Episode 480
Episode 480
"...My apologies. Everyone. It wasn't intentional."
Professor Thunderstep apologized sincerely.
Of course, the students of Einrogard weren't the type to accept an apology just because it was sincere.
They had all faithfully learned Einrogard's teachings, after all.
"Is this something we should just let slide because you apologized?!"
"That's right! Professor, did you pocket some extra coins for yourself or something?!"
"Y-You brats..."
Professor Thunderstep grew flustered, glancing at the members of the Maykin Family.
Inside the academy, it wouldn't have mattered, but outside, he couldn't afford to ignore his reputation.
If some strange misunderstanding spread—like rumors that "Professor Thunderstep of Einrogard swindled students out of their silver coins"—and it reached the Skeleton Principal's ears...
"Do I look like the kind of person who would do that?! As you saw, I didn't even enter the village. I had no opportunity to take any coins!"
"Then why did you stay outside?!"
"Because those were the original rules!"
The Maykin Family members watched the ugly squabble between Professor Thunderstep and the students with bewilderment.
"U-um, esteemed members of Einrogard. Please calm down."
"That's right. It was our fault for not making it clear. We should have explicitly stated that if you were to rest during the journey, it should be in a village."
"...Let's return to the matter at hand."
Professor Thunderstep cleared his throat.
The Maykin Family members nodded and quickly explained the situation.
"The hunters from the north arrived a week ago and are already conducting their hunt. They're incredibly fast!"
"Given their name—the Shadow Patrol—we thought they wouldn't come outside the northern regions, but they agreed far more readily than expected. We were quite surprised. We're truly grateful."
When the Maykin Family member bowed toward Nilia, Professor Thunderstep tilted his head in confusion.
"What exactly are you grateful for?"
"Probably thankful they flew here so quickly."
Lee Han answered without batting an eye.
"No, earlier they said thanks for..."
"Right. So, what's the remaining issue now?"
"Ah. You must be from the Wardanaz Family?"
"That's correct. Did we meet during the last break?"
"No. Lord Yoanen Maykin mentioned you a few times. He said you were a talent he absolutely wanted to recruit for the workshop."
"Oh? Did he mention the conditions too?"
At the Wardanaz boy's witty joke, the Maykin Family members burst into laughter.
As everyone laughed, Lee Han casually added,
"So, about those conditions..."
Yoner grabbed Lee Han's sleeve and shook her head.
Professor Thunderstep, taking notes on what the Maykin Family was saying, asked,
"It's fortunate the hunt is progressing quickly. So, what are our tasks...?"
"First, please confirm the location of the Sangoria Flowers. Harvesting has been suspended for a long time, and due to monster and spirit disturbances, we need to create a new map."
Professor Thunderstep stroked his beard, signaling his understanding.
"Currently, the nearby Alchemy Guild and Fishermen's Guild warehouses have stockpiles of Sangoria Flowers, but the prolonged chaos has made it impossible to trust their quality. We'd like an outstanding and authoritative alchemist to establish new standards and sort through the inventory."
The students behind him let out shallow sighs.
Just listening made it feel like their workload was increasing.
Who was going to handle that sorting?
"Understood. What else?"
"Due to the growing friction from this incident, conflicts between guilds—and between guilds and residents—are intensifying. We'd like you to mediate these issues."
Professor Thunderstep flipped through a densely written document.
"The hunters from the Shadow Patrol are performing excellently, but with limited numbers, they can't fight indiscriminately. Once you've identified the threats and their locations, please specify which monsters must be eliminated. The rest will be driven away by means other than hunting."
"If you don't mind, we'd also like you to teach the proper method for harvesting Sangoria Flowers. With the number of skilled fishermen dwindling, there are quite a few inexperienced individuals now."
'No wonder they're paying so much gold.'
Lee Han felt overwhelmed by the densely packed list of tasks.
Gold coins truly aren't earned easily!
"Wait a moment. Professor."
While mentally calculating, Lee Han suddenly found something incomprehensible and asked:
"Is it even possible to complete all these tasks within the remaining days?"
"What a foolish question."
Professor Thunderstep lit his pipe and exhaled smoke.
"You'll have to do it regardless."
"......"
It wasn't a joke.
The moment the conversation ended, Professor Thunderstep began driving the students like a madman.
"Here stands the pride of Isran City - the western gate. Made of blue jade, with a romantic legend that it was crafted from a mermaid's tears—"
"Spare us the explanations and just show us the students' lodging."
"Ah. One of the city's noble families, the Quadma Family, has lent their mansion. This mansion is situated on a hill, and when you exit through its main gate, you'll find Water Statue Avenue, another pride of Isran City—"
"No need for explanations. We won't have time to go out anyway. Bring us the tools I'm about to list now. We're heading straight to the workshop."
The servants looked bewildered at Professor Thunderstep's words.
"But dinner has been prepared at the mansion..."
"Just pack meals that can be eaten conveniently and bring them to the workshop."
"......"
"......"
The students gloomily surveyed Isran City.
The southern city that had seemed so beautiful earlier now suddenly appeared dull and dreary.
"Everyone take your seats. I'll now teach you how to classify the quality of Sangoria Flowers. First, observe the leaf color—"
A skilled alchemist possessed relentless attention to detail that missed nothing.
Once work began, Professor Thunderstep drove the students without letting them catch their breath.
"I said pale red! This is deep red!"
"How could you miss these insect marks on the stem!"
"Is now the time to stuff bread in your mouth? I told you there'd be time to eat later!"
'You said that exact thing an hour ago too.'
Lee Han thought to himself as he kept working.
The students grew haggard, but fortunately, progress was rapid.
Thanks to the harsh corrections, the students gradually got the hang of it and began classifying the flowers accurately.
"This should suffice. Alchemy ranks 5 through 10, follow me."
Professor Thunderstep rose without pause, issuing the next instruction.
The designated students stood up with bewildered expressions.
"Where are we going?"
"Are we... taking a break...?"
"Don't spout nonsense. You're going to learn flower harvesting. Once you learn, you'll teach the gatherers and adventurers."
"......"
"......"
Professor Thunderstep soon returned after taking the unlucky students away.
"Alchemy ranks 2 through 4, follow me. I'll give you old harvesting maps and sea routes—memorize them. We need to draw new ones."
"......"
"......"
Watching the professor leave, Lee Han suddenly felt puzzled.
'Wait. Why me?'
Shouldn't he have been included in the group making maps?
The returning professor immediately answered Lee Han's question.
"Wardanaz. You're coming with me to verify Sangoria Flower locations."
"...No...!"
Lee Han walked toward the harbor with the professors, his expression sour.
While working earlier, he'd thought 'I could use some fresh air,' but this wasn't what he'd meant.
"To verify Sangoria Flower locations... we're going out to sea?"
"Correct. We'll be taking a boat. Don't worry too much. With our current forces, there shouldn't be much danger."
"...Then wouldn't it be fine for me to stay behind?"
At Lee Han's words, Professor Voladi shook his head as if to say "Not a chance."
"This is a good opportunity."
"!"
Lee Han realized why Professor Thunderstep had insisted on bringing him along.
Could it be...
'Did this person suggest bringing me out here?'
Come to think of it, while Professor Thunderstep did push students hard, he didn't particularly have a habit of dragging competent students outside just to make them experience thrills.
As the truth dawned on him, Lee Han looked at Professor Voladi with eyes mixing shock and horror.
'There's truly no one in this world you can trust!'
First he played tricks inside Einrogard, and now even outside...
"Oh? Are you the mages?"
At the harbor, there were people dressed in completely different attire from the sailors.
Their appearance made it obvious at a glance they were hunters from the northern regions.
The Shadow Patrol.
"That's correct. You must have had a hard time."
"Nah...well...there wasn't much to do in the mountains anyway, so it worked out. The pay's generous, and the support's plentiful..."
"Honestly, we'd rarely get to use such expensive arrows in the mountains. When else would we get to use something like this?"
The hunters seemed extremely satisfied with the Maykin Family's generous support.
Each arrow was enchanted with magic, or potions were distributed without hesitation right before battles.
All of these were luxuries unseen in the cold northern mountain ranges.
"Can we keep any leftover magic arrows?"
"Tsk. Have some dignity, saying things like that."
"Dignity my foot...I've seen you picking up used arrows before."
'Thank goodness Nilia isn't here.'
Lee Han felt relieved that Nilia hadn't come.
If she had, she might have been so embarrassed she'd have jumped into the sea.
The hunters, who'd been chattering about what they'd caught on the ship, suddenly clapped their hands and asked:
"Oh right. Professor, may we ask something?"
"Ask away."
Professor Thunderstep wondered what they wanted to talk about.
"Um...isn't there a student from our Shadow Patrol among your students? That, what was it, Nelia?"
"Nollea, you dimwit, dumber than this crow here."
"It's easy to mix up! She's not from our district but from the eastern one, so I got confused!"
Lee Han quietly corrected:
"It's Nilia."
"Ah, right! Nilia! Yes, that's it, Nilia!"
"How's Nilia doing these days?"
The Shadow Patrol hunters asked as nonchalantly as possible.
But their eyes burned with desperate desire for praise.
As someone from the Shadow Patrol who'd managed to enroll in Einrogard, even if they didn't show it, the hunters' expectations were high.
"Uh...she's an excellent student."
Professor Thunderstep, noticing their anticipation, gave the answer they wanted.
"In alchemy class, she's easily among the top ten students."
"Ooooh...!"
"Amazing!"
The hunters marveled.
Truth be told, they hadn't expected much of Nilia's academic performance.
While other kids had been holding books in cities, Nilia had been holding bows in the mountains—how could she have any advantage?
Yet to hear such an answer...
"How about her relationships with friends?"
"Uh...that might be better answered by this Wardanaz here. Wardanaz, you tell them."
'Cowardly passing it to me, I see.'
Lee Han cursed the professor internally before speaking up.
"Nilia is very popular in the tower."
"Ooooh...!"
"I told you. She's more sociable than us. I knew she'd fit right in."
"We should ask her how to make outside friends when she visits. Whenever I go down to villages, people just run away."
"That's because you go down covered in bloodstains."
Encouraged by the hunters' reactions, Lee Han continued:
"Not just the students from the Black Turtle Tower, but even those from the Blue Dragon Tower like Nilia very much. Last vacation, she was invited to stay with the Maykin Family, and they were so impressed they begged her to stay longer..."
"......"
"......"
The hunters listened blankly before bursting into laughter.
"This mage here's trying to cheer us up with tall tales!"
"Thanks for that. But really, such impossible jokes!"
"Hahahahaha!"
"......"
Lee Han suddenly felt guilty toward Nilia, as everything he'd said had been turned into lies.