Episode 31
Episode 31
'Did my wicked thoughts get exposed?'
For a moment, Lee Han worried, but fortunately, that wasn't the case.
"Wearing priestly robes won't deepen your faith or weaken the curse..."
It seemed Dijiling was concerned that Lee Han might have misunderstood something else.
"Of course not. But wearing priestly robes might help me reflect on myself—someone who usually wears comfortable, soft clothes and lives lazily."
"...Um, wouldn't those clothes already be enough?"
Dijiling pointed at Lee Han's outfit.
The Skeleton Principal had only given the students rough, crude uniforms (though it was debatable whether they could even be called uniforms), so they were already far from being comfortable or soft.
But Lee Han remained unmoved.
"No. I need priestly robes. To understand Prisinga's will a little better."
"If you insist to that extent..."
Dijiling hesitated but eventually relented. For the devout Dijiling, a reason tied to faith was impossible to refuse.
"I'll bring some for you next time we meet."
"Great. Oh, right. The priest asked me to make sure you eat properly."
"That's fine."
Dijiling responded gently but firmly.
"I'm already satisfied with my current meals."
If one immediately backed off with an "Understood" at the first refusal, they lacked the qualities of a graduate student.
When a professor demanded the impossible, one had to make it possible.
Of course, Priest Mehrid wasn't a professor, but...
"But the priest is worried about you. If you don't do something, he'll keep worrying. How about this? Let's have a meal together. You don't have to force yourself to eat much. Just sharing a meal should ease his concerns a little, don't you think?"
Perhaps finding Lee Han's reasoning plausible, Dijiling, who had been hesitating, nodded.
She already felt guilty about Priest Mehrid's constant worrying.
"That sounds like a good idea."
"Right?"
Lee Han grinned.
'If we just eat together, I can make her eat as much as I want.'
Manipulating a girl who grew up in the church with nothing but prayers was all too easy.
Sensing something suspicious in his smile, Dijiling tilted her head in confusion.
The weekend ended, and a new week arrived.
The faces of the students who had endured the brutal first week after admission had somehow matured.
-Hmph. You think Einrogard is tough? It feels like home to me now.
-After a week, it's manageable. I think I can keep up with the magic classes just fine.
The students, having rested briefly over the weekend, were brimming with unwarranted confidence.
But Einrogard mercilessly revealed its true colors to such students.
<Basic Imperial Geometry and Arithmetic>.
-"A young mage stands at one vertex of a cube. The young mage wants to connect a magic circle from their current vertex to the farthest vertex. Calculate the shortest distance the young mage can connect."
-...P-professor? T-this isn't magic, is it...?
-Don't ask stupid, foolish questions. A mage who relies solely on instinct and waving a wand will never achieve greatness. The higher the circle of magic, the more essential it becomes to understand complex calculations and laws. Geometry is one of the core pillars of magic. Those who don't know geometry cannot properly draw magic circles. Likewise, arithmetic is also a core pillar of magic. How can someone who doesn't even know how to distribute mana properly draw a magic circle?
-......
-...T-this...
<Basic Language and Logic>.
-"One of the greatest dangers young mages face is being tricked into unfair contracts by beings intellectually superior to them. Thus, mages must learn to recognize the dangers of contracts and decipher the ambiguous meanings hidden within them. Now, let's solve this problem. Here we have a foolish, drunken mage. This mage always does something stupid when drunk, and one day, while intoxicated, he summoned a demon and made an unfavorable contract. Can this mage invalidate the contract once he sobers up...? Those of you sleeping must not value your souls very much. Wake up!"
"Ack! I wasn't sleeping!"
The students who had encountered the ferocious mandatory courses they hadn't met in the first week now wore expressions as if half their souls had left their bodies.
'What on earth did I just listen to?'
"I... might not be cut out for magic..."
"To think I foolishly believed waving a wand meant I understood magic... I'm utterly worthless trash..."
The students muttered with their confidence completely shattered.
Yet even amidst this, there were a few exceptional individuals.
"Geometry and Arithmetic are merely the foundation for imperial governance and administration."
Ashan of the Dalkard Family, whose lineage had produced generations of Imperial Chancellors and Imperial Treasurers.
"......"
Princess Adenart, whose name stood out among the countless imperial family members due to her extraordinary talent.
"You're asking how I solved it? Hey, is that really important right now? We need to find a way out first."
Lee Han of the Wardanaz Family, the most prominent among the elite gathered at the Blue Dragon Tower.
These three were prodigies who had weathered the suffocating assault of mandatory courses without batting an eye.
'I never thought my graduate school days would come in handy like this.'
Lee Han thought to himself.
Though everyone around him had said, "What's the point of studying so hard?", surprisingly, studying had proven useful.
He just hadn't expected it to be useful in this way...
"Keh heh heh. Lee Han, look at those White Tiger Tower guys. What a mess."
'You couldn't solve it either...'
Lee Han marveled at Gainando, who was regaining his spirit by looking at the struggling White Tiger Tower students despite having been stumped himself.
People truly never change!
"Can you teach me later?"
Yoner asked cautiously.
Even Yoner, who was considered quite bright, found it impossible to fully keep up with today's lessons.
He'd probably have to go back, review, and try solving them again later.
Having a smart friend like Lee Han to help would make a huge difference.
Honestly, Lee Han's performance earlier had been astonishing.
Ashan came from a family famously skilled in such areas, and Princess Adenart had proven herself multiple times, but who would've thought Lee Han could hold his own against them?
"Anytime. I'll probably ask you about Alchemy later too."
At Lee Han's reply, Yoner's face brightened.
'Having friends who excel in different areas makes studying easier.'
Surprisingly, connections were helpful for academics.
Geniuses who didn't need others' help could get by without connections, but Lee Han wasn't that kind of genius.
Having mutually beneficial relationships was advantageous in many ways.
Lee Han didn't consider teaching Yoner math or logic a loss.
Rather, he saw it as a gain since he could learn Alchemy from Yoner.
"Ah! Then me too!"
"......"
Lee Han hesitated briefly.
Teaching Gainando definitely felt like a loss.
"Of course."
"You hesitated just now, didn't you?"
"Must be your imagination. Anyway, seeing how difficult these mandatory courses are, I'm glad we didn't take too many electives."
Everyone nodded at Lee Han's words.
The confidence they'd felt after the first week's lectures—"This seems manageable"—had long since vanished.
They were seriously considering dropping some courses now.
Lee Han casually remarked,
"So... anyone reconsidering taking swordsmanship, physical training, or repetitive magical combat practice now...?"
"Sorry."
"No thanks."
"However I look at it, that's not the answer."
Though they'd been listening attentively to Lee Han, the students were extremely firm on this point.
Just as students gathered periodically, so did the professors.
Professor Dwarf Thunderstep sipped his freshly brewed tea.
'Mmm. Truly, having capable workers makes the tea taste better.'
There was a dwarven saying: "With skilled workers, everything tastes better."
Indeed, the boy from the Wardanaz family was truly a skilled worker. Just seeing how much better the tea leaves were compared to when Thunderstep managed the hut alone proved it.
This wasn't something just anyone could do. Especially for someone from an imperial great noble family—it was even more difficult.
A so-called talent for menial labor!
"But, Headmaster."
Hm?
"Which professor will be teaching the <Basic Mount Training> class?"
The half-troll professor, Garcia Kim, spoke up.
Thunderstep answered with a puzzled expression.
"Huh? Wasn't Professor Bendozol supposed to teach it?"
"Oh dear. Didn't you hear? Professor Bendozol went missing while searching for a unicorn. Judging by the fact he still hasn't returned, we'll need to find another professor."
Don't worry. Of course, I've already prepared for it.
"As expected..."
"We knew we could count on you."
At the reassuring words of the steadfast Skeleton Principal, all the professors nodded.
No matter how much they grumbled, the fact that this massive, unpredictable entity called the magic school maintained its form and kept running smoothly was largely due to the Skeleton Principal's influence.
If not for the Skeleton Principal, who else could possibly run and lead this school?
"So, who is it?"
Thunderstep was curious.
<Basic Mount Training> was one of the mandatory courses.
Not only was it to prevent the embarrassment of students floundering without knowing how to ride a horse upon graduation, but it also served the purpose of familiarizing them with handling various unusual beasts.
As such, the professor needed not only equestrian skills but also extensive knowledge about all kinds of mounts.
Lightning Step Chodar.
"......"
"Oh. If it's that person, we can trust them."
"That seems like an excellent choice."
All the professors except Thunderstep looked satisfied.
Lightning Step was a famous dwarven adventurer, renowned for exploring and surveying remote regions both inside and outside the empire.
Of course, Thunderstep was in a very, very bad mood.
Because Lightning Step was Thunderstep's aunt.
"Why, of all people, did it have to be them?!"
If you're going to complain, take it up with Bendozol, who went missing while searching for a unicorn. Did you think I expected a professor to vanish? You should consider it lucky I found such a perfect replacement so quickly.
"Grr..."
Thunderstep couldn't argue with the Skeleton Principal's words.
Admittedly, finding the perfect professor wasn't an easy task.
But still...
'I really don't want to see them.'
Lightning Step was partly why Thunderstep disliked eastern dwarves.
Because Lightning Step was an eastern dwarf.
Every time they met, Lightning Step would tear into Thunderstep's soul with nagging like, "How long are you going to keep fiddling with flasks and potions in your little room?", "Listen when your elders speak!", or "Ironleg from the next clan has already started a family!"—that was Lightning Step in a nutshell!
Professor Garcia spoke up in a consoling tone.
"Don't take it too hard. You probably won't have to meet them often."
"I hope so..."
Though the students had been battered all day by mathematics and language classes, their faces were surprisingly bright.
It was because of the class they were about to attend.
<Basic Mount Training>!
In the empire, horseback riding was both a noble's refinement and a knight's skill, yet it was also a luxury not too difficult for commoners to attain.
The students of the Blue Dragon Tower, who had ridden horses around their fiefs since childhood, the students of the White Tiger Tower, who had charged through mountains and fields on warhorses, and even the students of the Black Turtle Tower, who had traveled the empire's long roads with just a single horse—all were brimming with confidence.
Lee Han, of course, also knew how to ride a horse, so he wasn't particularly wary.
'Well, if they just keep whipping us, people will collapse, so it makes sense to have a carrot-like class like this.'
-KRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRA!
"?"
"???"
"??????"
Along with a monstrous roar that could have come from a monster or the earth itself, something enormous descended from the sky.
Then, it snatched up Gainando with its beak and flew back up.
"AAAAAAAAAAAH!"