Episode 572
Episode 572
"That Wasn't It?"
"Of course not." Ikurusha had absolutely no intention of telling a first-year student to "turn all the giants invisible and lead them to the Main Building." What kind of person would assign such an unreasonable task?
"What a relief. I was worried I'd have to start practicing right away."
"Hmm. I'm no magician, but I think you might have some issues on your end too..."
"???" Lee Han didn't understand Ikurusha's words. What issues could he possibly have? 'Is he referring to my mistake of enrolling in Einrogard?'
"Getting back to the topic—since I brought it up, of course there's a way to get you into the Main Building. I know of an underground passage connected to it."
"!" Lee Han was surprised by this unexpected method. 'That makes sense!'
Come to think of it, Einrogard's Main Building had just as many hidden pathways as its long history would suggest. Even the <Spiderweb Lake> at the deepest underground level, where the Bulgasari resided, was connected to multiple areas—wasn't it frequently used by professors as a shortcut?
For a giant like Ikurusha, who had lived for so long, knowing one or two underground passages connected to the Main Building wasn't surprising at all.
"Such a method...! That's brilliant!"
"Don't celebrate just yet. There are obstacles to this method as well."
Ikurusha began explaining as he drew the underground passage connected to the mountain range's caves on the dirt. If they followed the hidden cave downward, they would find a fairly old passage. Following this would lead them to the Main Building's underground storage...
'Perfect?'
Lee Han, who had been listening, tilted his head in confusion. He didn't sense any particular obstacles.
"What exactly are the obstacles?"
"This passage is quite dangerous."
"Ah. I see..." Lee Han tensed slightly as he asked, "Are there hydras or something like that?"
"..."
"It's not that dangerous..." Ikurusha gave Lee Han a reproachful look. Here they were having a serious discussion, and the boy was bringing up absurd examples.
"I was being serious..."
"Then that's even more concerning."
"Anyway, perhaps because there are swamps and lakes around the passage, there tend to be quite a few aggressive creatures around. It's been a while since I last used it, so I'd need to check."
"Understood. I'll verify it."
Lee Han jotted down <Check passage monsters> on his notes.
"The next issue is when we exit the passage. If my memory serves me right, that area is usually crowded with students."
"Senior students?"
Lee Han's eyes widened. If they were first-years, there was no way Lee Han wouldn't know them. And honestly, among the first-years, there wasn't a single reckless student who would wander around the Main Building's underground. Unless they were insane...
'Wait. I did.'
Lee Han immediately regretted his own thought as it stabbed back at him.
"Why would senior students be wandering around there? It's a pretty deep underground storage area."
"I don't know much about magicians' affairs... That's hard to answer."
'Hmm.'
Come to think of it, Lee Han didn't know much about the seniors' lifestyles. Though the Skeleton Principal had restricted contact, Lee Han had secretly met quite a few seniors... Should he have probed deeper back then?
'From the second year onward, students can interact with other grades, join clubs, take on more external requests, and conduct their own magic research... Is that why?'
If someone immersed themselves in magic research, they might become gloomy enough to linger underground. Lee Han immersed himself in speculation, imagining how angry the seniors would be if they knew what he was thinking.
"Shall I continue?"
"Yes. Please go on."
"Even if Einrogard's students are as unshakable as iron, they'd still be startled if they encountered giants. We'll need to keep nearby students away."
"That's difficult."
"I agree. That's the hardest part. The passage can be cleared by force if needed, but this..."
After some thought, Lee Han nodded and said, "First, please gather the giants in front of the cave. I'll go find a way to prevent the seniors from approaching."
"How do you plan to do it?" Ikurusha was surprised that Lee Han had taken action faster than expected. He clearly knew that first-year students weren't supposed to interact with seniors. Yet he spoke so casually about it?
"I know some seniors. They might refuse, but I'll try asking for a favor."
-Wait. Wait. You are a first-year, right?
At this ear-doubting statement, Ikurusha began to wonder if he'd misremembered Lee Han's year.
* * *
"Senior. Hello. Are you there?"
Lee Han returned to the secret base and moved his quill. It was the notebook connected to Diret. Fortunately, the reply came quickly.
-What's up?
"There's something I'd like to ask. If it's uncomfortable, you don't have to answer. I don't have anything to offer in return either. Ten."
-Huh?
-Kid, you can ask up to ten questions without offering anything.
"No... I can't do that. That's not how the rules work, right? Last I heard, the communication artifacts deployed in the school operate on a strict one-to-one equivalent exchange. Otherwise, you can't trust an anonymous counterpart whose face and name you don't even know."
-Think about what you've done. You can just ask ten questions without offering anything... Wait a sec.
"Ah. Are you busy?"
After a brief pause where no reply came, words finally appeared.
-No. Just preparing something. Go ahead.
"I don't know much about how seniors live, but are there any among you who stay near the underground storage area?"
Lee Han described the surroundings of the warehouse as Ikurusha had told him, in as much detail as possible. After all, there had to be more than one or two deep underground warehouses.
-Ah. Here. I know it.
"!"
Lee Han sighed in relief. Thankfully, Senior Diret recognized the place just from the description.
-This place... Hmm...
"If it's difficult to answer, that's fine."
Seeing Diret's words waver as if hesitating, Lee Han wondered just what kind of place this was. Some kind of forbidden, evil lecture hall?
'Is it a demon turned into a lecture hall?'
It sounded absurd, but given the Skeleton Principal, he might've captured a demon and repurposed it wholesale into a classroom...
-It's not that secret, just... Yeah.
After hesitating, Diret finally gave up and revealed the truth.
-There's a small hole near there connected to a kitchen.
"Huh?"
-So... they go in to eat.
The vast Einrogard had dozens of kitchens. Some were so neglected or forgotten they might as well not exist. The kitchen Diret mentioned had a special boundary spell—one that triggered an alarm the moment someone took food out. Normally, it'd be hopeless, but Einrogard's students weren't pushovers.
-Just go in, eat as much as you want, and leave!
That's how they bypassed the kitchen's magic and successfully looted the supplies.
"I heard quite a few seniors gather there. Surely not all of them are trying to break into the kitchen, right?"
-They are. All of them.
"......"
Lee Han was at a loss for words.
Diret, sensing the silence, hastily added:
-For the record, we in the Black Magic school don't use it often.
"Ah, no. It's fine if you do. If it's school property, shouldn't everything be used?"
-I said we didn't!
'I should change the subject.'
Having figured out why students gathered there, Lee Han moved to his next question.
"Senior. Is there any way to keep students from approaching that area for a while?"
-Kid. Can I ask why? The method changes depending on the reason.
"Well..."
As Lee Han hesitated, Diret surprised him this time.
-If it's hard to say, you don't have to. But remember this: the Black Magic seniors will stand by you no matter what weird thing you're doing.
"Thank you, Senior. Actually, I'm bringing some giants and need to hide them."
* * *
While Diret was exchanging messages with his junior, Coholti and Ogoldos of the Black Magic school stood behind him. The earlier delay in Diret's response was because he'd called them over.
- "The kid's asking for help. You two are joining in."
- "But didn't the Headmaster say we'd get sent to the Punishment Room if we're caught contacting freshmen without permission?"
- "Then don't help if you don't want to."
At Diret's words, Coholti shot Ogoldos a look full of contempt.
- "Ungrateful trash..."
- "When did I say I wouldn't help?!"
Ogoldos flared up. He'd just asked a question—was that a crime worthy of death?
After bickering, the two eventually stood behind Diret.
- "So what does the kid need help with?"
- "Dunno. We'll have to listen. He's asking why students gather at that kitchen hole. Should we just tell him the truth? It's so embarrassing..."
- "What choice do we have?"
- "What if he asks why we don't just solve it with magic instead of crawling in like beggars?"
- "Eh. He's not that kind of junior."
After some thought, Diret decided to lay out the truth. Thankfully, the junior didn't ask, "Why don't you solve it with magic instead of crawling in like beggars?"
- "None of you go there often, right?"
- "Uh... no."
- "I... I don't go often either."
"......"
Diret regretted asking. He should've just kept his mouth shut!
- "Hmm. I wonder what he's planning to ask."
- "Freshmen are all like that. I even left a note at the tower saying, 'Seniors, please spare some leftover food.' I was so naive back then."
- "What happened?"
Ogoldos perked up with curiosity.
- "Someone put a rock on it with 'Eat this.' written on it."
"......"
The story was so quintessentially Einrogard that Ogoldos felt a pang of sadness.
- "Let's just tell him to speak freely. No matter what, the Black Magic school will stand by him..."
- "That's nice, right? Won't he be moved?"
- "Won't he just feel pressured instead?"
- "Shut up."
Ignoring the chatter behind him, Diret moved his quill. Both Ogoldos and Coholti waited with mixed anticipation and worry.
- 'Please don't say he'll switch schools because he felt pressured...?'
"Thank you, Senior. Actually, I'm bringing some giants and need to hide them."
"......"
"......"
Silence hung in the workshop. Coholti rubbed his eyes and checked again, but the word "giants" remained unchanged.
- "Wh-what?"
- "Did he write it wrong?"
- "How in the world do you even bring giants here?! And why hide them?!"
As his noisy peers talked, Diret closed his eyes, deep in thought. Then, suddenly, he opened them and moved his quill.
"Not even surprising."
"No. No. No..."
"That can't be right! What kind of bluff is this...!"
Coholti and Ogoldos were stunned by Diret's bravado. No matter how much he wanted to maintain his dignity as a senior, how could he just ignore that and move on without asking?
"Everyone."
"Huh?"
"Yes?"
"Shut up."
"......"
After silencing them, Diret continued writing.
"Hiding Giants is nothing unusual."
"Is... is that so?"
"Of course. Don't underestimate your seniors. We're mages who've adapted well enough to these kinds of situations."
Since he'd have fewer chances to meet juniors starting next year anyway, Diret boldly took the gamble.
"I'm truly grateful! I'll be in your care!"
Hearing the junior's reply, Diret dipped his quill back into the inkwell. Then, turning to the other Black Magic students, he said:
"Alright. Both of you, suggest one method each to keep students away from the room where the Giants are hiding."
"......"
"......"