Chapter 1238

"Yonair. Yonair."

"...H-hm?"

"What do you think?"

"Hmmm?"

Coming back to her senses, Yoanen looked around.

Everyone was waiting for Yoanen's answer with serious expressions.

Would Professor Garcia judge that golem upper-year student guilty, or innocent?

For a moment, the words 'Is that really what's important right now?' rose all the way to her throat, but Yoanen maintained her composure as much as possible.

It was patience worthy of the genius of House Meikin.

"I suppose they're guilty, aren't they?"

"I knew it!"

"If even Lady Meikin thinks so, then there's a very high chance they're truly guilty. That's unfortunate."

Lee Han looked pityingly at the golem upper-year student waiting some distance away.

The student had merely been deceived by an evil professor, but Professor Garcia probably would not forgive them.

If excuses like that were accepted, then every professor would start pulling the same trick from now on!

"Um... but aren't we going to talk about Oculoguard?"

Uman cautiously cut in.

Whether Professor Garcia would execute that innocent student or not was important too, but negotiations with Oculoguard seemed just as important.

It could become the first proof that the Empire's magic academies were capable of cooperating with one another...

"Come on. Why should Lee Han do that?"

"I don't think Lee Han needs to do that either."

"My sister is right. It's not something Wardanaz needs to concern himself with. And why should Einroguard lower itself and ask another magic academy for anything? It would be different if the other academy came to us and asked politely."

'These arrogant mages!'

At the indifferent and arrogant answers that came out all at once, Uman felt his insides burn.

As the only person present with a background as an Imperial official, Uman believed that the Empire's mages needed to stop fighting among themselves and join forces.

Just how much had been wasted on pointless competition and mutual obstruction?

If the various magic academies joined forces, they would be able to deal much more wisely with threats arising both within and beyond the Empire.

Then the Skull Principal would not have to run around everywhere by himself either...

But the mages were all indifferent.

Even Gainando and Yonair, who had visited Petroguard during the vacation, were negative about it, so there was no need to ask the other students.

In the end, the biggest reason was simple.

-They don't welcome us either, so why should we care?

"No. I think we should persuade Oculoguard."

"!!!!"

Uman was so moved that he nearly burst into tears.

As expected, this scion of House Wardanaz and contractor of his great elder sister would never disappoint him.

'My sister truly did not misjudge him!'

Lee Han of House Wardanaz was clearly the only one among the arrogant mages gathered here who was thinking about the future of the Empire.

"Why?"

"If I handle this well, Professor Garcia might calm down a little."

"......"

Uman was dumbfounded by the far more trivial reason than he had expected.

For something that could lay the groundwork for the Empire's future, that was his reason?

And it was not even to make Professor Garcia completely calm down, but merely a little.

"Ah. If that's the reason, then I guess it can't be helped."

What was astonishing was that his friends were actually convinced by that statement.

'W-wait. I see! So that's what this is!'

Only then did Uman realize.

It was a deception!

Lee Han of House Wardanaz had given his arrogant friends and fellow mages a fake reason they could accept in order to deceive them.

A close relationship with his master would be a sufficiently convincing excuse.

'Amazing. Truly amazing!'

Now, the look Uman gave Lee Han contained not only respect, but admiration.

To willingly go through the trouble of telling such a lie for the sake of the Empire's future.

Perhaps the goodness that the Skull Principal had forgotten still remained in his disciple.

"...Kugh!"

"???"

Jowrin looked strangely at her younger brother, who had suddenly begun tearing up.

What was wrong with him?

"If we persuade Oculoguard, perhaps the golem upper-year student's guilt will also be taken into consideration somewhat. Good. Let's call them back."

Lee Han dispelled the soundproofing magic and called the golem upper-year student over.

Unaware that the juniors had just been discussing their tragic fate, the golem upper-year student trudged over.

"What were you talking about?"

"Well... we talked about Oculoguard too..."

Lee Han looked at his friends. It meant they should make something up.

"We also talked about whether it might be a good idea to punch the mages there the same way you punched Professor Verdus. Right, Yonair?"

"...Y-yeah."

Yonair regretted not speaking first.

What kind of bizarre lie was that?!

The golem upper-year student spoke in a grave voice.

"You must not punch them. And Professor Bagreg holding them from behind would be even worse."

The Empire's magic academies were relatively tolerant of students fighting among themselves, but the moment a professor became involved, the situation changed.

The chances of both sides suddenly becoming dead serious increased dramatically.

"Haha. It was a joke. Anyway, upper-year student. How far have you gotten with contacting and persuading the mages of Oculoguard?"

Lee Han first wanted to hear the upper-year student's expert opinion.

How exactly was Einroguard's foresight magic school approaching the task of persuading another magic academy?

"First, Oculoguard is a magic academy where foresight mages gather."

"Yes."

"That's all."

"Pardon?"

"I said that's all."

"......"

Lee Han doubted his ears. In fact, Lee Han was not the only one.

Jowrin, and even Uman, stared at the golem upper-year student in disbelief.

"What kind of bullshit is that?"

-Y-Your Majesty. I think you should watch your language.

At the baby basilisk's advice, Jowrin cleared her throat and changed her wording.

"We do not understand what kind of bullshit that is."

-Changing the ending of the sentence doesn't make everything all right.

Unable to understand, Uman asked.

"So you're saying nothing has been prepared at all?" 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

When even the Inspector asked seriously, the golem upper-year student flinched.

It was difficult to remain completely detached in front of the Inspector.

"I believe there is a misunderstanding, Your Highness."

"It doesn't seem like there's any misunderstanding at all. From Uman's perspective, it seems Einroguard's foresight mages have absolutely no intention of cooperating either."

"You'll understand once you hear the explanation. Here. Look."

The golem upper-year student began explaining in detail what preparations Einroguard's foresight magic school had made so far.

First, there had been letters.

"We sent paper birds several times. With polite greetings..."

"What happened?"

"There was no reply."

"...There is a chance they didn't receive..."

"So we visited in person. But they refused the visit."

"......"

There had been several more attempts at contact after that, but none had gone particularly well. The mages of Oculoguard responded in an extremely closed-off manner.

Lee Han looked surprised as he spoke to Professor Voladi.

"I didn't realize it was this bad. Why are they acting like that?"

"Because they fear the future."

For the sake of his disciple, who did not understand, the professor explained at slightly greater length.

"Do you remember Ksaksarigol?"

"Yes."

"They're the lunatics who called Lee Han 'a monster that devours foresight,' right?"

Gainando cut in from the side. Hearing that, the golem upper-year student doubted their ears and asked again.

"Who called whom what?"

"It's nothing. Gainando. You bastard. I told you to stop believing strange rumors!"

Lee Han sternly scolded his friend. Gainando felt truly wronged.

'Those Ksaksarigol bastards...! Just you wait!'

He could understand why evil-god worshipers were hated throughout the Empire. They were absolutely useless in life.

"Yes. Those people will stop at nothing to make the future they have foreseen into reality."

Compared to other evil-god worshiper orders that transformed themselves into grotesque chimera bodies or offered blood-soaked sacrifices, the Ksaksarigol Order might have appeared relatively normal.

However, experienced mages never underestimated the Ksaksarigol Order.

They were lunatics capable of doing absolutely anything in order to make the future they had seen become truth.

And in a certain sense, the foresight mages of Oculoguard shared part of the same principle of action as those evil-god worshipers.

"They try to control the possibilities of the future through restrained behavior."

If the evil-god worshipers would stop at nothing to make only the future they had observed among countless possibilities become reality, then Oculoguard would stop at nothing to prevent threatening futures among countless possibilities from becoming reality.

"Is it like warding off bad luck? Like what the upper-year student is doing?"

"Similar. But the scale is on a completely different level."

The golem upper-year student was also engaging in fairly eccentric behavior to avoid misfortune, but that could not compare with Oculoguard.

After all, this magic academy had created rules at the level of the entire school and was acting according to them.

The more restrained and cautious these mages became, the farther threatening futures would be pushed away...

...And the more that rejection accumulated, the less power the apocalypse would be able to exert!

'Does this actually make sense?'

Lee Han fell into confusion.

A group of foresight mages gathering together and living according to strict rules could push away threatening futures?

Perhaps having read Lee Han's confusion, Yoanen added an explanation.

"Foresight magic is originally the most mysterious school and the hardest to verify as true or false. That's why there are many alchemists, but few foresight mages."

The golem upper-year student bristled at that.

That outsider alchemist was trying to lure away the school's talent.

"That is precisely why it has value. If it were a field anyone could practice, wouldn't that mean it was easy?"

Yoanen did not answer. She pretended not to hear and simply continued saying what she wanted.

"For reference, in the alchemy school, professors don't abandon upper-year students to juniors. Treating a junior like some lump of bad luck. I can't believe there's a school like that."

'She's really my sister, but she's terrifying.'

Yonair admired her inwardly.

A great alchemist knew how to put poison not only into potion bottles, but on the tip of their tongue as well.

In fact, the golem upper-year student took a severe blow.

Such a severe blow that even their face made of stone looked as though it had turned deathly pale.

Unable to watch any longer, Lee Han stepped in.

Yoanen could simply leave, but Lee Han would still have to remain in the same school with this upper-year student.

"Come on. That was a misunderstanding. It was like an inside joke within our school."

"It was far too serious for a joke... but all right. If Wardanaz says so, shall we leave it at that?"

Yoanen smiled brightly and backed off. The golem upper-year student apologized with a dejected expression.

"...I'm sorry. As an upper-year student, even if you are a mad rider of the apocalypse, I shouldn't have treated you that way."

'I feel like the wording got worse.'

Lee Han wore a conflicted expression.

Mad rider of the apocalypse?

That was a term he had never heard before.

Had the upper-year student secretly been calling him that?

"No... I'm fine. Let's get back to Oculoguard. So these mages... ignore outside contact because they're devoted to their school rules?"

"Yes. That's highly likely."

The first solution that came to Lee Han's mind was 'Then cut off their funding,' but on second thought, there was no way no one else had thought of that already.

Oculoguard was probably financially secure enough not to rely on Imperial funding. Otherwise, there was no way such isolation would be possible.

Watching the junior's expression, the golem upper-year student cleared their throat.

"Actually, there is one method Professor Kraer suggested."

"There was? Why didn't you tell me?"

Lee Han was puzzled.

If there was such a method, shouldn't that have been the first thing they mentioned?

"Well... that is... the professor said it, and I don't think even the professor necessarily meant it seriously. It was probably a joke."

"...What was it? Surely the professor didn't tell you to go set the place on fire or something?"

"To take you there, throw you over the wall, and run away... Then they would contact us..."

"......"

"......"

The atmosphere around them turned as cold as ice. The golem upper-year student hurriedly shouted.

"I absolutely do not agree with that!"

"I'm sure you don't. By the way, Wardanaz. As you know, the alchemy school..."

"Yoanen. Stop."