Episode 594
Episode 594
"Alright. Now that the story's over, stitch this up."
"Ugh. That bastard Gainando made us listen to Illusion Magic when we should've been doing this."
Lee Han watched his friends grumbling as they sewed with a puzzled expression.
Huh?
"Why is everyone sewing?"
Of course, no matter how sturdy their clothes were, the rough life at Einrogard meant they'd get frayed, torn, and occasionally even burned.
But it wasn't common to see all his friends sewing together like this.
Moreover, from the way they were sewing, it didn't seem like they were just mending tears—it looked more like they were attaching decorative patterns onto their coats...?
"Are you guys trying to add magic to your clothes? If so, you can't just haphazardly stitch thread like that. You'd need to process it with magic first."
"Uh, we're just doing it because it looks pretty."
"...Huh?"
"W-well, there's Professor Greenbell's exam, you know." <Dance and Etiquette>, the final exam, was like light and salt to the first-year students enduring their grueling lives.
An exam where you didn't need to study or prepare—just show up, have fun, and win.
Of course, there were a few opinions like, "Shouldn't we have some discernment since it's an exam?"—mostly from Wardanaz students—but they were an extreme minority.
In any case, the students' expectations for this exam were sky-high.
So much so that some were deliberately decorating their outfits more extravagantly, even though it had nothing to do with their grades.
"So... you're saying you're adding extra patterns to your coats just to look flashier while dancing, even though it has nothing to do with your grades?"
"Yep."
Lee Han stared at his friends with the same expression one might reserve for a pile of garbage.
Sensing the mood, his friends hastily defended themselves.
"W-well, it's nice if it looks pretty!"
"And patterns can help with magic too."
As anyone could tell from magic circles, geometrically structured patterns played a supporting role in magic.
Of course, those were strictly calculated patterns—unlike the <Prince Who Defeated the Lich> emblem Gainando was attaching, which was utterly useless.
It was purely for style.
"Have you all finished studying for the exams?"
"I'm done."
"Me too."
"......"
Lee Han was shocked to realize that most of his friends had already finished preparing for their finals.
Was the gap really that big?
"I-I see. Well, keep at it then."
"Wardanaz, you're not done yet?"
"Shh. Of course he isn't. Don't even ask."
A few considerate students covered their friend's mouth.
Sitting there in stunned silence, Lee Han checked his remaining exams.
Surprisingly, there weren't that many left.
Excluding Dance and Etiquette, there was Professor Voladi's exam, Professor Alkasis's exam...
"Wait. You guys still have the Healing Magic exam, don't you?"
"......"
"......"
His friends froze.
"Gainando?"
"Well, I was just gonna give up on that anyway, so it's fine... or not?"
Gainando, who had been speaking, glanced around cautiously before quietly putting his coat away.
It would've been too painful to watch the emblem he'd worked so hard on get torn off.
Temporary ballroom.
The students of White Tiger Tower and Turtle Tower stared at Gainando's coat with looks of astonishment.
"That prince bastard...!"
"Good heavens, look at that."
The emblem of the Prince Who Defeated the Lich embroidered on that coat was utterly magnificent and cool.
So much so that it was impossible to look away.
One White Tiger Tower student, trembling with jealousy, muttered under his breath,
"That bastard must've wasted all his time on that instead of studying."
"...Right! He definitely did."
But the voices of the White Tiger Tower students were filled with defeat.
Even as they said it, they could feel it themselves.
No cost or loss seemed significant in the face of that splendid emblem.
If only they could have that coat!
"Yoner... you don't think there's some hidden magic on that, do you?"
"Maybe he just likes it because it's pretty?"
"That doesn't seem to be the case here."
Lee Han looked around in disbelief.
He couldn't believe the students from other towers were staring at Gainando's coat with eyes burning with jealousy and greed.
'Is that emblem really that desirable? Should I start adding emblems when selling from now on?' But he couldn't help feeling repulsed.
Even if he spent that time gathering new materials to craft more items, it still wouldn't be enough—yet now he'd have to waste effort on adding useless emblems?
He didn't want to make such pointless things!
Lee Han was surprised to realize that, unexpectedly, he had a craftsman's pride when it came to artifact-making.
"Student Gainando! Why are you dawdling over there? Hurry up and come inside!"
Professor Krinval, who was inside the dance hall, clicked his feet impatiently as he called for Gainando.
Gainando, who had been walking as slowly as if deliberately hit by a deceleration curse in front of the dance hall, finally returned to his normal pace.
As Gainando approached, Professor Krinval gasped in astonishment.
"By the Dancer's Shoes! I've never seen such a magnificent coat even while mingling in Imperial Social Circle!"
"Hoho. Thank you."
Gainando adjusted the collar of his coat—crafted with blood, sweat, and tears—and stepped inside.
The interior of the dance hall was fantastical, as if it weren't part of Einrogard at all.
Light refracted and scattered, spraying a mist of vibrant colors everywhere, while illusion magic placed throughout the space made the surroundings even more breathtaking.
Ashan, who had been checking the playing music, spotted Gainando and spoke up.
"Gainando. Be my practice partner for a bit."
"No."
"Just one round—wait, what?"
"I said no."
"Why?"
"Look at this outfit."
Gainando pointed at the exquisite emblem on his coat, which looked like it had consumed his entire exam period.
Ashan was stunned.
"Th-this... Did you buy this outside?"
"Buy it outside? As if! I made it myself."
"O-oh."
Nodding, Ashan snapped back to his senses and asked again.
"But what does that have to do with practicing?"
"I can't risk damaging this coat, so no practice."
"...You're 100% an idiot."
"Hmph. You're just jealous of my coat. Even if I am an idiot, I'm an idiot with a coat. You're just Ashan—coatless!"
Ashan was momentarily speechless. He had been overwhelmed by Gainando's sheer confidence.
And he was even more shocked at himself.
Good heavens, losing a verbal spat to Gainando?!
This was absurd. He must have been completely cowed by the sheer magnificence of that coat.
"Y-you... just wait, Gainando!"
"Haha! Hahaha! HAHAHA!"
Meanwhile, Lee Han, who had just finished a light practice dance with Yoner, approached.
Seeing everyone around him freaking out—"Ah! That coat! That coat!"—had naturally piqued his curiosity.
"Gainando. I get that you stayed up all night making that thing, but..."
"W-what? Do you have proof?"
Gainando resisted with an unusually stiff attitude, unlike his usual self. The coat was giving him courage.
Lee Han expressionlessly raised his staff. Gainando immediately threw up his arms and shouted.
"I'm sorry! I'll go to bed early from now on!"
Even if the coat gave him courage, there were limits. The sight of the staff instantly brought Gainando back to his senses.
"What did you make this with? This purple... the saturation is a bit... high?"
Lee Han had a rough idea about all the paints and dyes circulating in the first-year Black Market.
In fact, he had a rough idea about most things floating around. Given his extensive connections, news naturally reached him.
The paints and dyes first-year students used were either "borrowed" from Einrogard's classrooms or handmade—mostly crude single-color types.
He had bought some materials during his recent outing, but since they weren't a priority, he hadn't managed to stock a wide variety of colors.
And beyond that, this particular purple had a more mystical and subtle glow than anything sold outside.
Where on earth did Gainando get this?
"...You'll keep it a secret, right?"
"Yeah, yeah."
"...You're really going to keep it secret, right?"
"Gainando."
"Ah, fine. I'll tell you."
Gainando hesitated for quite a while before finally speaking, as if he really wanted to keep it a secret.
"You know Black Rock Hall."
Black Rock Hall—Professor Mortum's workshop and magic tower.
A familiar place for students like Lee Han who specialized in Black Magic.
"There's a graveyard behind it, right? There's a spot where they dispose of poisonous insects... But when I saw the colors, I thought they were pretty, so..."
Lee Han couldn't believe his ears.
Wait, so...?
"You dyed your coat with poison from those insects!?"
"See, when you say it like that, it sounds weird!"
"It is weird, so of course it sounds that way."
Lee Han was speechless.
The place behind Black Rock Hall where they dumped poisonous insects was just a random disposal site with no strict rules.
Naturally, the toxins produced there would be so chaotically mixed that their exact composition would be impossible to identify.
Poisonous miasma.
They were supposed to leave it alone until the toxicity dissipated, but this guy saw the pretty colors and decided to try dyeing with it?
He was either fearless or insane.
Or possibly both.
"I checked it over and over. It was really fine."
Gainando defended himself, watching Lee Han's reaction.
He had done every check he could think of.
Besides, wasn't the fact that nothing had happened while wearing this coat the best proof?
"Wait. This blue looks kinda strange too. What's this one?"
"There were some blue bones in Black Rock Hall, so I ground them up to make pigment—Ow! Ow! Lee Han! No! You'll ruin the embroidery!"
As Lee Han couldn't hold back and swung his staff, Gainando flailed his arms and begged.
He was more afraid of his coat getting ruined than the pain.
"Gainando. Even in Alchemy—"
"I don't take Alchemy?"
"...Anyway, randomly mixing elements whose exact properties you don't know is never a good idea."
Lee Han was worried that some unknown synergistic effect might have occurred in Gainando's coat.
Sure, it could just be that the coat looked so amazing that people were reacting to it—but there was also a chance Gainando had accidentally created a cursed coat.
Understanding the implication of Lee Han's warning, Gainando reacted fiercely.
"If you're gonna take this coat, you'll have to pry it off my dead body!"
"Got it."
As Lee Han prepared to do exactly that, Gainando quickly revised his strategy.
"Please, Lee Han! I'll study hard from now on, do all my duties diligently, and I won't even steal desserts! Just let me wear it until this exam is over!!"
"...Do you really have to go that far?"
Gainando nodded repeatedly. Lee Han stared at him for a long moment before sighing.
"Fine. Wear it. Go ahead, you idiot. But if anything feels off, tell me immediately."
"Okay!!!"
Lee Han shook his head and turned away.
As he walked off, Adenart cautiously gestured to him.
"What is it?"
"......"
When Adenart hesitated, Lee Han tilted his head. 'What now?' "Did you forget the steps to a dance or something?"
Adenart shook her head.
Then, blushing slightly, he hesitated before finally speaking.
"How do you make that embroidery patte—"
"......"
Without even listening, Lee Han mercilessly turned his back. Adenart stared after him with the shocked expression of an abandoned puppy.
Why?!
The Blood-sucking Monster moved cautiously, following the familiar flow of mana.
This school had far too many powerful beings who radiated overwhelming presence.
The near-death experience at the hands of the Death Knights had left an especially strong impression on the Blood-sucking Monster.
Even after centuries of slumber in a stone coffin, a single mistake could mean the end.
Stealth and caution above all else.
The closer it moved, the stronger the sensation of approaching infinite mana grew. The Blood-sucking Monster pricked up its ears at the sounds coming from the ballroom.
Through the open gaps, students could be seen laughing and dancing merrily.
But the Blood-sucking Monster paid them no mind.
As it searched for the source of infinite mana, its gaze finally landed on one particular student.
A student wearing a coat adorned with dazzlingly intricate embroidery. Regardless of mana, the Blood-sucking Monster's attention was completely stolen by that coat.