Chapter 1220

Hierdan really did take out more pouches. The Death Knights hid their discomfort and accepted every last one.

There were this many?

-This one says to open it if he tries to attack our master. What in the world could be written inside?

-This pouch says to open it if he starts a rebellion inside Einroguard...

On the way back after completing their mission.

The Death Knights discussed what might be inside the vividly colored pouches.

Pouches labeled things like 'Open if he tries to attack the Skull Principal' or 'Open if he starts a rebellion inside Einroguard' truly fired the imagination.

Just what kind of pouches were those?

-What other pouches are there?

-Hmm... There's one that says 'Open if he takes only classes from the dark magic school,' and another that says 'Open if he makes useless friends.'

-Shouldn't we open the second one right now?

-I... I don't think it's quite that bad.

After going through the assorted pouches one by one, the knights could at least agree on one thing.

They thought they understood why the successor found Hierdan so unsettling!

-I think he avoids him because he makes pouches like these.

-Shh. Keep your mouth shut until we're back at Einroguard.

The old knight gestured.

Until they returned to Einroguard, they had to watch what they said no matter where they were.

***

When Lee Han opened his eyes, he realized that he was locked inside an unfamiliar solitary cell he had never seen before.

"...Ugh!"

When he tried to rise from the bed, his entire body screamed in protest. It felt as though not a single muscle in him had escaped unscathed.

Lee Han circulated mana through his entire body. Sure enough, traces of injuries that had not yet fully healed remained here and there.

When he opened his vision and examined his soul, its condition was every bit as terrible as his physical body's.

Fortunately, the healing itself had been done properly, but it seemed he would need to rest for several more days.

'How long was I asleep?'

A sign hung in front of the cell door. Puzzled, Lee Han flipped it over and checked what was written on it.

A heinous criminal who ignored every word from the principal and three professors and acted however he pleased (extremely dangerous)

"......"

Lee Han broke the sign and tossed it into the fireplace beside him. Then he lit it.

'Warm.'

The solitary cell looked different from an ordinary punishment room.

It was fairly spacious, and there were several pieces of furniture inside. Besides the fireplace beside him, there was an old desk, a bed, even a bookshelf...

'Wait. A bookshelf?'

Curious, Lee Han checked the books on the shelves.

Did punishment rooms normally have bookshelves?

<The Tragic End of a Disciple Who Defied His Master>

<A Collection of Admonitions Left by the Lord of Einroguard>

<Why Mages Must Not Ignore Their Masters and Act as They Please: Seven Arguments>

"......"

Lee Han tossed those books into the fireplace as well. The flames grew a little warmer.

'There's ink, a quill, even paper. And a kettle.'

After hanging the water-filled kettle over the fireplace, Lee Han sank into thought.

Ordinary punishment rooms did not have things like these.

That was why students had to bring such things in themselves...

The fact that such thoughtful consideration had been provided instead made him uneasy.

At Einroguard, the time to be most wary was when the school was being kind.

"Lord Perkuntra?"

Lee Han tried calling Perkuntra.

As the spirit responsible for managing Einroguard's punishment rooms, it would surely be able to hear him if he called.

But no answer came.

'Hmm. So it really doesn't work.'

It was not unexpected.

The professors knew about Lee Han's relationship with Perkuntra too. There was no way they would send him to a punishment room and simply leave Perkuntra alone.

No jailer gave a prisoner the key to the prison before locking them inside.

Unless Perkuntra was sulking and refusing to answer.

Lee Han had ignored it repeatedly trying to stop him and done whatever he pleased, after all...

'I was a little reckless.'

Now that he had rested thoroughly and cooled his head, he could appreciate all over again just how dangerous what he had done had been, and how dangerous <Microcosm, Dunamis> truly was.

Pulling magic from the future into his present self by paying the price in advance.

He had merely been lucky enough not to collapse on the spot. It would not have been strange if he had immediately coughed up blood and fallen over.

"Is anyone there?"

Sssst-

Without making a sound, someone appeared in the corridor beyond the door.

Bandages were wound tightly around the place where their ears should have been, and their empty eyes stared fixedly at Lee Han.

It was a shocking and bewildering appearance, but Lee Han had encountered people like this several times before.

The storehouse keeper whose eyes were covered in bandages and the spire keeper whose mouth was covered in bandages were beings of the same kind.

Minions of the Skull Principal far more loyal than even the Death Knights!

"Um, excuse me, but who are you? And could you perhaps tell me where this is..."

Instead of answering, the other person continued staring intently at Lee Han. It was almost as though they were checking whether his condition was all right.

'Ah. They can't hear me.'

Only then did Lee Han realize that the other person was deaf. When he lowered his gaze, he saw a nameplate at their waist that read 'Prison Keeper.'

After finishing the inspection, the Prison Keeper simply walked away again.

"...All right. I'll figure it out myself!"

Feeling awkward, Lee Han called after them, then began making guesses on his own.

It was not an ordinary punishment room, nor was it a deep-level punishment room...

'The punishment room for aquatic races beneath the lake? No. There'd be no reason to put me there. Is it the punishment room in the desert? I wondered whether that one actually existed.'

"You're awake, Wardanaz?"

Along with the distant sound of shoe heels striking the floor, Professor Kirmin poked their head into view.

Lee Han called out gladly.

"Professor Ku!"

"Oh. Wardanaz. You ignored everything I said, so I thought you hated me. This is surprising."

"Come now. Why would you say something like that? It's a misunderstanding."

"Hmph. Some misunderstanding."

Professor Kirmin grumbled and summoned a chair out of thin air. Feeling apologetic, Lee Han said,

"If we're being precise, it wasn't only your words I ignored. I ignored Professor Garcia and Professor Bagreg too..."

"...You think that's supposed to comfort me?"

Professor Kirmin stared at the disciple in disbelief.

They were so dumbfounded that even the urge to complain vanished.

He was actually saying that out loud?

"I'm sorry."

"Fine... I suppose it's better than being the only one you ignored..."

Unlike Professor Voladi or Professor Garcia, Professor Kirmin had spent comparatively little time with this disciple.

That was only natural, since they neither had as few disciples as Professor Voladi nor meddled as much as Professor Garcia.

Professor Kirmin had even wondered whether that was why Wardanaz listened to them less, so in truth, it did not feel entirely bad to hear this.

Though they still wondered whether they should really be pleased about it!

"Professor Ku. Where is this?"

"A punishment room reserved for upper-year students and professors."

"What? Professor Verdus was locked somewhere else last time."

"This place is for confining people whose offenses are relatively minor. Failing to submit magic on time, neglecting something they were supposed to do..."

"...???"

Lee Han sensed something strange.

Then Professor Verdus should have been put here, so why had they been locked in a different punishment room?

'Never mind. Better not ask.'

Come to think of it, he was not particularly curious. What good would it do to learn why Professor Verdus had received an aggravated punishment?

There were countless things more important than that right now.

"So that's why the facilities are a little better. How long was I asleep? What date is it?"

Professor Kirmin spread all their fingers.

When told that there was one month left until final examinations, Lee Han was horrified.

Hadn't he effectively slept for more than ten days?!

"I slept that long!? Why didn't you wake me?!"

"......"

Professor Kirmin looked around the corridor for something to throw.

Unfortunately, since this was a punishment area for professors, there was nothing useful lying around in the corridor.

"Who told you to get injured that badly? How am I supposed to wake someone who's injured and recovering?"

"I could recover after waking up."

"...You aren't trying to lure me into opening the door, are you, Wardanaz? So you can attempt an escape?"

This time, it was Lee Han's turn to look dumbfounded.

"Why would I do something like that? I know my body's in bad shape right now too."

"S-sorry. Professor Bagreg has done it before."

"......"

The atmosphere abruptly turned solemn. Lee Han blamed Professor Voladi.

'Professor, that's going too far!'

Wasn't that exactly why their friend had developed a personality that made them suspicious of everything first?

"Um, Professor."

"What?"

"How long do I have to stay in the punishment room? Until the end of the semester?"

At Lee Han's question, Professor Kirmin smiled brightly. It was the expression of someone who had been waiting for precisely this question.

"Until the end of vacation."

"...No!"

The period was far longer than Lee Han had expected, and the shock was considerable.

If he had to stay in the punishment room until vacation ended, when was he supposed to collect gold?

"Professor! I'll be a third-year next year. I need to save gold coins!"

"Wardanaz, what you've collected so far is already more than enough..."

Professor Kirmin answered with a disgusted expression.

Professor Kirmin did not know every detail of Wardanaz's business dealings, but even based only on what had surfaced publicly, there was absolutely no way he was short on money.

Even this semester, when he had wasted so much time because of Voladi, hadn't he still received commission fees dozens of times greater than those of other students?

"And you can just take commissions that can be handled from inside the punishment room."

"Commissions that require going outside pay better."

"Who told you to ignore everyone and use dangerous magic?"

Professor Kirmin answered with obvious satisfaction.

Rather than appealing to this wicked and malicious professor, Lee Han decided to seek out a kind one instead.

"Does Professor Garcia know about this? If not, please tell Professor Garcia. Professor Garcia will definitely help me."

"Wardanaz. Professor Garcia was the one who got angry and said you needed to be locked up until the end of vacation."

"......"

"You shouldn't have made a kind person angry."

When a kind person became furious, it was all the more terrifying.

They had defeated an evil god, and Lee Han had learned new magic, so the Skull Principal had been planning to let him off after a reasonable period. But Professor Garcia had unleashed enough fury to frighten even the demons of hell.

Even the professors who normally opposed sending Lee Han to the punishment room because they had too much work for him to do lowered their heads before that blazing anger.

"Could my contribution to defeating the evil god perhaps be taken into consideration?"

"A medal might arrive by mail. You won't be able to attend the award ceremony, though."

Lee Han sighed and gave up.

Apparently, there was no way out.

Perkuntra had been blocked from helping him, and if Professor Garcia was this angry, there probably was not a single professor who would help him...

At this point, perhaps he really would have to reflect on his actions and stay here until the end of vacation.

'Still, I don't regret it.'

Under the protection of the countless Einroguard seniors who had been caught before him, Lee Han steadied his mind.

Regretting being caught was the mark of an amateur.

A truly outstanding mage should be thinking about how not to get caught next time.

'Next time, I'll make the forgery a little more sophisticated...'

"Take this."

Professor Kirmin held out a bundle they had brought.

It contained several fairly difficult illusion-magic grimoires and some simple snacks.

Lee Han took cheese, butter, jam, and round white bread from the bundle and thanked the professor.

"Thank you, Professor."

"It's nothing. If there are parts you don't understand while reading, ask me by paper bird. I have somewhere to go."

"Are you going to a lecture?"

"No. I'm going to see Professor Bagreg. They're in the cell next door."

"......"