Episode 419
Episode 419
The reason dimensional incursions were dangerous was precisely because it was difficult to predict what might occur.
At the extreme end, even if an overlap or collision occurred, there was a chance nothing would happen at all...
Or, beings from another dimension could come pouring out in endless numbers.
One of the primary duties of the Empire's mages was to detect and prevent such natural phenomena in advance.
If they were lucky enough to intercept it early, they could quickly contain the situation—but if they missed it, there was no telling how those otherworldly beings might corrode reality.
From that perspective, the current situation could be considered somewhat fortunate.
At the very least, they had discovered it before it erupted.
If they had more time to spare, they might have been able to seal it entirely or resolve the collision—but there was no such luxury...
"First, let's prepare!"
"W-Wait. There might be a mista—"
"At Einrogard, we were taught that ominous calculations like this are rarely wrong. Have faith in your own skills!"
"Lord Wardanaz..."
The black mages looked at Lee Han with slightly moved expressions.
Lee Han, who was practically dying from impatience, had to restrain himself from throwing the first punch at the black mages pointlessly wasting time.
'If this were Einrogard, they'd have gotten either a smack to the back of the head or a kick to the shin by now.'
"Of all things, a dimensional collision. I thought it was just a temporary mana accumulation."
"We'll begin summoning preparations."
Since this was a gathering of summoning mages, they immediately started summoning various combat assets to prepare for the situation.
Lee Han was slightly taken aback by the sight.
"Wait. Wait a second, everyone. Aren't you forgetting something?"
"Huh?"
"Ah!"
One of the black mages grinned and looked at Lee Han.
"You want to prepare together? Understood."
"...That's not it. There are knights here, you know?"
Only then did the mages seem to realize, letting out surprised "Ah!"s.
Lee Han could just imagine how much of a headache imperial bureaucrats must have trying to mediate between mages and knights.
"But wouldn't it just be inconvenient trying to coordinate with those idiots?"
"They're not idiots, they're knights. And since this is a knight order encampment, of course we should inform them! I'll deliver the message."
"But wouldn't it just be inconvenient trying to coordinate with those mages?"
"......"
When the knights repeated the exact same words the mages had said earlier, Lee Han was speechless.
"Ah. Of course, we're not referring to you, Lord Wardanaz. You're from a knightly family, after all..."
"Hey. What are you even saying?"
"Ah, my mistake. You're so close with the other students that I forgot."
The knight from the Beech Knights demonstrated a remarkable talent for pissing off both Lee Han and the White Tiger Tower students.
"The mages who've come here aren't like ordinary mages. They're the kind who know how to respect and honor knights. Do you know what they said when this situation arose? 'What a stroke of luck! We have dependable knights by our side!'"
"?"
"???"
The White Tiger Tower students stared at Lee Han as if he were insane, but the knights, pleased by his words, smugly stroked their chins.
"Well... I wouldn't go that far..."
"Hasn't it always been knights who protect mages when enemies appear? The shield of the weak, the shield of the Empire, the shield of civilization itself..."
One minute later.
The knights happily scattered to prepare for battle, their faces glowing with satisfaction.
The moment they were gone, Lee Han reverted to his usual expression and muttered in a cold voice.
"What a bunch of troublesome people."
"......"
"......"
"But, Moradi. About the Beech Knights... you know."
"?"
Giselle frowned, wondering what he was talking about. After confirming no one was listening, Lee Han whispered.
"Are they... competent?"
"Ah."
Giselle immediately understood what he meant.
Well, after seeing actual combat-focused knights like the White Poplar Knights, one might look at the Beech Knights and wonder, 'Are these knights or just nobles in disguise?'
"This should be enough. They are knights after all."
"...Do you have any other reliable reasons besides that?"
"Hey, you brat! What do you take knights for?!"
The other friends listening nearby flared up in anger, but Giselle understood completely.
'Perhaps it's strange to blindly trust someone just because they're a knight.'
"There's one more thing. The deputy leader is here. Jean-Cliff of the Jean-Clin family—he's a knight with a solid reputation."
"What... kind of reputation are we talking about?"
"...A reputation for being damn good with a sword, you brat."
Even Giselle couldn't hold back the harsh words.
Just how much did he look down on knights?
Only then did Lee Han let out a sigh of relief.
'If he's at the level of deputy leader, he must be a competent knight after all.'
"But where is the deputy leader?"
"...He must be around somewhere. Surely not—"
"?"
Noticing Giselle's anxious expression, Lee Han grew puzzled and called out to a passing knight.
"Where is the deputy leader?"
"The deputy leader went to Philone Village for a brief courtesy visit."
"......"
Lee Han turned his gaze to Giselle, as if demanding an explanation.
Giselle sighed deeply and said,
"He's... a bit sociable."
"A lot sociable, but at least it's not worse than that."
Fortunately, those present managed to repel the threat successfully.
The monster—a bizarre hybrid of amphibians and fish, something even experienced adventurers, knights, and mages had never seen before—couldn't break through their well-prepared encirclement.
The summoned creatures, golems, artifacts, and weapons prepared by the summoners flashed brilliantly as they unleashed their firepower, while the undead conjured by the black mages struck fiercely with eerie mana.
And that wasn't all. Mages who still had energy to spare firmly bound the monsters' movements with elemental magic, poison, or curses.
And Lee Han also worked hard casting spells...
...or rather, he was too busy running back and forth.
—Wait! Are you seriously spreading poison mist right now? Even so, poison is a bit... Please tell them we don't need it!
—...I deeply apologize for insulting the knights' honor, but they say this is the only magic they can use right now! If you stop them from using this, the black mages will have no choice but to charge in with their staffs...
—Oh, is that... I see.
He blocked the knights' protests.
—These knights are getting in the way! They keep getting too close to the summons, making it hard to cast spells... Could you tell them to back off a little?
—The knights are truly sorry and ashamed for interfering with the noble pursuit of magic! But given the limits of their training, this is all they can do, so they humbly ask for the mages' generous understanding...
—Hmph. If you put it that way... Fine!
He also intercepted the mages' complaints.
Lee Han desperately ran back and forth between the two groups, mediating their grievances.
And he learned one thing:
'...I am never doing this again!'
Even if he were offered an imperial position, he would never take a role mediating between groups!
Managing just this small gathering was exhausting enough—imagining the chaos on a larger scale was horrifying.
Absolutely, without fail, he needed to find a comfortable position free of such hassles.
"Everyone, you've worked hard."
"It wasn't as bad as expected. We didn't even need to use potions."
As the dimensional rift subsided, the participants exchanged favorable remarks.
During the battle, they had sensed how much the other side respected them, softening their attitudes.
Of course, Lee Han, who had been stuck in the middle, was completely worn out and in tatters.
"Have you finished investigating?"
"Huh? Oh, yes, but..."
The investigation team and adventurers were taken aback by Lee Han's utterly exhausted expression.
"Are you alri—"
"I'm perfectly fine. Since the request is complete, I'll take my leave now."
Lee Han collected his payment precisely and prepared to leave quickly.
"Wait, why don't you stay a little longer—"
"No. Ah, yes. Please keep it a secret that I was ever here."
"Why do you say that?"
"No matter how humble you are, being overly humble isn't good either!"
As both the mages and even the knights began clamoring, Lee Han felt a headache coming on.
"Well... my skills are still incomplete, and I don't want to tarnish Einrogard's name. Please understand."
"Wha—"
"Such humility...!"
"Then I'll take my leave!"
As Lee Han tried to exit as quickly as possible, the White Tiger Tower students whispered among themselves in confusion.
"Wardanaz. Of course you should prepare to return, but the sun hasn't even set yet? Why are you in such a hurry?"
"...You idiots. A dimensional rift phenomenon occurred—do you really think Einrogard won't send someone? We need to get out fast."
"...Horse!! Lend me your horse!!!"
"?!"
While Lee Han hurried back to the village to gather his belongings and prepare to return to the spire through Amur's stable, the Skeleton Principal floated over and arrived at the campsite.
...Why is this here?
-Yes. It appears the knight order set up camp here.
...I meant why didn't the knights stay in the village and instead set up camp here?
The Death Knight, his master's loyal servant, answered dutifully.
-Since they were granted entry to Einrogard, they likely wanted to arrive as quickly as possible.
...Damn it all. This is why I hate sponsors.
The Skeleton Principal grumbled.
Now that he thought about it, he recalled that a knight order had requested to visit and interact with the students.
Who knew they'd create such a mess?
The White Tiger Tower students who hadn't been caught probably fled this way, didn't they?
-That seems highly probable.
Anyway, the problem is that knights unconditionally side with other knight families. But more importantly...
The Skeleton Principal surveyed the campsite with his blazing eye sockets.
From the looks of it, everything seemed perfectly intact.
Must not have been a big deal. Since they handled it well on their own, I just need to confirm and seal it.
-Yes. I'll proceed accordingly.
Though the Skeleton Principal had flown here after sensing the dimensional rift energy while chasing runaway students, the situation didn't seem as urgent as he'd expected, which put him at ease.
'Well, if it were urgent, I'd have been contacted immediately.'
Open the gate. The lord has arrived.
"Ah! Lord Gonadaltes!!"
?!
Just as the mages were startled, the Skeleton Principal was equally surprised.
The mages who had participated in the festival were here alongside the knights.
You were here too?
"Yes!"
Did you fight together??
"How did you know?!"
How did you fight together?!?
"Uh, is that really so surprising?"
It's damn well surprising! You mean to tell me you cooperated with the knights?? No, if you could cooperate this well, then why the hell did you break all the festival rules I warned you about?!
"...I don't think it was that extreme..."
"U-um, are you angry?"
Not angry. Just baffled.
The Skeleton Principal was genuinely astonished.
These mages were the textbook definition of socially inept—the kind who'd go to knight families for investment and say, "You're probably too stupid to understand, but please invest anyway."
Of course, the knights weren't much better.
And yet these two groups had worked together to fend off the threat.
Was some world-ending entity about to emerge or something?
"No."
Truly baffling... absolutely baffling.
The Skeleton Principal decided to confirm the situation first. The mages had already handled the aftermath, all the emerged entities had been dealt with, and no one was injured or worse.
It was clear they hadn't just nominally cooperated—they had genuinely worked in sync.
The Skeleton Principal's eye sockets spun in circles.
Truly baffling...
-Master. You still need to find the students.
Ah. Right. Have any of you seen the students here?
"Huh?"
Oh, it's nothing major... Just some urgent news I need to deliver to them. Did they ask you to hide them? Don't worry. I can overlook minor transgressions. I'll just deliver the urgent news and leave.
"...I'm not sure what you mean."
'Would you look at that?'
The Skeleton Principal's gaze flickered suspiciously.
Normally, they'd have answered by now, but today the atmosphere here was oddly fishy.
Just what the hell happened here?