Episode 917
Episode 917
"...Aren't you being too humble for a member of royalty?"
With Professor Garcia's help, Lee Han managed to regain his composure and decided to ask his questions one by one.
"Did you know I was of royal descent too? I was so ashamed that I kept it hidden..."
"......"
No?
Lee Han almost retorted, 'You boasted about being royalty yourself and your other self scolded me for being royalty,' but held back.
What would the past Skeleton Principal know?
The Young Skeleton Principal spoke with a benevolent attitude.
"It's true that I was a prince. It's also true that I was treated well in the beautiful palace of the kingdom and commanded people. But all that is in the past. I made a greater vow to myself than inheriting the crown as a prince."
"What kind...?"
"I will eliminate suffering from the continent."
"......"
"......"
Lee Han's group, who roughly knew the outcome, remained silent.
The Young Skeleton Principal instead smiled as if to comfort them.
"Don't worry. Of course, the me from where you came from might have failed to achieve this ambition. But that doesn't mean I can't succeed, does it?"
"But... um... isn't that magically too difficult? The possibility..."
At Lee Han's question, the Young Skeleton Principal looked at him with a wise glint in his eyes and replied gently.
"That may be so. But it doesn't matter. Because I will challenge it."
"......"
Lee Han stepped back and whispered to the professors.
"I think I'm too unfamiliar with him to hold a conversation. Could one of you take over?"
"No. Lee Han! It's precisely because you're Lee Han that you should converse with him as much as I do. Honestly, I'm really struggling right now too!"
Professor Garcia was equally unfamiliar and uncomfortable.
Dealing with a young, kind, and friendly skeleton headmaster was far more terrifying than they had imagined.
It felt even worse than facing the arrogant tyrant without an ounce of flesh!
Seeing the two suffering excessively, Professor Voladi quietly opened his mouth.
"Then I'll—"
"No. I'll do it."
Lee Han quickly stopped him.
No matter how he thought about it, it was better for him to continue the conversation than to let Professor Voladi take over.
"Um. Lord Gonadaltes. May I ask you a few questions?"
"Of course."
"Have you ever learned magic from dragons?"
"No. Never. Did the future me learn magic from dragons?"
"Ah. Well..."
As Lee Han hesitated, wondering if he should say this, the Young Skeleton Principal laughed.
"Some Divination mages dislike hearing about the future, but I don't mind much. If I were to fail because I became bound and constrained by what I heard of the future, then that would just mean that's as far as I could go."
"...Lord Gonadaltes. Please come to Einrogard!"
"Lee Han. Don't say such nonsense..."
Even though he knew it was impossible, those words escaped Lee Han's mouth unbidden.
Bringing a being from what was essentially an echo of the past, not even another dimension, was impossible. It would be like trying to pull out a shadow and take it with you.
'Wait. If he hasn't learned magic from dragons yet...'
Lee Han quickly organized the timeline in his head.
The Skeleton Principal's history was so long that it practically required a chronology, but there were a few landmark events that even Lee Han knew.
Royalty -> Learned magic from dragons -> Arrived at the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas dimension -> Tricked by demons -> Somehow gained enlightenment -> A long time passed -> Tricked a poor dragon -> Became the Headmaster of Einrogard.
'Does that mean this is still the early stages?'
A Young Skeleton Principal who hadn't yet learned magic from dragons.
Lee Han was curious about what this version of the Young Skeleton Principal was doing.
Of course, he had said he was killing evil mages, but more specifically...
"It's not difficult. I'll explain. After leaving the kingdom, I formed a secret society with like-minded mages. We gather when our wills and the times align to crush the wicked and aid the unfortunate."
Even before learning magic from the dragons, the Young Skeleton Principal already possessed power worthy of being called an Archmage.
Though he considered himself insignificant for having achieved nothing yet, one couldn't possibly be weak to hunt down and eliminate the powerful magic nobles of strong kingdoms and escape unscathed.
As Lee Han listened while taking notes, a sudden thought occurred to him, and he asked:
"Do you happen to know about the spell <Gonadaltes' Downfall>?"
"Ah. You know of that spell as well? It still requires much research..."
The Young Skeleton Principal looked slightly embarrassed when his guest mentioned magic.
Just as Lee Han had heard from the Crazy Doppelganger, <Gonadaltes' Downfall> was merely a byproduct of research—far from its ultimate goal.
Originally, it was meant to capture and seal away all the world's withering.
"If you wish, I can show it to you."
"Really?"
"Of course. Given that you've come from another dimension, you likely can't stay for long, so right... Ah."
The Young Skeleton Principal, who had been about to continue, hesitated with an apologetic expression.
"Actually, there's something I must attend to now. Could you wait just one day?"
"Of course, that's no problem... But what are you planning to do?"
"This city has long suffered under tyranny and invasions. Because of that, clean water has become difficult to obtain. I intend to devise a permanent solution to block external contamination and secure clean water."
"Ah. Do you have some connection to this city?"
"None at all."
It almost seemed as if a divine radiance emanated from the Young Skeleton Principal, who was preparing a grand spell for people he had no ties to.
Lee Han even found himself missing the original fleshless Skeleton Principal.
'Ugh. It's too dazzling.'
"First, I plan to mix Mermaid's Tears and Blue Jade to construct the city gates. Gates made this way will purify and block external contamination."
The Young Skeleton Principal spoke as he walked toward the harbor.
During the Three Kingdoms Era, all sorts of vicious magical plagues were rampant.
With demons summoned out of boredom and kingdoms freely spreading plagues via magic, it was only natural.
Nobles, safely ensconced in protected areas, were unaffected, but commoners could die from the slightest misfortune.
The Young Skeleton Principal intended to inscribe a massive purification spell on the gates to prevent this.
"Isn't Mermaid's Tears difficult to obtain?"
Lee Han asked curiously.
In the current Empire, Mermaid's Tears were undoubtedly a rare material.
Perhaps they were much easier to acquire during the Three Kingdoms Era?
"It is a difficult material to obtain. But we must acquire it nonetheless. Here."
The Young Skeleton Principal borrowed a small boat and took the oars himself.
Flustered, Lee Han asked:
"I'll row."
"No. How could I ask guests from another world—let alone those who claim to be my students—to do such a thing?"
The Young Skeleton Principal gazed at Lee Han and his companions with affectionate eyes.
His determination not to let a single drop of water touch his students was palpable.
Lee Han could see Professor Garcia biting her lip tightly behind him. It was that surreal.
Splash!
Of course, the Young Skeleton Principal wasn't rowing purely by strength. As magic was cast, the oars moved on their own, and the wind began aiding the boat.
In an instant, the boat gained speed and reached the open sea.
"Ah, I should cast a defensive spell on you. Sirens appear around here."
"Ah, I'm fine. I'm actually friends with sirens."
"?"
At Lee Han's words, Professor Garcia tilted her head in confusion.
'Huh...?'
According to the lamentations of the sirens in Einrogard's territory, the two were anything but friendly.
Especially Siren Parthenope, who had been so indignant that she kept protesting, "How can such a nonsensical human exist?"
"Are there perhaps other sirens here?"
"Truly... To think a guest like you is my student, what an honor."
"Please don't say such things."
Lee Han seriously considered whether he should request, 'Please treat me with contempt.'
He was that uncomfortable and unaccustomed to it.
While he could listen to a siren's song for a year without issue, the benevolent skeleton headmaster... -♪♩♩♩♪...
"!"
At the sound of the siren's song beginning, Lee Han's group tensed slightly.
Though they were prepared, carelessness was forbidden when dealing with races like sirens.-!
Yet the sirens' song stopped abruptly.
The sirens, recognizing the young skeleton headmaster's face, closed their mouths and quietly bowed their heads.
"Thank you all for your consideration."
The young skeleton headmaster politely bowed to the sirens. They guarded and assisted the boat until it passed through their waters.
"...Uh, what kind of magic was that?!"
Still processing the situation, Lee Han asked in bewilderment.
Had the young skeleton headmaster just subdued the sirens with magic?
"Magic, you say?"
"The sirens... stopped singing... and... you know!"
"Ah. So that's what you mean. These sirens occasionally show me kindness."
"Ah. Did you perhaps save them at some point?"
"No. I don't believe so."
"......"
It took Lee Han a moment to recover from the shock.
So right now...? 'The sirens showed favor purely based on his aura?' It was hard to believe.
The sirens of Einrogard would never do such a thing.
Back there, it had taken long, complicated negotiations just to become slightly friendly... 'Could it be that the Einrogard sirens grew wicked over time?'
No sooner had that thought crossed his mind than a massive sailing ship sank in the distance. The sirens, their territory violated, were savagely attacking it.
"...Professor Garcia. I can't believe the sirens would help in this manner."
"I'm quite amazed too. Lee Han, it might be hard to accept, but... it's probably like your brother, Arsil."
"At least my brother was only popular with spirits."
The young skeleton headmaster continued to receive goodwill from various sea creatures as they traveled.
Seeing not just sirens but even large fish and whales emerge to greet him, Lee Han began to doubt whether he had truly traveled to the wrong past.
It was all too surreal!
"Look, look—a mermaid!"
Spotting the mermaid's tail fin, Lee Han urgently called out. The young skeleton headmaster praised him enthusiastically.
"Excellent! I didn't expect you to spot the mermaid first."
"...How do you plan to obtain her tears?"
Ignoring the awkward praise, Lee Han pressed on.
Mermaid's Tears were a precious material.
Even if they tried negotiating, the mermaid likely wouldn't give them up willingly. What humans considered immense treasures might hold little value to her.
And capturing or threatening her wasn't an option—mermaids were formidable.
A mermaid roaming the sea possessed mobility rivaling a unicorn's. At the slightest hint of hostility, she could twist space and vanish into the abyss.
"We'll have to ask first."
"...T-that's it?"
"Asking is more important than you'd think."
The young skeleton headmaster humbly addressed the mermaid.
After listening politely, the mermaid disappeared beneath the waves briefly before resurfacing with a shimmering gem—a gift for the young skeleton headmaster.
Mermaid's Tears.
"Thank you for your kindness. I swear not to use this for selfish gain."
The mermaid, having received his gratitude, vanished gracefully.
And at this point, Lee Han doubted anything could surprise him anymore.