Chapter 1245

While Jowrin broke out in a cold sweat, Lee Han hurried over to Professor Voladi.

"Professor! Did you hear? How could this happen!"

At his disciple's anger, Professor Voladi nodded.

In a way, the fundamental reason Professor Garcia had been summoned by His Majesty the Emperor was Professor Voladi.

If Professor Voladi had not escaped, the junior professor would not have suffered, so there was no choice but to feel sorry.

"Wait! Something's strange!"

Suddenly, Lee Han sensed something was off.

There was one major hole in the story this Oculoguard student had brought.

"What is it, Wardanaz?"

"Why didn't Professor Ku sell anyone out?"

If someone wanted to drag others into collective responsibility before His Majesty the Emperor, wouldn't selling out Professor Kirmin be better?

"...???"

While Paridim merely blinked, unable to understand what he meant, Professor Voladi answered.

"Professor Kirmin probably prepared a way out for himself."

Regardless of their deep friendship, there was no denying that his friend's personality was crafty and sly.

One only had to look at how Professor Kirmin had caught Professor Voladi off guard during their previous duel.

"???"

Paridim, listening beside them, understood even less.

Wasn't catching an opponent off guard during a duel perfectly normal?

"What's wrong with catching someone off guard during a duel..."

"How could he shamelessly arrange an escape only for himself? Would it have hurt him to make one for Professor Garcia too! Wait, could he have sold Professor Garcia out with him?"

"Entirely possible."

Professor Voladi agreed immediately. Lee Han paced around the solitary cell in outrage.

"This won't do. I need to follow Professor Garcia and help."

"Um, Lee Han?"

Yonair, who had been preparing for the alchemy final exam beside him, spoke with a bewildered expression.

At that sight, Gainando inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, it seemed this cousin would point out the obvious without him having to step in.

"What?"

"Would taking Professor Bagreg with you before His Majesty the Emperor really be a good choice? If it backfires..."

"Don't worry, Yonair."

Lee Han nodded as though he understood.

Of course he knew that much.

"Once we're before His Majesty, I'll blame Professor Ku."

"......"

While Yonair stared at him in disbelief, Gainando was even more dumbfounded.

That was not the important part right now.

"No! That's not what's important!"

"???"

"...You're currently locked in the punishment room!"

At Gainando's shout, Paridim nodded before realizing it.

'Exactly!'

Anyone watching might have mistakenly thought this place was not a punishment room at all.

"I thought it was something serious."

"Gainando. That's not important."

"?????"

But the others' reactions once again shocked Paridim.

...Wasn't that normally important??

"Do you mean... there's a way out?"

"That's right."

Lee Han answered immediately.

His firm, unwavering manner only confused Paridim further.

Did this mage from House Wardanaz truly have a way to leave?

"From what I could see... there were no gaps in the security of this punishment room. The magic flows without the slightest interruption, and powerful undead summons inspect everyone coming and going..."

"Don't worry. There is a way out."

"...I-I understand."

Paridim thought Einroguard was truly mysterious.

Unlike Oculoguard, it was a complicated place where nothing made sense.

'Wardanaz doesn't make empty boasts. There must be some method prepared. Something I don't know because I'm unfamiliar with Einroguard...'

"There's another problem, though."

At Lee Han's words, not only Paridim but everyone else grew tense.

There was still another problem that had not come up yet?

Uman asked in a tense voice.

"What is it?"

"I might not make it back before the final exams, so I need to finish them in advance before I leave."

"......"

"...Who taught Lee Han that if he finishes all his exams before they start, he can leave early?"

Gainando grumbled.

Ever since this insane friend had learned that 'if you finish everything before the exams, there's no problem with leaving early,' he had been swinging it around whenever he felt like it.

***

"Haa... Haaah. That was exhausting."

Nillia passed through Einroguard's main gate with a face full of fatigue. Her back was covered with the pelts of rare monsters found only in the northern mountain range.

If she had followed her feelings, she would have simply thrown them away and come back, but with Nillia's personality, it was impossible to discard the bundles the other patrol members had packed for her.

In the end, Nillia had no choice but to convince herself inwardly.

'Monster pelts are useful for all sorts of things this season... They'd be good for making coats, cloaks, scarves, or gloves.'

"Nillia! What kind of commission took you so long!?"

The Black Tortoise Tower students who recognized their friend entering through the main gate shouted in surprise from afar.

"It's a little long if I explain everything. I helped the Shadow Patrol with some work..."

The beginning of this affair went back to the last gathering.

-Wardanaz is chasing after the professor who escaped?

-That's what I'm saying. But would he chase Professor Verdus that hard if Professor Verdus disappeared?

-I don't think so.

-No. He might.

-Then would he chase after those White Tiger Tower bastards if they disappeared too? Not Dergeu, but someone like Anglago...

-Hey. What do you mean, someone like Anglago?

-Everyone! Weren't we supposed to be worrying about Wardanaz right now!?

Because Professor Voladi had escaped, their friend had been abnormally hunting evil-god worshipers.

Nillia could not understand the other tower students making pointless bets in a situation like this.

How could they just sit around doing...

-Ah. Right. I introduced the Crescentless Night Knight Order, and Moradi introduced the Voig Knight Order. Moradi said she asked the head of her house to contact them.

-Ratford contacted the guild?

-Gainando and I sent letters to members of the Imperial Family...

'Huh?!'

And then Nillia realized.

She was the only one who had done nothing!

Strictly speaking, of course, that was not true. Far more students had done nothing.

But Nillia's conscience could not tolerate that and drove her to act.

The student with the most friends in the Black Tortoise Tower immediately sent a letter to the Shadow Patrol that very day.

...I'm not saying you absolutely have to do this, but something like this happened recently, and I understand if the Shadow Patrol isn't in a position to give me a commission, but if a commission is possible, I was wondering if you could perhaps send one...! I-I mean, the others introduced the Crescentless Night Knight Order or the Voig Knight Order, but these are the only connections I have...

Nillia's plan was simple.

She would accept a commission from the Shadow Patrol and leave the academy, then use their help to begin searching in the north.

Of course, it might fail. More than anything, the Shadow Patrol consisted of hunters who were individualistic and indifferent enough that asking Einroguard to handle this sort of commission...

-Nillia?

-Yes?

-A commission came in from the Shadow Patrol, but what exactly does <We desperately require Nillia's assistance to hunt an evil dragon in the northern mountain range> mean? An actual evil dragon hasn't appeared, has it??

-...I'm sorry... It's... sort of a joke the Shadow Patrol uses...

There had been an embarrassing incident along the way, but astonishingly, the Shadow Patrol granted Nillia's request.

A commission arrived almost immediately and got Nillia outside.

Meeting the heavily built, rough-looking patrol members again after a long while, Nillia first thanked them and then asked.

-Don't worry, Nillia! If all else fails, we'll cut off some bandits' heads and say they were evil-god worshipers!

-...W-we aren't as well informed as the Voig Knight Order. Do you perhaps have a way to find the evil-god worshipers?

Nillia pretended she had not heard what had just been said and asked again.

The Voig Knight Order of the north was so thorough that people said even the walls had ears.

There were even rumors that their spies hid in the very last inn on the northern snowfields!

That kind of ability to gather rumors was not something that could be built in a short time. It required placing informants over a long period and patiently cultivating them.

By comparison, the Shadow Patrol consisted mainly of hunters who operated only in the northern mountain range.

If it concerned the mountain range, they could close their eyes and tell you how many rabbits were inside a cave, but if the enemy was outside the mountains...

-Don't worry, Nillia. We have a way.

-...Could you tell me what that way is?

-On the way here, we smeared pursuit scent on a few members of the Voig Knight Order. If they chase the evil-god worshipers, we'll follow them and secretly steal the credit.

-......

Nillia was beginning to regret asking the Shadow Patrol for help.

Perhaps simply doing nothing would have been more helpful.

To think they would deliberately use their formidable mountain-honed skills for something like that...

-Wait. A message from the barrier.

The hunters, who had been planning to freeload off the Voig Knight Order's achievements, suddenly received a message from a bird and their expressions changed.

-It says unidentified evil-god worshipers fled into the mountain range?

-!!!

Nillia's eyes widened.

She had never imagined such good fortune would come to her!

An opportunity had appeared for her to catch them with her own hands, not through the Crescentless Night Knight Order, the Voig Knight Order, the thieves' guild, or the Imperial Family.

-Let's leave immediately!

-But... Nillia...

-Why aren't we going!?

-...We spent an entire week lying in ambush beneath that bastard's house just to get pursuit scent on him...

The hunters were deeply regretful.

The ones who had entered the mountains would be caught by their companions anyway, or eaten by monsters, so couldn't they go steal the Voig Knight Order's credit instead?

-Absolutely not! You have to listen to me! You called me here on a commission!

-W-well... that's true... Urgh... Fine. Let's head into the mountains.

The patrol members kept glancing back toward the direction of the knights in regret, but they did not refuse Nillia's instructions.

In the end, they flew quickly toward the mountain range and joined their companions.

And from then on came days of cold, brutal hunting.

Normally, those who fled all the way to the northern mountain range in the Empire were people who had been pushed to their limits, and they tried to escape deep into the mountains without thinking about what would happen afterward.

-Found one over there. Chase him!

-Shoot!

-I don't have the angle.

-I enchanted the arrow! If you shoot, it'll hit!

-Excellent! Going to Einroguard really was worth it! Whenever I meet those lumberjack bastards beneath the mountains, I always brag that—

-Shoot already!!

Fortunately, the hunters' skills were as fierce as ever, and the evil-god worshipers were captured one after another.

And then...

-...Nillia. About this one we caught... He confessed... He says he's from the Frahgal Order? Didn't you say you were looking for the Sanguros Order?

The hunters were bewildered.

They were supposed to find either the magic academy professor or one of the remnants of the Sanguros Order, but a completely different option had appeared.

But Nillia did not waver.

An Einroguard mage had to push forward even harder in a situation like this.

-...All evil-god worshipers are connected to one another to some degree! There must be someone from the Sanguros Order among their companions!

-I-I see. Of course.

-Nillia obviously knows what she's doing. You never even went to Einroguard, so why are you asking questions?

-I'm allowed to ask, you bastard.

And so the hunt continued.

Every evil-god worshiper who had fled into the mountain range was captured...

"......"

Finishing her recollection, Nillia started to speak and then fell silent. Her friends asked in confusion.

"You said you helped the Shadow Patrol? What happened?"

"It was nothing. We were hunting an evil dragon. Professor Bagreg still hasn't returned, right?"