Episode 863
Episode 863
"Ah. Professor."
Lee Han recognized Professor Bendozol and greeted him.
Professor Bendozol also responded warmly to his student.
"You insolent, despicable, wicked, arrogant, and prideful brat! Can't you come down right now?! If you put a load on a young Dragon who hasn't fully grown yet, their scales might lose their luster and they could get stressed!!"
If the student had been in front of him instead of atop the Dragon, Professor Bendozol would have strangled him in his furious rage.
Though Lee Han wasn't particularly bothered by the professor's threats, he nodded, thinking it worked out well.
He had already been feeling uncomfortable about forcibly climbing onto Jowurin's back.
"Your Highness, you see. Even the most expert professor at Einrogard is saying so. You might get hurt."...
"Waaah! But Jowurin is fine!!"
Jowurin, who had been having fun, burst into tears in frustration as some wicked wizard interrupted.
Seeing this, Professor Bendozol clutched his chest again.
"Gahk!"
"Professor. Are you alright?"
"S-stop... it! Make the Dragon stop crying, I say!"
"Ah, it's fine."
Lee Han replied as if it were nothing.
After all, it was natural for children to cry over trivial things. Hadn't Jowurin just cried earlier simply because Lee Han wasn't in the lounge?
Of course, this reasoning didn't work on Professor Bendozol.
"...I said stop it!!"
Professor Bendozol shouted at Lee Han like a demonic spirit. Grumbling, Lee Han tried to calm Jowurin down.
"Alright, Your Highness. Let's keep playing together. What was I supposed to say?"
At Lee Han's words, Jowurin's tears stopped abruptly, and they beamed with joy, shouting:
"Wardanaz shall play the role of Saint Iactus! The servant shall play the evil dragon!"
"......"
The expression of Gainando, standing in front, was hidden behind the mask of the evil dragon, but his entire body radiated clear displeasure.
"Ugh... I'm the evil dragon...Lee Han. Sniff sniff. Can't we make the White Tiger Tower guys do this instead?"
"Quiet. I am Saint Iactus. I shall defeat the evil dragon."
"Wow!"
Jowurin clapped their front paws together in delight.
They felt like a Dragon who had helped the legendary Saint Iactus.
"What's next?"
"Hmm! The evil dragon was accompanied by wicked wizards!"
"The Headmaster?"
"Gonadaltes is supposed to help Saint Iactus! Hmm. What if we assign that role to this wizard?"
Jowurin pointed at Professor Bendozol and spoke.
Given his eccentric and meddlesome nature, he seemed perfect for the role of Gonadaltes.
"No. No matter how much you dislike Professor Bendozol, assigning him the Headmaster's role is too cruel..."
"Shut up! Be quiet. Entrust it to me!"
"......"
Professor Bendozol cursed at his student, who dared to defy the Dragon's will. Jowurin's eyes widened.
D-did he just curse at Lee Han??
"...N-no, I didn't! It's... a sign of closeness!"
"?"
Lee Han was about to ask what nonsense this was, but he hesitated when he saw the desperate and pitiful look in Professor Bendozol's eyes.
Who knew the professor could make such a pleading expression?
-Help me! Please!
"...Ah. Yes. We're just close like that."
"Oh! Like how you and Professor Bagrak were close, so you always got beaten up?"
"......"
Lee Han regretted not being more careful when telling Jowurin about Einrogard.
"That's... slightly different, but... anyway, we're close."
"Yes! We're close!"
Professor Bendozol draped his arm over Lee Han's shoulder and forced out the most awkward smile in the Empire. Lee Han looked at him with disgust.
"Hmm. Understood! Then, since Gonadaltes' role is settled... next is Arlmergen's role!"
'Isn't that from a different era?' Yoner thought to herself.
Arlmergen was a famous archer from the ancient Seven Kingdoms era, renowned for defeating a rampaging Sun Spirit.
But Jowurin had a flexible mindset that prioritized fun over historical accuracy. He immediately grabbed Nilia with his front paw and lifted her onto his back. A short scream escaped Nilia's lips.
"Wow, Nilia. Impressive. His Highness is actually picking you. As expected of the Shadow Patrol."
"H-Help me! I-I promise I'll never doubt my friends again!"
"Sorry. I was forced up here too."
At their exchange, Professor Bendozol shed tears of blood in fury.
These ungrateful brats!
After Jowurin's little playacting concluded, Professor Bendozol finally got the chance to hear the full story from the second-year students.
If you had properly stopped him, the Dragon wouldn't have had to come to such a dangerous place!
Professor Bendozol shot Lee Han a look filled with that sentiment. The murderous glint in his eyes made Lee Han immediately call out to Jowurin.
"Your Highness. Look at the professor over there."
"Huh?"
"......"
Professor Bendozol instantly relaxed his glare and forced an awkward smile. Jowurin recoiled in shock.
"Eww! That's creepy!"
"My apologies, Lord Dragon. Humans are naturally an unsightly species, after all."
"Th-That's not what I meant, Lee Han! Jowurin didn't say it like that!"
Afraid of being misunderstood as a dragon who looked down on humans, Jowurin fidgeted nervously.
"More importantly, Lord Dragon. That's not the issue right now. Your safety is paramount. You bronze-brained fools! You must protect Lord Dragon with your very lives, understood? Not a single moment of negligence in guarding the lounge!"
"...We have exams next week."
"We have lectures to attend."
The second-years stared at Professor Bendozol as if he were spouting nonsense.
Professor Bendozol nearly exploded in anger but restrained himself upon seeing Jowurin.
"You mean to tell me you don't know what's more important between the Empire's greatest and most magnificent lifeform and some Einrogard lectures...?!"
"I... don't think it's quite like that..."
Jowurin looked horrified.
Frankly, dragons didn't seem like the Empire's greatest and most magnificent lifeforms.
"Professor. Let's be realistic here."
Lee Han stepped in to mediate.
Given that he was already responsible for Jowurin, he needed to have a serious discussion.
Professor Bendozol might have been crazy, but in this situation, he was also the most likely to help proactively.
"Right. Let's be realistic. Slap cursed collars around their necks! If they don't obey, just activate the curses."
'Should I just ditch this guy?'
Thinking that, Lee Han pulled out his schedule.
Right now, the only reliable people in the school were the second-years, a few professors, and a handful of seniors like Diret.
Naturally, since the second-years were the largest group, they had no choice but to take shifts guarding the lounge.
"We'll divide the shifts like this to guard the lounge. This way, there won't be any gaps."
"I'll camp out in front of the Blue Dragon Tower, then."
The second-years looked horrified.
They'd have to watch a deranged wizard sleeping rough in front of their dorm for over a week?
Regardless, Professor Bendozol's resolve remained unshaken.
"But isn't the guard detail too small?"
"There's no helping it. The kids have lectures too."
"Hmph. Those damn lectures."
Grumbling curses, Professor Bendozol reluctantly accepted it.
Though the number of students guarding the lounge was small, as long as he kept watch in front of the tower, he could prevent any disrespectful antics from those lunatics.
"Lee Han. Jowurin... wants to follow you around and watch..."
Jowurin, who had been gauging the mood, cautiously spoke up.
Lee Han and the other second-years were stunned.
"Y-Your Highness Jowurin. Isn't that dangerous?"
"Those crazy seniors might be lying in ambush somewhere!"
"Hng..."
"Lord Dragon!"
Professor Bendozol called out sharply to Jowurin. The students looked at him, relieved that the professor was at least saying something.
No matter how much you want to wander around, safety should come first, shouldn't it?
"Do as you please!"
"......"
Lee Han stared at the professor in disbelief. Regardless, Professor Bendozol roughly scribbled on a piece of paper and signed it.
"Here you go."
This certifies that the above student has perfectly passed the <Terribly Beautiful Creatures> lecture and exam by taking care of the Empire's greatest and most magnificent lifeform.
-Professor Bendozol
"You don't need to attend lectures or exams anymore, so take good care of the Dragon!"
"...Wait. Skipping one lecture won't solve the problem. And is this even allowed? Won't the Skeleton Principal send us to the Punishment Room?"
The Skeleton Principal was unusually particular about the professors' teaching methods.
To be precise, he was especially concerned about the teaching methods of certain troublemaker professors. Lee Han was certain Professor Bendozol was on the 'Professors of Concern' list.
"What does it matter?"
"......"
Come to think of it, if he was troublesome enough to be on that list, he wouldn't care about the Punishment Room. Lee Han nodded.
"Understood. Skipping one lecture might help..."
"First, hire more bodyguards!"
Professor Bendozol pointed out that there were too many vulnerabilities when Jowurin followed Lee Han around.
No matter how talented a mage the Wardanaz family's boy was, the power of numbers couldn't be ignored.
"Bodyguards? How in Einrogard?"
"Don't be absurd... I meant the professors and seniors we talked about earlier!"
"Ah. I was planning to ask them to guard the lounge entrance."
"That won't do. The Dragon said they'd follow you around."
"Then what am I supposed to do?"
"What kind of question is that? Of course, they should follow you around too!"
"...??"
Lee Han didn't understand.
Surely he didn't mean attending lectures with the professors... right?
'So it was exactly what I feared.'
Lee Han shuddered as Professors Voladi and Garcia flanked him on either side.
Did this mean he had to attend lectures all week with professors and seniors in tow?
No matter how long Einrogard's history was, there had probably never been a student who attended lectures like this.
-Tch. The defenses are thorough.
-To have Professor Garcia as a bodyguard... As expected of the Wardanaz family. Not just ordinarily clever.
Murmurs of frustration could be heard from seniors here and there. Unaware of Lee Han's inner turmoil, Jowurin grinned brightly.
"Lee Han. Hang in there. I know this situation must feel very awkward and unfamiliar, but you're doing what needs to be done!"
Professor Garcia, sensing Lee Han's thoughts, cheered him on.
Of course, an Einrogard student walking the halls with professors to attend lectures would spark absurd rumors, but fortunately, the Wardanaz boy had nothing left to lose, no matter what rumors spread.
Professor Voladi checked his pocket watch and asked,
"Professor Garcia, your next lecture is...?"
"Mine is in two hours. What about Professor Bagrak...?"
Professor Voladi stared intently at Professor Garcia.
Lee Han also stared intently at Professor Garcia. Jowurin, though without reason, joined in the staring when the other two did.
"?"
"Professor... isn't that a rather rude question to ask?"
Lee Han whispered. Professor Garcia looked puzzled before belatedly realizing.
"W-well, no lecture means you can keep following and protecting us, right?"
"Thank you."
'This doesn't seem good.'
Lee Han sighed.
Thinking about it, this was all because Lee Han was weak. If he were as strong as the Skeleton Principal, he wouldn't need professors escorting him to lectures.
Wardanaz! What's the next lecture? I'm curious!
"<Poison, Bone, Blood>. It's a Black Magic lecture, taught by my senior."
"Wow. Sounds fun."
"An excellent lecture."
Professors Garcia and Voladi followed Lee Han into the classroom.
As a dragon and two professors entered behind him, Diret—who had been casually waiting for his junior—felt his wings stand on end in shock.