Episode 523
Episode 523
Professor Lightning Step found himself involuntarily asking in sheer disbelief at the utterly absurd statement.
"Why on earth would you train to prepare for encountering a griffin? According to regulations, griffins are..."
Griffins, whether in size or weight, were ferocious beasts entirely ineligible for standard polo matches.
Yet Vonlig spoke with complete seriousness.
"Because the opponent might bring out a small, scrawny griffin."
"......"
Once again, Professor Lightning Step was reminded that he was, thankfully, a perfectly sane individual.
Sure, he quite enjoyed polo, but compared to the Empire's truly polo-obsessed fanatics, his level of enthusiasm was merely casual.
Preparing for the possibility of the opponent bringing out a small, scrawny griffin...
And the most astonishing part was that this preparation actually made a disturbing amount of sense.
Frankly, even Professor Lightning Step had to admit that it wouldn't be surprising if one of the polo players somehow managed to barely meet regulations by bringing out a small, scrawny griffin.
Some might even bring one out in disguise...
'Wait. Then why like that...?'
Professor Lightning Step and Vonlig both turned their gazes toward Lee Han.
As Lee Han rode Ponlig and charged forward again, the mountain goat guarding the goalpost eventually couldn't hold its ground and stepped aside.
The player, witnessing this, burst into tears and shouted.
"How could you do this to me! How could you betray me like this! I shared the food I ate with you! I gave you the clothes I wore! I even let you sleep where I slept!"
—Baaah...
The mountain goat, perhaps sensing its owner's anguish, looked deeply apologetic.
Lee Han wore an awkward expression at the sight.
'Was that really necessary...?'
It didn't seem like the mountain goat would particularly enjoy human food anyway.
Just then, Vonlig shouted from the spectator stands.
"It's a griffin! The opponent is a griffin! That's a griffin disguised as a horse, so adjust your thinking accordingly! Remember the training you did for facing griffins!"
"......"
For a moment, Lee Han wondered if the opponent was trying to confuse him with a trick.
Training for facing griffins?
'Why would anyone even train for that...?'
"Ah! No wonder the horse's gaze seemed unusually fierce... Here!"
The player swiftly covered the mountain goat's eyes with a blindfold—an attempt to prevent it from making eye contact with the griffin.
The other players, having heard the warning, also quickly covered their eyes. As long as they avoided the griffin's murderous glare...
—Baaah!!!!
"Why?!"
"Ah."
As Lee Han swung his mallet toward the gap and sent the ball flying, he finally realized.
"This is because of you, isn't it?"
Come to think of it, Lee Han was carrying the baby basilisk in his arms.
Monsters could detect even the faintest traces of a basilisk's scent—something humans couldn't perceive—so their terrified reaction made perfect sense.
—...?
Yet, instead of agreeing, the baby basilisk wagged its tail in confusion.
Intelligent monsters were keenly aware of their own strength.
The baby basilisk knew full well that its power was still insignificant.
If a monster was frightened by the scent of an immature baby monster, it must have been an exceptionally cowardly one...?
"Thanks. Because of you, the professor will be happy."
When Lee Han expressed his gratitude, the baby basilisk, though still puzzled, perked up happily.
"But for now, hide deeper inside my robes. Even after the match ends, don't let the opponents notice."
—......
The Granden City Polo Club players' struggle was nothing short of astonishing.
They blindfolded their mounts' noses, ears, and eyes, relying solely on their bond with their owners to somehow calm them down, then desperately fought to close the score gap.
However, the first-year students led by Professor Lightning Step maintained a solid defensive line by utilizing students with outstanding offensive skills to lead counterattacks, refusing to give any openings until the very end.
No matter how strong the Granden City Polo Club players were, overturning the situation under these conditions was nearly impossible...
"..."
"Write that down."
"Okay."
Angrago and Kltran diligently scribbled away with their quills, recording the match.
Surprisingly, such match records and commentaries sold well among students who loved polo.
Professor Lightning-Step, passing by, barely concealed his pleased expression as he remarked:
"Delete the part about covering the mount's eyes, ears, and nose. Readers would find it strange."
"Aha! Thank you!"
Having received overflowing praise from the Granden City Polo Club players, Professor Lightning-Step was in an exceptionally good mood for the first time in a while.
—We were truly amazed, Professor! Your tactics were nothing short of astonishing!
—We can't wait to see the results of the Einrogard Polo Club next year!
—We should train against griffins again.
—No, how about we try taming a griffin ourselves?
"Hand over the silver coins you received from the polo club players today to the treasurer. Use them as research funding when you submit applications next year."
"Thank you, Professor!"
The students, elated by their victory, cheered with bright expressions.
Beside them, Lee Han, groaning from muscle pain, suddenly paused.
"...Wait. Even in a friendly match, they give out silver coins?"
"It's a token of gratitude to the winners. Wardanaz, you really should drop studying and take an interest in polo."
Angrago spoke with utmost seriousness.
After watching today's match, he realized that letting someone like Wardanaz dedicate himself solely to magic would be a massive loss for the empire's polo scene.
Even if Wardanaz was ill-tempered and reckless, Angrago was prepared to set aside grudges and help him—for the sake of imperial polo.
"......"
Lee Han nearly lashed out but held back due to his aching muscles. Seeing this, Angrago nodded approvingly.
"So even you were moved by today's match, huh?"
"...Imirg. Imirg? Hit this guy for me, just once."
At Lee Han's request, the giant hybrid friend flustered and hesitated.
Professor Lightning-Step praised the match once more, pointed out areas for improvement, then called Lee Han aside.
"Oh, the players said you were the best performer today."
"Yes. Thank you."
Lee Han replied without much enthusiasm.
A student who loved polo might've burst into tears of joy, but Lee Han was too preoccupied with his muscle pain to care.
"Here. Take this—the Medal of Honor."
"Couldn't you just give me more silver coi—"
Lee Han's eyes widened as he saw the medal engraved with the date, location, and emblems of both the Granden City Polo Club and Einrogard.
To his shock, it was made entirely of pure silver.
"The whole thing is silver?!"
"Hm? Of course. You can't fake something as honorable as this."
Belated tears of emotion welled up in Lee Han's eyes. Seeing this, Professor Lightning-Step smiled warmly.
'This kid. Pretending not to care, but he's happy about today's win after all.'
The Doppelgänger, Professor Yonlamo, addressed the students:
"Though transformation magic and shapeshifting magic share similar principles, you'll find they differ greatly in practice. Altering one's own form is no easy feat."
Changing external objects and altering a mage's own body followed the same principles—but their difficulty was worlds apart.
To transform oneself, a mage needed an unshakable mind, one that wouldn't lose their sense of self even as their body changed.
"Occasionally, unfortunate transformation mages lose themselves after shapeshifting for too long or too frequently..."
Seeing the students' horrified expressions, Professor Yonlamo realized his mistake.
Unlike the sociable Professor Garcia, he still struggled to gauge what might frighten students.
"...No need to worry too much! Losing yourself and becoming another being isn't necessarily a bad thing!"
"......"
"......"
The students were even more aghast.
Some even whispered, "Isn't transformation magic way too dangerous?"
"You don't necessarily have to learn transformation magic if it doesn't suit you. In fact, there are many transmutation mages who don't practice full transformations. Some people just aren't physiologically suited for it... Lee Han. Why don't you come up and demonstrate a transformation to ease the students' fears?"
Seeing that the students only grew more frightened no matter what she said, Professor Yonlamo tried to shift the topic by bringing Lee Han into the conversation.
It was obvious that if Lee Han—who enjoyed high trust among the students—demonstrated transformation magic first, their fears would lessen.
"...Huh? Professor. I don't actually know how to use transformation magic."
"Eh? But you received a magic tome last time, didn't you? You still haven't learned it yet?"
Professor Yonlamo asked absentmindedly without much thought.
During the last Transmutation Mages' Festival, hadn't the mages lined up to each present Lee Han with a magic tome?
-It brings me great joy to gift you our family's magic tome, <From Caterpillar to Dragon>. Hahaha! Hahahaha! Hahahahahaha! As for the others... Oh dear. Ahem.
She'd even heard such remarks back then.
"...My apologies. I haven't learned it yet."
Lee Han's face darkened as he apologized.
He thought Professor Yonlamo was reprimanding him.
'Damn it. This is unfair. I didn't even know I was supposed to learn it.'
Though resentful, Lee Han suppressed his objections and instead put on his most apologetic expression.
He knew all too well that logical arguments held no weight in front of professors.
The only effective tactic was an insincere look of remorse.
"Ah, no... I wasn't blaming you..."
Unlike other ambitious professors, Yonlamo simply wanted to live peacefully without causing trouble.
As such, she had absolutely no intention of provoking a student who was treated as the Skeleton Principal's direct disciple and accumulating resentment.
It was just a slip of the tongue!
Imagining a distant future where Lee Han became the Headmaster's right hand and slashed the Transmutation Magic department's budget, Professor Yonlamo hastily backpedaled.
"Transformation magic is difficult. It's not something one can master easily. So there's no need to apologize like that. I just assumed someone like you would have learned it by now..."
"...My apologies..."
"......"
Seeing the other's expression grow even darker, Professor Yonlamo felt like crying.
Giving up, she turned her attention back to the students.
"Today... well... we'll cover the basics of transformation magic."
And so, in this thoroughly gloomy atmosphere, the magic lecture officially began.
"Whoa. Check this out! It's shiny!"
"Wardanaz! Look at me! I'm Maykin!"
"...If you don't undo that right now, I'll pour hiccup potion into your mouth while you sleep."
"S-sorry, Maykin. It just looked fun when Gainando copied you..."
"......"
"......"
The basics of transformation magic started with changing the color of one's own hair or nails.
It was relatively easy, and even if one failed, the aftereffects were far less severe.
The friends practiced the basics by altering their hair colors.
'Hmm. Gainando's going to get beaten up when we get back.'
Noticing Yoner preparing an offensive spell upon realizing Gainando had imitated him in his absence, Lee Han cautiously spoke up.
"Yoner?"
"What. Why."
"...If you drink a <Low-Grade Metal Affinity Potion> before casting, it'll be easier to subdue him with steel transformation."
Yoner's expression softened. Lee Han silently apologized to Gainando.
'Speaking of which...'
Lee Han swung his wand, puzzled.
It was rare for him to lag behind other students, yet his hair color refused to change properly.
"Lee Han. You need to use more mana."
"Ah. Is that so?"
Hearing the professor's words, Lee Han figured that made sense.
Considering his resistance to external magic, he probably needed to increase the mana output even for spells cast on himself.
"More." "More." "Even more." "MORE!"
"...S-sorry."
"I-I'm not angry. You know that, right?"
'What are those two even doing?'
Nearby, Yoner—who had been practicing how to make the words "GAINANDO IS A DEAD MAN" appear on his fingernails—watched the bizarre spectacle of master and disciple groveling at each other with bewilderment.