Episode 298
Episode 298
"What's wrong, Yoner?"
"Ah... it's nothing, sis. Really. We were just about to head out..."
Yoner trailed off vaguely. At that, Yoanen's eyes sparkled behind her amethyst glasses.
"About to leave?"
"Mhm."
"Where to?"
"To see friends."
"When will you be back?"
"Uh... I don't know...?"
"And this friend from the Wardanaz family here?"
"H-he's busy... Why?"
"He seemed quite interested in alchemy."
"N-no, he's not that interested."
"But he's the top student in alchemy?"
"......"
Yoner glared at Lee Han and Ratford.
Had they really gone and mentioned that in such a short time?!
'My apologies.'
Ratford bowed his head deeply.
He had just wanted to show Yoner's sister how impressive Lee Han was, that was all...
"Yoner... surely you didn't think I'd treat your friend like the other alchemists in the workshop? That's not the case, right?"
"N-no, of course not."
"Right? I wouldn't do that."
Lee Han wanted to ask, 'How exactly do you treat the other alchemists in your workshop?' but couldn't bring himself to voice it.
"If you're a Magic School student, you'd probably study during vacation too... Wouldn't my workshop be a suitable place to learn alchemy?"
"N-no, sis. Your workshop is the best in Granden City..."
"Thank you for saying that."
"But Lee Han really is busy..."
As Yoner resisted, Yoanen turned her attention to Lee Han.
"Would you like to visit the workshop sometime?"
"Thank you."
"When would you like to visit?"
'She really is Professor Verdus!'
Lee Han couldn't help but acknowledge her skill in immediately pinning down a concrete schedule.
Noticing Lee Han's wariness, Yoanen smoothly shifted tactics with a carrot.
"I don't know what Yoner told you, but it's probably exaggerated. There are times when work gets busy, and Yoner just happened to visit the workshop during one of those moments."
"I... I see."
Anyone else might have been fooled by Yoanen's kind expression, but Lee Han wasn't.
After all, demons always smiled benevolently.
"Even so, my workshop isn't a bad place to study alchemy over the break. You'll have access to high-quality materials without restriction, and the workers are paid generously. Many of the city's finest alchemists frequent the place, so it's also great for networking."
'It's over. Lee Han. Just refuse a little more and even sis will...'
Despite Yoner's desperate hope, Lee Han responded immediately.
"Do the alchemists also receive salaries?"
"Of course. Aha. Are you interested in the pay? Given that you're an Einrogard student and my sister's friend..."
Yoanen discreetly held up three fingers. Lee Han's heart raced at the sight of her gloved fingers.
Three times the usual rate.
"Lee Han...!"
Yoner whispered in dismay, but Yoanen, as if understanding exactly what Lee Han wanted, smiled and added another finger.
"...I've actually been meaning to learn alchemy during the break."
Yoanen elegantly took Lee Han's hand and shook it.
"Welcome. Feel free to come anytime. Oh, just a moment—may I speak with my sister alone?"
As Lee Han and his friends stepped out first, Yoanen turned her gaze to Yoner.
Yoner spoke with a gloomy expression.
"If I lose a friend, it's your fault..."
"I'll treat him really well. Promise. By the way, he's quite an unusual person, isn't he?"
"Ah. Yeah. He is."
"I thought he'd refuse, but he accepted because of the salary. Surely the Wardanaz family wouldn't be fond of gold coins for no reason. Does he have debts or something?"
"No. He just likes gold coins."
"I'm a bit worried about visiting Gainando too."
Though Lee Han was of a status where he could casually visit even the most prominent noble families, royalty was a different matter.
"Fundamentally, they're entangled in ways that benefit neither side."
The nobles of the Empire were divided into three factions.
The Loyalist Faction, which supported outstanding members of the imperial family.
The Noble Faction, which scoffed at the notion that the hundred-plus imperial family members were anything special and opposed them.
And the Neutral Faction, which belonged to neither group.
The Wardanaz family was a prominent member of the Neutral Faction. In truth, the Wardanaz family was so neutral they might as well be called the Reclusive Faction or the Lone Wolf Faction.
But if Lee Han were to officially visit an imperial family's residence, it would be all too easy for rumors like <Lee Han of the Wardanaz Family Supports Imperial Family Member A?> to start spreading.
"It's fine. If we all go together like this, it'll just count as a group visit from school friends."
Yoner understood Lee Han's concerns.
In situations like this, having a plausible pretext was crucial.
"Honestly, that part wasn't a big worry since I knew going with you all would solve it. What concerns me more are the people who might be at Gainando's residence."
After visiting the Dalkard and Maykin family mansions, Lee Han had come to realize something.
The differences between noble family residences were far more extreme than he'd imagined.
At this point, no matter what bizarre thing happened at Gainando's residence, it probably wouldn't surprise him anymore.
"What's the atmosphere like at Gainando's residence?"
"Gainando's residence? It's normal. There aren't any tests like at our family's place. And they don't get many visitors either."
Most visitors to Gainando's residence came more to see his mother than to visit Gainando himself, despite him being part of the imperial family.
For starters, the Kraha family—Gainando's maternal family—was fabulously wealthy even by imperial standards.
With that level of wealth, even nonexistent abilities tended to materialize. Naturally, people were desperate to visit.
Yet Gainando's residence didn't actually receive that many guests.
"Gainando's mother doesn't particularly enjoy receiving visitors."
"Why not? More visitors would be good for spreading Gainando's reputation... Hmm. Never mind."
While frequent visitors typically helped spread a family's fame, sometimes the opposite could happen.
The more visitors you received, the more likely it was that only bad rumors would spread.
Lee Han changed the subject.
"What's Gainando's mother like?"
If she turned out to be another kind-hearted professor like Verdus, he might consider postponing the visit.
"She's very kind and gentle. And..."
"And?"
"She's unbelievably beautiful."
"I-I see."
Lee Han was taken aback by the sudden remark.
"When you first meet her, you probably won't be able to look directly at her face."
"Why not?"
"She's so beautiful that a radiant halo shines from behind her. To the point where you can't look directly at her."
"...Isn't that just because she has some spirit or angel blood mixed in?"
"Exactly. I heard she has some light spirit ancestry."
Lee Han wanted to ask, 'If the light makes her face impossible to see, how can you tell if she's beautiful or not?' But since Yoner seemed to hold her in such high esteem, he decided not to press further.
What did it really matter anyway?
"By the way, is it true she really gives you spending money if you're close with Gainando?"
"Yeah."
"Objectively speaking, I'm the closest to him, right? What do you all think?"
Ratford and Nilia stared at Lee Han as if he'd lost his mind.
"Please wait thirty minutes."
"Ah. Are there other guests who arrived first?"
"Um... My apologies. Please wait thirty minutes."
"??"
Lee Han and his friends tilted their heads in confusion outside the dazzlingly opulent gates of Gainando's residence.
If other guests had arrived first, waiting a while would be understandable. But being made to wait outside the main gates wasn't common practice.
Unless there was something inside the residence they weren't supposed to see...
"What's going on?"
Bam-bam-bam-bam-bam—
Boom! Paff-paff-paff-paff-boom!
A chorus of massive wind instruments erupted alongside magical fireworks that lit up the sky.
Passersby startled, glancing around as if wondering if some festival had suddenly begun.
"What in the..."
"What on earth..."
"Welcome to the mansion!"
"Welcome to the..."
"Welcome..."
"Welcome...!"
The chorus of voices from inside.
Lee Han suddenly felt the urge to turn back.
"What is all this commotion?"
"It seems the crown prince is welcoming guests at the Kraha Family mansion."
"Good heavens. Was all this noisy spectacle really necessary?"
"They must be long-lost friends."
At the murmurs of amused onlookers, Lee Han and his friends' faces turned red.
"...Cloak, swallow me whole."
"L-let's just go in! Me too!"
The four made clever use of the magic they'd learned at Einrogard to slip inside.
Gainando, standing atop the grand marble staircase, waved the moment he spotted them.
"Over here! Here!"
"Stop the music right now!"
"Huh? Why? We've only played the first movement."
"It's too loud—just stop the singing!"
"Cease this immediately!"
As his friends fumed, Gainando looked utterly bewildered but gestured anyway.
At his signal, the musicians waiting on the mansion grounds lifted their hands from their instruments.
"What? Didn't you like the song?"
"That's not the point. Let's just go inside."
Dragging Gainando by the arm, Lee Han and his friends hurried into the mansion.
Gainando grumbled as he was pulled along.
"We could've gone in after the performance."
"We'll listen another time."
"Really?"
"...Someday. More importantly, Gainando. You've been well? Nothing eventful?"
Lee Han changed the subject. Gainando fell deep into thought before answering.
"Well, there was one thing."
"!"
Lee Han was startled.
Could it be that, just as Ashan had suffered at the hands of his accomplished Dalkard Family brothers, Gainando too had faced persecution from those high-and-mighty imperial relatives?
"Did someone pick a fight with you?"
"No. I lost at Wizard Card even after adding a new deck yesterday."
"......"
"......"
Yoner momentarily raised a hand to smack Gainando's head.
Had Nilia not hastily grabbed his wrist, a sharp whack would've echoed through the hall.
Lee Han nodded in understanding and pressed further.
"Aside from Wizard Cards, nothing else? No one came to cause trouble?"
"Huh? No one visited at all."
"......"
Hearing that no one had visited struck an oddly sad note.
Lee Han exchanged a pained glance with his friends.
"Well, we're here now."
"That's why I prepared the performance, but you cut it short."
Gainando sulked again.
As Yoner raised his other uncaught hand, Nilia hurriedly seized that one too.
"More importantly, Lee Han. Let's go have fun together during break."
"What did you have in mind?"
"Visit shops to buy new cards, browse toys, pick up magazines that piled up while we were at school..."
Lee Han shook his head vehemently.
Such an extreme consumerist lifestyle.
It was practically an express route to becoming penniless.
"Gainando. That sounds nice, but there's something even more fun."
"What? Really?"
"Follow me and you'll see. We'll go together later."
Nothing matched the joy of earning silver coins through sweat. Lee Han resolved to introduce Gainando to that pleasure.
Yoner whispered,
"Gainando doesn't seem the type to enjoy that sort of thing."
"It's fine. We'll tell him when he can't run away."
"......"
"Oh right. I should repay that borrowed money."
Gainando summoned a servant. Lee Han was surprised by this unexpected display.
"I didn't think you'd remember first."
"Mother says people who don't repay debts are trash."
"I... see."
Gainando's room was spacious enough to park several carriages. They scattered about, picking up whatever caught their interest.
While engrossed in a magazine serial (featuring Toberiz, the canine beastkin detective using Divination Magic to catch criminals), Lee Han noticed growing noise outside.
"Do you have plans today?"
"Huh? Oh... Ah. Right. The other imperial relatives said they'd visit."
"......"
"...If that's not 'eventful,' then what is?"