Episode 307
Episode 307
Even though the Wardanaz family was undoubtedly a prestigious magical lineage and a great noble house, Lee Han couldn't comprehend why students from knightly families were so confidently flaunting their combat prowess.
Their swordsmanship wasn't particularly outstanding, and as first-year students, they couldn't possibly be that proficient in magical combat either...
"...I clearly informed you earlier. Please remember this."
"Understood."
"Do you have anything else to add to your records?"
"I've obtained a fire magic permit from the Afha Order."
"Is that so? I'll make a note of it."
The clerk looked slightly surprised.
As someone who processed Einrogard students every vacation period, he'd never seen a first-year come this prepared.
Of course, he'd also never encountered a first-year from a great noble family visiting this place before!
Lee Han nearly mentioned that he'd received magical combat training from the Mad Professor but held back.
He feared it might backfire unnecessarily.
"A fire magic permit? When did you even get that?"
"Honestly, you fools. There might be requests to handle within the city—didn't you prepare for that possibility?"
At Lee Han's scolding, the White Tiger Tower students looked aggrieved.
How were they supposed to know when this was their first time?
"Fine. It's your first time, so mistakes happen. Now—has anyone here already secured party members?"
About two-thirds of the gathered White Tiger Tower students raised their hands.
They'd either arranged teams among themselves or received introductions through connections.
"I see. The rest can join me, then. Let's work well together."
"......"
"......"
"Huh???"
For a moment, the White Tiger Tower students couldn't process reality before floundering in confusion.
"Uh... wh-what?"
"What's the matter?"
"Uh, um. S-so. Wardanaz. Are we... moving together with you?"
"Yes. Any objections?"
"W-well, it's just... isn't that dangerous?"
One White Tiger Tower student nearby thought to himself:
'Especially for us!'
"Dangerous?"
"Y... yeah."
"Thanks for your concern. But I can protect myself. I'm fully prepared, so it's fine."
The White Tiger Tower student wanted to say, 'We're not fine,' but couldn't bring himself to voice it. Instead, he glanced at his friends for help.
-Help me out here!
Yet, fewer friends stepped forward than he'd hoped.
"Uh... ahem. Well. Wardanaz. I'll work hard and pay you back in silver coins as I earn them."
"R-right. Wardanaz. See you next time."
The luckier students who'd raised their hands earlier scrambled to leave.
Only the unlucky ones who hadn't raised their hands remained.
"Then let's discuss what requests we should take together."
"Um. Wardanaz. By any chance..."
"Now that I think about it, how much do you all owe me in silver coins?"
"...We'll work hard..."
The remaining students accepted their fate with gloomy expressions.
Just moments ago, while gearing up, they'd been excited not knowing what requests awaited—but now, it already felt like they'd returned to Einrogard.
'This is reassuring.'
Lee Han sipped green tea at an outdoor table of a tea shop with the White Tiger Tower students, formulating plans.
He was in high spirits after unexpectedly securing shields—no, vanguards for his party.
The standard party composition involved a sturdy vanguard holding the front line, combatants in mid-position launching attacks from behind, and rear-line members like mages or priests flexibly responding to various situations.
Of course, this was purely an ideal example. The world didn't operate on ideals alone.
After all, securing skilled personnel like mages or priests was difficult even if you wanted to.
"In that regard, we're in a very advantageous position. Don't you agree?"
Not all mercenaries or adventurers were highly skilled.
True veterans were those who'd crawled through the gutters, narrowly surviving multiple life-threatening dangers to hone their abilities. Those without such experience typically had erratic, foundationless skills.
In comparison, the White Tiger Tower students here were prepared talents who had undergone over ten years of training in swordsmanship and knightly disciplines.
Just reaching this level already made them skilled individuals that mediocre adventurers couldn't hope to match.
"A sturdy vanguard plus a mage."
"......"
"Not going to answer?"
"Y-yes, sounds great!"
Exchanging glances while thinking 'how can we not escape this,' the White Tiger Tower students hastily replied.
"But Wardanaz. Don't you think our numbers are a bit lacking?"
Angrago cautiously spoke up.
Durgyu, Angrago, Lafadell, Lee Han.
It wasn't an extremely small group, but it did feel slightly insufficient.
Moreover, weren't they lacking in experience too?
If they were being greedy, they'd want to add two or three seasoned veterans.
"No need to worry about that."
Durgyu answered in Lee Han's stead.
Before meeting up with the others, Durgyu had thoroughly researched by asking senior knights.
"I heard Einrogard students like us are quite popular. Enough to recruit other adventurers easily."
In a way, it was only natural.
All White Tiger Tower students were rigorously trained and could even use magic.
Of course other adventurers would want to work with them.
"Then that settles it? Should we head to the guild and request recruits right away?"
"Exactly. But before that, let's plan which requests we'll tackle first."
Lee Han pulled out a map.
"I heard ghouls have been emerging from caves near Burnt Hill. We'll eliminate these undead first."
His friends nodded.
They were confident about handling mere ghouls.
Given the distance, it would likely be a two-day expedition with camping.
"Then we'll gather Geranium Flowers, Snow-Falling Herbs, and Sleep Mugwort from the cave's rear. There are requests for all three."
"...Huh? Wait a minute."
"What's wrong?"
The White Tiger Tower students were baffled when herb gathering was suddenly added during undead hunt preparations.
"Weren't we hunting undead?"
"Right. But looking at the map, the terrain seems highly likely to have those three herbs. It's good to handle multiple requests at once."
"...O-oh, right!"
"Indeed!"
"I was also... thinking that terrain looked suitable for Snow-Falling Herbs and Sleep Mugwort."
Rather than questioning further, the White Tiger Tower students nodded as if they'd known all along.
'How could he tell there'd be herbs just from the map?' If they asked, they might look too stupid.
"Right? I figured you'd know. It's in the textbooks."
"......"
"......"
The White Tiger Tower students simply sat still with meaningful smiles.
If they just stayed quiet and listened, they might get through this.
"After gathering, we'll capture Rapella Field Rats in the nearby forest. There have been sighting records."
"...N-no. No. Wait."
As rare animal capture was added to undead hunting and herb gathering, the students couldn't maintain their smiles.
"What's wrong?"
"W-well... capturing Rapella Field Rats doesn't seem easy??"
"Right. Wardanaz. Those capture requests are usually difficult. Not anyone can do them. You'd need an experienced hunter—"
"True. There's no guarantee of catching them."
"Exactly! Our schedule's already packed enough—"
"But there's a highly viable method. First, they love <Dobruk's Red-Five-Scent Potion>. If we have Sharkan track their traces, place the potion along their routes, and wait, we'll have much higher odds than randomly searching the forest. Not to mention setting up illusion magic at key points—"
The White Tiger Tower students gaped at Lee Han's explanation.
'What the—'
'Is he a ten-year veteran adventurer?'
'That's the same guy who registered with us, right?'
"Should this much explanation suffice? You must have read about it in books."
"......"
"...That's exactly what we were thinking. Wardanaz. Extracting maximum efficiency from a single request."
The White Tiger Tower students discarded all their complaints in that moment.
And while they were at it, they decided to throw their brains out along with them.
'We should just do exactly as the Wardanaz guy says...'
"Einrogard! You mean students from Einrogard, right?"
The adventurer, Goo Bon, brightened considerably at the clerk's words.
Having been in a tight spot after his party of three years disbanded due to two vanguards retiring and two attackers falling into internal conflict, this proposal came as a godsend.
"Yes. Mr. Goo Bon, you've maintained consistent activity and demonstrated reliability and trustworthiness in most requests. That's why we're recommending this connection."
"Thank you so much. I won't let you down."
Goo Bon knew exactly how precious the clerk's offer was.
With countless riffraff who'd never held a proper sword flowing into the city claiming "I'm an adventurer" while acting cocky, students from Einrogard coming out during break were exceptionally valuable talents.
Moreover, since they'd all be from knightly families, they'd be talents excelling in both combat and magic—truly the epitome of literary and martial prowess.
There could only be one reason for connecting such precious talents to someone like him.
'They must be expecting veteran advice.'
No one would care if some nameless adventurer rolling around like a roadside pebble got into trouble anywhere, but if an Einrogard student got hurt, many people would be in trouble.
Their skills were undoubtedly solid, but lacking experience was unavoidable.
It was clear they'd paired him with them precisely to fill that gap with a reliable, experienced adventurer.
"I'll do my absolute best to cooperate."
"That's reassuring. I'll be counting on you, Mr. Goo Bon."
Finishing his conversation with the clerk, Goo Bon headed to the meeting spot with his one remaining party member.
"Einrogard students... What do you think they'll be like?"
"I've never met them either. I've heard most are mages from knightly families, though."
"So they're knights?"
The two envisioned the image of a stalwart knight—heavily armored and unshakable as a boulder, pushing forward with overwhelming strength.
And with magic on top of that?
"They must be good at fighting, at least."
"The fighting isn't the problem—it's everything else. They're inexperienced young students, right? Honestly, I'm a bit uneasy."
"Then should we have refused the offer? Such a good opportunity?"
"It's not that... Honestly, I did want to work with mages too. I'm just worried they might say something outrageous."
With equal parts anticipation and concern, the two continued on their way.
They weren't worried about the students' skills.
They were only concerned that their overflowing confidence might lead them to aim too high or make careless mistakes in odd places.
"Pleased to work with you. I'm Lee Han of the Wardanaz family."
"Goo Bon. This here is Bizidek."
Goo Bon shook hands with a sculpturally handsome boy. His tall, solidly built frame was exactly what you'd expect from a mage of knightly lineage.
"Wardanaz?"
"What's wrong, Bizidek? Quiet down. We're in the middle of talking."
"Uh... I feel like I've heard that name somewhere. Sorry."
Sitting down, Goo Bon cautiously asked Lee Han:
"Since our party is much smaller in scale, we intend to follow your commands strictly in a supporting role. But... might you have a specific request in mind as your target...?"
Goo Bon swallowed nervously, tense about how he'd dissuade Lee Han if he proposed something absurd.
Lee Han nodded and pulled out a map.
"Here. I've heard ghouls have been emerging from caves near Burnt Hill..."
Thirty minutes later.
Staring at Lee Han with eyes wide in shock at the flawless, meticulous plan he'd never seen before, Goo Bon asked:
"Are... all Einrogard students like this??"
"......"
The White Tiger Tower students subtly averted their gazes.