Episode 465
Episode 465
"There's less usable information than I expected."
"?"
Beside Lee Han, Salko made a bewildered expression at his words.
The things Mack had just revealed were roughly...
-Professor Kirmin Ku had bottled the nightmare Lee Han experienced in preparation for the Illusion Magic exam.
-Professor Paselet Kraer mainly hid the students he took to disrupt others' divinations around Professor Kirmin Ku's workshop.
...Wasn't that quite substantial?
"Wardanaz. This seems pretty useful, though..."
Salko asked in an uncharacteristically hesitant voice, different from his usual rough demeanor.
Unconsciously, he had been intimidated by Lee Han's madness.
Lee Han scolded Salko as if asking what nonsense he was spouting.
"Salko. Did you really get fooled just because Mack had tears in his eyes? Are you actually an Einrogard student?"
"......"
—......
Not only the students of the Black Turtle Tower but even Siren stared at Lee Han, yet he remained unfazed.
"If he bottled my nightmare, he should've told me how to deal with it. What good does it do just saying he bottled it? And 'hidden around the workshop' is something anyone could guess. He should've at least told us how to get in."
Salko shuddered, going beyond admiration at Lee Han's shamelessness.
Just how did a scion of a great noble family of the empire reach this level of audacity?
"Um... Lord Wardanaz. I have something to ask about the nightmare Mack hid."
"Oh. Ratford. Did you think of a good method?"
Lee Han asked brightly.
The nightmare Mack had swallowed was a formidable ability, difficult to counter.
Since his earlier attempt to block it had failed, Lee Han was determined to squeeze a countermeasure out of Mack, even if it meant tormenting him.
If it was a nightmare he himself had swallowed, there had to be a way.
"Well... Lord Wardanaz, since nightmares don't work on you anyway, is a countermeasure really necessary?"
"......"
Whoosh—
"?"
The students waiting at the fortress-like library entrance were puzzled by the sudden arrival of a paper bird.
"What's this? Did Wardanaz send it?"
"No. It came from the opposite side."
'Shouldn't we first question whether Wardanaz could even send a paper bird from that distance...'
[Notice to Students Taking Divination Magic]
Shyles of the Richmond Family has relocated for the exam. Identify and report the student's location by the end of this week.
—Paselet Kraer
"......"
"......"
The faces of the students who read the letter twisted in frustration.
What the hell was this?
"...I forgot that all the professors are bastards."
Giselle, in particular, felt the deepest sense of betrayal.
She had suspected the Skeleton Principal, only to find out another professor was the culprit.
"Wait. Then why did Mack attack us earlier?"
"Was he angry because we occupied this place?"
"Pfft. No way it was over something like that. What's the big deal about borrowing a spot?"
Giselle wanted to tell the White Tiger Tower student, "That's more than enough reason for a monster to get furious," but she had more pressing matters.
"You two. Go to the pursuit team and tell them to return immediately."
"Uh... Moradi. Wouldn't Wardanaz have already noticed on his own?"
The two White Tiger Tower students hesitated, making excuses about breaking through the fortress's perimeter.
The Blue Dragon Tower students jeered at them.
"Is that even a proper excuse?! No matter how capable Wardanaz is, how would he know that?!"
"Even if you were from the same tower, would you have known?! You're wasting the food Wardanaz fed you!"
"Cowards! Boo! Spit out what you ate!"
At the final taunt from the Blue Dragon students, the White Tiger Tower students flushed red.
"Fine, we'll go, we'll go!"
"Boo! Boo!"
"...We're not leaving until those bastards shut up. Make them shut up!"
The students from the Blue Dragon Tower stopped Gainando's jeering.
Just as the White Tiger Tower students were grumbling and about to set off, the pursuit team returned from the distance.
"!!"
"They're back!"
"Wardanaz! Hurry back! It wasn't a monster—they said a professor kidnapped you!!"
Hearing his friends' shouts from afar, Lee Han answered.
"I know! It must've been Professor Kraer who kidnapped me!"
"......"
"...???"
The friends inside the fortress exchanged bewildered looks.
How in the world—?
"...What did I tell you?! I said Wardanaz would figure it out on his own!"
The White Tiger Tower student who had made the excuse earlier suddenly remembered and shouted loudly.
Giselle tapped her friend's shoulder and then beckoned him closer with a flick of her index finger.
"What? Moradi?"
"Shut your mouth before you embarrass yourself further."
"...Okay..."
After passing through the fortress gates, Lee Han briefly explained what had happened with Mac.
"Anyway, after the flood ended, he agreed to vacate the library."
"......"
"......"
"...Wait, I think we need a slightly longer explanation to underst—"
Just as one student was about to ask how he had negotiated with that rampaging monster, Lee Han cut him off.
"That's not important right now."
"No, if that's not important, then—"
"What's more important is that the Illusion Magic and Divination Magic exams are coming up soon. I have info to share, so those taking each subject, gather on your respective sides."
Ratford, who was taking Illusion Magic, nodded and naturally tried to pull Lee Han toward the Illusion Magic group by grabbing his arm.
Ashan, who was taking Divination Magic, also nodded and tried to pull Lee Han toward the Divination Magic group by grabbing his other arm.
"...Both of you, let go."
"Oops!"
"Sorry."
The two friends awkwardly released him, looking embarrassed. Lee Han sighed and began explaining the information he'd obtained.
"Mac's nightmare?"
"Yeah. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a way to counter it from Mac. What a sneaky bastard."
"...?"
"Ah, no. Mac probably doesn't even know that much."
His friends were taken aback by Lee Han's words.
Just as a venomous snake doesn't carry its own antidote, the same likely applied to Mac.
Grabbing a snake and demanding, 'Give me the antidote!' doesn't magically make one appear.
"So we'll have to figure out the countermeasure ourselves... The real problem is the Divination Magic exam. I did manage to find out that it's somewhere around Professor Ku's tower."
"What?!"
"How?!"
The Divination Magic students were stunned by Lee Han's words.
Even for someone as magically gifted as Wardanaz, narrowing down the location with zero clues seemed impossible.
Had Wardanaz somehow proven the old saying that 'nothing is impossible with magic' himself?
"Yeah. I asked Mac."
"......"
"......"
The listening students were growing increasingly curious about how exactly Lee Han had 'asked' Mac.
To get him to spill that much, had he strung Mac upside down and tortured him or something?
"Hey. Salko. Was Mac okay?"
"He cried a little, but overall he's fine, so don't worry."
Salko had said it to defend Lee Han, but it wasn't very effective.
The Black Turtle Tower friends whispered among themselves in horror.
"He was really fine. Honestly, Siren looked worse—"
"Huh? Why is Siren involved?"
"Uh, he was in charge of towing the boat."
"You grabbed Siren and used him as an oarsman???"
"Hey. Keep it down over there."
Lee Han was getting annoyed at his friends for bringing up irrelevant things.
What was with all this pointless chatter during the sacred exam preparation period?
"We know it's somewhere around the tower, but we're still far from pinpointing the exact location. Since we lack sufficient clues, let's all work together to find it."
Gainando, who had been listening nearby, spoke in a serious tone.
"I think it's probably the basement."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because in last month's magazine, Tovelez found the kidnapped person in a basement."
"......"
"Wait. You don't even take Divination Magic."
"Huh? Oh. But I thought everyone might need my help..."
The students majoring in Divination Magic grabbed Gainando by both arms and dragged him away.
Ignoring the commotion, Lee Han continued.
"Bring the map. Let's divide the areas. Ashan, you take the tall elm tree to the brick wall. You—"
-Letter delivery!
The students jumped in surprise as a Death Knight appeared at the library entrance and shouted.
-Why is everyone so startled?
"Ah... it's nothing."
"Our friend disappeared."
The students awkwardly deflected, not wanting to admit in front of the Headmaster's minion that they suspected the Skeleton Principal of kidnapping and had gotten unnecessarily spooked.
-The master kidnapped them! I know nothing about it!
"...Ah, no. It wasn't the Headmaster—another professor kidnapped them."
-Ah. Really?
The Death Knight looked embarrassed.
-I thought for sure the master had done it.
"......"
"......"
-Anyway, here's the letter.
As the Death Knight handed over the letter, Lee Han absentmindedly accepted it.
The moment he did, the letter burst into black flames, and a powerful shockwave struck him.
"?"
Today's lesson is simple—never carelessly open suspicious letters!
The Skeleton Principal's cheerful voice echoed through the air.
You may keep laughing, but consider it the price of learning. It should wear off in about an hour.
"......"
Even scarier than the letter's forced laughter curse was the awkward silence that followed when the curse didn't take effect, leaving only the recorded voice to fill the void.
The students exchanged uncertain glances, unsure how to react, while the Death Knight hung its head in vicarious embarrassment.
"Well... um... the odds of me being picked were low, so you might've forgotten."
-Please keep this a secret from the master.
Tomorrow morning's <Advanced Basic Magic Character Education> exam will be conducted simply. Since you've all worked hard, let's go on a picnic instead.
"?"
"???"
"?????"
Utterly unprepared for this turn of events, the students were bewildered.
What...
"A... a picnic?"
"Isn't that good?"
"Hey. Look at the weather outside..."
"W-well, it's still better than an exam."
Torn between 'A picnic in this weather?' and 'Well, at least it's better than nothing,' the students were thoroughly confused.
Oh, right. Picnic preparations will also count toward your grades. Pack your lunchboxes well. Absolutely no sharing. Wardanaz. Are you listening?
All eyes turned to Lee Han, who felt slightly wronged.
Well then, prepare well, and see you tomorrow!
The voice faded into the distance.
"Where's the picnic location?"
-I really don't know. Won't they guide you tomorrow?
"......"
"......"
-I truly don't know! Please believe me!
Under the students' sharp gazes, the Death Knight pleaded earnestly.
"Flip it now. No. Flip it gently. Don't you know what 'gently' means? Lower the heat. Lower the heat, I said. Lower the heat!"
Gainando tearfully shook the frying pan, vowing internally to cherish every bite of pancakes from now on.
Who knew that the food he'd mindlessly eaten before carried such hardship...
"Preparing for the Divination Magic exam is taking too much time."
Lee Han clicked his tongue as he watched the students gathered around the makeshift hearth.
With exams still looming, having their time wasted like this was frustrating.
"Isn't this a bit unfair?"
-Uh... um... isn't Wardanaz student listening a bit too much?
The Death Knight blurted out before hastily covering its mouth.
Why did it have to talk back to a future archmage and risk earning their resentment...!