Episode 760
Episode 760
"It's just a minor ownership dispute!"
To whom do Einrogard's belongings belong?
Perhaps this conundrum was a question that Einrogard's wizards would have to grapple with forever.
An anonymous lich would argue, "They belong to the Headmaster, the lord of this land," while an anonymous troll-blooded professor would counter, "Shouldn't they belong to those who tend to them?" and radical students would insist, "They belong to those who need them." Yet, no definitive answer had been settled upon.
And usually, the rules flexibly changed depending on the situation.
-Hold on. I claimed this alleyway first. If you want to pass, pay the toll.
-You madman. Are the White Tiger Tower students descended from bandits rather than knights? Attack!
-Hold on. I claimed this alleyway first. I repaired the collapsed passage and regularly remove the traps that keep appearing. If you want to pass, pay the toll.
-Honorable White Tiger Tower student. I express my gratitude for your efforts. Here is the toll.
Ownership was somewhat acknowledged based on the student's contributions or justification.
However, this mushroom cultivation field was a place where ownership had become extremely tangled.
Over a decade ago, a senior had stumbled upon this naturally growing mushroom cluster by chance...
-Friends, I found a mushroom field!
-Are there Mist Cloud Mushrooms too?
-Yes! Now we won't need to go into Mist Mountain anymore!
-Wait. If it's such a field, others might try to steal it.
-Let's join forces to protect it. This mushroom field is ours!
A few years later, when the seniors graduated, the juniors inherited and divided it among themselves...
-I helped the seniors the most. I should get the largest area!
-Nonsense. Who took care of the mushrooms the most?
-They grow on their own—what's there to take care of? Stop talking nonsense and split it equally!
Even the inherited areas became entangled, leading to disputes.
-From here to here is my territory!
-What are you talking about? It's clearly written that this part isn't yours.
-A forgery?! You bastard, you forged it!
-Excuse me, may I ask something? I bought the rights to this mushroom cultivation field for twelve gold coins...
Forgery, theft, robbery, and conflicts continued one after another, and now the mushroom field had become a bizarre patch of land with multiple owners.
"What kind of place is that?"
"I heard there are plenty of places like that in Einrogard."
"......"
Lee Han, who had returned to the lower part of the embankment where his friends were waiting, was dumbfounded by Yoner's words.
"Well, there's no choice. We'll have to loot it."
"I knew you'd say that, Lord Wardanaz."
Lee Han briefly worried that he might need to have a sincere talk with Priestess Siana later. 'Does she think of me like the seniors from the Teleportation Club?' He only moved things out of necessity for survival—never for enjoyment...
Probably.
"Wouldn't it be better to wait until night?"
"That's the problem."
"?"
"The Alchemy lectures have started, right? Everyone's busy gathering materials for the semester."
"Right."
"The seniors know that too, so they'll probably hold out there for a while."
"......"
Lee Han peeked over the embankment and checked again.
Around the seniors, traces of camping preparations—from sleeping bags to other supplies—were scattered about. It looked like they were prepared to stay for several more days.
"I didn't want to attack the seniors... but I'm worried about how to avoid getting caught."
"Shouldn't you first consider whether you can even win?"
Yoner was dumbfounded by her friend, who took victory for granted and planned accordingly.
Professor Mortum coughed and gestured.
"You may open the door."
Creak.
-The door of the bone carriage that had just landed in the Spire Stable creaked open, and a coughing mage stepped out.
The mage looked as sickly and exhausted as Professor Mortum.
The only difference was that while Professor Mortum was short, this mage was tall.
"You still don't look well, Professor Taswan. I worry that your research on the Curse of Temperance might be too harsh on a mage's body."
Cough cough. "It's fine. The research on the Curse of Temperance is nearly complete. My poor physical condition is due to a curse from Lord Gonadaltes. The one I got when I said at the gathering that Kallarogard and Einrogard were the twin pillars of the Empire..."
"......"
Professor Taswan was both a professor at Kallarogard—a magic school where the Empire's black mages gathered—and an outstanding black mage himself.
And in the Empire, it was nearly impossible for black mages not to have some connection with the Skeleton Principal.
The Skeleton Principal was the sole mage who had inherited the true lineage of black magic passed down since ancient times, and having contributed to establishing the Empire's current magical system, it was inevitable that all black mages, whether slightly or greatly, would be influenced by him.
Professor Taswan had been struck by the Skeleton Principal seven years ago at a gathering of black mages in the Purple Mountain Range.
Known as <The Night of Black Mages>, it was a festive gathering where the Empire's finest black mages—and even liches who still received greetings like "Are you still alive?"—often participated.
The Imperial Magic Officer, visiting after a long absence, had enlivened the festival with various secret histories and mysteries of black magic, along with unfiltered critiques of the younger mages' spells.
Despite his body weakened by years of black magic research, Professor Taswan had been so overjoyed that he downed several cups of poisoned wine.
Then, in his drunken state, he had spouted nonsense in front of the Skeleton Principal.
—Lord Gonadaltes! I am truly delighted. As a black mage of Kallarogard, one of the twin pillars guiding the Empire alongside Einrogard...
—What did you just say?
The Skeleton Principal had cursed him as punishment for insulting Einrogard and for his foolishness (after all, any proper mage should know not to believe baseless rumors and to judge for themselves).
That curse still hadn't been fully lifted, leaving Professor Taswan in poor health.
"Professor Taswan, I don't know if this will comfort you, but the Principal is quite busy these days. He likely won't have time to meet you."
"What wonderful news! Thank you, Professor Mortum. I feel a bit more energetic already."
As the chilly spring night wind licked past the Spire Stable, Professor Taswan shivered violently. Despite wearing a coat enchanted with powerful cold-resistant magic, the chill seeped in.
"Here, have a cup of warm honey tea. My disciple made it."
"Ohh..."
Professor Taswan carefully accepted the cup and sipped the honey tea. The hot golden liquid flowed down his throat, warming his body.
But that wasn't all. Whether due to alchemy or not, it also had a restorative effect. Puzzled, Professor Taswan asked,
"Did Diret make this honey tea? I didn't know he excelled in alchemy too."
"No. It's a new disciple of mine."
"How enviable, Professor Mortum. It seems you've acquired yet another outstanding disciple. As the Empire's top magic school, Einrogard naturally attracts the finest talents, even in black magic... Kallarogard always struggles to recruit. My disciples are diligent and talented, but we get so few newcomers."
Professor Taswan shook his head, lamenting the hardships of a black mage.
At least Einrogard, being the Empire's premier magic school, seemed to attract many talented individuals to its black magic division.
In contrast, Kallarogard had a much harder time finding disciples.
Those with magical talent who were also willing to devote themselves to black magic were exceedingly rare.
"......"
Professor Mortum hesitated, unable to speak the truth outright.
Even he found it difficult to mention that fewer than five new students had joined the Black Magic department at Einrogard.
"Congratulations on the new students, Professor Mortum. Still, other black mages would be delighted to hear this news."
Professor Taswan genuinely rejoiced. At the sight, Professor Mortum tightly shut his eyes.
Now he had completely missed his chance to explain.
"......Where are your students?"
Professor Mortum changed the subject. Professor Taswan pointed to the bone carriage.
"They're inside. They haven't fully recovered from the poisoning yet, so it'll take a little more time before they can move properly."
"It might be better to wait inside..."
"I can't possibly go in first while my students are still out here."
At Professor Mortum's words, Professor Taswan smiled warmly.
No matter how cold or uncomfortable it was, he couldn't leave his students behind and enter first.
Watching this, Professor Mortum grumbled inwardly. 'He's raising the average standard for professors too high.' If the other party kept elevating the moral benchmark for Empire professors, wouldn't it eventually reflect poorly on the rest?
In a way, it was a selfish thought.
"......Very well. What was the purpose of this visit...?"
"First, the Wizard Card Club exchange tournament."
"That club again? I truly don't understand why mages are so obsessed with this."
Professor Mortum grumbled with clear dissatisfaction.
The very idea that students from other magic academies would travel all the way here just to play Wizard Cards was beyond his comprehension.
Professor Taswan chuckled as if he understood.
"I don't quite get it either, but if it's the students' hobby, so be it. Even the strongest horse won't collapse easily if you only whip it."
"The Headmaster says you must whip a running horse... Never mind. What's the next purpose?"
"Reagent procurement."
Einrogard was both a massive buyer and seller of reagents.
With such vast territory and that bizarre main building, it was impossible not to produce reagents.
Of course, given the enormous consumption, they weren't sold externally without restriction—but frequent exchanges between the Empire's other magic academies were permitted for mutual necessities.
"Reagent procurement... What do you need?"
"The cursed barrels, venomous insects, and mushrooms we discussed last time."
"The barrels can be taken immediately. As for the insects and mushrooms... we don't have any in stock right now."
"We located a spot eleven years ago! I plan to gather them myself."
"I see. Then I'll assign a student as your guide for the collection."
Professor Mortum flicked his quill pen, summarizing the visit's purpose for him.
At that, Professor Taswan frowned.
"Could it be someone other than Student Diret? No matter what, asking a fifth-year to do this kind of work is..."
"......"
This time, even Professor Mortum felt a twinge of guilt.
Admittedly, the other had a point. 'Then who else can I assign...? It's a shame Coholti graduated. No—even if he hadn't, I wouldn't have trusted him with this. Ogoldos lacks tact...'
Hosting visiting mages was far more challenging than entertaining ordinary guests.
Ordinary guests usually toured the safer parts of the academy before leaving, but mage guests ventured deep into restricted areas.
To accommodate them, a guide needed quick wit, adaptability, and the ability to rein in Einrogard's unruly students.
"Hmm. I'll assign Wardanaz."
"There's such a student? What year is he?"
"Well... Don't misunderstand."
"Misunderstand what?"
Professor Taswan laughed at his reaction.
"Third-year, I assume? That's fine. If he's an Einrogard third-year, he should be more than capable."
Even in the Empire's top magic academy, an exceptional student could handle guiding duties by their third year.
That was Professor Taswan's belief.
"Actually, second-year..."
"????"