Chapter 1326

'Truly unfortunate.'

The Death Knight thought inwardly.

Because Lee Han had seen far too many creatures he met for the first time become frightened or terrified of him, even something as basic as the selkies' reaction moved the Successor far too deeply.

In truth, there was no need to be that touched just because they thanked him for saving them.

If anyone should have been moved, it was the seal fairies who had received his help...

Splash-

The seals jumped from the deck back into the sea. Lee Han called after them as though he still could not let go.

“If you ever need a combat-capable mage, I'm actually fairly good at fighting...”

“Um, Professor. We need to depart. Don't we have to find Lady Ragesa?”

Lieutenant Galvag spoke to him cautiously.

Lee Han had been calling after the seal fairies far too wistfully.

It was truly absurd, but Galvag even found himself thinking, 'What if he gets angry because I interrupted this and refuses to help search for Lady Ragesa?'

Fortunately, Lee Han was not that unreasonable. At Galvag's words, he came back to his senses.

“We sealed the demon, and we kept our promise to the merfolk, so let's set sail.”

-We know where the pirate captain went.

“?!!”

Everyone was startled by the merfolk who poked their head above the surface beside the ship.

“Pirate captain? Do you mean Lady Ragesa?”

-Yes.

“Don't talk nonsense! How would you know Lady Ragesa's whereabouts? Did you follow her or something?”

Lieutenant Galvag glared at the merfolk, murderous intent spreading across his scarred face.

He could not simply let that statement pass.

Even if merfolk were a race that roamed every corner of the vast sea, it was far too suspicious for them to know Ragesa's whereabouts.

The pirates thought of one possibility.

Had the merfolk followed Ragesa, lured her into a trap, and now intended to lure them into one as well?

“It's possible. Merfolk are an extremely rude and violent race.”

Lee Han nodded and muttered. The Death Knight beside him whispered.

-Successor. Please keep that thought to yourself.

Most people in the Empire probably would not agree with such a radical claim.

Despite being met with murderous suspicion, the merfolk spoke proudly.

-There is a reason we know.

“What is it!”

-Pirate captain captured us by force and made us work. Made us speed up the ship from beside it.

“......”

“......”

-...For the record, our group has absolutely nothing to do with Lady Ragesa.

The Death Knight quickly cut ties.

It did not care if the privateer fleet's sailors were criticized, but it could not allow Wardanaz to be criticized alongside them.

'That really does sound like something Lady Ragesa would do.'

Lee Han thought inwardly. Apparently Lieutenant Galvag and the other pirates thought the same, because none of them could deny it as a lie.

-Pirate captain forced us into ? NоvеIight ? (Original source) a wager. We lost wager, so had to pull ship.

“If you lost the wager, then that was fair compensation!”

-I said forced. Is my Imperial language wrong?

“I can't hear you! You should have refused until the end!”

The sailors shamelessly displayed exactly the kind of brazenness one would expect from former pirates.

Even under the disgusted stares of Lee Han and the Valdrogard students, they stood firm as though they had plated their faces with iron.

Their captain never did anything wrong!

If it looked as though she had done something wrong, one simply had to reread the sentence above.

'Even if the merfolk wanted to help us, they probably won't anymore.'

The Death Knight seemed worried about the same thing and spoke to the merfolk.

-Please forgive me for asking such a question... As I understand it, merfolk do not show land-dwelling races more kindness than necessary. I am curious why, even after suffering such humiliation, you are willing to show us the way.

-Mage. Dealt with demon too. Very terrifying, but we received favor.

-I see... For the record, "very terrifying" is not an expression in the Imperial language.

-Very monster-like? Monster-terrifying?

-If you truly think that, lower your voice so that mage cannot hear you!

The Death Knight glanced behind itself as it pleaded.

The way Lee Han was staring intently in their direction made it extremely nervous.

The Successor was a mage who had inherited the Skull Principal's vindictiveness quite well, so he remembered insults like this much longer than one might expect.

-Then please guide us. We are looking for Lady Ragesa.

-Follow.

The merfolk began splashing through the sea as they led the way.

Watching them, Lee Han spoke to the knight.

“Can't the selkies guide us instead? They'd be more trustworthy.”

-Successor. The selkies did not pull Lady Ragesa's ship...

-Here.

The swimming merfolk stopped in front of a small nameless island.

The sailors looked puzzled.

“Lady Ragesa went in here?”

-Yes. Went up onto island.

“......”

The sailors immediately looked suspicious.

It was strange enough that Lady Ragesa would bother landing on such a small island, but if she had landed, there should have been some trace of it.

Even Ragesa's flagship, <Torgerd's Snuffbox>, was nowhere to be seen. How were they supposed to believe such a claim?

-Pirate captain said there is shortcut inside island leading to another sea. So made ship small and lifted it in.

“A shortcut?”

Lieutenant Galvag frowned as he looked at the island.

Galvag was not a mage, so he could not tell exactly what kind of energy he was feeling from inside the island.

There was certainly a complicated presence coming from it, but whether that had anything to do with a shortcut...

“I don't feel anything. It's a lie!”

The Valdrogard students quickly advised Galvag.

Still, since they were mages from a magic academy, Galvag did not ignore them and listened carefully.

“A lie?”

“Yes! We tried sensing it, but there was nothing.”

“Just in case, we also cast detection magic, but there was nothing like a shortcut.”

“Hmm... Professor Wardanaz. What do you think?”

Fortunately, no matter how anxious Galvag was, he was not desperate enough to simply believe the Valdrogard students.

He immediately called Lee Han over to check again.

To see through the island, Lee Han maximized his spirit sight and mana senses, prepared <Microcosm, Terminalia>, and stared ahead with extreme concentration.

“There is definitely a shortcut on the island connected to somewhere else.”

“?!?”

The Valdrogard students doubted their ears.

There had clearly been nothing they could sense from the island?!

“Professor! I can't see anything?!”

“You can't see it because the mana flowing through the island itself is blocking your senses.”

“But we used detection magic, and there wasn't anything like a shortcut at all!”

“...First- and second-circle detection magic has no effect at all in mana fog this dense.”

Watching Lee Han answer every question immediately, Galvag thought once again.

'I really don't understand why he's serving as a Valdrogard professor.'

Was he going there to help because their level was simply too low?

Perhaps that really was the reason. Maybe the balance between the Empire's magic academies had become far too uneven...

“Thank you for answering, Professor. Prepare to land! I'll personally lead a scouting party and confirm the shortcut connected to the other sea.”

“I'll go with you.”

-I will escort you as well.

“We'll go too!”

“?”

The group that had quickly formed on the spot sensed something off.

Who had answered last?

The Valdrogard students shouted again with eyes full of enthusiasm.

“We'll go too!”

“...Wouldn't it be better to stay on the ship? Someone needs to guard it.”

Lee Han tried to put it gently.

To be honest, he could not imagine anything good happening if the Valdrogard students entered a small, undeveloped island like this.

After only a few hours, their clothes would probably be soaked with sweat, their stamina exhausted until they were gasping, and their exposed skin swollen from attacks by rough leaves and insects.

“Who would attack the ship when we've anchored at an island like this?”

The Valdrogard students tilted their heads as they asked.

No matter how they thought about it, they could not imagine anyone nearby attacking the ship.

It was not as though the entire privateer fleet was going ashore either. Only a small scouting party was leaving. Who would dare attack?

Lee Han regretted his words. The Valdrogard students might not be good at magic, but they were not complete idiots.

“...The merfolk.”

“The merfolk?!”

The Valdrogard students were startled by the completely unexpected suspects.

To think that the race that gracefully roamed the sea was actually such a dangerous suspect.

Having already started insisting on it, Lee Han simply shamelessly doubled down.

“Do you understand? So all of you should remain on the ship and...”

“We'll guard the ship! Please enjoy exploring to your heart's content!”

The sailors shouted quickly. Lee Han stared at them in disbelief at the unexpected interference.

What was this?

Even while avoiding Lee Han's gaze, the sailors refused to take back what they had said.

That was how badly they did not want to remain with the Valdrogard students.

If they did, by the time Galvag returned, several students might genuinely have disappeared.

'Hmm. I was too harsh on the sailors who would have to remain on the ship.'

Seeing their reaction, Lee Han reflected a little.

The Valdrogard students would suffer if they went ashore, but if they remained on the ship, the sailors would suffer instead.

There was no choice. He had to take the Valdrogard students with him.

“All right. Everyone prepare. If you have potions, food, or drinking water, bring as much as you can.”

“Professor! Can we bring a picnic basket?”

“No.”

“What about a picnic tea set?”

“No.”

“But then what are we supposed to drink tea with...”

“There are ways, so don't worry.”

At Lee Han's answer, the Valdrogard students wondered whether he really had some method prepared.

Professor Wardanaz was an outstanding mage, so perhaps he could take out a picnic basket or tea set from some spatial storage?

'As expected of Professor!'

'I hope the island isn't too hard on them. It would be a disaster if the students notice and stop approaching my classroom altogether.'

Teacher and students prepared to land while thinking completely different thoughts.

***

Three hours after landing.

Lee Han looked at the Valdrogard students, who had been reduced to wrecks by the forced march. Some of them were already so thirsty that their tongues had gone numb and they could no longer pronounce certain words properly.

“Prof... Profethor.”

“I think we need to rest for a little while.”

At Lee Han's words, the pirates, who had been chewing on sap-filled tree roots, asked in confusion.

“Again?”

“Letting them rest briefly won't mean much. I think we need to get fluids into them first.”

The pirates tried to hand over cut vines and roots, but Lee Han shook his head.

Quenching one's thirst and enduring on this kind of sap was something only the pirates here could manage. It would be difficult for the Valdrogard students.

'I should give them actual water.'

A massive mass of water appeared in the air and began heating itself until it boiled.

At the same time, Lee Han cut apart a nearby rock and carved it into the shape of cups. The pirates applauded his skill at instantly producing camping supplies with nothing but his staff and sword.

“Magic truly is amazing!”

“This is nothing. Everyone, drink slowly.”

If purely boiling water without adding tea leaves, coffee grounds, or anything else was Einroguard-style tea, then cutting rock and wood into cups and bowls could be called an Einroguard-style tea set.

Lee Han had known this, which was why he had said there was no need to bring one.

Normally, the Valdrogard students would never have used cups like these, but today they did not care at all and gulped down the water.

'I should mix one drop of vitality potion into each serving.'

Gulp, gulp, gulp-

Only after drinking several cups of water did the Valdrogard students finally come back to their senses and ask.

“Professor! What spell was that just now?”

“?”

Lee Han wondered what they were talking about.

'What spell did I use? I didn't use one.'

“The spell that summoned that enormous amount of water!”

“...Do you perhaps not know the first-circle spell, <Create Water>?”

“This is <Create Water>?!”

The Valdrogard students doubted their ears.

Was <Create Water> originally such a powerful and convenient spell?!