Episode 857
Episode 857
'Well, it's Wardanaz—he must have a plan.' 'If I ask carelessly and end up angering him, things could get troublesome.'
The seniors quietly fell silent.
It was easy to mistakenly assume that power in the Kitchen Club rested solely with Falkrius, but in reality, the Kitchen Club didn't operate that way.
Power in the Kitchen Club belonged exclusively to those who secured large amounts of ingredients (and were willing to share them).
From that perspective, Lee Han—who willingly took out his own ingredients to share and cooked together—naturally held more influence than the ruthless Falkrius, who never lifted a finger to help the underclassmen with their cooking.
'Better not be the one to speak up first!'
* * *
"Wardanaz. Do you know what the most important thing to keep in mind when raiding an herb garden?"
Falkrius asked as he watched the underclassman climb up the slope.
For a moment, Lee Han wondered whether this was the Teleportation Club or the Kitchen Club, but he quickly snapped back to reality.
When you thought about it, wasn't the entirety of Einrogard just one giant Teleportation Club anyway?
"Shouldn't we check whether the garden has an owner or not?"
"Pfft. That's a good answer, sure. But even before that, the first thing you need to do is figure out who the owner is."
Falkrius's voice carried the seasoned wisdom of a veteran herb garden raider.
At his words, the other Kitchen Club members nodded in agreement.
"Knowing who owns the herb garden is crucial. The legendary alchemist Arlkan of the Maykin Family is famous for the hardships he endured after breaking into a dragon's herb garden, isn't he?"
'Just what kind of stunt did Yoner's ancestor pull?'
Lee Han made a mental note to ask Yoner about the details later.
Still, regardless of that, figuring out the owner was undeniably important.
Fundamentally, herb gardens were cultivated and maintained by fellow mages.
If someone was planning to raid one, there was no way it wouldn't be guarded—and the nature of those defenses varied drastically depending on the mage in question.
'There could be retaliation too.'
"In that regard, we already know this one belongs to Professor Thunderstep. That gives us a huge advantage."
"What kind of owner is Professor Thunderstep?"
"Hmm. He's petty and stingy, but he doesn't set up fatal traps for students."
"......There are professors who do set up fatal traps?"
"Headmaster Einrogard and Professor Verdus."
"Ah."
Lee Han immediately understood.
Those two absolutely would.
"Still, Professor Thunderstep isn't exactly generous either. If you leave traces carelessly, he might track you down, so be careful. Senior Falkrius, can we hear the records about the herb garden?"
Falkrius replayed the testimony recorded on the paper handed over earlier by a student.
Notes were fine, but hearing the witness's own words firsthand was just as important.
-I was staying near the cliff when I saw Professor Thunderstep passing by below. He said, 'That lunatic Bendozol has really gone off the deep end... How did I end up doing Wardanaz's chores for him...?'
"......"
"......"
The seniors stared pointedly at Lee Han. Lee Han replied calmly.
"Professor Bendozol insisted on doing it in my place."
"......O-Oh. That... makes sense."
'Does it, though? I don't think so.'
-The professor led three wagons into a hidden cave beneath the cliff. After he left, I checked—it was definitely an herb garden. There were all kinds of related magic wards visible...
"You didn't get to see inside the garden?"
"Heard the professor camouflaged the entrance really well. Would've been hard to break through alone. And since it wasn't even his own lecture, no point pushing it. There."
Falkrius pointed toward the base of the cliff.
The dense green terrain, overgrown with thick foliage, looked completely impenetrable at first glance.
But it couldn't escape the trained eyes of Einrogard's expert burglars—no, students.
"Clear it out."
"Yes."
Some of the seniors swung potion bottles, while others brandished their staves.
The streaks of flame shooting out merged midair, and with the added power of alchemy, transformed into a fiery giant.
Like a farmer harvesting crops, the fiery giant neatly sliced through and burned away the dense thickets near the cliff. With each swing of its arm, flames surged, carving out space.
Lee Han felt a rare sense of relaxation at not having to do anything.
'This is why it's good to come with the seniors.'
Normally, he would have had to do the work of about five people, but with the seniors around, he could just sit back and leisurely watch.
The seniors, perhaps because Lee Han was a junior, didn't assign him any particular tasks.
"Should I do something too?"
"Huh? Wardanaz, you don't have to."
"..."
"Thank you. I think joining the Kitchen Club was the right decision."
"???"
The club members were baffled by the junior, who had tagged along despite not needing to and was now suddenly moved to gratitude.
Why is he like this?
Whoosh—!
"Found it! Seniors! Over here!"
"Step aside."
Falkrius rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a single boot.
Lee Han stared at it in confusion.
"What's that?"
"Professor Thunderstep's shoe. Tracking isn't easy in a place like this. Now, show us your master's trail!"
As Falkrius shouted, the boot began moving, following the footprints on the ground.
The seniors followed naturally, as if carrying a professor's boot for such occasions was the most obvious thing in the world.
Only Lee Han was inwardly bewildered.
'Is stealing a professor's boot just standard procedure for something like this?'
He wondered if he should have stolen Professor Verdus' staff in advance.
With the obstructive thickets cleared and precise footprints to follow, the tracking proceeded swiftly.
Upon discovering the hidden cave entrance at the base of the cliff, the students whistled.
"Shall we go in?"
"No. The professor must have laid one last trap. This is going to be a pain."
Falkrius, who was usually all smiles, frowned for the first time in a while as he glared at the entrance.
A faint, subtle fragrance was drifting out from inside.
Thunderstep's Submersion Incense!
Professor Thunderstep was an outstanding alchemist, but his skill in blending incenses was particularly exceptional.
Among the Kitchen Club members present, few had not fallen victim to Thunderstep's incenses before.
"What's Submersion Incense?"
"Exactly what it sounds like—an incense that drowns you in water. It's pretty tricky."
The moment you inhaled the fragrance, a mage would be dragged deep underwater.
It wasn't just an illusion or a sensory disturbance. It literally yanked your soul into another dimension in an instant.
Covering your nose wouldn't help. The incense seeped through your skin, expanding through all five senses.
"The professor was whining about not having reagents, but I guess he had enough to make this!"
"Honestly, he's just shamelessly underhanded!"
The students, who had come to raid the herb garden, cursed the professor solely for his thorough defenses.
Lee Han, sensing the mood, cautiously spoke up.
"Uh, should I try breaking through?"
"No. What are you talking about? Just rest."
"Pfft. Wardanaz. Don't worry. It's just tricky, not impossible to bypass. Anyone here visited an aquatic dimension recently?"
"I was there a week ago, but I ended up fighting some mermaids..."
"Ughaha. Then no way. Don't even think about going in."
"Let me just try breaking through—"
Lee Han tried again, but Falkrius waved his massive hand like a pot lid to stop him.
"No, no. Just stay put, Wardanaz."
"......"
While the junior sat there with a disgruntled expression, the seniors engaged in serious discussion.
"Should we just make another entrance?"
"We don't even know what kind of herbs are in there. Let's not take unnecessary risks. Damaging the herbs would defeat the purpose."
"What if we break in the night before the exam? Even if the herbs get damaged, at least we won't have to take the test."
"That's too much of a gamble. Don't we have any gifts that would work in an aquatic dimension? We really should negotiate."
"Ah. Those bastards will just demand pearls again. Why do they only like expensive things? Why won't they just take seashells...? Wardanaz! Hey!"
As the seniors' discussion dragged on, Lee Han quickly dashed inside.
As Thunderstep's Submersion Incense seeped into his entire body, his soul momentarily wavered, nearly transporting him to another dimension—but his boundless mana anchored him, pushing the incense's effects away.
Lee Han swiftly broke through, swinging his Black Magnetite Staff to dispel the incense's influence.
The seniors, arriving belatedly, were stunned at the sight.
'Was this why he followed us?!'
'Genius really is different...!'
"W-Wardanaz... Was this why you wanted to come with us?"
Even Falkrius seemed surprised, stumbling slightly over his words. Lee Han, not understanding what he meant, asked in return.
"Huh? What do you mean, 'this is why I came'...?"
"Pfft. No, never mind! Anyway, thanks for opening the way. That was supposed to be our job. Having a smart junior like you around sure makes things easier."
Falkrius chuckled heartily.
The other Kitchen Club members beside him laughed as well and chimed in.
"Exactly. You have no idea how much easier it is with Wardanaz bringing us food."
At that, Falkrius abruptly stopped laughing and turned serious.
"That's not it."
"S-Sorry."
They should feel ashamed for living comfortably off a junior's food supplies, not laugh about it.
"Anyway, let's go in. Follow me. This is... Nefertem. Tch. Everyone, step back."
"!"
Flowers resembling blue water lilies were nestled in the pond deep inside the cave.
Outwardly, they looked like ordinary lilies, but within them pulsed an unusually pure and transparent mana.
Falkrius was extremely cautious, wary of contaminating the surroundings if they got too close.
Nefertem was an extremely contamination-sensitive plant, requiring meticulous care from cultivation to harvest.
"This is for the second-year exam."
"Right."
Hearing the seniors' conversation, Lee Han asked curiously.
"How do you know? Did you also take an exam using Nefertem, seniors?"
"Huh? No."
As he spoke, the senior pointed to the side with his finger.
There was a sign planted by Professor Thunderstep.
Nefertem
(Highly susceptible to contamination. Handle with care. For second-year exams.)
Lee Han shuddered anew at Professor Thunderstep's unexpected kindness.
"...Then we just need to harvest this? Lucky us."
"That's not it."
"?"
"If the exam was just about retrieving this, the professor wouldn't have gone to such lengths to cultivate it. He'd just tell us to go find it. This is... a very rare case where the professor provides the materials for the exam."
"!"
Lee Han was stunned.
Professor Thunderstep was giving them reagents for the exam?!
"Is that really true?!"
After exclaiming in surprise, Lee Han paused briefly.
'Actually, maybe this isn't that surprising.'
He hadn't known that exams normally involved professors providing necessary materials.
In truth, it was Professor Thunderstep who was the odd one...
"Sometimes the professor does provide materials. Very rarely, though. The problem is..."
The seniors looked at Lee Han with pity.
"...Those exams are much harder. The logic is that since he's already prepared the materials, he can afford to make it more difficult."
'This is ridiculous.'
Lee Han cursed inwardly but couldn't refute the seniors' words.
If Professor Thunderstep had gone to the trouble of preparing the materials himself, he would undoubtedly raise the difficulty to ensure his effort wasn't wasted.
'Why suddenly ramp up the difficulty? It's not like second-years are especially brilliant or anything.'
Unaware that he had inadvertently hit the nail on the head, Lee Han frowned in confusion.
"Still, don't worry too much. We'll compile and share the potions likely to use Nefertem. Just focus on studying those."
"Right. Honestly, you didn't even need to come today."
"?"
Lee Han finally realized the source of the unease he'd been feeling.
Don't tell me...?
"...Was it unnecessary for me to come today?"
"Huh? Yeah."
"......"