Episode 326
Episode 326
"I thought you were conceding with that intention too, senior."
"What exactly do you take me for, junior?"
"No... I mean, if that's not the case, there's no reason for you to concede. We're the ones who chased it all this way."
"That's Lee Han for you."
Gainando nodded as if he'd expected nothing less.
A friend who wouldn't let even a single piece of bread be taken without a fight—that was Gainando's kind of comrade.
"Junior. Being thorough is good, but if you act too viciously, bad rumors might spread about black mages."
"But senior. Black mages already have bad rumors."
"......"
Diret's wings drooped slightly as he took a verbal hit from his junior.
Gainando whispered beside him:
"Why would you say that! Only ignorant people think that way!"
"No. Quite a lot of people would say that."
"...Really?"
"Really. Why do you think those guys we caught earlier picked a fight with us out of nowhere?"
"!"
"W-we've reflected on our actions!"
The two adventurers who'd picked the wrong fight, gotten beaten up, been forced to do odd jobs at the cemetery, and were now chasing an undead chimera—they were undoubtedly the unluckiest souls of the day.
"Senior. But there's no need to feel sad about it. Those who know the truth won't be fooled."
"...What's the point if everyone else thinks poorly of us?"
"We'll just change their minds."
Diret's pupils trembled slightly at his junior's proactive words.
Perhaps the junior was right. Just as they'd devoted themselves to the city today, if they kept steadily building achievements despite others' suspicions, people's perceptions would gradually change—if not immediately.
'To hear such words from my junior... I should've been the one saying this.'
As a senior, Diret felt ashamed.
"You're right, junior."
"Thank you for understanding, senior. From now on, whenever we see anyone spouting nonsense about black magic, let's stomp them like we did with those guys."
"...No!! That's not what I meant!!!"
"It wasn't?"
Diret was horrified by his junior's belligerent words, which even made the magic duelist click his tongue in astonishment.
To attack anyone who talks nonsense until they change their minds—what kind of logic was that...?
BOOM!
With a deafening explosion, two apprentice knights were sent flying into the air.
Cornered, the undead chimera triggered an explosion from its body and broke through the encirclement.
As the formation collapsed, the apprentice knights shouted in alarm.
"It's escaping!!"
"Carefu— Ah!! Wardanaz! That's Wardanaz! Wardanaz!!"
"What?! Wardanaz!? That Wardanaz?"
"Yes! That Wardanaz!"
"......"
When the apprentice knights who'd visited the academy last time recognized Lee Han and acted chummy, Lee Han wore an awkward expression.
'We're not that close.'
To an outsider, it might seem like they were quite friendly.
"Wardanaz! Catch it!! If it gets away—"
Before the apprentice knights could even finish their plea, Lee Han was already gripping his staff and preparing to act.
After chasing it this far, there was no way he'd let the undead chimera escape now.
-■■■■...!
The undead chimera let out a guttural growl as it glared at Lee Han. Its nine writhing eyes fixed on him intently.
Having suffered dearly earlier, its gaze was filled with wariness. It seemed determined to exploit any opening to strike back and flee.
"Darkness, gather here."
Lee Han didn't recklessly cast lightning magic.
Not only was the environment unsuitable for wild attacks with the apprentice knights behind him, but the creature's vigilance was also extremely high.
A mage's strength lay in adapting flexibly to any situation.
Having learned how to handle this from Diret, Lee Han immediately began drawing in the surrounding dark element.
-■!
Though the undead chimera didn't understand what Lee Han was doing, it clearly sensed its strength draining away.
It quickly leaped backward, trying to create distance.
-■■■■!?
But it was futile.
'The range...!'
Among the two of them who could handle dark element magic, Diret immediately understood what was happening.
This junior's spell was gathering dark element across a far wider range than Diret had managed earlier.
'...Impressive!'
While marveling at his junior's magic, Lee Han urgently shouted.
"Senior!"
"Huh? What?"
"I've gathered...quite a lot of dark element! If I mess up, please help me!"
"...Hey!!"
Diret screamed upon seeing the sphere of dark element concentrated at the tip of Lee Han's staff.
At a glance, it was easily two or three times larger than what he'd conjured earlier.
Despite covering a much wider area and taking less time than before, it had amassed that much in an instant.
"What are you trying to do?!"
Even if he intended to fire it as a projectile, some control was necessary—forcing it out now risked an explosion at the staff's tip that could injure the junior.
Diret couldn't comprehend how Lee Han planned to handle that mass of dark element.
Thunk!
"......"
Lee Han resolved it in a far simpler and more straightforward manner than expected.
He charged forward with his staff still in hand and rammed the sphere straight into the undead chimera. The assault happened so fast the creature had no time to react.
-■■■?
Diret was stunned.
'Wait, dark element has adverse effects against undead...!'
Lee Han tossed his staff aside and drew his sword.
Morning Star flashed, cleaving through the undead chimera's body.
His initial plan of gathering dark element was solely to slow the enemy's movements and pin it down.
Once that was achieved, there were multiple ways to obliterate it.
A fierce strike, propelled by explosive mana, slammed into the undead chimera, followed by a Absorbing Sword technique that shattered its balance.
Without giving it a moment to breathe, he delivered a relentless barrage of attacks before finally severing its head, prompting cheers to erupt.
"That's Wardanaz for you!"
"Magnificent!! Your swordsmanship hasn't waned a bit!"
"...Friend?"
At Diret's question, Lee Han answered firmly.
"Not a friend."
Bikelintz, who arrived belatedly, expressed his gratitude to Lee Han.
"Thank you. The young knights' mistake nearly escalated things, but your help averted disaster."
"I only did what needed to be done."
"Truly..."
Bikelintz continued in a slightly moved tone.
"Some misunderstand and hold prejudices due to black mages' magic, but seeing black mages like you, who dedicate themselves tirelessly day and night, would silence such talk!"
"Thank you."
Lee Han responded politely but privately thought differently.
'Though the other black mages do cause way too many incidents.'
Even if he spent a hundred days capturing undead in the city, it'd be pointless if other black mages kept getting caught stealing corpses from graves.
Alardne, who arrived late, took in the scene before the mansion and asked in bewilderment.
"What exactly happened here?"
"Lord Wardanaz took care of it."
The mansion's steward replied with slight regret.
"Had it been our guests rather than an outsider who resolved this, Lady Greenbell's reputation would've been better preserved."
"......"
Alardne made a mental note to reprimand the steward after the guests left and shifted his gaze.
The undead chimera had been thoroughly destroyed. There were signs of magical impacts, sword marks likely left by the apprentice knights, and the finishing blow...
"???"
Alardne wondered if he was seeing things.
'...Was it killed with a sword?'
Even upon double-checking, the evidence remained unchanged—its life had clearly been ended by a blade.
Alardne grew confused, suspecting the gathered apprentice knights and black mages might be deceiving him.
But why would they?
"Lady Greenbell. We appreciate your kindness."
"Not at all. You've stepped forward for Granden City's sake—I only regret not being able to offer more assistance."
'She's excessively polite.'
Lee Han found Alardne's demeanor puzzling.
"Despite the rumors of being thorough and leaving no gaps, he was being excessively friendly."
Was it really because of the Wardanaz family name?
'Even so, is there any reason to go this far?'
Lee Han couldn't possibly have imagined—
that Alardne had mistaken him for an incredibly ambitious schemer.
'Well, he helped me, so I should be grateful.'
Lee Han bowed politely once more and walked away. Apprentice knights who knew him excitedly swarmed around him.
Watching this, Alardne asked Vikarentz:
"Does the Wardanaz family student have close ties with the knight order's apprentices?"
"Ah, that's from when he visited Einrogard last time. What happened was..."
Vikarentz began unraveling his tale with evident delight.
Meeting an exceptional swordsman was always a joy.
So Vikarentz failed to notice Alardne's expression shifting between shock and disbelief as he listened.
"-Wardanaz. I heard you captured the Ghoul King. But do you know? Those White Tiger Tower brats are just hothouse flowers."
"Right, Wardanaz. True strength comes from wildflowers that bloom through harsh trials in the wilderness."
"So let's go hunt the Ghoul King together!"
'These guys are all insane.'
Lee Han shook his head vigorously, recalling the apprentices' conversation.
Having heard distorted rumors about Lee Han and the White Tiger Tower brats defeating the Ghoul King, the apprentices were burning with competitive spirit.
But since he couldn't possibly take his rival mages from White Tiger Tower...
They wanted to bring along a far superior mage—and their sword-bonded friend.
Of course, to Lee Han, this was utter nonsense. He immediately reported them.
"-Sir Vikarentz. Those apprentices are plotting to hunt enemies far beyond their level."
"What...! These brats!"
Thankfully, Vikarentz was sane. Otherwise, those apprentices might have ended up collapsing in some nameless remote cave.
Diret, noticing Lee Han's expression, asked with concern:
"You alright, junior? Is it mana exhaustion from earlier spellcasting—"
"Ah, no. Just those apprentices spouting nonsense."
"......"
Diret decided then that he wouldn't worry about magic-related issues with this junior anymore.
Returning to the cemetery, a familiar face stood among the gravediggers—
Daihal of the Dalkard family, the Empire's special administrator whom he'd met during the previous Ghoul King incident.
"I suspected as much, but truly...!"
Daihal's voice filled with awe upon seeing Lee Han.
"Getting involved in such trouble within a week? Aren't you pushing yourself too hard?"
"Junior. What were you doing a week ago?"
Diret looked puzzled, having not yet heard about the Ghoul King matter.
Lee Han quickly scanned the cemetery and spun his thoughts.
Then dramatically dropped to one knee.
"Ugh... Used too much magic... body failing..."
"See, what did I tell you! No matter how talented, it's meaningless if you can't manage your health!"
"But... as a black mage... undead roaming Granden City... coughcough..."
Diret and Lee Han's friends stared speechlessly.
Their friend, who hadn't broken a sweat moments ago, was now staggering the instant he passed the cemetery gates—it was unbelievable.
Imirg whispered:
"Is... is there poison in the cemetery?"
"Lee Han's immune to poison, though?"
"What do you— Oh. Wait."
As the three whispered, Lee Han amped up his suffering act before Daihal.
He'd learned something after the Ghoul King incident—
Even for the same task, it paid to visibly emphasize how hard you worked!
A magic trick that effortlessly increased rewards.
"If not for this senior's help... I might have died..."
"You must be Sir Diret. The gravediggers spoke highly of you."
"I just did what needed—"
"People in the city treat devoted black mages like you too harshly. I'll strongly advocate for you."
"No, the compensation is already more than—"
"Coughcoughhack!"
Lee Han fake-coughed to cut off his senior's words.