Chapter 1151
After all, once he accepted it, he could simply go underground.
“To give me something like this. What is your reason?”
Having come to his senses, Jarun once again looked at his junior with eyes full of wariness.
Lee Han answered calmly.
“You are a fourth-year, Senior.”
“!”
Jarun was greatly startled.
Could it be that his junior had given him an artifact like this for that reason alone?
It was a reason he had never expected at all.
“The other seniors from the transformation magic school were worried about you. They kept saying things like you might not graduate at this rate, or that you might become a wanderer of Einroguard and appear underground.”
“Wait. I have no intention of graduating...”
“Of course, I did not agree with them. No matter what, there is no way Senior Jarun would fail to graduate. You are not Gainando.”
Lee Han spoke with trust in his voice.
Of course, this dwarf senior was an extremely eccentric and difficult person.
But apart from that, no one could deny his magical skill.
Magic that continuously transformed connected dimensions and scraped out gold was not magic one could easily attempt.
How could it make sense for a senior like that to fail to graduate?
'The seniors really do make too much of a fuss.'
Lee Han thought that the other seniors from the transformation magic school had simply been making a fuss.
No matter how outstanding a junior Lee Han was, there were limits to his imagination.
A person could not imagine the abyss of the fourth year before becoming a fourth-year.
Surely there could not really be someone who would give up on graduating and choose to become a ghost wandering the school...
“...N-No. Graduation is not necessarily essential, is it?”
Jarun refuted him without realizing it.
If it had been another junior, he would not have cared what was being said in front of him and would have gone underground, but strangely, the junior before him made him feel needlessly upset enough to argue back.
What did graduating from Einroguard matter?
What mattered was continuing to walk the path of magic he pursued.
“Graduation may not be essential. But becoming a wanderer of Einroguard and roaming underground is a little...”
“......”
As expected of the top student of the year, the junior possessed clear logic.
It would be one thing to withdraw from Einroguard midway, but if he became a ghost wandering the grounds because he lacked the confidence to pass graduation, what kind of foolishness would that be?
That was not the path of magic, but a muddy swamp of magic.
“You would have to avoid the eyes of the Death Knights, avoid the eyes of the professors, and avoid the eyes of the juniors. You would receive no support and would not be able to accept commissions. What a waste would that be?”
Jarun, a dwarf from the west who normally kept himself completely apart from anything resembling conversation, could not refute him.
He merely kicked a stone in front of him and sent it flying.
While making his argument, Lee Han suddenly felt a sense of incongruity and asked,
“Senior. Were you really planning to give up on graduating and run away?”
“Wh-What are you talking about! You bastard! What do you take me for!”
“I knew that would be the case.”
Lee Han nodded as though he had expected it.
'I should not trust Senior Hormasi from now on.'
Perhaps because several rare animals, including the griffin, liked only Lee Han, he could feel that this senior kept grumbling.
“In any case, I hope this will be helpful. Oh. If Professor Verdus catches you with it, I did not give this to you.”
After neatly finishing even his final words, the junior quickly left.
Jarun, who had been standing there blankly, scratched his head and thought.
'...I should prepare now and try submitting something, at least...'
It was absolutely not because of that irritating junior.
***
Giselle of House Moradi checked the edge of her beloved sword, Ice Flower, and carefully inspected the magic.
She could feel the cold air of the north pulsing pleasantly from the blade into her hand. Giselle smiled faintly. There were few things that pleased her as much as a sword.
It was quiet and loyal, and it did not make useless mistakes.
“Moradi. Did your friends avoid causing any trouble today?”
Palga of House Ukim, a senior from the same tower who was passing by, asked.
As a member of the Dueling Club, this senior knew very well how much Giselle suffered among the other second-years.
“Yes.”
“That is good.”
After Palga passed by, another senior, Ivanna, appeared this time.
“Moradi. Your friends did not summon a monster from another dimension again today like last time?”
“...Yes. Please forget it.”
“Haha. I already forgot. But I think your friends should remember it a little. That was the third time they made the same mistake.”
“......”
Giselle swallowed her humiliation.
At times like this, she could not help comparing White Tiger Tower to the students of the other towers.
Of course, the other towers must have had difficulties of their own.
Just as most incidents inside White Tiger Tower did not leak outside, the other towers were surely causing similar trouble as well...
'Damn. I do not think Blue Dragon Tower is like this.'
No matter how much she thought about it, the idea that the students of Blue Dragon Tower somehow seemed diligent and dependable would not leave her mind.
Giselle frowned.
For some reason, she felt that the current situation was very different from what she had expected before entering the school.
She had intended to bring not only the White Tiger Tower students but also the students of the other towers under her control and use them as a stepping stone for the future...
...But the current situation was somehow a little different. The students of the other towers aside, even the White Tiger Tower students.
Was this not more the role of a caretaker than a ruthless ruler?
She did not particularly dislike or feel dissatisfied with the current situation, but she kept feeling as though she had been deceived.
'It seems Wardanaz kept taking care of people regardless of tower for no reason, and I was swept along by the atmosphere.'
If he had acted that way while aiming for this, then he was truly a terrifying strategist.
'...No. That makes no sense.'
Giselle came to her senses.
People had limits.
Taking care of that prince to such an extent merely with the intention of weakening Giselle’s authority truly made no sense.
That was simply what his personality was like.
“Moradi. How do you think this coat would be in the north?”
“The material is fine, but it would be better to remove the metal decorations. If they touch your skin for no reason, it will become troublesome.”
“I see. Thank you.”
Baterek of House Bark, a friend from the same year, bowed and walked away. Giselle nodded back and then felt a sense of incongruity.
'Why did he ask about the north?'
Of course, Einroguard also had regions with cold and harsh environments similar to the northern part of the Empire.
There were no starving bandits, but starving students appeared instead, so one could say they were roughly similar.
But when going to a place like that, one would simply say one was going to a glacial region or a heavy-snow region. One would not specifically ask about the northern part of the Empire.
What was going on?
“Moradi. Do you think the knights of your house would like this liquor?”
“...They like any strong liquor...”
“Good!”
This time, Anglago of House Alpha walked past with bottles clinking inside a crate. The words “Thunderwalk” were engraved on the side of the crate.
Giselle felt an even stronger sense of incongruity.
Knights who trained mana using their bodies as staffs naturally sensed danger even without divination magic.
Giselle was definitely sensing danger now.
“Moradi. About this northern commission, the head of the house said it would be fine no matter who we brought, but is it really all right for all of us to go like this?”
The last one was Dergeu of House Choi.
At the question from one of the few normal people among this year’s White Tiger Tower second-years, Giselle was horrified.
“What northern commission? And what do you mean by the head of the house?”
“Huh? You know, the commission the head of House Moradi invited us to. The one you and Lee Han received...”
“...No one said we could bring anyone we wanted. What are you talking about?”
Had it not been for the order from the head of the house, Giselle would not have bothered participating either.
Considering what Wardanaz had done in the family territory last year, there was absolutely nothing good about going with him again this year.
Was it not Wardanaz who had even advised the head of the house that “to improve the skills of the apprentice knights, they should be treated like Einroguard students”?
Considering how much the knights in the territory had suffered because of that advice, Giselle honestly wanted to tell even Wardanaz not to come.
If they found out that he had given that advice, assassins who for some reason used knightly swordsmanship would keep visiting him at night...
'But what nonsense are these bastards talking about?!'
One person was troublesome enough, so why were the White Tiger Tower bastards going as a group?!
“...Was participation not open?”
Dergeu spoke with a very bewildered expression.
Someone had definitely had a conversation like, “Moradi is going out after accepting a commission from her house.” “Really?” “I heard participation is open.” “Oh, then I should go out too.”
“Is this some street polo match?! So anyone can participate?! Of course not! This is Wardanaz’s commission! I am only acting as a guide!”
“Gasp.”
It was truly rare to see Dergeu become startled enough to make a sound like that.
The other friends who heard the explanation were also horrified and began whispering.
“I-I was definitely told participation was open. Which bastard...?”
“Was it not Anglago?”
“No, you lunatic! Baterek is suspicious!”
“Rowena is staying quiet. Does that not make her the culprit?”
“I was not even participating in the first place! I had no intention of going out either!”
The White Tiger Tower students put their heads together and tried to find the source of the rumor.
However, they could not find the culprit. In the end, the White Tiger Tower students concluded that it had been “a hallucination created by the collective unconscious of everyone who wanted to go outside.”
“I see. How mysterious. It is like magic.”
“Shh. Shut up. Moradi is about to draw her sword.”
“......”
The White Tiger Tower students quickly closed their mouths. Giselle asked in a cold voice,
“If you prepared this much, you must have already finished reporting it to the professor.”
“...Yes...”
“If you want to persuade him, speak to Wardanaz yourselves.”
“M-Moradi! Plea—”
“Please what?”
“...Could you at least come with us and watch from behind?”
The White Tiger Tower students, watching her expression, quickly changed their words.
Dergeu covered his face with both hands out of embarrassment at his friends.
***
“What?! Everyone is going together?!”
Lee Han was startled.
Anglago spoke with his spirits completely crushed.
“Actually, I worked hard preparing gifts to give the knights when we visit the territory this time. Is there no way?”
“No...”
Lee Han looked in great confusion at Giselle, who was standing stiffly behind them.
Giselle spoke with her eyes.
'Tell them to get lost.'
“...Moradi. Just a moment.”
It seemed this could not be resolved through eye contact, so Lee Han called his friend aside.
“I am telling you in advance, I absolutely never invited them. Taking even one person to the territory is difficult, let alone several.”
“No. Going itself is not the problem... Hmm... The thing is... Ah. It cannot be helped. Moradi. Since it has come to this, I will tell you honestly. There was something else I intended to do while going out for this commission. I prepared for it as well.”
“?”
Giselle looked puzzled.
She wondered what sort of matter could make Wardanaz speak like that.
If it had been another student, she might have thought they were trying to attend a ball or social gathering, but as everyone knew, Wardanaz was the person farthest removed from such things.
'Smuggling? That is too easy for Wardanaz. Is he planning to buy some wicked forbidden magic book?'
“What were you planning to do?”
“I was planning to subjugate some evil-god worshipers. That is why I invited Senior Caten too.”
“......”
It was an answer she would never have guessed no matter how much time she had been given.