Episode 425
Episode 425
"What are you doing right now?"
At Professor Alkasis's question, Lee Han answered cautiously.
"Professor Verdus asked for my help."
"...With what?"
"Artifact... production?"
"......"
Professor Alkasis looked outside in disbelief, then at Lee Han, then outside again.
And then he opened the door.
Professor Verdus, who had been waiting with innocent eyes, tilted his head as he looked up at the two when the door opened.
"Huh? Professor Alkasis! Nice to see you!"
"Likewise. ...So, what exactly are you doing right now?"
Professor Alkasis's voice was as cold as ice.
In truth, it was less of a question and more along the lines of, Do you even realize what you're doing right now?
"Making an artifact?"
"By any chance, is it a low-difficulty artifact?"
Professor Alkasis scraped together the last remnants of his patience, trying his best to understand Verdus.
If it was just a practice artifact for lower-year students, then bringing along a Wardanaz to assist would be perfectly reasonable.
"Nope? It's my research project."
"Your research project, Professor?"
"Yep!"
Professor Verdus nodded. Despite his naturally adorable appearance as a beaver beastkin, Verdus had a knack for provoking others' anger.
'Is a punch incoming?'
Lee Han instinctively glanced at Professor Alkasis's hands.
Usually, when other professors dealt with Verdus, watching their hands made it easier to gauge their emotions.
If they clenched their fists, it meant a punch was imminent. If their veins twitched, it meant they were still somewhat holding back...
Surprisingly, Professor Alkasis showed no movement at all.
"If it's an artifact with a difficulty level high enough for you to be working on it, then the chances of an accident occurring while a first-year student assists are extremely high. And if that happens, it will result in injury. Are you aware of that?"
"Just be careful! He might not be great at magic, but he's pretty meticulous, so it'll be fine!"
Lee Han made a slightly wounded expression.
Aside from Verdus, he had never been told he was bad at magic anywhere else.
"And if he gets hurt, we can just heal him."
"What if it's beyond what the infirmary can handle?"
"Then we can just call the healing mages at the school, right?"
"Is that so? ...Hey. Step outside for a moment."
Professor Alkasis pointed at the basilisk egg and gestured for Lee Han to leave.
It meant he should take the egg and wait outside for a bit.
Professor Verdus tilted his head in confusion.
"If the conversation is over, can't I just take him with me?"
"You're staying here for a moment, Professor."
Sensing the mood, Lee Han quickly grabbed the basilisk egg and closed the cottage door.
Even though sound was magically blocked, he could faintly hear Verdus's screams.
As the egg trembled, Lee Han patted it reassuringly.
"It's just because it's Professor Verdus. He doesn't act like this with others."
Once the conversation ended, Professor Verdus spoke in a thoroughly dejected voice.
"You don't have to help."
"Please speak more maturely."
"I've come to realize that asking a first-year student to assist with a professor-level artifact production is not only dangerous but also places an excessive burden on the student."
"Well done."
Professor Alkasis nodded with a weary expression.
Wasting what little free time he had left because of Verdus suddenly made him feel utterly drained.
'Even the most time-wasting trash in Einrogard would've been better than this.'
"Professor. Here, have this."
Lee Han, with an extremely respectful attitude, handed over some raspberry juice.
It was made from frostberries—no, wild raspberries—from near Professor Thunderstep's garden.
Professor Alkasis didn't understand why Lee Han was suddenly looking at him with such reverence, but he accepted the student's goodwill nonetheless.
"Thank you. If Professor Verdus says anything strange, let me know."
"You are the greatest professor in Einrogard."
"Don't flatter me pointlessly. It's not a good habit for a mage."
After Professor Alkasis left, Verdus grumbled under his breath. The basilisk egg wriggled as if it didn't want to hear it.
Lee Han pretended not to hear and spoke up.
"Can't you just do something else?"
"Something else like what? A new research project? Gasp. Do you have an idea?"
Seeing the professor ask a first-year student for ideas on a new research topic made Lee Han quietly chuckle.
"I meant preparing your lecture."
"Ah... the lecture..."
Professor Verdus made no effort to hide his displeased expression. Lee Han suddenly felt the urge to call Professor Alkasis back.
"I don't wanna."
"To say that so boldly... Are you really Professor Verdus?"
'Even if you say that, we both know you're not actually like that.'
Lee Han flinched slightly as his thoughts accidentally slipped out as words.
But Professor Verdus seemed too gloomy to pay much attention.
"I don't want to do it, but Gonadaltes is forcing me. Why should I have to?"
"Is that so? ...Wait. You've received gold coin investments from the Headmaster before, haven't you?"
"I have, why?"
Lee Han shot Professor Verdus a look of contempt—one the professor failed to notice.
"Then you should prepare your lecture."
"I said I don't wanna."
"I'll call the Headmaster."
"...!!!"
Professor Verdus stared at Lee Han with the betrayed expression of a grand archmage whose prized disciple had turned against him.
He was so shocked that his beaver-kin whiskers trembled violently.
"You should hurry up and prepare."
"Fine..."
Utterly dejected, Professor Verdus began moving to prepare. For some reason, his retreating figure looked pitiful.
'Lucky for me. It's Professor Verdus we're dealing with.'
Had it been any other professor, he might have felt bad, but since it was Verdus, Lee Han didn't feel the slightest pang of guilt.
He nudged the professor's back, steering him toward the tower.
The Sacred Pavilion Hall.
Professor Verdus's workshop and tower.
Upon arriving, the professor seemed annoyed again and grumbled while preparing the lecture.
"Here's the black magic iron ingot... and... some coal... also... the furnace and bellows... I need some blue charcoal... Ugh... annoying... Maybe something other than charcoal..."
"Go find the charcoal."
Professor Verdus grumbled twice as much but went to fetch it.
"So, what kind of lecture is this?"
"We'll be directly transforming iron ingots into shapes suitable for artifact crafting."
A skilled Enchantment mage wasn't just proficient in magic—they also excelled at understanding material properties and manipulating forms.
One of the most representative methods of Enchantment was imprinting magic onto materials through magic circles, where the material's shape and structure also influenced the magic.
Even with identical armor, a true master craftsman would create a structure from the start that could maximize the power of the magic circle to be engraved on it.
Naturally, this wasn't easy.
One had to analyze the magic circle to be engraved, understand its principles, and calculate in advance what structure the equipment should have.
Because you couldn't do those calculations after making it.
Even after the calculations, one had to meticulously shape various magical materials, requiring not just Transformation Magic but also skill in forging and fine craftsmanship.
After extracting the list of materials from Professor Verdus, Lee Han rummaged around to gather everything needed.
"But Professor. I get that you aim high, but isn't this too difficult? Can first-years really do this?"
"This is for second-years."
"......"
Lee Han nearly threw the materials he was holding but restrained himself.
Shouldn't the preparation for a second-year lecture be assigned to the most pitiable second-year student? Why was Lee Han being roped into this?
"Prepare the first-year lecture instead."
"Why are you so obsessed with preparing things?"
"I'm just saying you should do the bare minimum... No, forget it. Just hurry up and find what you need."
The Skeleton Principal was disappointed by the Death Knights' fruitless search.
'What's going on? Did they get outside help? There shouldn't be any outsiders connected to this.'
The Headmaster was no amateur. He had already vetted all outsiders connected to the students.
If anyone dared assist in an escape—no, an unauthorized outing—they'd get to enjoy the punishment chamber together in harmony.
"Could it have been a misunderstanding?"
Instead of answering, the Skeleton Principal silenced the Death Knight's mouth.
The poor Death Knight, who'd had its mouth shut just for being too kind-hearted, felt deeply wronged.
'Maybe someone bribed them.'
"What kind of madman would help someone move in and out of Einrogard? No matter how tempting the silver coins are, if you get caught..."
"You never know how the world works. Besides, that kid has quite a wicked tongue. He could easily persuade someone."
The Skeleton Principal firmly believed that if Lee Han put his mind to it, he could easily deceive a few nearby delivery workers.
With the Wardanaz family's wealth and his own silver tongue, tricking a couple of naive workers into lending him a carriage wouldn't be too difficult.
"Fine, fine. Even if we don't get immediate results, keep searching. Students always slip up under pressure. By the way, have all the mages left?"
"Yes. Even the last remaining mages have departed the village."
"Any whining brats complaining?"
"No. Everyone was satisfied."
The Skeleton Principal nodded.
Among other things, the evaluations of visiting mages were extremely important to the school.
If bad rumors spread among the Empire's mages, it would cause endless trouble—invitations, events, investment opportunities, research support, and so on.
Being summoned by the Emperor for a scolding would just be the cherry on top.
'What a bunch of clowns. They complain about Einrogard's perfect education, but the moment you throw them a single student, they shut up and leave happily!'
"Truly a bunch of clowns."
"Right. Anyway, they're gone now... but the knights are still here, aren't they?"
"Yes. As permitted, they're gathering for their weekend meeting..."
"Probably a gathering of brainless fools. Well, since we allowed it, there's nothing we can do. Send Death Knights to monitor them. Make sure none of them sneak out to the city or villages."
The Death Knights nodded.
Monitoring students for potential misconduct was part of their duties.
After receiving a rough report, the Skeleton Principal floated away.
Though students would always be surprised to hear it, the Skeleton Principal regularly checked the professors' teaching curricula.
It wasn't that things were this bad because he checked—rather, things were only this manageable because he checked.
"Whose turn is it?"
"Professor Millay, sir."
"Millay? Skip her. She knows what she's doing."
"Then it's Professor Garcia, sir."
"Garcia? Even more reason to skip. She works too hard—that's the problem. Even if she slacks off, the students still grow just fine."
"Next is Professor Verdus, sir."
"...Let's go check. That one, I need to see with my own eyes."
Even the Skeleton Principal, who usually let things slide, couldn't ignore Professor Verdus.
No matter how much he overlooked things, there were still professors he had to personally supervise—and Verdus was the prime example.
The man would just toss a random assortment of items—a single Carnelian blade, a box of processed hawthorn wood, two pouches of Ice Chewers, and one Ogre's tendon—at the students and say, 'Make an artifact with these and show me by the end of class.' There was no room for negligence.
While the Skeleton Principal's philosophy was that geniuses would grow on their own if left alone, Verdus always pushed that boundary too far.
"...What is this?"
"It's the classroom, sir."
"I know it's a classroom—I'm asking what that is."
"Isn't it... your preparation, sir?"
"That guy??"
The Skeleton Principal couldn't believe his eyes when he saw measured materials and example magic circles neatly placed at every student's seat in the classroom.
Had Verdus been kidnapped and replaced by some enemy of Einrogard in disguise?
"...Well, yes. It is a bit strange."
"A bit?"
"Very strange."
Before the Death Knight could finish speaking, Lee Han opened the classroom door and stepped inside.
After glancing around to confirm everything, he left again.
Realizing what had happened, the Skeleton Principal was speechless.
'Is that bastard now making his first-year apprentice help him prepare lectures?!'
No matter how smart the apprentice was, how could he entrust lecture preparations to a first-year? What if they made a mistake?
"Master."
"What now?"
"Um... this seems to be the preparation for the second-year lecture..."
"...This won't do. Call Vible."