Episode 818
Episode 818
I couldn't tell if it was just my imagination, but Diret's gaze seemed to say, 'You're a fifth-year and you're getting treated by a junior? Just go die on your own.'
Yukveltire also seemed to be saying something with her eyes, but since I wasn't particularly interested, it didn't quite get through to me.
"Your arm is... severely shattered."
"That's because the magic you showed me earlier was so powerful, junior."
Despite having one arm twisted and contorted like the candy Gainando loves, Catten smiled contentedly.
Lee Han nearly hit him but restrained himself. If he struck now, the other two seniors might mistake it as a signal and attack Catten.
"Doesn't it hurt?"
"It does. But I'm used to pain. Trained in the Punishment Room."
'Could he have been sent to a different Punishment Room than mine?' Lee Han wondered inwardly at Catten's words.
Perhaps if someone failed multiple times or grew strong enough, they'd be sent to a higher-difficulty Punishment Room.
Otherwise, there was no explanation for how he could endure training that left his arm this shattered.
"May I ask about that magic?"
"Please be quiet. I need to concentrate."
Lee Han pondered how to mend this mangled arm using the healing magic and alchemy he'd learned.
Unaware of his junior's inner turmoil, Catten excitedly chattered about the magic he'd just witnessed.
"Junior. Was that spell you cast earlier an abbreviated incantation?"
"...It was cast without an incantation. Hey, Jahan. Shut up. The junior's trying to focus."
Unable to bear it any longer, Diret silenced Catten.
Of course, someone who actually stayed silent wouldn't have made it to fifth year at Einrogard. Catten, as if pleased, turned to Diret instead.
"Then, Diret, perhaps you could explain."
"...It's a 5th Circle Psychokinesis spell. There. It's a magic specialized for instant casting without incantations.
"Ooh...!" Upon hearing about magic that wasn't just rote repetition but a complete stage achieved through comprehensive understanding of a single field, infused with the mage's own goals and individuality, Catten's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Stop moving, please!"
Lee Han snapped irritably as Catten eagerly tried to take notes.
Diret sighed and offered advice.
"You'd be better off calling a Healing School mage. This goes beyond compound fractures."
"I feel bad summoning Healing School seniors for something like this..."
"That's literally their job."
At Yukveltire's words, Lee Han nodded.
Then he pretended not to hear and continued.
"It'd be too much trouble for them, and I'd feel guilty."
"I just said that's their job."
"Right, right. So I tried handling it myself, but it's tougher than I thought."
"...What if we try using this?"
Yukveltire pulled out the Stone Mirror artifact she'd used earlier in battle.
Lee Han startled and exclaimed,
"Are you trying to burn his ruined arm off?"
"That might be a bit much."
Catten shook his head awkwardly. Even for him, losing an arm was a bit extreme.
"Yukveltire's Stone Mirror wasn't originally made for combat. Sure, you can use it that way, but it's primarily for exploration."
Diret stepped in to explain for his friend. A faint sense of crisis told him that if he left things as they were, his friend might clutch his neck and collapse someday.
"It can be used on objects or artifacts' internal structures, even human bodies. You can give it commands too. Help fix his arm."
As Diret issued the command, the mirror-shaped artifact began emitting light, meticulously scanning the shattered arm.
"...Mend!"
Following each instruction, Lee Han was astonished.
Though initially skeptical, it seemed this Stone Mirror genuinely knew how to heal Catten's arm.
The arm, shattered to the point where it was impossible to even guess where to begin, was gradually improving with each spell cast.
'Did she even incorporate Divination Magic into this? Just like the Calendarium, she's truly remarkable.'
Impressed, Lee Han turned to Diret and said,
"This and that bronze golem from last time—you're truly incredible."
"Right?"
Diret couldn't help but feel pleased when his friend received praise.
Beside them, Catten also wiped under his nose, looking smug.
"Indeed. Yukveltire is outstanding..."
"Why are you looking so pleased?"
"We're in the same year, so it's only natural."
Yukveltire, who had been silently listening, quietly interjected,
"Artificial Dimension Magic is several times more advanced than this..."
"Not interested."
Seeing their same-year friend's fingers trembling faintly, Catten whispered to Diret,
"Seems like she's angry."
"She is angry."
After about an hour of work, Catten's arm had mostly returned to its original state.
"The rest should heal completely if you take healing potions consistently for about a week."
"Hey."
You should be grateful your junior went through all this trouble for you. Have some conscience.
"Diret scolded Catten."
If it were a skilled healing mage like Professor Alkasis, they would have visualized the complete recovery in their mind and cast a powerful healing spell to mend the injury instantly. But as you know, this junior is still just a second-year student.
That's why they had no choice but to rely on the Stone Mirror's power and painstakingly mend the injury with lower-tier healing spells, one stitch at a time. If not for this junior's overflowing mana, they would've collapsed long ago.
"I know. Hmm. Junior. Next time, whatever request you have, call upon Catten of the Wardanaz family, and I'll sincerely help you."
"Senior...!"
Touched by the sight of Catten thumping his chest and speaking so reassuringly, Lee Han felt a slight swell of emotion.
He thought that as long as he had this feline Beastman senior by his side, there would be nothing to fear, no matter the request.
"What nonsense are you spouting? You're always in the Punishment Room. When would you even have the time to help?"
"Statistically speaking, the probability of you wanting to help the Wardanaz junior but being unable to do so seems much higher."
Unlike Lee Han, Diret and Yukveltire weren't fooled.
They knew all too well that once the semester started, this friend would spend even more time in the Punishment Room.
Catten, flustered by their sharp criticism, stammered,
"I-I'll try harder this semester not to end up there..."
"If you were that kind of person, you wouldn't have gone in the first place."
"I recall you declaring the same last year—and the year before that, too. What guarantee is there that this year will be any different?"
Diret and Yukveltire ruthlessly tore into Catten. Seeing him deflate, his ears drooping miserably, Lee Han stepped in.
"This year might be different, you know."
"R-right. This year, I have this Wardanaz family junior helping me with my magic, too."
"And you say that proudly? You shameless trash."
"Is it really okay to steal your junior's time like this?"
"......"
Diret, who had been joining in the berating, suddenly glanced at his friend...
You really shouldn't be the one saying that, no?
Noticing the look, Yukveltire tilted her head.
"It's nothing. Look ahead."
"Of course... I am taking up the junior's time... but I'm also teaching swordsmanship... and now that I've awakened my Aura, I'll be even more helpful..."
"That's right. You will be helpful."
"You think so too, junior?"
Diret glared disapprovingly at the White Tiger Tower friend who was hiding behind the junior, beaming with delight.
Even after Catten promised to teach swordsmanship next time and disappeared, Diret kept glaring.
"Senior. He's already left."
"..."
"I was keeping watch in case he came back and started spouting nonsense. Junior. It's not really my place to say this, especially since you've even awakened your Aura... but don't forget that having too many talents can actually make things harder for you."
"I'm aware of that."
"I figured. It's a bit late to bring it up now, honestly. Anyway, let's move this Duke's barrel first."
"A wooden barrel?"
"Huh? Oh. The wooden barrel. His Grace the Duke... Whatever. Just move it! Hurry up!"
Fortunately, there were no further ambushes this time. The three of them quickly carried the wooden barrel down to the underground workshop of Black Rock Hall.
Diret cleared his throat and waved his staff. With that, the Toad Demon spat the wooden barrel out.
"Alright. Now we're going to restore His Grace the Duke to his original form. As for who should speak to him..."
One of them was sociable but still a second-year, and the other was a fifth-year but Yukveltire.
Diret quickly gave up and made a decision.
"I'll do the talking. Even though we got permission, we did technically kidnap him, so we should at least show some courtesy. Got it?"
"......"
Lee Han glanced around the underground workshop of Black Rock Hall. The prison bars meant for confining undead, the blood-stained handcuffs and chains, the suppression tools for restraining demons... 'This place is already so far removed from courtesy...' Though, it was definitely a place where they could avoid the prying eyes of other students who might try to kidnap the Duke again.
(It's just that even our allies would be too scared to come here.)
"Senior Yukveltire. Even if he is the Duke, isn't keeping him in a place like this a bit... inappropriate?"
Not wanting to add to Diret's worries, Lee Han directed his question to the other senior.
Yukveltire answered immediately.
"Why? There's nothing dangerous here."
"Haha. Of course."
('I shouldn't have asked.') With just that one answer, Lee Han instantly realized he'd made a mistake in asking.
Poof!
With the incantation, the wooden barrel transformed back into Duke Icaldoren.
The Duke was still shuddering, the memory of being trapped in the dark, sticky belly of the Toad Demon not yet faded.
"Your Grace..."
"You insane mages! You wretched sorcerers should all be wiped out! Now I understand why Anti-Magic Zealots exist!"
Diret looked awkward.
Honestly, it was hard to argue against that.
"We apologize for the rudeness of our students. But we had no other choice given the circumstances."
"No magic academy in the Empire is as rude and wicked as you lot!"
"Your Grace. About the sponsorship funds..."
"Sponsorship funds?! How dare you even mention—"
"Senior. Should we just call the Death Knight?"
Unable to watch any longer, Lee Han cut in.
It wasn't even Diret who had turned the Duke into a barrel, yet here he was, bearing the brunt of the Duke's rage.
No matter how high-ranking the Duke was, this was going too far.
"What exactly did my senior do wrong to deserve this?"
"Well, strictly speaking, I did trap him in a demon's stomach..."
"But we have permission for all of this. If you're going to keep acting like this, calling the Death Knight seems like the right move."
"......"
The Duke trembled, his eyes filled with a mix of shock, terror, horror, and despair as he stared at Lee Han.
The threat of summoning the Death Knights had pierced the Duke's heart more sharply than anything else.
"You... you... you must be the boy from the Wardanaz family."
"...Yes. That's correct."
"I... I thought as much... So you were hiding your true intentions and doubting me all along..."
"That wasn't the case."
Lee Han tried to explain.
His encounters with Duke Icaldoren outside the academy had been nothing more than coincidences.
And hadn't they both enjoyed themselves, in their own way?
Sure, the Duke had been a bit eccentric, but both of them had gotten what they wanted, hadn't they?
"You expect me to believe the disciple of the Magic Tower visited me without any ulterior motives? Y-you're lying to me even now, aren't you? Aren't you?!"
"No..."
Duke Icaldoren shuddered as if realizing something, then firmly clamped his mouth shut.
It was clear he was convinced that no matter what Lee Han said, he'd just be playing along with some scheme.
Seeing that his words weren't getting through, Lee Han hesitated before finally making up his mind.
"Your Grace."
"...?"
"Just hand over the gold coins."
"F-fine...!"