Episode 544
Episode 544
Lee Han paused briefly before responding.
"You're absolutely right. There are so many crazy people in this world."
"Could it have been Gonadaltes who broke it?"
"That might be the case."
"Gonadaltes has been particularly irritable lately."
Professor Verdus set down an artifact that looked like a wrench and dusted off his hands.
"First he locked me up last time, and now he keeps losing his temper."
"Well, that's certainly hard to understand."
"Actually, I know the reason."
"Oh?"
Lee Han was surprised.
Professor Verdus knew why the Skeleton Principal was angry?
'He actually figured it out?'
The real reason, when you got down to it, was that the Skeleton Principal's belongings had been tampered with by Professor Verdus' well-meaning but clumsy student—but there was no way he could have known that.
And besides that, Professor Verdus had done plenty of other things to get on the Skeleton Principal's nerves.
But for the professor himself to have deduced the reason...
Really?
"It's because it's the end of the year."
"Huh?"
"When the year ends, the Empire's bureaucrats start pestering him. 'Why did you spend money here? Why did you spend money there?'"
"Ah."
Lee Han understood what he meant.
Einrogard didn't charge a single penny in tuition or fees to its students or their families.
This was worlds apart from other magic schools in the Empire, which demanded exorbitant tuition fees that would shock even the wealthiest noble families.
Of course, Einrogard's operating funds didn't just fall from the sky. As the lord of Einrogard, the Skeleton Principal had to scramble left and right to secure funding. Having been present for some of these struggles, Lee Han knew at least a little of the hardship involved.
There were donations from various dignitaries and great noble families, personal patronage from the Emperor, suspicious-looking pouches of gold coins the Skeleton Principal pulled from his own vault (usually around the time news articles appeared about notorious criminals mysteriously disappearing), and so on.
But one of the largest sources of funding was the official financial support from the Empire.
The bureaucrats did everything they could to cut it down, while the Skeleton Principal fought tooth and nail to increase it—a fierce battle of wills!
Naturally, as the year drew to a close, the Empire's financial officials would go all out to slash next year's budget.
'I'll have to be even more careful.'
Lee Han resolved to be extra cautious if he ever had to steal the Skeleton Principal's belongings—he couldn't afford to get caught.
What might have been a day in the Punishment Room could easily turn into a week.
"Take this."
"What is it?"
"It's for today's lecture. We're making winter-proof clothing patches."
Opening the crate, Lee Han saw it was packed with various reagents.
Some imbued with flame attributes, others that repelled cold or wind, and so on.
As the year's end approached, Einrogard's weather was growing increasingly colder.
Students resorted to patching their coats with rags to make them thicker or carrying alchemical liquids in glass bottles to keep warm, but it wasn't easy.
There were spells like <Latent Heat Enchantment>, but for those who had to constantly move around the school, even that was nearly a luxury...
What came in handy at times like these were simple artifacts—magic directly engraved into the items themselves.
They lasted much longer without needing separate incantations.
'...But would Professor Verdus have thought of that?'
"You came up with this idea, Professor??"
"Of course! I knew you'd notice!"
Professor Verdus answered as if he'd been waiting for the question. His voice was full of indignation.
"You think I'd pick something this boring? Of course not! Professor Garcia made me do it! She threatened to smash my workbench if I didn't. How can someone be so cruel?"
"Ah, you must have misheard, Professor. Professor Garcia wouldn't even hurt a fly."
"No! I heard her right!"
Professor Verdus stomped around in protest, but Lee Han pretended not to notice.
"So today, I'll be making winter-proof clothing attachments for you all."
As Professor Verdus grumbled the announcement, the students gasped in surprise.
They simultaneously turned to Lee Han and shouted:
"Did you threaten the professor, Wardanaz???"
"......"
While Lee Han was at a loss for words, Professor Verdus clarified:
"No. Professor Garcia threatened me."
"Come on, don't lie, Professor. How could Professor Garcia possibly threaten anyone?"
At Angrago's words, Giselle suddenly fell into thought. 'Could she... actually?' Though Professor Garcia was known as one of the kindest people, if you removed preconceptions, anyone could have the capacity for threats under the right circumstances.
"It's true! Absolutely true!"
As Professor Verdus flailed about indignantly, Lee Han calmed him down again.
"Professor, please compose yourself. If the students don't complete this today, your workbench might get destroyed."
"Right."
While Professor Verdus wouldn't bat an eye if students studied magic 25 hours a day, his precious workbench was another matter. He immediately regained his composure.
"Now, among winter garments that can be enchanted..."
Professor Verdus began listing various clothing items capable of holding enchantments - hats, scarves, coats, cloaks, vests, sweaters, shirts, etc.
"What about gloves?"
"Those can be enchanted too."
"Ooh. Gloves too..."
As a friend started taking notes, Lee Han intervened with another question:
"Is this within our skill level?"
"Hmm. What circle magic can you cast again? Can you handle 4th circle?"
"Wardanaz could probably—"
"Shut up, idiot."
Though Professor Verdus could instantly calculate his artifact formulas in 0.1 seconds, determining student skill levels required actual finger-counting. After struggling through the math, he concluded:
"Nope, not happening."
"Well, gloves are small so they'd be difficult."
"It's not the difficulty - you're just stupid."
"......"
Some White Tiger Tower students whispered among themselves: 'Can't we just secretly bury the professor in a snowbank?'
Meanwhile, Professor Verdus finished explaining suitable garments and moved on to possible enchantments:
"<Latent Heat Enchantment>, <Windproof Enchantment>, <Cold Resistance>, <Snowhide Enchantment>, <Condensation Resistance>... These should suffice."
"But we haven't learned some of these?"
"Huh? You can learn them now during this opportunity."
"......"
The White Tiger Tower students escalated their plotting: 'If we do this right, maybe we could push him into an ice hole...'
'Wait.' Lee Han, who had helped prepare this lecture, was first to notice something odd.
"Professor. Even if we're not making permanent artifacts, we're still embedding long-lasting magic. Can regular clothing materials withstand that?"
"They can't. That's why you need special fabrics or leathers."
"Ah. Did you prepare some in advance?"
Lee Han was slightly surprised - he hadn't expected the professor to bring such materials to class.
"Nope?"
"Excuse me?"
"Nope. You have to procure them yourselves."
"......"
"......"
As if on cue, a chilling wind howled outside like a ghost's mournful wail.
"Where exactly are we supposed to get those now?"
Scratching the back of his head, Professor Verdus responded:
"Your seniors always stockpiled them - didn't you prepare any? Any leftovers from last year's stash?"
"We're first-years."
"I know. So any leftovers from last year's stash?"
'This man isn't normal.' Using the professor-student exchange as white noise, Lee Han checked his books. Usable leathers and fabrics included...
"Professor, what about twin-headed ox leather?"
"That would suffice for the enchantments mentioned."
"Hmm. I have two crates, but that wouldn't be enough. Would Basala cloth work?"
"That could work too. But only if it's from Basala stems harvested in winter."
"Ah. I heard it's from winter mountains. What about sheep wool?"
"Ordinary sheep wool won't do."
"What about wool from a Mountain-Destroying Sheep?"
"What? You have that kind of wool? Give it to me!"
Professor Verdus was genuinely startled by the revelation that Mountain-Destroying Sheep wool existed.
Such high-quality fabric was too precious to be used on the tattered robes students wore.
Lee Han casually dismissed the notion and began comparing the fabrics he had on hand.
Angrago, who had been listening nearby, couldn't make sense of it and after some thought, spoke up.
"Wardanaz. Hey. Wardanaz."
"?"
"We're going to raid the headmaster's storage now, right? Let me come with you."
"...No. I collected these myself."
At Lee Han's words, not just the White Tiger Tower students but those from other towers too began grinning.
"Right. Right. Wardanaz. You 'collected' them. Let's go with that story."
"So when are we going?"
"......"
Lee Han suddenly grew concerned that his friends might be seeing him as some kind of bandit.
"I collected them, you lunatics."
"But... how could you possibly gather that much?"
"Wait. Wardanaz, don't tell me... I get it. You got held back, right? You're actually a third-year..."
Thwack!
"I worked for them and collected it, you idiots."
Lee Han bonked the talkative friend's head with his staff, looking utterly exasperated.
"W-worked? For them?"
"Yeah."
"For professors? You gathered that much just by working?"
The friends buzzed with disbelief.
It wasn't that they thought Lee Han was born to be a bandit—it was physically impossible for a student to possess that volume of fabric.
They'd all entered together and spent one year here. Unless he'd lived several years alone, how could he have amassed such quantity?
"I got some from seniors too."
"?"
"????"
The students were all plunged into confusion.
Seniors...?
Since when could anyone meet seniors?
And frequently enough to make deals with them? 'Hey, is Wardanaz really not a third-year?' 'But why skip second-year?' 'He seems more like a third-year than second-year.' Professor Verdus urged Lee Han on.
"If you have the materials, hurry up and start. If we finish today, Professor Garcia won't smash my workbench."
"Understood, Professor."
"Right. The Mountain-Destroying Sheep wool?"
"You guys, since we're heading to the tower, come along."
Lee Han pretended not to hear again and left the classroom with the White Tiger Tower students.
Angrago, who had been diligently carrying crates, suddenly grew puzzled.
"Hey. Wardanaz. But why are we carrying these if it's for the Phoenix Tower?"
"Don't you guys use materials too?"
"...Uh... th-the priests use them too, you know."
"So you don't use materials?"
"...We can just carry them..."
Giselle, hauling crates from a distance, remained quietly silent.
When the situation was unfavorable, it was strategically wiser to stay docile and wait for an opportunity.
"Hmm. We might be a bit short. We should bring more. Rowena, if you dig about 2 meters here, there are a few boxes. Bring those out."
"Ah. Got it."
For a moment, Nilia pictured a squirrel hiding acorns everywhere in her mind but said nothing.
"Why did you bury them like this?"
"Ran out of storage space. Lounges and personal rooms have their limits. Hmm. Maybe I need to find a warehouse."
Lee Han was starting to understand why seniors risked theft and pillaging to build warehouses in secluded spots outside.
When he first entered the academy, he thought personal rooms or lounges would be enough space—but they weren't.
Just stockpiling food and supplies quickly filled up the space. And for someone like Lee Han, who studied many spells, the necessary materials kept piling up. 'The base I found last time has poor accessibility... Should I store them in the hut where I raised the basilisk for now?' Nilia, gauging the quantity, tilted her head and asked.
"Wait. Isn't this enough? Why more... Ah. I get it."
Nilia gave Lee Han a meaningful look and nudged him with her elbow.
"Right. For friends..."
"You're going to share them!"
"...I need to sell them."
A brief silence hung between them.
Lee Han nodded and added,
"Well, you could see it as sharing."
"No..."