Episode 559
Episode 559
Eunrade found himself resenting his own mouth.
No, at this point, calling it a "mouth" would be an understatement—it was practically a snout.
"If a graduate can't even trust their juniors like that, how are we supposed to trust imperial officials?"
"Y-yes, you're absolutely right."
"A first-year from the Wardanaz family. Hmm. I should investigate further."
"......"
Eunrade had been nodding along to his superior's words when he suddenly froze.
In his flustered and confused state, he hadn't realized it earlier, but upon reflection, this Wardanaz was undoubtedly that Wardanaz he'd heard about before.
The one who'd gotten the Skeleton Principal summoned before His Majesty the Emperor...!
Eunrade's face turned pale with terror and tension.
He couldn't even begin to imagine how this investigation would end. 'Will this be okay? Will this really be okay!?'
* * *
"......"
"......"
Lee Han and Giselle walked in silence.
Amidst the city's noise, through the crowds where numerous races mingled and passed by, they walked quietly with heavy steps.
Both their faces were sullen and dark.
Lee Han sighed deeply before speaking.
"...Let's just forget about it and buy what we need."
"Do you really think it's that easy to forget?"
"What else can we do?"
After giving him a sidelong glance, Giselle pondered for a moment before sighing as well and saying:
"Fine. Let's forget about it and buy what we need."
The two stopped in front of <Ikalthen's House of Absolute Stupidity>, one of Granden City's bookstores.
The clerk working there was about to greet the customers entering through the door when he suddenly paused. '...What happened to them?' The two wore expressions so gloomy it looked like they'd just witnessed a friend's death.
"<Making Artifacts from the Empire's Dumps>, is this the right book?"
"That's the one. I heard it's good for final exam prep."
"<Basic Yellow Stone Usage>. This too?"
"Since Yellow Stones get discarded so often, it wouldn't hurt to have a reference."
With gloomy faces, they methodically gathered the materials they needed for their finals.
The things required for final exams weren't just limited to reagents and ingredients.
There were also things like courage, friendship, perseverance, hatred... and of course, magic tomes.
Normally, such tomes could be borrowed from the library, but the clever students of Einrogard preferred buying books outside rather than fetching them from the library.
At least the magic tomes sold outside didn't try to bite people.
"Wait. Wardanaz. Why are we buying <Commonly Confused Imperial Spellings>?"
"Uh, because you White Tower folks keep making spelling mistakes."
"......"
Giselle's face flushed red from her cheeks to the tips of her long ears.
Cursing her White Tiger Tower friends who couldn't even spell simple words correctly, Giselle moved to the next bookshelf.
As she skimmed through <Saint Iactus: Defeating the Evil Lich>, Giselle suddenly sensed something odd.
"Wardanaz."
"?"
"That person... doesn't he seem suspicious?"
"I think we're probably the most suspicious ones in this bookstore..."
Even as he said this, Lee Han stared intently at the person Giselle had pointed out.
There was indeed a reason for calling him suspicious.
It wasn't because he was heavily cloaked—in a large city, people covering their bodies were too common to raise suspicion alone.
What they sensed from him was the distinctive mana pattern unique to mages.
There was a subtle difference between the surroundings of ordinary people who couldn't use mana and those of mages who instinctively controlled and regulated their mana.
When they'd first enrolled at Einrogard, they wouldn't have noticed, but over time, they'd learned to discern even these minute details.
Moreover, the books he was selecting... '<Blood and ■'s ■■>, <Summoning ■■■■ the Demon...>'
While some of the House of Absolute Wisdom's magic tomes were verified and purchased from reputable mages, others were suspicious books of unknown origin.
Of course, being a bookstore located in the city's central district, these made up only a handful compared to their overall inventory. This wasn't some back-alley stall—they didn't stock that many questionable books.
But the person was blatantly browsing and selecting only those suspicious books.
"Definitely suspicious."
"Right? A dagger inside the robe. With bloodstains. Judging by how it hasn't dried yet, it must be recent."
Giselle whispered sharply in a low voice.
Only then did Lee Han notice the dagger tucked inside the person's robe.
"Ah. I see."
"...Wait. You hadn't even seen the dagger? Then what made you say they were suspicious?"
"The fact they're a mage?"
"?"
"And that they keep trying to collect suspicious magic tomes..."
"That's hardly... Never mind. It's fine. That's not the important point right now." Giselle stopped herself from saying, 'Wardanaz, you're also a mage who hoards suspicious tomes, aren't you?'
Because that wasn't the issue at hand.
"So, what do you think?"
"They're suspicious, sure, but there must be dozens of shady people in the city—we can't meddle in every single case. A bloodstained dagger could have any number of explanations."
Giselle frowned, her expression thoughtful for a moment. She tapped the scabbard with her long fingers before reluctantly conceding.
"Well, you're not wrong."
"Let's at least report it to the shopkeeper just in case."
After finishing their purchases, the two left the House of Absolute Wisdom and headed to their next destination.
Puyo's Banyan Tree Staff, the wand artisan's shop.
"How did you leave the silver there?"
"I set aside some from my last job."
"......"
As Lee Han struggled to figure out where to even begin criticizing that, a familiar figure came into view.
The suspicious stranger they had seen earlier at the bookstore.
"That guy?"
"Must just be a coincidence our paths crossed."
Lee Han spoke firmly.
They were already pressed for time—the last thing he wanted was to get tangled up with some shady character.
Please don't cause any trouble!
Thud
—The stranger stopped right in front of Puyo's Banyan Tree Staff. There was no sign of anyone else around.
Instinctively, without even realizing it, Lee Han grabbed Giselle and chanted a spell.
"Cloak, devour me!"
As the invisibility magic unfolded, their figures vanished. The stranger glanced around but noticed nothing out of the ordinary.
Swish
—The suspicious outsider pulled out a gnarled wand and, with his other hand, drew the bloodstained dagger.
With a shhk, he sliced his own arm. The blade drank in blood, causing his mana to pulse erratically.
'Blood Magic!' Lee Han immediately recognized what kind of magic the man was using.
Of course, it was far cruder, more violent, and more dangerous than the blood magic Lee Han had studied—but the underlying principle of amplifying mana with blood was the same.
Empowered by the surge of mana, the stranger, now brimming with confidence, raised his wand and began chanting.
"Power, power, grant me power..."
Clumsy, but still a self-enhancement spell.
There was only one possible reason for chanting such a spell in front of someone else's shop in a deserted area.
Lee Han and Giselle exchanged a glance and let out a deep sigh in unison.
Today really was a cursed day.
"Strike forth, Perkuntra's Lightning!"
"Cleave and destroy upon my blade!"
"Gah—ack!"
The would-be robber mage was sent sprawling by lightning and steel.
"Truly, thank you. I'm so grateful."
Puyo wasn't usually one for emotional displays, but this time, he seemed genuinely moved as he gripped their hands and shook them vigorously.
"We only did what anyone would."
"Exactly. There's no need to thank us so—"
With the city guards having hauled the criminal away, the two were eager to collect their silver and leave.
"Wait just a moment. After helping me like this, I can't let you go without offering something. I recently acquired some truly rare tea leaves—"
"Ah, Master Puyo, actually, I'm in a bit of a hurry—"
"Now that I think of it, how did you even get out? Einrogard students aren't usually allowed to leave so easily..."
When Puyo asked in puzzlement, Lee Han quickly responded.
"What kind of tea leaves came in?"
"Ah. It's tea leaves harvested from the glaciers of the Empire's northern seas."
Though Giselle shot him a look that said 'hurry up and end the conversation so we can leave,' Lee Han had no choice.
Considering his future connections with Puyo, he couldn't afford to needlessly offend him.
As a result, the two were treated to tea by Puyo, had their staffs inspected, received some advice on magic usage, and were even gifted an armful of premium wood that Puyo had recently prepared for staff-making.
"......"
"...I think we messed up."
Though Giselle muttered under her breath, Lee Han pretended not to hear as he hoisted the bundle of wood onto his back.
"Let's go. We still have a lot to buy."
"In my opinion, we're done. There'll probably be more bandits on the way."
"Don't spout nonsense about Angra Mainyu. Are you going to surrender to superstition?"
Giselle sighed once before following behind Lee Han.
He was right.
No matter how much fate tormented them, they had to stand and fight against it.
"Fine. Even if others might have already bought what we need, we can still—"
CRASH! BOOM!
"AAAH!"
"The wall collapsed! Everyone, be careful!!"
"Jellin! Jellin's buried under the rubble! Damn it. There's too much blood! Oh Sisenja, why must we endure such trials?!"
Lee Han threw down the bundle of wood and sprinted toward the neighboring guild's construction site.
Without a word, Giselle chased after him.
"Everyone, make way!"
"Who are you— Gasp, a mage! Are you from Einrogard?!"
With no time to explain, Lee Han raised his staff and gestured. Giselle immediately used her enhanced strength to kick aside the debris, sending it flying.
As space cleared, Lee Han washed the injured man with water before immediately reciting an incantation.
"Stitch together, stitch together, stitch together, stitch together..."
With a squelching sound, the bones began knitting back together. Giselle, while clearing more rubble, stared in shock.
She knew Lee Han was practically the only first-year capable of properly using healing magic, but she hadn't expected him to heal such severe injuries at this speed.
"...Mend!"
"I-Is it over?"
"We got lucky."
Lee Han nodded breathlessly.
He had ignored it when Moradi mentioned it, but today might truly be an unlucky day.
First, the prisoners in the mansion tried to escape when they arrived. Then, after capturing them, they ran into bandits. And after dealing with the bandits, this accident happened... 'I should've checked my fortune and picked a better date.' Lee Han regretfully put away his staff.
"Th-Thank you, Mage. You are a lifesaver!"
"Please tell us your name!"
Before Lee Han could answer, a passing city guard removed his helmet, bowed politely, and kindly explained.
"The one on the left is Lee Han of the Wardanaz family, and the one on the right is Giselle of the Moradi family. Mages of Einrogard. Once again, we thank you for your selfless service."
"I see!! Thank you so much!"
"Uh..."
"That would be us."
Lee Han and Giselle half-resignedly nodded.
At this point, they might as well accept reality.
* * *
"No one's here yet!"
"Run, run!"
The students who returned before sunset sprinted down the mansion's upper corridor, carrying their loads.
Fortunately, despite all the chaos, no one had arrived at the mansion yet.
The Dimensional Gate was also functioning perfectly.
"Get in!"
"Good work, everyone!"
The students waiting in the storage room cheered upon seeing their returned friends.
"No one chased you, right?"
"Hey. I heard Wardanaz caught some bandits—what was that about? Why were you catching bandits?"
"Bandits? I heard he saved a Stonemason Guild worker!"
"...???"
"?????"
The students exchanged bewildered looks.
"Must be a rumor, right?"
"Probably. It's not like Wardanaz is an idiot who'd do something like that and then walk around boasting."
"Right. And Moradi was with him. It's not like Moradi would make the mistake of helping others for no reason. This isn't Angra Mainyu we're talking about."
"Hey. You little—"