Episode 629
Episode 629
"If only he weren't an Einrogard student, I would have made him my vice-captain."
"Yeah, yeah. I once wanted to ride a dragon too. But the dragon said no."
The Skeleton Principal responded indifferently.
It was obvious that if Lee Han were made the Moradi family's vice-captain, the Emperor would immediately contact him.
Are you rebelling against me now?
"I'm aware."
"Still, it would be nice."
"?"
The family head turned his gaze toward the Skeleton Principal as if asking what he meant.
The Skeleton Principal pointed at Lee Han and Giselle.
"Aren't they getting along well? It's rare to see students from different towers being so friendly outside the academy."
From the perspective of the efficiency-driven family head, it was only natural to be pleased that his children were maintaining a friendship with the Wardanaz heir.
After all, establishing connections with the Wardanaz family was no easy feat, yet here they were, fostering camaraderie among themselves.
By now, the family head was probably excitedly drafting "The Northern Hegemony Acquisition Plan in Collaboration with the Wardanaz Family" in his head.
"It's not good."
"??"
But the reply he received was unexpected. The family head had coldly rejected the idea.
The Skeleton Principal was puzzled.
"Why isn't it good?"
"It's foolish behavior. Wasting what little time remains on sword practice duels. They should have been discussing matters concerning the territory instead..."
"......"
The Skeleton Principal was stunned.
So, right now...
He was actually begrudging his own child for spending time with a friend??
'What kind of lunatic is this?'
"Are you joking?"
"Of course not. They can build friendships once they get to Einrogard, can't they?"
"......"
Of course, from the family head's perspective, he might have wanted to discuss the future of the territory further with the rare talent he had just discovered.
But normally, when a child is playing with a friend, wouldn't one say, "Haha, well, we can talk about the territory later—go ahead and strengthen your friendship"?
Moreover, saying "My business comes first, so you can just go play at Einrogard" wasn't something a sane person would say.
"...Next time you visit, you should just block out your entire schedule in advance."
"That was my intention."
The family head looked at the Skeleton Principal as if stating the obvious.
He had already planned to secure his schedule first during the next visit so that neither Jiklin nor Giselle could interfere.
Faced with such unwavering stubbornness, the Skeleton Principal felt a headache coming on—despite not having a head to ache.
"Hey. Bring me some alcohol."
"Your Excellency drinks alcohol as well?"
"What, is alcohol wasted on the undead?"
"Not at all."
A startled attendant hurriedly brought alcohol. The Skeleton Principal, irritated, poured the transparent liquid into his mouth.
"Family Head."
While Giselle was taking a short break, Lee Han approached.
Then, noticing the Skeleton Principal, he asked:
"Headmaster, you drink alcoho—wait, why are you doing this?!"
"What, undead aren't allowed to drink?"
The Skeleton Principal flicked alcohol from his glass at Lee Han, who dodged left and right to avoid it. Thanks to his earlier encounter with Jiklin, his reflexes were sharp.
"What brings you here, Wardanaz?"
"I brought a gift to commemorate this visit."
Lee Han fumbled as he pulled out the gift—
The Knight's Joy, a 40-year-old vintage liquor he had received from the Beech Knights last time.
He had considered selling it, but gifts like these felt wrong to sell. If any of the knights spotted it while he was browsing the imperial market, it would be extremely awkward.
It was better to think long-term and use it as a bribe—no, as a gift.
"To the family head who shields the North, I present this gift."
"...Thank you."
Though the family head accepted it without much reaction, the Skeleton Principal could tell he was deeply moved.
'He's digging his own grave, and deep at that.'
The Skeleton Principal clicked his tongue (figuratively) and stared at Lee Han.
The next time he visited this place, it might be more comfortable to just be thrown into the underground prison.
At least there, he wouldn't have the family head constantly talking at him!
"Ugh... Ugh... Uuugh..."
On the day of their departure from the territory.
Alsicle lay groaning in the carriage's bedroom, utterly miserable.
Among knights, the most popular individuals had to have strong livers.
Every person they met would offer them drinks, making it impossible not to get drunk.
"Can't we just sober up with magic?"
"I'm suffering from the drunkenness and the hangover..."
Magic wasn't omnipotent.
Especially not for drunken mages.
No matter how powerful the magic, it was useless in the hands of an intoxicated mage.
"Can't we ask the Headmaster for help?"
"Haha. Do you really think I'd do that?"
The Skeleton Principal answered with an expression that looked positively delighted.
Lee Han shook his head vigorously.
"I'm not doing this out of spite. There's simply no need to forcibly hasten something that can heal naturally with magic. You must've learned that, right?"
"Ah. Yes, I did."
Though it was easy to misunderstand magic as fundamentally overturning the laws of nature with a mage's will, the first thing mages learned was restraint in using magic.
The more a mage relied on magic, the easier it was for magic to consume them—this was a well-known adage.
'But it feels like the Headmaster just enjoys watching Alsicle suffer.'
"Did everything go well in the north?"
"Yes. Thanks to you, it ended a bit more smoothly. It's the first time I've seen Jidorf looking so happy."
"He didn't seem particularly happy, though?"
"That counts as happiness. Trust me."
The Skeleton Principal spoke while gazing at the receding northern mountain range.
"The danger of the Empire's frontier regions isn't just due to their harsh natural environment. It's because we don't know what kind of changes the accumulated mana in those places might bring."
The harsher the environment, the denser the mana that lingered there.
From the Empire's perspective, this was truly terrifying.
There was no telling when a Dimensional Gate might open in the vast reaches of the Empire, allowing beings from the outer realms to pour in and wreak havoc.
The northern mountains were one such infamous location. There was a reason groups like the Shadow Patrol had been formed.
"That's why we must consistently monitor and watch for changes."
"...?"
Lee Han was puzzled by the sudden shift in the Headmaster's conversation—from talking about Lord Moradi to the safety of the northern mountains and the Empire.
Why was he explaining this to him?
"Uh, yes. Understood."
"Good. Even interdimensional monsters are troublesome enough, but with the cultists running wild too... Annoyances always come in pairs."
The Skeleton Principal sighed and pulled out a letter.
It was a task he didn't want to do but had to.
Given the current situation in the north, it was necessary to deploy mages for investigation.
Whoosh!
The letter, swiftly written in a single stroke, immediately flew out of the carriage like a bird.
"To waste resources hunting down cultists when we don't even have gold for research... It makes me want to grind my bones to dust."
The Headmaster's last words carried a chilling murderous intent. Lee Han quickly agreed.
"Lock them up in the underground punishment chamber forever!"
"Isn't that a bit cruel?"
"......"
Another letter flew into the carriage mid-flight.
The Skeleton Principal tore it open and frowned as he read the contents.
"What's the matter?"
"Just when I thought it was all over, another request came in. The bishop of the Vildotskal Order wants to discuss something."
"The Vildotskal Order..."
Lee Han fell into thought.
"That's the Order of the Night, right?"
"The Order of Thieves, you mean."
"...I phrased it deliberately."
Vildotskal, the god of night and thieves.
To the uninformed, one might react, "Wait, isn't that an evil god? Has the Empire gone mad, worshipping such a deity?" But in truth, the priests of Vildotskal weren't thieves.
The priests who served Vildotskal believed in him as the symbol and incarnation of the night—nothing more.
The problem was that thieves also fervently believed in Vildotskal.
The history was so deeply entrenched that no one remembered Vildotskal as just the "God of Night" anymore. He was only remembered as the "God of Night and Thieves."
'Come to think of it, Ratford believed in Vildotskal too, didn't he?'
Ratford wasn't particularly devout, but he did have enough faith to occasionally toss Empire coins while muttering, "Please let something good come out of this."
In truth, this level of faith was far deeper than Lee Han's.
"Why would the Vildotskal Order call for the Headmaster? Huh. Did you perhaps attack their priests?"
"There's one kid who decided to enroll there, that's all. They wouldn't summon me just for attacking priests."
'Shouldn't you be denying that you attacked them?'
The Skeleton Principal wore an uncharacteristically hesitant expression.
"Does that junior have some kind of problem?"
"No. I just don't feel like talking with those priest bastards. It makes me feel like I'm getting dumber by association."
"...Let's just get this over with. This is the last one, right?"
Thinking they should quickly finish this overtime work and wrap things up, Lee Han gave the Skeleton Principal a push from behind.
Occasionally, thieves would entertain fantasies like 'I should join the Vildotskal Order and learn the true arts of the night,' visiting the temple—but such thieves always turned back at the entrance.
The pitch-black darkness that greeted them the moment they opened the door and stepped inside.
This was a unique characteristic of the Vildotskal Order's temple.
Lee Han and the Skeleton Principal cast Darkvision spells and entered.
Surprisingly, the order's priests moved about effortlessly in the darkness as though it were nothing.
"Where's the Thief King?"
"...Honored Gonadaltes. We are not thieves. We are servants of the God of Night—"
"Yeah, yeah. The Thief King."
Even in the darkness, Lee Han could clearly sense the priests shooting resentful looks at the Skeleton Principal.
Embarrassed, Lee Han pretended not to be with him, subtly turning to face the wall. But the Skeleton Principal mercilessly grabbed his arm and dragged him along.
"Honored Gonadaltes. You've arrived."
"?"
Lee Han's eyes widened as he opened the door to the bishop's chamber.
There had been a voice—yet no one was there.
The Skeleton Principal looked at Lee Han and said,
"Still inexperienced. Don't grow complacent just because you can pierce the darkness."
"!"
At those words, Lee Han realized he had been overly reliant on his Darkvision spell.
Magic always had a countermeasure, like a tail being grabbed. 'Divine Magic!'
If this was the bishop of the Vildotskal Order, perhaps they could summon darkness even Darkvision couldn't penetrate.
Lee Han withdrew his vision and focused on sensing mana. Then, he felt a unique flow of mana ahead of him.
Slowly, as if his eyes were adapting to the dark, he discerned the bishop's form.
The bishop was an elderly woman with a kindly appearance.
"Introduce yourself. Wardanaz. This is Ines of the Grey family. And here is Lee Han of the Wardanaz family."
"Honored Gonadaltes. A pleasure. You remain as vigorous as ever."
"You've had your hands full feeding thieves too, I see."
Lee Han quickly interjected, fearing the atmosphere would turn icy.
"You must mean the priests. Haha."
"No. I meant thieves. This Ines here literally serves meals to the thieves around here."
"...?"
"Charity, I mean. Charity. Like what you do for those Tower folks. Feeding the poor and pitiful."
'We get paid for that, though.'
Lee Han missed his chance to explain under the bishop's admiring gaze.
"I think the Punishment Corps would be more effective."
"Some thieves need the Punishment Corps, and some need meals."
Despite the Skeleton Principal's indifferent remark, the bishop maintained her dignity as she replied.
"So, why have you called me? If a new recruit doesn't want to go to Einrogard because of prayers, let them persuade themselves. What's so difficult about that?"
"That's not why we called you, Honored Gonadaltes. We summoned you to consult about a very minor problem concerning a new recruit."
"Divine Magic awakening? Psychic powers? Magic rejection? Noble aversion? The last one doesn't matter. In fact, it's good. At Einrogard, under imperial law, you can even beat up nobles."
"The priest who received the enrollment offer this time is a thief."
"...Now that's impressive. Is the Vildotskal Order finally acting in line with its reputation?"
"Please stop. Seriously."
Lee Han grabbed the Skeleton Principal's sleeve and tugged in protest.