Chapter 1347

“It's not a spirit! Everyone, get back!”

“Ah, is it a demon?!”

The other-dimensional beings most commonly encountered on the continent were spirits and demons.

Spirits generally tended to be fond of mortals (though there were occasional exceptions), while demons naturally approached mortals because they wanted something from them.

When Lee Han said it was not a spirit, his friends were startled and hurried to put some distance between themselves and it.

“It's not a demon, it's a monster! A Bulgassari!”

“!”

“This is a Bulgassari? They were this cute?”

The students exclaimed at the sight of the baby Bulgassari, which looked like a tiny doll and wandered around making “kyu, kyu” noises.

Some students even took out food they had stolen from the banquet hall earlier and tried to feed it.

The baby basilisk grumbled from inside Lee Han's sleeve.

-Can a mage really be fooled by appearances that easily?

“Everyone, back off!”

Naturally, Lee Han made his friends move away.

He remembered the enormous Bulgassari he had encountered at <Spiderweb Lake>, far beneath the main building.

This monster could turn out completely differently depending on what it was fed and how it was raised. If it ate the rich Valdrogard food his friends were offering, it might grow into an evil Bulgassari.

“That's... a Bulgassari? Something that small?”

“No way. Wardanaz, aren't you mistaken?”

The friends who knew about the Bulgassari or had seen it with him whispered in disbelief.

To think the enormous rock monster, as large as a small island, had originally been something this adorable.

“It's definitely a Bulgassari. I didn't notice because it's a baby, but the aura it gives off is exactly the same.”

At those words, Anglago held out an Imperial silver coin from the table to the baby Bulgassari.

The baby Bulgassari gulped it down and began making kyu-kyu noises again. His friends all exclaimed.

“It really is a Bulgassari!”

“Monsters that eat metal aren't exactly common...!”

“That was my silver coin.”

Lee Han stared at Anglago with a grave expression. It was the coldest, most emotionless look Anglago had ever seen from him.

“I-I'll pay you back! Double!”

“You don't need to pay me back double. Anyway, now that we know it's definitely a Bulgassari, don't feed it anything strange. Imperial silver coins use uncontaminated silver, so those should be fine, but...”

The baby Bulgassari had already grown slightly larger after eating the silver coin. Seeing it glance around in search of its next meal made the students' hearts soften.

“We're in Valdrogard, so can't we feed it a little more? There should be plenty to eat here. The walls are covered in jewels.”

“Even if it gets a little bigger, since this is Valdrogard, it'll be fine...”

“Shut up, you bastards.”

Losing his temper, Lee Han drove his useless friends out of the underground workshop.

They were saying whatever they wanted just because they weren't Valdrogard professors.

'If the palace collapses because of a Bulgassari before the lectures even begin... even the generous people of Valdrogard will make a new rule.'

That rule would probably be something like <No Associating with Einroguard Mages>!

Once he had thrown out the students spouting nonsense, only the friends with reasonably good grades and enough sense to make calm judgments remained in the room.

Lee Han asked them for advice.

“Does anyone know much about raising Bulgassari? I've only read some basic information in books.”

“I'm about the same. Professor Thunderstep once said they encountered a Bulgassari that had been raised badly at the eastern edge of the Empire. Ten villages settled beneath a mountain range disappeared.”

“...I really should've heard that before pouring mana into it.”

Lee Han blamed himself.

This was a mistake a mage should never make.

What had possessed him to complete magic another mage had prepared?

Perhaps he had grown complacent because the other person was a Valdrogard mage and assumed they would not do anything dangerous like an Einroguard mage would.

“I heard it becomes dangerous if you feed it contaminated or corrupted metal. It gets violent and starts craving blood. You absolutely can't give it a sword that's cut people...”

“I think mana can substitute for it too.”

Everyone looked at Anglago in confusion.

'Was he a monster expert?'

'No... I think he only knows about mounts for jousting.'

“Where did you hear that mana could substitute for it?”

“It's eating Wardanaz's mana right now.”

“!”

Lee Han was startled when he looked down at the baby Bulgassari that had somehow latched onto him.

Clinging to the hand opposite the one holding the baby basilisk, the Bulgassari was sucking up his mana like baby food.

-Get away from there?! Master! It's stealing Master's mana!

'You're really not one to say that...'

Lee Han soothed the whining baby basilisk and pushed the Bulgassari away with his staff.

He did not mind giving it mana, but he was worried about what might happen if the Bulgassari ate his mana.

Deprived of the mana it had been enjoying, the baby Bulgassari began crying pitifully.

“...C-can't you just let it have some?”

“No. Who knows what'll happen if it eats my mana? Its personality might change like Basil's did.”

-That's right. It might...

The baby basilisk, who had been nodding from inside his sleeve, suddenly froze.

...What did he mean by that just now?

“Hmm. A Bulgassari like Wardanaz.”

His friends fell into thought for a moment.

'It'd definitely cook really well for us.'

'And it'd probably keep checking whether we're studying magic or not.'

“That's definitely dangerous! We should feed it metal!”

When his friends suddenly shouted in unison, Lee Han gave them a suspicious look.

'These bastards. I think they were just thinking something useless.'

-Hey! Hey! Save me!!

While they were talking, the wood spirit inside Lee Han's staff screamed.

The baby Bulgassari had greedily tried to bite into the staff.

It had originally been aiming only for the black lodestone portion, but with the staff shaped like a caduceus, it was impossible to eat only the metal parts.

So the baby Bulgassari simply opened its mouth to eat the wood along with it.

For Saratan, a powerful hornbeam spirit, even this was a new kind of humiliation.

'I thought there couldn't possibly be any more humiliating experiences left...!'

“Hey! You can't eat that!”

Lee Han immediately shoved it away.

Whatever else happened, it absolutely could not eat Saratan. The baby Bulgassari might become extremely violent.

After firmly restraining the baby Bulgassari with magic for the time being, Lee Han took out <Whispers of Einroguard>.

He had thought of someone among the members of <Einroguard's Watchers> who might know about this.

Member Bulgassari.

'If they chose Bulgassari as an alias, there's a good chance they're interested in Bulgassari and know a lot about them. They might even have a few books I don't.'

Of course, by that logic Lee Han's own alias would come flying back at him like a boomerang, but Lee Han did not realize it.

Lee Han called Bulgassari for a private conversation.

Gonadaltes you free to talk right now? I have something I want to ask about Bulgassari.

The reply came far faster than expected.

Bulgassari's wrong?! Did a Bulgassari cause an accident or something?!

Gonadaltes like that. Someone my friend knows acquired a baby Bulgassari...

Bulgassari's impossible! Did you check properly? It takes an enormous amount of mana for a baby Bulgassari to be born. That's not the kind of mana an ordinary person could obtain!

'This person knows an unsettling amount about Bulgassari.'

Lee Han was slightly surprised.

Until now, Lee Han had only had a vague impression of this member.

They were highly skilled in magic, probably fairly senior since they had a private room of their own at Einroguard, and the other members constantly booed them because they always said boring things...

...Yet the moment Bulgassari came up, they suddenly became talkative and detailed.

Lee Han paused.

One person's name flashed through his mind.

'Could it be Professor Bendozol?'

But Lee Han immediately shook his head. No matter how he thought about it, that made no sense.

'Professor Bendozol's social skills aren't good enough to survive in a secret club like this. Bulgassari has been mocked several times already. If that were Professor Bendozol, they'd have started swearing immediately and tattled to the Principal.'

Gonadaltes checked. It eats silver coins well, tried to eat black lodestone, and when I wouldn't give it any, it tried to eat mana.

Bulgassari's... definitely a Bulgassari. It can't be any other monster.

Member Bulgassari was greatly surprised by what the other person said.

This amorphous monster that ate metal and grew could turn out completely differently depending on how it was raised.

Fortunately, the Bulgassari currently living in Einroguard's lake had grown up gentle and docile.

But would the acquaintance of this person's friend really be able to raise one properly?

'The fact that they use Gonadaltes as an alias is already a major risk factor. If they're careless, something terrible could happen.'

If possible, [N O V E L I G H T] Bulgassari wanted to meet them in person and talk, or ask them to hand the creature over, but knew perfectly well that it would be pointless.

Members of a secret club did not meet one another unless there was a very good reason. Besides, the other person was probably already wary of them.

Most importantly, if they met and revealed their identity...

'...The other students might avoid me for about ten years.'

Bulgassari, I'll tell you which metals are good to feed it while it's still small. When the weather is cold, they like things like rubies... Are you reading this? Why aren't you answering?

When the other person did not reply, member Bulgassari suddenly grew worried.

Had the other person come up with some bizarre plan, or fed the baby Bulgassari something wrong and already caused it to go berserk?

Gonadaltes I ask one more thing? The person my friend knows just...

Bulgassari that and get to the point!

Gonadaltes:...fed the Bulgassari a little orichalcum.

Bulgassari:......

* * *

Lee Han tended to live his days on a fairly strict schedule.

He had no choice, since there were so many things he had to do.

In his first year, his days had been tightly packed: going to the stables the moment he woke up to care for the animals, tending the crops in the garden, and using whatever time remained to steal the professors' preserved food.

His second year had been somewhat different, but just as packed. The moment he woke up, he would give the baby basilisk its mana meal (though sometimes it helped itself), take out the orichalcum, pour mana into it, and check its condition...

Although it was metal, this orichalcum had properties similar to a plant.

Like a Bulgassari, it changed depending on how the person raising it cared for it.

After receiving repeated warnings from Senior Jarun, Lee Han complained but still diligently took out the orichalcum, infused it with mana, and occasionally even read good sayings to it.

-One gold coin saved is the same as one gold coin earned...

-Gold is the servant of a wise mage, but sometimes the master of a fool...

-Einroguard, Einroguard, what a wonderful place...

Considering how much care Lee Han lavished on it, if it had been a living creature, it would undoubtedly have received the baby basilisk's sharp vigilance.

Lee Han always carried the orichalcum with him, securely locked away in the deepest part of his backpack.

If he dropped it, lost it, or had it stolen, it would be no small matter.

Yet astonishingly, the baby Bulgassari smelled the orichalcum hidden inside the spatial labyrinth, altered its body, and pulled it out.

His friends rushed at it in horror, but the baby Bulgassari still managed to bite off a piece of the orichalcum.

It must have tasted incredible, because even while his friends firmly restrained it, its happiness was obvious from the outside.

“I-is this okay?”

“I don't know. I think I'll have to ask.”

“No! I mean, is the orichalcum okay?!”

Anglago looked ready to cry over the damage to the legendary metal.

“The orichalcum is fine. It's basically like a plant, so it'll grow back anyway. Think of it as taking a bite out of a leaf. But this Bulgassari...”

The baby Bulgassari had already become considerably stronger.

Perhaps it was because of the special treat of orichalcum.

-Master. I'll give it a proper scolding!

“Uh, you?”

-...What do you mean by that?