Episode 650
Episode 650
"Really? People often have unexpected sides to them, you know."
Lee Han was confident he wouldn't be surprised even if Professor Voladi had made this.
Who's to say the professor didn't go through a rebellious phase in his youth?
"Even the most unexpected things have their limits."
"The headmaster was quite handsome in his younger days too, you know."
Learning this fact gave Lee Han an even more flexible perspective.
The world had no limits, and magic was boundless.
"...That was... too long ago. Bagrak's youth isn't that ancient!"
Alsicle had to make an effort to defend Voladi's honor, even though he didn't consider them particularly close.
After repeated persuasion, Lee Han finally accepted the possibility that it might not be Professor Voladi's handiwork.
"Well, maybe not... Or perhaps a magic criminal hiding in the school made it and left it behind."
"Hey. Just because I said it wasn't Bagrak's doing doesn't mean you have to force out such an absurd hypothesis."
Seeing Lee Han blatantly pinning the blame on Professor Voladi in his mind made Alsicle flare up.
"And more important than who the owner is—it's the magic imbued in this thing."
"I agree."
Lee Han nodded.
The owner's identity wasn't actually important.
What mattered was that he'd obtained such an artifact.
When Lee Han agreed, Alsicle looked at his junior with a pleased expression. At times like this, they understood each other as fellow mages.
Simultaneously, both blurted out their thoughts:
"First, try mastering the magic imbued in it. Then you might get a chance to meet the owner."
"It's a pretty useful artifact, so carrying it around and using it in emergencies—or selling it if things go south... Huh?"
"?"
"??"
Alsicle and Lee Han glanced at each other. Alsicle flapped his wings to organize the conversation.
"Wait. My point was that you should learn the magic within it. If you get a chance to meet the owner, you might even learn a new vision spell."
"Right."
"Your idea... I don't even know what nonsense you're spouting."
'That's too harsh.'
Lee Han protested at the senior mage's ice-cold reply.
"It's already hard enough to find the owner—what kind of chance are you talking about? Normally, you'd just use it as an artifact."
"Don't you know magic calls to magic? Who knows when or how you'll meet them? If you meet the owner but can't learn the magic, wouldn't that be a waste? You'd be throwing away a chance to learn magic!"
True to his nature as a born mage, Alsicle hated wasting any opportunity to learn magic.
Moreover, this wasn't just any magic—it was the work of a master who had imbued time magic into a pocket watch.
A master like that must have created a few unique and extraordinary spells of their own.
For that eventual encounter, preparation was essential.
And wasn't there an old saying—magic calls to magic?
If he mastered it, fate might just lead him to the owner.
"That saying about magic calling to magic, in my opinion, refers to retaliation. When White Tiger Tower students attack Black Turtle Tower with magic, Black Turtle Tower students retaliate with magic against White Tiger Tower."
"......"
Alsicle clicked his beak in irritation at Lee Han's mercenary interpretation of what should have been a romantic proverb about fate.
"And, Senior Pengerin. There's one major flaw in your plan."
"What is it?"
"There's a chance I might not be able to learn the magic engraved here."
Lee Han spoke seriously.
This was the biggest issue from the start.
Time magic was an extremely high-difficulty field.
Even a spell like <Limited Time Acceleration>, engraved in this pocket watch, would clearly take an enormous amount of time to master.
Not to mention, Lee Han had other magic to study as well.
Rather than playing around with an artifact made by some unknown lunatic, it might be wiser to just use it as a practical tool.
"Wardanaz."
Alsicle let out a deep sigh.
"Yes?"
"You can learn it."
"Wait, how would you know that, Lord Pengerin?"
"You can learn it, you brat. Got it? You can learn it. Stop spouting nonsense and just learn it. Master it by today."
'He's being unusually violent today.'
Lee Han inwardly grumbled at Alsicle's unreasonable stubbornness.
Durgyu guided his horse at a leisurely pace.
He wasn't riding an extravagant carriage, nor was he mounted on some emaciated old nag.
Traveling proudly astride a well-built warhorse, his family crest emblazoned across his chest—this was the way of a knight's journey.
'Huh?'
In the distance, atop a hill, he spotted a group of mercenaries surrounding some travelers and making a commotion.
Durgyu, who had been passing along the Imperial highway, immediately gripped his sword.
He could have just ridden past, but Durgyu had no intention of doing so.
Protecting travelers on the Empire's roads was a knight's duty—even if it wasn't his family's territory. He spurred his horse forward at once.
"Ugh... my sins run too deep. Can I ever atone? Is there still time for redemption?"
Nod.
"Truly? Will this bloodstained hand ever be clean?"
Nod.
"O... ohh!"
"I'll atone... I'll atone!"
"I'll lay down my sword and return to my homeland...!"
"?????"
Durgyu wondered if he'd stumbled upon some demon-worshipping cult.
These rough, savage mercenaries were weeping like docile lambs, repenting their sins.
What kind of absurd situation was this?
'Mental magic?!'
Among the mercenaries stood Arsil, who patted their shoulders understandingly. Then she gestured for them to follow her. The mercenaries sobbed as they trailed after her.
"...What... what did I just witness?"
Durgyu collected himself and belatedly tried to pursue them, but to his astonishment, the mercenaries had already vanished.
It felt as though he'd been haunted by ghosts.
"Sir Durgyu of the Choi family, is that you?"
"Huh? Priestess Siana."
Durgyu turned toward the familiar voice coming from a carriage rolling in from the distance.
He spotted the banners and carriages of the Flemeng Order, along with its priests.
True to its reputation as one of the Empire's largest religious organizations, the carriage wasn't ornate but was large and sturdy.
"You look as though you've seen the academy principal in broad daylight."
"What kind of dreadful joke... N-no, it's nothing."
Durgyu guided his horse down the hill.
Even if he tried to explain what he'd just seen, no one would believe him.
Hell, even he wasn't entirely sure it hadn't been a dream...
"May Flemeng's wisdom guide you to perfection."
"Ah. And may that perfection reveal ever more extraordinary wisdom."
Durgyu racked his brain to return the priests' greeting properly.
The Flemeng Order priests smiled approvingly at his appropriate response.
Few knights knew how to offer proper courtesies befitting a religious order—especially not young ones.
"Truly, the knight of the Choi family carries himself with remarkable grace."
'Learned that from tagging along with Lee Han.'
Durgyu asked Priestess Siana,
"You're headed to the Wardanaz family estate, correct?"
"Yes, yes. There's a village ahead, so we thought we'd stop by first."
"The entire order...?"
"Oh, no. The other priests are here for the village."
The priests of the Flemeng Order often traveled the Empire to brew potions.
Remote areas rarely had skilled alchemists.
The high-quality potions provided by the Flemeng Order priests were invaluable to such people.
Though Fig Blossom Village wasn't particularly remote, nor was it home to a Flemeng Order temple, the priests had chosen it as their destination—partly to accompany the young Priestess Siana.
"People in the village really appreciate it when we distribute potions there."
"Hmm. That's a noble endeavor."
Durgyu nodded his head up and down.
He had witnessed such acts of charity by the Flemeng Order priests even in the northern regions. In the harsh, cold northern territories, these benevolent acts were far more crucial than in other areas.
"The villagers will surely be moved."
"Right? Should we build them a shrine too?"
"W-well, that might be..."
Durgyu showed signs of reluctance.
Unlike Lee Han, Durgyu always felt awkward when interacting with students from other towers.
How was he supposed to know what priests liked anyway?
He couldn't exactly bring up hunting stories or tales of northern monsters...
"...Ah! That's right. Did you know Lee Han recently visited the northern territories?"
"!"
Priest Siana looked at him with keen interest.
Having found a suitable topic, Durgyu inwardly sighed in relief.
"He visited the Moradi family. I heard about it through letters from other friends."
"Wow, the Moradi family?! Weren't those two on absolutely terrible terms?"
"Priest Siana."
One of the senior priests of the Flemeng Order shook a warning finger.
Though her skills had greatly improved since entering Einrogard, there were times when one worried she'd become far too quick-tempered.
It was baffling how she could be like this when there were surely other priests at Einrogard who weren't.
"My apologies. Weren't they on absolutely terrible terms?" 'This doesn't seem like something that can be fixed by just lowering one's voice.' Durgyu wondered if a priest should really be speaking this way but decided not to interfere in another order's affairs since it wasn't his family's concern.
"Actually, even though they seem to bicker constantly, they're quite close in their own way."
"Oh my. Really?"
"Yes. They took swordsmanship classes together for a year and combined their strengths—how could they not be close? Just think of them as friends who appear to have a slightly bad relationship on the surface."
Durgyu vigorously defended the two.
It always pained him to see comrades who had fought side by side quarreling.
Surely there was a deep, unspoken camaraderie between them!
Of course, this was unwanted and unnecessary defense that neither of them would have asked for.
"Oh..."
Priest Siana excitedly scribbled with her quill.
She now had material for letters to student priests from other orders.
"So this visit was also...?"
"Exactly. A token of their friendship."
"But he didn't visit the Choi family's Durgyu's estate, did he?"
"......"
Caught off guard, Durgyu floundered.
"Visiting isn't the only measure of closeness..."
"But based on this alone, doesn't it seem like Lady Giselle of the Moradi family is closer to Lee Han than Lord Durgyu of the Choi family?"
"...Actually, Moradi and Lee Han aren't really that close."
"?!"
Cornered, Durgyu threw knightly honor to the roadside and began slandering Moradi.
"Wait, didn't you just say they were close?"
"I said they were close in their own way. They fight all the time. I'm much closer to him." 'Can I really trust this person?' Priest Siana narrowed her serpentine eyes at Durgyu.
His words reeked of bravado.
It sounded exactly like something the crown prince of the Blue Dragon Tower would say...
"In my opinion, Lee Han's visit was probably an attempt to mend their deteriorating friendship, even if just a little. Moradi isn't a bad friend, but she can be quite opinionated and sharp-tongued, don't you think? So it's not necessarily that Moradi is closer—"
"O-okay, I get it."
Priest Siana couldn't take it anymore and stopped Durgyu.
"And I've actually visited Lee Han's domain in person. That makes me closer."
"Yes..."
In the distance, the village came into view.
But something was strange. People were gathered on the road leading to the village.
"Oh! Are you priests from the Flemeng Order?"
"That's correct. Do you need assistance?"
"Oh no, not at all! It's just... could you wait here for a moment?"
"Huh?"
"Th-the village... someone knocked over the haystacks, and the square is in complete disarray. We need to clean it up!"
"We can help."
"No, no, absolutely not!! We can't ask travelers to do such things! Just wait here a little while, please!"