Chapter 1332

“As expected of the Admiral!”

Ragesa’s subordinates exclaimed in admiration, praising the great pirate’s wisdom.

From the Death Knight’s perspective, watching from the side, it was simply absurd.

What was even more ridiculous was that they were not flattering her. They were genuinely impressed.

'They’re actually calling that wisdom...'

As expected, people whose professions ended in “-it” were difficult to deal with. Bandits, pirates, air pirates, Einroguard student-thieves, and the like were all shameless beyond belief.

-What if the Successor gets hurt?

“When a typhoon comes, the eye of the storm is the safest place. Don’t worry about the brat. Let’s worry about ourselves instead. Oh, right. Wasn’t that figurehead expensive?”

“The Admiral gave a craftsman from the city of Ileinas a giant sapphire for it.”

“I should have cut that off and brought it with us. I keep forgetting things as I get older.”

Ragesa looked toward the front regretfully.

It was too late to go back and cut it off now. The magical storm Lee Han had created was already far too violent.

“It’s coming!”

RUMBLE!

At Ragesa’s gesture, the pirates jumped off the back of the ship without the slightest hesitation. The Death Knight suppressed its complaints and jumped in as well.

Splash!

The waters were hellishly cold, but a curtain of warmth cast by Ragesa wrapped around them like a sphere.

RUMBLE! RUMBLE! FLASH!

The wind blew like mad, and lightning struck several times as well. The pirates waiting deep beneath the surface asked through bubbling voices.

-Seems like it’s about over, doesn’t it?

-May we go back up, Lady Ragesa?

-Wait a little longer.

No sooner had she finished speaking than another whirlpool began surging toward them. The pirates exclaimed in admiration again.

-As expected!

Even the Death Knight had no choice but to acknowledge her this time.

To notice that it was not over even after the mana had begun to settle down—this archmage truly did possess exceptional insight.

BANG BANG BANG BANG!

-......

-...Is that the sound of icebergs colliding?

The pirates felt chills run down their spines when they heard the noise.

For a moment, they thought the curtain of warmth had gone out, but it was still functioning perfectly. The sound coming from above alone had given them chills.

'Just how much is he smashing apart up there for it to sound like this?'

'Did he pick up an iceberg and throw it or something?'

A little more time passed. This time, it really seemed to have quieted down.

Ragesa nodded as well.

-Seems like the magic has settled...

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!

-......

-......

-I think the brat must have built up quite a lot of resentment deep inside because he was made a Valdrogard professor.

'Then perhaps you shouldn’t have teased him so much?'

* * *

'I shouldn’t have trusted Lady Ragesa.'

Lee Han thought inwardly as he looked at the horizon, which had become considerably more desolate than before.

He felt that this was something he absolutely had to tell the Valdrogard students when he taught them.

-If someone tries to teach you magic, suspect them first!

'Wait. Come to think of it, that would be digging my own grave. I shouldn’t tell them.'

Apparently, this particular secret would have to wait until he was saying goodbye to the Valdrogard students.

In any case, seeing the devastation around him now made him regret once again falling for Ragesa’s persuasion.

It was fortunate that he had somehow managed to regain control. Otherwise, he could not even imagine how large this disaster might have grown.

Combining primitive magic that abandoned control in favor of increasing power with infinite mana was just...

'There’s a reason the word pirate is attached to the name of this magic. Its very existence is harmful.'

With splashing sounds, the pirates climbed back onto the ship.

Ragesa stared in shock at the utterly devastated surroundings. The storm had raged so violently that there was hardly an intact iceberg or glacier left.

“Was there a war here?!”

“I don’t think anything good has ever happened whenever I used the magic Lady Ragesa taught me.”

“What a hurtful thing to say. That’s merely coincidence.”

Of course, Ragesa had taught him the magic for the purpose of destruction, but magic was still merely magic.

The great pirate spoke in order not to lose her credibility as a teacher.

“Look! Didn’t things work out perfectly? It’s because you successfully cast the spell, brat.”

“I’m not sure this qualifies as a successful casting.”

“If you achieved the objective, it was a success! Look at the entrance to those ruins! The ice broke apart and the seal was released!”

At Ragesa’s words, the pirates on deck crowded together to look at the iceberg.

They had been surrounding those ruins and trying to break into them for some time, so naturally they were curious when they heard that the entrance had opened.

“Those are the ruins... ...right?”

“I don’t think so...”

The pirates immediately began whispering among themselves.

They looked rather different from the ruins inside the iceberg that they had been observing until now.

Originally, the ruins trapped inside the iceberg possessed an extraordinary presence. That was only natural, since they had been built during the age when the power of the ancient Frost Giants had flourished.

But the ruins now revealed before them looked as though roughly half of them had been blown away.

...Had that part been blown away together with the seal when they opened it?

The pirates’ gazes poured toward her, but Ragesa remained unshaken and spoke in a dignified voice.

“Those are the ruins! They only look different because the powerful magic has been dispelled. The treasures inside are still intact!”

“As expected!”

“We trusted you, Admiral!”

The pirates rejoiced at Ragesa’s assurance.

Ragesa, however, thought inwardly.

'...Surely they weren’t blown away...'

In truth, it would not matter too much if some gold, silver, or jewels had been blown away.

Ragesa was not burdened by some enormous debt, and she explored ruins like these for honor and the satisfaction of the accomplishment itself, not because she desperately needed gold.

But the Frost Giants’ microcosm magic was another matter. If it had been blown away along with the ruins when they were destroyed, Ragesa would lose face in front of the Lord of Einroguard’s disciple.

After she had confidently claimed it would be so useful...

If that happened, the disappointed Wardanaz might train in another mage’s microcosm before the one Ragesa recommended.

'In the worst case, he might even train in Bivle’s microcosm first. I have to prevent something that horrible. I could never allow it.'

It was not that Ragesa hated Professor Verdus enough to kill them.

She simply did not want to see that mage blessed with even more luck when it came to disciples. Professor Verdus was already one of the luckiest people in the Empire simply by still being alive and having Wardanaz among their students.

-Lady Ragesa. Are you sure this is really all right? The ruins look fairly badly damaged.

The Death Knight had a sharper eye than the pirates.

To begin with, it was several generations older than the pirates present, and after following the Skull Principal around and learning to distinguish ancient ruins across many regions and dimensions, it knew the difference between intact ruins and destroyed ruins.

Those ruins did not look like that because [N O V E L I G H T] they were old or because the seal had been removed.

Roughly half of the upper section had simply been destroyed.

“Don’t worry! This destruction was also part of the plan. In order to break the Frost Giants’ sturdy seal, I was prepared for this much destruction.”

-I see...!

The Death Knight was deeply impressed once again.

As expected of a great pirate, her nerve was extraordinary. If it had been in her place, it would probably have been unable to use such a bold method out of fear of damaging the ruins, but Ragesa had drawn her blade and swung it without hesitation.

Obtaining half was better than obtaining nothing and waiting forever!

-...But Lady Ragesa. Earlier, you failed to predict when the magic would end...

“All right! Lower the boats! We’re entering the ruins! The time has finally come for you brats to claim your reward!”

Ragesa pretended not to hear and shouted across the deck. The excited pirates answered with cheers.

* * *

'Is this really all right?'

Lee Han tilted his head as he got out of the boat together with Ragesa.

Throughout the boat ride, Ragesa had kept saying things like, “It’s fine,” “I expected all of this,” and “This is how it’s supposed to be done, brat,” but Lee Han was a professor now too(even if he had only just finished his second year).

Looking at the shattered and destroyed ruins, no matter how he thought about it, claiming she had anticipated this simply did not make sense.

'If I had gathered just a little more mana, or released control just a little later, couldn’t the whole thing have been blown away instead of only half? How could she possibly calculate that?'

Ragesa felt Lee Han’s suspicious gaze, but remained perfectly calm.

A true pirate had to show no change in expression even as the trapdoor beneath the gallows opened.

“Look, brat. Look at these murals. This is the history of the Frost Giants.”

Ragesa waved her torch around. In truth, the roof of the ruins had been blown away, so there was no need for a torch at all, but Ragesa pretended not to notice and stubbornly kept using it.

“!”

The images in the mural were more interesting than expected. Lee Han even recognized some familiar beings depicted there.

They were the giants of Einroguard.

Of course, those giants were not the exact giants depicted in the mural. The eras were separated by an enormous span of time, so naturally they could not be.

But their size and appearance were impossible not to recognize.

“Are the giants... beating up the Frost Giants?!”

“That’s...”

“That can’t be. They must be giving them a massage.”

“......”

-......

Ragesa, the Death Knight, and the pirates all stared at him in disbelief.

The giants in the mural were savagely beating the Frost Giants like dogs. No matter how one looked at it, that was not a massage.

“You’ve at least heard how powerful and violent the ancient giants were, haven’t you, brat?”

“Urgh. Lady Ragesa is right. I suppose because I’m close with the giants...”

“That can happen.”

“?”

The pirates following behind them doubted their ears.

He was close with what?

'I must have heard wrong. Maybe he said spirits or... Those words don’t sound remotely alike, though.'

“The ancient giants were powerful and violent, and they showed no mercy even to distantly related races. Frost Giants and Fire Giants had to bow their heads or flee whenever they encountered them.”

Looking at the mural, Lee Han spotted more familiar beings beside the ancient giants.

They were demons.

“The giants must have subjugated the demons.”

“......”

“...The giants joined forces with the demons to beat them up?”

“Of course they did. What else would it be? Did you think they joined forces to give them massages?”

Ragesa clicked her tongue in disbelief.

The ancient giants had sometimes fought against demons as powerful as themselves and sometimes joined forces with them, setting the continent ablaze.

Judging from the records, few races had been such tyrants. At times, they had even challenged dragons.

“The Frost Giants were weaker than those ancient giants, but they had an advantage the ancient giants lacked.”

“Cold-element magic?”

“No. Patience and wisdom. They abandoned their competitive nature and migrated to another dimension. Thanks to that, they were able to avoid the downfall...”

“???”

Lee Han did not understand.

“I don’t understand.”

“Dimensional migration and the downfall of the ancient giants are long and complicated stories, so rather than asking me, you should hear about them directly from the Lord of Einroguard...”

“No. That isn’t the part I don’t understand. I don’t understand the claim that they possessed patience and wisdom.”

“...For giants, that counts as patient and wise! Stop nitpicking every word, brat!”

Ragesa scolded him while waving her staff. Lee Han grumbled inwardly.

Still, Ragesa’s story was interesting.

Had Lee Han not personally experienced the past through the power of magic himself?

'It must have been the era when the real Principal was active, not the fake Principal we have now.'

With great mages from every kingdom, giants, demons, and all manner of races competing for power, there could hardly have been a more hellish age.

And yet both the giants and the demons had now lost nearly all of their former momentum...

Has a descendant of the giants come here?

“!”

The group stopped short.

The voice had come from somewhere ahead.

It was clearly magic remaining within the ruins.

Ragesa shouted angrily.

“Everything that didn’t need to be broken got smashed apart, so why is an annoying defensive spell like that still intact?! If things were going to break, they should have all broken together!”

“......”