Chapter 1159
If it had been anyone else, they might have thought it was a joke, but the person speaking happened to be Jiklin.
The knights were left speechless and nodded.
“I-I see.”
'What kind of advice does he intend to receive?'
Because Jiklin had not said what kind of advice it was, the knights could only imagine.
No matter how renowned the boy of House Wardanaz might be as a genius, he should still be only a second-year. What sort of advice could the Family Head possibly wish to receive from him?
'Could it be advice that requires House Wardanaz’s secret magic?'
“Then, Lady Moradi. Why are the mages of Einroguard subjugating bandit groups like that?”
“Is it not because they are faithfully carrying out the duty of knights?”
“I see... No, House Wardanaz is not a knightly house...”
Even if they generously accepted the mages who came from knightly houses, Wardanaz was absolutely not from a knightly house.
The knights became even more confused.
Regardless, Jiklin focused on the work. Even though they were going to welcome the guests from Einroguard, there were still things that had to be done first.
“Is this where the ruins were discovered?”
“Yes. They say the entrance was discovered in a cave halfway up the mountain.”
The Empire was vast, and places dangerous enough merely to breathe in were constantly being discovered. One of the duties of the houses established in each region was to discover and manage such places.
How much damage would occur if a lich sealed thousands of years ago awakened and swept through the surrounding area with an undead legion?
In the worst case, that lich might establish a magic school and declare itself the new principal.
“Has the period these ruins belong to not been confirmed?”
“My apologies. The mages on our side are rather distant from fields like archaeology...”
The mages who operated alongside the knights were practically combat mages.
They might be proficient in healing magic or enhancement magic, but mages capable of examining an object’s age and determining its historical period were rare.
Jiklin skillfully used mana to enhance her eyesight. She could already see people gathered below the cave halfway up the distant mountain.
The sight was reminiscent of a frontier settlement.
Quick-witted northern merchants sold daily necessities and items needed inside ruins beneath their tents, while adventurers and explorers spread out sleeping bags nearby and exchanged information.
Experienced knights could estimate the scale of the ruins merely by looking at the number of people gathered.
“It seems the items coming out from inside are rather valuable. To think so many people have gathered already.”
“I do not see any injured people yet. That is fortunate, at least.”
“We will go and verify and record everyone present.”
Jiklin spoke decisively.
For now, she had no intention of controlling or closing off the ruins, but neither could they simply leave the place unattended.
With the north being so chaotic lately, suspicious people might have slipped in among that crowd.
Of course, the people gathered there would clearly hate it. Who would want to report every detail to a nearby knightly house while exploring ruins?
The moment they found even one suspicious item, they would first have to submit it for inspection, and if it was a prohibited object, they would have to surrender it for next to nothing.
“No! We will go!”
“Such unpleasant work is our responsibility!”
The knights shouted urgently.
They absolutely could not leave this task to Jiklin. If even one ill-tempered adventurer acted insolently, the surrounding area would truly be devastated.
“Why is it your responsibility?”
'Ah.'
The knights belatedly realized that they had made a mistake in their haste.
To make such an error before someone who would never accept a clumsy excuse!
“Well... unpleasant work should be done by those of... lower status...”
“Do you believe your own status is low? Why?”
Jiklin’s expression became serious.
To think that knights serving in the territory considered themselves lowly.
This was not something that could be dismissed lightly.
Perhaps the Family Head had been treating the knights too harshly lately...
“...My apologies. I do not actually think that.”
“Then? Why did you say it?”
“Well... Ugh.”
Tears gathered in the eyes of the veteran knight whose expression had not changed even after being trapped in a glacial region for three days and fighting bloody battles against monsters.
How had things come to this?
“Over there! They are the Einroguard students!!”
“!”
The knights turned their heads with greatly brightened expressions. The knight of House Dulak, who had been swinging a sword behind them, also let out a joyful cheer.
“As expected of the Empire’s finest magic school!”
“Let us go welcome the students!”
***
“The knights are charging toward us?”
Lee Han wore a serious expression.
Of course, it was only natural for knights to welcome guests arriving in the north, but their momentum was far too intense.
As someone with a guilty conscience, Lee Han could not help feeling somewhat uneasy.
“Moradi. We have not been exposed, have we? The fact that I advised them to impose that isolation and ban nighttime outings...”
“How would I know?”
Giselle replied in disbelief.
They had been inside Einroguard until only recently!
“Judge by their appearance. They are knights serving your house.”
“Strictly speaking, they belong to the various houses of the north... Forget it.”
Giving up on correcting him, Giselle narrowed her eyes. The knights’ speed certainly was not ordinary.
“Either the knights have some urgent matter, or you really have been exposed, Wardanaz.”
“If I am exposed, I will say that you gave the advice with me.”
“......”
When people heard an outrageous remark that exceeded anything they had anticipated, they often found it difficult to react.
That was precisely what happened to Giselle.
What kind of...?
“Why are you dragging someone else into it?!”
“The Family Head asked me, and I answered, so naturally your house shares responsibility.”
“You call that an answ—”
“Welcome! We are pleased to receive you!”
“We also heard about your subjugation of the bandit groups!”
However, contrary to their worries, the knights who arrived poured out nothing but praise instead of furious retaliation.
Even Lee Han, who had not lowered his guard, nodded and acknowledged it.
“That is fortunate. It seems I have not been exposed.”
“......”
“But why are they being so kind?”
“The north is always short of capable hands.”
The land was vast, the population was small, and incidents were plentiful, so the northern Empire had always been a place where only the strong survived.
The knights who had come to meet them recounted what had happened as though airing their grievances.
“???”
Lee Han did not understand.
“Why can Lady Jiklin not do it?”
“You truly know nothing.”
When Giselle spoke as though he were pathetic, the other knights nodded. Unfortunately, this was something only northern knights could understand.
No matter how exceptional an outsider’s wisdom might be...
'Are the people of the north not being rather unfair?'
While Lee Han grumbled inwardly, a voice suddenly came from within his staff.
-Do not let those ruins slip away!
“!”
It was Saratan’s voice.
-They may look ordinary, but those are absolutely not ordinary ruins. I will explain later, so enter those ruins as quickly as possible!
“...I see.”
Lee Han nodded at the imprisoned spirit’s heartfelt advice.
Then he made a proposal to the knights.
“Then we will record the people gathered around the ruins.”
-Yes! Use that as an excuse to drive the others away, and...
“Once we finish recording them, let us immediately depart for House Moradi’s fortress.”
-Huh? W-Wait. Then you will not be able to enter the ruins!
Saratan became flustered.
The spirit had thought Lee Han had accepted the advice, but the mage’s actions made no sense at all.
Lee Han answered honestly.
“You were wrong last time too.”
-......
Saratan had correctly guessed that a spirit was imprisoned inside the relic, but had failed to determine that it contained a spirit as powerful as Heavenly Fire General Zbagni.
Had Saratan provided accurate information, Lee Han could have suffered far less.
-Th-That was... because the other party was so far beyond ordinary standards...! And the warning was still helpful!
“Strictly speaking, your warning was not particularly meaningful... It was not much different from the warning given by the adventurer party that brought the relic.”
-...I am telling you, those are not ordinary ruins!!
***
Despite the spirit’s shouting, Lee Han methodically completed his duties first.
He summoned the people who had gathered to target the ruins at the mountainside entrance and announced that their identities would be verified.
Several people became angry and tried to protest, but a few people from the west saw the Einroguard flag hanging from the carriage, turned deathly pale, and stepped forward to persuade the others instead.
-So... not a single person survived...
-Is that really... No... That cannot possibly be permitted under Imperial law...
-Some individuals... possess authority beyond the law...
-The Empire... is truly terrifying...
“Yes! We will cooperate as much as possible!”
“Thank you, everyone.”
Lee Han and the White Tiger Tower students verified the identities of those gathered and inspected their belongings.
They had to prevent trouble in advance in case anyone possessed prohibited magical items.
“Wardanaz. Why did you confiscate this Ranberia flower?”
“It is highly poisonous, so it is prohibited under Imperial law.”
“But they grow it at Einroguard, do they not? I am certain it was in Professor Thunderwalk’s garden... Ow!”
“I think you are mistaken. Say that again.”
“...Now that I think about it, I do not believe it was a Ranberia flower.”
The more calmly Lee Han immersed himself in the work, the more anxious Saratan became.
Knowing more only made the spirit even more impatient.
And in Saratan’s opinion, if some problem occurred later because they had been too late, this mage would probably become angry with the spirit.
He would say something like, 'If it was truly important, you should have found some way to explain it accurately!'
-Listen. You believe those ruins are ordinary ruins, but that is a disguise. Those are the ruins of the mage Baquantalana!
“?!”
Lee Han turned in surprise.
The name Baquantalana was better known among mages than among spirits.
It was the name of an exceptional enchantment mage who had boasted tremendous fame long ago.
The mage’s greatness could be understood especially from the fact that Professor Verdus also enjoyed using several of Baquantalana’s spells.
Professor Verdus modified nearly every spell and used a personal version of it, yet used those spells without changing them.
And these were Baquantalana’s ruins.
Lee Han was even more bewildered because it was Saratan, a spirit, who had said so.
“How do you know Baquantalana?”
-...I met Baquantalana long ago.
Saratan trailed off and hesitated. There was something suspicious in that attitude.
Having already witnessed this spirit’s mistakes several times, Lee Han could not simply let it pass. He spoke in a stern voice.
“Unless you explain properly, I will not enter that place even if it is not Baquantalana’s ruins but the Principal’s.”
-If they were the ruins of that insane archmage, of course you should not enter them. What are you talking about?
Although Saratan grumbled, the spirit finally gave up and spoke.
Having already said this much, even if Saratan stubbornly refused to say more, that mage would not leave the matter alone.
-The truth is... I once worked under Baquantalana.
“You formed a contract?”
-...No. I said I once worked there.”
“??”
Lee Han became even more confused.
Ordinarily, when a spirit worked under a mage, there was either a contract, or else...
“...You were not captured and forced to work, were you?”
-......
Saratan said nothing.
That reaction was practically an answer in itself.
'Baquantalana truly was an extraordinary mage!'
Lee Han felt a surge of respect for the senior mage from the distant past whose face he had never even seen.
For some reason, it also seemed likely that Baquantalana had not gotten along very well with spirits.