“......”

“......”

For a moment, Lee Han thought Professor Garcia had cast time-stop magic. Everyone in the lecture hall had suddenly frozen.

But that was not it. The frozen people were staring fixedly at the entrance to the lecture hall.

Even while sensing an ominous future, Lee Han turned his gaze. Then he was horrified.

“Professor Verdus!”

“I see. Then I can leave now.”

Princess Yukbeltire reacted immediately. Lee Han glared at this fifth-year senior with the urge to hit her.

“Where do you think you are going?”

“Professor Verdus has been released, so should I not be free as well?”

“If you wanted to talk about freedom, you should not have entered the enchantment magic school. No, you should never have entered Einroguard in the first place. Since you entered, there is no such thing as freedom, so stay where you are.”

“What kind of unreasonable...”

Princess Yukbeltire tried to argue, but her junior did not listen.

The members of the stonemason guild who had come from outside were pointing at Professor Verdus in bewilderment.

“Why is Professor Verdus here now...”

“There are circumstances behind that.”

“And why is Professor Verdus crawling on all fours?”

“...There are circumstances behind that as well. In fact, that is Professor Verdus’s own way of expressing an apology.”

“Professor Verdus is trying to apologize?!”

The members of the stonemason guild were more surprised by the fact that Professor Verdus was trying to apologize than by the professor crawling on all fours.

At that sight, Princess Yukbeltire showed a hint of disappointment.

She did not have enough desire to show off that she would boast even in front of people who were not on her level, but defeating Professor Verdus was an exception. If she followed her heart, she wanted to tell everyone she met.

'I was the one who brought Professor Verdus to the knees.'

“Think of how much harm Professor Verdus has caused all of you until now. And how rudely the professor behaved toward you.”

“Thinking about it still makes me want to throw a hammer into that face. To be honest, every night I considered whether I should put a bounty on that person.”

When the members of the stonemason guild, who had been laughing cheerfully moments ago, spoke with grave expressions, Lee Han flinched slightly.

Perhaps because all of them were so large and hardened by their work, their pressure was no ordinary thing.

“...That apology may not repay even one ten-thousandth of what Professor Verdus has done, but I would be grateful if you could accept it as a sign of sincerity.”

“Honestly, I am surprised and can hardly believe it... Still, it does not feel entirely unpleasant. To think Professor Verdus might actually change...”

Lee Han and the members of the stonemason guild continued their conversation while leaving Professor Verdus lying motionless on all fours near the doorway.

Lee Han quickly whispered to his senior.

“Senior Yukbeltire. For now, please stop Professor Verdus from saying anything unnecessary.”

“Understood.”

Princess Yukbeltire nodded with unexpected willingness.

The only order this fifth-year senior ever accepted gladly was an order to attack Professor Verdus.

“...You are trying to attack me!”

As expected of an outstanding mage, Professor Verdus noticed the treacherous intent of the approaching disciple.

The artifact in Princess Yukbeltire’s hand was , a powerful artifact that sealed the tongue and vocal cords once fastened.

Few artifacts were as troublesome to a mage as something like that.

Although most of Professor Verdus’s artifacts had been confiscated upon entering the punishment room, the professor hurriedly tried to summon an artifact out of thin air.

Clench!

At that very moment, the Death Knights seized both of Professor Verdus’s arms and stopped the movement.

-Fasten it.

“Mmph! Mmmmmph!”

With the knights’ help, Princess Yukbeltire easily fastened the artifact. Once gagged, Professor Verdus thrashed in frustration.

-Calm down, Professor. We will remove it since you have to teach the lecture anyway. At least remain still while the successor explains the situation.

“Mmmmmph!”

-We should have made the professor wear this in the punishment room too.

Thanks to the knights’ assistance, Lee Han gained enough time and let out a sigh of relief.

At least it seemed the sudden appearance of Professor Verdus had somehow been brought under control.

“Professor. Those people seem to have accepted the explanation, so please remove the artifact now and proceed with the lecture.”

Lee Han spoke quickly after the members of the stonemason guild stepped away.

Professor Verdus, having resigned to the situation, nodded.

“Mmmph.”

-Wait. Do not remove it yet.

-Why not? Of course, I would also like to leave that on forever, but...

-Do you think I stopped you for a reason like that? Of course, that is part of it, but first we should explain what was taught until now.

The knights did not trust Professor Verdus in the slightest.

Although the professor had personally said the lecture would proceed, no one knew whether it would actually resemble a proper lecture.

If they released the professor, Professor Verdus might chill the atmosphere by saying something like, “Go build a structure yourselves and bring it back.”

At the very least, they had to explain what sort of lecture Princess Yukbeltire and Lee Han had been giving.

-I see. How were you teaching it?

“It was not me. Senior Yukbeltire was teaching the lecture.”

-Yes, yes. Let us skip the minor details.

The knights gestured dismissively as though they understood everything.

It was hardly the first or second time they had seen this successor say something like that!

'For some reason, I want to hit them.'

Perhaps because the resentment Princess Yukbeltire had stirred up earlier still remained, the Death Knights looked strangely irritating.

Lee Han concealed his displeasure and began speaking.

“So, the way this lecture began was...”

***

Princess Yukbeltire, who had been assigned to take over Professor Verdus’s lecture, fiercely resisted the newly added lecture.

“I absolutely cannot agree to this. I will protest to the principal.”

“At present, His Highness the Inspector holds the real authority.”

“Then I will protest to the inspector. Junior of House Wardanaz, you will help as well.”

“How am I supposed to protest to His Highness the Inspector? His Highness is an enormous tyrant and a wicked demonic dragon. If I say even one wrong word in front of His Highness, I will be swallowed whole.”

Princess Yukbeltire looked puzzled by Lee Han’s words.

It differed considerably from what she had heard.

“That did not seem to be the inspector’s personality. The inspector has a good reputation even among the Imperial Family, and when I saw the inspector at a banquet...”

“That was all a cunning deception.”

“I heard that you, junior of House Wardanaz, have a great deal of influence over the inspector. What was that about?”

“That is also a misunderstanding. I am merely being dragged around and threatened. I am only doing what I am told.”

Lee Han lied without changing his expression.

Princess Yukbeltire was unlikely to meet the inspector separately anyway.

“But unlike me, perhaps you could persuade that wicked and powerful tyrant and demonic dragon. Would you serve as the inspector’s aide in my place?”

Princess Yukbeltire immediately expressed refusal.

“I refuse. That is something I can never accept. The inspector has already increased my pointless workload...”

The evil spirits recently appearing in Nightmare-Echo Forest were a good example.

Originally, this was not something a fifth-year student had any reason to handle.

A strange friend like Diret had volunteered because of needless concern for the juniors, but it had nothing to do with Princess Yukbeltire. Then a letter had suddenly arrived from the inspector.

It was even a letter that specifically named Princess Yukbeltire and ordered her to handle it.

“Cough, cough.”

Diret, who had been sitting nearby, suddenly began coughing as though something had gone down the wrong way.

“Are you all right, Senior? Please drink some cocoa.”

Lee Han took the cup of cocoa in front of Princess Yukbeltire and handed it to Diret.

“Th-Thank you. That...”

“?”

“...It is nothing.”

Diret started to say something, then gave up.

How could Diret voice the suspicion that the junior was arbitrarily using the inspector’s authority?

If Princess Yukbeltire and the junior were trying to use each other, Diret had no choice but to side with the latter.

Especially while receiving help as a senior.

“As expected, I think Senior Diret is coughing because the environment in Senior Yukbeltire’s magic laboratory is poor. Would it not be better for Senior Diret to return and work on personal research?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? This is the first time I have heard that the environment is poor. Tell me the exact coordinates of what is poor. If you are even slightly wrong, the claim is invalid.”

“I will leave after finishing this, so both of you stop fighting...”

Diret stopped the two of them. Lee Han looked at the senior with displeasure.

After Lee Han had used Professor Mortum and Senior Yukbeltire to distribute the workload, Diret had come and helped anyway!

But some personalities could not be changed. Lee Han gave up and spoke.

“In any case, Senior, go prepare for the lecture. I will help.”

Normally, he would not have cared, but since he had recently abused the inspector’s authority to push various duties and lectures onto this senior, Lee Han felt a slight sense of responsibility.

The other seniors of the enchantment magic school would never help even if the sky collapsed...

“Good. You have made the right decision.”

Princess Yukbeltire nodded as though it were only natural.

Lee Han cursed inwardly at that irritatingly thankless attitude.

'I should not have offered to help. I should have just dumped the lecture on her.'

“Wait. Where did the cocoa go?”

“What cocoa are you talking about?”

“The cocoa you made for me, junior of House Wardanaz. I was going to drink it after finishing my work, so I had not taken even a single sip.”

“Could you be mistaken?”

“There is no way I would be mistaken about something like...”

“That is not important right now. Let us leave quickly. If the lecture is not properly prepared, His Highness the Inspector will burn and devour you.”

***

-That cocoa looks delicious.

“Do you knights drink cocoa as well?”

-We can hardly taste sweetness, but we can feel the mana. As you know, when the successor brews it...

-Ah. Do not talk about unnecessary things. So you helped Student Yukbeltire prepare the lecture? You truly are kindhearted.

Since Lee Han had omitted the detailed circumstances, the knights could only admire him.

“Mmph?”

-What is the professor saying?

“Probably asking why I helped when it was not even my work.”

“Mmph, mmph!”

Professor Verdus nodded brightly to confirm it. The knights looked at the professor with contempt and disgust.

“Please ignore Professor Verdus. In any case, we went to see Professor Knighton...”

***

-That cocoa looks delicious.

“Do you knights drink cocoa as well?”

-We can hardly taste sweetness, but we can feel the mana. As you know, when the successor brews it...

-Ah. Do not talk about unnecessary things. So you helped Student Yukbeltire prepare the lecture? You truly are kindhearted.

Since Lee Han had omitted the detailed circumstances, the knights could only admire him.

“Mmph?”

-What is the professor saying?

“Probably asking why I helped when it was not even my work.”

“Mmph, mmph!”

Professor Verdus nodded brightly to confirm it. The {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} knights looked at the professor with contempt and disgust.

“Please ignore Professor Verdus. In any case, we went to see Professor Knighton...”