Episode 499
Episode 499
With a sulking Ratford left behind, Lee Han stood before the mirror.
[New owner?]
'Hmm.'
Lee Han recalled what Diret had taught him.
How should one converse with an anonymous senior from Einrogard?
-[Obviously the new owner. So you've had it for years and only now decided to open it? Why even ask such a thing? Tch. Lucky for you we're at school—if this were the guild, I'd have smashed your face in already.]
Are you from the Black Turtle Tower?
[Oh. It works?]
Seeing that his disguise was effective, Lee Han pushed forward.
From a distance, Ratford—who had been glancing at the words Lee Han was writing on the mirror—made an extremely awkward expression.
[Is that guy just plain insane?]
Even in the Thieves' Guild, he'd never met anyone that violent...
-[Don't you dare test me with your insolence. I'll send my underlings to throw you into the Punishment Hall.]
Understood. Let's proceed with the transaction then.
Though they were conversing solely through written words, Lee Han surprisingly got a sense of the other party's demeanor.
He perceived them as remarkably cold and composed.
Even when faced with a stranger acting recklessly without regard for consequences, they remained unfazed and simply stated their business.
[An upperclassman, likely from the Blue Dragon Tower or Phoenix Tower?]
Though there was room for error, Lee Han found this assumption quite plausible.
[I need Blue-Glow Herbs. At least three pouches' worth. Do you have any?]
On the other side of the mirror, the other party waited calmly for a reply with a cold gaze.
Blue-Glow Herbs weren't impossible to obtain, but neither were they common.
Moreover, they were primarily used in higher-grade potions, so second or third-years rarely kept them in stock.
The reason the other party had brought up Blue-Glow Herbs wasn't just because they needed them—it was also a simple way to gauge their counterpart.
If the other party had information on them, they were likely at least a fourth-year, or at the very least, a third-year.
Given the rough way of speaking, they seemed to be from the Black Turtle Tower, probably affiliated with the Stonemason Guild.
[I do.]
[So it is a Black Turtle Tower student, third-year or above.]
The person beyond the mirror quickly organized their thoughts.
Though the Black Turtle Tower student's manner of speaking was rude, they paid it no mind.
After all, when using such artifacts, one didn't expect dignified or polite conversation.
What mattered was utility.
Besides, the more arrogant and discourteous someone like this Black Turtle Tower student was, the less likely they were to make mistakes.
As a trading partner, that made them all the more appealing.
[If we're a match, let's trade. What do you want?]
[I need a spell to effectively subdue Mountain Giants. Do you know one?]
[...A fourth-year or above? Surely not a fifth-year?]
The person beyond the mirror was genuinely surprised.
To be searching for a way to subdue Mountain Giants...
Just what were they aiming for?
[Is there an escape route in the mountains? Even so, there'd be no reason to target that area...]
Creatures like giants, with their strong magical resistance, had always been a mage's nightmare.
The best course of action was simply to avoid entanglement, as even pouring all one's magic into confronting them often proved insufficient.
Frankly, the person beyond the mirror couldn't think of any spell that could effectively subdue a giant. Giants were opponents impervious to shortcuts.
[That's unfortunate. I don't know.]
Though slightly humiliating, they had no choice but to admit it. After a brief pause, the Black Turtle Tower student replied.
[Useless. In our guild—]
The other party's brow twitched slightly.
They knew guild-affiliated students had strong loyalties, but facing it directly like this was endlessly irritating.
What meaning did such allegiance hold for a mage?
When one barely had enough time to focus on their own path...
[Anything else?]
[Among the golems on campus, there's one that uses spatial teleportation. I need a spell to subdue it. Do you know one?]
"......"
The person beyond the mirror stared at the letters with widened eyes.
Each question asked had been astonishing.
Normally, they wouldn't have asked such a thing, but being so startled, the person beyond the mirror inadvertently questioned:
If there's a golem that uses spatial movement, wouldn't it be better to avoid it?
-Is this why those who haven't shed blood and sweat in the guild... flee at the first sign of difficulty?
"......"
The Black Turtle Tower student then launched into a lengthy tirade for several more lines.
The person beyond the mirror acknowledged their own mistake and endured it.
-Fine. If you don't know, there's nothing to be done. Do you know how to obtain the following materials?
'Somehow, I'm managing to deceive them.'
Lee Han let out a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, it seemed the other party hadn't realized he was a first-year student.
Now that things had come to this, he absolutely couldn't be caught.
Later, when he became a second-year, he'd have to face the seniors, and he didn't want his school life to get complicated from the second year onward.
'Blue-Glow Herb...'
A reagent more commonly seen in high-difficulty magic than in low-difficulty spells.
It was primarily used in Enchantment Magic, Alchemy, and the like.
The person beyond the mirror hadn't noticed that they were gradually revealing traces of their own identity.
They'd never have guessed that the other party was a madman who'd studied magic from every school.
'High-year students in Enchantment Magic, Alchemy... or even more broadly, Transformation Magic...'
Given that he'd initially assumed the other was an upperclassman, their request for Blue-Glow Herb strongly supported Lee Han's speculation.
The luckiest thing today was that Lee Han happened to know a fair bit about Blue-Glow Herb.
The chances of a first-year student knowing its exact location were slim, but Lee Han had once seen a box containing Blue-Glow Herb on the third floor of the Alchemy Hall—Professor Thunderstep's Magic Tower.
The 17th laboratory in the third-floor labyrinth!
The very same lab where space was distorted, and water falling from a table would flow upward to the ceiling.
Among the reagents stored there, he'd clearly spotted Blue-Glow Herb.
Professor Thunderstep would never imagine that a first-year disciple would remember a reagent tucked away in the corner of his third-floor lab.
'But is subduing giants or golems really that difficult?'
Lee Han felt slightly disconcerted.
Of course, he'd chosen those questions to leave a strong impression without revealing he was a first-year.
But the other party's reaction had been slightly different from what he'd expected.
It was as if Lee Han had asked something utterly ridiculous.
'I knew Professor Voladi was assigning absurd tasks, but judging from their reaction...'
It left a bitter taste—no, a very bitter taste.
Blue-Glow Herb, Donghaso... He knew how to obtain them.
"!"
Lee Han brightened up.
The materials the other had just mentioned were the ingredients for the Foresight Enhancement Potion that Yoanen of the Maykin Family had told him about.
Before the midterms, he hadn't had the time to brew it, but now he saw a chance to try again.
'Considering the difficulty of the midterms, foresight is essential in this school.'
Even for someone like Lee Han, surviving barehanded didn't seem easy. He needed an emergency measure.
-Let's trade.
Will you go first?
-Fine.
Lee Han decided to risk the other party taking the information and running.
If they did, he planned to report them to Professor Thunderstep immediately.
But Lee Han's bold attitude left a different impression on the person beyond the mirror.
'Bold and fearless. Among the daring Black Turtle Tower students, if there's a new one brewing potions...'
Normally, the person beyond the mirror wouldn't have shown such unnecessary curiosity, but this time was different.
They couldn't help but wonder—what kind of student would ask such things earlier?
-What you want is in the Alchemy Hall's third-floor labyrinth, the 17th laboratory.
"...!"
The person beyond the mirror was even more astonished.
Just what means had this Black Turtle Tower student used to pinpoint the location of an herb deep inside the third floor of the Alchemy Hall?
'He must be a student deeply immersed in the alchemy school.'
Was he the professor's direct disciple?
-Think whatever you like. Now. Tell me what you promised.
Whoever this Black Turtle Tower student was, the person beyond the mirror found him truly ruthless.
Ruthlessness was a basic quality any Einrogard student ought to possess, but even considering that, it was rare for a professor's direct disciple to so brazenly sell information.
He was clearly a cold-blooded person who would do anything to get what he wanted.
"It's done. I'll have to retrieve it later."
Having finished his communication through the mirror, Lee Han straightened up while organizing his notes.
Unlike his conversation with Diret, this exchange with the unnamed party had been exhausting and filled with tension.
But the payoff had been worth it. He was now fully prepared to brew the Foresight Enhancement Potion.
'It should be complete before finals.'
"Lord Wardanaz. I have a question."
Ratford, who had been openly watching from the side since midway through the conversation, cautiously spoke up.
"What is it?"
"Where in the world did you learn to speak like that earlier? I don't think even our guild members talk that way... Didn't the other party suspect anything?"
"I copied it from Salko."
"......"
Ratford was horrified.
Was that really Tutanta's image!?
'I must never tell him about this.'
What was even more shocking was that it had actually worked on the other party.
"I should ask my White Tiger Tower friends to fetch it for me."
Just in case, Lee Han prepared to entrust the retrieval to White Tiger Tower students.
If it turned out to be a trap or false information, his White Tiger Tower friends would gladly take the fall.
After wrapping everything up and leaving the base, he spotted some students loitering conspicuously on the first floor.
While those on duty could technically be outside, wandering around at night was practically an invitation to the Punishment Room.
Lee Han found their blatant loitering odd and asked,
"What are you guys doing there?"
"Eek! ...Oh, it's just Wardanaz. ...Gasp!"
'Did this punk just get startled twice?'
He could understand being startled at first, thinking it was a ghost or intruder—but why get startled again after realizing it was Lee Han?
"We're out because of duty. Don't get suspicious."
"If you're on duty, shouldn't you be working? Doesn't seem like duty to me."
"......"
"......"
The students exchanged very guilty looks.
Finally, one White Tiger Tower student gave up and whispered to Lee Han,
"Wardanaz. Keep this to yourself. Today... we heard a guest is coming."
"What?!"
Lee Han was genuinely shocked.
A guest arriving on the weekend?
Of course, many outsiders visited Einrogard, but there was only one type of guest the students would wait for like this.
"Is it an Imperial Bureaucrat coming to investigate Einrogard's actual conditions?"
"...No? Why would we wait for that?"
The White Tiger Tower student stared at Lee Han as if he'd said something absurd.
There was no reason to stay up all night loitering for an Imperial Bureaucrat.
"Then who is it?"
"Ifadur!"
Not just the White Tiger Tower student, but even the Blue Dragon Tower students all turned to Lee Han with eager anticipation, as if expecting him to gasp and exclaim, "What?! That person is coming?!"
Unfortunately, Lee Han failed to meet their expectations. He was just bewildered.
"Who's that?"
"......"
"...Uh... the bard... Ifadur... You don't know him? He's famous... Even appears in the Imperial newspapers..."
"I don't really read that section. Sorry."
Lee Han tried to console his crestfallen friends. Ashan, with a face full of excitement, said,
"I was hoping to show him a song I wrote."
"...?"
Lee Han tilted his head in confusion.
If it was a song Ashan had written...
-Einrogard. Einrogard. Such a lovely place. With warm meals and fluffy beds. Einrogard.
'Isn't that the kind of slanderous song that should be banned by Imperial law?'