Episode 885
Episode 885
Jowurin looked at Lee Han with triumphant eyes that seemed to say, 'I knew it!'
Lee Han wanted to explain that she was wrong, but the senior in front of him took priority.
"Senior. What is this?"
"?"
Despite her junior's firm protest, Yukveltire didn't understand.
What did he mean by 'what is this'?
"You said this was a <Magic Algebra and Arcane Geometry> exam."
"..."
"No. That's not what I meant. Why do I have to take the exam first?"
At Lee Han's argument, Yukveltire slightly furrowed her brow.
She couldn't understand why her junior was wasting time with such a pointless question.
"I still don't get it, but I'll explain."
"For the record, I'm not someone who enjoys taking exams early."
"Huh?"
"No... I just wanted to clarify that."
Seeing that his senior still didn't understand, Lee Han quickly shut his mouth. 'Did she come here because she heard rumors that I take exams early?' It didn't seem like she had the same strange misunderstanding as Jowurin.
Yukveltire picked up a thick stack of papers piled on the table and flipped through them with her fingers. Written on them were ominous titles like <Proof of the Mana Emission Spatial Theorem Derived from the Mana Emission Plane Theorem>.
Lee Han felt uneasy. 'This isn't what we learned last time, is it?'
"Junior of the Wardanaz family. You took a different exam alone during Professor Knighton's lecture last year, didn't you?"
"Yes."
As the memory resurfaced, Lee Han's expression darkened.
Who would have thought that Professor Alpen, who seemed like a sane outsider, would commit such an insane act?
Even now, the betrayal still stung.
"When taking an exam on different material, it's only natural to take it separately. The required time and materials are different, after all."
"...??"
As the conversation took a strange turn, Lee Han was bewildered.
"Different material? What do you mean? Surely you're not saying I have to take a separate exam alone again this time..."
Yukveltire stared at Lee Han without answering. From her cold expression, Lee Han could already guess the answer.
"..."
"So I really am taking a different exam alone!"
"Right. Now take out <Vible's Drafting Tool>."
Assuming Lee Han had accepted it, Yukveltire gestured.
Of course, Lee Han hadn't accepted it at all and immediately protested vehemently.
"Senior, you don't have the authority to decide that! I'll take the exam assigned by the professor!"
No matter how much authority Yukveltire had to supervise students and exams in place of Professor Alpen, this was crossing the line.
She couldn't just arbitrarily assign a different exam, could she?
At her junior's fierce protest, Yukveltire tilted her head slightly and said,
"This is the exam Professor Knighton assigned to you, junior of the Wardanaz family... What are you talking about?"
"......"
Professor Alpen, being a former high-ranking official of the Empire, was a very diligent person, true to his bureaucratic roots.
Even while rushing to the capital to assist the Skeleton Principal, he hadn't forgotten his student attending lectures.
Touched by such special consideration, Lee Han sat back down.
"May I begin the exam?"
"Yes..."
* * *
Three hours later.
"Perfect score."
Without another word, Yukveltire collected the exam papers and turned to leave.
Lee Han slumped back in his chair, his face filled with anger, exhaustion, and emptiness. He was too drained to even curse the professor.
Jowurin stared at Lee Han with concern.
Lee Han... She could have solved it for him...
"..."
"No. Even so, that's going too far."
Tempted for a moment, Lee Han quickly snapped out of it.
"Of course, Einrogard's exams are a survival-of-the-fittest arena where all manner of cheating is permitted—as long as you don't get caught—but having a young member of the imperial family take an exam in your stead was still unthinkable."
Even Lee Han still had a shred of conscience left.
"Ah. I almost forgot."
Yukveltire, who had left the lounge earlier, opened the door and returned. Lee Han gave her a puzzled look.
"Did you forget something?"
"Just a moment... Ah. Here it is. You did well on the exam. Impressive, junior."
Yukveltire pulled out a small note and read from it. Jowurin stared at her in disbelief.
Where in the world did people praise others like that?
But Lee Han didn't mind at all. Of course, under normal circumstances, it might have seemed rude, but considering the other party was Professor Verdus, the situation was a bit different.
For Professor Verdus to write such a note and come to express his gratitude—how touching!
"Thank you, Senior. Please also convey my gratitude to Senior Diret."
"Why Diret? He wasn't involved in this exam."
"Haha. Just because. Here, take this back with you. Keep it by your side while you study."
Lee Han poured some chocolate-melted coffee into a bottle and placed it in a basket along with a few other snacks before handing it over.
After Yukveltire left, Jowurin tilted her head and asked.
'Lee Han. Jowurin has a question.'
"What is it?"
Why is Lee Han taking care of Yukveltire when she's the much older senior? Shouldn't it be the other way around?
"...!"
Lee Han was startled by the sharp question.
Given her current growth rate, if she stayed at Einrogard a few more months, she might just become the next Emperor.
"That's..."
That's?
"It's one of Einrogard's unfathomable mysteries, I suppose." ???
"Here. I need to study. Take this book and read it for now."
Jowurin thought Lee Han was dodging the question, but the fairy tale he handed her was interesting enough that she let it slide for now.
The story of the great dragon Azirmo never got old no matter how many times she read it.
Dragons were few in number, and most were strongly isolationist or indifferent, so surprisingly few names stood out among them.
Azirmo, who had left his mark among such dragons, was truly exceptional.
Jowurin firmly resolved to become a great dragon like Azirmo and carve her name into history.
That wretched Os had spitefully claimed she'd grow lazy like other dragons as she aged, but...
Thud
'Lee Han. Jowurin has finished reading.'
"Ah. Just a moment. Let me finish this, and I'll find you a new book."
Jowurin wants an interesting book!
"There's the Toberiz Series that Gainando collected. He once went into the library and found some rare out-of-print editions. I'll give you those."
Wow!
Jowurin let out a delighted gasp. Then she crawled over and watched what Lee Han was doing...
'Senior Illeg, I've read your letter. I deeply appreciate you letting me pass the Music Magic exam. It was a tremendous help...'
'Hmm. As expected, Lee Han was right to take the midterms first.'
Jowurin nodded to herself in agreement.
Objectively speaking, the results proved it—even if Lee Han strangely denied it (she still couldn't understand why).
Wasn't he even now discussing exams with a senior who taught lectures...?
'Regarding your question about what should be included in the Music Magic exam, the current difficulty seems excessively easy...' ???
Jowurin's eyes widened. Sensing her presence, Lee Han turned his head and looked at her.
"What's the matter, Your Highness?"
"Uh... Lee Han... what... what kind of letter is that?"
Flustered, Jowurin forgot her usual decorum and blurted out the question.
If she wasn't mistaken, Lee Han was clearly determining the exam content.
Not taking the exam, but setting the exam content... what in the world...?
"Ah. Your Highness might not be aware. It's Senior Illeg."
Lee Han explained about the fifth-year senior from Phoenix Tower.
A bear beastman who wears glasses, incredibly powerful but a kind junior who loves books, interested in music magic so he created and runs the lectures...
"I was fortunate enough to achieve some accomplishment in music magic. That's why the senior passed me in this exam as well."
Hmm. Jowurin had seen that too... but wasn't he setting the exam content?
"Haha. That's not the case. The exam content is determined by Senior Illeg. I'm merely answering when he asks for my opinion."
Lee Han replied with a laugh.
It was the kind of smile that suggested Jowurin had misunderstood.
But no matter how much Jowurin thought about it, the current situation felt utterly bizarre.
First, let's set aside the fact that he'd already passed the exam in advance.
Let's also set aside (though it's hard to do so) that they were asking a mere second-year for opinions on exam content...
But why on earth was Lee Han seriously writing back with responses?
J-Jowurin is bewildered... Isn't this something professors should be doing?
"Your Highness. By fifth year, half of what they do is practically professor-level work."
Since there were no fifth-years around, Lee Han shamelessly uttered this incredibly rude remark. He wasn't talking about fifth-years but about himself!
"Your Highness. This is just advice. Preparing and administering exams is on a completely different level."
'Am I the strange one here?'
Jowurin felt dizzy.
Making a mental note to ask the Emperor whether this was normal when she returned to the capital, Jowurin nodded for now.
I see... But Lee Han seems to be writing his reply with such seriousness... Why does the difficulty need to be raised?
"Ah. That seems unavoidable. Music magic is fundamentally such a demanding field that it fell out of practical use for quite some time. Moreover, it heavily depends on the individual's aptitude. To properly introduce students to this magic, the bar must be set high even if it feels somewhat difficult. Otherwise, it would just be a waste of time."
When starting the music magic lectures, Illeg had prepared so thoroughly that he even built a dedicated magic tower for it.
This was precisely because entering music magic was that challenging.
Handing out individual musical scores to students as their annual goal was for similar reasons.
Lee Han's quill moved without hesitation...
The results from the scores distributed last time were truly fascinating. While imbuing speech or sound itself with mana remains difficult, the fact that exceptional cases were observed depending on the mage's emotions or immersion is quite promising. I believe students should be able to perform their scores magically to some extent by this exam. Wouldn't it be truly disheartening if they practiced with their scores all year without achieving any results? For the sake of other seniors, I think it would be best if Senior Illeg maintains strict standards...
Though Lee Han himself hadn't yet mastered the <Escape to the Shadow Fortress> score he'd received last time, he did possess some music magic he could perform.
Thus, he could confidently insist in his letter that other seniors should be pushed to achieve more, even if it meant wielding the whip.
Lee Han, who had been writing fluently in one go, paused briefly.
'Hmm. Am I being too harsh with my opinions?'
Upon reflection, the seniors were likely taking other lectures too and might not have enough time to devote solely to music magic exams.
Perhaps they should be given more leeway...
'No. This much is necessary. It's all for the seniors' sake.'
Brushing aside his momentary hesitation, Lee Han decisively finished the letter.
Watching from the side, Jowurin thought to herself:
When it comes to magic, his strictness toward other mages is just like Os's!