Chapter 1235

'Kugh. I can't accept this.'

Even after listening to the professor's lecture, Lee Han was not convinced in the slightest.

Wasn't that more than enough for a perfect score?

In Lee Han's opinion, Professor Bagreg had clearly become irritated from being locked up in the punishment room and had unconsciously raised the exam standards.

Normally, he definitely would have given a perfect score.

"Sorry, Eandurde. Want to come down again?"

"That's fine, but..."

Eandurde's expression turned slightly subtle.

Hadn't his upper-year student just canceled the magic on his own and then declared a perfect score on his own?

'I'm probably imagining it, right?'

There was no way an upper-year student who was strict with both him and the other students in his year (especially people like Gainando) would do something like that.

He must have misunderstood something because the situation had been so chaotic.

"All right. Let's go again!"

"Eandurde can do it!"

-Since the position changed, I'll secretly give you signals!

"Keep your voice down!"

Jowrin hurriedly stopped the baby basilisk while cheering.

She had been planning to send signals without getting caught, but at this rate, they were going to get caught because of this basilisk.

"Your Majesty."

"J-J-J-Jowrin hasn't done anything yet...!"

"You did well. You may continue exactly as you are."

"!??"

Lee Han turned back around and gave the signal.

A magic circle similar to the previous one but arranged differently launched an attack, and spheres of water came flying in.

Having failed once already, Eandurde did not fall for it twice. Once he broke through even the obstacle his upper-year student had prepared, Professor Voladi prepared an attack this time.

The attack, which employed smoke and illusions at the same time, was intended to confuse sight and smell, as well as the sense of mana.

Inexperienced mages would freeze the moment the senses they relied on most were thrown into disarray.

Sure enough, Eandurde's feet stopped. Professor Voladi's eyes gleamed sternly.

Stopping at a time like this was the worst choice. He needed to keep moving while focusing on the senses he already had, or use some other sense to distinguish the real from the false.

At that moment, Eandurde moved. Even Professor Voladi was surprised by the bizarre movement.

How was he sliding like that without any preparatory movement from his muscles?

"......"

The reason became obvious immediately. Eandurde looked toward his upper-year student with an incredulous expression.

Lee Han had used telekinetic force to move Eandurde.

It was truly remarkable skill. To move him only just enough to dodge accurately in such a tense situation.

...And to waste that skill on nothing more than cheating!

"Perfect score!"

Even though he had been completely caught, Lee Han shamelessly clapped. Professor Voladi beckoned again.

Eandurde spoke with an awkward expression.

"Um... Junior."

"What is it, Eandurde? Surprised you got a perfect score? You obviously deserve it, so there's no need to be surprised."

"...I think I'd rather just practice separately with the professor..."

"...!!!"

***

Lee Han focused on the rest of his work with a dejected expression.

He looked so dejected that even Yoanen, who was normally strict, tried to comfort him.

"Um, Lord Wardanaz. Once disciples grow, they eventually leave their master's embrace. ...Strictly speaking, he's your junior, so it's a little different... Anyway, you understand the point, don't you?"

"Professor Bagreg took the role of the bad teacher, so I was simply taking the role of the good teacher."

Lee Han kept grumbling. Yoanen thought inwardly.

'That doesn't seem quite right.'

Strictly speaking, Professor Voladi was playing the role of a perfectly normal teacher, while Lee Han was closer to interfering.

But Yoanen had no intention of provoking the contractor of a dragon and a genius who would one day become a great alchemist.

Stedal Nago might suddenly appear and terrorize Yoanen's alchemy workshop, after all.

"I was very sad too whenever Yonair ignored what I said and did whatever she wanted."

"That's because Lady Meikin tried to make her work twenty-five hours in the workshop. I'm different."

"......"

The red-haired alchemist glared at the side of this arrogant genius's face.

While they were talking, Yonair, who had briefly left to attend a lecture, returned.

"I'm back. Are they still not letting you participate?"

"Yeah. Yonair, could you maybe go complain for me instead?"

At Lee Han's request, Yonair pretended not to hear him.

No matter how powerful friendship might be, going to Professor Bagreg and saying, 'Lee Han is reflecting on what he did, so please let him participate again,' required courage.

And frankly, Lee Han would probably do exactly the same thing even if they let him participate again.

...Because he was not reflecting at all!

"Take this. It's what we covered in this lecture, and... Oh, right. What did you do to Professor Thunderwalk?"

"???"

Lee Han flinched.

What did she mean, what had he done?

'Which thing is she talking about?'

"Why? Did the professor say something?"

"So, during this alchemy lecture..."

Yonair explained what had happened during the latest alchemy lecture, <Advanced Alchemy for Fools>.

-For this alchemy, the material of the cauldron is important, so check it about three times.

-Professor. Why are you wrapped in bandages?

-I tripped while walking down the road.

-You seem a little too badly injured for that...

-Are you from the healing magic school?!

"No. I was in the punishment room. What does the professor getting hurt have to do with me?"

Lee Han spoke as though deeply wronged.

Suspicion was one thing, but suspecting even someone locked in the punishment room!

But Yonair shook her head.

"That's not what I meant."

"Ah. I see."

Even to Yonair, the fact that Professor Thunderwalk was wrapped in bandages was not particularly important.

That had merely been context.

The real issue had occurred at the end of the lecture. Professor Thunderwalk heard Yonair's question and fell into thought for a moment.

-Wait. Meikin. Are you going to bring the lecture notes to Wardanaz?

-Yes.

-Do you think... that... Wardanaz... might receive instruction from the young principal again... this time too?

-Pardon??

-Never mind. Forget it. Here. This is also likely material for the final exam. Bring it to Wardanaz.

-<Dobruk's Potion of Severed Shadow>... Professor. This has nothing to do with what we learned this semester, does it?

-I decided to focus this final exam on surprise attacks.

-Then why are you telling me about it?

-...Kugh! If I hadn't wasted all that time running away from Professor Garcia, I could've prepared it properly without you noticing!

-????

Professor Thunderwalk shouted in frustration and disappeared.

Yonair had been baffled, but since she had been given it, she had no choice but to bring it along.

"He did say it was likely final-exam material, but he never mentioned it during the lecture... It seems kind of like a trick..."

"It doesn't just seem like a trick. It plainly is one."

Lee Han tossed the fake final-exam topic Professor Thunderwalk had written aside.

Actually, he thought he understood why Professor Thunderwalk was doing this.

During the previous midterm, Lee Han had borrowed the young prince's power and ended up evaluating Professor Thunderwalk's exam in reverse.

Professor Thunderwalk had defended himself by saying things like, 'I could've thought of gold too, but you didn't give me any money,' 'You're the one using the expensive reagents,' and 'I wasn't saying it was easy to obtain monster bones; alchemists are simply supposed to do that,' but there was no way he had escaped without emotional damage.

This fake final-exam topic was probably something he had created because of that.

"Could you tell the professor later? This time, I'll take the exam without getting help from the young principal."

"Okay."

Lee Han put the final-exam topic away and focused on the lecture notes Yonair had written down.

The substance called <Paragranum's Adamas> was extremely difficult to create.

If even a slightly unsuitable cauldron material was used, not only would it immediately fail, but there could also be an explosion or backlash...

"This really isn't that difficult. Once you get used to the process, it's one of the relatively easier reagents among Paragranum's."

Yoanen spoke with interest as she recalled old memories.

To an outstanding alchemist who already ran her own workshop, what students were handling was bound to look easy.

Lee Han nodded as though he understood.

"I suppose it would look easy to Lady Meikin."

"How about pulling the angle of the furnace a little closer?"

"Thank you for the advice."

"It would be better to cast a little reinforcement magic on the cauldron before using it. They didn't mention it in the lecture, but this makes the process more efficient."

"I see..."

"Give it to me. I'll cast it for you."

"No, I need to do this myself for practice..."

"At Lord Wardanaz's level, you don't really need to practice something like this so carefully. Give it to me."

"I still need to do it myself."

While resisting Yoanen, who was trying to take the cauldron from him, Lee Han suddenly had a thought.

'...Wait, is this why Eandurde kicked me out?'

***

Professor Mortum coughed as pitifully as possible.

But Diret did not change expression at all. Seeing that cold reaction, Professor Mortum lamented inwardly.

'I should've stopped Wardanaz from being sent to the punishment room!'

It seemed the once-kind heart of this crow beastkin student had frozen over because the junior she cherished had been sent to the punishment room.

Otherwise, there was no explaining why she refused to help at all with this hard labor of making and submitting curse-neutralizing agents.

"Cough. The principal is too much. Making me work while giving such a ridiculous excuse."

"What excuse did he give?"

"He said His Highness the Inspector ordered it."

'He really didn't put any effort into that excuse.'

Diret thought inwardly.

The reason Professor Mortum was currently struggling through the work assigned to the dark magic school all by himself was because of the Skull Principal's orders.

Normally, it was work the students of the school should have done, but for some reason, the Skull Principal had suddenly ordered, 'Mortum, you do it yourself.'

And yet he gave such a shameless excuse. It seemed unlikely anyone would believe it.

"If His Highness the Inspector is in the punishment room now, how is he still ordering you around?"

"Cough, exactly?!"

Professor Mortum brightened when his disciple seemed to have calmed down a little.

Perhaps she might help with the work.

"So, as {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} a way of protesting against that principal..."

He kept glancing at her while speaking, but Diret's expression did not change at all. Professor Mortum gave up and sighed.

"Cough. How about this? We could ask Wardanaz..."

"Keep talking."

"There were professors trying to make Wardanaz work even though he's in the punishment room right now. We could ask him discreetly so no one finds out."

"I'm listening. Continue."

"So you could... cough. Wait. What are you writing?"

Only then did Professor Mortum realize that Diret was writing something with a quill.

"Nothing."

"...Please! Please don't send that to Professor Garcia!"

Having realized what was happening, Professor Mortum turned even paler than usual and screamed.

Unlike the sturdy Professor Thunderwalk, Professor Mortum could genuinely die if Professor Garcia hit him.

"Cough, I'm different from Professor Thunderwalk! It's genuinely dangerous for me!"

"Then you should have been more careful. If you finish today's work, I won't send this letter."

"......"

Professor Mortum held back even his coughing and returned to work.

The other juniors in the dark magic school walked around carefully, barely daring to breathe. Gainando swallowed hard.

'If they find out I'm close to Lee Han, I might die. If they find out I'm close to Lee Han, I might die...'

"Gainando?"

"Ah. Um, well. I-I'm actually not that close to Lee Han!"

"......"

"......"

Imirg and Raphaedel stared at Gainando as though he were insane.

Was he seriously saying that right now?

"...Actually, we are close..."

"...I'm not going to get angry, so don't be nervous..."

Diret felt needlessly guilty.

Hadn't she frightened all the other juniors just because she had gotten angry at one of them?

"Is my junior doing well?"

"......"

Gainando broke out in a cold sweat.

What if he said Lee Han was doing well?

-I got angry at him, and he still dares to be doing well? Die!

What if he said Lee Han wasn't doing well?

-I told him to rest, and he still dares not to be doing well? Die!

"U-uuugh..."

"Why! Why are you crying!?"

Diret panicked and tried to comfort her junior.