Episode 364
Episode 364
"Guh—eek!"
The White Tiger Tower student who had been properly ambushed collapsed on the spot.
Another student nearby, startled, shouted,
"Wardanaz!!!"
"Yeah."
"Wh-what are you doing?! Why are you attacking us?! Are you insane?!"
"You were the ones who threw a turkey at me first."
"Th-that was just fooling around! A joke!"
"Ah, a joke."
"Yeah!"
"Got it."
Lee Han swung his staff and chanted a spell.
Then, from the barrel, liquor bubbled up and surged forth, forming into a sphere.
The face of the White Tiger Tower student who saw it turned deathly pale. Even in his drunken stupor, he felt the intoxication drain away in an instant.
Every White Tiger Tower student knew about that damn Wardanaz's water elemental magic!
"Everyone, dodge—guhk!"
"Dodge? What the hell are you dodging, you lunatics?"
"Wardanaz is here! Hey, hey!! Stop drinking! Wardanaz is here, I said!"
The White Tiger Tower students seated near the banquet hall corridor screamed as they realized something was wrong, but the hall was too noisy for their warnings to be heard.
The White Tiger Tower students, who had been enthusiastically hurling food at each other across the vast banquet hall, belatedly noticed Lee Han.
"Wh-what the—guhk!"
"Th-this—urk!"
"Why the hell—ack!"
"Help Wardanaz!"
Salko, who had snapped out of his daze too late, roared furiously.
Black Turtle Tower students rushed in and began attacking the White Tiger Tower students.
No matter how skilled the White Tiger Tower students were in close combat, they were far too drunk to coordinate properly.
"Y-you cowardly bastards...! Taking advantage of us being drunk and off guard... hic!"
"......"
Giselle rose from her seat and moved toward the duke's side.
She had no intention of getting dragged into that pathetic mess.
"My apologies, Your Grace. It seems everyone got a little carried away with their antics."
After shoving the White Tiger Tower students aside, Lee Han bowed in apology.
Truthfully, he had only realized Duke Icaldoren was seated at the head table a short while after the fight began.
The White Tiger Tower bastards had been so wild and unrestrained that it never even crossed his mind that the duke might actually be present at the banquet.
'Are they actually insane?'
Throwing drinks and food around in front of the duke?
That took guts surpassing even Gainando's.
Regardless, since the duke was present, it was only proper to apologize for the brawl. Lee Han lowered his head.
"Not at all. I found it quite enjoyable to witness the fiery vigor of young talents."
Duke Icaldoren looked genuinely pleased.
Seeing this, Lee Han thought to himself,
'His tastes are... unique.'
Who would've thought he'd enjoy watching White Tiger Tower students hurling pies and cakes at each other in chaos?
If he went to a pigpen, he'd probably give a standing ovation.
'Truly refreshing.'
Duke Icaldoren gazed at Lee Han with great satisfaction.
He had already been eyeing this promising talent, and today's display left a strong impression.
How satisfying it was to watch him swiftly subdue those grunting piglets in the banquet hall...
"Everything's been cleaned up."
The once-chaotic banquet hall was now spotless in an instant. Lee Han and his friends streamed in and took their seats.
"......"
"Shouldn't we wake them up?"
The White Tiger Tower students lay sprawled in a corner of the hall, snoring loudly.
Both Lee Han and the duke pretended not to see them.
"I never imagined so many Einrogard students would visit... Truly delightful."
"If you wish, I can invite even more next time."
"!"
At Lee Han's words, Duke Icaldoren's eyes gleamed sharply.
This boy from the Wardanaz family was an ambitious one—having captured the Toxic Contaminated Being, he had unabashedly flaunted his worth to the duke before.
An ambitious youth like him wouldn't act without purpose.
Why had he brought so many Einrogard students here?
'So it's connections...!'
Even among Einrogard graduates, those with extensive social networks were surprisingly rare.
The Duke knew that Einrogard was divided into towers and that students rarely mingled across them.
Yet here was Lee Han of the Blue Dragon Tower, bringing along students from other towers—even the White Tiger Tower, despite their notoriously bad relations.
This was no ordinary feat of networking.
Only someone with the innate dignity of a high noble could pull off such a thing!
'Just a first-year... His future is terrifying.'
During their last meeting, the Duke had already elevated Lee Han from merely a talented freshman to a young ambitious equal worthy of sitting across the table.
But today, for the first time, he felt the faintest hint of wariness.
He genuinely feared what the boy might become.
"Shall we bring drinks?"
At the servant's question, Lee Han replied firmly.
"Please prepare a meal instead."
"...Yes."
The servant had cautiously suggested drinks first, wary after the earlier chaos caused by the students.
His worries had been unnecessary, but what could he do?
The servant withdrew to notify the kitchen.
'Rejecting drinks and asking for a meal? Is he stalling instead of jumping into conversation? Why?'
Duke Icaldoren sank deep into thought.
Seeing this, Durgyu asked Giselle in an anxious voice,
"Is he angry?"
"Do you need eyes to see that? If you're going to keep asking, pay me a silver coin first."
Lee Han whispered to Salko,
"Eat as much as you can. It's free."
"Wardanaz. You really should've gone to the Black Turtle Tower."
To the servants' relief, the meal with students from three towers was far more peaceful and quiet.
The priests carefully cut their steaks with knives and thanked the Duke politely with every bite.
Normally, Duke Icaldoren remained unmoved by such formalities, but after witnessing the White Tiger Tower students' earlier antics, he couldn't help but feel warmly pleased. He even considered sending donations to their temples after the banquet.
The Black Turtle Tower students were louder than the priests, but the atmosphere remained cheerful. Given their youth, their liveliness was rather endearing.
"How do you eat this?"
"Give it here. I'll cut it for you. You don't just hack at it—you slice along the joint and peel the shell."
"Nilia...!"
"Nilia really is different, isn't she?"
"There's a dignity in her actions. No wonder she can mingle with nobles."
"......"
Lee Han yanked Gainando back by the scruff of his neck as he tried to bury his face in his plate, then lifted a dish and placed it in front of the Princess.
Adenart, who had been eyeing the seasoned venison terrine from afar, bowed her head slightly in gratitude.
Noticing this, Rowena asked in surprise,
"How did you know what he wanted?"
"He kept glancing at it."
"Really? I thought he was pondering the riddle..."
'Who stares at a plate while deep in thought?'
Rowena mused for a moment before asking,
"Doesn't this kind of care make you friends?"
"You call that friendship?"
"More like a servant."
"A nanny."
"A butler would be better."
As the other Blue Dragon Tower students coldly chimed in, Rowena's expression fell.
Having roughly tended to everyone who needed tending, Lee Han turned his gaze back to the Duke.
The Duke waited with an unchanging, polite smile.
Seeing that, Lee Han thought people really were quite nice.
(Except for how stingy they were to anyone who wasn't royalty.)
"Your Grace, I have a question about the riddle."
"Ask away."
When Lee Han finally spoke, the Duke brightened like a starving man handed a meal.
"I had thought the riddle Your Highness gave was a metaphorical one. Like referring to the moon, for example..."
"You guessed it exactly right!"
"......"
"......"
For a moment, Lee Han's face froze solid.
Yoner's face beside him also froze. The two rapidly exchanged glances.
'...Was it really a metaphorical riddle?'
'I knew something felt off about it...!'
Unaware of their stiffened expressions, the Duke continued speaking.
When someone fails to solve a riddle meant to be answered and instead gives strange answers, even the one who posed it feels awkward.
The Duke had been troubled by the Princess's followers who kept forcing wrong answers to his riddles, making him wonder, 'Should I make them easier to understand?'
Though unlikely, rumors like 'Duke Icaldoren noticed the awkwardness and pretended the wrong answers were correct' could spread, so he'd been quite concerned...
But to have someone bring the correct answer like this.
"Indeed. That was precisely the correct answer."
"I... I see."
Without realizing it, Lee Han found himself glancing at the Princess and her followers.
They seemed too occupied with their meal to have heard the Duke and Lee Han's conversation yet.
"Rowena?"
"Yes?"
"Put down the wand you brought under the table and don't take it out again."
"Eh? Why are you saying that?"
"...Just don't take it out."
Seeing Lee Han's stern expression, Rowena startled and nodded hastily. Lee Han made a mental note to apologize to her later.
As the meal concluded, the Duke began questioning the students.
Mostly about their life at Einrogard.
"How are things at Einrogard?"
"It's sa... ...satisfactory."
"I'm al... ...I'm managing well enough."
At first, the students tried to speak truthfully, but when the oath stopped their tongues, they gave up and opted for harmless answers.
'What does guarding mysteries and knowledge have to do with meals?!'
'Damnable oath!'
"I've heard the mages' teachings are quite harsh."
"Tha... ...that's just outdated rumors."
"Exactly... Those kinds of rumors tend to leave a strong impression, so they persist..."
"...?"
The Duke was deeply perplexed.
He'd clearly received information that life inside was quite strenuous, but just like last time, nothing seemed to match up. The more he learned, the more he felt himself sinking into a labyrinth.
"Still, thanks to Wardanaz here... we've been able to manage decently."
"True. If not for Lee Han of the Wardanaz family, things might have been slightly harder..."
At the mention of Lee Han, the Duke listened with keen interest.
He already knew Lee Han was well-regarded among the students, but hearing it this way provided a different perspective.
"He's saved my life a few times too. From some lunatics attacking out of nowhere..."
"Just got lucky."
At Salko's words, Lee Han brushed it off as nothing.
But in that moment, the Duke felt as if lightning had struck him.
He knew with absolute certainty.
'No way!'
The people the Duke had sent into the school.
Those "lunatics" the black Turtle Tower student mentioned could only be them.
At a school like Einrogard, who else would attack students?
'...How does that make any sense?!'
Duke Icaldoren, who rarely wavered, found this crossing the line.
He hadn't sent amateurs—he'd hired the expensive <Snake of the Maple Tree> operatives.
They weren't novices either. They were seasoned in anti-mage combat.
Even inside a magic school with professors around, how could they fail to subdue a single freshman??
No matter how he thought about it, it made no sense.
Finally, the Duke lost patience and blurted out a question.
"About those attacks... what exactly—"
"They we... ...no, they weren't."
"It wa... ...nothing serious."
The other students finished with bitter expressions, denying it outright. The Duke could only grow more confused.
And what confused him most...
'Isn't this too much of a coincidence?! The one who thwarted the attacks is now approaching me, Duke Icaldoren...'
The Duke suddenly felt suffocated.
As if he were a puppet dancing on someone else's palm.
It was a viscous, oppressive feeling—one he'd only ever felt when facing the Emperor.