Episode 703
Episode 703
If it had been any other student, they would have asked what kind of nonsense this was, but as befitting a fifth-year, Diret quickly understood.
"Did the Headmaster refuse to walk you because you had too much mana?"
"Yes."
"......"
An awkward silence hung in the air.
Diret deeply pondered how to comfort this already struggling junior, but nothing came to mind.
"I'm fine, Senior."
"...Hey. You shouldn't be fine... What do you mean you're fine?"
"I'll manage to avoid it. ...Probably. And you're in your fifth year too, Senior. I can do it too."
"That's not the same..."
Diret almost retorted, 'How is my voluntarily chosen fifth year the same as being forcibly subjected to the Headmaster's malicious high difficulty?' but held back.
Pointing it out in detail would only make his junior feel worse.
"Sigh. Alright. Let's stop talking about this. It's not like anything will change. The reason I came here is because I was worried about you."
"Hmm, what exactly are you worried about?"
"......"
Seeing his junior so clueless about which part was concerning—when there were too many to count—Diret pressed his fingertips to his forehead.
"...Let's start with your class schedule first. Though I'm not sure we'll finish it all today."
"Ah. But Senior, there's something urgent I need to do today."
"Starting today? What is it? Research? A request? Or did some b— crazy professor call for you?"
Even as he asked, Diret felt a sense of foreboding.
With this junior, it wouldn't be surprising if a professor summoned him from the very first day.
"No. I need to move some smuggled goods I brought in."
"...Are you serious?"
Diret stared at Lee Han in disbelief.
After that absurdly difficult inspection this time, he actually managed to bring in smuggled goods?
It was utterly unbelievable.
"How did you get them in?"
"I got lucky."
"That inspection wasn't something you could just brush off with luck... Well, good for you. I'm glad you succeeded. I'll help you move them."
Since it wasn't particularly difficult, Diret readily offered to help.
He figured he could talk while assisting.
"There's quite a bit of it, though?"
"Doesn't matter. I'll just summon some creatures anyway."
"In that case, I'll gratefully accept. Oh, Senior, why don't you take some too?"
"No thanks."
Diret waved his hand dismissively. What would he want with a second-year's snot-nosed smuggled goods?
By fifth year, students were already halfway to becoming professors, so the desperate need for supplies decreased significantly.
Besides, with this year's inspection being so strict, the amount brought in couldn't have been much...
"...Are you even a wizard?"
"Senior, you're a wizard too, aren't you?"
So astonished that he blurted out something no mage would normally ask, Diret felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume of smuggled goods—enough to fill several carts.
"How in the world did you—"
"I can explain."
"No. Later. I'm curious, but if I hear it today, we'll lose all our time."
Diret shook his head and wings to refocus.
Honestly, he was curious, but he hadn't come today to hear legends of Einrogard smuggling—he'd come to help a junior he was worried about.
Maybe next time, when he had time...
'...'
If there is a next time?'
For a moment, Diret felt the sorrow of a fifth-year who couldn't be certain of having free time, his shoulders slumping.
From today onward, it wouldn't be strange at all if he never stepped outside again—such was the life of a fifth-year.
"Hide in the shadows and move the cargo."
"Keep watch ahead."
"Detect hostility."
Diret summoned various undead minions to prepare for the task.
Though just a simple evening stroll, Einrogard was never a place to let your guard down.
Enemy detection, expanded vision, stealth, and camouflage were all basics.
"Is there anything I can help with, Senior?"
"No need. As your senior, I have my dignity to maintain. Did you prepare your lecture schedule?"
As the porter golems followed behind, Diret led the way down the corridor and asked the question.
"Yes."
"Figured. You used the Calendarium, right? That massive clock artifact Yukveltire made."
"You know about it too, Senior?"
"Of course I do. It's such a convenient artifact. There were even classmates who tried to steal it."
"......"
This was the unsavory history of his seniors that Lee Han hadn't wanted to know.
When Diret gestured for the lecture schedule, Lee Han pulled out the one he'd prepared.
"This is what I've arranged for now."
"Hmm... It's almost identical. I was worried, but as expected, Yukveltire's artifact is precise."
"It malfunctioned a few times, though."
"What? Why?"
"Because I was trying to schedule too many lectures..."
"......"
Pretending not to hear, Diret steered the conversation back on track.
"But the important thing is that it's accurately completed!"
"Yes. ...Wait, Senior. What do you mean by 'almost identical'?"
Lee Han felt puzzled.
Saying they were identical implied there was something to compare it to.
But Lee Han had just arranged his lecture schedule today after talking with Yukveltire—what could it possibly be compared to?
"Ah. The one the professors made."
"...?"
Lee Han tilted his head in confusion.
His senior's words didn't make sense.
"The professors... made what?"
"Huh? You know, the professors coordinate so your lecture schedules and content don't overlap, right?"
"WHAT?!?!?!"
For the first time in a long while, Lee Han felt genuine shock.
Where had such a sinister scheme been secretly taking place?
"Y-you didn't know?"
"Of course I didn't!! Where in the world was this evil conspiracy being plotted?"
The intensity of his junior's reaction made Diret answer in a slightly flustered voice.
"In the faculty lounge?"
"......"
Now that he thought about it, it made sense. Where else would professors discuss things if not the faculty lounge? It wasn't as if they'd hold meetings in some demon lord's castle.
Regaining some composure, Lee Han asked:
"Please explain in detail, Senior. About this conspiracy orchestrated by the most wicked demons of hell."
"Well... It's more like a discussion among the professors, but..."
As a fifth-year, Diret had gained access to the faculty lounge—though it was more of an obligation than a privilege. He had to visit professors for research and lecture reports, making it all the more necessary.
During one such visit, Diret had stumbled upon a peculiar room.
Well, the room itself wasn't strange—it was what was inside.
A single wooden noticeboard, placed conspicuously in the center of the room, was all there was.
Monday
9:00~11:00
11:00~1:00
1:00~3:00
"Doesn't seem any different from last year, does it?"
"Really? My lecture order changed, though..."
"I was talking about break times, Professor Verdus."
"We didn't have them last year, and we were fine!"
"I don't usually side with Vible, but this year, it's unavoidable. Even if we only include essential lectures, it's still a mess. Didn't Professor Garcia drop a few easy ones?"
"I only dropped them so Lee Han could rest!"
"Sure, sure. But you could've dropped the hard ones instead of the easy ones, Professor Garcia. Admit it—deep down, you're no different from the rest of us."
Beneath that, a massive dent from someone's fist marked where the argument had escalated.
And below that...
"Everyone, please stop provoking Professor Garcia."
"That's the noticeboard I saw."
'...Strange? Why does this feel familiar?'
Lee Han felt an odd sense of déjà vu, but now wasn't the time to dwell on it.
"So? What happened?"
"I asked a professor. Apparently, they kept fighting over stealing each other's lecture slots, so they switched to this consensus-based system from the start."
That was quite a reasonable method.
Instead of professors slyly extending their own lecture times at will and disrupting the next professor's schedule, they could prepare appropriate lectures within the prearranged time slots...
Except for the fact that Lee Han had absolutely no free will in this!
"Why the hell did they make an agreement among themselves?!"
"W-well... that's true."
Diret was at a loss for words at his junior's all-too-valid criticism.
Looking back, he should have sensed something was off in the professors' lounge at the time, but his junior was such an unusual existence that he had just thought, 'Well, if they're trying to match his academic path, they'd have to do it like this.'
"But, Junior, isn't your lecture schedule pretty much set in stone? Skipping the easy lectures and focusing only on the difficult ones..."
"You could skip the difficult lectures too."
"What kind of nonsense are you spouting? You should attend the lectures that benefit you the most."
Diret brushed it off as if telling him not to say ridiculous things.
Lee Han was reminded once again that the senior before him was also just a fifth-year student.
"So, you're saying the schedule I received from the Artifact matches the one the professors arranged?"
"Yeah..."
"......"
For once, Lee Han looked utterly dejected.
Of course, given his pursuit of efficiency, he wouldn't have arbitrarily changed his lecture schedule, but he never expected his fate had already been sealed like this.
Diret flapped his wings in panic, seeing his usually spirited and confident junior so crestfallen.
"W-well, but... here... this empty spot... Oh, there isn't an empty spot. But these two lectures weren't chosen by the professors, so you can swap them for other lectures you want!"
"...Thank you, Senior."
Lee Han forced a bitter smile and pulled himself together.
His chest ached with defeat, but he couldn't stay like this forever. 'Right. I can't afford to wallow in despair.' It might have been better if he hadn't known, but in the end, it wouldn't have changed much.
All he could do was attend the required lectures and strive for the best grades possible.
"Feeling a bit better now?"
"Yes, Senior. This way."
Lee Han summoned a Water Orb in midair, caught it with his hand, then flipped upside down and took a few steps across the ceiling.
As Diret stared speechlessly, Lee Han kept walking. Then, he began reciting an incantation.
"As an honorable student of Einrogard, I hereby swear—I shall never trust professors, nor be bribed, nor betray them. And above all, I shall be especially wary of the Headmaster..."
"......"
Blinking at his junior's resentful oath, Diret snapped back to attention and glanced around. 'Was there a hidden room here?' Not that it was surprising if he hadn't known. The number of hidden rooms in Einrogard probably exceeded the Skeleton Principal's age.
"How did you find this place?"
"I met a graduated senior in the Punishment Room, and they took pity on me and told me about it."
"Uh-huh..."
Diret averted his gaze at the unexpectedly tragic reason.
Honestly, if he had met this junior in the Punishment Room, he probably would've given him something too.
Compared to the usual sob stories of prisoners, this one was on a whole other level of pity.
Rumble!
'Not bad at all.' Diret marveled at the neatly organized interior of the secret base.
It was a decent place, considering it had been used by past graduates. Traces of intricate magic lingered here and there.
"Could you put the smuggled goods in this warehouse over here?"
"Sure."
Diret had his summons organize the cargo. The smuggled goods were neatly stacked inside the corner warehouse. 'Looks even more well-stocked than the Kitchen Club's warehouse.'
"What's this...?"
While examining the magical traces, Diret spotted an empty notebook fixed on the table.
It looked eerily familiar.
"What's this? Feels like I've seen it somewhere."
"Ah. That senior told me it's a Communication Artifact to check if I'm listening in on Black Magic."
"......"
Diret inwardly regretted bringing it up.