Episode 1159
If it had been someone else, I would have thought he was joking, but it had to be Jiklin.
The knights nodded, speechless.
“Oh, indeed.”
‘What kind of advice are you trying to hear?’
Since Jiklin didn’t say what advice he was giving, the knights could only imagine.
Even though the boy from the Wodanaz family is known as a genius, he is still a second-year student. What kind of advice would he want to hear?
‘Is this advice that requires the vision magic of the Wardanaz family?’
“Then, Lord Moradi, why do the wizards of Einrogarde suppress bandits like that?”
“Isn’t it because you are faithfully carrying out your duties as a knight?”
“I see… No, the Wardanaz family is not a knight family…”
Even if we give them the benefit of the doubt, there were wizards who came from knightly families, but Wodanaz was definitely not from a knightly family.
The knights became even more confused.
Regardless, Jiklin focused on his work. Even if he had to welcome the guests from Einrogard, he had work to do before that.
“Is this where the ruins were discovered?”
“Yes. They say the entrance was discovered in a cave on the mountainside.”
The empire was vast, and places where even breathing was dangerous were discovered. One of the jobs of the clans that settled in each region was to discover and manage these places.
How much damage would be caused if a lich that was sealed thousands of years ago were to awaken and sweep through the area with an army of undead?
In the worst case scenario, the lich could set up a magic school and declare himself the new headmaster.
“It has not been confirmed what era the relics are from?”
“I’m sorry. Our wizards are far removed from archaeology…”
The wizards who worked together with the knights were almost like half battle wizards.
Even if you are skilled in healing magic or strengthening magic, it is rare to find a magician who can guess the era of an item by looking at its year.
Jiklin skillfully used his magic to strengthen his eyesight. He could see people already gathered at the bottom of the cave on the mountainside in the distance.
The sight was reminiscent of a pioneer village.
Sharp-eyed northern merchants peddled their wares and items from ruins beneath their tents, while adventurers and explorers exchanged information from their sleeping bags nearby.
Experienced knights could estimate the value of the ruins just by looking at the number of people gathered.
“The stuff coming out of it looks pretty good. I didn’t know it would be this crowded already.”
“I haven’t seen any injured people yet. That’s fortunate.”
“I will go and check the number of people and record them.”
Jiklin said firmly.
For now, there were no plans to control or block the relics, but neither could they just leave them alone.
The North has been so noisy lately that suspicious people may be mingling in there.
Of course, the people gathered there would definitely hate it. Who would want to explore the ruins and report to each of the nearby knight families?
If you find a suspicious item, you have to check it right away, and if it’s a prohibited item, you have to give it up for a cheap price.
“No! We will go!”
“This kind of trouble is our lot!”
The knights shouted urgently.
This was something that should never have been left to Jiklin. If one of the ill-tempered adventurers got cocky, the whole place would be devastated.
“Why is it your share?”
‘Oops.’
The knights realized too late that they had made a mistake in their haste.
How dare you make such a mistake with someone who will never accept flimsy excuses!
“That’s… the bad thing is… low-ranking…”
“Do you feel that your status is low? Why is that?”
Jiklin’s face became serious.
It’s ridiculous that knights serving in the realm think of themselves as lowly.
This was not a matter to be taken lightly.
Maybe it’s because the owner has been too strict with the knights lately…
“…I’m sorry. I don’t really think so.”
“Then? Why did you say that?”
“That’s… ugh.”
The eyes of the veteran knight, who had been trapped in the ice for three days and had fought bloody battles with monsters without changing his expression, began to fill with tears.
How did this happen?
“Over there! These are the Einrogard students!!”
“!”
The knights turned their heads with bright faces. The knights of House Dulac, who were swinging their swords behind them, also gave a shout of joy.
“This is truly the best magic school in the empire!”
“Let’s go meet the students!”
* * *
“The knights are running ?”
Lee Han made a serious expression.
Of course, it was the knights’ natural duty to welcome guests from the North, but the momentum was too great.
As someone who had sinned, I couldn’t help but feel a little stung.
“Moradi. You haven’t been caught, have you? I advised the quarantine and the curfew…”
“How would I know?”
Giselle responded incredulously.
Until recently, I was in Einrogard!
“Judge by appearances. They are knights who work for your family.”
“Strictly speaking, each northern family… is fine.”
Giselle narrowed her eyes, giving up on what she was trying to point out. The knights’ speed was certainly not ordinary.
“It looks like either the knights have some urgent matter to attend to, or you, Wardanaz, have been caught.”
“If I get caught, you’ll say I advised you too.”
“……”
People tend to have a hard time reacting when they hear abusive language that goes beyond their expectations. Giselle was just like that.
What the…?
“Why are you dragging others into this?!”
“Since the Lord asked and answered, it is only natural that your family is responsible.”
“You call that talking…”
“Welcome! Welcome to visit us!”
“I also heard about the suppression of bandits!”
But contrary to their worries, the knights who arrived only offered praise instead of angry retaliation.
Even Lee Han, who had been on guard, nodded and admitted it.
“Thank goodness. Looks like you didn’t get caught.”
“……”
“But why are you so kind?”
“Because the North is always short-handed.”
The land is vast, the population is small, and accidents occur frequently, so the northern part of the empire has always been a place where only the strong survive.
The knights who came out to greet us confessed what had happened as if they were complaining.
“???”
Lee Han didn’t understand.
“Why can’t it be done by Jiklin?”
“You have no idea.”
As Giselle spoke with a pitiful expression, the other knights nodded. Unfortunately, this was something only the northern knights would know.
No matter how great the wisdom of an outsider may be…
‘Aren’t the northerners going too far?’
While Lee Han was muttering to himself, a voice suddenly came from inside the cane.
-Don’t miss those ruins!
“!”
It was Saratan’s voice.
-It looks ordinary, but that is definitely not an ordinary relic. I’ll explain later, so get inside that relic as quickly as possible!
“…indeed.”
Lee Han nodded at the sincere advice of the imprisoned spirit.
And he advised the knights.
“Then we will record the people gathered around the ruins.”
-Yeah! Using that as an excuse, I kicked out the other guys…
“After writing this down, let’s head straight to the Moradi family’s fortress.”
-Huh? Wait, wait. Then you won’t be able to enter the ruins!
Saratan was embarrassed.
He thought he had taken his advice, but the wizard’s actions were completely incomprehensible.
Lee Han spoke honestly.
“You were wrong last time too.”
-……
Although Saratan had guessed that a spirit was trapped in the relic, he could not guess that there was a spirit as powerful as General Hwacheon inside it.
If Saratan had just given me the right information, I would have suffered a lot less.
-That, that’s… That’s because the opponent is so out of the norm…! And the warning did help, didn’t it!
“Strictly speaking, your warning wasn’t very meaningful… It wasn’t much different from the warning given by the adventurer party you brought.”
-…I told you, those ruins aren’t ordinary ruins!!
* * *
Despite the spirit’s cries, Lee Han continued to do his work step by step.
He called the people gathered at the entrance to the mountainside ruins and announced that he would verify their identities.
Some were about to protest in anger, but a few men from the west, seeing the Einrogard flag flying over the carriage, were so disgusted that they took up persuasion instead.
-So… not a single person survived…
-That’s really… no… that’s not possible under imperial law…
-Some people… have extra-legal powers…
-The Empire… is truly terrifying…
“Yes! I will cooperate as much as possible!”
“Thank you all.”
Lee Han and the White Tiger Tower students verified the identities of the gathered people and inspected their belongings.
If there were any forbidden magic items or anything like that, it had to be blocked in advance.
“Wordanaz. Why did you confiscate these Ranveria flowers?”
“It is so toxic that it is prohibited by imperial law.”
“They grow them in Ainrogard, right? It must be in Professor Uregeul’s garden… Ouch!”
“I think you’re mistaken. Say it again.”
“…Now that I think about it, I don’t think it was a ranberry flower.”
The more Lee Han devoted himself to his work, the more anxious Saratan became.
The more I knew, the more anxious I became.
And Saratan thought that if he was late and something went wrong later, the wizard would be angry at him.
Something like, ‘If it was really important to you, you should have told me exactly what it was by any means necessary!’
-Listen. You may think that these ruins are ordinary ruins, but they are disguises. These ruins are the ruins of the sorcerer Vaquantalana!
“?!”
Lee Han turned his gaze in surprise.
The name Vaquantalana was better known to wizards than to spirits.
Because it was the name of a great magician who had a long history of fame.
In particular, the greatness of this magic was evident from the fact that Professor Verdus also enjoyed using several of this magic from Vaquantalana.
Even though there are people who improve all kinds of magic and use their own versions, they use them without changing them.
But these are the remains of Baquantalana.
It was even more disconcerting when the spirit Saratan said it.
“How do you know Baquantalana?”
-…I met you before.
Saratan hesitated, trailing off. There was something suspicious about his attitude.
Having already witnessed this spirit’s mistakes several times, I couldn’t just ignore it. Lee Han spoke in a stern voice.
“If you don’t speak properly, you won’t go in there even if it’s not Baqwantalana but the principal’s remains.”
-If it’s the ruins of that crazy archmage, then of course you shouldn’t enter. What are you talking about?
Saratan grumbled, but eventually gave up and opened his mouth.
Even if you tell the wizard to keep his mouth shut after saying this much, he won’t stay still.
-Actually… I worked under Baquantalana.
“You signed a contract?”
-…No. I said I’ve worked there.
“??”
Lee Han became even more confused.
Usually, a spirit working under a wizard has a contract or…
“…You weren’t forced to work, were you?”
-……
Saratan said nothing. His appearance was almost like an answer.
‘Baquantalana, you were truly a great wizard!’
Lee Han felt a surge of respect for the old wizard senior whose face he didn’t even know.
Somehow, I felt like I wasn’t very close to spirits.
