Episode 720
Episode 720
"Guys, my arms hurt."
"You keep trying to get up!"
"Lord Wardanaz, it'd be better if you just sat still."
Not only Giselle but even Nigisor from the Phoenix Tower in front of him told him to sit down.
In the end, Lee Han gave up and sat back down.
"Fine, fine. I get it. Just don't fight, okay? Last time I sat between you guys, my ears hurt."
"We wouldn't have to fight if that bastard Tutanta would stop spouting nonsense."
Salko didn't back down and fired back at Giselle's sarcasm.
"If you lowlifes from your tower hadn't stolen our prey, we wouldn't have had to say anything in the first place."
"Ha! Look who's twisting the facts. That deer was prey we spotted first."
"Just because you spotted it doesn't make it your prey. Do you knights not know imperial law? That prey stepped into the trap we set."
"It stepped into the trap after getting hit by our arrow! The way you're twisting the facts, are you from the Lawyers' Guild instead of the Stonemason Guild?"
Lee Han closed his eyes and pretended not to hear the bickering coming from both sides.
Meanwhile, the argument between Giselle and Salko escalated into a full-blown verbal war between the students of both towers.
"It stepped into the trap first! Are you blind or something?!"
"Did you drink some weird potion over winter break? Unlike you, deer have eyes. They wouldn't just step into some sloppily set trap like yours! It was stumbling after getting hit by our arrow!"
As they growled at each other, a student from the Black Turtle Tower called out to Lee Han, who was still keeping his eyes shut.
"Wardanaz! What do you think?! Those deer that keep appearing on the northern Frostpine Path—they always get caught in traps! We even set traps together once! Remember?!"
When the Black Turtle Tower student shamelessly dragged Lee Han into it, Angrago ground his teeth.
Not only was it cowardly to call Wardanaz first, but now they were trying to manipulate him with nostalgia?
"Wardanaz! Don't listen to those bastards! You—uh... right! You got invited to the Moradi estate over winter break, didn't you?!"
Angrago tried to persuade Lee Han with memories too, but when nothing specific came to mind, he just blurted out the first thing that popped into his head.
"......"
"......"
"......"
A heavy silence fell between the Black Turtle Tower students and the White Tiger Tower students.
Giselle covered her face in anguish.
'Should I just kill this idiot...?'
She had clearly told them not to misunderstand, explaining that they were only here to help the Skeleton Principal with his work—and yet he still ran his mouth like that.
Realizing too late that he'd misspoken, Angrago hastily added,
"W-Well, technically, the Moradi family didn't invite him! He just tagged along with the Headmaster to help with work!"
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
A Black Turtle Tower student muttered beside him.
Even if you're going to lie, at least make it believable. That was just too half-hearted.
Dijiling tilted her head and spoke up.
"Isn't it a good thing to invite and visit each other's family estates?"
"Oh, Priestess Dijiling... It's not that simple. The delicate balance of hostility between the Black Turtle Tower and the White Tiger Tower was maintained by Lord Wardanaz's neutral stance. But if he starts siding with the White Tiger Tower from now on—"
BAM!
"!?"
"Hey. Just take the damn deer. You bastards."
Giselle declared with murderous intent, making it clear that anyone who brought this topic up again would die.
Salko, who usually had no problem speaking his mind even in front of the Skeleton Principal, could only nod in agreement today.
Pushing the issue further and making Wardanaz friendlier with the White Tiger Tower would only cause trouble.
"Fine. Let's pretend we didn't hear anything."
"But Salko, it's true that I helped the Headmaster with his work."
"Wardanaz. The more you side with Moradi, the more weight Father Nigisor's earlier prediction seems to carry."
"......"
It took Lee Han about 30 minutes to convince his friends about the incidents that had occurred during the vacation.
Dijiling raised her hand to ask a question.
"Priestess Dijiling. What are you curious about?"
"Shouldn't we send an anonymous report to His Majesty the Emperor about the headmaster?"
"That's a good point. But surprisingly, this journey was conducted under the Emperor's tacit approval."
"......"
"......"
Lee Han thought he heard someone among the students mutter, 'Is the Empire in decline?' but decided he must have misheard and let it pass.
"Well. Wardanaz would visit anywhere as long as he can work."
Salko finally seemed reassured and nodded in agreement.
"Right, right. If it weren't for the headmaster's relentless threats and harassment, we wouldn't have visited the Moradi family's territory."
"No. It wasn't that bad. The territory was actually nice. Moradi, tell us more about your territory."
"Don't call me..."
Giselle, looking thoroughly fed up with the entire conversation, closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair.
If she contributed to Wardanaz's story, people might misunderstand that they were close. If she didn't, it would seem like she was admitting her territory was unimpressive.
'Who's to blame for all this? Alpha? No. If you think about it, maybe the headmaster. Or if you dig deeper, maybe it's Wardanaz's fault...'
While Giselle was escaping reality, students from each tower began chattering about the events of the past few days.
"Has anyone taken the <How to Live Luxuriously with Spirits> lecture? I couldn't find it anywhere."
"I think that lecture doesn't exist. No matter how much I searched, I couldn't find the classroom."
"Wardanaz. In your opinion, would the <Elemental Transformation - Fire Element> lecture suit me better, or the <Elemental Control Enhancement - Fire Element> lecture?"
"I'm not sure why you're asking me, but I think the control enhancement lecture would be better for you. Your Burning Hand spell was a bit shaky last time."
"I knew it! I should take the control enhancement lecture."
"Wardanaz. Me too. Me too. I'm struggling with choosing a club right now..."
The room instantly became noisy.
With so much pent-up curiosity, the questions and answers flowed endlessly. For someone like Lee Han, the line of questioning students grew long enough to form a queue.
"Everyone, line up. Here, stand behind me. If you give me a snack, I'll let you cut in front."
"Wardanaz! That prince is scamming us!"
"Ah, no! I was joking!"
Only after finishing consultations for 13 students' lectures and 9 students' clubs did the crowd around Lee Han finally disperse.
Now that they could finally have a serious conversation, Salko spoke up.
"Wardanaz. I'm sorry to keep burdening you, but there's something important we need to discuss."
Giselle, snapping out of her daze, pulled her chair closer. She had a hunch about what Salko was going to say.
"What is it?"
"I thought once we became second-years, we'd be able to trade with the seniors. I expected it to be much better than first year when we had to manage supplies among ourselves. But..."
"The seniors seem insane."
"I was so shocked I almost set something on fire."
Even Giselle—and Nigisor too—were equally horrified by Einrogard's outrageous prices. There was a black market in the 7th-floor area, but there was nothing there that newly promoted second-years could afford.
Salko pulled out a single copper nail.
"Is that a magic nail or something?"
"No. This is all I could buy. Wardanaz. The seniors absolutely refuse to sell on credit."
"......"
"If this continues, we'll be even worse off than last year. And now that Wardanaz has joined the Kitchen Club, we'll be short on food too."
"?"
Lee Han, who had been listening, tilted his head in confusion.
He couldn't understand what they were talking about.
"What does me joining the Kitchen Club have to do with food shortages?"
"Wardanaz... Don't tell me you haven't visited the club yet."
Giselle stared at Lee Han in disbelief. Confused by his elf friend's piercing gaze, Lee Han asked in return.
"I haven't visited yet."
"What? Why? You joined."
"To be precise, I was forcibly enrolled. I've been too busy with clubs and lectures to visit."
"......"
An awkward silence hung in the air for a moment.
Dijiling cautiously suggested again.
"If we seriously consider the duel request..."
"No. I don't think joining too many clubs will be a problem. I'm already enrolled in too many academic factions as it is."
Dijiling nearly blurted out, 'Then why did you enroll in so many?' but held back, thinking it might sound too cruel.
"Salko. More importantly, what's the connection between the Kitchen Club and food shortages?"
"Wardanaz. All Kitchen Club members take a sacred oath."
"An oath to make delicious and safe food, or something like that?"
"No. An oath not to sell food to fellow members at lower prices out of pointless sympathy."
"......"
For a moment, Lee Han thought Salko was joking.
But the expressions on his friends' faces were deadly serious.
"What kind of oath is that?"
"It's not unreasonable. Look at other clubs. They'd charge dozens of gold coins just for fetching a glass of water. The Kitchen Club can't just sit back and do nothing."
Though Giselle spoke sarcastically, she had a point.
If the Kitchen Club alone sold cheaply, there was no way other clubs or students would reflect on their actions.
In the end, only the Kitchen Club members would suffer losses.
"So I have to sell the food I secured at high prices too?"
"Probably. Let's consider last year's case."
True to her reputation as a prodigy who attended the Moradi family's business meetings, Giselle analyzed the situation coldly.
Thinking back to last year, if Wardanaz had been allowed to act freely, the Kitchen Club's income would have plummeted seriously.
The amount of food Wardanaz secured wasn't at the level of what an individual could casually gather.
"To think I'd have to charge gold coins even for the food I brought myself..."
"Wardanaz. Are you... happy right now?"
Salko couldn't tell whether Lee Han was shocked or delighted, leaving him confused.
"I'm shocked. The club's rules are truly harsh. But don't worry too much. I'll sell to you all at last year's prices."
Snapping out of his shock and joy, Lee Han regained his composure.
Since he could squeeze plenty of gold coins from the seniors, he could afford to be relatively generous to his friends.
"Hey. What did you just hear? We took an oath. There's bound to be a prohibition spell too."
Giselle was incredulous.
There was no way the rules of a mage organization would be that lenient.
"And stop feeding the others. It's about time they learned to earn their own meals."
"I doubt the prohibition spell will work."
Having experienced it a few times with the Skeleton Principal already, Lee Han wasn't too worried about any club prohibition spells.
"Besides, unlike last year, I won't have many chances to feed them even if I wanted to. Between club rules and the seniors watching, it's not like I can openly... Wait. How about this? From now on, we'll secretly gather here periodically. We'll cooperate among ourselves."
As he spoke, Lee Han urged them to take out the bundled paper artifact they'd each received from their respective towers.
"I never got to use this before, but now's the perfect time. I'll teach you how to recharge it. It's an artifact that subtly drains mana, so it'll be troublesome if you're not prepared."
"Wardanaz. We used this to talk during the Iactus Festival in our tower."
Salko stared at Lee Han with a 'what are you talking about?' expression.
Lee Han replied calmly.
"I must've forgotten while treating the injured nonstop during the festival when you all stubbornly insisted on participating. Thanks for reminding me, Salko."
Angra muttered from behind.
"Tutant. You idiot. Why remind him when Wardanaz had already forgotten?"