Episode 67
Episode 67
The Blue Dragon Tower students who arrived late looked around the noisy lounge with puzzled expressions and asked,
"What's going on?"
"The Wardanaz kid said we should raid the White Tiger Tower and steal their flag!"
"...Whoaaaaa! I've been waiting for this!"
Each new student who heard the situation burst into cheers.
"Don't you think an exchange would still be better?"
Gainando muttered, still seeming unconvinced.
Lee Han grew curious and asked,
It was quite rare for Gainando to voice his opinion like this.
"Why do you think that?"
"With an exchange, both sides could safely and stably complete their assignments without any danger."
"That's true. But we already concluded it wouldn't work because we can't trust those White Tiger Tower bastards."
"The White Tiger Tower seems trustworthy this time though."
"How so?"
"I saw the White Tiger Tower kids giving me bread and milk while talking really nicely..."
"......"
Lee Han was shocked.
In their current situation where even their own food supplies were insufficient, giving away bread and milk was absolutely not simple kindness.
At most, half a piece of bread could be considered kindness—anything beyond that clearly had ulterior motives.
'Were they trying to bribe Gainando?'
Why him of all people...?
'Well, thinking about it, Gainando does make a pretty good target.'
Given his status, he seemed to have some influence (though the White Tiger Tower students probably didn't know the exact dynamics within the Blue Dragon Tower), and he appeared gullible enough to be an easy mark...
After roughly assessing the situation, Lee Han hesitated before speaking.
"Alright, Gainando. Before we raid them, let's try it your way first."
"Huh? Really?"
"Yeah. Go tell those White Tiger Tower bastards that I've changed my mind."
"You're not going to tell the others?"
Gainando looked puzzled.
Shouldn't they inform their friends, who were currently pumped up for the raid, that the plan had changed slightly?
"They wouldn't be able to accept your brilliant plan even if you told them."
"Well, that's true too. I'll go talk to them and come back!"
Gainando confidently set off immediately. Yoner, who had been listening to their conversation nearby, wore a worried expression.
Lee Han nodded as if he understood Yoner's concern and said,
"Don't worry. Even though those White Tiger Tower bastards have nasty tempers, they wouldn't capture and torment Gainando in a situation like this."
"No. I was worried Gainando might betray us."
"...Gainando isn't the type to do that, is he?"
"But you never know how things might turn out. I wish we had a potion to prevent betrayal."
"......"
Lee Han found Yoner slightly terrifying.
More importantly, isn't Gainando your cousin?!
"Everything ready?"
"All set."
The White Tiger Tower students were satisfied with their impressive-looking flag.
Surprisingly, the White Tiger Tower students had genuinely been considering exchanging flags in earnest.
...A fake flag, that is!
The idea of using a fake flag to obtain the opponent's real one was quite ingenious.
Of course, it wasn't easy. They had to deceive all the sharp-eyed Blue Dragon Tower students.
Because of this, the White Tiger Tower students had gone to the Black Market in Turtle Tower and traded the precious rabbit meat they'd caught over the weekend for fabric and dye.
It was a painful sacrifice when everyone was starving, but there was no other choice.
"Moradi! It's done! The prince fell for it! He says to set a time and place for the exchange! We agreed to meet in front of the main building tomorrow when the sun is directly overhead!"
Angrago, the goat beastman student from the White Tiger Tower who had gone to meet Gainando, shouted excitedly.
"Perfect! Angrago, well done!"
"After eating all that precious food, this is the least you could do!"
Everyone clapped and stomped their feet in celebration, but Giselle still wore a doubtful expression.
The dwarf student standing nearby, Dukehma, asked.
"What's wrong, Moradi? Is there some problem?"
"I still can't tell if that prince is actually useful..."
Giselle had her reasons for feeling uneasy.
In any group, the leader who stands at the top naturally possesses a distinct aura.
Though she hated to admit it, even Lee Han of the Wardanaz family demonstrated this.
Even those who aren't outright leaders but hold significant positions within a group inevitably show signs of it...
...Yet strangely, Prince Gainando gave off no such impression.
"Moradi. Trust Angrago's judgment. That prince will definitely serve as a useful leverage."
"Right. I think so too."
As Dukehma took Angrago's side, the other students all chimed in.
'What does this brat know, acting all confident without any real ability?'
Of course, Giselle wasn't swayed by her friends' camaraderie.
Objectively speaking, Angrago wasn't particularly capable.
If he had been, he wouldn't have come back crying after going with two others to confront Wardanaz!
But Giselle said nothing more.
Though she acted as the de facto leader of White Tiger Tower, she couldn't always have things her way.
The friends who followed her commands out of trust in her abilities and family were still human—they had emotions and grievances.
If Giselle pushed her authority too far, things could spiral out of control.
Sometimes, she needed to show she was listening to their opinions. Being knights, they were all particularly sensitive about such pride.
"Fine. If Angrago insists that much, I suppose he's right."
"Hehe."
Angrago scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed expression.
'Even if this fails, it's just a fake flag anyway.'
Even if the trade fell through or the other party set a trap, they wouldn't suffer any real losses.
At worst, they'd only lose a useless fake flag they had no use for anyway.
With that thought, Giselle nodded.
"Alright. Everyone, dismissed. Let's try the exchange tomorrow."
"Got it!"
In the dead of night, when everyone was asleep.
Lee Han and his friends slipped out of the tower under cover of darkness.
Surprisingly, it wasn't just students from the Blue Dragon Tower—there was also one from the Tower of the Black Turtle among them.
Namely, the professional thief, Ratford.
"Follow me."
Since Lee Han wasn't operating alone, they needed the expertise of a seasoned thief.
Fortunately, Ratford had readily agreed to Lee Han's request.
"Gasp."
Yoner inhaled sharply in surprise, making Lee Han tense up as well.
What was it?
"What's wrong?"
"...We should've called Nilia too...!"
"!!!"
Lee Han belatedly realized his mistake.
Of course, they didn't strictly need Nilia's abilities for a theft, but if she found out later, she'd definitely...
"Ratford. If Nilia asks later, I never called you."
"Understood?"
"...Never mind. Word will get to her ears somehow."
With so many people involved, there was no way Nilia wouldn't hear about it eventually.
'I'll explain later.'
"That's White Tiger Tower ahead."
Moonlight cast a solemn glow over the towering structure in the darkness. Lee Han nodded and approached slowly. Having been there a few times before, it wasn't entirely unfamiliar.
"Everyone remembers the plan, right? Stick to it."
The Blue Dragon Tower students nodded with tense expressions.
Truthfully, there wasn't much of a plan to speak of.
Lee Han and Ratford would infiltrate White Tiger Tower first.
The others would hide nearby and enter only if Lee Han gave the signal—otherwise, they'd wait.
But that didn't make the tension any easier to bear.
Especially since, coming from imperial noble families, a midnight raid like this was practically a first for all of them.
"Rat... Ratford, sir. Should I put a branch in my mouth to stay quiet? I read about that in novels."
"There aren't even separate patrols, and we're few in number, so I don't think that's necessary."
"Ratford, sir! I wrapped my shoes in cloth to muffle the sound!"
"You might slip at night, so it's better to unwrap them."
Somehow, Ratford had ended up giving Lee Han an impromptu burglary tutorial. Lee Han gestured to Ratford.
"Let's go."
"Yes."
Lee Han and Ratford stood before the White Tiger Tower's entrance as naturally as if they were returning to their own dorm.
Behind them, Ashan, who was clutching his sweaty palms tightly, suddenly grew puzzled.
'Well, Ratford is one thing, but why is Wardanaz so familiar with this...?'
Holding his breath, Lee Han reached out and placed his hand against the tower.
He then focused, trying to read the magic woven into the structure.
"...!"
For a moment, Lee Han nearly collapsed.
When a person attempts to absorb too much knowledge and information at once, their mind reels from the overwhelming influx.
What Lee Han felt now was similar.
Countless layers of magic had been cast upon this tower.
Moreover, his exceptional mana sensitivity made the impact even greater.
Other students might have barely noticed one or two simple spells nearby, but Lee Han had perceived everything—far beyond that.
"Are you alright?!"
Ratford whispered urgently upon seeing Lee Han break out in a cold sweat.
"I'm fine. Just a little startled. It's definitely no joke."
"A mage's tower isn't meant to be easily breached. If it's too much—"
"No. Let's do this."
Lee Han focused, deliberately avoiding reading the entire tower.
After all, all they needed to break through was the magic sealing the entrance!
Oooooooom—
"...!"
An immense surge of mana began gathering—so intense that even the relatively insensitive Ratford could feel it.
'Is... this okay?'
Ratford grew worried.
With that much mana, a single mistake could seriously injure Lee Han.
'No. If it's Wardanaz...'
BOOM!!!!!!
"!!"
"!!!!"
A massive shockwave of mana erupted, startling even the students of the Blue Dragon Tower waiting behind them.
Then Lee Han shouted.
"The entrance is open! Everyone, move in!!"
"G-go!"
-Master. The White Tiger Tower's magic has been disabled.
Those anti-magic bastards couldn't have—?! How did they get past the walls?!
Deep in his underground workshop, the Skeleton Principal, who had been engrossed in magical research, was startled for the first time in a while.
-It appears the freshmen were the ones who disabled it.
Ah. If that's the case... Well, it's possible. They must be working on the assignment I gave them. Should've done it earlier.
The Skeleton Principal quickly regained his composure.
Wait. Freshmen shouldn't be capable of bypassing the tower's magic... Did they acquire an artifact? Which careless fool lost one? Ah. No. There was another way.
Muttering to himself, the Headmaster swiftly deduced the answer.
Among the freshmen, there was one who could temporarily disable the tower's magic.
Did they brute-force it? How barbaric... But where did they learn such a method?
The Headmaster was mildly perplexed.
Such a crude approach was not only impractical but also dangerous—so much so that neither textbooks nor professors ever taught it.
To dispel magic, one must analyze its structure and exploit its weaknesses. What kind of brute would just smash through it with raw power?
-Should I investigate?
No, you dimwitted skeleton. I wasn't talking to you. More importantly, even if they breached the entrance, there should be other anti-intrusion spells. What happened to those?
The White Tiger Tower's defenses weren't limited to just the entrance.
Inside, layers of anti-intrusion spells lay in wait.
-Most of the other defensive spells have also been disabled.
......
The Skeleton Principal froze again.
Not just the entrance—they disabled the other spells too?
'What kind of brute...?!'
Just how hard did they smash through to disable the rest of the magic as well?