Episode 731
Episode 731
"...It's not your fault. You did well."
Lee Han sighed and praised Ponlig.
He should have given clearer and more specific commands—Ponlig had done his best without overexerting himself.
Though he hadn't expected him to perform this well...
"I'm counting on you, our new striker."
"You seem to have too high expectations... It's a bit burdensome."
Carnella nodded seriously at his words.
"Normally, I'd say not to expect much, but honestly, I am a little hopeful. Can't help it."
The current members of the Einrogard Polo Club weren't severely lacking in skill, but when it came to their passion for victory compared to Carnella's, the difference was like heaven and earth.
If the striker position was empty, they should've at least tried to fill it themselves—yet their attitude was so lax, like, 'Eh, it'll work out somehow.'
In that situation, if he didn't have high hopes for the junior griffin rider who suddenly appeared, he'd be an undead, not a human.
"Oh, right. Junior. What was your name again?"
"...Senior... Did you not even know my name? I'm Lee Han of the Wardanaz family."
"Ah, right. I'll remember that. My friends just kept calling you 'that kid,' so I forgot."
"......"
Lee Han shook his head at the senior who kindly explained a reason he didn't want to know.
"By the way, Senior. There's one last thing I wanted to ask."
"Next training schedule?"
"No. From what I remember, Ponlig here was disqualified because of the mass and size restrictions—he couldn't remove the curse before the match. But Senior, isn't your Cerberus also affected by those restrictions?"
"Ah, that's coward's polo."
"?"
"Wardanaz, Wardanaz... I didn't expect you to be this clueless about polo... There are two types of polo. One is polo with mass and size restrictions on the mounts—that's coward's polo."
"Is that the official term used in the Empire?"
"No. It's just what I call it."
"......"
"But it's accurate, isn't it? The other is real polo, where there are no trivial restrictions on the mounts. That's the kind I play."
"...So you're saying griffins, hippogriffs, and Cerberi can compete in their true forms?"
"Exactly!"
Seeing his junior slowly grasp the appeal of polo, Carnella's face broke into a smile.
'He's actually insane.'
Lee Han decided to keep his distance from the Polo Club for a while.
* * *
[Professor Willow is in the forest this week!]
'I'm so happy!'
Lee Han felt a long-forgotten joy when one of his lectures got postponed to next week due to the professor's circumstances.
Of course, he knew full well that in Einrogard, when a lecture was postponed, the burden simply shifted to the student the following week—but he couldn't help feeling happy anyway.
"Pffahahaha!"
"?"
Gainando was roaring with laughter while reading a magazine. Curious, Lee Han asked what was so funny.
"Did you find something interesting?"
"Ah, Lee Han. Look at this! Someone wrote a joke about wizards!"
...
One day, a master had so much to teach his disciple that he said:
—Since I must teach you quickly, I'll teach you four spells in the morning and three in the evening.
The disciple got angry, saying that was ridiculous. Seeing this, the master reluctantly changed his words.
—Then how about three spells in the morning and four in the evening?
The disciple was very satisfied with this...
"Isn't that hilarious?"
"...Are you keeping up with your assignments?"
"Huh? They haven't even been assigned yet!"
Gainando was flustered by his friend's sudden question.
Of course, given that Gainando usually slacked off on assignments, it was only natural to be suspicious—but it was still the beginning of the semester!
"If assignments haven't been given yet, you should at least do some advance reading. What classes are you taking? Show me your course list."
"......"
While Gainando was cornered like a rat in the year's lounge, the other friends quickly packed away their chess and Wizard Card sets before bolting away.
An hour later, Lee Han headed to the <Poison, Bones, Blood> lecture. The cheerful mood from earlier had long since evaporated.
'Which bastard leaked it?'
It was such an uncanny coincidence that he couldn't help suspecting if one of the Einrogard professors had sent it.
Lee Han shook his head.
'Get a grip. It's probably just a coincidence.'
If he kept falling into suspicion like this, it wouldn't be strange for a mage to go mad.
Given that it was already a profession vulnerable to madness, he had to be careful in the first place.
The <Poison, Bones, Blood> lecture hall, located in the basement's second floor, was dim and reeked of a pungent mix of various ingredients.
Students from other schools might have struggled to adjust, but Lee Han, having already spent the entire last year receiving basic education in the Black Magic school, wasn't particularly fazed as he took his seat.
"?"
As he waited, Lee Han grew slightly flustered when he didn't spot any familiar seniors from his school.
'What's going on? Did I mix up Professor Voladi's lecture?'
He even considered the more plausible possibility that he might have entered the wrong lecture hall by mistake, but that wasn't the case either.
Before long, the first student arrived. At the sight of the familiar senior, Lee Han felt an inexplicable surge of emotion.
"...Senior Diret!"
"Junior."
Diret and Lee Han exchanged glances, as if seeing each other for the first time.
Like reflections in a mirror, the exhaustion beneath their eyes was identical.
One had ascended to the fifth year, while the other was juggling both a school and a club—in a way, it was only natural.
'What a pitiful person.'
'This guy's really pitiful too.'
Unaware that they were both pitying each other, the two finally spoke.
"Senior. Have you been well?"
"No. Never advance to the fifth year. Have you been well?"
"Yes."
"Don't lie."
"......"
Lee Han responded with a bitter expression.
"I think I'm managing fine. For now..."
"...Alright. If you say so, then it must be true."
Come to think of it, since it was still the start of the semester, it was highly likely that club activities hadn't fully kicked in yet.
There weren't many clubs that entrusted important responsibilities to new recruits right away.
From that perspective, it wasn't entirely wrong for the junior to say he was still holding up.
Since lectures hadn't fully started either, compared to last year's grueling schedule, this was probably bearable for a junior who had already endured that.
"But why isn't anyone else coming?"
"Maybe it's just the two of us? Our school never had many students to begin with. It's not uncommon for there to be just one or two in the lecture hall."
"...I-I see."
Seeing his junior's flustered reaction, Diret smiled bitterly and said,
"It's fine. Don't worry about it. Speak comfortably. You're part of the Black Magic school now."
Unlike first-years who could easily drop out after taking basic lectures, choosing to continue with the Black Magic school even as a second-year was practically the same as officially belonging to it.
From this point onward, changing schools was quite rare.
"Then, Senior. If our school has so few students, shouldn't we try to increase the numbers? Doesn't the professor care?"
"...That was too comfortable..."
Diret was taken aback by his junior's words, which felt like a sharp stab straight into Professor Mortum's lungs.
If he had said something like that in front of Professor Mortum, the professor might have collapsed from shock.
"Ah. My apologies. You said I could speak comfortably."
"No, it's fine in front of me. Just be careful in front of the professor."
With that, Diret stood up and walked to the front, taking his place beside the lectern.
Seeing this, Lee Han asked in confusion,
"Why are you standing there?"
"I'm teaching this lecture?"
"......"
Only then did Lee Han realize that Diret hadn't come as a fellow student attending the lecture—but as the professor teaching it.
A chill ran down Lee Han's spine.
'Fifth-years have to teach lectures too?!'
"D-Do fifth-years have to teach students too?!"
"Huh? Well, you could say that. Though sometimes even in fourth year..."
Diret flinched as he noticed his junior's eyes had grown disturbingly hollow and dark.
It was the look of someone who'd glimpsed a world truth they weren't meant to know yet.
"...Forget what I just said."
"Somehow I feel like I'll be the one doing that teaching..."
"Now! What do you think <Poison, Bone, Blood> refers to?"
Watching Diret clumsily change the subject, Lee Han shook his head vigorously.
Not that this was his senior's fault.
This was entirely the wicked Einrogard's doing!
"We learned several spells using poison and bone elements last year. And blood elements too."
"Right, last year you learned... wait?"
Diret's black wings twitched behind him.
"You shouldn't have learned blood element magic yet?"
"Ah, technically we studied basic Blood Magic."
"...Does our school have some insane professor I don't know about?"
Shocked, Diret asked the obvious question.
What kind of lunatic would teach Blood Magic to first-year students?
Lee Han quickly explained before Professor Voladi could be dragged off to the punishment chamber:
"We didn't learn to cast Blood Magic. It was more about understanding why..."
While the principle of amplifying mana through blood was clean and efficient, Blood Magic's dangers made it rarely used.
Few were reckless enough to teach or learn techniques that could consume the caster with the slightest mistake.
But Professor Voladi, noting Lee Han's abundant mana reserves, had gifted him a basic Blood Magic tome.
Even without blood amplification, his natural mana capacity could power spells effectively this way.
"...He said even if I don't use Blood Magic, I should study its applications for spellcasting."
'Mustn't swear. Mustn't swear.'
Diret squeezed his eyes shut after hearing this explanation. A fifth-year couldn't curse professors in front of juniors.
"...I see. Naturally. Of course. That makes sense. Naturally. Right."
'Did he short-circuit?'
As Lee Han grew slightly concerned, Diret recovered and continued:
"Actually, what we'll learn here isn't too different from what you described. Poison, bone, blood—all potent reagents... and some are efficient elements too."
Summoning chalk, Diret began drawing diagrams while explaining.
Poison and bone were inherently combat-effective elements, while blood, though less efficient, remained a powerful ancient reagent.
The course aimed to master using them both as reagents and elements, learning to combine them fluidly.
"Even within Black Magic schools, paths diverge widely from golems to curses. Surprisingly, many fail at simple Black Magic—I believe it's due to weak fundamentals."
Diret spoke with the seriousness befitting an advanced dark mage.
Focusing only on convenient, easy-looking spells often leaves practitioners lost when attempting advanced magic later.
<Poison, Bone, Blood> was designed to prevent exactly that.
While irritating that other Black Magic students skipped it, Diret couldn't drag them by their collars.
Having his most promising junior attend was satisfaction enough.
"I understand. Then this semester I'll thoroughly practice each magic's fundamentals."
"Nope. You're starting with the advanced spells."
"......"
Watching his senior flip-flop like turning a palm, Lee Han felt deeply betrayed.