Episode 291
Episode 291
'What a shame.'
Lee Han felt regretful when the Skeleton Principal caught wind of his inner thoughts.
Even though there was only one suspect, he couldn't run his mouth freely.
The Skeleton Principal narrowed his blue glowing eyes as he stared at Lee Han.
He seemed to be having suspicious thoughts...
"Not at all."
Well. He probably wouldn't have time to spread unnecessary rumors anyway. Have a good vacation.
When the Skeleton Principal gave up cleanly without any fuss, Lee Han felt oddly uneasy.
'What's this? Is he planning to send undead during the vacation?'
Since it's inside the magic school, even if undead attacked the tower at night, it could be overlooked. But if such a thing happened in a major city, it could be treated as an imperial offense.
But even considering that, one couldn't feel at ease with the Skeleton Principal.
Lee Han retreated with mixed feelings.
'Surely not...'
Over the weekend, students who had finished preparing for vacation walked toward the main gate, laden with heavy luggage.
Despite the weight and inconvenience, all the students were in high spirits.
"Ponlig. Thank you."
Lee Han expressed his gratitude to Ponlig, who was carrying a bundle of books on his back. Ponlig tapped his hooves as if to say it was nothing.
"Oops. I need to take this too. Can I put these books on you as well?"
-Neigh
"Thanks. Wait. This book too..."
-......
Ponlig gave Lee Han a slight glare.
Meanwhile, a singing voice could be heard from the side.
"Einrogard. Einrogard. It's so wonderful."
Ashan was humming a tune. It was a song he had composed as an assignment for <Basic Music> class.
"A place with warm meals and fluffy beds. Einrogard."
"A place with warm meals and fluffy beds. Einrogard."
Normally, students from other towers would have scolded them, saying, 'You Blue Dragon Tower guys, stop singing that fake song.' But today, they seemed to be in such a good mood that they started singing along.
"The juniors will soon join and enjoy this paradise too. Einrogard."
"Just thinking about it gets me excited."
"But no juniors are coming next semester."
"Damn. Why aren't they coming?"
'Are these the same guys who were badmouthing the seniors yesterday?'
"There was a noble prince..."
"......"
"What? I'll sing the song I want to sing too."
At Gainando's words, the students exchanged glances.
Come to think of it, that was fair too.
"One spirit, two spirits, three spirits, four spirits..."
"There was an honorable mage who always prepared meals..."
"When the evil Lich attacked, the knights blew their horns..."
'What a mess.'
The harmonious chorus from earlier felt like a lie as the songs mixed and rhythms clashed.
Lee Han gave Ponlig a pat and hummed along.
"Einrogard. Einrogard. It's so wonderful."
"A place with warm meals and fluffy beds. Einrogard."
The Skeleton Principal and professors watched with fondness as the first-year students headed toward the main gate, singing.
Professor Garcia, with slightly reddened eyes, glanced at the Skeleton Principal. The headmaster was in conversation with Professor Verdus.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
If you promise to listen to me from now on, I might tell you where I stay.
"I promise!"
Don't be vague!
"Um. Headmaster?"
Ah. Professor Garcia.
When Professor Garcia approached, the Skeleton Principal stopped his conversation.
"What were you two just talking about...?"
Nothing important.
"Only I was wo..."
As Professor Verdus tried to speak, the Skeleton Principal summoned a large piece of bark and stuffed it into the professor's mouth.
So, what is it?
"Ah. I just wanted to say you've worked hard this semester."
The Skeleton Principal's gaze softened.
How could that be my achievement alone? All the other professors...
When his eyes fell on Professor Verdus and Professor Voladi, the Skeleton Principal stopped mid-sentence.
"Not all of them, but at any rate, Professor Garcia also worked very hard."
"That's right. Everyone truly worked very hard."
Imperial Bureaucrat Iunrade, who had come for the final exams, chimed in as if in agreement.
When he was a student, he'd only wished the professors would drop dead, but even after graduating and returning, that thought hadn't changed much. Still, he could feel how hard everyone was working to maintain Einrogard.
As if reading Iunrade's thoughts, the Skeleton Principal smirked.
'Thank you for thinking that way.'
"Ah, right. Headmaster."
Iunrade cautiously broached the topic while gauging the Headmaster's mood.
Seeing that he was in a good mood now seemed like the right time.
'What is it?'
"Um... I received word yesterday. His Imperial Majesty wishes to have a private audience with you, Headmaster. It seems you'll need to go to the capital as soon as possible."
......
The Skeleton Principal's soul flickered, causing the surrounding temperature to drop and frost to form instantly.
Thinking he might be dragged to the mountain range behind Einrogard and buried alive by an enraged archmage, Iunrade desperately tried to explain.
"I-I didn't say anything, Headmaster."
'You didn't say anything? Then why does he want a private audience? I don't understand. This isn't the time for a meeting. Be honest. Did you really say nothing at all?'
"That's what I'm also... Headmaster! It's been years since I graduated—you can't throw me into the Punishment Room! You can't do this!"
"Haha. There seems to be a misunderstanding. I wouldn't throw an Imperial Bureaucrat into the Punishment Room."
Despite the Skeleton Principal's kind words, Iunrade remained on high alert.
"It hasn't been decided yet! He might be summoning you to give you a reward!"
'Talking about rewards now? As if that's possible.'
The Skeleton Principal was extremely realistic.
Usually, meetings with the Emperor only involved one of two things: either an Einrogard graduate had caused trouble, or a current Einrogard student had caused trouble.
So what was this talk of a reward?
The Skeleton Principal let out a deep sigh.
Just thinking about which troublemaker had caused what kind of disaster this time and how much the budget would be cut made his soul ache already.
"I-It'll be fine."
Seeing that the Headmaster had calmed down a little, Iunrade cautiously spoke up.
'Do you really think so? Then if the budget gets cut, you'll donate your salary to Einrogard.'
"M-My salary is just a drop in the ocean compared to the Grand Ocean..."
'Enough. What difference would that even make?'
The Skeleton Principal clicked his tongue.
Seeing how genuinely wronged Iunrade looked, it probably wasn't because of his report...
Perhaps an Einrogard graduate had caused some trouble without him knowing. That seemed the most likely.
'I suppose I'll have to go see His Imperial Majesty.'
"In that case, could you put in a word for our research budget too?"
"Me too! We need gems for the new artifact..."
"We need monsters for combat training..."
......
At the sight of the professors prioritizing their own magic in this situation, the Skeleton Principal shuddered.
'Who taught them to be this shameless?'
The Skeleton Principal's undead forces escorted the students through the gates.
Their goal was to safely escort the students all the way to Granden City.
Given the distance, going without an escort would have been impossible...
...but there were already others waiting in front of the gates.
"Young master! Over here!"
"You've worked so hard. Good heavens! No matter how frugal you are, wearing such rags is too much!"
"Your face is half gone!"
The escorts from various noble families, who had been waiting for the students of the Blue Dragon Tower, rushed over.
In the blink of an eye, the students were washed, stripped, changed, and even had snacks shoved into their mouths, leaving the students from other towers shaking their heads in disbelief.
"If they're going to do that, why even attend Einrogard?"
"Exactly. It goes against Einrogard's teachings."
"Lord Lee Han. We've come to escort you."
When the elderly knight Alarong called out to Lee Han with his entourage of guards, Lee Han pretended not to hear.
"Lord Lee Han?"
"Shh. Don't call out so loudly, Sir."
Lee Han covered Alarong's mouth. Behind Alarong, familiar knights from noble families waited on horseback.
"Did you bring a carriage?"
"A carriage, you say? We thought it would be too extravagant, so we didn't bring one. Our apologies. We can fetch one now if—"
"No. It's fine. I'm glad you didn't bring one."
If they were going to parade all the way to Granden City like this, riding in a carriage would make him stand out even more.
Not that he cared what his fellow tower mates thought, but...
"Lee Han! Need a ride?"
Gainando, already lounging on plush cushions inside a dazzlingly ornate carriage, beckoned to Lee Han with a wave.
Lee Han ignored him, pretending not to hear.
"Lord Lee Han, isn't that your friend?"
"I don't know him. I heard the mansion we secured in the village was moved to Granden City. Is that correct?"
"Yes, indeed. The academy sent people to handle it."
Alarong stroked his mustache as he spoke.
Such thoughtfulness from Einrogard—sending all the mansions to the city so students couldn't even scrape together money by visiting nearby villages!
"Would've been nice if they'd told us in advance."
"...You're telling me. Einrogard really is something. Can I at least see the mansion we secured?"
"I apologize, but it's not particularly impressive."
Alarong unfolded a city map and pointed to the location with his finger.
It was a mansion occupying a conspicuously large plot in the central noble district of the city.
'If this isn't impressive by Alarong's standards, what on earth qualifies as a "good" place?'
Lee Han nearly asked if they could just give him the money they'd saved on the mansion instead but held back.
It wasn't Alarong's fault.
"How has your school life been?"
"Quite different from what I expected."
At Lee Han's words, Alarong chuckled warmly.
"Any place of learning tends to be that way, no matter the discipline."
"I suppose so..."
But Einrogard seemed to be on a whole other level.
Lee Han didn't claim to know every educational institution in the empire, but he found it hard to believe any place could be more eccentric than Einrogard.
"Were there any lectures you particularly enjoyed?"
"Hmm. Most of them were more or less mandatory."
"Hahaha... I had the same experience back in my knight order days. All I wanted was to swing a sword, but they made us study the Seven Arts to uphold the dignity and pride of knighthood."
"This is... a bit different from that."
Lee Han trailed off.
Learning poetry, music, and dance as a knight was one thing—being forced to study magic at Einrogard was another.
"Oh, right. Thanks to what you taught me, I was able to take a swordsmanship class. I appreciate it."
"There was a swordsmanship class? Well, of course—not just knight families, but all noble scions would learn swordsmanship as part of their education..."
'Except me. Everyone else was from the White Tiger Tower.'
"It must have been difficult, surrounded by so many from knight families."
"Not really. It was better than I expected."
"I see... Well, being fellow knight families, they must have shown you consideration."
"...?"
Lee Han paused.
Had they?
"......"
"......"
Even the White Tiger Tower students passing by stopped in their tracks upon hearing that.
They hadn't...
"Well... if I had to say, maybe they did show some consideration."
"Excellent. That's how knights ought to be. If someone uses their slightly greater swordsmanship skill to trample others, it only proves they haven't learned properly."
Lee Han stared pointedly at the White Tiger Tower students walking past. They quickly quickened their pace.
"Is that your friend?"
"No. Don't know him."
"I see. Lord Lee Han, have you decided which school of magic you'll specialize in during your first year?"
"...Haven't settled on that yet."
Misunderstanding Lee Han's hesitation as indecision, Alarong reassured him.
"No need to rush. There's plenty of time left. You can attend more lectures and decide later."
"Do I really have to...?"