Chapter 1223

'Well, I suppose that's only natural.'

After being shocked, Lee Han soon came to his senses.

This was on a completely different level from everything Lee Han had done until now.

Stopping anti-magic extremists or sending the Ghoul King back through reverse summoning had been impressive enough, but completely bringing down an order that had once been infamous throughout the Empire like the Sanguros Order was an entirely different matter.

He had even faced the evil god directly and annihilated it...

"Wait. Now that I think about it that way, this feels a little unfair. If you get down to it, wasn't it thanks to me and the professor that this achievement was possible?"

Lee Han cursed the Skull Principal.

If the various orders were praising it so highly that there would even be an official announcement in the Imperial newspaper, then the Skull Principal was obviously going to receive praise befitting the accomplishment as well.

After all, the subjugation of the evil god had ultimately been carried out under the Skull Principal's name.

And yet he had thrown Lee Han into a punishment room!

"Um... about that."

"??"

When Siana hesitated and looked at her friends, Lee Han paused.

The other priests merely exchanged glances without speaking first. In the end, Priest Tiziling stepped forward.

"I-I heard that the principal was summoned to the capital."

"Of course. He accomplished something like this."

"...Um... From what I heard, there was a little... no... quite a lot of talk about him allowing a second-year student to participate in such a dangerous expedition..."

When news of the evil god's subjugation first emerged, the officials and bishops had sincerely praised the Skull Principal.

-He took gold coins away like a madman, and now look at this! As expected, there is no one but Your Excellency who can serve as the guardian of the Empire's magical defenses! I shall forget the matter of you knocking me unconscious and taking the gold coins from my vault!

-The people of the Empire are truly suffering from the activities of evil-god worshipers, and now Your Excellency has set such an example. Our enemies will be afraid, and the other archmages will feel ashamed.

But once the detailed report concerning the subjugation of the evil god arrived, the officials and bishops reacted somewhat differently.

-I see. You secured the cooperation of House Wardanaz and the yakshas of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. Truly, this is something only Your Excellency could accomplish. Einroguard's outstanding professors also cooperated... ...There's a student here too? Was the year written incorrectly?

-Haha. They must have included the name of a student who helped prepare for the battle in advance. ...Is the mage who directly participated in the battle someone else with the same name?

The officials and bishops could not decide whether they were supposed to praise this or condemn it.

That was how unprecedentedly absurd the situation was.

Fortunately, the wisest being in the Empire was in the capital.

-Summon Osu.

It was the Emperor.

-Tell him not to make any excuses or give any reasons. If he does, this Emperor will go find him personally and ask.

-Yes, Your Majesty!

And with that, the matter was settled.

Even the priests did not know what the Skull Principal was currently discussing after being summoned before the Emperor.

"Hmm!"

Lee Han let out a brief groan and fell silent again. Then, after a moment, he spoke.

"The principal must have seen countless students who refused to listen. I'm sure he's experienced things like this many times too. He'll handle it somehow."

"......"

This time, it was the priests' turn to fall silent. They thought to themselves.

'This is probably his first time dealing with something like this...'

No matter how long Einroguard's history was, or how deep the roots of the Skull Principal's school ran, it seemed likely that this was the first time a second-year student had directly confronted an evil god.

"Don't any of you doubt the principal! At least we should believe in him!"

"We weren't doubting him."

"If anything, Sir Wardanaz was the only one doubting..."

Lee Han remained unmoved by the priests' cool-headed responses.

"Thank you all so much for telling me it'll be in the Imperial newspaper. I'd really like a copy when it comes out."

"You never cared even when you appeared in newspapers before, and now suddenly?"

'Yes. I'll make sure to bring you a copy.'

"P-Priest Siana. I think your inner thoughts came out by mistake."

Lee Han pretended not to hear his friends' conversation.

If nothing else, it seemed his shamelessness had definitely grown during this expedition.

***

'Right. There's no need to worry too much.'

After the Phoenix Tower students left, Lee Han composed himself.

The officials and bishops were not idiots. They would not publish every last detail in the Imperial newspaper.

If they did, they would have to mention the magic Lee Han had used as well, and a mage's magic was not something others casually disclosed unless the mage revealed it personally.

Most likely, they would only announce that Lee Han had participated in the expedition and made a considerable contribution.

Of course, even that alone would be enough for his fame to spread...

'That much probably won't make things too different from how they are now. ...Probably.'

"Junior!"

"!"

Lee Han jumped at the familiar senior's sharp voice.

Diret and Caten, and even Princess Yukbeltire, were standing in front of the cell door.

Lee Han quickly hid one of the grimoires. It might have just been his imagination, but there was a chance it really did belong to Princess Yukbeltire.

"......"

"......"

Diret, who had called out to the junior, said nothing and merely stared quietly.

Caten, standing beside Diret, seemed to sense the tense atmosphere and flattened his ears slightly backward.

Princess Yukbeltire, who had also been standing silently, asked,

"We've confirmed he's fine, so can we leave now..."

"No. And keep your mouth shut."

"?!?"

At the outrageous verbal abuse from her friend, Princess Yukbeltire's blue eyes shook wide with shock.

How could Diret say such a thing?

Caten quietly whispered,

"Please read the room."

"You be quiet too."

At the rebuke, Caten hurriedly moved farther away. This excellent swordsman knew how to avoid danger.

"S-Senior... It's just..."

"Take these."

Diret held out the books brought along.

They were grimoires needed for this semester's course, <Forbidden Secret Arts of Dark Magic (Not a Course That Teaches Them)>.

"Thank you."

"I'll come by when I have some free time later and check on you, so study properly on your own."

Radiating more chill than a mage specializing in the ice element, Diret sharply turned away.

Princess Yukbeltire, apparently thinking the conversation was over, started trotting after Diret, only for another sharp command to ring out.

"Give him what you brought!"

"Ah. Right."

Flustered, Princess Yukbeltire fumbled around and pushed the grimoires related to the course she had taken charge of this semester through the bars.

She was so flustered that she tried to force them through sideways when all she needed to do was turn them vertically.

Lee Han quickly helped his senior.

"Thank you. Are you going to come by in your free time to check on me too, Senior?"

"Why would I..."

Princess Yukbeltire, about to answer in her usual cold manner, involuntarily flinched.

Caten, who was still there, drew a hand across his throat.

Diret had not yet turned the corner of the corridor.

Princess Yukbeltire agonized deeply for a brief moment.

Would she disgracefully yield to her friend's threat, or preserve her dignity as a mage and secure her free time?

"...I'll check..."

Princess Yukbeltire muttered inwardly.

This was not yielding to a threat. She was merely preserving her friend's dignity.

Diret truly was fortunate to have such a good friend.

"Oh. Thank you."

Lee Han found the unexpected response fascinating.

Diret was one thing, but even Senior Yukbeltire was going to use her free time to come make up lessons for him.

Had she perhaps been cursed before coming here?

'She looks perfectly fine?'

"By the way, Junior of House Wardanaz. That book behind the fireplace..."

"Please hurry after Senior Diret and comfort her! You're friends, aren't you?!"

Lee Han hurriedly drove Princess Yukbeltire away.

Once the two disappeared at the end of the corridor, Caten, the last one remaining, was finally able to sigh in relief.

"Phew. Junior. You have certainly been through a great deal. Diret was rather cold toward you, but don't take it too much to heart. It's because Diret is worried about you."

"Ah. I know."

Lee Han nodded.

If it had been some other senior, perhaps not, but anyone could tell why Diret was angry. It was obviously because of concern for a junior.

'I'll apologize once the anger dies down a little.'

"Given enough time, I'm sure the anger will pass."

"I hope so. Professor Garcia is similarly angry."

"Ah... I think Professor Garcia may take a little longer..."

"......"

Lee Han's expression darkened rapidly.

For Senior Caten to say something like that.

Just how furious was Professor Garcia outside?

"By the way, Senior, what brings you here? Is there one of your courses among the classes I'm taking?"

"Ah. I simply wanted to hear what your battle against the evil god was like, Junior."

Caten smiled brightly with the innocent face of a battle maniac.

In a way, Caten could be called the most carefree of all the fifth-year students.

Of course, from Lee Han's perspective, being asked to recount the experience while locked inside a punishment room was ridiculous!

"I was planning to come separately, but I happened to run into those two in front of the corridor."

'Has Senior Diret left yet?'

Lee Han briefly considered calling Diret back.

***

Even so, Caten's visit had not been completely useless.

If one were to choose the greatest punishment-room expert among the current students, Caten possessed such extensive experience that no one else could compare.

-During vacation, you'll be allowed out for short periods, Junior. You'll have to perform labor.

-I-I see. So there is something like that. What kind of work do you usually have to do?

-As far as I know, it depends on the mage's level. When Professor Verdus was confined a few years ago, I believe the professor repaired every damaged magical facility on campus... Considering your magical ability, Junior...

-Considering it?

-You may end up hunting monsters that appear in the Budi Desert or beneath the library!

-...Thank you for the comforting words.

When the visitors finally stopped coming for a while, Lee Han organized the inside of the solitary cell.

He sorted the newly added grimoires by school and arranged them in order by title...

Once that was done, he brewed himself some coffee and thinly sliced bread before toasting it.

'Ah. I should make some for the professor too.'

Come to think of it, there was no way the aroma of coffee or the smell of toasting bread would not drift into the neighboring cell. Feeling oddly self-conscious, Lee Han decided to serve Professor Voladi first.

"Professor?"

"What is it?"

"Would you like a cup of coffee? I sprinkled some sugar on the toast too."

Silence came from beyond the wall.

Lee Han wondered whether the sugar had been a mistake.

'It was popular in Blue Dragon Tower?'

Bread spread with butter mixed with melted sugar and toasted again had been so popular that Adenart had attacked Gainando to steal some.

But everyone's tastes were different. And among those people, professors tended to be even more unreasonably different.

If Professor Voladi told him to remove the sugar, Lee Han was prepared to toast a new batch.

"How?"

"Pardon? Um... I made it with the ingredients my friends left me."

"I meant how you intend to give it to me, Wardanaz."

"......"

Only after Professor Voladi patiently answered did Lee Han come back to his senses.

Astonishingly, there was no way to give it to the professor!

"...Prison Keeper!! Prison Keeper!!!"

"Calling the Prison Keeper won't help."

Professor Voladi kindly explained.

This servant of the Skull Principal did not listen to anything while working. No matter how much Lee Han asked for some food to be delivered to the next room, it would be useless.

Just then, something caught Lee Han's eye.

It was the prison-escape tools the Black Tortoise Tower students had left behind.

"......"

Lee Han alternated his gaze between the prison-escape tools and the wall of the neighboring cell.