Chapter 1169
Whether Giselle’s plea to show consideration for their year had been persuasive, or whether Jiklin had simply agreed because she cared for her younger sister, in the end, Jiklin nodded.
“What a shame. Wardanaz seems like he would want to participate.”
“......”
Huh?
'W-Would he?'
Unable to refute her immediately, Giselle fell into confusion.
Now that she heard it put that way, stopping her sister might have been a mistake after all...
***
“Isn’t it fascinating that dark magic was discovered in Baquantalana’s ruins?”
“It certainly is, Professor Garcia.”
The two Einroguard professors walked along as they discussed what had happened in the ruins.
Discovering one of Baquantalana’s previously unknown spells was an impressive achievement, but not enough to surprise the two professors.
However, the fact that the spell had been dark magic was more than enough to surprise them.
“I recently read several papers from the transformation magic school arguing that Baquantalana was a transformation mage, so I never expected dark magic to suddenly emerge like this.”
“Come to think of it, Professor Garcia, which school do you believe Baquantalana belonged to?”
Professor Kirmin asked out of curiosity.
What did this junior professor think about the dispute between the transformation magic school and the enchantment magic school?
“What? Uh, well, does it really matter that much? Baquantalana might have studied every school evenly... Why is that important?”
“......”
As expected, a genius who had taken courses from every school really was different.
Mages from two schools were fighting over their pride, yet Professor Garcia could calmly say something like, “Why not simply study both?”
'At times like this, I feel fortunate that Professor Garcia teaches at Einroguard...'
Had Professor Garcia been active in the Imperial magical world outside the academy, several enemies might already have been made.
Geniuses sometimes earned grudges simply by existing.
“Once Student Lee Han finishes analyzing it, I should ask him what kind of magic it is. I am honestly curious as well.”
Professor Kirmin smiled softly and nodded at Professor Garcia’s words.
Professor Kirmin briefly considered making a joke about entrusting the analysis of Baquantalana’s magic to a second-year student, but Professor Garcia was excited without worrying for once, so Professor Kirmin held back rather than spoil the mood.
“By the way, Professor.”
“?”
Professor Kirmin flinched slightly, wondering whether the thought had been discovered.
Fortunately, Professor Garcia was worried about something else.
“The situation in the north seemed rather concerning. Will it truly be all right for Einroguard not to intervene?”
There was no possibility that the strange phenomena in the north had escaped the notice of a mage as talented as Professor Garcia.
There had been no damage as conspicuous as the severe drought and heat disaster in the west, but it felt like a warning of something similar, which made Professor Garcia uneasy.
“I understand how you feel, but Einroguard cannot intervene in every matter. The autonomy of each region is important as well.”
Einroguard could not involve itself in every affair of the Empire, nor did the people of the Empire want it to.
If an outside magic school with no connection to the region stepped in and resolved the matter, would that not openly reveal that the local noble houses, knights, and officials were incompetent?
“Lord Jiderf is a wise person, so I am certain he will respond appropriately.”
Just then, mages appeared walking from the opposite end of the corridor. Professor Kirmin spoke in a pleased voice.
“Professor Garcia. Look! There are the mages. As expected, the head of the house invited them to resolve the problem...”
“Grrrk. (Gasp?)”
The dark mages of the Legion of Oondorgu stopped short when they spotted the two professors.
Then they quickly turned around and attempted to flee. Naturally, their blatantly suspicious behavior struck the two professors as strange.
“Wait. Are you from the Legion of Oondorgu?”
“Grrrk. (We are merely ordinary ghouls)...”
Because every member of the Legion of Oondorgu was undead, concealing their identity was not easy.
Before they could even escape, the two professors caught them immediately.
“You are from the Legion of Oondorgu, are you not?”
“Yes. Have we not met before? I am Professor Garcia Kim.”
The undead looked dejected. Of all people, they had been caught by Einroguard professors who were not easy to deal with.
“Grrrk. (A pleasure)...”
“...Has something happened? You do not look well.”
“If someone is tormenting you, please tell us. We are fellow mages!”
When Professor Garcia clenched a fist and spoke, the undead member of the Legion of Oondorgu grew frightened and rolled its eyes around.
Older dark mages tended to dismiss younger juniors, but the situation changed when that junior carried a destructive small world around on a fist.
“Grrrk. (Nothing has happened).”
“What brings you here? Is it because of the situation in the north?”
“......”
The undead continued rolling its eyes, then suddenly shouted.
“Grrrk! (The Descendants of Ahrak did not invite us)!”
“?!!”
The sudden accusation left the two professors even more bewildered.
What in the world did that mean?
“Who did not invite whom?”
“The Descendants of Ahrak are here as well?”
Once the undead had started speaking, everything that followed came easily. It revealed every detail of what had happened.
When the Devil Hag became the leading suspect behind the strange phenomena occurring in the north, the dark mages had gathered, but the wicked Descendants of Ahrak had treacherously refused to invite Einroguard...
“How dare they!”
Sparks flew from Professor Garcia’s eyes.
Professor Garcia did not care whether Professor Mortum suffered a loss, but the kind Student Diret was an exception.
“Why would they do such a thing?!”
“Grrrk. (They said his constant bragging about his disciple was insufferable)...”
“......”
“......”
Professor Garcia and Professor Kirmin both fell silent at the same time.
That truly was...
A difficult reason to refute.
***
“Wardanaz. There is something I need to tell you, but you are not allowed to get angry after hearing it.”
“Hmm. If we were inside Einroguard, I would refuse such a suspicious proposal, but since this is your family’s territory, I suppose I have no choice but to agree.”
“......”
Suppressing the urge to hit her friend, Giselle told Lee Han about the conversation she had just had with her sister.
“She wanted to make you attend the meeting of dark mages, so I stopped her, but I wondered whether perhaps you might have wanted to atte—”
“Are you insane?!”
“...I will take that to mean you did not want to attend.”
At Giselle’s answer, Lee Han stroked his chest in relief.
The very idea that she had thought, 'Perhaps Wardanaz might have wanted to attend', was horrifying.
“Why in the world would I want to attend a gathering like that?”
“Alpha.”
Ignoring him, Giselle called Anglago.
Anglago, who had been checking the grooming of the horns to look impressive during the audience with the head of the house, turned around.
“Huh? What?”
“There is a meeting of dark mages who came to the territory. Do you think Wardanaz would want to participate, or not?”
“I think he would want to participate.”
“......”
“...W-Was that wrong?”
Anglago panicked at Lee Han’s expression.
It had been a trick question!
“Forget it...”
“When you say ‘forget it,’ do you genuinely mean forget it? Or do you mean you will torment me later?”
“Be quiet and show me your horns. What magic do you want?”
Anglago’s expression brightened at Lee Han’s words.
If Wardanaz cast the magic, the range of available choices expanded dramatically.
“Transform them into gold!”
“......”
“......”
Horrified by his friend’s grotesque aesthetic sense, Lee Han looked at Giselle. Giselle stared back with a deeply displeased expression.
'What do you want me to do about it? Is his taste my fault?'
'That is true.'
“...I will simply make them smooth and glossy.”
“Why?! Make them gold—”
“Be quiet.”
Thanks to Lee Han’s friendship, Anglago avoided making an entrance he would regret for the next ten years.
Once all the students had gathered in the large, desolate audience chamber at the top of the fortress, a cold-looking elf appeared, seeming slightly more gaunt and exhausted than usual.
It was Jiderf Moradi, the spiritual leader of the northern knights and the head of House Moradi.
“I am truly pleased that so many outstanding mages of Einroguard have come. I apologize that the situation in the north prevents us from welcoming you more grandly.”
“Not at all, my lord! There is not a single rotten person here who would expect such treatment as a knight!”
Anglago shouted vigorously. The other students nodded as though they agreed.
The head of the house smiled faintly at the words of the young students he had seen several times at gatherings of knightly houses.
Lee Han thought inwardly.
'How can people who constantly demand delicious food wherever they go be so shameless...'
Anyone watching might have thought they had prepaid for the food.
Yet in front of a knight they respected, those same people acted as though they would be perfectly content eating uncooked grains of wheat while standing in the night dew.
“P-Please accept this.”
The students presented the gifts they had brought one by one.
When Giselle’s turn came and she stepped forward, Jiderf asked in a whisper only the two of them could hear.
“Giselle.”
“Yes?”
“Why did so many of the other students come?”
“...I believe it is because they are close to Wardanaz.”
Giselle could not bring herself to say that they had rolled around on the floor begging to be brought along, so she changed the wording.
Once the gifts had been presented, Jiderf briefly expressed his gratitude and immediately moved to the main subject.
“Wardanaz. Originally, I intended to ask you to inspect the buildings in the district where outside knights stay and request the necessary magic.”
Jiklin had said that the head of the house had summoned Lee Han to determine “how the knights could be trained more brutally,” but no matter how pragmatic Jiderf was, he did not state such a blatant reason.
The precise purpose was to inspect the district within the family fortress where outside knights stayed and magically redesign the facilities in that area.
...To make them slightly more like Einroguard.
'It is true that this would let them train the knights more brutally...'
Giselle thought inwardly.
If the knights, who were already suffering, learned the truth, some of them might genuinely become anti-magic advocates.
“However, shameful as it is to admit... the situation in the north is not very good at present. We may have to reduce the budget, and some areas may have to be postponed until later.”
“Any mage who complains over such a matter would not deserve to call themselves a mage.”
Lee Han answered immediately.
Someone who insisted on using another person’s money for personal magic regardless of whether the employer was struggling would have to be either a madman or Professor Verdus.
“Before coming here, I asked the capital’s stonemason guild and the academy club for the blueprints of several magical structures. I can begin immediately as soon as you give the instructions.”
“Oh...!”
The White Tiger Tower students admired Wardanaz’s flawless preparation.
He had immediately put his experience carrying out a commission for the capital’s stonemason guild to use.
Jiderf asked in puzzlement.
“Why are all of you surprised?”
They had traveled together, so why were they acting as though they were hearing this for the first time?
“...Wardanaz is always surprising, my lord. Ha ha.”
“We knew as well! Truly!”
“......”
Jiderf still maintained a polite smile, but as family, Giselle could tell what her father was thinking.
She could almost hear the students’ evaluations collapsing with a crash.
Lee Han seemed to notice it as well and quickly stepped in to repair the situation.
“My friends helped with other matters. And, my lord, please do not worry too much about the situation in the north. I heard that the cause of the strange phenomena has disappeared, so they should soon subside.”
“Thank you, Wardanaz. ...Who did you hear that from?”
Jiderf paused.
Even the dark mages were still struggling because they had not found the cause of the strange phenomena, yet Lee Han claimed the cause had disappeared?