Chapter 1246

'Huh?'

Nillia sensed something was off.

For some reason, her friends' reactions were awkward.

As though they didn't know where to begin explaining...

'Do I look that bedraggled?'

Nillia looked herself up and down.

After wandering around the northern mountain range, a person inevitably started looking somewhat like a beggar.

"Um, Nillia. Professor Bagreg came back."

"?!"

Nillia's eyes went round.

What?!

"He came back?! D-did the Crescentless Night Knight Order find him? Or did the Voig Knight Order find... No, that's not what's important. Hmm. That's good."

Coming to her senses midway through, Nillia managed to preserve at least a minimum of conscience.

If her friend's master had returned, she should be purely happy about it. She couldn't ask which knight order had found him.

"Professor Bagreg made the right choice too. Everyone has to work together to subjugate evil-god worshipers. He shouldn't act alone."

Having learned a great deal in the mountains this time, Nillia spoke sincerely.

Of course, she had failed to capture the evil-god worshipers she had wanted, but she had still gained a lesson from it.

If everyone joined forces, they could capture even stronger enemies!

"......"

"Well... um..."

"???"

When her friends continued to look uncomfortable, Nillia became confused.

"Nillia. Professor Bagreg came back. And, um, the subjugation is already over too."

"What?! Did a knight order participate?!"

'Why does she keep asking about knight orders?'

The students wondered why their friend kept asking such strange questions, but answered first anyway.

"Don't know about any knight order, but Wardanaz participated too."

"Wardanaz did!? ...Well, he was going around looking for evil-god worshipers..."

"It wasn't a subjugation of evil-god worshipers. Apparently it was a battle to subjugate an evil god."

"......"

Nillia dropped the pelts she was holding.

It was such an unbelievable story that her long ears shot upright.

What did they just say???

"What... What kind of nonsense is that? Even if it's Wardanaz, how could he participate in a battle to subjugate an evil god? There's no way the professors would allow it."

"I heard Wardanaz secretly followed them."

"Ah."

Nillia had no choice but to accept it.

It was exactly the kind of thing her friend would do.

"...Could you explain everything in detail?"

At Nillia's request, her friends explained the whole thing.

An expedition had been organized to hunt the evil god directly, Wardanaz had accompanied them...

Listening in a daze, Nillia muttered.

"I really can't believe it."

"Nillia. We were the same. But we believed through the power of friendship."

"That's right. We didn't doubt it for even a moment."

The Black Tortoise Tower students answered shamelessly.

Anyone listening would have thought someone else had been the ones who initially reacted with, 'What kind of disaster did he cause that he's covering it up with such an absurd lie?'

Unfortunately, Nillia, who had not been there, fell for it completely.

'Ugh. I'm garbage.'

She hadn't been able to introduce a knight order or any members of the Imperial Family, the hunters who had gone with her had only captured other evil-god worshipers, and on top of that, she had failed to trust her friend.

"...You're right. I should've believed it immediately. I'm really pathetic!"

"Urgh."

"Ugh."

At Nillia's words, the Black Tortoise Tower students made pained noises.

For some reason, they felt stabbed by her words.

"What was that just now?"

"Nothing. I don't know what you're talking about."

"Really? I thought everyone groaned... Anyway, where's Wardanaz? Is he in the healing room?"

"No. He's in the punishment area for professors."

"Why!??!"

The punishment area was the last place one would expect someone who had participated in subjugating an evil god to be.

Why in the world was he in a place like that?

"Well, because he participated secretly..."

"......"

That was true!

Once again, Nillia had no choice but to accept it.

***

"Professor. I have a favor to ask!"

"...What is it? If you're asking me to help you escape, I won't."

At his disciple's request, Professor Thunderwalk, who had come to the punishment area, looked at Lee Han uneasily.

Ever since Professor Garcia had misunderstood that Professor Thunderwalk was trying to work his disciple while he was imprisoned, Professor Garcia had been casting suspicious looks at him every time they met.

If he made even one more mistake in a situation like this, his life might genuinely be in danger.

Creak-

"?"

Professor Thunderwalk turned his head.

From the neighboring cell, a familiar vampire professor was walking out through the open door.

Professor Thunderwalk's face went pale as he shouted.

"You wicked master and disciple! You called me here to set a trap?!"

"Excuse me?"

Lee Han wondered what he was talking about.

Ignoring him, Professor Voladi walked steadily over and installed a magic circle beside the corridor.

It was preparation for the next time Eandurde came for a lesson.

"...It's nothing."

Realizing what was happening, Professor Thunderwalk cleared his throat awkwardly.

He had been certain this violent master and disciple pair were about to launch a coordinated attack.

"It doesn't seem like nothing, Professor. Did you really think Professor Bagreg and I were going to attack you togeth—"

"Why did you call me!"

Professor Thunderwalk hurriedly changed the subject. Lee Han looked at him suspiciously, then spoke.

"I'd like to take the final exam early."

"......"

Professor Thunderwalk stared at his insane genius disciple as though he was truly fed up.

At this rate, wouldn't the boy start pestering him to graduate early next year?

Noticing the professor's expression, Lee Han began to explain.

"I have a reason, Professor. It's not because I'm being arrogant..."

"I'm not curious. I'm not curious, so please don't tell me."

Professor Thunderwalk made a show of covering his ears.

Whatever the reason was, hearing it would probably only make him more distressed.

"If you want, I'll let you take it early. ...Wait. You didn't somehow find out what the final exam is, did you?"

"What? How would I find that out?"

"There are plenty of ways. The Principal's duplicate could have told you, or one of the upper-year students could have..."

This disciple was so versatile and crafty that he couldn't be trusted.

Even while confined in the punishment area, he was perfectly capable of using his resources to learn the exam contents in advance.

Lee Han protested in disbelief.

"You're saying that after setting up traps like that last time?"

Einroguard was a harsh place where everyone fended for themselves, but there were still occasions when upper-year students helped juniors.

Sometimes they did it for money, sometimes through barter, and sometimes because they were upper-year members of the same club.

Lee Han belonged to several clubs, so during the midterms earlier that year, he had also tried to get help from club upper-year students to check Professor Thunderwalk's exam in advance...

...But Professor Thunderwalk had laid down vicious traps there. The persistence behind them was enough to make it obvious that he was determined to prevent the students from preparing in advance.

"You're the last person who gets to complain about those traps!"

Professor Thunderwalk snorted.

He could understand students criticizing the traps for being vicious.

But someone who had simply forced his way through those traps with raw magical resistance had absolutely no right to say that!

'Where does he get the nerve to say something so shameless!'

Step-

"!!"

When Professor Voladi suddenly approached, Professor Thunderwalk nearly jumped out of his skin and prepared for an assassination attempt.

Having finished preparing for the lesson, Professor Voladi silently returned inside the solitary cell. Professor Thunderwalk clutched his chest in relief.

'Make some noise when you walk...!'

This was why combat mages were unbearable!

"That was at least when I was outside. Right now I can't even leave. What upper-year student would go through all that trouble alone just to spoon-feed me the answers?"

"Hmm..."

Professor Thunderwalk was left without a response.

It was true that none of the upper-year students currently taking alchemy had enough free time to neglect their own work and investigate the exam material for <Advanced Alchemy for Fools>.

There was a genius like Ilendil, at least...

'Someone who won't even do me a favor isn't going to do one for a junior.'

"Fine. I'll trust you. And the final exam contents have been changed, so even if you did find them out, give up."

"No. Why did you change them again?"

Lee Han stared at Professor Thunderwalk in disbelief.

If the topic had been changed to something completely unrelated to the lecture material, he would feel a little sorry for his friends.

For them to have to take a harder exam because of him!

"Ha! I knew it! You already knew!"

"...Professor. Has something happened to you lately?"

Lee Han became worried when Professor Thunderwalk seemed to have developed a slight case of paranoia.

But the stubborn dwarf professor merely snorted.

"I won't be fooled this time. I'll repay the humiliation from the last midterm."

"That was the Principal's duplicate, not me."

"A master's grudge is inherited by the disciple!"

'Can't you just take it out on the person himself?'

Lee Han wanted to tell him to go get angry at the Skull Principal, but held back.

If Lee Han were Professor Thunderwalk, he probably wouldn't have done that either.

"Understood, Professor. I hope you resolve your grudge well... Ah. Here, take this."

"What is it? I hope it's pancakes."

Because his disciple was staying in the punishment area, the quality of food supplies at the garden cabin had declined significantly.

The first-year students were working quite hard, but there was still an unavoidable difference in natural talent.

"It's Immortal Flame Herb. Gaksu Hall has run out of Immortal Flame Herb, hasn't it?"

"......"

Professor Thunderwalk was struck speechless.

This reagent, which dark mages used more often than alchemists, had been the reason Professor Thunderwalk had recently gotten beaten by Professor Garcia.

The workshop had run out of materials, and because there was no disciple available to order around, he had tried to coax Wardanaz into doing the work and gotten caught.

And yet the person involved was calmly handing it over like this.

From inside the punishment area, no less!

Professor Thunderwalk did not ask how he had obtained it. That would have been far too uncouth a question.

"...Thanks. I'll put it to good use. Your juniors will be pleased."

"Then how about giving all of my juniors plenty of extra credit? Maybe enough for everyone to get a perfect score..."

"Are you insane? What kind of nonsense are you talking about?"

Professor Thunderwalk recoiled. For a moment, he genuinely thought Wardanaz was joking.

No matter how free Einroguard's academic culture was, if he started handing out perfect scores at will, he might end up facing not only the Skull Principal but even His Majesty the Emperor.

"That's a little disappointing. I gathered herbs for you even while I'm inside the punishment area."

"...Just ask me to help you escape instead! Stop making insane requests!"

Professor Thunderwalk fumed for a moment, then, perhaps feeling somewhat guilty, spoke again.

"Fine. In exchange, I'll give you the final-exam hint one day early."

"Please. You're just going to set another trap."

Ignoring his disciple's sarcastic remark, Professor Thunderwalk continued seriously.

In any case, revealing this would not make much difference to the difficulty.

Because it was recently published alchemy!

"Tomorrow, I'm going to have you derive the formula for an alchemical combination that reproduces <Kinis's Purification>. Think hard about it for the next day."

"???"

Lee Han froze.

The name of the reagent sounded familiar.

'Huh?'

Wasn't this clearly the topic Yonair's older sister had come and researched together with him...?

"Professor. Wait a moment. Actually, this..."

"Heh. Wardanaz. You've already realized it, haven't you? The difficulty of this exam. Let's see how far you can complete the formula."

"That's not what I mean. I've already heard the completed—"

"Enough! Your tricks won't work on me!"

Professor Thunderwalk covered his ears, hummed to himself, and went upstairs.

Lee Han watched his retreating back with a look of regret.