Episode 612
Episode 612
Lee Han remained unfazed even by the Skeleton Principal's scolding.
This was a more important issue than he'd initially thought.
While Einrogard was undoubtedly a good place in terms of opportunities it provided, not everyone coveted the absolute best opportunities.
"..."
'Einrogard is a place overflowing with violence, conflict, blood, and suffering. You should make your choice knowing that.'
'That's quite an exaggeration.'
The Skeleton Principal found Lee Han's hyperbole ridiculous.
Anyone hearing this would think Einrogard was some lawless wasteland without even imperial jurisdiction.
"Fight and eat! Fight and eat!"
Eandurde's eyes sparkled as he pounded the table with both hands.
Lee Han's description had actually excited Eandurde.
A place full of strong opponents, battles, and meals!
"W-well. If you've decided... Wait, how about reconsidering? Just think it over one more time."
"Teaching your junior such wonderful things, I see."
The Skeleton Principal sneered from afar.
As a senior, he should be confidently declaring, 'If you don't enter Einrogard, you're a loser and a failure!' Yet here he was acting so uncertain.
"But Einrogard is rather harsh, isn't it?"
"Only greenhouse-raised brats would consider it harsh. For someone like him, it probably won't be that bad."
Lee Han had to acknowledge the Skeleton Principal's point.
Compared to the life this junior had endured, Einrogard might not be so difficult after all.
"You're absolutely right."
"Seems you've finally understood. Then feed him and give him some education. He should at least know how to read and write his own name."
"..."
"Uh, am I the one doing this?"
"Traditionally it was the death knights' role. If you dislike it, we can leave it to them."
Lee Han studied the junior who was staring blankly at an empty plate with innocent eyes.
He looked exactly like someone who'd known nothing but struggle, completely uneducated about the Empire.
Was it really right to entrust such a junior to knights who'd been dead for centuries and couldn't keep up with modern times?
"I'll do it myself."
"Tsk tsk. Wasting time out of pity."
'You're the one who told me to...'
Though exasperated, Lee Han watched as the Skeleton Principal prepared to leave.
"Where are you going today?"
"To persuade those handling new students. I won't need your help today, so stay and play with your junior."
"Ah. Only easy persuasion targets, then?"
"No. Only those who don't need persuading."
The Skeleton Principal hesitated while reaching for his white coat, then set it back down.
"Hmm... bloodstains would be troublesome."
As the Skeleton Principal donned his black coat instead, Lee Han averted his gaze and turned back to his junior.
"Alright. Let's start with spelling."
The junior proved remarkably intelligent.
After just a short period of study, he'd completely mastered the Empire's alphabet and could write his own name.
"Now copy this. Einrogard."
"Einrogard."
"Os Gonadaltes."
"Os Gonadaltes."
"Madman."
"Madman."
"No. Forget that last one. Slipped out habitually. Anyway, excellent work. I'll prepare a meal."
Lee Han headed to the mansion's kitchen.
Aside from the excessive amount of sardines, the pantry was quite well-stocked.
Potatoes, canned sardines, carrots, dried sardines, cabbage, frozen sardines, chicken, pickled sardines...
'I should really move these sardines elsewhere.'
While insufficient for a noble-style banquet, to the trained eye of an Einrogard student, these ingredients could produce a feast.
Thinking of his junior who likely hadn't eaten warm food in ages, Lee Han prepared the meal.
Grrroowl
"Just wait a moment."
"Understood."
First, for the starving junior, he placed a chunk of meat over the fire, stir-fried it with vegetables, then simply seasoned it with pepper and salt before serving.
Yet the junior waited instead of eating immediately.
"You can eat now?"
"Did I not win?"
"...From now on, you can eat even if you don't win. And you remembered the spelling correctly just now. That counts as winning."
"!"
Seeming to find Lee Han's words quite reasonable, the junior immediately dove into the food.
Watching the plate empty in an instant, Lee Han promptly brought out more dishes.
A grilled dish with cheese stuffed between potatoes roasted golden brown in the oven, a piping hot potato soup blended with butter-fried onions, a herring dish stir-fried with cabbage and generously seasoned... 'Oops. I ended up using the herring.' He hadn't planned to make herring dishes, but there were so many that he'd automatically reached for them.
Yet the junior ate them all with relish. Lee Han watched with a pleased expression.
"Oh. Were you having a meal?"
Alsicle yawned as she walked out.
Having suffered following the Skeleton Principal and Lee Han around for so long, Alsicle had recently returned to immersing herself in magical research.
And strangely enough, magic research always went better at night.
Having pulled an all-nighter and woken at noon, Alsicle brightened at the unusually set table.
"Wow, you prepared this yourself? Can I have some too?"
"Of course."
Alsicle eagerly reached to scoop some herring dish when—
Thwack!
Snarl!
Eandurde swatted Alsicle's wing away and growled.
"Why, why?"
"You! You can't do that to Lady Alsicle. Apologize."
"??"
At Lee Han's words, the junior tilted their head in apparent confusion.
Within Eandurde, the hierarchy of 'Lee Han > self > Penguin Beastman' was already firmly established.
"Sorry..."
"No, it's fine. You must really like herring. I've had plenty already, so I'll take this meat dish—"
Thwack!
Snarl!
Seeing the gorgon hybrid growl again left Alsicle speechless.
She'd heard the Skeleton Principal say 'I picked up a rather roughly raised one,' but she hadn't expected it to be this extreme.
"...I'll just prepare my own meal."
It wouldn't do for the dignity of the Pengerin Family to squabble over food with a young mage who hadn't been properly educated yet.
Alsicle cracked open a can of herring and pecked at it with her beak.
Lee Han found himself staring as if entranced.
No wonder other nobles donated funds just for a chance to see this. There was powerful mana in the way Alsicle swallowed fish.
Eandurde looked puzzled as Lee Han stared holes into Alsicle's herring consumption.
Then they too opened a can of herring and tried to swallow it whole.
"...Wait! You don't need to do that!"
"??"
"You can just eat normally." 'So I don't eat normally?' Alsicle grumbled inwardly.
As a penguin beastman with thick blood, popularity was her destiny, but the delighted reactions every time she swallowed fish occasionally grated on her nerves.
"Have you eaten?"
"I was just about to."
Lee Han planned to make a simple sandwich.
Noticing this, the junior hesitantly pushed their plate forward.
"No... you eat. I'm fine."
"The winner eats? Why aren't you eating?"
"True winners sometimes don't steal others' meals but take care of them instead. Here. Finish up and let's continue studying."
Eandurde didn't fully understand but nodded and inhaled the remaining food.
Watching this, Alsicle remarked,
"You should probably teach table manners too."
Snarl!
The junior growled at Alsicle again, who flusteredly explained,
"No, table manners are necessary. Really."
"Junior. You do need to learn table manners too."
"Understood."
"......"
Alsicle was stunned by the gorgon hybrid's response.
She finally realized how this beast-like creature had established their hierarchy. 'That one?!'
With Alsicle's help, Lee Han began attribute education.
"First, we'll need basic imperial moral common sense. Things like 'you shouldn't take what you want just because you need it.'"
"But at Einrogard, don't we just take what we need by force?"
"Where did you hear such baseless rumors, Sir Alsicle?"
"Lord Gonadaltes told me."
"..."
"Aside from that, basic customs of various imperial regions and elementary arithmetic."
"Etiquette. You absolutely must teach etiquette."
"Understood."
"And the etiquette required at noble gatherings."
"To that extent?"
"It'll be useful to learn everything."
Alsicle strongly insisted on an advanced etiquette curriculum for the troublesome little gorgon hybrid.
In Alsicle's eyes, that creature was sorely lacking even in basic imperial morals.
He needed to thoroughly learn advanced ethics to deeply understand how magnificent and dignified the empire's nobles truly were, and to realize just how rude his own actions had been.
"Hmm. Understood."
Though puzzled, Lee Han acquiesced for now.
Having been taught these things himself in the Wardanaz family, instructing others wouldn't be particularly difficult.
"Oh right. I think we should also teach how to control strength."
Eandurde's most powerful weapons were the petrifying curse in her magical eyes and her hair that transformed into snakes.
While an experienced warrior could control these abilities, such expectations couldn't be placed on this junior.
"No need to worry about that. The Headmaster will provide artifacts to handle it."
Alsicle fluttered his wings as he spoke.
The Skeleton Principal had dealt with students of troublesome origins and backgrounds more than once or twice.
Abilities of that caliber would be child's play for him to solve - he could handle them while yawning.
"Ah, but Headmaster didn't give me anything even though I have abundant mana."
"Wow! This canned food has two whole sardines?!"
"......"
Lee Han grumbled about having spoken unnecessarily as he organized what to teach his junior. 'Before entering, have him read a few more texts, and... just in case, maybe have him learn some useful alchemy potion recipes too. Edible grasses and medicinal herbs would be quite useful. This kid probably has no hunting experience, so should I teach hunting as well...'
"Remain silent and still. Remain silent and still. Nod and smile. Nod and smile."
Eandurde made "mm-hmm" sounds as she memorized the etiquette.
She roughly figured this would suffice for where she was going now.
Don't attack first, but counterattack when attacked, behave politely normally, show proper respect if meeting a leader along the way, don't randomly eat things just because they're given as gifts at school...
Lee Han felt proud seeing what his junior had noted down.
"'Show proper respect when meeting the Headmaster'? Very clever, aren't you?"
"What's a Headmaster?"
"...Wait. Then who is this leader..."
BAM!
The door burst open as the Skeleton Principal returned looking weary.
"What troublesome creatures."
"Oh! Lord Gonadaltes. You have blood on you."
"It's not mine."
"......"
Alsicle immediately regretted pointing it out.
"But you killed them all!"
"Pardon?"
"Ah. I mean it's all settled. Persuaded them completely."
"......"
"......"
Just then, a paper bird flew in through the window. The Headmaster frowned deeply upon receiving the letter.
"What does the letter say?"
"One who pledged to enroll is suddenly being capricious. Thought it was all settled, but now this nuisance..."
Alsicle asked curiously:
"How peculiar. There aren't many who pledge to enroll then change their minds. Who is it?"
"Your family."
"...!"
Alsicle mentally reviewed his family members of enrollment age.
"Ah. I think I know who. Probably someone who believes they could self-study with their talent without needing Einrogard..."
"Why is everyone in your family so ridiculously overconfident?"
"It's not just our family..."
"Enough. I know just the remedy for such creatures."
"You're going to beat them?"
"No. Wardanaz. Get your coat. We're going."
"......"
Alsicle had no choice but to acknowledge the Headmaster's special remedy.
The effects would undoubtedly be terrifyingly effective!