Episode 370
Episode 370
People like Diret always said "this is the last time" whenever they suffered losses, inevitably softening their resolve.
Lee Han gazed at his senior with pity.
"I brought some snacks, so let me know if you want any."
"Chocolate tart? Where did you buy this?"
"I made it myself."
"...Mmm, mhm."
The black mages gathered at the academy's main gate boarded a pre-rented carriage and set off.
It almost felt like they were going on a picnic.
Creak creak creak creak—
If only the rickety old carriage didn't sound like it was about to fall apart any second.
Cough. "We should probably recast the reinforcement spells."
"Stop for a moment!"
The seniors halted the carriage, jumped out, and began casting spells on the wheels, axles, and doors one by one.
Watching this, Lee Han felt an ominous premonition, as if he had glimpsed an unfortunate future through divination magic.
'I'd heard that Black Magic doesn't get much support, but seeing it firsthand like this...'
"That should do it."
"It's still creaking, though?"
"Using enough magic to completely fix it would be too wasteful. We'll just have to endure this much."
"Hehe. If we manage to harvest some decent mushrooms from the Undead Realm this time, we might even be able to get a new carriage. Exciting, isn't it?"
"...Yes!"
Lee Han resolved that by his second year, he would learn a spell to silence creaking noises first.
As they traveled farther from the city along the imperial highway, houses gradually dwindled, replaced by forests and fields.
Gainando chewed on his tart while gazing out the carriage window. Laphaedel, sitting by the window, annoyedly shoved Gainando's head away.
"Stop!"
At the end of the quiet road stood armed soldiers and a knight. They halted the carriage warily.
"What is your purpose here?"
Cough. "We are mages here to study the current phenomenon."
Professor Mortum pulled out a permit and handed it to the soldiers.
The knight's expression relaxed slightly upon seeing the stamped document.
"Ah, you're mages."
Given the vast expanse of the empire, controlling the strange phenomena occurring across its lands was no easy task.
If something like an Undead Realm overlap wasn't properly contained, it could trigger an Undead Wave spreading in all directions.
Even if they managed to detect and control it early, they still couldn't let their guard down completely.
And since the empire was so vast, there were plenty of lunatics who would try to exploit such phenomena for their own ends.
It was only natural that the knights and soldiers stationed in these remote, desolate areas remained on high alert.
Cough. "You all have it rough."
"Honestly... Why did it have to be the Undead Realm overlapping? Talk about terrible luck... It would've been better if it were the Plant Spirit Dimension."
"The Plant Spirit Dimension would've caused plenty of damage too."
"But still better than the Undead Realm, no?"
"Well..."
"By the way, which school of magic do you—"
Cough cough cough!
Professor Mortum suddenly erupted into a coughing fit, as if he had choked on something.
His disciples patted his back and spoke up.
"Professor! Here's some water!"
"His health has never been the best..."
"Oh dear. My apologies for keeping an unwell man for so long. Hey, let them through."
As the soldiers stepped aside, the carriage sped forward.
Professor Mortum stopped coughing and lifted his head.
Cough. "Are they gone?"
"Yes."
"......"
The first-year students inside the carriage stared at Diret in shock.
"...We did get the permit properly, right?"
"Of course we did!? Juniors! Sure, the act just now was a bit embarrassing, but we're not reckless enough to forge documents or trespass without permission!"
Diret launched into an explanation.
When such phenomena occurred, the nearby routes were usually guarded by soldiers to block any opportunistic lunatics.
Most likely, they had established a perimeter using nearby military camps or small villages to prevent unauthorized access.
"What does that have to do with what you just did...?"
"Listen till the end."
In other words, it wasn't just the soldiers they'd seen earlier—quite a number of people were staying in this area!
It wasn't just soldiers standing guard; there were people helping travelers stay in the village, those bringing them food and drink, even those buying Wizard Cards for them to pass the time—in short, an entire ecosystem had formed around this place.
"??"
Of course, Lee Han couldn't make sense of it.
What did that have to do with declaring, 'That's a black mage' just now?
"If people find out we're black mages in a situation like this, we'll be the first suspects when anything goes wrong. That's why I dodged the question a little."
"......"
"......"
When the first-years remained silent, the seniors pressed on with nervous voices.
"We didn't lie. He just coughed a little, that's all."
"Right. We did get proper permits."
"You're not thinking of switching schools over something like this, are you??"
'I should just go around calling myself a plant elemental mage.'
Lee Han glanced sidelong at his staff.
Who knew the Staff of the Tree Spirit would come in handy like this!
The black magic students who had disembarked from the carriage split up and entered the inn they'd reserved in advance.
Just as Diret had said, the villagers weren't startled by the sudden influx of travelers. Judging by the looks of it, quite a few people were already milling about the village.
Curious onlookers who'd heard rumors and come to see for themselves, mercenaries who seemed to have taken on suspicious contracts, mages dressed unmistakably like fire elementalists—and so on.
Cough. "Good work, everyone. Rest well today—we start work tomorrow. Feel free to look around the village. Bring me some hot green tea."
"Yes, Honored Mage."
Having rented out the entire inn, the first floor was occupied solely by the students. The innkeeper handed Professor Mortum a steaming cup of green tea, his demeanor reflecting the customary reverence Imperial citizens held for mages.
"How does it taste?"
"Not bad."
"That's a relief. I used quite good tea leaves. I'm glad it's a mage like yourself drinking it, not some other guest. Honestly, with all the shady, unpleasant folk who've come to the village because of this incident... The Empire's promised compensation afterward, but who knows how unsettling the atmosphere here will get in the meantime. If only respectable mages like yourself were the ones visiting..."
Cough cough.
As Professor Mortum coughed, the students hastily dumped their luggage and bolted out of the inn.
If they lingered and got asked to perform magic, things would just get awkward for everyone.
"There might not be much to see in a village like this, but don't wander around too much."
"No drinking. It'll affect your magic tomorrow."
"Don't talk too long with suspicious people."
"Honestly, the problem is that we probably look the most suspicious. Avoid talking about magic as much as possible. Rumors spread fast in small villages."
The seniors, speaking from experience, gave them strict warnings.
Even if they dressed like farmers, carrying staves would inevitably make people wonder if they were mages.
"Where are you going, seniors?"
"Meeting merchants to check what materials we need and what the market prices are."
"I'm going to see the knights. If we ask the knights, they can drive out any suspicious characters."
Lee Han was impressed by how capable his seniors turned out to be.
"You can go look around if you want."
"No, I'll help too."
At Lee Han's words, Gainando made a face and tugged at his sleeve.
He'd wanted to wander around and have fun.
"I really don't mind..."
"You don't mind, right, Lee Han?"
"It's not like I have anything else to do anyway."
"Nothing else? Really, Lee Han?"
"Go look around over there."
After shooing Gainando away, Lee Han followed Diret and approached the nearby merchants.
"It's not that hard. Some merchants are here to sell goods, but others are here to buy materials."
Even merchants knew that when an Overlap Phenomenon occurred, materials could be harvested from within.
Because of that, quick-footed merchants would swiftly rush over and wait at the front.
The exhausted adventurers didn't carry out all the materials, after all.
"It'd be good to know in advance which materials currently have high market prices or bounties attached to them."
"Do the merchants willingly tell you that?"
"They usually do for mages. They often need our help, after all."
There was an imperial proverb that went, 'Unless you're a fool, don't make enemies with a mage.'
It meant that there were plenty of occasions where one might need a mage's favor.
And since the merchants were here to do business, they had no reason to pick fights with mages for no reason...
"I'm sorry. I can't tell you that."
"...Huh?"
Diret was taken aback.
Had they somehow figured out he was a black mage?
"What's the reason?"
"Well... Mage, sir. I'm telling you this out of respect for you. There's... an adventurer who already has a contract with me. Other merchants would probably be in a similar position."
'Damn.'
Diret clicked his tongue inwardly.
If there was an adventurer already contracted by the merchant, the situation changed.
If they carelessly revealed which materials were valuable now, and someone else snatched them up, it would cause problems...
"Is this kind of situation common?"
"No. Usually, they don't go as far as hiring. The chances of one or two parties failing to find the materials are higher anyway."
From the merchant's perspective, it was easier to just buy from whoever brought the materials rather than hiring a party to retrieve them—doing so carried multiple risks.
If that party came back empty-handed, the silver coins spent on hiring them would be wasted, and they'd gain nothing in return.
"Whatever the material is, it seems there's competition. I didn't expect them to invest this much."
"Hmm."
Lee Han wanted to help his struggling senior and fell deep in thought, but no clear solution came to mind.
If they were knights, a single word might have been enough to deceive them, but merchants weren't that easy to fool.
'Wait. That crest...'
Lee Han suddenly realized that the crest on the merchant's carriage looked familiar.
It was the crest of the Richmond Family.
The family of Shyles Richmond from the Black Turtle Tower, who operated one of the empire's most prominent transportation guilds.
"Are you by any chance from the Richmond Family?"
"Ah. Yes."
"I'm actually very close with Shyles."
"...Oh, r-really? You know Lord Shyles...?"
"Yes. You could say we're the closest of friends."
The sudden appearance of the young master's best friend left the merchant flustered and hesitant.
Meanwhile, Lee Han began recounting just how close he was with Shyles, including incidents from their lectures.
"Suddenly, a blizzard hit, and we were all stranded. Shyles shouted at us to leave him behind. But I couldn't just abandon him, so I threw him my coat. I did get paid in silver, but that's not the point—Shyles cried tears of gratitude."
"I... see."
The merchant listening felt something was off.
Why would there be a blizzard at the academy?
"Just as I helped Shyles, he always said he'd do anything to help me if I ever needed it."
"......"
"He's such a kind friend."
"......"
"When I go back, I'll tell Shyles I coincidentally met a merchant from his family here..."
"...I'll tell just the two of you. But you absolutely must not speak of this elsewhere."
"Thank you."
Watching this unfold, Diret pressed a hand to his forehead and shook his head in disbelief.
If only the other juniors had seen this in person...
"Why is the Manabane Mushroom so popular?"
Diret tilted his head in confusion as he looked over the list.
The Manabane Mushroom wasn't typically a highly sought-after material.
Popular materials were usually those beneficial to health or versatile enough for all mages to use.
In contrast, the Manabane Mushroom was primarily used by black mages.
It was often used as a reagent for curses or poisons that drained or diminished an opponent's mana.
"Isn't the high price the important part?"
"...You are a first-year, right?"
As they spoke, they spotted other students from the Black Magic faction talking with knights further ahead.
Things didn't seem to be going well—the students wore troubled expressions as they repeatedly pleaded, but the knights adamantly shook their heads.
"Looks like they're having bad luck too."
"Senior."
"Yeah?"
"By any chance, is there even a single knight among them connected to the Choi, Moradi, Alpha, Gral, or Bark families? Or perhaps a knight affiliated with the Beech Knights or the White Poplar Knights?"
"......"