Chapter 1121
The dark magic school students were bewildered when their junior disappeared somewhere before anyone could stop him.
What was that?
“Where is Wardanaz going?”
“Maybe he has another lecture. Summoning magic, or...”
“Something like illusion magic, enchantment magic, foresight magic, or transformation magic?”
“You have to include healing magic and alchemy too.”
Dirimpa watched Ogoldos and Diret’s conversation with a bizarre expression.
What kind of conversation was that supposed to be?
“Ah. Dirimpa. That joke just now was using the fact that our junior takes several schools...”
“I-I see.”
Dirimpa thought that while they had not seen one another, the school had acquired some strange jokes.
Honestly, was that not more frightening than funny?
Flutter!
While they were talking, a paper bird suddenly flew in.
Considering it had been sent by recycling paper stained dark blue by dark-magic drugs, it was definitely a paper bird sent by Professor Mortum.
“What does the professor say?”
“...Professor says the report will be written personally?”
Diret blinked, slightly confused.
Something was strange. The juniors seemed to think similarly, each throwing in a comment.
“Isn’t it a trap? If you say all right, Professor might sulk for an entire week...”
“It annoys me that this feels genuinely likely.”
“Huff, huffhuff. Did something happen?”
The junior who had disappeared had somehow returned.
Thanks to using body-reinforcement magic and even the knights’ secrets, the speed had been almost like an arrow.
“Professor Mortum says the report will be written personally.”
“Wow. That is truly wonderful!”
Lee Han clapped hypocritically without changing expression at all.
By now, Professor Mortum was likely writing the report while cursing the Empire’s totalitarian political system.
“...Something is strange...”
Diret glanced at the junior.
Diret could not know exactly what it was, but the junior’s attitude right now seemed to be hiding something.
Even the professor was doing something not usually done, was that not so?
“Let us go see the demon together, Senior. When it comes only to wringing a demon dry, there is no one in the school who can match you, Senior.”
Ogoldos spoke in a voice filled with respect.
Of course, putting respect into a remark did not mean everything sounded plausible.
'That makes Senior sound like a really bad person.'
“No. Like I said, I will only open the lock. I do not have to write the professor’s report anymore, but I have other things to do.”
Depending on one’s mindset, a fifth-year could become as busy as one wanted, or as relaxed as one wanted.
And Diret, naturally, was the former.
Since the eastern-region dark magic report no longer had to be written, Diret planned to use the leftover time to write a warning notice for the juniors about Nightmare-Echo Forest.
Recently, whether because of the inspector, or because the students had set fires because of the inspector, the frequency of evil-spirit appearances nearby had increased greatly.
“What kind of work is it?”
“Hm? Evil spirits are appearing in Nightmare-Echo Forest, so I plan to write precautions and countermeasures and distribute them on the seventh floor...”
Lee Han looked at Ogoldos and Dirimpa. It was a question asking whether this too was work of the dark magic school.
Naturally, the two shook their heads and mouthed words.
'Senior is, being taken advantage of.'
'We really, do not know, why Senior is like that.'
“You two. I can hear all that mouthing.”
Diret warned the juniors mouthing words behind.
Once someone reached the fifth year, one could hear even when juniors spoke without making a sound.
“I see. I understand. I will go somewhere for a moment.”
“......”
The junior shot out like an arrow again.
And after a short while, a paper bird flew in from Yukbeltire.
It was a letter fiercely denouncing the authoritarian behavior of the Imperial inspector, who had ordered Yukbeltire to waste her own time for useless juniors.
'...This is really strange!!'
***
The demon Orlach whistled as Orlach swept the dust from the basement with a broom.
If other demons, full of bloodlust and never once contracted with humans, had seen that, their eyes would have rolled back and they would have vomited blood.
How could a demon who had even served as the duke’s duel banner bearer behave so servilely?
The majority of demons would have thought they would rather die than do such chores.
However, Orlach’s thoughts were different.
'Hehe. I am different from stupid demons.'
As befitted a demon who had worked under House Mo, Orlach certainly possessed exceptional insight.
One of those insights was, “It is better to do it first than to do it after getting beaten.”
Thanks to such excellent insight, had not even the Pride Duke and Arsil praised Orlach?
“By the way...”
After finishing one round of cleaning, Orlach looked around the basement.
Even looking again, it was a world apart from when Orlach had worked at the mansion of House Mo.
There had been many dangerous relics there, but it had never felt poor. Here, somehow...
...Separate from being disorderly and chaotic, the feeling of poverty was strong.
'As expected of dark mages... Ah, no. That cannot be. A mage of House Wardanaz belongs here too.'
Orlach pulled together the heart that had begun to weaken.
In one corner of Orlach’s mind, an evil whisper was tempting Orlach, saying, “Recall again how poor dark mages are,” but Orlach clenched the teeth and endured.
Since Orlach had to work here now anyway, there was no good in thinking that.
One had to look at the positive side!
-Hey.
Suddenly, a squeaking sound came from a corner beneath the basement shelf. Orlach lowered Orlach’s head while holding the broom.
“...What are you? Some hamster?”
-Do I look like a hamster to you, demon? You must be a remarkably foolish demon.
“Whether you were a mage in the old days or a dragon that burned the sky, right now you are a hamster. What sort of pathetic provocation is that?”
Another demon would have flared up, but Orlach instead snorted and mocked it.
If one flared up at such provocation, one could never work under House Mo.
'...Not bad. This demon.'
The magical criminal hamster, Antagondals, was impressed.
An excellent mage could gauge the vessel of the opposing demon after exchanging only a few words.
If the demon had flown into a rage at the word foolish, that would have meant a trivial demon easy to play with.
However, the opponent had shown composure instead. That meant this was a fairly capable demon.
-Fine. Fine. I will withdraw the word foolish. But your current situation cannot be very good either, can it? If a demon is locked in this basement, it must mean you have been bound by a contract.
Since it was not especially something to hide, Orlach readily admitted it.
In truth, it was not difficult to notice either. What else would a demon wandering around in a Magic Tower be?
“What is it you want to say?”
-That we can cooperate with each other. For the sake of our mutual escape.
“Oho.”
Orlach showed a look of immediate understanding. The hamster cheered inwardly.
As expected, capable demons were convenient for this reason.
A demon with only strong pride and stupidity would have been bothersome, saying, “Why should I join hands with a mortal like you?” but an intelligent demon went straight to the point instead of wasting time in useless pride fights.
Of course, this convenience would disappear once their mutual objectives were achieved. Since the demon was intelligent, the demon would try to betray the other side at the first opportunity.
But the hamster was planning to do that anyway. Once the hamster escaped, the hamster would stab the demon in the back and recover the power lost until now.
“If you say cooperation, what exactly do you want? I will say this in advance, but there is not much I can do. Hamster.”
-I do not want much either. Just a little reagent and a little magic. I have to break this curse.
Though it said “a little,” it was absolutely not little, but neither of the two pointed that out. Both had already guessed.
“A curse... From the look of it, a very powerful curse.”
-Yes. That is why I am stuck here like this!
The hamster could not control its emotions for a moment and growled.
If the hamster could return to the past, then no matter how drunk on the power of ancient magic the hamster became, it would not personally enter Einroguard.
The hamster had complacently thought that no matter what happened, it would be enough to collapse the body and let only the soul escape, but who could have known it would be bound like this?
It had truly gained a heavy lesson, but the price had been terribly harsh.
It had become a hamster and had to roll around among stupid students.
Even worse, the mage boy who had inherited the hamster from the insane duplicate had not treasured it dearly or borrowed its wisdom, but had roughly abandoned it in the basement of the Magic Tower.
These days, the hamster was suspicious that the mage boy might have forgotten it.
Surely not...
-If the curse is broken, I will personally find the contract that binds you and have it destroyed. I can swear that even now.
The hamster spoke craftily.
Once the curse was broken, the hamster planned to immediately collapse the body and escape. The body would pay the price for betraying the oath.
“That is tempting. Tempting!”
Orlach nodded repeatedly with a face half taken in.
“Can you tell me in more detail? What plan have you prepared, and how far?”
-Look.
The hamster made a map with the seeds and carrot pieces it had gathered.
Although it had been trapped inside the basement and could not go outside, it had made a map of the Magic Tower in its own way using only sounds and mana waves. It was truly an astonishing skill.
-The study about two floors above here. And the secret storage hidden beside it. First, we have to break through here. We have to somehow obtain authority to approach it when we have a chance. There seems to be ghost-spirit gold here.
“I see. I see.”
-After that, we need to obtain mermaid tears... Wait! Someone has come.
The hamster, having heard footsteps, squeaked. The two quickly returned to their original places.
Clack!
Along with the sound of the lock opening, light entered the basement of the Magic Tower. The hamster quietly went back into the corner beneath the shelf.
Once they left, it would devise the plan again.
“Young Master! That hamster bastard is preparing an escape plan!! It is a very bad bastard!”
-!!
As soon as the door opened, Orlach scurried over to Lee Han and tattled about what had just happened.
The hamster’s pupils shook as if an earthquake had struck.
The hamster prided itself on knowing demons fairly well, but even this magical criminal had limits.
The craftiness of a demon who had long served House Mo had surpassed ordinary common sense.
If the other party plotted something, encourage it while simultaneously preparing to inform on them.
That was the iron rule of a demon working for House Mo.
***
“......”
-......
Lee Han stared intently at the hamster placed inside the cage. The hamster could not say anything.
Orlach chattered in whispers beside him.
“I was startled by how crafty that hamster was.”
-...Did you not promise to release me and then vanish without a word!
The hamster, finally exploding, squeaked and shouted.
“I do not think I especially promised...”
“You hamster bastard. How dare you raise your voice, when you know where you are!”
Orlach scolded it in a towering rage.
Such rudeness toward someone of House Wardanaz blood.
If Arsil had been here, that hamster would have been sentenced to the extreme penalty.
“Mm. Excuse me. Orlach.”
“Yes!”
“I think that is a little excessive...”
“?!”
Orlach was shocked.
No?!
“What part do you mean?”
“Just all of it is excessive. Right. And the fact that you met me during vacation is a secret. You met me for the first time today.”
“What about the bond with House Wardanaz? Is that a secret too?”
“That is... Let us keep that secret too, simply because it is embarrassing. Anyway, stop it.”
If Orlach said, “Do you know who this person is?!” in front of the seniors of the dark magic school, Lee Han felt as though he would not be able to show his face in Darkness Hall for about two days from that day onward.
To avoid such shame, he had to block it in advance.
When the two of them chattered about pointless things, the hamster exploded in anger again.
-Answer me!
“Ah. I am sorry. I was a little busy. Still, I left plenty of food before I went...”
'What excellent skill at mockery.'
Orlach was impressed.
As a former curtain clown of the duke, the mockery the young master of House Wardanaz was showing right now was highly sophisticated.