Episode 477
Episode 477
Kettle finally couldn't hold back anymore and unleashed a torrent of curses.
Professor Verdus protested against his disciple's rude behavior.
"Rude my ass!"
"You're the rude one! What kind of reward is that?!"
"It is a reward!"
"Strictly speaking, it's not exactly a reward..."
When Lee Han muttered this from the side, Professor Verdus startled and exclaimed:
"It's not a reward?! Why not?!"
"Uh... Well..."
Lee Han pondered how to explain.
For an ordinary person, it would've been easy (in fact, if that were the case, no explanation would've been needed), but Professor Verdus was someone who absolutely wouldn't understand with normal explanations.
"Rewards are usually divided based on whether the recipient needs them or not. No matter how good an item is, if it's useless to the recipient, it doesn't count as a reward."
"But everyone loves the opportunity to work in my workshop!"
Kettle could be seen clutching the back of his neck as if about to collapse.
However, Lee Han's innate patience wasn't shaken by Professor Verdus's words. He calmly replied:
"Even if I were to work in your workshop, Professor, my current abilities are lacking, so it wouldn't be easy to make use of that opportunity."
"Ah! That makes sense!"
Professor Verdus immediately understood.
Though Lee Han was slightly more capable than the other foolish students, compared to Professor Verdus, he was still a pitiable disciple with much to learn.
Even if he lent such a disciple the workbench he used, Lee Han would struggle to utilize even one percent of it.
"I forgot how stupid you are."
"That's alright."
At Professor Verdus's reply, Kettle nearly foamed at the mouth.
Was this really something to say in front of a disciple who had come all the way to the underground punishment room to save him?
'Why do the wicked live happier lives? People like the Headmaster or Professor Verdus live in bliss, so why must the virtuous suffer like this?'
Kettle felt his heart wrench seeing his kind-hearted junior suffer.
"You could just give him something else."
"Something else... Hmm, what could even an idiot work with..."
As Professor Verdus began to ponder, Kettle urgently shouted:
"The Sacred Pavilion Hall's underground storage! Ask for the key to the Sacred Pavilion Hall's underground storage!"
Professor Verdus made an extremely blatant expression of distaste. Seeing this, Lee Han suddenly grew interested.
"What's that place?"
"It's where Professor Verdus hoards all his precious reagents and materials!! My friend once got on his knees and grabbed his ankles begging, but he still wouldn't open it!!"
"It's too precious."
Professor Verdus grumbled as if this were obvious.
Kettle, driven by fury, shouted.
He was terrified Lee Han might just accept the refusal.
"Hey! If you don't get that key, don't you dare act like you know me. Don't go around calling me your senior! Don't even say you graduated from Einrogard! Einrogard doesn't need pushovers like you!!"
'Being called a pushover feels so strange.'
Lee Han, who mostly hung out with friends, felt extremely awkward hearing a senior say, "Why are you so kind and pushover-like?"
Had his friends been here, they might've doubted their ears.
"I'm sorry, Professor. My senior insists I must get the key."
"But it's too precious..."
"But as a junior, how can I ignore my senior's words? Then it's a no-go. You'll stay locked up here forever, Professor."
"Still too precious..."
Professor Verdus groaned in agony, but Lee Han stood firm, leveraging his senior's authority.
Eventually, Professor Verdus relented.
"Fine. I'll give it."
"Thank you. I'll use it well."
"Wait!!"
Kettle shouted again.
Even after securing the key, he couldn't let this opportunity slip by—his desperation was palpable.
"Make him swear that for any extra work outside lecture hours, you get to choose the time! And have him specify exactly what he'll pay as wages for extra work!"
"Work is its own joy—why would wages be necessary?"
Ignoring Professor Verdus's question, Kettle pressed on:
"You hear me?! Think carefully now! When will you ever get another chance to make Professor Verdus relent and swear an oath?! How much you squeeze out of him today will determine your entire future at Einrogard!"
Kettle's eyes grew red as he recalled his friends who had studied under Professor Verdus.
Every kind and considerate friend had fallen by the wayside, leaving only a handful of mad geniuses who could endure under him.
The thought of this naive freshman suffering the same fate made it impossible for him to stay silent.
"Make him swear! Even if you have to hold a knife to his throat!"
"I'm sorry, Professor. My senior insisted you make the oath."
"Why is he acting like this?"
Professor Verdus grumbled.
He couldn't comprehend why such oaths and contracts were necessary.
With just passion for magic and mutual respect, the Enchantment Magic department at Einrogard ran perfectly fine.
"I hereby swear that henceforth, when assigning tasks to my disciple Lee Han of the Wardanaz family, I shall first grant him the right to choose—"
Mid-oath, Professor Verdus paused and looked at Lee Han.
"But isn't this pointless? You enjoy working, don't you?"
"That's right, Professor. It really doesn't matter. I'm just doing this to satisfy my senior. Even if I had the right to choose, would I ever refuse? Haha."
Lee Han inwardly thanked Kettle as he spoke.
Thanks to that senior locked in the punishment room, Lee Han was effortlessly checking off everything he wanted without lifting a finger.
"...and should I assign any tasks, I shall provide appropriate compensation... The terms of compensation shall be negotiated beforehand, and it shall be my disciple, not myself, who—"
Kettle pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his eyes. Lee Han asked in surprise,
"Are you crying?"
"It's just the damp air from the Spirit Flood—you're imagining things!"
"That makes no sense—"
"Focus on the oath! Don't miss a single word Professor Verdus says! And don't trust him!"
"Mm."
Lee Han felt a pang of sympathy.
If only Professor Verdus didn't have ears, he would've said, 'Senior, do you really think I'd believe the Professor is crazy?'
But in front of Professor Verdus, Lee Han had no choice but to play the role of the dutiful disciple.
"The Professor doesn't have ill intentions—"
"Cough, hack—"
Kettle nearly collapsed again.
Still, thanks to Kettle, Lee Han managed to extract a few more oaths.
By the time they finished even an oath forbidding unannounced visits during breaks, Lee Han gazed at Kettle with eyes brimming with newfound respect.
'No wonder he's a senior!'
Though Kettle was the first Einrogard graduate Lee Han had met, he hadn't expected such unwavering support.
Now Lee Han was starting to understand why Einrogard was considered the empire's finest educational institution.
"Huff... huff... Alright... you can go now. Never trust the Professor."
Kettle waved weakly, his face drained.
"Senior, can't I help you escape too?"
"Not me. At worst, Professor Verdus was just caught stealing the Headmaster's belongings—"
"I didn't steal anything!"
Professor Verdus jumped up in protest, but Kettle ignored him.
"...but I was arrested for causing trouble outside. Even if I escaped, they'd come after me immediately. And if I got caught again..."
Kettle shuddered violently.
Though he left the rest unsaid, his trembling made his fear all too clear.
"Should I speak to the Headmaster about it?"
"You've got quite the sense of humor."
Kettle let out a dry laugh.
This first-year's jokes were bolder and funnier than he expected.
Who'd dare crack jokes about the godlike Skeleton Principal?
"While you're at it, ask him to improve the conditions in here."
"Understood. More importantly, Senior, I brought the snacks I promised."
Lee Han opened his bag and began neatly unpacking provisions.
He had brought ample preserved foods like canned beef and fruit, as well as luxuries like sugar, tea leaves, and coffee powder—all carefully selected for easy consumption in a cell.
"This bread was baked this morning, so it's best eaten fresh. I also brought some honey."
"...W-where did you steal this from?!"
Kettle asked again in shock.
No matter how he thought about it, these weren't items a first-year could obtain.
If they'd managed to get such things, they should be barely enough for themselves—yet they'd brought them here.
This was going too far even for kindness.
"Hey. If you give me this, what will your friends say! Just take it back."
"Huh? We have plenty, so it's fine."
"...???"
Kettle was bewildered.
Plenty?
'He doesn't seem to be lying, but what the hell?'
He almost wondered if the first-years had collectively raided the kitchen.
But even then, this much was impossible...
"Senior. As promised, please tell me what you left behind at the school."
"Ah. Right."
Kettle, who had been confused, collected himself.
Now that he thought about it, this junior had been the one who approached him during the ethics lecture.
Back then, he never imagined the kid would actually break into the punishment room to complete their deal...
"Why the hell does someone as thorough as you trust the professor so much? You shouldn't trust professors."
"Haha. But he is a professor, after all."
Behind them, Professor Verdus nodded in agreement.
Kettle let out a short sigh.
No one could be perfect.
This junior had incredible magical talent, but he also had a fatal flaw here at Einrogard.
Trusting a professor like that...
"Here, take this. It's the location of the room my friends and I used. There should still be some useful stuff left."
Lee Han bowed his head and accepted the map Kettle handed him.
This was a reward worth coming all the way here for.
"Thank you!"
"I should be the one thanking you. Thanks for the food. I'll eat well. I'll be stuck here a while longer..."
Kettle licked his lips and then said to Lee Han,
"Don't end up like me."
"Understood. I'll be careful when using magic outside."
"No. It's fine to screw up with magic outside—just don't get caught. I got caught, that's why I'm here."
"......"
'He doesn't seem to be reflecting at all...'
Lee Han thought to himself. Beside them, Professor Verdus spoke up.
"Time to transform."
"Huh?"
"Time to transform. You promised. If I came to rescue you, you'd stay as a goat for a week."
"......"
Kettle internally cursed Professor Verdus as he cast the spell.
Poof!
"Then we'll be going!"
Meeeh—!
'When the Headmaster comes, I'm blaming everything on that bastard!'
The goat—no, Kettle—glared at Professor Verdus's retreating back with burning vengeance.
If the Skeleton Principal came and asked, 'Why is the punishment room in this state?' he would absolutely shout, 'It's Professor Verdus's fault! Meeeh!'
"Everyone. The flood is over."
Ah... then release me...
When Lee Han returned to the library and made the announcement with a tired face, the students were all shocked.
"N-no way...!"
"Wardanaz, did you solve it?!"
"Hey. Don't you remember what Wardanaz said last time? He told you to stop dragging him into things."
Angrago scolded the black Turtle Tower student.
"I did solve it this time, though."
"......"
Angrago glared at Lee Han.
This bastard had scolded them last time, saying, 'Do I look like I solve everything in Einrogard? Stop dragging me into things!'
"How did you solve it?!"
Release... me and then you can chatter all you want... Mages...
"Wait!"
Salko looked around.
Then, as if realizing something, he made an expression of admiration.
"I respect you, Wardanaz. You offered the prince as a sacrifice?"
"Nope."
"It must have been a painful choice, but a necessary sacrifice. He'll be fine soon."
"I didn't offer him."
Release me... release me and then talk...
"Fine. If you say so, I'll respect—"
Gainando, who had secretly returned after sneaking off to eat snacks, glared at Salko from behind.
Who the hell are you telling to offer someone as a sacrifice?!
"No?!"
"Why are you surprised? Why?"
"Then who did you offer...?"
Lee Han replied in a tired voice.
"I just confronted it head-on. I went and persuaded the spirits."
Re...
Tanjuer, who had been about to beg for release, clamped his mouth shut in horror at Lee Han's words.
What kind of insane mage is this!?