Episode 757
Episode 757
Fortunately, Diret wasn't the kind of cold-hearted person who would scold a well-meaning junior who had rushed over without knowing any better.
"Just drop dead!"
"Why???"
But he was absolutely the kind of person who would scold a senior who shamelessly exploited that junior.
Diret took advantage of Yukveltire's weakened state from magical research to launch his attack.
After going out of his way to exclude Yukveltire from the workshop's defensive spells, this act of betrayal left Yukveltire tightly bound and scolding his friend.
"Diret. To think you'd resort to such a dishonorable ambush. You've truly sunk to the level of the White Tiger Tower."
Diret even went as far as gagging his friend. There was no insult he wouldn't use.
"So what were you doing?"
"I improved the magic circle here."
As Diret sifted through the towering stacks of paper, he let out a small gasp upon discovering the newly drawn magic circle and schematic.
He could clearly sense the direction his friend was trying to take with the improvements.
"Clever."
Yukveltire nodded as if it were obvious.
"But this still isn't something you should ask a junior for help with. It's too difficult, too vast. This is something you should handle alone. Why would you drag a junior into this?"
"Ughh."
"...I'll untie you, so don't say anything unnecessary. No talk of dishonor, insults, the White Tiger Tower, wasted time—all of that is off-limits."
Once the magical gag disappeared, Yukveltire could speak again.
"I sought the junior's assistance, and the junior learns magic in return. What's the problem?"
"Learn magic? What exactly do you think a second-year junior could learn by assisting you with your magic? They'd need to be at least somewhat close to your level to learn anything."
"Professor Vible said the Wardanaz junior was at that level."
"......"
Struck speechless, Diret found himself at a loss for words.
Lee Han sent his senior an encouraging look.
Hang in there, Senior. You can do this.
Internally, Diret cursed Professor Verdus for his tactless answer, cursed Yukveltire, and finally cursed the junior.
If only he had been a moderately good student instead of getting involved in a professor's magic, this situation wouldn't have happened!
"Professor Vible was talking nonsense."
"Professor Vible is usually precise when it comes to magic, Diret."
"Shut up. Anyway, just because of one opinion from Professor Vible, you can't drag a junior into your difficult research. He's only a second-year."
"The Headmaster also said he was at that level."
"......"
Diret was stunned by his friend's response.
What the—?
"D-don't lie. Knowing you, there's no way you went and asked both of them."
Yukveltire shrugged and answered coolly.
"Professor Vible was reviewing my research when the Headmaster showed up."
"Why?"
"No idea. He immediately attacked the professor. After the attack, I had a chance to discuss my research, so I asked them both. They both agreed it was a good opportunity."
'...'
Should I have really sent that anonymous complaint?'
Diret gritted his teeth at the two who had been anything but helpful.
They were already meddling too much, and now they gave answers like that?
Of course, purely from a magical standpoint, their answers might have been correct.
Objectively speaking, the junior might have had the skill to assist and the ability to learn while doing so.
But any decent person should have recognized the junior's current situation and anticipated how things would unfold if they gave Yukveltire a positive answer.
"Enough. I'll help you, so let's just pretend the junior was never involved. Got it?"
"Your help and the junior's help are entirely different fields..."
Ignoring his friend, Diret gestured at Lee Han. The meaning was clear: Get out of here.
"Junior. Never come to this workshop again. Understood?"
"You're being overly controlling and—"
The Princess found herself magically gagged again. Diret gestured at the junior once more.
"Get out, quick!"
'...'
This feels uncomfortable.'
Even though he was free now, Lee Han felt a slight unease in the corner of his heart.
It felt like his senior had gotten caught unnecessarily because of him.
Of course, Diret himself had said, "I'm just helping you because we're close, so don't think too much about it," but still...
"Professor Verdus. Are you there?"
Lee Han knocked on Professor Verdus's workshop door.
When no answer came, he belatedly realized.
'Ah. He must've gone to the Punishment Room.'
Now that he thought about it, Professor Voladi had borrowed artifacts from the Headmaster's office.
Since Professor Voladi was a smart man, he must've sent Professor Verdus to the Punishment Room in his stead.
'I'll have to come back later.'
He had planned to spend the weekend catching up on missed lectures by asking each professor and studying alone, but it seemed he'd have to ask Professor Verdus about his lecture another time.
And upon further reflection, there wasn't much to ask about Professor Verdus's lecture anyway.
It was essentially self-study, after all...
"What's the matter?"
"!!!"
When Professor Verdus opened the workshop door and stepped out, Lee Han was startled.
"P-Professor!"
"Why'd you call me?"
"You didn't go to the Punishment Room?"
"No, I didn't."
"...Then, did Professor Garcia or Professor Bagrak go to the Punishment Room?"
"No, they didn't."
"?!"
Lee Han was even more shocked.
None of the three had gone? 'Does that mean they weren't caught?!'
If he told the members of the Teleportation Club, they'd probably marvel at it as a miracle.
Resolving to ask Professor Voladi later how he'd managed to undo everything, Lee Han posed the question he'd originally come to ask.
"Professor. I came to ask about the lecture content I missed last time."
"How about helping me with my work instead?"
"No, thank you."
Professor Verdus grumbled at his student's refusal.
Helping with his work would've been a far better learning opportunity than asking about lecture content!
"I was wondering if any of the seniors had come up with ideas related to wands."
Professor Verdus's lecture, Staff Materials and Magic Amplification, was an appealing class for talented and outstanding students.
There was the minor issue that it was usually taken by third-years, but that wasn't much of a problem for Lee Han.
The bigger issue was that Lee Han's wand—or more precisely, the spirit dwelling within it—was slightly upset with him.
Lee Han thought he'd been using his wand diligently, but the spirit disagreed.
To satisfy the spirit and make it think, "I'm being put to good use," he needed to cast more magic through the wand.
But to cast more magic, he had to upgrade the wand's materials and structure itself...
'Now that I think about it, isn't the bar set too high for a first wand-making lecture?'
Given that his path was several times longer than others', Lee Han wanted to see the wands of his seniors.
Since they had started earlier and pondered more, there would be much to learn.
"I don't remember."
"......"
Lee Han glared, but Professor Verdus was serious.
"Professor. I'll send a petition to the Headmaster about your neglect of lectures."
"That's absurd! They were genuinely trash-tier ideas!"
Professor Verdus protested indignantly.
If there had been truly valuable suggestions, he would've remembered them.
But most of the ideas the students had proposed in the last lecture were garbage.
It was, after all, the beginning of the semester.
The time when students tossed out the most garbage-tier ideas imaginable.
-What if we made the core out of True Silver and inserted a fragment of Behemoth bone inside?
-How do you even get either of those?
-We'll figure that out later.
-I'm trying to tame a steel wand right now, but the spirit keeps complaining about the stench. Does anyone know of a being that likes steel wands?
-Hmm. If you add too much Black Magnetite to the wand, it explodes...!
Even upon reflection, all he could recall were trash-like opinions. Professor Verdus shook his head to clear away even the faint remnants of those memories drifting through his mind.
"Just ask me again now! What are you curious about?"
"I have to choose the material for my wand's shaft—one that can bridge the gap between a troublesome spirit and a gemstone given by an otherworldly being. It's really giving me a headache. Wood is stable but has its limits, metal is too divisive, and if I go for gemstones or rare metals, I don't even know when I'll be able to gather enough..."
Professor Verdus yawned at the tedious topic. While it might be fresh and troubling for a second-year student, to him, it was a subject he'd dealt with thousands upon thousands of times—utterly devoid of any interest.
Lee Han glared again.
"Professor. I'm being serious here."
"Huh? Oh. Fine. How about this? I'll assign you another student—you can ask them instead."
"Hmm."
Lee Han was intrigued by that suggestion.
Honestly, he thought learning from a senior would be better than learning from Professor Verdus.
"If they're someone knowledgeable about wands, that would be great. Which senior is it?"
"Hm? Yukvelithere."
"...Professor. Just recommend me a book—I'll study on my own."
Carrying a backpack heavier than before, Lee Han headed toward the Void Hall where Professor Paselet, the Divination Magic professor, resided.
The Death Knights spotted Lee Han and raised their visors to greet him.
-Young Wardanaz, good to see you!
"Hello. By the way, where is the Headmaster right now?"
Lee Han had intended to confront the Skeleton Principal about the incident where he had been kidnapped and nearly forced to stay at Einrogard for life.
Just look at this!
The Skeleton Principal had boldly assured him everything would be fine, yet Lee Han had ended up kidnapped and nearly trapped in Einrogard forever. Even now, the thought sent chills down his spine.
And Lee Han also harbored some suspicion about the Headmaster's inaction during the ordeal.
'Could he have deliberately left me to be forced into learning magic?'
Given the Skeleton Principal's character, such a sinister scheme was entirely possible. Lee Han planned to meet him face-to-face and denounce this treachery.
-Our master seems quite busy lately. We haven't seen him ourselves.
"......"
Lee Han shot them a skeptical look.
He wondered if these knights were just covering for their master.
"Is that so?"
-Yes. In the past, there were times when our master would disappear like this.
"When he was plotting something evil?"
-Hahaha... More like something on a grander scale, wouldn't you say?
"An even grander and more evil plot?"
The Death Knights pretended not to hear the student's irreverent question.
They had all heard about how Lee Han had barely escaped the clutches of their master's insane doppelgänger.
"Anyway, if you see the Headmaster, let me know."
-Understood!
Seeing no point in pressing further, Lee Han bid farewell to the knights of death.
But his suspicions only grew stronger.
'This is getting more and more suspicious.'
By now, Lee Han's mind was practically weaving conspiracy theories like—
"The Skeleton Principal and the insane doppelgänger were in cahoots! What if the doppelgänger was actually the Headmaster's subordinate?!"
Thud thud thud
-"Is the Professor here?"
"The Professor is sleeping."
An unfamiliar senior opened the door to the Void Hall and gestured for Lee Han to enter.
"Because of a prophetic dream?"
Dreams filled with uncertainty and madness were always excellent buffers, resiliently absorbing the shocks brought on by Divination Magic.
"No. He just stayed up late playing card games with another professor. You're the one, right? The Wardanaz family's cross-disciplinary student?"
"...Yes."
"The Professor left this for you to read... Found it. 'Students don't need to come asking about missed material—they can keep up just fine on their own.'"
"But how can I be so confident when I haven't even attended the lecture—"
The senior gestured for him to wait, then flipped over a card and read the message on the back.
"That's not overconfidence—it's called self-objectivity..."
"......"
Lee Han grumbled inwardly about how eccentric Divination mages were.