Episode 472
Episode 472
"Just as I thought."
Lee Han briefly entertained the idea of having Gainando raise investment funds for future business ventures but quickly abandoned it.
No matter how he looked at it, the plan seemed more likely to backfire.
"Actually, you're already doing quite well with your dancing."
"Really?"
Lee Han brightened slightly.
Since Yoner had attended numerous balls, her assurance carried some weight.
If that were truly the case, it would make things easier when he needed to find sponsors by attending future balls or banquets.
"You did step on my foot once earlier, but anyone could make that mistake."
"......"
Lee Han couldn't bring himself to admit he'd stepped on Rowena's foot on purpose, so he remained silent.
"Isn't this much enough? Surely you don't think it's insufficient?"
"When waltzes or rondos are played, I don't have enough new dances to switch to, and they don't suit concertos either..."
"...Are you planning to make a living through dancing?"
Unless he was a professional dancer hired to liven up ballroom atmospheres, there was no need to go that far. One or two dances would suffice.
Yoner made a face at her friend's absurd goal.
"By the way, I got a letter from my family."
"Was it from Lady Yoanen?"
"...Don't say such horrifying things!"
Contrary to her usual demeanor, Yoner vehemently denied it with visible disgust.
Yoanen was a good older sister, but she was not a good correspondent.
If Yoanen had sent a letter, it would have been dozens of pages crammed with details about some new potion Yoner had zero interest in.
Even worse, if she didn't read every single word and reply diligently, Yoanen would sulk.
'If it's about newly developed potions, wouldn't that be fine...'
Lee Han internally braced himself for a slap from Yoner.
Of course, it would be tedious, but the formulas for newly developed potions were valuable enough to justify it.
"Then who sent it?"
"Remember what Nilia submitted last time?"
"Ah. That."
During the Maykin Family's periodic discussions on imperial political affairs and their solutions, Nilia had presented an excellent response.
<When political instability intensifies in the southern coastal regions of the Empire, the habitat of the Sangoria Flower, how should alchemists respond?>
There are many idle hunters in the north—sending them to the southern coasts... Since they can attack from a distance, they'd handle monsters well too... If monsters are kept in check, people would be happier, and political instability would decrease... Sorry...
It was a clever strategy—timing the deployment of the northern Shadow Patrol during their off-season and the season when Sangoria Flowers could be harvested, exploiting that gap.
Not needing to mobilize local mages as additional support was another plus.
Mages were expensive labor by default, and many imperial citizens were uneasy about mages intervening in certain situations.
Even upon rereading, it was such an intuitive and efficient solution!
'Nilia is too pessimistic.'
Lee Han thought to himself.
She should have been proud of such a well-crafted plan, yet she kept agonizing over it, muttering things like, "This isn't right."
'Then again, maybe that kind of personality makes her plans more thorough.'
"Why'd they write about it?"
"The family said preparations are complete and they're moving forward. They're coming to Einrogard."
"Really?"
No matter how much they relied on the northern hunters, they couldn't fully entrust everything to them.
They'd need to advise on which monsters to hunt, personally gather Sangoria Flowers, mediate if southern coastal guilds got angry...
Naturally, the Maykin Family's field agents would have to accompany them.
Adding a few more exceptional mages to the delegation would be the cherry on top.
Lee Han had already heard that the Maykin Family had floated the idea of "inviting Einrogard's professors" during the break, but he was still surprised they were actually coming.
'They actually got permission during the semester? Did they donate a lot?'
Lee Han thought it was highly plausible. Given the Skeleton Principal's personality, he'd never pass up such an opportunity—even if it meant personally covering classes.
"Then which professor will be disappearing?"
"Hmm? It didn't say that far."
"Could the Headmaster disappear?"
"That probably won't happen. More importantly, Lee Han, it's not disappearing but being invited—"
"Could Professor Bægrec possibly disappear?"
"......"
Yoner was about to say something but, taking pity on his friend, simply held back and answered.
"Somehow, Professor Bægrec doesn't seem like he'd come since he's not specialized in alchemy."
"No. Since it's such a distant journey, they might need escorts."
"Hmm..."
"What about Professor Verdus? He's an expert in Enchantment Magic too, so wouldn't he be suitable?"
"He's in the Punishment Room right now."
"We could let him out to work and then lock him back up afterward."
Yoner inwardly lamented just how much his friend must have suffered to reach this state.
Truth be told, all the students from the Four Towers had become excessively reliant on Lee Han.
After that, Lee Han happily imagined, 'Which professor will disappear? Could multiple professors disappear?'
Feeling oddly guilty, Yoner kept his mouth shut and just kept walking.
BANG!
Gainando, who had woken up late, rushed in through the door with his friends in a fluster.
"S-sorry! We overslept! It was the Headmaster's scheme!"
"Student Gainando! If you're late, you should admit it with dignity and apologize! Making excuses like that isn't good!"
"But it really was a scheme—"
"Tsk!"
"The rain has lessened a bit."
"But it's still pouring too much, isn't it?"
"What do you think, Lord Tanjuer?"
With exams finally over, the students gathered at the temporary dock in front of the library looked up at the pouring rain and murmured.
It was the weekend, and they wanted to rest, but there was no sign of the flood ending.
At this rate, would it really not stop until the semester ended?
Stop... tormenting me...
"I'm just asking, okay?"
That... is tormenting... Release me... quickly...
"We'll release you once the flood ends."
Why... are you tormenting me like this...?
Tanjuer shed teardrops like pearls.
Under normal circumstances, the students would have felt pity, but after spending over half a year at Einrogard, their capacity for empathy had deteriorated more than expected.
"Nothing changes even if you act like this."
"True. We heard it in class. Never waver even if a contracted being pleads with tears."
Wretched... mages... Release me...
While such exchanges continued outside, a similar conversation was happening inside.
"If we don't drain the water soon, the Mæki might attack again. Besides, there are probably other monsters in the library too."
"As much as I hate to admit it, Moradi is right about this. Wardanaz, what do you think?"
"Hmm... If Professor Bægrec disappears... No. Professor Verdus... No. The Skeleton Principal is also a possibility, isn't he...?"
"Wardanaz? Wardanaz?"
Giselle and Salko were taken aback as Lee Han drifted into his own thoughts.
Few things were as bewildering as seeing their usually composed friend act like this.
"Ah, sorry. I was lost in thought. What were we talking about?"
"How long the flood will last. Since the upperclassmen have finished their exams too, won't they step in to resolve it soon?"
Lee Han answered Salko's question immediately.
"Nah. Probably not."
"...No? Why not?"
"Well, the upperclassmen..."
New students at Einrogard tended to think this way:
-If something goes wrong at school, the upperclassmen will handle it since there are so many of them, right?
But surprisingly, the opposite was true at Einrogard.
Whether it was blizzards, floods, or lava eruptions, the upperclassmen had the ability to navigate such situations on their own, so they had no reason to intervene.
The unfortunate reality was that the first-years had to step up precisely because they were the ones struggling.
And there was a practical reason too—the higher the grade, the busier they became, leaving them with little time to deal with such matters.
"......"
"......"
Giselle and Salko's faces twisted as they listened to Lee Han's logical explanation.
Even though Lee Han hadn't used Mental Magic, he could practically hear their inner thoughts.
'They're cursing the Skeleton Principal.'
"So you're saying we have to solve this ourselves?"
"That seems to be the case."
Lee Han, who had been listening to Salko and Giselle's conversation, felt slightly flustered.
Their discussion had taken an excessively extreme turn.
'Do we really have to solve it?'
Of course, it would be nice to resolve the issue, but most problems at Einrogard were beyond human capability to fix.
In situations like this, it was wisest to let time take its course rather than pointlessly exerting effort.
"Wardanaz. I heard you possess something called the Helmet of Wisdom. Could we perhaps consult it?"
Salko cautiously posed the question.
Since it involved using another's artifact, there was nothing they could do if Lee Han refused.
It was also true that wasting its precious limited uses here would be regrettable.
"I have something like that?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"......"
The atmosphere suddenly turned awkward.
When Lee Han denied it, Giselle's mind became tangled.
'What's going on? Did Tutanta spout nonsense? Or is Wardanaz lying? What kind of helmet is it anyway?'
Salko's thoughts were similarly jumbled.
'Did I mishear? I distinctly remember hearing about such a helmet. Could it be one of the Headmaster's baseless rumors?'
"Ah, now I get what you're talking about."
Lee Han belatedly realized what they meant upon seeing his friends' bewildered expressions.
"There is this weird helmet. Are you talking about the one I picked up from the school's underground dungeon? It wasn't very useful, so I tried selling it to a shop, but they refused."
"......"
"......"
Why would you sell that?!
They both screamed internally.
"It doesn't seem particularly useful, but if you really want, Salko, we can give it a try. Though it's a cursed artifact, so be careful."
"O-oh, I see. That explains why you never used it."
"No, it's not because of the curse—it's just not helpful. It never provided any real assistance."
"......"
Lee Han rummaged through his backpack and pulled out the helmet. The helmet, which had been trapped in the dark confines of the bag, emerged with excitement and cried out.
At last! The time has come for my wicked wisdom to be sought! I know what you desire. You wish to become the top student, don't you? With my potion of arcane knowledge...
"Huh? Really?"
Gainando perked up with interest. Lee Han smacked the back of his head and said,
"No. We want to ask something else."
Finally!!!
The helmet vibrated so vigorously with joy that it nearly toppled over.
Seeing this, Lee Han suddenly felt a pang of guilt.
'Did I neglect it too much?'
If he wasn't going to use it, he should have at least found it a new owner. Maybe he had abandoned it for too long.
Ask away! Ask away!
"How do we stop this flood?"
...Huh?
The helmet blinked its lights in confusion.
To its astonishment, the school was in chaos due to the Spirit Flood.
"You don't know?"
Ah, no. I do. I do know... Though my goal is to expand my knowledge regardless of whether my owner lives or dies, isn't this a bit too dangerous...?
Ever since being modified by Professor Verdus, the helmet could no longer conceal the truth and rambled nervously.
Lee Han wore a bitter expression.
Come to think of it, a helmet that endangered its student owner had lived a life so reckless that even it thought, 'Isn't this a bit too dangerous?'
To think his life had come to this—being made to reflect by a cursed helmet!
The best method is a sacrifice.
"A sacrifice?"
Yes.
A spirit's wrath naturally dissipates over time, but there are ways to hasten its appeasement.
One of them is through sacrifice.
For a flood of this magnitude, there must be a named spirit behind it! In that case, it would naturally have a desired offering.
"What kind of sacrifice do we need to offer?"
How should I know? I don't even know which spirit it is...
"And you call yourself the Helmet of Wisdom?"
Lee Han looked genuinely disappointed.
The helmet was speechless.
Originally, only one question per session is allowed! I've answered, so I'll recharge my power now.
"......"
Next time, summon me as soon as my energy recovers, please!
The helmet's lights dimmed.
Watching this, Lee Han turned to his friends and asked,
"Anyone here willing to die?"