Episode 615
Episode 615
'Whew. We got away with it.'
Lee Han let out a sigh of relief.
He had forged the Headmaster's signature so Nilia could escape the Shadow Patrol during vacation.
Fortunately, it seemed the Headmaster's attention was focused on the knights below.
"Honestly, what useless bastards..."
"If you order us to shoot, we'll do it quietly."
At the Shadow Patrol hunters' sly remark, the Skeleton Principal shook his head.
"No need. Let's be satisfied with what we shot last time."
"......"
Lee Han was shocked by the conversation happening beside him.
Of course, it was hard for the hunters of the northern mountain range and the knights under them to get along.
From the hunters' perspective—who risked their lives scouting deep into the mountains—the knights were nothing but arrogant bastards who were useless and only barked orders.
On the other hand, the northern knights saw the hunters as barbaric brutes who constantly complained for more supplies while already taking every last resource from the already barren families.
'Still, shooting arrows was a bit much.'
* * *
The northern knights sat in front of the log cabin, waiting for the owner to return.
One young squire, unable to bear the wait any longer, let out a bit of anger.
"No matter how you look at it, is this any way to make the honorable knights of the north wait like this? They clearly said they'd come today!"
For a mere squire to dare raise his voice in front of knights of such high standing—
Under normal circumstances, a club would have flown his way, but the veteran knight teaching the squire just grinned and said,
"Oh-ho. If you're so bold, why don't you say that to the lumberjacks when they return?"
"R-Really? Can I?"
"Of course!"
The other knights, who had been about to scold the squire, stopped at the veteran's words and smiled instead.
The young squire, oblivious to the situation, puffed up his chest and nodded firmly.
"Understood. I dare to!"
Not long after, a group of lumberjacks ascended from below.
They were the local lumberjacks returning after finishing their work.
The lumberjacks of the northern mountain range, composed of various races, walked with massive builds and axes so large they made their frames seem small. With every exhale and step they took, steam billowed from their heated bodies.
"......"
The squire's mouth fell open at the sight of the lumberjacks, which was nothing like he had imagined.
The knights burst into laughter at his expression.
The free folk around these northern mountains were different from those of other regions.
Merely surviving in this harsh land required considerable martial prowess and courage.
Especially the mountain lumberjacks here—they were famous even among them.
Composed of those who boasted innate strength, they were the type to clear out monster hordes on their own without even needing to call for help!
"Y-You... How dare you make knights wait like this!"
Too proud to back down, the squire shouted.
At his outburst, the lumberjacks stared at him as if he were an idiot.
"What's this? Have you noble knights come to pick a fight?"
"D-Dare you! How dare you...!"
"Sorry about that. Please understand. He's still young."
The veteran knight laughed as he covered the squire's mouth.
"You know why we're here, don't you? His talent is just too precious to waste."
At that, the lumberjacks scratched their cheeks.
Truthfully, they already knew.
The young lumberjack, Ulgan.
Even among lumberjacks, he was famous for his massive build and immense strength.
Naturally, such fame had reached the ears of the nearby knights.
"But the kid doesn't want to. He already ran away once."
Surprisingly, Ulgan had once trained as a squire several years ago.
Given his rising fame back then, the knights had sought him out and persuaded him.
Despite their earnest pleas, Ulgan had followed them and trained as a squire—only to lose interest soon after and return to the lumberjacks.
"Even we don't understand why. He was highly regarded even among the other squires."
"We know the reason. He must have chosen to live freely as a lumberjack rather than endure those stifling knights."
The lumberjacks burst into laughter at their comrade's words.
A few knights bristled with anger, but the veteran knight stretched out his arm to stop them.
"Let them speak. I want to hear what exactly didn't sit right with him."
"Maybe the other squires ostracized him?"
"That wasn't it."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Well... because Ulgan beat up all the other squires..."
On his very first day in the barracks, Ulgan had knocked out every other squire and established himself as their leader.
They say the others would even play dead at his slightest command—there was no way he'd been ostracized.
"Ha! That's our Ulgan for you."
"Maybe he just found it boring?"
Despite the lumberjacks' exclamations, the veteran knight remained composed.
Having served as a knight in these northern lands for many years, he'd rarely encountered material as promising as Ulgan.
-This boy was born to be a knight!
His massive frame, formidable strength, exceptional reflexes, and even innate supernatural abilities—
If properly nurtured, he might become a legendary knight of the north.
Not that he looked down on lumberjacks, but it would be such a waste for Ulgan to end his days as one. 'I'll persuade him somehow and bring him into the knight order.' This time, since Ulgan was older, he'd take personal charge of his training.
"Being a knight is boring."
"???"
"But being a mage isn't boring!"
"...?!"
The northern knights turned, thinking some mad outsider was picking a fight, only to freeze in shock upon seeing the speaker.
The Guardian of the Empire's Magical Barrier was approaching, leading the Shadow Patrol.
"Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap..."
"Quite the rhythmic tapping. Not bad at all."
"Wh-what brings you here, sir?!"
The northern knights were flustered.
Gonadaltes only visited these barren lands when major trouble arose—
Like when the magic protecting the mountain patrol fortresses failed, or when hordes of monsters appeared...
But the veteran knight glimpsed another possibility.
"Don't tell me... Ulgan was selected as a student of Einrogard?!"
"Correct."
"Th-that's impossible!"
"Why? Does size prevent magic?"
Behind Gonadaltes, the Shadow Patrol members burst into mocking laughter.
"Haha, these knightly lords are full of prejudices!"
"Right, exactly!"
"......"
The knights silently vowed to spit in the next supplies sent to the Shadow Patrol.
"N-no, but... Ulgan is clearly born to be a knight."
"Didn't you find his strength unusual? Even accounting for his size? Likely an innate sensitivity to mana. He can manipulate it somewhat without training. And you mentioned supernatural abilities? Classic signs of an untrained mage."
"Oh..."
The lumberjacks perked up at the Skeleton Principal's words, looking at him with newfound respect.
They'd known he was someone important, but hearing him speak like this made him even more credible.
An aura of nobility and intellect—on a completely different level from the knights—radiated from him.
"N-no! Both mana and supernatural abilities are essential for knights too!!"
Desperate to counter the shifting mood, the knights protested vehemently.
Knights needed mana control to manifest aura, and supernatural abilities were arguably more useful for knights than mages.
Mages could achieve similar results through study—why would they obsess over supernatural powers?
The way mages dismissively labeled such abilities as "Primitive Magic" said it all. 'Something's off.' The veteran knight grew suspicious of Gonadaltes's uncharacteristically patient demeanor.
The Skeleton Principal wasn't one to leisurely entertain others' arguments.
What exactly was he plotting?
"I hate mountains."
Ahead, Alsicle panted heavily as he swung his staff—the very picture of a mage who'd neglected physical training.
Watching this, Eandurde gazed at Alsicle with undisguised contempt.
"Pathetic!"
"No, actually, many mages are naturally frail."
"?"
Eandurde looked Lee Han up and down.
Flustered, Lee Han hastily explained.
"Well, there are exceptions."
"Why don't you train your body?"
"It's just that magic is so overwhelmingly convenient..."
"Laziness!"
"No, it's a bit different from laziness... or is it?"
The reason Lee Han's group was traveling separately was simple.
It was by the Skeleton Principal's order.
'Since the freshman brat isn't here, he must still be somewhere else. I'll keep the knights distracted, so go find him.'
'What should we do after finding him?'
'Get him to enter Einrogard.'
'Huh? How should I convince him?'
'Easy. Just do what you normally do.'
'...'
No way...
Lee Han was dumbfounded, but the Skeleton Principal had already vanished.
Left with no choice, Lee Han had to set out with Alsicle and the junior to find Ulgan.
"O snow, reveal the traces to me."
As Alsicle chanted the spell, snowflakes uncovered footprints left on the ground.
Relieved that it worked, Alsicle let out a sigh of relief.
This was a tracking spell, but it wasn't foolproof. If used in the wrong place, the magic itself would fail.
He had been worried it might not work with the junior mages watching, but thankfully, it succeeded.
'Whew. What a relief.'
"Wow, I didn't know this method existed."
"It's not that difficult a spell. Want me to teach you later?"
"Thank you. I was actually considering using Divination Magic."
As Lee Han put away the colorful pebbles he used for divination, Alsicle asked curiously.
"Divination Magic? But this isn't a workshop—wouldn't the strain be too much?"
Normally, he might have asked, 'You already know how to use Divination Magic?' but Alsicle had grown close enough to Lee Han to avoid such foolish questions.
"Ah, this level is manageable with mana."
"......"
Alsicle stared at the snowflake-revealed footprints after hearing that.
Swish, swish, swish—
"Why are you erasing them?!"
"Forget about this!"
"No, seriously, what's wrong with you?!"
While trying to stop Alsicle, Eandurde sniffed the air and located the person.
"There, over there!"
Eandurde tugged at Lee Han's sleeve and pointed into the distance.
A massive human was chopping wood with an axe, moving at a startlingly fast speed.
'That guy... If he enrolls in Einrogard, we won't have to worry about firewood!'
Lee Han was amazed at discovering a talent who might disrupt Einrogard's market balance.
Alsicle was equally impressed.
"His physique is warrior-like, but he has decent magical talent. He's even using psychic powers."
"Psychic powers, you say?"
"Yeah. Looks like telekinesis. He's unconsciously applying it to the axe."
"That's fascinating."
'You're the more fascinating one...'
Alsicle swallowed the words that almost slipped out.
No matter how he thought about it, compared to such an ordinary psychic ability, the boy from the Wardanaz family was far more extraordinary.
"Where did you come from?"
Ulgan was startled upon noticing the mages.
"Are you... knights?!"
"No. We're mages from Einrogard. Ulgan."
Alsicle spoke calmly to reassure the young lumberjack.
"Einrogard, you say...?"
"Yes. We came because you have magical talent. Can we talk for a moment?"
Ulgan set down his axe and approached with a bewildered expression.
"Magic...?"
"We heard you trained as a squire. May we ask why you quit?"
At Alsicle's question, Ulgan's face darkened.
"Ah, if it's too difficult to answer—"
"No, it's just... I should've given a proper answer before. It's just that I..."
As Ulgan steeled himself, the other three watched intently, curious about what reason could make him hesitate like this.
Just why?
"...I hate fighting."
"......"
"......"
A brief silence fell.
Alsicle was the first to recover.
"Then Einrogard is an even better fit for you!"
"R-Really? You think so?"
As Ulgan perked up, Lee Han thought to himself:
'If he hates fighting, is it really okay for him to come to Einrogard?'