Episode 8
Episode 8
People within a family usually couldn't know what rumors or image their family had.
For a family as large as the Wardanaz, their mansion was bigger than most castles, and their lands were as vast as a decent-sized city.
The people living and working there would never dare speak carelessly about the Wardanaz family, so...
"Is there something wrong with the Wardanaz family?"
"Ah... no, nothing at all. Absolutely no problems."
Nilia took another step back.
"I don't know what rumors you've heard, but they're all nonsense."
Even with Lee Han's words, Nilia didn't lower her guard. Yoner spoke up in a comforting tone.
"Imperial noble families always have ridiculous rumors attached to them. Don't worry too much about it."
"Is that so?"
"Though the Wardanaz family does tend to be on the more extreme side..."
"......"
It wasn't very comforting.
While the two were talking, Nilia seemed to have composed herself and spoke in a firm voice.
"Right. There's no reason for me to be afraid just because it's the Wardanaz family."
"What rumors have you heard?"
"......"
Nilia hesitated slightly, unsure whether she should say it or not.
It was a bit... awkward to say to the person in question.
-The head of the Wardanaz family is actually a dragon. During the Undead Frenzy incident in the western continent, he flew over and burned all the undead to ashes with his breath.
-The Wardanaz bloodline gained immense magical power by making a pact with an ancient spirit, but lost their emotions in return.
-Wardanaz mages are ruthless and merciless. During the Imperial Separatist riots, Wardanaz mages appeared and wiped an entire city off the map.
...And so on.
The Wardanaz family's image was far more terrifying than Lee Han had imagined.
To the common folk of the Empire, they seemed like "merciless magical monsters who normally stay hidden but suddenly appear to sweep everything away when trouble arises."
"Isn't it natural for archmages to show up when a major incident happens in the Empire?"
"Exactly. Don't worry about it too much."
Lee Han felt unfairly treated, and Yoner tried to console him. Nilia, observing their reactions, thought to herself:
'The rumor about them losing their emotions definitely seems like nonsense...?'
"Wait."
"?"
"Something's off. Look here."
Nilia pointed at the ground with her finger.
The grassy hill made it nearly invisible, but with her dark elf senses and experience from the Shadow Patrol, she managed to spot the traces.
"See? A pretty large creature stepped here and passed through."
"Isn't the imprint too shallow for something that big?"
"Good catch. It must be quite clever. It moved carefully, controlling its strength to leave no traces, but made a mistake here while eating this fruit."
Yoner didn't seem very interested.
After all, Yoner's field of interest was alchemy.
It was only natural that he wouldn't care much about a hunter's tracking skills. He was busy scanning the surroundings for any medicinal herbs.
'Tch.'
Nilia felt slightly annoyed inside.
Back in the Shadow Patrol, everyone had been on the same wavelength.
They were all hunters or rangers, and most villagers had hunters or rangers in their families, so any topic could spark a conversation.
-I almost got in big trouble. The fur was so beautiful, I just had to catch it no matter what...
-Hahaha! That happens. Back in my younger days...
They could chatter for an hour just talking about prey they'd encountered while hunting.
But here, everyone was too different.
-Um, something happened to me in the mountains...
-Mountains?
-Yeah. I was out hunting...
-Hunting?? Why?
-Well, I was part of the patrol...
-Can't you just buy what you need with money?
-...You ■■ucking ■■irdo, you wanna die for real?
-Eeek!
...Given the conversations Nilia had endured, Yoner's reaction couldn't help but be slightly irritating.
But what could she do?
'Right. Not everyone's a hunter. I should adjust.'
"Oh. That's interesting. Anything else?"
"...!"
Amidst this, Lee Han's reaction was unexpected to Nilia.
Lee Han was listening intently with an expression of genuine interest.
Flustered, Nilia asked,
"You think it's interesting?"
"Was there a part that shouldn't be interesting?"
"...No. It's not that it shouldn't be interesting, but I wasn't exactly telling this story for entertainment, though of course..."
"???"
As the other person rambled incoherently, Lee Han grew flustered in turn.
'Is she drunk?'
Realizing she was saying strange things herself, Nilia quickly steered the conversation back on track.
"Alright! Anyway, when you find traces of a large prey like this, you need to be careful. See how the grass here is cut? It's got pretty big claws."
"I see."
Lee Han was fundamentally a curious person who enjoyed learning.
If he weren't, he wouldn't have pursued graduate studies even after being scammed by a professor.
Even beyond magic, the wisdom of hunters like this was quite fascinating.
"Can you tell what it is from this?"
"This isn't enough."
Nilia crossed her arms, sounding regretful.
There was a saying that seasoned hunters could identify prey just by footprints, but that was a fantasy.
Hunters could do that only if they'd lived in an area long enough to memorize all the local monsters.
Without knowing what creatures roamed these parts, there was no way to guess immediately.
"Plus, I've heard the Magic School area is crawling with all kinds of bizarre monsters."
"Ah, I've heard that too."
Yoner nodded.
Einrogard was located on land so rich in mana that monsters naturally proliferated under its influence.
And separately from that...
"They say monsters created from failed experiments wander near the school. Apparently, discarded potions spawn rare slimes pretty often too."
"......"
Lee Han was speechless.
'Do the mages here have no lab safety protocols??'
From potions to magically engineered creatures—
These things needed strict oversight.
But if they were just carelessly discarded, problems like this were inevitable.
"We should be even more careful."
"Well said! We'll follow these traces as a baseline. That should reduce ambush risks."
"Can I learn how to read tracks too?"
At Lee Han's question, Nilia blinked.
Wondering if he'd been rude, Lee Han added,
"If it's too much trouble to teach, you can just ignore—"
"...It won't be easy at all. You might give up halfway. Do you have any idea how hard this skill is?"
"If you teach me, I'll do my best not to quit."
"...Hmph. Fine, I'll teach you! Let's see how far you get!"
Yoner whispered quietly so Nilia wouldn't hear:
"Do you really need to learn that?"
"Why not? It looks fun."
"???"
"Found it. Poisonous Crow Herb."
While Nilia and Lee Han were on guard, Yoner spotted the herb.
Hidden deep within thick foliage, the herb drew an impressed reaction from Lee Han.
'Impressive find.'
"There are only two."
"......"
"......"
"We just need one more... Why is everyone silent?"
Yoner turned her head.
And realized why the other two had gone quiet.
-■■...
An enormous boar was glaring at them with terrifying intensity.
"Given the mana I'm sensing, it must've eaten something it shouldn't have."
Feeling the mana emanating from the boar, Lee Han spoke calmly.
Whether it had ingested spilled reagents, consumed potions, or undergone some special experiment...
"Now's not the time for that kind of talk! Be careful!"
Nilia whispered urgently in a frantic voice.
Boars were by no means weak animals.
With their massive bulk and surprisingly agile movements, they were dangerous enough—and even more so when equipped with tusks.
Moreover, their current opponent wasn't some docile farm-raised pig but a beast that had fully reclaimed its wild instincts.
And if it had eaten something strange and gained mana on top of that, it might as well be considered a monster.
"Treat it like a wild boar! Don't provoke it at all! Everyone, slowly back away!"
Nilia instructed the two.
Yoner steadied his trembling legs. Lee Han supported Yoner while subtly retreating backward.
-■■■!
But the boar let out a sound and began stomping toward them.
It was snorting and huffing, clearly quite enraged.
"If we just keep retreating, we'll be in danger."
Lee Han raised his staff and stopped.
Holding it firmly with both hands like a spear, his stance looked quite impressive.
'Right...! He's from the Wardanaz family, wasn't he?'
Only then did Nilia recall which family Lee Han belonged to.
The Wardanaz family—a lineage of grand mages in the Empire.
Given that, it wasn't impossible that he had learned some magic before entering the academy.
'He did say earlier that he'd take the role of driving away wild beasts or monsters if they appeared, right?'
Nilia asked Lee Han in a hushed voice.
"Confident?"
"Not entirely, but maybe?"
"If you fail, grab that redhead and run no matter what! I'll distract it!"
Among them, Nilia was the fastest at navigating mountains and hills.
It wasn't that she didn't trust Lee Han's magic, but a seasoned hunter always had to prepare for the worst.
If things went south, Nilia planned to lure the boar away herself.
Lee Han looked somewhat touched by Nilia's words. Yoner did too.
"You'd go that far for us..."
"That's not it!? It's just because I'm the only one who can do it, okay!?"
"Right. Thanks anyway. I'll count on you if things go wrong."
Lee Han stopped talking and focused.
The boar was steadily closing the distance.
'Three. Two. One.'
Lee Han calmly counted down, measuring the gap between them.
Nilia, watching from behind, swallowed nervously with a tense expression.
Just what kind of magic was he planning to use against that boar?
THWACK!!!
"......"
A crisp sound echoed from the boar's skull.
What Lee Han had chosen was... swinging his staff.
-You are the King of Dark Weapons, but you must not rely solely on the sword. Swordsmanship must be adaptable even when a sword is unavailable. Whether it be a spear, a club, a dagger, or bare-handed.
-I see.
-...It's not my place to say, but don't you have any complaints?
-Why?
-Ah, never mind.
Alarong wasn't the type to teach easily just because Lee Han was a direct descendant of the family.
He trained Lee Han as strictly and harshly as he himself had been taught.
And Lee Han learned exceptionally well.
Other nobles might have complained, "Why should I go through such grueling training?" but Lee Han was the opposite.
'People pay to exercise—this much is doable, isn't it?'
Back in grad school, he hadn't had the time to work out, so he had no reason to complain now that Alarong was meticulously teaching him everything from scratch.
Besides, whenever his body ached, servants would rush over with food, drinks, and magic potions...
-Lord Lee Han. You must be wondering by now—why I haven't taught you how to coat weapons with aura like other knights do.
-I wasn't even thinking about that? How could someone like me, still learning, reach such an advanced level?
-...Then why on earth did you ask to learn swordsmanship if not for aura??
Alarong paused mid-lesson and stared at Lee Han in utter bewilderment.