Episode 618
Episode 618
'Is This a Good Idea?'
Lee Han hesitated at the knights' words.
Of course, he did consider himself somewhat close to the Moradi family now, but friendships came in many varieties.
Among them were friendships where if you showed up at someone's mansion saying, "Hey, I came to hang out!" they'd get annoyed.
In Lee Han's opinion, Moradi had a petty and stingy side, so the likelihood of him giving a cold shoulder if a friend visited was high...
"Ah! Has Lord Moradi arrived?"
"!"
Lee Han was startled by the sudden appearance of Moradi's bloodline.
They say speak of the devil and he shall appear, and Moradi was no exception...
"I am Balpatan of the Moradi family. Pleased to meet you."
'Ah. It wasn't him after all.'
The one who had entered was another descendant of the Moradi family.
Balpatan Moradi.
As a third-year student at Einrogard affiliated with the Moradi family, he had come out of curiosity after hearing that a mage from the Pengerin family and a junior from Einrogard had visited the family.
Truthfully, he already knew quite a bit about Alsicle of the Pengerin family, given their fame.
But the junior was different.
He'd heard this one belonged to the Wardanaz family!
-Sir Ingkan. Is he truly from the Wardanaz family?
-Yes. Truly.
-This is perfect! There's so much I wanted to ask!
It wasn't just because he was from the Wardanaz family.
Rumors about the Wardanaz family's first-year had already been circulating among some seniors at Einrogard.
-They say he's from the Enchantment Magic faction.
-I heard he's the crazy skeleton bastard's direct disciple—isn't he dangerous?
-They say he's close with Ilendil...
-Then he definitely is dangerous, right?
-No, I heard he's close with the Black Magic faction.
-Then he's really dangerous, isn't he?
On top of that, there were wild rumors floating around—that he'd fought the Ghoul King, battled the King of Frost Giants, or gone out to subdue magic criminals and anti-magic zealots. It was impossible not to be curious.
And Balpatan had one more thing he was curious about, unlike the others.
"Lord Pengerin. It's a pleasure to meet you."
After greeting the others, Balpatan turned to Lee Han and asked,
"...Uh, Gainando too...?"
"I'm not sure what you're referring to?"
Lee Han shamelessly played dumb.
Lee Han had many talents.
One of them was the ability to lie straight-faced without changing his expression.
Those who fell for it often found themselves thinking, 'Huh? Is that so?' in confusion.
Balpatan was no exception.
"Ah. Is that so? Maybe I misheard in all the chaos back then?"
"Yes. Gainando is my friend's name. You must have mistaken me for him since we were together."
"That might be it. Ugh, this is embarrassing. Here I am, a senior..."
Balpatan looked sheepish.
To think a senior could mishear a name like that.
Remembering all the misunderstandings that followed because of that mistake made him feel even more awkward.
"Anyway, nice to meet you, Wardanaz! I've heard a lot about you."
This time, Lee Han wasn't surprised.
He calmly smiled and asked in return,
"You must have heard from the knights of the order?"
"No, from other Einrogard students?"
"...?!"
The unexpected answer left Lee Han slightly flustered.
"From the Black Magic faction seniors?"
"No. I'm not really close with those Black Magic guys. Just a few tower friends mentioned it. They said during the dimensional rift, there was a junior who worked across multiple factions. Hey! That time you slaughtered those penguin swordsmen from another dimension, right!? How the hell did you pull that off?"
At Balpatan's words, the knights who had been lounging straightened their postures abruptly.
This was a very interesting story.
"Well, that wasn't really me—I borrowed the power of another summoned entity..."
"Right! You're the top of the swordsmanship lecture, aren't you? Everyone! I heard Wardanaz is first in the swordsmanship lecture! Beating out knights from other noble families!"
'Is this guy even listening to me?'
Lee Han thought to himself as Balpatan brought up a new topic before he could even answer.
"Ah...!"
"Top of the class..."
The knights' eyes gleamed as they stared at Lee Han. Since this wasn't particularly exaggerated, Lee Han had nothing to say in response.
"I've trained diligently in swordsmanship since childhood."
"Let's hear that story then."
Balpatan dragged a chair over and comfortably perched himself in front of Lee Han.
His attitude made it clear he intended to hear every detail about what had happened at Einrogard.
'Damn. If it weren't for him being my senior, I could've just ignored this.' Having to explain every exaggerated rumor about himself (though some weren't exaggerated) one by one in front of the knights.
If it weren't for his senior status, he would've just cut the conversation short!
"...And that's how we dealt with the Anti-Magic Zealots."
"Ah. Wait a moment. I've got something in my eye."
Balpatan dabbed at his eyes with a handkerchief, visibly moved.
The other knights also wore slightly choked-up expressions.
"It's not that tear-jerking, is it...?"
"What are you talking about? How moving. Really, what a great story. I'll have to tell my friends about this later."
The knights' sensibilities were quite different from Lee Han's. Balpatan and the knights seemed deeply impressed by the tale of young mages standing their ground instead of fleeing.
"By the way, are you close with Giselle? You fought together, so you must be quite friendly, right?"
At Balpatan's question, another knight answered for him.
"Yes. They said they're very close."
"Is that so?"
"I didn't say 'very'..."
"How interesting."
Balpatan looked genuinely intrigued.
Though he was related to Giselle, she wasn't the type who made friends easily.
As a direct descendant of the Moradi family, she'd inherited their most ruthless, blade-sharp temperament.
Balpatan himself, being a branch family member who'd trained among various knight families, had developed a more easygoing personality, but Giselle, having received direct lineage education, was thoroughly disciplined in these matters.
"So you're saying Moradi is somewhat rude and socially inept?"
"Ah, no. I wouldn't go that far?"
Balpatan flustered at Lee Han's blunt question.
"Just... cool-headed and strict, you know? Not someone who'd easily form friendships."
One of the listening knights chimed in:
"But wouldn't the Wardanaz family be worthy of such friendship?"
"Hmm. Perhaps."
Balpatan considered this quite plausible.
Among the Empire's great noble families, the Wardanaz name carried exceptional prestige.
They neither engaged actively in politics nor stood out in social circles, yet their reputation endured—proof of the family's inherent power.
The purest magical bloodline.
Considering that potential, it was highly likely Giselle had factored this into building their rapport.
A dignified friendship that brought no disgrace to either family's reputation.
"Typical Giselle. So clever."
"I'm impressed. Even in making friends, she doesn't settle for ordinary."
"...?"
Lee Han, listening nearby, tilted his head in confusion.
It seemed a stretch to say Moradi had such calculations when forming their friendship...
'More like I was just unlucky.' Didn't that Blue Dragon Tower student pick fights during lectures?
Still, given Moradi's family status, Lee Han decided to play along with praising his "friend."
"Exactly! No wonder she always respected my lineage..."
"I knew it. Wow, impressive. I'll have to brag to my friends about this."
Balpatan swelled with pride at the thought of boasting about the Moradi family's extensive connections after the semester began.
Achievements by family members were essentially personal bragging rights too.
Alsicle, listening nearby, asked curiously:
"I don't know much, but that friend seems like such a dignified noble despite being from a knight family?"
"Uh, well..."
Having concluded the Giselle topic, Balpatan cleared his throat and straightened his posture.
Lee Han sensed foreboding in that motion.
"But the Ghoul King..."
'Is this some new form of torture?' Lee Han shuddered at the sight of the knights who continued to listen with genuine enjoyment even after hearing the same story told over and over.
Just how much did they love idle chatter for it to come to this?
BANG!
"Lady Moradi is coming!"
Suddenly, the door burst open, and a knight urgently shouted.
"...?"
"There's more than one Lady Moradi, you know."
"I'm also a Moradi."
The flustered knight gasped for breath before shouting again.
"Lady Jiklin of the Moradi Family!!"
"!!!!"
The knights abruptly rose from their seats. Even Balpatan jumped up in alarm.
"Make way!"
"Can't you let go of that? Do you have no respect for your seniors?"
"If I get caught today, I'm done for!"
Without distinction, the knights hurriedly scrambled out.
Balpatan tried to slip away too, but the knights blocking the entrance delayed him by a beat.
In that moment, an arriving servant spoke.
"Lord Alsicle of the Pengerin Family. Lord Lee Han of the Wardanaz Family. Is that correct? Ah. Lord Balpatan is here as well."
"...I—I was just about to leave..."
"Then I shall inform Lady Jiklin."
"N-No! I'll stay. On second thought, it's nothing serious."
"Is that so? Understood. In any case, the two of you—Lady Jiklin will soon visit with a gift. Is that acceptable?"
Alsicle and Lee Han exchanged glances.
In such situations, a simple visit would suffice, but asking for permission in this manner was a practice only observed among those in noble families who placed great emphasis on etiquette.
"Is it acceptable?"
"Yes. Thank you. I shall relay that."
As the servant left, Balpatan let out a deep sigh.
"Who exactly is Lady Jiklin?"
"Ah, haven't you heard from Giselle? She's Giselle's older sister."
"I see. ...Wait, older sister?"
"What are you talking about?"
Balpatan stared at Lee Han as if questioning his words.
Lee Han, in turn, stared back with the same expression.
"That's not the important part right now. Lord Pengerin. If I have committed any discourtesy, or if the other knights have acted improperly, please tell me now. I humbly beg this of you, even if it seems rude!"
Alsicle glanced at the plate of pickled herring beside him before speaking.
"...There was nothing of the sort."
"What a relief. Wardanaz, did I do anything..."
"Haha. Senior, not at all. But just now, you said Giselle's older sister..."
"Phew... Good. That's a relief."
Balpatan fidgeted nervously, straightening his attire and clearing his throat.
His behavior only deepened Alsicle's bewilderment.
"What kind of person is Lady Jiklin of the Moradi Family?"
"Ah, she has no relation to the two of you. But for me, it's different. She's extremely strict about rules and discipline..."
Though Balpatan himself was an odd fit for the Moradi Family's traditions, Jiklin was no less mismatched—despite being a direct descendant.
Loyalty, integrity, honor, chivalry...
Among modern knights, those who strictly upheld such virtues were rare. Even Imperial knights had secularized to some degree, making it only natural.
But Jiklin was the embodiment of these virtues. She resembled a knight from the old kingdom era more than a knight of the Empire's northern territories.
"Such people still exist?!"
Alsicle marveled.
Even as a direct descendant of the Moradi Family, he never expected someone so reminiscent of the knights of old to still be around.
Truly admirable and worthy of respect.
"It's exhausting for us."
Balpatan grumbled.
Knights couldn't spend every day swinging swords and training.
Sometimes, they needed to socialize, listen to heroic tales, and so on...
"But why did the other knights leave just now?"
"Because they'd get scolded if caught slacking off training to chat with guests. I at least trained today, so I should be fine. Probably."
"......"
For a moment, Lee Han looked at Balpatan with the same expression one would give a Gainando.