Episode 468
Episode 468
The picnic concluded with a talent show as its final event.
The one who received the most attention was the Princess. Despite the spirits being agitated due to the flood, she skillfully calmed them before demonstrating a linked spell sequence, which left Lee Han sulking.
'Why is it that spirits who usually obey so well go berserk like crazed undead the moment they see me?'
"Since everyone enjoyed the picnic, make sure to study even harder when we return."
"......"
"......"
Why was there no response? Should they extend the picnic?
"We are deeply grateful for your generosity!"
"We will study diligently!!"
Lee Han was slightly impressed as he watched the students' eyes burn with determination.
No matter how much Lee Han pleaded, "Please study—don't you want to avoid failing?" a single remark from the Skeleton Principal was far more effective.
'Could it be that he planned today's picnic with this exact outcome in mind?'
Kehahahahahaha!
Whether it was the students' anger that lifted his mood or not, the Skeleton Principal laughed heartily.
Witnessing this, Lee Han immediately retracted his earlier thought.
'He was probably just bored.'
The <Basic Imperial Geometry and Arithmetic Advanced> exam was held in a lecture hall devoid of moisture.
The students were moved just by the fact that they could sit at desks and write with quills and ink.
"Now this is an exam...!"
"If all exams were like this, I wouldn't mind taking a few more!"
Of course, their excitement lasted only until they received the test papers. The moment they saw the questions, their faces twisted in dismay.
"Imperial mage Tadingo, in order to receive research funding, decided to calculate the exact area of the tower..."
"Damn that Tadingo. He brought this upon himself."
"Damn the Empire. Flaunting their superiority over a measly research grant. Why does the area even need to be calculated?"
"Everyone, quiet down."
Professor Alpen shot a warning at the muttering students.
Groaning, the students forced themselves to focus on the problems.
What is the area of the following shapes?
What is the area of the circles in the following diagram?
While his friends struggled, Lee Han quickly worked through the problems...
...or rather, he found himself bewildered instead.
'Isn't this way harder than expected?'
Unlike other lectures, arithmetic was one of Lee Han's confident subjects.
Naturally, while his friends had been cramming, he had clicked his tongue thinking, 'Tsk tsk, you should've studied earlier...'
"Imperial mage Tadingo is observing a fireball flying from a point 1 meter away from the target. If the differential coefficient indicated in the diagram is 20 meters per second, what is the ratio of the angular displacement of mage Tadingo's pupils..."
"????"
No matter how he looked at it, the difficulty was absurd.
It was so hard that he began doubting whether his friends could even solve it.
'Did the Skeleton Principal put him up to this?'
If an enraged Skeleton Principal had threatened Professor Alpen with a blade from behind, even he might not have had a choice.
Lee Han decided to stop overthinking and just solve the problems. Time was limited, and even he could make mistakes when tackling such challenging questions after a long time.
'It's been a while since I've faced problems this difficult...'
Still, his accumulated knowledge hadn't gone anywhere. As he scribbled with his quill and began calculating, he somehow managed to grasp the thread of the solution.
"Ughhh..."
"That damn Tadingo bastard... Why can't he just live quietly..."
"How are we supposed to solve this...?"
Even Professor Alpen's warnings couldn't stop the periodic groans erupting among the students.
Lee Han understood.
If he found it this difficult, how much harder must it be for his friends?
'The problems are excessively difficult. The exam results are going to be dragged down across the board.'
Even seasoned professors struggled with setting the right exam difficulty.
Lee Han predicted that after this exam, Professor Alpen would reflect and lower the difficulty for the finals.
"I'll submit my paper."
"Hmm... Excellent. I was worried, but you did well."
Professor Alpen skimmed through Lee Han's answer sheet—the first to be submitted—and nodded with a satisfied smile.
Normally, Lee Han would have noticed the oddity in the professor's words—"I was worried"—but exhausted from the already tiring field trip and drained from solving the difficult exam problems, he failed to pick up on the strangeness.
"Time's up. Everyone, submit your answers."
While waiting seated, the exam ended, and the students handed in their answer sheets with gloomy expressions.
Once they submitted their papers, the students, without exception, rushed toward Lee Han in a flurry.
"Wardanaz! What was the answer to question one??"
"Hey, question one was easy. Why are you even asking? It was three, right? Wardanaz?"
"It was three!? Damn it. I was debating whether it was two or three... Why is Tadingo such a glutton? He should just eat whatever's given in moderation!"
"???"
Listening to his classmates' chaotic questions, Lee Han sensed something was off.
Huh?
"Two or three... What are you talking about? What was the question?"
"The number of premium white loaves a poor mage like Tadingo can eat while saving as much research funding as possible?"
"Given the distance between the Pegasus and the ground stable in the diagram changes at a rate of 400 km/h in differential calculus, the Pegasus's altitude is... Wait. Number of loaves?"
Lee Han was now certain something was wrong.
The exam his friends had taken was completely different from his.
At first, he wondered if the question order was mixed up, but that wasn't the case. None of his classmates seemed to have taken the same exam he did.
"What kind of magic is this?"
"What do you mean?"
"...Professor. Professor?!"
Lee Han quickly caught up to Professor Alpen, who was about to leave, and asked,
"I think there was some issue with the exam."
"How strange. Mr. Wardanaz, you should have gotten a perfect score. What exactly was the problem?"
Professor Alpen tilted his head in confusion and pulled out the answer sheet.
Lee Han calmly replied,
"It's not that the exam was flawed—it's that I think I took a different test than the others."
"Ah. So that's what you meant. Yes. Mr. Wardanaz, you received a different set of questions."
Professor Alpen said this as casually as if remarking, "It rained this morning."
Of course, Lee Han couldn't take it so naturally. Stunned by the professor's words, which shattered common sense, he asked again in bewilderment,
"It wasn't a mistake?"
"Why would you assume it was a mistake? Let me be clear—it was absolutely not a mistake."
"...Uh, Professor. Isn't it standard for students in the same lecture to take the same exam?"
Suppressing the feeling of sounding like an idiot for stating the obvious, Lee Han asked.
"Normally, yes. But exceptions exist. What's the point of giving you a test so easy you could solve it blindfolded? Where's the challenge in that?"
"......"
'Is this man insane?'
Lee Han had assumed that, being a former Imperial bureaucrat, Professor Alpen Naughton would at least be somewhat sane. But now, faced with the professor's quiet madness, he was utterly flustered.
'I underestimated Einrogard again!'
Even though he had vowed never to underestimate it again, he had carelessly fallen into the same trap.
Lee Han cursed his own complacency.
"I... see. So because I solved problems well during lectures, the exam difficulty was raised for me..."
"More like I decided after seeing how well you taught the other students. Anything less would have been meaningless."
Lee Han instinctively glanced at his classmates leaving the lecture hall.
Suddenly, they didn't look like friends—they looked like enemies.
"But Professor. Learning and challenges and all that... fine. But grades affect evaluations, don't they?"
Professor Alpen nodded.
"Won't there be a fairness issue when comparing me to other students?"
"No need to worry about that."
"Ah. So there's a solution?"
Lee Han felt slightly relieved.
After all, Professor Alpen wasn't the Skeleton Principal—he wouldn't have given Lee Han harder questions without any consideration...
"Since Mr. Wardanaz scored full marks, you'll naturally rank first."
"......"
'Is he actually insane?'
Lee Han had to suppress the rebuttal crawling up his throat.
No, he only got a perfect score because he worked hard and got lucky—one mistake and his grade would've plummeted. What then...?
"At the finals..."
"You'll get full marks then too. Now you understand there's no need to worry, don't you?"
Professor Alpen cut off Lee Han's words and continued speaking with unwavering conviction. There was no room for argument in his tone.
"No, logically speaking that doesn't make..."
"I thought someone from the Wardanaz family wouldn't care about grades..."
"Excuse me?"
This was the most insulting misunderstanding Lee Han had faced since entering the academy.
"Ah, but considering how much you care about your friends, it's natural you'd ask. You're probably wondering if you received any special privileges, aren't you?"
The stubborn old professor gazed at Lee Han with a fond expression, as if looking at a future Grand Mage.
Most mages with even a modicum of talent easily fell into arrogance and conceit because of their gifts, yet this boy from House Wardanaz—despite possessing talent as vast as the ocean—hadn't lost his altruism.
If all mages were like this, how much easier would the Imperial Bureaucrats' jobs be?
"Don't worry, there were no such privileges. Solving more difficult problems than others isn't a privilege, after all. Ah, though an earnest and fair-minded boy like you might consider it one."
"...Right. Well, in any case, the so-called 'privilege' makes me rather uncomfortable..."
"But rest assured, no one besides you would consider it a privilege. More importantly, as a second-year, you'll have to attend countless additional lectures—wasting your time would be a greater loss, not just for you but for all citizens of the Empire."
Lee Han was left speechless.
Not because the argument was logical or reasonable, but because he was stunned that the professor had somehow tied solving harder problems to the welfare of the Empire's people.
'Is he actually, genuinely insane?!'
Professor Alpen concluded the conversation with a benevolent smile.
"Setting down the paperweight and stacks of papers... This must be the reward of teaching students at Einrogard. Ah—I've spoken too much. You may go now. Oh, one more thing, Wardanaz?"
"Yes?"
Lee Han, his mental energy completely drained, answered reflexively.
"I'll ensure the remaining lectures this semester serve as a solid foundation for your research."
"......"
To Lee Han's eyes, the kindly old professor's face now resembled the Skeleton Principal's.
Richmond of the Shyres family rolled around restlessly in his room.
At first, he'd been glad to rest on a soft, dry bed while his friends suffered outside, but as time passed, he couldn't help worrying about them.
"Professor, haven't my friends returned yet?"
"It'll take a while longer."
"I see."
Ten minutes later.
Richmond set aside the book he'd been reading and called out again.
"Professor, when will my friends be back?"
"Ugh, can't you shut your trap for once?!"
Unfortunately, one of Professor Paselet's alternate personalities had surfaced and bellowed at him.
Richmond flinched and bowed his head.
"S-sorry."
"No, I'm the one who should apologize. My temper is..."
"...Temper my ass!! If you abandoned your friends to come here, at least enjoy yourself!"
Before the sentence even finished, an entirely different voice with a completely different tone spilled from the professor's mouth.
Richmond's guilt multiplied several times over.
'Damn it. Was accepting the professor's offer a mistake?'
When Professor Paselet had first approached him with the offer of "comfortable rest, cozy warmth, and a plush bed," he'd thought himself lucky and accepted without thinking...
But as time passed, he missed his friends more and more.
And above all else, Professor Paselet—whose personality kept shifting as if multiple people were conversing—was terrifying.
'If I can just throw some kind of clue out the window... Huh?'
Richmond was startled to spot a familiar face below the high window.
To his shock, Wardanaz had somehow found the exact spot beneath the tower and was pacing restlessly.
'Here! Wardanaz! Over here!'
Richmond wanted to shout, but there was no way to get his voice across.
What if Wardanaz left before—
'Right. I'll use the blankets and sheets to make a rope. With Transformation Magic...'
BANG!
With a violent crash, the window shattered. Richmond could only blink in shock, the half-made rope forgotten.
Wardanaz was soaring through the sky—riding a Griffin.