Chapter 1231

'W-what is this feeling?'

Uman was bewildered as an unfamiliar emotion boiled up inside him.

For some reason, it felt similar to when the Skull Principal teased him.

Could this perhaps be anger...?

'Impossible! T-this Uman could never be angry... Elder Sister must surely have had some other intention.'

Just as when Jowrin had taken Uman's toy long ago, there must have been some meaning behind this as well.

Uman simply lacked the ability to understand it.

"...Then this Uman alone will go out..."

"What are you talking about? Both of you, go."

Naturally, Lee Han did not let that slide.

They were trying to reduce the number from two to one without any reason whatsoever. There was no way he would accept that.

In the end, Jowrin was driven out into the corridor as well, looking on the verge of tears. Yoanen stared after the two dragons with wistful, desperate eyes.

If only she could bring those dragons to her workshop!

"Lady Meikin?"

"I wasn't thinking anything!"

"......"

"......"

Lee Han and Yonair gave the alchemist cold looks.

They had both seen the way she had just looked at the dragons.

'She's not planning to kidnap them, is she?'

'I don't think my sister has ever looked at me with eyes like that...'

Cornered, Yoanen attempted to change the subject with dignity.

"Ahem. Lord Gainando."

"Why me all of a sudden... and why are you suddenly speaking so politely..."

Gainando, whose awareness had improved considerably after everything that had happened lately, answered hesitantly as an ominous feeling came over him.

She hadn't addressed him like that when they'd met at the mansion, had she?

"Have you perhaps been spreading strange rumors about our workshop recently? That it's not a good place to sell reagents, or that people have to work twenty-five hours a day..."

"!!!!"

Lee Han and Yonair stared at each other in horror.

This was bad!!

'What do we do?'

They both knew exactly why Yoanen was suddenly asking that question.

The problem had begun during a previous outing, when Lee Han had been moving around under the identity of Stedal Nago.

Since they had already handled the club's business and dealt with the wicked evil-god worshipers, they had gathered their friends and refined reagents with the thought that they might as well work and earn some gold with their remaining time.

The problem was that Lee Han's mana had made the quality of those reagents far higher than expected.

As a result, various alchemy workshops in the city had hurried to secure reagents from House Nago...

...and in the middle of all that, Yonair had offered an opinion along the lines of, 'My sister's workshop is smart, so they won't be fooled. Maybe we should sell them somewhere else?' and had gotten caught.

Left with no choice, the two had resorted to a desperate measure.

-...Actually, Gainando said it.

At the time, they had thought it would not become a problem.

How often could Yoanen and Gainando possibly meet?

But things in the world always had a way of coming back around like this. Lee Han reflected deeply.

'Kugh.'

Yonair sent him a look from beside him.

'At this point, there's only one option.'

'What?'

'We abandon Gainando.'

'...Let's think of another option...'

Lee Han shuddered at how mercilessly cold his friend was toward a cousin.

Meanwhile, Gainando spoke while sweating profusely.

"H-how did you know?"

"?!!"

"I received reliable anonymous testimony. It's truly unfortunate, Lord Gainando. The alchemists at our workshop do not work twenty-six hours a day."

"You just said twenty-five hours..."

"That only happens in very exceptional and limited circumstances. Do you understand?"

"Yes..."

Gainando lowered his head dejectedly.

How had Yonair's older sister found out what he had been saying?

'Was Yonair the culprit? No. I didn't even tell Yonair?'

"Then during vacation, you'll write correction letters one by one and send them to everyone who heard those rumors..."

"Gasp."

After ending the conversation, Yoanen turned her gaze away.

Lee Han and Yonair, who had been watching in confusion at this unexpected development, flinched when Yoanen looked their way.

"By the way. Are you still accepting commissions for House Nago?"

"Excuse me? Ah. Well. Um. Yes. Things have been a little hectic lately... You know."

"Because you seem to have hunted an evil god?"

'When she puts it like that, it sounds extremely strange.'

Lee Han thought inwardly, but nodded anyway.

Technically, it was not wrong.

The evil god had indeed kept him busy.

"Have there been any recent reagents from that side?"

"I'll look into it."

"If possible, there are a few commissions our workshop would like to entrust to them."

"I'll pass that along."

"May I expect a positive response?"

"Probably, wouldn't you say? Haha."

Lee Han failed to notice the sharp gleam in Yoanen's eyes behind her amethyst spectacles.

'Extremely suspicious...'

Yoanen was by no means foolish.

The rough mage from the house whose emblem was an upside-down skull was an exceedingly suspicious person.

He claimed he had once been captured by pirates in the southern Empire and escaped, then claimed he had stolen their treasure map and amassed a considerable fortune...

Yoanen had contacted houses in the south and asked around, only to receive questions in return asking whether he was actually from the capital.

Of course, he could have been a newly risen noble.

But the fact that he was far closer to Einroguard students than necessary stirred Yoanen's curiosity.

...Could this person actually be an Einroguard professor or graduate in disguise?

If that were the case, many of this mage's actions would make sense.

Subjugating evil-god worshipers, attacking greedy villains in the city of Granden, attacking Professor Verdus!

His taciturn nature and rough manner could have been to avoid exposing the disguise, or perhaps simply because he had graduated from Einroguard.

Mages who graduated from Einroguard tended to become somewhat sharp-edged, after all.

"I understand, Lord Wardanaz. I'll look forward to a good answer. And truly, as an Imperial mage, I deeply admire what you did on this expedition against the evil god..."

Yoanen suddenly stopped speaking.

A flash of inspiration, the kind that usually came only during alchemy, swept through her mind.

His ill-fated connection with evil-god worshipers.

His hostility toward Professor Verdus.

'Stedal Nago... Stedal Nago... Gonadaltes!??!'

Yoanen stared at the mage of House Wardanaz before her with trembling eyes of shock.

The Skull Principal's disciple!

'He wasn't a graduate!'

"Thank you?"

"...Now that <Kinis's Purification> is complete, why don't we take a short break?"

After saying that, Yoanen calmly walked out into the corridor, claiming she needed to fetch a few more reagents.

Yonair frowned at the sight.

"Something's strange."

"Why?"

"My sister never gives people breaks without a reason."

"...Yonair. Lady Meikin is human too. She wouldn't act like that all the way out here instead of at her workshop. Professor Voladi is here too."

"My sister isn't someone who changes her behavior like that."

Yonair answered in a firm voice without the slightest hesitation.

"My sister isn't someone who..."

"All right. I understand, so you don't need to say it twice."

"Could she have seen that you're close with dragons and decided to recruit you into her workshop?"

"Didn't you say last time that I didn't need to worry about that?"

Lee Han asked in confusion.

Of course, to an alchemist like Yoanen, someone like Lee Han—a worker with effectively limitless mana—was an extremely desirable talent.

But Yoanen was not foolish.

With multiple mage towers across the Empire actively coveting him, the chances of recruiting him as a workshop disciple were extremely slim.

"Right. Besides, my sister thinks you're going to become an Einroguard professor."

"What? I've never heard her say that."

Lee Han froze at the additional comment from his friend.

This was the first he'd heard about becoming an Einroguard professor?!

Professor Voladi, who had been listening from the side, spoke.

"That is a good idea."

"N-no. I haven't decided anything yet! I've never even brought that up!"

After receiving instruction from the insane duplicate, Lee Han's future ambition had changed from 'the greatest businessman in the Empire' to 'let's find out a little more about what I can actually do with magic.'

But that did not mean becoming an Einroguard professor had been decided.

He had thought about it a little, but...

...only a very little!

"Professor, you also wandered around the Empire and took time to explore different professions instead of becoming a professor immediately!"

"That is true."

Professor Voladi readily agreed.

It was indeed true that the professor had wandered while honing magic.

"However, continuing to study at Einroguard would also be a good choice."

Advancing into the fifth year, continuing to hone magic, and then becoming a professor immediately.

It could be called Einroguard's elite course.

"Why?"

"Because that would also calm Professor Garcia's anger."

"......"

For a moment, Lee Han wondered whether Professor Voladi was joking.

But the professor looked completely serious.

Trying to remain calm, Lee Han answered,

"...I don't want to become a professor just to calm another professor's anger..."

"I thought you were obviously going to stay at Einroguard."

Even Gainando spoke with a puzzled expression.

He had been planning to ask Lee Han for help graduating once Lee Han reached around the fifth year.

"Nothing has been decided, so don't go around saying things like that anywhere. Especially not in front of the principal!"

The way his friends kept saying ominous things gave Lee Han an unnecessary chill.

Words had power.

What if rumors like this started circulating and he somehow got dragged automatically into the fifth year?

'Right. This isn't the time to waste like this.'

Lee Han belatedly remembered the basement he could enter by riding inside the backpack.

Now that the magical restrictions on the punishment room had been lifted, it seemed best to go in and come back now.

He did not want to take unnecessary risks later.

"I'm going to the basement for a bit, so stay here and don't say anything stupid. If Her Majesty Jowrin comes back, lecture her some more."

"Wait, Lee Han. I'm telling you, my sister is acting strange!"

Yonair tried to grab her friend and discuss countermeasures, but Lee Han had already moved away.

Gainando asked in a grave voice,

"What if Lady Meikin takes all the gold in her house and buys Lee Han from the principal???"

"...Lee Han isn't an object that can be bought and sold. And the principal would never make a deal like that. ...Probably."

***

"Master?"

Lee Han felt an ominous sensation after entering the basement.

At first, he could not identify the source of that unease, but soon realized what was wrong.

'There's no magic!'

The magic manifested through the painting.

The distinctive mana pattern produced by that magic could not be felt anywhere inside the basement.

Instead, all he could hear was a pitiful squeaking sound.

-Ugh. Help me. My head...

"You!"

Lee Han angrily lifted the hamster.

The hamster, which had already been suffering alone in this basement from the lingering effects of being enthralled by the evil god, screamed.

-Aaagh! Don't shake me! I said don't shake me!

"You vile hamster bastard! After all the snacks I gave you, you attacked my master?!"

-D-don't talk nonsense...! How could I possibly attack that monster?!

"Ha. Calling my master a monster, are you? You've finally revealed your true colors!"

As Lee Han shook him roughly up and down, the hamster wailed weakly.

He had no idea at what point his fate had gone so terribly wrong.