Chapter 1320

"Professor?"

"Could those possibly be Valdrogard students?"

At Lee Han's question, Jandanni burst into laughter.

Their new professor even had an excellent sense of humor.

"There's no way... W-wait. Were you asking seriously?"

"Yes."

"There's no way the juniors could have been captured! Professor!"

The wealthy Valdrogard student shouted so loudly that the jeweled brooch and cufflinks shook.

Jandanni's confident attitude was enough to make even Lee Han doubt himself slightly.

'Could I be wrong?'

Come to think of it, Lee Han did not know much about Valdrogard students.

By comparison, Jandanni must have watched friends and juniors for years...

"If Student Jandanni thinks so, then that must be..."

"Any armed force authorized by the Empire respects magic schools. There's no way they would have taken the juniors."

"...Uh, that's your reason?"

"What? Yes."

"Let's hurry!"

Lee Han reproached himself for having been momentarily confused.

Instead of listening to other people's opinions, he should have focused on his magical intuition as a mage!

***

The atmosphere aboard the ships flying the flags of the southern Imperial privateer fleet was downright murderous.

Sailors were rough by nature, and privateer fleets tended to be especially rough because of their work, but even so, it was certainly unusual for them to seem this threatening.

The various guild members and Imperial officials working at the harbor of the city of Isran knew that, so they made no effort to provoke the privateer sailors.

As long as everyone followed the rules, there was no reason for the two sides to clash.

Supply them with the necessary provisions.

Call craftsmen and mages from the shipyards to maintain their vessels.

Treat injured sailors at the designated facilities...

-Who's that climbing aboard?

-A privateer sailor, probably.

-I see. ...No! That's not one of their sailors! There's no way a privateer sailor would be dressed like that!

Pasher, the head of the Fishermen's Guild of the city of Isran, was startled when he saw Valdrogard students trotting up onto one of the privateer fleet's ships.

Their clothes were so splendid and expensive that anyone could tell they had nothing to do with sailors.

Though his hair had gone completely white and his body was gaunt, the elderly fisherman shouted in a booming voice.

-Come back down at once! These pirates are on edge right now!

-It's all right! We have the right under Imperial law to inspect the premises of a force authorized by the Empire!

-Imperial law or whatever, I said come down! You idiots!

Pasher wondered whether those mages even knew what the words 'privateer pirates' meant.

No matter how much 'privateer' came first, they were still 'pirates.'

Reciting provisions of Imperial law at them was not going to help.

-Old man! Do not insult us! We preserve our honor, but when insulted, we respond firmly... Ow! Aagh! Why are you hitting us?!

-Who the hell are you people?!

-We are Valdrogard mages...

-Mages?! Then you must be spies! This could be connected to Lady Ragesa's disappearance. Lock them in the hold below deck!

-Y-you can't do this! There are countless witnesses here!

-Everyone return to the ships! We can't trust anyone!

The pirates unloading supplies at the docks and those receiving treatment at the infirmary immediately returned to their ships when the signal was given.

The sailors of the privateer fleet glared around with blazing eyes.

Their posture made it clear they would attack anyone who approached the ships.

"...Should we call the knight order?"

"What would be the point of calling the knights? Once they flee out to sea, that's the end of it."

Pasher shook his head.

The reputation of the southern privateer fleet led by Ragesa, daughter of Torgerd, had not been built in a single day.

The forces of the city of Isran existed to protect the city and defend the harbor.

They could not chase a privateer fleet like that out into the open sea.

"What happened, Mr. Pasher!"

Having heard the news, members of several nearby minor urban noble families came running as well.

Since each of their families had interests tied to the harbor, they were sensitive to disturbances like this.

"As you can see, Valdrogard mages have been kidnapped by the southern privateer fleet."

"You mean the pirates came down and dragged them away!? No matter how rough they may be, that's truly..."

"No. The Valdrogard mages climbed onto the ship and then got kidnapped."

"......"

"......"

The urban nobles stared at one another in disbelief.

Feeling awkward for no reason, the elderly guild head of the Fishermen's Guild cleared his throat and defended the young people.

"They said Imperial law gives them the right to inspect."

"Even if they have the right, who climbs onto a ship when everyone aboard looks like that?!"

The people gathered there each voiced their own opinions.

Considering their status, they should be rescued.

They should be left to deal with it themselves.

Perhaps something had happened to the privateer fleet...

BANG!

"Everyone. My apologies. I heard there was an urgent situation and came immediately."

Lee Han kicked open the door of the meeting room at the harbor and apologized as he entered.

Pasher was startled.

"You're that Einroguard mage from last year...!"

The elderly guild head had not forgotten how the Einroguard mages had come the previous year and solved the problem.

Even for a guild head who had been through all kinds of hardships, such an intense solution was rarely seen.

"He has been appointed as a professor at Valdrogard this time."

The wealthy-looking Valdrogard student beside Lee Han added the explanation.

Pasher became even more shocked.

"A Valdrogard professor?"

"Yes. That's how things turned out."

'...A-are mages normally like this?'

Pasher was no expert on magic, but this story was far too confusing.

Lee Han had clearly been a first-year last year, which meant he had only just finished his second year now...

'Does Einroguard promote people from first-year student, to second-year student, to professor at another magic school?'

"Well... well done. Congratulations. With your talent, I'm sure you'll do well."

"To be honest, I don't have much confidence."

'He's humble too!'

'How very modest.'

Lee Han was completely sincere, but none of the listeners believed him.

"In any case, the Valdrogard students come first right now. You said they were kidnapped?"

"That's right. They climbed onto the ship and..."

Jandanni cried out in disbelief.

"Why?! Imperial law gives them the right to inspect!"

'Because they're pirates.'

'Doesn't this person know what privateer pirates are?'

The people present thought to themselves.

There were many places where Imperial law was observed far less strictly than one might expect.

The vast open sea, wastelands, beyond great mountain ranges, places like Einroguard...

In places like those, Imperial law was practically meaningless.

"If it's the fleet led by Lady Ragesa, they wouldn't act this recklessly without reason. Isn't something going on?"

"I'm not certain, but I heard the pirates talking. They said Lady Ragesa has disappeared."

"!"

Lee Han was startled.

Ragesa was a powerful combat mage who had inherited several secret family magics and had even taught Yumidihus before.

Someone like that had disappeared?

"I'll go and hear the situation from them. I think we need to find out what happened."

"Professor! You can't! It's dangerous!"

Jandanni tried to stop Lee Han in alarm.

If they were pirates who ignored Imperial law, even a Valdrogard professor could be in danger.

But the people gathered there thought a little differently.

"If he invokes the name of Einroguard... even pirates this on edge might hesitate to touch him..."

"And he's from House Wardanaz. They'll be several times more afraid."

"...I'm going because I know Lady Ragesa."

Lee Han corrected them with a serious expression.

Anyone listening would think he was going there to threaten them!

***

The pirates on the ship grew visibly wary when they saw mages approaching again.

"Stop! Come any closer and we cannot guarantee your safety!"

Incensed by their rude behavior, Jandanni fluttered the sleeve of the coat embroidered with gold and shouted.

"This person is a professor of Valdrogard..."

"I told you to get lost!"

Lee Han stopped Jandanni.

"I am Lee Han of Einroguard! I am acquainted with Lady Ragesa. Please verify it!"

"...Huh!"

The pirate who had been about to shout angrily paused.

The name did sound familiar.

"Wait there. I'll go check!"

The last time Ragesa had entered Einroguard, she had brought pirates as servants... no, as guards.

Fortunately, one of those pirates was still aboard the ship.

A fierce-looking lieutenant with a scar beside the mouth recognized Lee Han and shouted.

"Lord Wardanaz, is that you?!"

"That's right!"

"That person isn't suspicious. Don't be rude to him!"

At the lieutenant's shout, the pirate bowed apologetically.

"My apologies. He said he was a Valdrogard professor, so..."

"A Valdrogard professor!? H-he's a fake! You despicable mage! Don't come any closer!"

"......"

Lee Han felt profound sorrow.

Would the stigma of being a Valdrogard professor follow him everywhere in the Empire from now on?

'Being a Valdrogard professor isn't a bad position at all, so why does it feel like I lose something everywhere I go because of it?'

"I'm not a fake. I'm going to work as a professor next semester."

"Ah... Aah! Well, with your magical ability..."

The scarred lieutenant accepted the explanation immediately.

Considering Lee Han's ability, it was honestly not strange for him to skip ahead several years and work as a professor.

...It was a little strange that the school happened to be Valdrogard, though...

'Did His Excellency sell his disciple because he was short on money?'

If the Skull Principal had heard that deduction, he would have furiously driven the entire ship to the bottom of the sea.

"Come aboard!"

Watching Lee Han boldly climb onto the ship, Jandanni whispered in admiration once again.

"Remarkable, Professor. To trust those pirates so boldly and climb aboard like this."

"Student Jandanni. I currently have all my combat magic prepared. You should also make every preparation necessary to escape from the ship if something happens."

"......"

Regardless of his personal acquaintance with the pirates, Lee Han never let down his guard.

If he trusted them merely because he knew them and climbed aboard only to be ambushed, he would never again be able to tell anyone he was Professor Voladi's disciple.

For a sensible combat mage, it was common sense to have several spells ready to activate immediately, prepare something like <Bivle's Flying Sword> so it could be summoned from the backpack at any moment, and load reagents into the end of one sleeve so a skeleton golem or dragon-tooth soldier golem could be summoned instantly.

After hearing the explanation, Jandanni felt for the first time that magic was difficult.

'Was the path of a mage really... this difficult?!'

***

Fortunately, there was no ambush.

The scarred lieutenant guided them into the cabin with a gloomy expression and explained what had happened.

"Lady Ragesa has not returned yet."

Even though it was a privateer fleet, the ships did not all travel tightly clustered together at all times.

Ragesa gave the captains under her considerable autonomy, and she personally enjoyed taking only her own ship and roaming around wherever she pleased.

But this time, even though the appointed deadline had passed, neither Ragesa nor the flagship <Torgerd's Snuff> had returned.

Several captains had taken their own ships out to search, while several others had returned to the harbor for the moment to send messages and discuss the situation.

"Did she go somewhere dangerous?"

"Lady Ragesa has always enjoyed searching for hidden ruins in the great sea. Naturally, those places are dangerous because no one knows what might be there. Lord Wardanaz. Ah. My apologies. Professor Wardanaz."

"...Please just call me Wardanaz."

Lee Han was sincere, but the pirates naturally took it as mere politeness.

How could anyone address someone so rudely by omitting their title?

"Professor Wardanaz. Could you perhaps use magic to find Lady Ragesa for us?"

"A search at the level you're hoping for would be difficult with foresight magic. It's not as though she's somewhere very close."

"Not foresight magic. There is a communication artifact installed on each ship."

The ships of the privateer fleet had speaking tubes running throughout them.

These pipes, which carried voices, allowed people in different areas of a ship to speak to one another.

But one of the speaking tubes in the captain's cabin was not connected anywhere within the ship.

It was an artifact used to communicate with other vessels.

Jandanni spoke regretfully.

"If the communication artifact isn't working, it's most likely because the distance is too great or some kind of restriction is interfering with it. Even if Professor Wardanaz tries it, the result won't change."

"Is that really so? If something like that exists, that changes things. Increasing the amount of mana might make it work. Let's go!"

"......"

When Jandanni blinked, Lee Han comforted his disciple.

"Student Jandanni. There is no such thing as absolute certainty in magic."

"I-I see. So in a situation like this, instead of giving up, the correct choice is to increase the amount of mana and try again?"

"No. Student Jandanni, you should give up rather than pour in mana for no reason and collapse from exhaustion."

"......"

Wasn't magic seriously way too difficult?