Episode 582
Episode 582
"How is that slime behaving like that?"
Giselle stared blankly at Lee Han's muttering.
She couldn't believe he was being serious.
Did he really have no idea?!
Feeling his friend's gaze, Lee Han tilted his head and asked back.
"Got something to say?"
"Nothing at all. Stop!"
At Giselle's shout, the students and knights rushing toward them from below halted abruptly.
Lee Han observed them and thought, 'How many of them are actually slimes?' He was certain about the fake Lee Han, fake Giselle, and fake Durgyu, but he couldn't guess who among the others might be slimes.
It would be great if he could attack to confirm, but in this situation... 'We'd be exposed as fakes in no time.' He didn't know how the fake Lee Han had convinced them, but it was clear he'd done a thorough job—the students stood behind him with unwavering resolve.
Lee Han wanted to snap at them for being fooled, but he held back. Losing his temper could wait.
Right now, it was time to turn the tables. 'Even if it's a Shifting Slime, there are limits. The real thing can't be replicated.' He exchanged a glance with Giselle. The two friends nodded meaningfully.
-Can we persuade them?
-Of course.
They had spent a year living together, after all.
No matter how powerful the mimicry, it couldn't fake shared memories.
"Speak up, fake Moradi! You told us to stop, so why are you hesitating? Are you trying to come up with some lie?"
"What the hell are you—"
Lee Han, who had glanced down to see who was stirring things up, was dumbfounded.
It was the fake Lee Han shouting. 'This is seriously annoying.' Giselle seemed to think so too, shooting him an irritated look. Lee Han pointed downward.
"Moradi. You should aim for them."
"Shut up. I'm about to."
Clearing her throat, Giselle raised her sword and shouted at the gathered students below.
"You idiots! Do you even realize what you're doing right now?! You're being tricked!"
"!"
"Uh... huh?"
At Giselle's shout, the students froze.
This was the exact same Giselle who usually snapped at them sharply in the White Tiger Tower lounge.
Then, the fake Giselle stepped forward and gently reassured them.
"Calm down, everyone. The imposters are just nervous because they've been caught."
"O-Oh, right!"
"That's the Moradi we know!"
"......"
"......"
Lee Han and Giselle were speechless.
"Wait... are you guys using fake eyes because you're planning to replace them with artifacts later? How is that Moradi? She's way too nice!"
At Lee Han's outburst, the students on the slope scoffed and retorted.
"Moradi's always been like this!"
"Exactly! As long as Wardanaz doesn't piss her off, Moradi's naturally kind and polite!"
'What kind of ridiculous slander is this?!' Lee Han was furious at the White Tiger Tower students' baseless claims.
Giselle had always been like this—it wasn't because of Lee Han...
...Right?
"Come to think of it, she was a bit more polite when we first met..."
"Do you want me to throw you down there?"
"No, I'm just trying to recall memories to persuade them. More importantly, Moradi—your friends seem to like your masked persona. Why not use that to convince them?"
"Are you seriously suggesting that?"
"Dead serious. Look at your friends."
Giselle glanced down the slope, then let out a deep sigh.
It seemed the slimes had really gotten into their heads in the meantime.
"Fine. Fine."
Giselle wiped the anger from her face and composed her expression.
This was the kind, polite Giselle that occasionally appeared when necessary.
"Everyone—"
"That fake Moradi's acting! Don't listen!"
The fake Lee Han swung his staff and shouted.
Lee Han genuinely wanted to kill that damn slime.
"As expected of a Wardanaz!"
"You can't deceive a Wardanaz's eyes!"
And those White Tiger Tower bastards who fell for that slime's trick!
Lee Han growled and shouted.
"Fine, let's say Giselle is like that. But do I really look like that right now? Why the hell would they believe it?"
"Everyone. Don't be fooled by that impostor. That fake is trying to deceive you. I'm the only one who can protect you. Trust me! I am your savior!"
"Wardanaz...!"
"You damn bastard...!"
Lee Han nearly grabbed the back of his neck in frustration.
How could they believe such empty words?!
"Are you seriously falling for that nonsense right now?! For real?! You're supposed to protect yourselves, not wait for someone else to do it! How can you just swallow that sweet talk?!"
"Don't listen to the fake! Trust me!"
As the fake Lee Han declared firmly, the White Tiger Tower students nodded as if entranced.
Compared to the fierce impostor up on the slope, the Wardanaz by their side, who kept offering warm words, seemed far more like the real one.
'This is wrong.'
Lee Han felt a surge of frustration.
To think he'd lose to a fake in persuasion of all things!
Giselle seemed to share the sentiment, covering her face with her hand and letting out a sigh.
"Wait. We have Choi. Let's try persuading them with Choi."
"The fake will probably be more popular."
Though Giselle responded cynically to Lee Han's words, she still gave it a shot.
"Choi. If you're the real one, say something."
"......"
The fake Choi remained silent.
"?"
"??"
Lee Han and Giselle were baffled.
The slime disguised as Choi apparently hadn't learned enough yet.
Seeing this, the students below the slope grew triumphant and jeered.
"Hmph. Fakes! Choi wouldn't fall for that!"
"He doesn't even consider you worth answering!"
"......"
While Giselle looked horrified, Lee Han, after a moment of deliberation, spoke up.
"Moradi."
"?"
"I think all of them are slimes."
"What?"
"I'm saying they're all slimes. Nothing else makes sense."
"Even so, there's no way all of them could be—"
Giselle's words faltered for a moment.
Was that possible?
Even if not all of them, as Lee Han suggested, more than half of those below could very well be slimes.
Otherwise, their sheer stupidity couldn't be explained.
"...Fine. A significant number of them could be slimes."
"Right?"
Lee Han raised his staff.
His mistake had been assuming there were only a few slimes and trying to resolve things through persuasion.
They were all slimes!
"Buy me some time. I'll take them all out at once."
"Got it. Wipe them all out."
Aside from the fake Lee Han, fake Giselle, and fake Choi, the rest were all real students.
"......"
"......"
Lee Han's group looked down at the students sprawled on the ground, battered by snowballs, with complicated expressions.
"Guhhh..."
"We trusted you..."
"Trust what, you idiots?!"
Giselle raised her foot to kick her fallen friend in the back, but Lee Han and Choi barely managed to wedge themselves in and stop her.
"What the hell did those slimes even say to you?"
"That there were fakes around. To be careful..."
"That we should stick together and move as a group..."
Lee Han, listening in disbelief, couldn't help but ask,
"Did it ever occur to you to suspect the ones saying that?"
"They seemed real!"
'These guys would believe anyone who hands them candy.'
Lee Han clicked his tongue in disdain as he rose, looking down at the pathetic students with contempt.
"Fine, just rest here until the exam's over—"
"Look! The fakes attacked our friends!!"
"......"
Lee Han let out a deep sigh as he spotted a new group of students arriving at the base of the slope, led by yet another fake Lee Han, Giselle, and Choi.
"Everyone, get ready to fight."
"W-wait! Let's try persuading them first..."
A fallen White Tiger Tower student spoke up, but Lee Han pretended not to hear and ignored him.
The next day.
Professor Ingoldel and the knights of the White Poplar Knights gazed up at the mountain range with expectant faces.
Just what expressions would the students who endured the mountain's cold wear upon their return?
"Professor. Isn't it about time you told us? What kind of monster did you prepare in advance?"
One of the knights, unable to contain his curiosity, casually asked.
While all the knights were aware of the trial that was the frigid mountain range, even they hadn't heard what monster Professor Ingoldel had specially prepared.
But now that the exam was nearly over and the students would soon return, there shouldn't be any harm in asking.
Professor Ingoldel let out an awkward smile as he spoke.
"Well... I'm afraid everyone might be disappointed, but..."
"What are you talking about? Who would ever be disappointed by Professor Ingoldel's choice?"
"An enhanced bull? Or perhaps a wild boar?"
"Given that it's a winter mountain range, wouldn't it be a monster closely associated with snow? Like a Snow Hedgehog or an Ice Drake?"
Professor Ingoldel, who had been listening to the knights' guesses with amusement, decided it was about time to reveal the answer.
"I prepared Shifting Slimes."
"Excuse me?"
"What kind of slimes?"
"Shifting Slimes, I said."
Professor Ingoldel began his explanation calmly. Though he couldn't quite hide the slight excitement in his voice.
After all, he had put considerable thought and effort into preparing these Shifting Slimes.
"I heard from other professors that monsters like Shifting Slimes can be artificially created."
"Well... I suppose so. This is Einrogard, after all."
"I thought, 'This is it!' When I asked around, the other professors agreed it was an excellent idea."
"Uh..."
"Hmm..."
Unaware of the subtle shifts in the knights' expressions, Professor Ingoldel continued his explanation enthusiastically.
"After receiving the slimes, I observed the students during every lecture. When finals week arrived, they had transformed quite convincingly. The students had to endure the mountain's cold while distinguishing fake friends who came looking for them. Isn't it brilliant?!"
The professor concluded his speech with an excited voice.
Compared to other professors at Einrogard, he had often worried that his exams were too bland, but this time, he felt somewhat confident.
After all, the other professors had approved of it...
"Um, Professor."
"Isn't this a bit... excessive?"
"!?"
Only then did Professor Ingoldel notice the expressions on the knights' faces.
The knights were now looking utterly bewildered!
"W-Well, we do train our recruits harshly too, but..."
"Sending trained Shifting Slimes to infiltrate seems a bit too much, don't you think?"
"Won't this give them trauma...?"
Flustered by the knights' reactions, Professor Ingoldel hastily replied.
"B-But the students should be perfectly capable of handling this much. Other courses have far more dangerous things, you know."
Of course, the knights weren't convinced.
Because they had no idea what appeared in other courses!
The knights simply assumed Professor Ingoldel was exaggerating.
"Even so, Professor, isn't this going a bit too far for an exam...?"
"That's right, Professor."
'Th-This is strange. What in the world...?'
Professor Ingoldel broke into a nervous sweat, feeling more flustered than he had on battlefields where allies had retreated and enemies surrounded him on all sides.
Was... was that really the case?
'Did I make it too difficult?'
Professor Ingoldel was utterly confused.
He had been so confident that, after consulting with other Einrogard professors, he had crafted a perfectly balanced exam. Where had he gone wrong?
'No, perhaps the White Poplar Knights simply don't understand Einrogard well enough to react like this. Surely if they knew Einrogard better, they'd think differently...'
"Ah! The students are returning!"
The knights pointed toward the mountain pass as they stretched their arms.
The students who had spent a day in the mountains were returning triumphantly...
Well, more accurately, only Lee Han's group was returning triumphantly, while the rest of their friends were being carried back on stretchers, dragged by sleds.
At the sight, Professor Ingoldel immediately regained his senses.
'Ah. I really did make it too difficult!'