Episode 998
Episode 998
"Th-that is... Uh..."
Professor Verdus was also there!
Fortunately, there was one knight among them who was quick-witted.
The other Death Knights looked at their comrade with admiration in their eyes.
Displaying such resourcefulness in this situation was truly the wisdom of a knight.
Of course, Professor Verdus hadn't participated voluntarily—he'd been kidnapped to join them. But for an Einrogard professor, even being kidnapped was considered a crime.
And if it was Professor Verdus, the punishment would be even more severe.
'That Bible bastard... Fine. At least he's not completely ruined, that's a relief. What do you mean the avatar punished Bible? Did he kill him?'
The Skeleton Principal asked with a hint of concern.
Unlike his own kind and generous self, the Avatar of Desire for Honor was utterly ruthless. Someone like Professor Verdus, who acted without any real malice, might have genuinely been killed for his cheekiness.
Though the territory's magic protected those inside, magic always had loopholes—and archmages were the ones most skilled at exploiting such loopholes.
"No, the professor isn't dead."
'Would've been fine if he'd died once or twice.'
Ignoring the Skeleton Principal's muttering, the knights continued their report.
"Professor Verdus only received a harsh lesson. Some of his works were slightly damaged..."
"I knew it."
Upon hearing the report, the Headmaster sighed as if disappointed.
Truthfully, there weren't many ways to punish Professor Verdus without killing him. One of them was smashing his creations.
For that beaver beastman wizard, destroying his works would deal a far heavier blow than cutting off his limbs.
Not that the Skeleton Principal was unaware of this method—he'd used it a few times in the past.
"It's meaningless."
The reason he called it meaningless was simple.
The shock would last only a few days at most, and if they kept breaking his works every time, Einrogard would go bankrupt first.
Most of Professor Verdus's creations were either commissioned or contracted works. Given how indebted the wizard was, purely personal projects were few in number.
'Still, it must've felt good, right?' one of the Death Knights thought to himself.
It was rare for students and knights to share the same opinion, but when it came to Professor Verdus, the thought of 'I'd love to kick that bastard just once' aligned quite frequently.
'Still, everyone must've enjoyed it. I wish I'd seen it myself—!'
"Index."
"Here it is."
The Death Knight respectfully presented the list—a catalog of artifacts Professor Verdus was currently working on and those damaged this time.
Looking at it, the Skeleton Principal grew deeply troubled...
'They broke so many.'
"There's more on the back."
One tactless knight found himself additionally sentenced to the Punishment Room.
The Skeleton Principal shook his head as if fed up, then said:
"Just summarize the rest. If I listen to every single one, the semester will be over."
"How shall we proceed with the punishments?"
"Just send Professor Bible to the Punishment Room and leave the rest be."
Strictly speaking, Professor Garcia and Professor Voladi were guilty of omitting reports and stealing relics, while Professor Verdus was guilty of getting kidnapped and failing to protect the artifacts.
But the former two were innocent.
Those two had much to do outside, but Professor Verdus could work even in the Punishment Room.
After all the knights had left, the Skeleton Principal stared at the blank sheet of paper before him.
This white paper, radiating a presence more intense than that of a Greater Demon from the Burning Hell dimension, was meant for letters to be sent to the Emperor, the Empire's financial officers, and various noble families.
The Skeleton Principal called back one of the Death Knights outside...
"Summon Batnaz when he wakes up. If I say it's for the sake of nurturing talents to support the Empire, even those stubborn nobles might soften a bit."
"Though they might refuse to cooperate because of what you did, Master."
The Skeleton Principal sent the loyal knight to the Punishment Room and then called another knight beside him.
"Bring him here."
"Yes!"
A mage's dream was different from that of an ordinary person.
In the Divination Magic school, dreams were considered one of the most powerful tools. Within that ambiguous realm, one could glimpse the future while avoiding all sorts of repercussions.
Even without delving into Divination Magic, mages often found themselves deeply affected by intense dreams throughout their lives.
A mage who made a faulty contract could be pursued by interdimensional beings in their dreams (and if they made a mistake here, their real body could suffer harm). A mage who attempted overly complex spells might, as an aftereffect, witness bizarre visions in their dreams as if they had eaten hallucinogenic mushrooms.
In that sense, it was almost inevitable that Lee Han would have intense dreams while unconscious.
In his dreams, there appeared a young and healthy, human version of the Skeleton Principal from his prime, a Skeleton Principal bound by honor, and the current wicked Skeleton Principal.
Guest Star Arna, Small Worlds, Unique Worlds, the Yaksha King, all sorts of grand spells and transcendent beings emerged, jumbled together until the dream's contents became increasingly incomprehensible.
—
"Entrust the world to me."
"Hmph. Wardanaz, you're neither the first student to hurl insults at me nor will you be the last."
"Are you referring to the one who played Wizard Cards while receiving instruction?"
"That was Gainando too..."
—
"Entrust the world to me."
"Do not forget the Small World. Continue striving."
"Nobility for the sake of others."
"You damn hamster brat. Are you egging me on from the side?"
—
"Entrust the world to me."
The spells Lee Han had recently mastered melted away like ice, naturally absorbed into his mind. As the three versions of the Skeleton Principal spun around like Senior Hormasi's Cerberus, Lee Han woke up in a cold sweat.
"!"
Upon waking, he was met with a body aching as if beaten, a sluggish mind as though drunk, and the baby basilisk tightly coiled around his arm.
'I'll have to make excuses later.'
Lee Han planned to argue that when the baby basilisk woke up, throwing it last time wasn't his own intention but the wicked trickery of alcohol.
The Frost Giants' liquor clearly had side effects as vile and underhanded as the race itself.
"......"
As Lee Han prepared to leave his private room, the memories of what had happened resurfaced.
No matter how hollow and futile it felt, there was nothing to be done. The missing mage wouldn't return, and Lee Han had duties to fulfill.
'I should write a complaint to the Empire.'
Still, separate from that, Lee Han considered sending at least one complaint to the Empire.
A wicked tyrant who didn't listen to students' opinions at all was ruling the Magic Academy...
"Wardanaz!"
When Lee Han came downstairs, his friends, who had been studying for exams in the common lounge, startled in surprise.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Just a bit heavy. What's that over there?"
Lee Han was puzzled by an unfamiliar betting board hanging on the wall.
It was divided into "Possible" and "Impossible," and students of the Blue Dragon Tower had written their names on their preferred side.
Judging by the fact that "Possible" had more names...
"I see. You were betting on when I'd wake up."
"No. We were betting on whether you could still take first place even if you missed the final exam."
"..."
"Thanks, everyone. How long was I out?"
"Over a week."
"!??!"
Lee Han was horrified.
He had expected a long sleep, but that long?!
"There are still a few days left before the exam, Wardanaz."
"We didn't slack off just because you weren't here."
His friends spoke with proud expressions.
This time, the second-year students hadn't slacked off—solely due to the power of friendship.
As long as they had a conscience, they couldn't fool around while their friend was unconscious.
"No, I'm not shocked about the exam."
"What?!"
This time, his friends were the ones shocked.
Naturally, they had expected Lee Han to bring up the exam the moment he woke up.
"What happened after that? The Headmaster's doppelganger disappeared, right?"
"Ah. That..."
"Everyone was sad and regretful. Even Gainando ended up in the Punishment Room."
"?!"
Lee Han was shocked.
While feeling sad and regretful was understandable, Gainando being sent to the Punishment Room?
"Why on earth? Did he attack the Headmaster or something??"
"Well... it's similar but a bit different."
When the doppelganger disappeared and the Skeleton Principal returned, the students of Einrogard quickly noticed the change.
-Huh? Where did the Headmaster's doppelganger go?
-Right? The Headmaster is here, but why...? Headmaster, do you know where your doppelganger went?
-He's dead.- ...
Murderer! Murderer!!
The fearless upperclassmen threw trash at the Skeleton Principal, only to get beaten up and chased away instead.
Lee Han, who had been silently listening, tilted his head in confusion.
"Wait. The seniors just got chased away, so why did Gainando end up in the Punishment Room?"
"He was the only one who threw an egg."
While stones or trash might have been forgiven, throwing an egg was unforgivable.
Gainando was immediately dragged to the Punishment Room for the crime of wasteful extravagance.
"...Well, at least everyone remembered our teacher. That makes me happy."
"Wardanaz. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. It's a shame, but there's nothing we can do about it."
Lee Han spoke in a bitter voice.
Perhaps, as the Skeleton Principal had said, this was a better ending for the Crazy Doppelganger himself.
Even though he denied it, a thought-form bound to the world couldn't have been anything but painful. 'Still, I'll write a petition.' Now that he thought about it, two copies might be appropriate.
Lee Han resolved to send two petitions under a pseudonym.
"The Enchantment Magic seniors set up a memorial stone in the mountain range workshop. Want to go see it?"
"...What? Which faction?!"
Lee Han, who had been pouring coffee from the kettle on the fireplace into a tin cup for recovery, nearly dropped it in shock.
Of all the many factions in Einrogard, wasn't that the least fitting one for a memorial?
"I was surprised too, but apparently the seniors set it up."
"Huh. I see. So even the Enchantment Magic seniors were moved..." 'More like they just beat up Professor Verdus and went along with it.' The friends thought so inwardly, but since Lee Han seemed pleased, they kept quiet.
The traces of the workshop had vanished without a trace due to the great battle, but the giants still lingered nearby, soothing their sorrow.
Some students left notes by the memorial stone saying things like, "Thank you for beating up Professor Verdus," and "Please return someday and take the Headmaster's seat," before turning away.
The giants sniffled and hugged those students tightly.
Crreeak!
As the students staggered away, Lee Han appeared. The giants swarmed toward him upon seeing him.
-Wardanaz. Drink this. Sorrow gone.
"Isn't that giant liquor?"
-Wizards hold onto sorrow too long because they don't have this. We have it, so we send sorrow away quickly.
"I'm fine, thanks."
The blazing giant liquor went beyond just sending sorrow away—it could send a wizard's sanity packing too. Lee Han firmly refused.
-Oh right. Wardanaz. The Yaksha Elder has been waiting for you.
"!"
Just as Lee Han was startled by the unexpected name, a voice came from behind.
-Took you long enough.
A familiar elderly yaksha stepped out from among the giants, holding a bundle in his arms.
-Do you have any idea how long I've waited among these fools because of you?
"What's the matter?"
-The Chamberlain left something for you. Asked me to deliver it.
"...Why to you, Elder??"
As far as Lee Han knew, the Chamberlain didn't have any particular connection to the Yaksha Elder.
-Well, the only ones around were giants and this old man. Between the two, I was the better choice.
At the Yaksha Elder's words, the giants grumbled and jeered.
-The mage made the wrong choice just because of our race.
-We could've delivered it just fine too!
"Anyway, thank you."