Episode 795
Episode 795
"That, the teacher of Lord Yumidihus..."
As Lee Han, barely recovered from the shock, opened his mouth to ask again, the large elderly woman grew angry.
"'Lord' my foot!"
"Huh?"
"Look at this brat. Who holds the highest status here?"
"......"
Lee Han naturally wanted to say it was Professor Voladi, a professor at Einrogard.
Professors outrank students, and students outrank pirates, right?
By imperial law, there weren't many positions a pirate could outrank.
But Lee Han answered tactfully.
"Wouldn't it be the honored pirate?"
"Kihihi, exactly! In front of me, the honorific 'Lord' should only be used for me. Understood?"
The pirate seemed utterly shameless.
While the old woman walked inside, Lee Han subtly whispered to the professor,
"Professor, when did imperial law change?"
If piracy had become one of the Empire's respectable professions, he needed to know in advance.
That way, he could tax pirates later.
"No."
"Then how is she, a pirate, at Einrogard...?"
Even as he asked, Lee Han worried Professor Voladi might respond with:
-'Einrogard has everything from magic criminals to Professor Verdus. Why make a fuss over a pirate?'
"Lady Lagesa has been granted permission."
"......"
For a moment, Lee Han's world nearly collapsed, but fortunately, the truth was slightly different from what he'd imagined.
The permission Lagesa the pirate had received wasn't a pirate license but a letter of marque—authorization to capture enemy vessels.
'Ah.'
Lee Han felt slightly relieved upon hearing the explanation. A privateer was still within understandable bounds.
It was like a sort of civilian imperial navy, authorized by the Empire to capture only the Empire's enemies.
"Wait, Professor. Is the Empire currently at war?"
"No."
"...Then who is she capturing?"
Lee Han naturally questioned.
The Empire wasn't at war right now.
So, if there were no enemy ships to capture, what exactly did privateers do?
"That's the problem, ahem."
Lagesa, who had been listening from behind, cut in.
Pulling out a tin cup and pouring herself a strong drink, the old pirate sighed regretfully.
"Ah, the old days were better. Back then, the seas were full of ships to capture."
"And now...?"
"Well, I can't starve, so I've been capturing pirate ships."
"......Then aren't you not a pirate but someone who hunts pirates?"
At Lee Han's reasonable question, sparks flew from the old woman's eyes. Lagesa growled and shouted,
"How dare you?! Are you accusing Torgerd's daughter of abandoning the family business?!"
"Please forgive me. It seems I misunderstood."
"Hmph! Even if you're Yumidihus's disciple, you should watch your mouth. No one can accuse Torgerd's daughter of abandoning the family trade!"
"......"
-'Is she insane??'
Lee Han agreed with the baby basilisk's remark.
But what could he do?
The Empire's powerful lunatics had the right to set their own rules. Just like the Skeleton Principal, if the other party insisted, he had to call her a pirate.
"Indeed. I apologize. Lady Lagesa. Anyone would recognize you as a pirate. If you rounded up a hundred Einrogard students and asked them, all hundred would say you're a pirate."
At Lee Han's apology, the old woman's anger seemed to dissipate as she cackled.
"Kihihi. Of course they would."
"But what connection do you have with the Duel Club?"
"None! Honestly, it's absurd. Summoning this old pirate to teach a bunch of brats fooling around at a club..."
"......"
Only then did Lee Han fully grasp the situation.
Professor Kirmin asked Professor Voladi to invite an outstanding duelist -> Professor Voladi asked Lagesa, an outstanding duelist -> The pirate came to Einrogard...
-'Is she really close with Professor Bagrak? How could she ask Professor Bagrak for this?'
It was like asking Professor Voladi to decide your midterm topic just because you couldn't choose one yourself.
Indeed. Though in your haste, you might realize that you shouldn't just ask anyone for help when you see Professor Voladi dragging a dragon along behind him.
"Indeed. Still, the Duel Club members must be thrilled."
At least it had nothing to do with Lee Han.
The Duel Club members would surely suffer, but as for Lee Han...
'Heh. I didn't join.'Whoosh!
Lagesa splashed liquor from her bottle at Lee Han before attempting to trip him with a sweep of her leg.
Startled, Lee Han quickly erected a wall with telekinesis and backed away.
"Yah—!"
The old pirate didn't stop, chanting an unfamiliar spell. The structure of the incantation felt entirely different from Imperial magic.
'Primitive magic?!'
In an instant, the chairs beside them transformed into a swarm of vicious parrots, diving at Lee Han from all sides.
The baby basilisk, enraged, burst out from Lee Han's sleeve and let out a furious cry. Lee Han made a mental note to reward it with treats later as he chanted his own spell.
"Arise, warriors of bone...!"
Skeletal warriors reinforced with dark element and blood element materialized in an instant, blocking the path.
Lagesa stared in disbelief.
"You're Yumidihus' disciple? Why are you using black magic?"
"I study multiple schools."
"What else do you study?"
"All of them."
"All of who?"
While Lagesa wasted time with pointless questions, Lee Han sent the skeletal warriors charging forward and bolted for the back door of the lecture hall.
The lecture was over anyway—there was no point sticking around.
"Ai—yah!"
But the pirate crone chanted again, and the back door writhed like a living thing, transforming into a solid wall.
Lee Han responded simply.
Boom!
With a sudden burst of Wardanaz's Telekinesis and a Water Prison Bomb, the wall was blasted open. Lagesa's jaw dropped.
"Th—that!"
"Until next time, Professor. It was an honor meeting you today, Lady Lagesa!"
"Can't you just stop?!"
"Huh? What was that?"
Lee Han pretended not to hear as he sprinted out of the lecture hall.
"......"
The hallway was lined with pirates wrapped in heavy chains, their faces grim. Clearly, they were Lagesa's crew.
Lee Han sighed.
From inside the lecture hall, Lagesa bellowed at the top of her lungs.
"Bring that brat back here!"
—Let's go.
"I'll walk on my own."
Shoving aside the pirates trying to grab him, Lee Han slipped back through the hole in the wall.
Then he said,
"I just wanted some fresh hallway air."
Lagesa burst into laughter, thoroughly amused by his shameless excuse.
"You're better than Yumidihus! That stiff old man never took a joke. You've got some sense, kid."
"I don't really know much about jokes."
"Teaching Yumidihus' disciple is far more rewarding than those Duel Club brats. Don't you think?"
At the pirate's question, Professor Voladi answered with quiet dignity, a hint of pride in his voice.
"You flatter me."
"Flatter, my foot. Joining a club just to duel is nonsense in the first place. Honestly, if it were a Thieves' Club or Pirates' Club, maybe..."
Lee Han vowed never to mention which club he was in.
Who knew how this eccentric pirate might overestimate the Teleportation Club?
"I'm going to check on those brats. You're coming too."
"...Yes."
"Bagrak, you?"
"I have lectures to prepare."
Professor Voladi intended to prepare for the lecture he'd just discussed with Lee Han.
If his student was that passionate, the professor couldn't afford to slack off either.
'Damn it.'
Lee Han squeezed his eyes shut.
Was this the consequence of his own actions?!
"Oh? Well, come by if you finish early and get bored. Is Gonadaltes at the school?"
"He has business to attend to."
"Tsk. I even prepared a gift. Fine. Come along, youngster! Got any questions about magic combat?"
Walking alongside Lagesa, who reeked of strong liquor, Lee Han managed to glean a few pieces of information.
Her family had been pirates roaming the archipelago since before the Empire's founding.
Yumidihus had once boarded Lagesa's pirate ship in her youth to learn magic from her.
And the method of discerning the value of treasure aboard another ship with just a single gust of wind...
"No, is that really possible?!"
"Kihihi. Yes! Surprising, isn't it? But it's possible! This illusion magic is the secret among my secrets. Imperial illusion mages would kneel and beg me to teach them if they heard of it."
Lagesa wasn't just knowledgeable about the primitive magic she had shown earlier—she also knew the secret techniques passed down through her family for generations.
Among them were several water-element spells so valuable that Yumidihus herself had come to learn them directly.
"No illusion mage could replicate this, right?"
"But the Empire has many outstanding illusion mages, even if they aren't famous. Take Valdororn, for instance..."
"Didn't I tell you to drop the honorifics?"
"Yes. Take Valdororn, for example..."
"Who's that? Some rising star? Good grief. Time flies when you're sailing the seas."
Lagesa groaned as she rubbed her back, though she looked so healthy that it didn't seem to have much effect.
"So, what do you want to learn?"
"Excuse me?"
"Don't play dumb. Which of my spells do you want to learn? That's always why mages seek out this old pirate."
The secret techniques of her pre-Imperial family were highly coveted by the Empire's mages.
Even if their effects were diminished, they'd still be valuable for research—and if they were powerful, all the more so.
Lagesa had already guessed Professor Voladi's intentions in introducing Lee Han to her.
Likely, he had asked her to teach his student if given the chance.
It was a rather cunning ploy, but Lagesa didn't dislike such schemes—especially when the student was sharp and clever.
"...Out of the spells you can teach me, which one is the easiest?"
"The easiest spell?! You sly little devil. Full of tricks, aren't you?"
"???"
Lee Han had no idea what she was thinking.
It wasn't like she'd listen if he refused, and since everything looked difficult, he'd just asked for the easiest option...
"Wait."
Lagesa suddenly stopped mid-step. She held up a finger to silence him and let out a sharp "Shh!"
"??"
There was nothing in the hallway ahead, so Lee Han was baffled by her strange behavior.
'Is there a spectral-type monster here? But then I should've sensed something...'
"That smell... It's Bible's scent."
"......"
Incredibly, Lagesa had detected Professor Verdus' scent from far away!
Lee Han was impressed.
"That's amazing."
This kind of skill seemed more useful for a student than a pirate.
To notice someone approaching from such a distance...
'Maybe I should ask her to teach me this spell too?'
"Amazing? We haven't even started yet!"
"??"
The old pirate woman waved her hand dismissively before hurriedly pulling out artifacts.
She swapped her belt, donned a thick iron mask, grabbed an extra short staff...
Then, after sizing Lee Han up, she tossed him a necklace that radiated defensive energy.
"Wear that. Things are about to get intense."
"...?"
"All hands, prepare for battle! We're going to plunder that bastard Bible!"
'So she's a righteous pirate after all!'
Lee Han suddenly felt a surge of respect for this pirate mage.