Episode 607
Episode 607
"Among the students, only a handful have succeeded in making such an outrageous proposal."
"So you're saying there have been people who succeeded?"
The Skeleton Principal's gaze had completely returned to normal.
"Just say you'll hear what you want to hear. Why? Should I tell you what kind of proposals there were?"
"It was just curiosity. May I ask one more thing?"
"What is it?"
"If I accept the proposal but later find it impossible to continue, what happens then?"
"...Are you seriously asking because you plan to take the sponsorship money and run!?!"
The Skeleton Principal was shocked.
This student had never intended to take on such a reckless challenge from the beginning.
While other arrogant and prideful idiots charged in without knowing their place, he alone had been calmly planning to take the sponsorship money and bail!
It was truly chilling composure.
'He fears the future!'
"No... I might just find it impossible to continue midway. And the sponsorship money already spent would be unavoidable. It's not like I'm deliberately planning to run away."
"You are truly insane. Drop it. A wizard who only covets immediate gains won't last long. If you accept the proposal and fail, it will damage your reputation."
For an Imperial wizard, reputation was just as important as ability.
No matter how skilled one was, who would entrust a fortune to a wizard like Verdus?
The very reason Verdus was now working under the Skeleton Principal was because he had failed to manage his reputation.
"I think it'd be fine once or twice, wouldn't it?"
"...Do it. Do it! By all means, do it! Just try not to do it."
"It's just a question, but if you keep getting angry like this..."
The Skeleton Principal shuddered and changed the subject.
"The sponsor you're about to meet is a bit different from the ones you've met before, so be careful."
"?"
Lee Han was surprised by the Headmaster's words.
A different sponsor?
"Is their personality eccentric?"
"Eccentric... I suppose you could call it that. Though it's probably not what you're imagining. It's the third child among His Majesty the Emperor's nine children."
"!!!"
Given that the current Emperor had over a hundred children, individual authority wasn't particularly significant for each one.
Having actually met the Emperor, Lee Han could well understand why the heads of the great noble families were so indifferent toward the imperial family.
From the nobles' perspective, with an immortal Emperor firmly seated on the throne, how ridiculous must these unqualified, greenhorn imperial children seem, declaring, "I want to be the next Emperor!"
If anything, Lee Han found the Loyalist Faction nobles who gathered under certain imperial children even more baffling.
Didn't they firmly believe that the imperial child they served would become the successor?
'Do they truly believe they'll make a better Emperor than the current one?'
They probably didn't know the Emperor's true identity...
In any case, while the mass-produced imperial children held no particular authority—something the perceptive were well aware of—some among them were slightly special.
From the first to the ninth.
These were the Emperor's true children, conceived and born by him alone.
Though they lacked the qualifications to be Emperor, as dragons, they possessed immense potential.
Most importantly, unlike the other imperial children, they were of the dragon race—a crucial distinction.
In truth, the Emperor likely considered only these nine as his real children.
Naturally, not only the Skeleton Principal but even the great noble families had no choice but to pay attention to these true children of the Emperor.
"I think I understand. So, thanks to such favor, these nine are all wealthy, and we're going to squeeze money out of them."
"...Brilliant!"
The Skeleton Principal was astonished by Lee Han's perception.
Normally, when discussing these nine children, people would only focus on their status as dragons or the Emperor's favored offspring and grow tense.
But this student wasn't swayed by such things and immediately grasped the real objective.
"Truly remarkable. Your growth pleases me!"
"Haha. It's all thanks to your teachings, Headmaster."
Alsicle, walking beside them, shook her head vigorously.
The work of an Archmage was quite—no, vastly different from what Alsicle had imagined.
* * *
'I'm nervous.'
Standing before the mansion's wall, Lee Han steadied his breathing.
Facing a dragon was the kind of thing that made you even more nervous if you knew about it beforehand.
Meeting the Emperor had been better precisely because he hadn't known—but since he was aware of the Emperor's third child, the tension was palpable.
Just what kind of dragon would this be?
'They said she was eccentric.'
Eccentricity came in many forms.
There was the eccentricity of Verdus, the eccentricity of the Skeleton Principal, the eccentricity of Professor Voladi...
Given that she was one of the Emperor's first nine children, her age had to easily exceed a hundred. That likely meant her eccentricity leaned toward the Skeleton Principal's brand.
Lee Han imagined a white-haired old man with a healthy complexion flying into a rage.
'How should I flatter her?'
"Ugh."
"Are you alright, Lord Alsicle?"
"Mmm."
Alsicle's complexion wasn't good. His beak drooped, and his shoulders were hunched.
Wondering if the pressure of meeting a dragon was the cause, Lee Han asked,
"Are you nervous about the meeting...?"
"Ugh. It's embarrassing, but yes. Actually, I've met her once before."
Lee Han was startled by Alsicle's words.
"You have?"
"It was... horrifying back then."
"What kind of person was she—?"
"Please enter!"
A knight guarding the mansion entrance signaled them.
Lee Han cut off the conversation and followed the Skeleton Principal through the main gate, walking across the front garden of the mansion. The estate was so vast that just crossing the garden took a considerable amount of time.
"Is Her Highness awake now?"
"Yes. Fortunately, she is awake."
The knight spoke to the Skeleton Principal with genuine relief on his face.
The Skeleton Principal clicked his tongue and patted the knight's shoulder.
"Seems like you've had a hard time."
"...! N-No! This is an honor for me!"
"Being spat on the face isn't an honor. Don't oversell it."
"...???"
Lee Han, standing behind them, doubted his ears.
Spit on the face?
'Does she spit?'
The image of a white-haired, deranged old man rampaging in Lee Han's mind grew even more vivid.
No matter how much of a dragon she was, or the Emperor's child, spitting on subordinates just because she was in a bad mood was beyond excessive.
"Headmaster. Isn't this going too far?"
"What can I do? She's His Majesty's child."
"But—"
Lee Han was disappointed by the Skeleton Principal's uncharacteristic reaction.
He had expected that if anyone acted arrogantly, even the Emperor's child, the Skeleton Principal would immediately hang them upside down and toss them into the Punishment Room.
"Can't we just throw her into the Punishment Room?"
"...Sometimes, even as my disciple, you manage to surprise me."
The Skeleton Principal sighed in disbelief and opened the door.
The interior of the mansion resembled the Emperor's residence.
Instead of being divided into multiple sections and rooms like a typical Imperial noble's home, it was structured like one vast cavern.
Whether due to spatial expansion magic or not, the inside was several times larger than the exterior, and a dark, humid air flowed out. Closing his eyes, Lee Han could easily believe he was deep inside a cave.
"Waaah! Alsicle!!!"
"PLEASE!"
Alongside Alsicle's scream, a massive dragon's forelimb snatched up the penguin beastman.
The golden dragon tossed him up, caught him, tossed him again, caught him once more, and then squeezed him tightly.
The Skeleton Principal didn't even blink as he cast a powerful protective spell over Alsicle.
Even so, the sound of barriers shattering rang out vividly.
"Your Highness. Please maintain your dignity."
"Waaah! Gonadaltes too!"
"Your Highness."
"O-Okay. Alsicle... why didn't you come sooner? Didn't you miss Jowurin?"
"G-Ghk... I was b-busy with... work... For a mage... magic is a... calling... S-Spare me..."
"Talking about magic like it's something special! Magic is boring!"
She casually uttered words that were practically taboo in front of a mage, but Alsicle couldn't even retort, only flapping his wings helplessly.
Lee Han, who had been staring blankly at the sight of a youthful-looking dragon tormenting a penguin beastman mage, belatedly realized the truth.
"So that dragon is..."
"Just how young is she!?"
"What are you talking about? Ah. Don't tell me you thought Her Highness the Princess would be fully grown like other races?"
Only then did the Skeleton Principal understand why this disciple had suggested throwing that young dragon into the punishment chamber.
Before this, he'd simply thought the boy was insane.
"It'll take at least a few hundred more years before Jowurin's head grows any bigger."
Though dragons could surpass the accumulated knowledge of most races within mere decades and possess the brute strength to topple city walls with their sheer bulk, their mental maturity didn't keep pace.
Even a dragon who'd lived centuries would still have the thought processes of a teenage brat.
The Emperor's third daughter Jowurin, thoroughly excited, lifted the penguin beastman with her front claws.
Alsicle, fly! Fly!
"I can't fly... These aren't wings meant for flying!"
Fly!
"!"
Lee Han shuddered upon witnessing the latent potential to briefly wield Word Magic.
Truly, the bloodline of a real dragon operated on an entirely different level.
Only after thoroughly playing with Alsicle did Jowurin finally release him. The completely exhausted Alsicle collapsed, sobbing.
"...You've suffered. Go rest."
"Sniff...sob..."
With his pride as a mage utterly shattered, Alsicle trudged away in sorrow at having been reduced to a penguin circus act.
Jowurin, still buzzing with excitement, fluttered her small wings before belatedly noticing Lee Han.
This astonishing visitor radiated tremendous mana.
Jowurin's new sibling??
"No, Your Highness. He's merely human."
Did Gonadaltes modify him?
"Your Highness. If you don't maintain decorum, I shall return immediately and never visit again."
At the Skeleton Principal's words, Jowurin let out a shriek that shook the cavern walls.
The Skeleton Principal instinctively glanced at Lee Han, concerned he might have been affected by the powerful scream.
But Lee Han stood composed. The Headmaster nodded approvingly.
"?"
Z-Jowurin was wrong. Don't leave!
"Indeed. Please maintain decorum."
Human with absurdly abundant mana. What's your name?
"Your Highness. That phrasing is incorrect."
W-wrong? Human with goddamn abso...?
"Don't forcibly insert curses whose meanings you don't understand into sentences."
The royal dragon drooped and nodded meekly.
"Lee Han of the Wardanaz family."
First time seeing a mage with this much mana. A mage like this could actually play with Jowurin.
The Gold Dragon studied Lee Han with sparkling eyes.
Remembering Alsicle's recent penguin circus act, Lee Han called out to the Skeleton Principal with foreboding.
"Are you going to make me perform like Alsicle just did?"
"Of course not. You're not a penguin beastman - just moderately decent at everything. Don't flatter yourself thinking you could perform like Pengerin."
"...That's not very comforting."
Jowurin excitedly fetched a silk handkerchief.
Then threw it at Lee Han.
Pour your mana into it!
"It'll tear, won't it?"
Won't tear! Pour with all your might!
Perplexed, Lee Han channeled mana into the silk handkerchief.
Astonishingly, the handkerchief remained intact despite the massive mana flow, sturdily enduring instead of tearing. 'Incredible!' The enchantment must have focused solely on mana dispersion to achieve this.
Yet even accounting for that, it was remarkable.
To achieve this level of mana dispersion...
Compared to this, dispersing impact to prevent an egg from breaking when dropped from kilometers above seemed easier by comparison.
Right? Gonadaltes made it! Went through all that trouble but had no one to play with, so I've been using it alone. Here!
The dragon firmly secured one end of the handkerchief between her front claws and made Lee Han grip the other end.
Mana tug-of-war! It's mana tug-of-war!
"Uh... Headmaster?"
Lee Han called out, but the Skeleton Principal had already set up a table and chair in the cavern corner, sipping coffee.
"Play hard with Her Highness."
"...!"
So this is why you brought me here!