Episode 670
Episode 670
"Help me! Help me!"
As the poachers screamed, Lee Han opened the stable door to check.
"Did you eat them by any chance? Hmm. No, you didn't."
Ponlig scratched the wall discontentedly in protest.
As if he was some wyvern who couldn't control his appetite!
"Yeah, yeah. I trusted you. They were just screaming so much. Everyone, quiet down."
"P-please help! I beg you!"
"I already saved you. Keep making nonsense noises and I'll unleash the basilisk too."
The remaining poachers exchanged glances...
What was this about a basilisk?
Bang!
Lee Han closed the door and went back outside.
As he stepped out, Froststride was examining a bounty notice.
Feeling a sense of familiarity, Lee Han spoke up.
"Are you looking at Professor Bendozol's bounty notice? I have one too."
"Ah, no. I was looking at a poacher bounty notice. No wonder he looked familiar—that Julban fellow. He's quite a notorious poacher. There's a bounty on him."
"Huh?"
Lee Han stared with eyes that said, 'That idiot who acted stupid and got hit by lightning magic head-on has a bounty on him?'
"Hahaha. He let his guard down this time, but he's actually quite infamous."
"I see. Poachers seem to be quite careless."
It wasn't something someone who'd ambushed them without even casting a detection spell should say, but Lee Han shamelessly remarked. 'I hope they're all even more careless.' If more bounty-worthy poachers like that Julban guy showed up, he could make a hefty profit before the vacation ended.
"Do you think more poachers might come?"
"Hmm. That's a tough question. They might come... but I doubt they will."
Froststride took out a long brass telescope artifact and scanned the surroundings.
Sure enough, all the previously irritating presences that had been lurking around had completely vanished.
"Poachers aren't fanatics—they're just cowardly thieves. They must've realized something was up when the spells went off and Julban's gang got wiped out."
Julban's group had only attacked because they thought there was a weakness to exploit.
But now that Julban's gang had been crushed so thoroughly, the poachers must've realized these weren't ordinary mages.
"Did they flee beyond the mountain range?"
Lee Han asked with slight disappointment. Froststride didn't pick up on the emotion behind his words.
"Unlikely. Poachers are persistent creatures. They probably rushed in to find the unicorn first rather than keeping an eye on us."
Hearing this, Gainando, who'd been listening nearby, jumped in surprise.
"Then shouldn't we hurry in too?"
"No need to worry. Unicorns aren't monsters you can catch in a hurry."
At Froststride's words, Gainando whispered to Lee Han.
"Lee Han. That guy seems to be wrong a lot—can we trust him?"
"..."
Let's not judge him too harshly just because he didn't notice the poachers right away."
* * *
Unlike Julban, the poacher Akga was closer to a solitary hunter.
If forced to compare, his temperament resembled that of the Shadow Patrol (though the Shadow Patrol would never admit it).
In the empire, there were those who found ecstasy and fulfillment in bringing down difficult and powerful prey.
Hunters often said such people were blessed by Zarmis, the god of hunters.
Those who abandoned ordinary happiness to choose a solitary, dangerous life.
And Akga the poacher was one of them. 'The unicorn will be mine.' Akga pulled out an incense compass from his chest.
This incense compass, containing a single strand of a unicorn's mane, was a treasure that would make any hunter pursuing a unicorn drool with envy.
The smoke rising from the incense pointed the way to the unicorn.
While others wandered at the foot of the mountains, Akga planned to approach and slay the unicorn alone.
"!"
Aga blinked at the distant, radiant white creature before him.
As a hunter, he'd never been so captivated by prey before—but the unicorn made it possible.
'Found it!'
Aga carefully and slowly drew his crossbow.
Unicorns were monsters with formidable magic. If he didn't take it down in one strike, he'd be the one hunted instead.
But it didn't matter. Aga was determined to end it in a single shot.
As he loaded the bolt, a sinister energy rose. The air trembled with the weight of the curse imbued into it—one strong enough to sever a unicorn's life.
'Zarmis, grant that one of us shall die—'
Then, in an instant, the unicorn transformed.
Aga's pupils shook.
Did unicorns have shapeshifting abilities too?
—■■■■■■!
The now-humanoid unicorn suddenly let out a scream. Aga felt his soul shudder. Every mental defense artifact he wore shattered at once.
In that moment, he realized—his seasoned hunter instincts had been screaming at him all along.
This wasn't a unicorn!
"You... you...!"
"Hey, you damn poacher bastard! How dare you try to hunt a unicorn? Even if you had a hundred lives, not one of them could ever match a unicorn's worth!"
The last thing Aga saw before collapsing was the figure of a short, sour-faced human mage striding toward him.
Thud!
Professor Bendozol spat on the fallen poacher before snatching the Incense Compass.
He plucked out the mane hair and dispelled the magic. Instantly, the beautiful unicorn hair reverted to Bendozol's own locks.
"These poachers are even more incompetent than I thought. I expected them all to come here, but they're still dawdling at the entrance?"
Growling in dissatisfaction, Bendozol grumbled under his breath.
The scheme of scattering fake unicorn hair had been inspired by the Skeleton Principal. He'd assumed the poachers would all flock here once they cast tracking magic on the strands...
"This isn't working. I'll have to step in myself."
—■■■■...
"Don't worry. I'll protect you until you're fully healed."
After firmly reassuring the unicorn, Bendozol strode off, his menacing aura forcing even the Sorrow Mountains' most dangerous monsters to cower and clear his path.
* * *
"The search in this area is done."
Three days later, the Lightning-Step Professor and the hunters returned.
Lee Han quickly brought over steaming coffee loaded with butter and freshly toasted bread. The professor looked at him with such fondness it was almost embarrassing.
"I don't understand why a kid like you is stuck learning under Thunder-Step."
'High praise indeed.'
The professor and hunters wolfed down the coffee and toast. Searching the mountains was exhausting work—even veteran hunters and patrolmen were worn out.
"Did you find any traces of the unicorn?"
"No. But we did find something else."
"Poachers? We caught a few too."
"!"
Mrangse, mid-sip, nearly choked. The Lightning-Step Professor's gaze said it all:
—What did I tell you?
"You... really caught some?"
"We locked them up in the stables over there."
Mrangse glanced at the stables and nodded. Given the silence, they'd probably caught one or two.
"We found signs of poachers from the start. They weren't even trying to hide, so it wasn't hard. The problem is something else..."
"?"
"The poachers are being hunted."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"It is. But we don't know who's doing it."
The Lightning-Step Professor downed the rest of his coffee in one gulp.
While it was good that someone was dealing with the poachers, an unknown presence in the mountains was never a welcome variable.
Unicorns were already troublesome creatures—even the professor handled them with caution. More unpredictability was the last thing they needed.
"Could it be poachers fighting among themselves?"
"Too professional for that. Besides, poachers don't fight each other before securing their prey."
"What if another monster came down?"
"No matter how stupid those poachers are, they wouldn't get hunted by their own prey."
Listening to the conversation between Professor Lightning Step and the students, Lee Han asked curiously:
"Professor Bendozol went missing here—could it be that he's the one eliminating the poachers?"
"......"
Professor Lightning Step was so startled he dropped the tin cup he was holding.
"B-Bendozol! That's right!"
All the students, including Lee Han, stared at the professor with disbelief.
No matter what, they never expected him to have completely forgotten!
"You did say Professor Bendozol went missing here..."
"Ah... ah... right. Right. That's true. I really didn't think of that. Well, if it's Professor Bendozol..."
Only then did Professor Lightning Step nod in realization.
"So it was Professor Bendozol all along—I kept wondering what lunatic was attacking the poachers like a wild beast. That does sound like him. So he's alive..."
"......"
The students' faces soured at the thought of meeting the same professor again next semester, but Professor Lightning Step didn't notice.
Lee Han tried to find a positive angle and spoke up.
"If the professor is really here, wouldn't that make things easier?"
"Hmm."
Professor Lightning Step fell deep into thought. After pouring and drinking another cup of coffee, he answered.
"No. Not really."
The students' faces soured even more.
"Having Bendozol around just complicates things. He's someone we'd have to attack too."
"Wh-what?!"
Gainando recoiled in denial.
A professor attacking students? That couldn't possibly—
Well, actually...
"Still, it's not like he's Professor Bagrak! He wouldn't attack students he's never met before!"
"......"
Lee Han looked at Gainando with pity in his eyes.
"You've never met Professor Bendozol, so you can say something so carefree. He's already an annoying person normally, but when he's with rare animals, he becomes ten times worse. You probably won't believe us. Everyone, stay alert. It's easier to think of him as another insane wizard added to the mountain's monsters."
'Are there no reliable professors in Einrogard?' Lee Han was dumbfounded.
They finally meet a professor in the mountains, only to have to treat him like an even more dangerous monster.
"Gyaaah!"
"!"
Everyone jumped at the sudden scream.
Professor Lightning Step pulled out a glass bottle containing Hellbreath. If they were going to subdue Professor Bendozol, this was necessary.
"S-sorry. I got startled seeing Julban's group."
Mrangse apologized awkwardly.
He had mindlessly opened the stable door and was shocked to see it packed with prisoners.
"Save us!!"
Realizing new people had arrived, the poachers wailed, seeing it as their last chance.
Professor Lightning Step spoke in an irritated tone.
"Close the door. You're ruining my appetite."
"No way!"
Thud!
As the stable door slammed shut again, the nameless hunters whispered among themselves, eyeing Lee Han.
Using a griffin as a guard?!
That boy was a natural beast tamer. They'd never seen anyone command a griffin like that.
And even a basilisk...
Half-resigned, Lee Han sat quietly without a word.
'Shouldn't have bothered making him coffee.'
"Lee Han. They say you're beloved by beasts."
Surprisingly, it wasn't an insult.
Lee Han felt slightly better. It seemed his first impression had improved a bit.
"Only the King of Monsters is loved like that..."
'Next time, I'm using cheap beans.'
Suddenly, the surroundings fell silent.
The nameless hunters exchanged glances with Professor Lightning Step. The professor pulled out the Hellbreath bottle and said:
"Bendozol is really here. Wardanaz."
"Yes?"
"Use your strongest spell outside."
"......"