attend the lecture!"
"Stop talking nonsense. Everyone, scatter! Distract it!"
Professors never excused tardiness.
Even if the world had ended on the way, professors wouldn't make allowances—let alone for something as trivial as a phoenix.
"Freeze solid!"
"Wait. Wardanaz. Right now, ice magic is because of the phoenix—"
Crackle!
"...Actually an extremely effective choice, wouldn't you say?"
"You were about to say ice magic won't work because of the phoenix, weren't you?"
"N-no I wasn't. When did I—"
A student from the Blue Dragon Tower hastily backtracked upon seeing ice shards materialize in midair.
Yoner whispered urgently,
"Lee Han. If you provoke it needlessly, you might be the only one in danger."
The relatively pragmatic Yoner wasn't even entertaining thoughts of capturing the phoenix.
That kind of thinking was reserved for friends who had sawdust instead of brains in their heads...
"He's absolutely right, Wardanaz. Even if we attempt something, we should prepare bait as a contingency. Another target for the phoenix to chase."
Gainando seemed to find Ashan's suggestion reasonable as he nodded in agreement. Then he asked,
"How do we set up the bait?"
"Well..."
"?"
Lee Han intervened before the two could start arguing.
"I'm not trying to attack it. Just distract it."
As he spoke, the ice shards began circling through the air. The phoenix, which had been blocking the students' path and throwing tantrums as if demanding playtime, grew interested in the ice shards and gave chase.
"Run!"
The ice shards didn't last long before melting away. Lee Han launched another set to keep the phoenix's attention while they ran.
Gainando panted heavily as he shouted,
"Why—do we have—to go through—this much trouble—just to study?!"
The Blue Dragon Tower students running alongside him found themselves nodding in agreement without realizing it.
"You've all worked hard this semester. While you've learned magic from various schools this term, next semester you'll be studying fundamental, practical magic that isn't tied to any particular school."
Instead of cramming more knowledge into the students' heads during the final lecture of the semester, Professor Garcia dedicated the time to answering their questions.
Whether they struggled with basic elemental magic, basic illusion magic, or geometry and arithmetic...
He was truly an educator in every sense.
"Professor."
"Ask away."
"How do we drive away the phoenix outside the lecture hall?"
"I couldn't sleep last night because of the phoenix!"
The victims weren't limited to the Blue Dragon Tower students.
Students from other towers also had bloodshot eyes from the phoenix's antics that had escalated since last evening.
It kept them awake with daylight-bright flames when they tried to sleep, and ambushed them on their way to lectures, demanding playtime...
Cases like Lee Han's, where they cleverly shook it off, were rare. The White Tiger Tower students had to leave thirty minutes early just to avoid being late due to the phoenix.
Priest Nigisor looked puzzled.
"Why are our fellow students acting this way? With the night bright as day and the cold driven away, shouldn't we be grateful to the phoenix—"
"Shh. Be quiet."
"Shut him up."
Quick-witted priests swiftly covered Nigisor's mouth.
Just because they'd spent their whole lives in temples didn't mean they lacked awareness.
"This is... What should we do? Dealing with a phoenix is beyond your current capabilities."
Professor Garcia spoke with deep concern.
"Even with Wardanaz here? Is it still impossible even if we use Wardanaz?"
At Angrago's question, the Blue Dragon Tower students stared at him incredulously.
What, is Wardanaz your sword or something?
"Of course even Lee Han would struggle—"
'Thank you, Professor.'
Lee Han felt gratitude welling up at Professor Garcia's bewildered response.
Other professors could learn a thing or two from him.
"Fundamentally, phoenixes aren't violent monsters, but that doesn't mean they're easy to deal with. Most attacks won't work on them."
Professor Garcia swung his staff and launched a stone spear at the phoenix outside the window.
Thud!
The stone spear pierced through the phoenix with a dull sound, but it instantly burned away and vanished, leaving the phoenix flapping its wings as if nothing had happened.
Even after being impaled by the spear, it showed no reaction—it seemed it didn't even feel pain.
"See what I mean?"
"Th-then... do we have to live like this forever?"
"N-not forever. It'll disappear with time. Phantasmal Beasts that appear from other dimensions can't stay in reality for long."
"When, exactly?"
"When its mana runs out?"
"......"
In less than two days, the phoenix had driven the first-year students to the brink of neurosis.
It woke them up when they tried to sleep, rushed at them when they stepped outside for lectures, and burned their papers if they tried to study under the sunlight...
The tower had even established new rules because of it.
-This Month's Banned Words-
Phoenix
Festival
Bird
Chicken
Fire
Hot
Warm
The phoenix was teaching the students a harsh lesson.
Just how much disaster could be unleashed by the reckless actions of mages!
Who could have predicted that a simple, modest festival celebration would bring this upon them?
"Is there really no way?"
"The phoenix... is impossible."
Lee Han heated up a frying pan, coated it with oil and butter, then tossed in some mushrooms he had dug up near the garden.
Mushrooms soaked in oil and butter were bound to turn crispy on the outside and juicy inside.
But despite this bribe, Professor Lightning Steps didn't give the answer he wanted.
"Tomorrow's the weekend, but if this keeps up, next week's exams are going to be a disaster. Did the Headmaster summon that thing?"
"An interesting conspiracy theory, but if the Headmaster wanted to sabotage your exams, he'd have chosen a cheaper method. Summoning a phoenix? If it was done artificially, the cost would be astronomical."
Professor Lightning Steps said this while stuffing his face with mushrooms. It struck him again—perhaps this student's most genius talent wasn't magic, but cooking.
"But you've definitely picked up some tricks to avoid the phoenix, haven't you?"
"Well, yes, but when in life would I ever need to use tricks to avoid a phoenix again?"
"Probably never outside, but in the Magic School, it might happen once or twice more."
"......"
"Just kidding."
Seeing Lee Han's stern expression, Professor Lightning Steps quickly backtracked.
"It's not that I'm deliberately withholding information—there really isn't a proper method. The phoenix is a type of... phantasmal beast closer to a natural disaster. It's like asking how to stop a drought or flood—what could I even say? I couldn't answer Professor Bagrak either when he asked."
"Wait... what?"
Lee Han, who had been listening, suddenly looked up, startled by Professor Voladi's sudden appearance.
"What did Professor Bagrak ask?"
"He wanted to capture the phoenix and use it for combat. That was never going to work."
"......"
Lee Han internally sighed in relief.
He had narrowly escaped mortal danger without even realizing it.
"I agree with that."
"Professor Bagrak came around too. So then he considered borrowing Cerberus instead..."
"...Excuse me!??!"
Lee Han's pupils shook with betrayal.
After all the effort he put into cooking those hearty mushrooms, this was the thanks he got?
"I told him that Cerberus is too precious to be used for combat."
"...Thank you. Would you like some beer?"
"Sure? But why the sudden offer?"
Lee Han opened the hidden trapdoor where Professor Thunder Steps stashed his secret stash and pulled out a keg.
"By the way, isn't Professor Thunder Steps coming today?"
"Ah... he's a bit busy."
"Is something going on?"
"No. He's just racking his brains trying to make the final exams harder."
"...Please wait a moment. I'll bring some snacks too."
Lee Han opened another hidden trapdoor where Professor Thunder Steps kept his secret stash.