Episode 301
Episode 301
"Huh? It's already over?"
The friends who had been hiding behind their respective tables preparing spells asked in bewildered voices.
Checking through the mirror, the basilisk had truly collapsed.
Yoner put his potion back and stood up. Nilia also stopped enchanting her arrow and rose to her feet.
Gainando too, along with his summoned skeleton warrior...
"Put it away quickly!"
"What the hell are you doing, seriously!"
"Ah, no... why...! This is magic too!"
Gainando felt wronged.
They had all prepared to fight the basilisk together, so why was he the only one getting scolded?
"Black Magic is still magic!"
"I get it, so put it away already! People might see!"
Gainando sadly dismissed his skeleton warrior.
'This damn Empire that discriminates against Black Magic...'
Summoning me isn't such a trivial matter.
Before being dismissed, Perkuntra seriously admonished Lee Han.
Was this young mage really wasting such precious opportunities—occasions where he couldn't summon him again for a while—on such pointless things?
Lee Han asked in surprise,
"Are there other penalties besides the time limit?"
......
For a moment, Perkuntra forgot all decorum and nearly lost his temper at the young mage.
Mana consumption... No. Forget it. Just remember this! If you waste these precious chances, you'll regret it yourself in the end.
"This time I summoned you because it was truly dangerous. But why did that basilisk collapse?"
Maybe it was hungry. How should I know?
Having said that, Perkuntra turned his gaze away.
Yet the basilisk hadn't collapsed from hunger or exhaustion. It had fallen victim to its own gaze—traces of a powerful petrification curse were evident all over its body.
It had been struck by its own gaze...
"Huh?"
The power of the gaze was no joke either. If blocked, the damage would rebound. Did it have some artifact for gaze defense?
"No."
......
Perkuntra quickly grasped the situation.
That young mage had purely repelled the basilisk's gaze through sheer mana capacity.
'What kind of...'
I'll take my leave now.
"I'm fine, so why don't you stay a little longer?"
No thanks.
Perkuntra hurriedly prepared to dismiss himself, not wanting to praise Lee Han.
His retreating figure seemed quite sulky.
Lee Han thought that if he ever had to visit the Punishment Room again, he should bring a gift the spirit might like.
"Is... is it really over?"
"Yes. It's all over. Just wait a moment longer to be sure."
Lee Han called the guards waiting outside. Just in case, they needed to properly secure the basilisk.
The startled guards rushed in, and the situation was more or less resolved.
Grab!
"?"
Prince Bogajun tightly seized Lee Han's right hand.
With greedy eyes brimming with tears, the prince exclaimed,
"Wardanaz, you are my life's savior!"
"No... even if you'd been petrified, this isn't some remote wilderness—a healing mage would've arrived within an hour."
Lee Han was dumbfounded by the prince's exaggerated reaction.
Having seen Gainando act similarly over being given a single cookie, he wondered if melodrama might be a royal family trait.
Grab!
This time, Princess Judrantas seized Lee Han's left hand.
"My life's savior...!"
"Ah, I said it's not—"
"Let me repay this kindness with a visit!"
"Let's arrange a gathering sometime!"
"I spoke first! Get out of the way!"
"Go solve some plague first before coming back!"
"How dare you—what about that bribery scandal involving your knight-captain?!"
The two royals growled at each other while tugging Lee Han in opposite directions. However, their combined strength was no match for Lee Han, who didn't budge an inch.
'Is this really okay?'
Lee Han found it strange.
Until moments ago, these royals had maintained their dignity since many were watching. But perhaps the basilisk incident had shocked them into this undignified squabble.
"Is this really okay?"
"That's a bit..."
"To insist so forcefully when Lord Wardanaz has already refused. How rude."
'No, it's not okay.'
Seeing the nobles whispering among themselves, it seemed it really wasn't okay. Lee Han decided he should intervene.
"Your Highnesses. What you're doing right now is somewhat..."
"Lee Han. Lee Han."
Gainando came scurrying over and whispered urgently. Lee Han gave him a stern look.
"I told you to just say 'yes', 'no', or 'hehe', didn't I?"
"It's an emergency! Mother's here!"
"......"
The guests froze at the news that Gainando's mother had arrived early.
Normally, there'd be no reason to freeze even if she'd arrived early, but today was different.
Hadn't they held a gathering at someone else's mansion, released a basilisk, and nearly caused a massacre?
As the mistress of the mansion, she had every right to be furious.
Brodon, who'd brought the egg, hung his head like a criminal, unable to lift it.
"We're all terribly sorry."
"Not at all, Lord Brodon. Weren't we all participants in this gathering? How could we say it was solely your fault?"
Seeing everyone so tense, Lee Han turned to Gainando and asked,
"Is your mother that strict?"
"We're doomed... doomed..."
"......"
Even Gainando looked utterly dejected, leaving Lee Han bewildered.
This wasn't Gainando's fault, was it?
"If it's not your fault, why are you like this?"
"She told me not to wreck the mansion while she was away."
"Since it was others who did it, she'll make allowances, won't she?"
At Lee Han's words, Gainando lifted his head with a hopeful look in his eyes.
"Really? You think so? Will you speak up for me?"
"No. I'm a guest—you should be the one to explain."
"...Please speak for me...! I don't have the confidence!"
Gainando clung to Lee Han's sleeve, pleading.
He seemed convinced that things would go much smoother if Lee Han spoke to his mother instead of him.
"Lady Kraha is entering!"
At the servants' announcement, the guests hastily straightened their attire and rose from their seats.
Even the imperial family members checked their own appearances before standing.
Whoooosh!
As the doors opened and Gainando's mother entered, an overwhelming light flooded the hall.
Those who faced the light couldn't help but gasp in awe.
"Ah...!"
"Facing Lady Kraha's beauty, I feel as though I might go blind...!"
"???"
Lee Han was baffled.
Everyone except him was entranced, wearing dazed expressions.
Honestly, her face was emitting so much light that it was hard to even see properly.
And yet, they were reacting like this...
'Is it a charm effect?'
It wasn't just succubus-like monsters that possessed charm abilities. Some spirits also had the power to enchant people.
Given that Gainando's mother was said to have spirit blood, it wasn't surprising she had such power.
Lee Han had high resistance to status effects, so he held out, but...
"Gainando, don't you have that kind of ability?"
"What ability?"
'Guess not.'
Lee Han felt a pang of pity.
If Gainando had such an ability, he could have gathered followers like the other imperial family members.
The light dimmed.
Gainando's mother had veiled herself.
"So. What exactly happened here?"
"We apologize!"
Brodon, the noble most responsible, stepped forward first to explain.
"This was our fault, Lady Kraha!"
"It was our mistake!"
The veiled mother of Gainando remained silent, lost in thought, before finally asking,
"Who resolved it?"
"Uh... Lord Gainando and his friends..."
"Spare me the flattery. Who resolved it? The guards?"
"N-no, it really was Lord Gainando and his friends who handled it..."
"Did I not say to spare me the flattery?!"
BANG!
As Gainando's mother slammed her armrest, a sharp, chilling sound filled the hall.
An absolute conviction that Gainando couldn't possibly have resolved it.
'Hmm. Parents really do know their children best, I suppose.'
Unlike Lee Han, who bore no responsibility for this situation, the nobles and imperial family members froze up even more than before.
"Well... um... actually... Lord Lee Han of the Wardanaz family took the lead, but Lord Gainando really did participate too..."
"It's not a lie... we resolved it together."
The nobles who had been hiding behind tables the moment trouble started hadn't accurately grasped the situation.
They only vaguely knew that Lee Han had called his friends and done something.
So it wasn't strange for them to think they'd all done something together.
"That's not true? Lee Han did it alone... kghk!"
When Gainando tried to point this out in confusion, three people simultaneously pinched his back.
Read the damn room!
Only then did Gainando's mother seem to accept that the nobles weren't just flattering. Slowly turning her gaze to Lee Han, she spoke.
"I apologize for making you listen to such unpleasant conversation when you've done nothing wrong. The Wardanaz family, you say?"
"Yes."
"If I may ask, what is your relationship with Gainando?"
"Uh, we're friends."
"......"
"...?"
A heavy silence fell.
For a moment, Lee Han wondered if he'd answered wrong.
'Is the word "friend" considered an insult in this mansion or something?'
"Is that true?"
"We're really close! The closest of friends!"
Gainando burst out answering in Lee Han's stead.
Ignoring him, Gainando's mother looked at Yoner and asked:
"Truly..."
"They really are friends."
"But why..."
"Because he's kind?"
"Later, regarding family matters..."
"I think it'll be fine since Lee Han isn't the petty type to hold grudges over such things."
While the nobles and imperial family didn't understand, Lee Han roughly grasped the meaning.
'Hmm. Seems Gainando pissed off quite a few of his former friends.'
Gainando's mother's gaze turned toward Lee Han from behind her veil.
Though her eyes weren't visible, Lee Han somehow felt she was looking at him with both pity and gratitude.
'Must be my imagination.'
"Thank you for preventing this from escalating into a bigger incident."
"I only did what needed to be done."
"It's humble and I hesitated to bring it out... but I'd be grateful if you accepted it. Here."
At Gainando's mother's gesture, one of the servants carefully extended a jeweled pouch to Lee Han.
As Lee Han debated whether to 'politely refuse once before accepting? But what if they actually take it back?', Gainando's mother spoke again.
"Please don't refuse. Accept it not for the gift's value, but for the sincerity contained within."
"If you insist, I'll gratefully accept this sincerity."
Lee Han was moved as he tucked the jeweled pouch into his robe.
Gainando's mother was truly an incredible person.
This was consideration on a completely different level from whoever gave those worthless Gratitude Tokens!
'This is what a true noble is like.'
"You may stay as long as you wish. Now then..."
As Gainando's mother left her seat, the nobles finally let out sighs of relief.
"Thank you, Lord Wardanaz."
"We're truly indebted to you today."
Not just for the basilisk, but for shielding us from Lady Kraha's reprimands too.
No amount of thanks would be enough.
Brodon and Zolbabden vowed that when they attended the next gathering, they would definitely inform everyone about what the Wardanaz boy had done.
Unaware of these inner thoughts, Lee Han simply nodded appropriately.
"Not at all. I only did what needed to be done."
"Lord Gainando was splendid too. Who knew you could stop a basilisk? But what magic did you use?"
"Uh... well... hehe."
"Ah. It's a secret, then."
Some mages preferred not to reveal their specialties. The nobles interpreted this positively.
Surrounded by praise, Gainando's mood instantly improved.
"Well, that much was... hehe..."
Mid-sentence, Gainando noticed the two imperial family members glaring daggers at him and was horrified.
'So it wasn't Adenart—this bastard was the more cunning one all along.'
'Pretending to be close friends while hiding his true nature, is that it?'
They'd been wary of Adenart because of his friendship with Lee Han, but it turned out the real threat was someone else entirely.
"L-Lee Han. Those guys are glaring at me..."
"Ignore them. Pretend you don't see it."