Episode 874
Episode 874
Gainando snatched the steak like a seasoned hunter and tore into it like a brave lion.
Lee Han asked in surprise,
"Aren't you burning your mouth?"
"Ubbabbeubbo babiibeoteo."
"What?"
Gulp!
"I numbed it with black magic!"
Gainando proudly declared with a grin.
By locally numbing the sensation in his mouth, he could eat hot food a step ahead of everyone else.
At those words, Lee Han smacked Gainando on the back.
'Why!?'
Gainando couldn't understand why he'd been hit.
He'd clearly practiced and applied magic diligently, just as Lee Han had taught him!
Meanwhile, Jowurin took a bite each of cake, cookies, soufflé, and pudding before quietly pushing the plates away.
Dragons weren't a species that strictly needed to eat, so this much was enough.
"Your Highness, have some more."
Hmph. Jowurin had already had enough.
When Lee Han brought over a plate of vegetables, Jowurin pretended not to notice.
But Lee Han was a mage who had dealt with several picky-eater royals before.
"That won't do. You must eat a balanced meal."
"Shall I eat it for you?"
"Go away. Here, Your Highness."
Jowurin didn't care—he was a dragon, after all...
"You've clearly gotten too thin. I've been observing carefully. That's how you properly serve your master!"
Professor Bendozol chimed in from the side.
Though he found his student troublesome, he had to admit the kid handled things quite well.
A dragon should have a much more majestic presence, shouldn't they?
At those words, Jowurin shot Bendozol a secret glare. Whether it was tormenting Lee Han or anything else, he truly was a terrible mage.
Lee Han had briefly stepped away to chat with other friends.
Jowurin subtly checked his surroundings before scarfing down the salad.
"???"
Eandurde, sitting nearby, stared blankly at the plate. For something supposedly "scarfed down," only a tiny bit had actually disappeared...
T-this much is still left...
Eandurde gave Jowurin a pitying look before snatching the plate and eating the rest herself. The carrots on the plate vanished mercilessly.
Jowurin gazed at Eandurde with sparkling eyes—then suddenly tried to hug her.
Grrrrrrrr!
"What are you two doing? Oh. Your Highness, you finished everything."
T-that's...
Jowurin, terrible at lying, rolled his eyes before spotting something outside the window and stretching out a claw.
Look, a paper bird!
"How dare someone disturb the Dragon Lord's meal!"
Professor Bendozol flared up in anger and shot down the paper bird.
Then, he stormed over to the window and roared.
"You lazy devils! Can't you do your jobs right? If you dare interrupt the Dragon Lord's meal one more time, I'll hunt you down and eat you!!"
......
Jowurin's face turned pale.
He could force himself to eat vegetables, but he had no desire to eat devils.
"By the way, who sent that paper bird?"
"Probably Professor Verdus."
"How do you know it's from Professor Verdus?"
"One came earlier too."
"???"
The friends didn't understand and turned to Lee Han. Then, belatedly, they realized—
Ah-ha! Wardanaz shot it down!
"That was a thoughtless question. Everyone, let's just knock down any paper birds that come our way."
"We're protecting Wardanaz from Professor Verdus."
"...It wasn't me who shot it down—His Highness did."
?!
Jowurin was startled.
When had he done that?!
"You did it in your sleep-talk earlier while napping."
...
But the sleeping Jowurin was different from the awake Jowurin! He should be forgiven!
Gainando was impressed by the logic. Truly, as expected of his senior, his reasoning was extraordinary.
"Your Highness, you're free to shoot down Professor Verdus's paper birds anytime."
"That's right! You actually did a great job!"???
Amid the students' cheers, Jowurin tilted her head in confusion.
Just what kind of professor is Verdus...!?
Meanwhile, Lee Han approached the window and made a request to the demons.
"Could you send just one paper bird over? I still need to check its contents."
The demons, who had been tormented under the mad professor, were so moved by his polite request that they exclaimed:
-You, who treat us with such mercy—which noble family's mage do you hail from? Tell us your house. We wish to repay this kindness someday.
"...This isn't a deed worthy of revealing my family name. Just give me the paper bird, please."
Finally, another paper bird flew in. At last, Lee Han could check its contents.
-Help me!
'Figures.'
Even at Professor Verdus's plea for help, Lee Han wasn't particularly surprised.
If Professor Paselet had put a bounty on his head out of anger...
'Now that I've confirmed it, I should return the artifact.'
Having learned from the Yaksha King, there was no reason to keep the Star Guide any longer.
And no matter how infuriating Professor Verdus was...
'He's hanging upside down, moments away from being burned at the stake. I can't just leave him like that. No, I can't. Is the Black Book making me tired?'
Lee Han took pride in being different from Professor Verdus. The saying "the pupil surpasses the master" didn't exist for nothing.
-Enemies have broken into the Sacred Pavilion Hall! You need to come quickly!
"??"
Now that was surprising.
Given that the basement had already been raided by mysterious "righteous mages," Professor Verdus would've undoubtedly reinforced the Sacred Pavilion Hall's defenses to the highest level.
Yet enemies had still broken in.
'How? Wait—could Professor Bagrak have made another move?'
If Professor Voladi had taken on another request and acted again, Lee Han would've been impressed.
A Combat Magic professor had to be that ruthless!
But the culprit wasn't Professor Voladi.
-The Enchantment School students have betrayed us! Don't trust anyone!
"......"
At the news that his own disciples had turned against him, Lee Han was at a loss for words.
'Wait. Does that mean Senior Yukveltire has betrayed him too?'
As Verdus's top disciple, Yukveltire might've at least remained neutral...
'Hmm. Probably not.'
Lee Han recalled Yukveltire's recent behavior and shook his head.
She was likely leading the Enchantment School's rebellion from the front.
He steeled his resolve—from now on, he'd have to be even more cautious when dealing with Yukveltire.
After finishing his meal, Lee Han set off with Jowurin.
Eandurde had no choice but to tag along after Jowurin clung to her and refused to let go.
Professor Bendozol had no choice but to tag along after clinging to Lee Han's ankle and refusing to let go.
The demons the professor had brought naturally had no choice but to tag along as well...
'Hmm. There are way too many people tagging along against their will.'
But there was no helping it.
Traveling with Jowurin meant they needed ample protection—anything less would be dangerous.
-That merciful mage—which noble family does he belong to?
"That one? He's from the Wardanaz family."
-......
Behind them, an unsettling conversation between the demons and Professor Bendozol reached Lee Han's ears, but he was too preoccupied to pay it any mind.
'If the Enchantment School seniors have betrayed him, how do we get in?'
Normally, entering the Sacred Pavilion Hall would've been enough to meet Professor Verdus, but with the Enchantment School students in rebellion, the situation had changed.
From the tower's exterior to its interior, watchful eyes would be everywhere. If they acted suspiciously, even as juniors, they'd be attacked on the spot.
"Halt!"
"We need to go in for a moment. We were conducting magic research with Anpagon earlier, and the results are inside..."
"No one is allowed into the Sacred Pavilion Hall right now. Until we capture Professor Verdus, no variables are permitted entry."
"I see. If that's the case, then so be it. I hope you succeed in capturing him."
"Thanks for the support."
"......"
Lee Han struggled to process the exchange happening right in front of him.
Beside him, Jowurin looked on with fascination.
Even though there was something important inside, he hadn't gotten angry even once and had accepted the situation before turning back.
The students of Einrogard were truly so rational!
"That's not exactly the case, but..."
Setting aside the students from other schools who understood just from hearing they were trying to capture Professor Verdus, Lee Han glanced around.
The seniors from the Enchantment Magic department were blocking access to the tower itself, preparing for any potential counterattack from Professor Verdus.
Even though they'd managed to trap Professor Verdus inside through a surprise attack, if they left even the slightest opening, the professor's creations within the tower could activate.
If that happened, the situation would reverse in an instant. The students of Professor Verdus knew all too well what would happen if they gave their powerful teacher a chance to use magic.
'This is hopeless. Trying to force our way through...'
Not only was Professor Voladi absent, but with Jowurin and Eandurde also present, Lee Han wanted to avoid using force to break through.
If they were to force their way in, he'd have to send those two back and bring Professor Bendozol to the front instead...
"Junior Wardanaz?"
Startled by the call from the Enchantment Magic students who recognized him, Lee Han flinched.
"What brings you here?"
"Ah... well... I left something inside."
"Right. Go on in."
"...???"
Lee Han was baffled by the seniors' response.
This easily??
'Is it because I'm part of the Enchantment Magic department?'
While he was still stunned, Salko approached from behind.
Startled by the sight of the seniors blocking access to the tower, Salko cautiously made a request.
"May I go inside?"
"No. No one is allowed into the Sacred Pavilion Hall right now."
"No matter how senior you are, you can't just—!"
"Until we capture Professor Verdus, no variables are permitted entry."
"Ah. I see. I'll cheer you on."
Salko politely encouraged the seniors before turning away.
However, seeing his fellow Enchantment Magic department friend get rejected only deepened Lee Han's confusion.
"Um. Seniors."
"Why aren't you going in?"
"There's something I don't understand. Why am I allowed in, but Salko isn't?"
"The Tutanta family junior arrived late. He might have been bribed by the professor."
"...I also arrived late, though?"
At Lee Han's question, the Enchantment Magic seniors burst into laughter simultaneously.
Then they replied,
"You? The junior who hates Professor Verdus the most in all of Einrogard? Now you're talking nonsense!"
"......"
The Enchantment Magic department wasn't exactly known for its tight-knit bonds between seniors and juniors, but it was a department that thoroughly shared information about their professor's misdeeds.
After all, wasn't that the best way to prepare for the professor's future atrocities?
The Wardanaz family junior had suffered under Professor Verdus's torment since his very first year's vacation.
The professor had even sought him out personally to assign him tasks.
If the Enchantment Magic students had gone through something like that, they might have seriously considered reporting their teacher to external assassins.
"What are you doing? Get inside."
"Ah... yes... Thank you. Um, I do have companions with me, though..."
"Are they reinforcements prepared to capture Professor Verdus?"
"No. His Highness just tagged along."
"Hmm. Try to persuade him to help catch Professor Verdus. Dragons are an incredibly powerful race, after all."
Understood! If they encountered Professor Verdus, Jowurin would capture him!
Jowurin thumped his chest as if to say, "Leave it to me!" Lee Han whispered to him,
"Your Highness. We're not actually going to capture Professor Verdus. You know that, right?"
I know that. But Lee Han, I don't understand why you'd want to help Professor Verdus.
"...Your Highness. The place where I lent you those items last time was Professor Verdus's underground workshop, wasn't it?"
But as far as Jowurin knew, Professor Verdus had tormented Lee Han to an extent that couldn't possibly be repaid by that alone. Wouldn't squeezing him dry still not be enough?
Huh?
Is that so?
For a moment, Lee Han wavered at Jowurin's words.
Then, the demon following behind cautiously offered advice.
-Ahem, W-War... esteemed mage of the Wardanaz family. If I may humbly suggest, wouldn't it be better to show the mercy you originally decided upon?
The demons were quite worried that such a rare, merciful mage (astonishingly, even one from the Wardanaz family) might be corrupted by the wicked dragon.