Episode 923
Episode 923
"Huh? Wardanaz. What are you doing?"
While Lee Han was tormenting his junior, his friends who had finished their exams began trickling in one by one.
Even to his friends' eyes, Eandurde's current condition didn't look particularly good.
With her gloomy face and pained groans, even if they didn't know what mistake she'd made, it'd be better to just forgive her...
"I was explaining her exam mistakes to her."
"Aha!"
The friends quickly threw their backpacks on the floor and fled upstairs to their private rooms.
They'd realized that if they stayed too long, arrows would come flying at them too.
Eandurde glared at the cowardly seniors' retreating backs with contempt in her eyes.
What despicable runners they were!
"Eek!"
"Why?"
When the junior suddenly let out a deathly scream, Lee Han turned his head in puzzlement.
Yoner was entering with her friends from behind.
"Ughhhh!"
"I understand."
Lee Han quickly grasped the meaning behind his junior's desperate gaze and pained moans.
The heavy stack of exam papers that had been on the desk rapidly disappeared from view, sinking downward. It was <Wardanaz's Telekinesis> at work.
Eandurde looked up at her senior with eyes full of admiration and respect.
As expected, Einrogard seniors' magic was truly extraordinary.
"Ah. Eandurde's here?"
"Y-yes, yes."
"How was the exam?"
"......"
Despite having just hidden the exam papers, Yoner's immediate question about the exam made Eandurde's face darken again.
"Well... um... uh..."
"She did her best. At least she didn't fail."
Lee Han found himself making excuses for his junior without realizing it. Gainando was impressed.
"Not failing? That's impressive?"
"...Hey. You go away."
"Yeah. You go over there."
"Huh? Why..."
When his friends scolded him, worried the junior might be negatively influenced, Gainando sulked and stepped back.
Don't I deserve some praise too?
"Want to show me your exam?"
"Y-yes yes!"
"Why are the exam papers here?"
Yoner looked puzzled as exam papers popped out from a hidden compartment under the lounge floor.
Lee Han shrugged and made an excuse.
"Guess I was worried they might blow away in the wind."
"Really...?"
Though not fully understanding, Yoner didn't press further and checked the grades first.
"Wow. You did well!"
Eandurde's face brightened.
"But your alchemy exam is a bit disappointing."
Eandurde's face darkened again.
"Of course, your decision to use Snow-falling Herb was excellent."
Eandurde's face brightened once more.
"But if you'd used Glacial Acid here too, it would've been even more effective."
"Yoner."
"Yeah?"
"Actually, I already told her that earlier."
"Ah. Did you?"
Watching this scene from behind, the friends thought to themselves: 'This is why first-years need special protection.' They'd complained as freshmen about being separated from the seniors, but now they understood the reason.
If this happens every exam time...!
"Here. Eandurde."
After the painful review session ended, Lee Han gave his junior a basket of groceries—much more than usual.
Gainando, who was seeing her off together, noticed and asked:
"Huh? Isn't that more than usual?"
"She might not come around for a while."
It was common for students scolded over exams to avoid contact for some time.
Just looking at Gainando proved the point.
"I was fine, but Yoner was being strict, you see."
"......"
Gainando's mouth fell open in shock at his shameless friend's words.
To Gainando, both of them had been equally strict in tormenting their junior. 'H-how can he say such ridiculous things with a straight face, so boldly...!' "What's wrong?"
"I-I'm impressed! Taking such good care of your junior like this! Lee Han, you're the best!"
"Hehe. It's nothing special."
Lee Han smiled contentedly at his friend's praise and turned away. Gainando felt a deep pang of guilt.
'To spout such outrageous lies to a friend just for snacks...!'
When the weekend of midterm exams arrived, all the second-year students had turned into lazybones, lounging in the common room.
"c4..."
"Then dxc4... with the pawn..."
"In that case... I'll transform my queen into a dragon... and use its breath..."
"Did you eat hallucinogenic mushrooms or...? No... Fine, use the breath... Then I'll summon the Headmaster..."
Even the students who usually scrambled to play whenever they had a spare moment were now too lethargic to do anything but chatter idly.
The midterms had become far more grueling than last year, leaving everyone half-exhausted.
Teapots floated lazily in the air. Lee Han flicked his fingers lightly, refilling his friends' cups with hot cocoa and coffee.
Truthfully, this was when he felt the most tangible progress as a mage—
When using magic to indulge in laziness.
His teachers would clutch their heads in despair if they heard that...
Glancing to the side, he saw Gainando sprawled on the floor with a dazed expression, idly flipping through Wizard Cards.
"Speaking of which, Wardanaz."
"?"
"After the exams, the clubs are supposed to start their external activities in earnest. Heard anything about that?"
Einrogard students, regardless of year, were generally busy and miserable.
Even clubs formed for social purposes couldn't escape that fate.
When swamped with exams or research, club activities got postponed, only to be crammed in during rare moments of free time.
'Come to think of it, that's true.' Lee Han recalled what some seniors had mentioned.
Once the exams were over...
—Pfft. Wardanaz. Just hold on a little longer! Once exams end, we can go outside and distribute meals to the poor!—
...That's certainly a good deed, but is it really that exciting?
—Ah, of course! When we go out for activities, we get loads of ingredients as gifts!
'Hmm. Other clubs, then...'
—Ah, junior. Once exams are over, it's time for polo to make its grand return.
—Right. I see.
—But there's no way we could get His Highness Jowurin to play, right? Probably too much to ask?
Lee Han shook his head.
For some reason, only the weirdest clubs kept surfacing in his memory.
"I've heard about the Kitchen Club and the Polo Club."
"Oh. Then what about the Hunters' Club?"
"No. Not really."
"Adventurers' Club? Wizard Cards Club?"
"Outings Club? Sculpture Club?"
As questions poured in, Lee Han straightened from his reclined position and sat up properly.
"Hold on. Why are you asking me? I'm not even in those clubs."
"Huh? You're not?!"
"......"
Lee Han glared at his friends in disbelief. They coughed awkwardly and averted their eyes.
"Ah, no. We just thought you'd joined them all..."
"Now that I think about it, I never joined any unofficial clubs. Ahem."
The Blue Dragon Tower students, who had naturally assumed their friend from the Wardanaz family would be in every club, looked thoroughly embarrassed.
"How did you even get the idea I'd joined clubs I don't even go to?"
"Well, we figured you were just too busy to be seen..."
"......"
Lee Han had no rebuttal.
He had been so busy that even in the clubs he was in, his attendance was sporadic.
Yoner, sitting nearby, chimed in.
"Our club's planning an outing to watch a play."
Yoner was as sought-after as Nilia when it came to club invitations.
She had visited the Kitchen Club and several others, agonizing over her choices, but ultimately joined the Einrogard Theater Club—an unofficial club—with Nilia (Lee Han was certain Nilia had clung to her ankle, begging not to be left alone).
Though unofficial, the Einrogard Theater Club, as the name suggested, was a refined group dedicated to appreciating cultured arts.
By Lee Han's standards, it wasn't profitable at all, so he hadn't even bothered remembering its name—but as a result, the club's atmosphere was calm and friendly.
"No. It's perfectly fine, isn't it?!"
"Well, of course it's fine..."
When Lee Han showed surprise, Yoner looked at him incredulously.
Was it really that shocking for an extracurricular activity to be perfectly fine?
"Sorry. I naturally assumed that any club activity should come with noticeable achievements and ample gold coins."
'He's my friend, but sometimes he seems downright insane.'
"That's also true. Unofficial clubs originally have a hard time even getting permission for outings."
Hearing Yoner's words, Lee Han recalled a rule he had forgotten.
Come to think of it, only official clubs had outing privileges.
How could an unofficial club like the Theater Club manage it so easily?
"I see. They must have convinced the professors with a plan to recreate Einrogard's miserable reality through theater and earn gold coins."
"...Uh, no. We just got invited."
Students often forgot, but Einrogard was the Empire's foremost magic academy.
There was no shortage of Empire dignitaries eager to invite its students to showcase their art.
No matter how spiteful the Skeleton Principal was, he couldn't possibly reject all such invitations.
Lee Han was stunned.
He'd never paid attention to cultural and arts clubs, but to think there was such a loophole?
"That's...! I should join right now and smuggle—"
"...Calm down! It's not that extreme."
Yoner tried to soothe her friend.
The Skeleton Principal would never be lenient toward such idle behavior. When the Theater Club went out, they were subjected to unprecedented surveillance.
A level of monitoring far beyond the usual "Go ahead, try to break through if you can" standard.
"What level are we talking about?"
Still unable to let go, Lee Han pressed for details.
"They blockade the city's main streets and alleys under the pretext of protecting Einrogard mages, clear out all the people, and empty every shop and stall. Death Knights surround and escort us in a ring."
"...I should cancel my application."
Lee Han quickly gave up.
Clearly, the Theater Club was among the clubs the Skeleton Principal particularly despised.
Then again, with all its members happy and enjoying themselves, how could he not hate it?
"Hmph. Still, the Theater Club is lucky."
Gainando muttered gloomily.
"Why do you say that?"
"My club struggles so much with outings that we're still brainstorming."
The Wizard Card Club—no, the Wizard Card Collectors Club (the two were distinctly different)—was an unofficial club.
With no immediate plans for outings, it was only natural to envy the Theater Club, which received outside invitations even while inactive.
"An official club would've been better..."
'There's no such thing as a perfect club.'
Lee Han realized it anew.
Official clubs had harsh responsibilities but easy outings, while unofficial clubs had freedom but struggled with outings...
The Theater Club was a mutant exception, but those were rare...
'Wait. Then...'
Lee Han quickly did the math.
Among his clubs, the official ones would each handle their own outings, but what about the unofficial ones?
The Einrogard Social Club was a ghost club created by Yukveltire, the least sociable person imaginable, so no activities there.
And the Teleportation Club...
'...'
No way, right?'
No matter how plausible the plan, the most unofficial of unofficial clubs would have a hard time getting outing approval.
What insane professor would permit outings for such a club?
The Teleportation Club would clearly operate only within the school. Lee Han resolved to strictly monitor the outer warehouses for a while.
"No. We go out too."
"...What?! The Library Club?!"
Lee Han was startled by the words of Sebius, the hamster beastman and fourth-year senior.
"...No. The Teleportation Club."
"Ah. You mean escaping."
Lee Han nodded as if he understood.
Naturally, Lee Han also referred to escaping as "going out." Who would admit it outright?
"I mean actual outings. We submitted a plan and got special permission."
"...W-what kind of plan did you submit?!"
"Retrieving magic items the professors want."
"......"
At this point, isn't this just an official club?