Episode 388
Episode 388
"Right now, everyone..."
Before Sharukal could even finish speaking, the divine power radiating from Lee Han's body faded away without bearing fruit.
He had succeeded in generating divine power, but he hadn't managed to manifest it as actual magic.
Still, that alone was already an incredible feat. Most believers couldn't even produce divine power in the first place.
Divine power was the foundation and source of divine magic.
Those who had once generated divine power would inevitably reach divine magic someday.
"Phew..."
"Hah..."
Sighs of relief escaped from all around.
Anyone listening would recognize them as sighs of "Thank goodness."
"...You're not all happy about this, are you?"
Sharukal's voice carried a slight pout.
If they were fellow priests, shouldn't they at least wish for the awakening of divine magic, even if the believer belonged to a different order?
Though they served different deities, they were comrades walking the same path!
"N-No, of course not."
"Don't be ridiculous."
"Actually, a little..."
Just as Priest Nigisor was about to admit it honestly, the other priests quickly cut him off.
If it had been any other believer, they could have sincerely congratulated them, saying, "Congratulations on awakening divine magic!"
But Lee Han was different.
If Lee Han awakened the divine magic of the Aglataqua Order, he might think, "Ah, my true faith was in Aglataqua all along," and lose interest in other orders entirely.
From the priests' perspective, it would mean losing their chance to showcase their own faith before even getting started.
Moreover, there was another reason.
Awakening divine power itself was proof of talent in faith and devotion.
Given that most believers couldn't even manifest divine power, this was an exceptionally rare gift.
In other words...
If they could persuade him now, the chances of him awakening divine magic for their order were high!
In fact, despite the other priests trying to silence him, Priest Nigisor blurted out what he wanted to say anyway.
"If he awakened divine power but couldn't manifest divine magic, doesn't that mean his faith isn't directed toward Aglataqua, but toward another deity?"
"Let's keep it down."
Priestess Dijiling shut him up.
Amidst the commotion, Professor Garcia approached, looking puzzled.
It was rare for students from the Tower of the Eternally Burning Phoenix to gather like this during class for unrelated matters.
"What are you all doing? Is there something you're stuck on?"
"Ah, Professor. We were just discussing which order's divine magic Lee Han of the Wardanaz family might awaken."
"...Is my lecture that boring?"
After that, the students diligently focused on the underwater breathing magic lesson.
It absolutely wasn't because they were afraid of Professor Garcia. They just didn't want to disappoint their always-kind professor.
"Lee Han. You're heading to our tower's lounge, right?"
"Nope."
"...Oh, so you're going to the Tower of the Eternally Burning Phoenix lounge. R-Right. Of course."
Gainando averted his gaze as he spoke.
"I'm going to the garden to work."
"Ah!"
Gainando's face brightened.
"Perfect. You can come help too."
"Ah."
Gainando's face darkened.
"I actually have things I need to..."
"Gainando, that bastard, has nothing to do. He said he was making a new card deck this afternoon."
His friends from the Blue Dragon Tower helpfully ratted him out. Lee Han nodded.
"If you've got nothing to do, then you can come help."
"...I was on duty yesterday too...!"
"??"
Lee Han was puzzled by Gainando's words.
On duty?
"Did you all divide the work among yourselves while I was gone? How responsible..."
Honestly, it was touching.
Of course, if the students of the Black Turtle Tower heard this, they'd think, "Why the hell is that Wardanaz bastard moved by something like this?" But the students of the Blue Dragon Tower were the type who had never even folded their own clothes in their lives.
Without Lee Han giving them step-by-step instructions, they were the kind of people who'd assume a messy lounge would clean itself up.
The fact that these students had voluntarily assigned duty shifts and were working hard since the second semester filled Lee Han with unexpected emotion.
'So this is where Einrogard's positive influence lies.'
"Ah, no, that's not it..."
"?"
Let me explain.
Several students from the Blue Dragon Tower nearly fainted, screaming.
The Skeleton Principal had descended—not from the side or behind, but floating down from above.
The Skeleton Principal never frightened students the same way twice.
'You wouldn't know since you weren't here. As you know, you iron-headed brats have spent a semester here now. Even your hollow skulls must have gained some wisdom by now. Though of course, it would be lighter than a feather's weight.'
"......"
"......"
The students grimaced at the Skeleton Principal's "heartwarming" praise.
"That's why we've decided to grant you all a bit more freedom this semester."
Though the Skeleton Principal spoke in a gentle, fatherly tone, no one was fooled.
Still confused, Lee Han asked:
"What kind of freedom? Like weekend outings, perhaps...?"
'Have you lost your mind just because you arrived two weeks late? Anyone hearing you would think you're a professor.'
"...Then what is it?"
"The freedom to take responsibility for school chores."
The Skeleton Principal kindly explained.
During Lee Han's absence, the other first-years had already received this explanation.
Each tower would take turns being responsible for handling various school chores.
Cleaning the alchemy workshop's waste disposal area, organizing the first-floor kitchen storage, tidying lecture halls wrecked by experimental aftermath, cleaning near the stables, and so on.
Considering Einrogard's vast grounds and near-infinite building interiors, the list of chores for students was endless.
The Skeleton Principal had graciously "gifted" students the freedom to do these menial tasks.
"Wow."
"Occasionally, some students misunderstand—this magic school is not a prison. We simply grant freedoms commensurate with one's qualifications. How painful would it be if someone got hurt because we released those unqualified?"
"Truly remarkable, sir."
"Indeed."
Perhaps satisfied with having thoroughly ruined the students' mood, the Skeleton Principal floated back into the air.
Gainando looked at Lee Han with a gloomy expression.
"I couldn't even play yesterday because I had to clean up the spontaneously generated slimes."
"I see. Come help me then."
"...?!"
Though the atmosphere had seemed lenient, Gainando was startled by Lee Han mercilessly dragging him along.
Wasn't he going to let it slide?
"So what chores did Phoenix Tower get assigned?"
"Ah. We'll receive our new assignments this evening."
"I see. Since I didn't do anything for two weeks, I'd like to participate."
At Lee Han's words, the priests' faces suddenly stiffened. Noticing this, Lee Han paused.
'Did I make a mistake?'
"May I join as well?"
"What are you saying... You worked hard last week, so you should rest this week. I've already decided to handle it this time."
"What does turn order matter when helping out? Haha."
"You'll fall ill if you overexert yourself. Please rest."
As the priests competed to volunteer, Lee Han shook his head and turned away.
Gainando, unaware of the underlying reason, looked on enviously.
"Wow. The priests are volunteering to work. I'm really jealous."
"Quiet. Let's go work."
The vegetable garden behind Professor Thunderstep's hut had become quite messy in Lee Han's absence.
Lee Han and Gainando tidied the area and fed the chickens.
The chickens recognized Lee Han after months away, clucking happily in greeting.
Gainando swallowed hard.
"Are we eating those?"
"They're for eggs."
"Aww."
Still eyeing potential eggs, Gainando tried petting the chickens.
But the chickens, recognizing a mage with evil intentions, immediately pecked him with their beaks.
"Ah! These damn things!"
"Gainando. Stop playing around and come help pull these weeds. I need to plant some new seeds here."
Gainando, who had been panting while doing the chores, suddenly had an idea and asked,
"Wait. Can't we just use Undead Summoning? They could do this work too!"
"That's not a bad idea, but undead aren't suited for this kind of work. They leave behind unpleasant mana traces."
"......"
Gainando cursed Black Magic inwardly.
It really was the most useless magic in life.
After nearly two hours of sweating, they finally finished up. Lee Han gathered vegetables, mushrooms, eggs, canned goods, and preserved meat into a basket and handed it to Gainando.
"Take this and share it with the others."
"O-okay! I'll cook it really well!"
"No. Don't you dare cook. Just deliver it."
"......"
Gainando pouted.
"I can cook just fine if I—"
"No. Just deliver it."
"...Fine."
As he took the basket, Gainando tilted his head in confusion. While the vegetables were familiar, the other food items were strange to him.
"But... weren't these things from the professor's cabin...?"
"Hurry back. I'll stay behind to clean up a bit more."
Lee Han shooed Gainando away like he was chasing him off.
Just then, he spotted the Thunderstep Professor and the Lightning Step Professor walking toward him from a distance.
"No wonder it looked so tidy—you cleaned up. Good work."
The Lightning Step Professor laughed heartily and praised Lee Han.
"You must've had a tough time inside. To think you actually found such a ruin?"
"I was lucky."
The Thunderstep Professor, who had been listening, scoffed.
"You call that luck?"
"It is luck. He found it and made it out safely."
"What kind of... Ugh. Earlier, I saw that prince kid leaving with a basket—were those canned goods inside mine by any chance...?"
"Anyway, I'm glad to see you both again!"
Lee Han swiftly changed the subject.
"Right. You're a bit late, so if you want to catch up, you'll have to work really hard... No, just somewhat hard... Never mind. Just take it easy. You'll catch up anyway."
"......"
Lee Han was speechless at the Thunderstep Professor's half-hearted encouragement.
"How am I supposed to catch up if I take it easy?"
"Because even if I tell you to take it easy, you'll still work hard anyway."
"By the way, have you visited Professor Bagrak yet?"
The Lightning Step Professor set down a sack with a thud. Written on it was Basilisk Feed.
"...No, not yet. But why do you ask...?"
"Huh? Didn't you agree to raise a basilisk? Didn't you hear?"
"......"
Hearing the name of the monster he had completely forgotten about, Lee Han's expression darkened.
Hadn't Professor Voladi brought a basilisk egg during the break and said, You better raise this thing well if you want me to kill you properly?
Well, the exact phrasing was slightly different, but the meaning was roughly the same.
If I ever catch a basilisk, I should just throw it into the duke's mansion or something.
Lee Han cursed the duke under his breath.
"Yes... I did know they were planning to hatch the egg."
"Right. They're planning to hatch it this semester. It's a healthy egg, so it should be possible. It'll be a good experience for you too."
"Yeah... Sure..."
Raising and hatching a basilisk that was meant to kill him could technically count as a good experience.
When the Lightning Step Professor brought out drinks from the cabin, the Thunderstep Professor asked,
"So they're hatching a basilisk?"
"Yep."
"Professor Bagrak? I can see him killing one, but raising it? That doesn't sound like him. It's high-maintenance."
Hatching a basilisk from an egg was no easy feat.
Even though the Thunderstep Professor wasn't particularly close to Professor Voladi, he knew full well that Voladi was more accustomed to killing basilisks than raising them.
Even if he took advice from the Lightning Step Professor, wouldn't it still be tough?
The Lightning Step Professor took a sip of beer and replied nonchalantly,
"We've got a student here. He'll manage."
"Ah. Right."
"......"
Lee Han wanted to argue what exactly was "right" about that, but he held back.