Episode 325
Episode 325
Diret whispered in a flustered voice.
"Junior, how did you persuade them?"
"I have a friend in the Black Turtle Tower who gave permission."
"Ah. Really?... Wait, aren't you from the Blue Dragon Tower?"
"Senior! Isn't that mana—the mana leaked by the undead?"
Diret, who had been puzzled by Lee Han's suspiciously extensive connections, snapped back to attention at those words.
That was the important matter right now.
"Well spotted. Let's go!"
Crash!
Along with the sound of shattering from inside the warehouse, a wooden crate came flying. Lee Han immediately swung his staff. A thick shield of water enveloped the flying crate with a dull thud.
"...!"
Diret gritted his teeth.
Whether it was intentional or not, the undead chimera's actions were targeting their weaknesses.
If it kept destroying the warehouse items like this, it would be quite troublesome for the mages.
They'd barely gotten permission to enter—if the warehouse items got destroyed, the guild members wouldn't just stand by.
"Salko! You'll have to forgive us for wrecking some stuff!"
"Fine, just catch the damn undead already!! You guys from the White Tiger Tower are great at beating people up, so why can't you handle an undead?!"
"!?"
While Diret was still stunned, Lee Han began rapidly firing lightning spells.
Zzzzzzt!
The undead chimera, sensing something ominous, flung itself behind crates to dodge.
But Lee Han didn't care whether it hid behind crates or inside them.
He'd just smash through everything!
"Flash, flash, flash, flash!"
A storm of magic.
That was the only way Diret could describe the sight before him.
To create such a terrifying density of projectiles with low-Circle magic...
'This is really...'
As the warehouse was turned upside down, shattered, and left with no cover, the undead chimera seemed to realize it was hopeless and bolted outside.
Salko and the guild members, who had been stealthily approaching the warehouse from outside, were left dumbfounded.
"You're supposed to sneak up on it! If you go in radiating killing intent like that, of course it'll notice!"
"What do you expect from guild members who are neither mages nor knights? This is good enough! Hurry up and chase that undead!"
"Anyway, thanks!"
Lee Han decided to save the scolding for later and gave his thanks first.
Thanks to Salko's cooperation, they'd been able to chase the creature.
"Let's go, Senior!"
As Lee Han's group rushed out, the guild members finally caught their breath.
Despite everything, they'd been tense ever since hearing an undead had broken into the guild warehouse.
"Will they be alright? Chasing down a fugitive through the city isn't usually an easy task. And their target isn't even human."
"They'll probably be fine. The ones chasing it are even bigger monsters."
Salko said this as he walked into the warehouse.
Then he took one look at the utterly wrecked interior and was horrified.
'Wardanaz...!! Even with permission, isn't this going too far?!'
At first, the undead chimera had fled from the sight of mana, then from the lightning spells. Now it completely changed its tactics, moving through complex and tricky paths to exhaust its pursuers.
"It seems to be waiting for us to tire out."
"Hmph. Even if we're mages, thinking we'd tire from just this is a mistake. We're all from Einrogard, aren't we?"
"Right."
Lee Han and Diret nodded, and even Imilgr agreed.
"Huff... huff... huff..."
Gainando was panting heavily, his breath ragged. Lee Han cast a spell on him.
"Feet, tread upon the earth."
"My strength...! Thanks, Lee Han!"
Though it was obvious Gainando would suffer from muscle pain once the Enhancement Magic wore off, Lee Han cheered him on.
"It's nothing. Hang in there, Gainando!"
"Alright!!"
"We're in trouble, juniors."
Diret spoke up with a bewildered voice.
"What's the matter?"
"Of all places... it's the Greenbell Family's mansion again..."
The Greenbell Family, an urban noble house deeply rooted in Granden City, was not one to be trifled with.
Given their notoriously reclusive nature, this situation made things even more complicated.
'Even if we tell them an undead got inside, I doubt they'll cooperate...'
"Junior. By any chance, do you know anyone from the Greenbell Family?"
Diret asked without much expectation.
Even if Lee Han was from the Wardanaz Family residing in the Blue Dragon Tower, it was impossible to be acquainted with every noble family in the empire.
If there was no prior connection, barging in and demanding hospitality in this situation would be downright rude.
"Just a moment."
'No way...'
As Lee Han walked forward just like before, Diret was taken aback.
Could it really be?
"It's settled. Let's go in."
"You had connections?!"
"Not exactly close, but we met once before... Anyway, it's a long story, so let's just head in first! We need to catch that undead."
"R-right."
Accompanied by a junior whose suspiciously vast network of connections left him speechless, Diret stepped inside the mansion.
Despite informing them that an undead had infiltrated, the mansion's steward remained unfazed.
"No need to worry. In truth, even if you mages hadn't come to assist, we could have handled it ourselves."
At those words, Gainando flared up unnecessarily.
"You must not realize just how strong and cunning this undead is!"
"However strong or cunning it may be, I doubt it stands a chance against those currently residing in the mansion."
"...Tch! You clearly don't know—this Lee Han here is from the Wardanaz Family, and recently, he even killed a basilisk in a single strike—"
"Shut up."
'?????'
Feeling the stunned gaze Diret was shooting his way, Lee Han promptly silenced Gainando.
They were here by the other party's goodwill—what was this nonsense about competing?
"From what I gather, it seems quite formidable individuals are present... May I ask who they are?"
The steward smiled warmly and replied.
"Members of the White Poplar Knights are currently visiting."
Bikelintz, a knight of the White Poplar Knights, felt slightly apologetic watching the squires devouring food like starved beasts.
"My apologies, Lady Greenbell."
"Not at all. Why fuss over such things? They're at the age where they eat heartily."
As the lady said, the squires were indeed at an age where they sought food voraciously.
Living the life of knights while still growing meant they were perpetually hungry.
...But even accounting for that, seeing them bury their noses in soup bowls held in one hand while clutching chunks of meat with the other was downright embarrassing.
'I'll have to lecture them once we return.'
"I've heard much about the White Poplar Knights' squires training around the city lately. How goes their progress? Do they require any assistance?"
"Your hospitality alone is more than enough gratitude."
Bikelintz replied courteously.
While his answer was sincere, there was also a hint of another meaning behind it.
Though Lady Greenbell appeared as a kindly grandmother on the surface, she was by no means an easygoing person. There was no benefit in incurring unnecessary debts.
"Moreover, thanks to the knight-family students from Einrogard returning for break, they've been positively influencing each other. To the point where I barely have anything left to do."
Competition always drives improvement.
The knight-family students from Einrogard and the squires of the White Poplar Knights had developed a sense of rivalry toward each other.
In fact, the White Poplar squires had even directly sparred with them during the semester...
"Lady Greenbell. There's an intruder in the mansion—"
At the hurried report from a servant, Lady Greenbell's expression hardened slightly.
What audacious thief dared to intrude into this mansion?
"Has their identity been confirmed?"
"The black mages identified it. They say it's an undead chimera that escaped from the communal graveyard."
"The words of black mages are hard to trust..."
"They're students from Einrogard."
"Ah. In that case."
Alardne immediately changed his attitude.
Students from Einrogard certainly had the right to make such claims.
"And one of them is that Wardanaz family student you mentioned last time, Lord Greenbell."
"Is that so? How unexpected."
Alardne was surprised.
He hadn't expected Lee Han to be studying black magic.
Though what magic one studied was a personal choice after all...
"Grant them entry and treat them well. Leave the Undead Chimera to the students."
"Is that alright?"
"It should be sufficient. He's from the Wardanaz family, and you've seen his skills firsthand. Moreover, consider why they chased it here."
"Why they chased it here?"
Instead of answering, Alardne simply smiled knowingly.
Lee Han of the Wardanaz family was a student with prodigious talent and ambition to match.
The audacity to crush the mage of Valdororn who had presumptuously climbed above his station, slaying a basilisk before royalty, and even pursuing and defeating an evil being from the Otherworld—no feat was beyond him.
Even the most capable mage meant nothing if people didn't recognize their abilities.
To fully utilize one's talents, matching renown was necessary.
To Alardne's eyes, Lee Han of the Wardanaz family was coldly and methodically building his reputation.
In a few years, when discussing the empire's most promising new mages, it wouldn't be surprising to find Lee Han's name at the very top.
Given that, it was best to let Lee Han handle the Undead Chimera now.
Considering who they were dealing with, any courtesy shown would be remembered.
Moreover, stealing Lee Han's prey after he'd chased it this far would be tantamount to picking a fight. There was no need to make such formidable enemies.
"Monster!!!"
"Don't worry, Lord Greenbell! We'll handle this!"
"Wai—"
The White Poplar Knights' squires set down their dishes and drew their swords at the sight of the monster outside the mansion windows.
Before Alardne could stop them, they rushed out.
Left abruptly alone with Alardne, Bikelintz wiped cold sweat from his brow and cautiously gauged the situation.
"My... my apologies. They're not usually so rude as to act without orders, but with a monster appearing..."
"......"
Alardne paid no heed to Bikelintz's words, his gaze icy.
Boom!
One of the squires charged boldly. The Undead Chimera, struck by the mana-infused body slam, lost its balance and toppled sideways.
"It's down!"
"Cut its legs so it can't escape!"
The squires cheered as they swiftly surrounded the Undead Chimera. Their movements were quick and precise, clearly the result of extensive coordination.
Lee Han and Diret were impressed.
"They're good."
"Very good."
"Wha—no! No they're not! Those bastards just stole our prey!!"
Gainando shouted in disbelief.
He couldn't understand how the two could remain so calm in this absurd situation.
"Gainando. Think carefully."
"Right. Junior. What matters isn't who catches it, but how well we prevent the damage the undead could've caused. Even if no one else knows, we know these juniors saved people from harm."
At Diret's warm words, Lee Han—who'd been nodding along—paused and looked puzzled.
"That's not what I meant."
"Huh? Then?"
"Since they're the ones who recklessly interfered with our hunt, after they finish, they'll have no choice but to apologize to save face. That means we succeed in the hunt without lifting a finger. So we can just let them be."
"...Junior?!"
Diret was stunned by his junior's political acumen.
He'd known Lee Han was extraordinary, but to have calculated all this in such a short time was unbelievable.