Chapter 1168
Naturally, the other party’s mana did not waver in the slightest. The voice had wasted a precious attack, but it did not regret it.
For some reason, this mage inspired an unusually strong urge to smack him.
For the voice, which did not normally indulge in such childish behavior, what had just happened could be called a rather fresh experience.
You do not necessarily have to be evil to associate with fanatics.
‘Hmm. That actually sounds rather plausible.’
Lee Han thought as he rubbed his head.
Had the Skull Principal not used a captured fanatic of the Ksaksarigol Order to spy on the enemy’s plans?
Of course, there was one flaw in that line of thought: the Skull Principal might actually be evil.
“When you say I should join forces with one side, um... you mean I should join forces with the Frahgal Order and strike the Sanguros Order?”
Do the opposite if that is what you want, little one.
Naturally, it was not.
Lee Han wanted to strike the Sanguros Order first and foremost.
You do understand that when I say to join hands with them, I do not mean you should truly become allies, correct? You may [N O V E L I G H T] leave their hands intact since you need to hold them, but strip the flesh from everything else.
“I understand. But even if I want to join forces with the Frahgal Order, they have no reason to agree, do they? I doubt they would trust me at all...”
Just as Lee Han did not trust evil-god worshipers, the evil-god worshipers must have distrusted Lee Han greatly as well.
The Frahgal Order in particular had been thwarted by him several times.
If Lee Han suddenly contacted them and acted friendly, they were certain to think, ‘Is this bastard preparing a punitive force and laying a trap?’
And in truth, they would be right.
Lee Han could betray them at any time.
He would not feel even the slightest guilt.
‘They would do the same anyway.’
Do you think I offered advice without considering that? Of course I have already thought of a method! This old woman will act as the matchmaker between the two sides.
“!”
Amazingly, the voice confidently declared that it could build a bridge between Lee Han and the Frahgal Order.
And the claim was convincing.
A powerful being from another dimension would likely have at least some acquaintance with evil-god worshipers.
“If you can truly do that, I would be nothing but grateful.”
Now you are behaving a little more adorably. Of course I can. But there are several things you must remember. You must never forget them. Understood?
“What...”
First. The moment the matter is finished, you must betray the tentacle freaks.
“I can betray them before it is finished as well.”
At Lee Han’s immediate and confident reply, the voice nearly stumbled over its words.
Second. In that case, you must offer this old woman the spoils taken from the tentacle freaks. Surely you will not complain about the additional spoils you must hand over.
“Of course not.”
Lee Han had no particular complaint about this condition either.
What mattered was striking the Sanguros Order, not what he gained from the Frahgal Order.
If he could place a skillful and cunning other-dimensional powerhouse on his side, he could pay that much without hesitation.
Third. Finally... you will report to me periodically on how Baquantalana’s magic is progressing.
Surprisingly, the voice appeared to be interested in the magic Baquantalana had left behind.
When the being that had taught Baquantalana dark magic showed such curiosity, Lee Han asked in surprise.
“Is there something you can gain from Baquantalana’s magic?”
There will likely be little for me to learn, but this old woman has always enjoyed watching the foolish magic of mortals. I am curious what kind of magic Baquantalana, after receiving my teachings, ultimately completed.
The voice had already guessed why Baquantalana had deliberately left the magic on the stone tablet that served as the token.
This outstanding mage had clearly wanted to give a mage of a later generation the chance to receive wisdom, just as Baquantalana had.
From the voice’s perspective, it was an utterly absurd act.
It had been nearly miraculous that Baquantalana had caught its interest once, yet the mage had hoped the same thing would happen twice.
Ordinarily, the voice would have laughed at such intentions and reclaimed the stone tablet...
...But somehow, it had ended up offering active advice instead.
‘Perhaps I became careless because I laughed too much after hearing that he had contracted with a guest star.’
Honestly, it was a combination that made it difficult not to laugh.
Someone who had ties to powerful beings from all kinds of dimensions had even entered into a contract with Arna.
It was like a comedy about a candle that was already blazing fiercely, then went looking for a barrel of oil and poured it over itself.
That certainly set him apart from other mortals whose eyes were bloodshot with greed for wisdom.
When would the voice ever see another mortal who burned so fiercely that not even the wick would remain, yet had no intention of stopping in the slightest?
Since matters had come this far, the voice intended to watch the magic Baquantalana had left behind as well.
‘Let us see whether Baquantalana properly chose a worthy successor after taking my wisdom.’
“Understood! I will learn it immediately.”
Did this old woman not clearly say “periodically”? What will you do if your hearing grows even worse, brat!
“I apologize.”
Lee Han apologized.
After spending so long at Einroguard, he had grown far too accustomed to mastering magic on the spot.
If he behaved that way outside, he might appear to be an arrogant mage.
Then wait quietly. I will go spank the tentacle freaks and bring them here.
“Ah. Please wait a moment.”
?
“What should I call you?”
......
The voice was once again struck by the imbalance within the mage before it.
An imbalance between strength and common sense often became especially pronounced when someone had grown too quickly.
To think that someone so powerful, and connected to so many mighty beings from other dimensions, did not even know who the voice was.
Kekeke. Call me the Eccentric Devil Hag.
‘Is this a trap?’
“Yes. Grandmother...”
Annoyed that Lee Han had asked and then said something else, the Devil Hag struck him once more before disappearing.
Had the stone tablet not vanished, Lee Han might have wondered whether he had dreamed the entire thing.
“......”
Lee Han looked at Caten.
Despite possessing the sharpest instincts among the seniors Lee Han knew, Caten had not sensed anything that had just happened.
‘...Impressive. I cannot even begin to guess what kind of Authority that was.’
Lee Han knew it had been because of the veil the Devil Hag had cast earlier, but he could not even estimate what kind of magic had created that veil.
Magic from beyond the continent, from other dimensions, was a totality of chaos and change that broke free from ordinary rules and laws.
The Authority the Devil Hag had displayed was probably part of such magic.
Baquantalana had not sought wisdom from that being for no reason.
‘Wait. Was that why she asked why I was not asking about magic? ...Should I have simply asked about magic?’
Lee Han suddenly regretted it.
Lately, wicked people kept swarming around him like flies, so he had asked about that first.
Thinking about it now, it was only natural that the other party had found it absurd.
How strange must it have sounded to ask a mysterious master of other-dimensional magic for life advice?
Had he simply asked about dark magic...
‘...No. It is already over.’
There was nothing to gain by acting pathetic toward an eccentric dimensional powerhouse and asking, ‘Could I change my question?’
Lee Han had already learned that lesson from the Yaksha King.
“Senior. The truth is, I just spoke with the owner of this stone tablet.”
“...Th-Th-Th-Th-That is impossible!”
Caten leaped to his feet.
Could that strange sensation from earlier truly have been...?
“Come to think of it, Saratan. Did you not confidently insist earlier that there had been no change in mana or dimensional distortion?”
-...The opponent was simply too powerful.
Saratan made an excuse in a dejected voice.
Why could Lee Han not simply forget about it and let the matter pass...?
***
Giselle walked through the bleak, undecorated corridors of the northern fortress with her older sister, Jiklin, explaining what had happened.
She spoke as though trying to sound modest, but she could not completely hide the pride in her voice.
The White Tiger Tower students had captured several wanted criminals this time, and Giselle had captured Hallenken, though she certainly was not boasting...
A faint smile appeared on Jiklin’s stern face.
Few things pleased Jiklin as much as her younger sister’s accomplishments.
If she had to name something else, cutting off the head of a giant monster in a single strike and smelling the blood came close, but her sister’s accomplishments were slightly more enjoyable.
“I see. Well done.”
When they were alone, Jiklin treated her younger sister more casually.
Faced with a side of family life no one else could see, Giselle boasted more than usual.
“I can now control aura completely as well.”
“!”
Even Jiklin found that news surprising.
Such speed was rare even among peers who devoted themselves solely to the sword.
“That is truly remarkable!”
“It is nothing special. I was lucky.”
“What situation led to your realization? While training alone? Or during battle?”
“It happened during battle.”
Jiklin nodded in understanding.
“The exhilaration of battle allows a swordsman to focus more deeply. That would be even more true for our house’s dynamic swordsmanship.”
Depending on the nature of the swordsmanship and the swordsman, enlightenment tended to come either during solitary training or in the middle of battle.
“Tell me about the situation in detail.”
“Well, the thing is...”
Giselle stopped boasting and began explaining seriously, hoping to receive advice from a senior swordsman.
There was this strange friend who was good at stealing the Authority of evil-god worshipers, and during the battle he looked away...
“Wardanaz?”
“I did not say it was Wardanaz.”
“Was it someone else?”
“...It was Wardanaz, but that is not very important.”
“Did you thank him?”
“What? Thank him?”
Giselle felt bewildered.
If she were being extremely generous, she could thank him for nearly every other situation at Einroguard.
She could not deny that Wardanaz had played a major role in meals, assignments, exams, tracking down runaway White Tiger Tower students, and so on.
But had Giselle not protected him this time by fighting well?!
“I understand that, but gaining enlightenment in swordsmanship is a far greater matter. You should be grateful.”
“...Yes... I will thank him.”
“When?”
‘Damn it.’
Giselle regretted her answer.
Her older sister Jiklin was the kind of person who, if someone suggested having a meal together sometime, would decide the exact hour, minute, and second on the spot.
“I will do it immediately after this commission audience is over...”
“A wise decision. Friends should be cherished.”
‘He will probably think it is strange instead.’
“Has anything unusual happened in the territory?”
Giselle changed the subject.
Jiklin’s expression darkened slightly.
“It seems there is very little a knight can do.”
“...The same is true for mages.”
Nature was always greater than mortals.
When dimensions twisted and strange phenomena occurred throughout a region, there was not much people could do.
The northern knights were currently rushing everywhere to eliminate monsters above a certain size and manage the ruins and dungeons that had suddenly appeared, but they could not completely calm the disturbances.
“Right. There are dark mages in the territory. Did the Einroguard dark mages not come?”
“I heard they received an invitation but did not attend.”
“Really?”
Giselle found that strange.
Both Wardanaz and Gral from the same tower had emphasized their poverty by saying, “The Einroguard dark magic school goes anywhere as long as it receives an invitation”...
‘Was that an exaggeration? Then again, Wardanaz does tend to exaggerate.’
“Everyone is considering whether to ask them for help because they claim they can resolve the abnormal phenomena in the north.”
“From what I heard, the phenomena do seem related to dark magic...”
“Hmm. What do you think about asking the dark mages to allow Wardanaz to attend their meeting?”
“We are only second-years!”
Giselle was horrified and tried to stop her.
No matter how often Giselle normally wanted to shove her friend forward, she did not want to shove him into a group of renowned dark mages.
Doing so would result in a brutal and bloody retaliation.
“Can a second-year not offer a useful opinion?”
“It is not absolutely impos—still, please do not do it. He will misunderstand and think I arranged it.”