Episode 727
Episode 727
"Ugh. He's being especially crazy this time."
"Let's all try to understand. It's a unicorn, after all."
The students who were active members of the Polo Club had already distanced themselves from Professor Bendozol's sudden outburst.
The spells he wildly fired transformed into gargoyles when they hit rocks and into tree demons when they struck wood.
Professor Bendozol, who wielded powerful magic from various schools, was as formidable and threatening an opponent as he was skilled.
Grrrr...
Of course, the students of Einrogard weren't the type to flee in fear from gargoyles or tree demons.
"Professor! Doing this won't make the unicorn love you! Just leave it to us!"
"You've already summoned monsters—why don't you just play with them instead?"
"Shut your mouths!"
Professor Bendozol roared, his face flushed red with rage.
Those insolent, greedy students always managed to infuriate him.
The very idea of exploiting such beautiful creatures for their own whims was an act of sheer arrogance.
Carriages could be pulled by people, and fields could be plowed by people—wasn't that enough?
And as for polo—there was no need to even mention it. Instead of transforming themselves to play, they insisted on dragging unicorns into it.
"I don't care if the unicorn hates me! I won't let any of you lay a finger on it!"
"Professor, you're committing tyranny right now. What if the unicorn actually wants to be with us?"
At the student's words, the unicorn shook its head firmly.
The Polo Club members looked slightly embarrassed, but as seasoned wizards of Einrogard, they didn't back down.
"It's only been a short time since you met—that's why it's acting like this."
"Exactly! Once it gets to know us, its mind might change!"
"I'll turn every last one of you into slugs and toss you into the Einrogard desert!"
As the tense standoff between the professor and the club members continued, new students appeared from behind.
They were second-years who had made up their minds to join the club this year.
"......"
"Uh... This isn't quite what I imagined?"
The second-years whispered among themselves, their faces shocked at the scene unfolding before them.
The Polo Club they had envisioned was different.
Rare imperial beasts secured in the club's private stables.
Club members united by sportsmanship, each with outstanding riding skills.
Likewise, cultured rivals and the exhilarating sweat shed after fierce matches.
And prize money.
"???"
"What prize money?"
"...Don't we get prize money?"
Lee Han was slightly taken aback by his friends' reactions.
He had heard that the Einrogard Polo Club received prize money from matches against clubs from other regions—wasn't that the case?
"Ah, that? Wardanaz, what does that matter? The important thing is honor!"
"Right, right."
"Are you all insane?"
But even Lee Han's words didn't sway his friends.
While club activities were indeed a means for students to secure research funds, their pure passion for polo had blinded them to everything else.
"Honestly, if you're in the Polo Club, you'd have to secure mounts like that. Where else would you get them?"
While riding skills and martial techniques might seem like the most important aspects of polo, the truth was that securing a proper mount was even more crucial.
If you rode out on a scrawny pony while your opponent charged in on a behemoth, no amount of skill would make victory possible.
"W-well, you could... raise them at an auction or a ranch..."
"If we had that kind of gold to spare at Einrogard, we'd probably spend it on research instead."
As they were talking, a familiar senior came running over—Perse, a fourth-year from the Blue Dragon Tower.
"Sorry you had to see the club like this on your visit! It'd be best to come back another day. The professor's more stubborn than we expected."
"What's going on?"
"A unicorn appeared at Einrogard, and Professor Bendozol is stubbornly insisting on keeping it all to himself."
Perse sighed and shook her head.
Then, suddenly realizing something, she exclaimed:
"Ah, you guys don't know Professor Bendozol, do you? He wasn't here last year."
"Yes. What kind of person is Professor Bendozol?"
"Professor Bendozol... well... cares deeply for animals."
"......"
Unlike his friends, Lee Han, who had already met Professor Bendozol during winter break, wore a complicated expression.
It was true that the professor cared deeply for animals, but he couldn't help but wonder if that description really conveyed the whole truth.
By that logic, even the Skeleton Principal could be called "someone who deeply worries about the empire."
"Isn't he attacking students over there?"
"Quiet! That's just a misunderstanding."
Perse flared up when her juniors hit a sore spot, leaving her with nothing to say.
Though Professor Bendozol was one of the biggest obstacles for the Polo Club, she couldn't outright badmouth him in front of the juniors.
"Don't be like that, Senior Perse. The juniors should know what they need to know."
Hormasi, a third-year student from the White Tiger Tower, intervened.
A dark elf, Hormasi was tall and exuded a sharp, agile aura.
Even wrapped tightly in his coat, cloak, and long skirt, his lithe and dynamic energy radiated from his entire being.
Picking up the riding crop hanging at his side, Hormasi tapped it against his palm and surveyed the juniors.
"Good to see you, juniors. Welcome to the Polo Club. I'm Hormasi."
"Greetings, Senior!"
When one of the White Tiger Tower students shouted, Hormasi nodded with a satisfied expression.
"Quite a few from the same tower. Actually, the two towers that send the most students to the Polo Club are the White Tiger Tower and the Blue Dragon Tower. So, what's your goal in joining the Polo Club?"
"Glorious victory and..."
"...friendship and competition..."
"The trophy..."
As the juniors each voiced their reasons, Hormasi hummed and nodded again.
"The prize money..."
"Right. Everyone has similar but different goals. Wait—who just said prize money?"
Pausing at the unusual answer, Hormasi soon continued. It wasn't that important anyway.
"Do you know what you need to do to achieve your goals?"
"We have to win matches!"
"Ah, good. Very good. But there's something you need to do even before that. To compete in matches, you need recognition within the club, right? How do you earn that recognition?"
"By winning practice matches?"
"...That's one way, but a better way is to prove your skills. See Professor Bendozol and the unicorn over there? If any junior can sneak past the professor and bring that unicorn here, I'll even give up my own spot to let you compete."
"!!!"
"Hormasi!"
Perse glared at the White Tiger Tower senior with a furious expression.
"These juniors just joined the club! How can you ask them to do something like that?"
"Then let me ask you this, Senior Perse. How much coddling do new juniors really need? They're not first-years—they're second-years."
Hormasi replied in a dismissive tone.
As an outstanding striker, he had little interest in nurturing or coddling juniors.
What he wanted were juniors who could charge forward beside him, crush the opposing team, and subdue the empire's rare creatures to bring them back to the club—not some clueless weaklings.
The dark elf senior pointed his crop toward Professor Bendozol and said,
"You heard me. No pressure. Whether you seize glory for yourselves or just stand here quietly—it's up to you."
"Facing Professor Bendozol in his current state to steal a unicorn is dangerous!"
"Einrogard is dangerous just to breathe in, Senior. If you overthink everything, you'll never get anything done. Juniors, think carefully. If you miss this chance, you might never see a unicorn again until graduation."
"...!"
At those words, the second-year students, without exception, steeled their resolve.
Isn't life at Einrogard all about high risk and high return?
"Let's go!"
"I'll be the chosen one!"
"Yeah, that's it! Charge in like that! Go!"
Hormasi burst into raucous laughter and clapped his hands.
But the students who had charged forward with such momentum suddenly stopped dead in their tracks after only a short distance.
"?"
As Hormasi looked puzzled, the students shouted.
"Th-the unicorn is coming this way!"
"...?!!"
* * *
"None shall approach!"
Professor Bendozol roared as he yanked a polo club student who'd been swimming through the earth and sent them flying.
The professor turned his head and shouted.
"Don't worry! I won't let those vulgar, greedy beastlings get anywhere near you!"-■!
The unicorn, which had been watching the wizards' fight with apparent boredom, suddenly raised its head.
Professor Bendozol nearly jumped for joy at the unicorn's reaction.
"Are you worried about me? There's no need. Stopping a few of those punks isn't even that difficu—"
Before he could finish speaking, the unicorn moved. Kicking off the ground with its hooves, it blinked several times using short-range teleportation to escape the battlefield.
Then it came galloping toward the second-year students.
"The unicorn's coming this way!! The unicorn is coming toward us!!!"
"Th-the unicorn chose me! The unicorn chose me!"
"Why would it choose you?"
"I've suffered at Einrogard. The unicorn must have recognized my sacrifices and devotion!"'...
Then shouldn't the entire student body be chosen?' A student who had almost been convinced by their friend's words quickly snapped out of it.
Though the suffering had been immense, it seemed unlikely the unicorn would choose someone based on that.
From behind them, Hormasi's face turned cold and stern as he shouted.
"Everyone, fall back!"
A unicorn that started moving like this was extremely dangerous.
There was no way it would arbitrarily choose and charge at students who'd done nothing—this was clearly hostile behavior.
Perse seemed to sense it too, shouting at the juniors to retreat.
"Something's wrong. Everyone, move aside!"
"Are you trying to steal our unicorn now?!"
"......"
"......"
Hormasi and Perse looked at their juniors with utter disdain.
Then again, ignoring seniors' good advice was practically a junior's privilege.
"Ah. Fine. Do whatever you want! Try catching it!"
"Hormasi. Don't encourage them!"
"Like stopping them would help anyway?"
Sneering, Hormasi drew his wand.
Giving the juniors even one warning was already an extraordinary act of benevolence—something he'd never normally do.
Now Hormasi himself would stop the unicorn and earn its recognition.
Pat!
The unicorn blinked through space again, evading the mages, and appeared before one of the second-year students. It knocked the student down and leveled its horn at them.
"Unicorn, stand ba—!"
"Calm down. Easy now."
"?"
Perse, who'd been about to attack the unicorn, was startled by the junior's voice.
It was an utterly composed voice, without a trace of panic or fear.
Lee Han pushed away the unicorn that was nibbling and tugging at his sleeve.
"I know you're happy to see me, but don't knock me over. It hurts."
The unicorn licked his hand apologetically.
The polo club seniors who came running belatedly gaped at the sight.
"Don't... don't tell me that's the unicorn you've been raising?"
They knew it was an absurdly stupid question, but the sight before them made the words slip out unconsciously.
"That's not it. Last time—"
"Attack that bastard!!"
Professor Bendozol, who'd arrived last, pointed at Lee Han with bloodshot eyes.
The polo club students asked in confusion.
"Why should we attack him?"
"Shouldn't you praise him for taming a unicorn even you couldn't, Professor?"
"That bastard stole the unicorn from me!"
"Ah, I see...!"
The seniors nodded as if they understood.
Then they ignored Professor Bendozol entirely and spoke to Lee Han.
"Junior. How did you—"
"Hey! Don't ignore me!"