Chapter 1348

'I think it'll lose...'

Lee Han thought to himself.

Of course, a basilisk was the king of serpents, renowned for its viciousness and overwhelming power, but the basilisk inside Lee Han's sleeve was a little different.

Perhaps because it was still a baby, the things it did were childish and lacked dignity.

To put it more honestly, Lee Han simply thought it would lose.

“Hmm. Wouldn't you be at a disadvantage?”

Lee Han phrased it indirectly so the baby basilisk would not be hurt.

-What? Why?

“Well... that one's a Bulgassari, and you're a basilisk. I heard somewhere that Bulgassari are the natural enemies of basilisks.”

-I've never heard that before...?

The baby basilisk spun its tail in circles, half doubtful.

Honestly, even if Bulgassari were its natural enemy, the opponent had only just been born, so it felt as though it could win through sheer size.

-Master. Even if it's my natural enemy, I think I can win. Just leave it to me!

“......”

-You'll definitely lose. Don't let it do this under any circumstances.

Another voice came from inside the staff.

If even a combative spirit like Saratan was saying that, then the baby basilisk must truly have looked disadvantaged.

“What's wrong, Wardanaz?”

“Do you think the baby basilisk can subdue the baby Bulgassari?”

“Hmm... Ah. By baby basilisk, you mean the one inside your sleeve?”

“Yeah.”

“Probably not?”

The offended baby basilisk began thrashing around inside his sleeve. Fortunately, his friends had never learned basilisk language and could not understand the insults.

-You people who are going to end up as fifth-years!

“Shh. That's too harsh. And to be honest, I'm a little worried too.”

-Why?!

The baby basilisk was startled in disbelief.

It had expected such nonsense from the other idiots, but not Lee Han.

“Well, because your record... isn't exactly that good.”

-I've never lost!

“You lost to Phoneig last time too...”

Once, when the baby basilisk had been bored, it plucked out one of Phoneig's feathers and decorated its tail with it, only to be seized in the griffin's beak.

The baby basilisk had been shaken around so fiercely back then that it genuinely thought it was about to be eaten.

-...That wasn't a proper match,

“You lost to Her Highness Jowrin too...”

There had also been a time when the dejected Jowrin went “nom” and put the entire baby basilisk into her mouth.

Looking over its record, the baby basilisk was indeed weak against opponents who overwhelmed it with sheer size.

'Maybe Bulgassari really are its natural enemy.'

-I let her win! Master, you don't actually think I'm weak, do you?!

“Uh, well. That's... No. Of course not.”

Lee Han was slightly flustered when the baby basilisk sharply pointed it out.

...How did it know?

-Then leave it to me! I'll prove my strength!

Without waiting for an answer, the baby basilisk unwound itself from his sleeve like a bracelet and slithered out.

His friends shouted in alarm.

Not because they were surprised to see the basilisk, but for a different reason.

“Wardanaz! We told you it'll lose!”

“What if the Bulgassari eats it?!”

-......

The baby basilisk wanted to blast those awful people with its petrifying gaze, but held itself back.

-Hmph. Just watch!

In an instant, the baby basilisk's body began expanding explosively.

The physical transformation was so dramatic that every Einroguard student present was shocked.

“No way!”

“How can it get that big?!”

The baby basilisk chuckled inwardly and swelled with pride at the audience's reactions.

“How much of Wardanaz's mana did you steal and eat!?”

“More importantly, if you could transform like that, why were you hanging from his sleeve all the time?”

'Ah.'

The baby basilisk felt as though cold sweat were running down its back.

This was a little different from what it had expected.

-This is all your fault!

To change the mood, the baby basilisk approached the Bulgassari.

Perhaps sensing a threat, the Bulgassari backed away while making kyu-kyu noises again.

Whish!

The baby basilisk wrapped its now much larger tail tightly {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} around the Bulgassari.

Cornered, the Bulgassari tried to bite the baby basilisk's tail, but the moment its mouth neared it, it recoiled in surprise.

“!”

Lee Han, who had been watching, was startled too.

What?

'I see. It's because of the poison!'

Deadly venom flowed through the baby basilisk's blood.

It was a vicious poison incomparable to that of ordinary serpent-type monsters.

The Bulgassari must have sensed it too, because it did not even dare put its mouth on the basilisk.

-Hmph!

As if it had found the perfect opening, the baby basilisk tightened its tail even harder.

Completely subdued, the Bulgassari let out a mournful cry.

-Master! Look! I subdued it!

Certain of victory, the baby basilisk hissed excitedly.

His friends whispered among themselves at the sight.

“It looked cute when Wardanaz carried it around in his sleeve...”

“That was complete camouflage.”

Unaware that its reputation among the students was plummeting rapidly, the baby basilisk was simply delighted.

Lee Han praised it for now.

“Y-yeah. Good job. That's impressive.”

-I told you! I said I could win!

Bulgassari in the world does someone manage to feed a Bulgassari a little orichalcum?

A belated message arrived from the club member.

The other person must have been quite flustered too, because the handwriting was crooked.

'That's a fair point.'

Gonadaltes don't know either. I think the person my friend knows is insane.

Member Bulgassari suspected that it was not someone the other person's friend knew, but the other person themself.

How in the world did someone manage to feed a Bulgassari a little orichalcum?

'Then again, using the Principal's name as an alias was already a sign.'

To use Gonadaltes as an alias, being ordinarily insane would not be enough.

You would have to be considerably insane...

Bulgassari principle, it shouldn't be a major problem. As long as the orichalcum wasn't contaminated. Since it ate a high-density mass of mana, it'll probably grow a little faster.

'That's a relief.'

Lee Han let out a sigh of relief inwardly.

From the way they said it, this did not sound like such a serious problem.

Gonadaltes said it'll grow a little faster. How much faster?

Bulgassari's no way to know.

Gonadaltes not?

Bulgassari no one's ever fed orichalcum to a Bulgassari before! Do I really have to explain that?!

'I didn't realize it, but this Bulgassari member has quite a sharp temper. I should be careful.'

Lee Han discovered a new side of the member he had not known before and decided to exercise caution.

Meanwhile, the baby Bulgassari continued struggling to escape from the basilisk's tail.

-Hmph! Where do you think you're going!

Gonadaltes:...Can I ask just one more thing? The Bulgassari keeps trying to eat everything, so we subdued it by force. That won't have any bad effects, will it?

Bulgassari won't have a bad effect. Bulgassari don't hold grudges over things like that. But it might take it as play.

Gonadaltes?

Bulgassari. In other words, it'll think you're playing with it, and when it gets bigger, it'll challenge you again. If you subdue it a few more times, it'll understand the difference and stop, but it won't be easy.

“......”

Lee Han looked at the triumphant baby basilisk and fell into thought.

For now, it could suppress the Bulgassari through sheer size, but would it still be able to do that after the Bulgassari grew?

'...I'll think about that when the time comes.'

Perhaps the baby basilisk would successfully suppress its future challenges as well.

Just now, everyone had expected it to lose, and it had won.

Bulgassari it mostly the things I listed earlier, don't act excessively violent or wicked in front of it, change its nest whenever it gets bigger... and if anything else happens, ask me.

Gonadaltes. You seem to know a lot about this. Have you ever raised a Bulgassari before?

Bulgassari not. Why would you ask that? I read it in books. I've never raised a Bulgassari.

'That reaction is a little strange.'

Lee Han felt something was off.

The other person was so knowledgeable that he had naturally assumed they had raised one before, yet they claimed they never had.

On top of that, the answer itself felt strangely suspicious.

'No. It's rude to suspect someone who helped me.'

Lee Han finished thanking the member and closed the book.

Then he checked the list of food they had written down.

Rubies, topaz, amethyst, moonstone, opal, onyx...

“......”

Lee Han suddenly became puzzled.

'How did the Bulgassari at Einroguard grow up? Did it raid the Principal's warehouse and steal food?'

He could not understand how anyone had managed to feed it such expensive things.

Had the Einroguard Bulgassari grown up eating something else?

“Wardanaz. If we feed it this stuff, we'll go bankrupt.”

“Can't we give it fake rubies? Our alchemy is good enough to make counterfeits.”

“Where are we supposed to get all this? Even the people at Valdrogard probably couldn't gather enough food for this thing.”

* * *

“That will not be difficult. I shall have it brought shortly.”

“......”

“......”

After the servant said that and disappeared, the Einroguard students collectively fell silent.

Someone muttered,

“Maybe it's not too late to transfer...”

“Shut up! Can't you be quiet? To think you'd abandon magic and your friends after falling for the temptation of gold! Of course, if you transferred to Valdrogard, you could probably take first place in your year without studying for an entire semester. You wouldn't have to raise your own research funds either. You could freely use your family's money without restrictions. But is that really what you want? Is that what you want?!”

'That's extremely detailed. They must have imagined it a lot.'

Lee Han thought to himself.

Considering how detailed the outburst was, that student had probably imagined it many times before.

While his friends sank into depression, the servant came running back.

The servant had rushed over in such alarm that they were panting and could barely catch their breath.

“Professor! Professor! Something terrible... Something terrible has happened!”

“!!!”

“I knew it! Even Valdrogard can't hand over that many jewels so easily!”

The Einroguard students shouted in relief without realizing it.

Technically, it was not good news.

If there was no food for the Bulgassari, they would have to gather it themselves.

Even so, for some reason, the Einroguard students felt slightly better.

“Pardon? What do you mean? I brought the jewels you requested right here.”

The servant held out a heavy silk pouch to Lee Han.

It was filled with jewels that clattered together inside.

“......”

“......”

The Einroguard students' expressions grew even gloomier and more dejected.

The servant did not stop there and asked another question.

“By the way, are these people from Einroguard? When did you arrive?”

“Ah.”

“Oh.”

Only then did the students remember that they had sneaked in without being formally invited, and their expressions turned awkward.

Lee Han smoothly covered for them.

“I called them here to help me prepare for the lectures. I was short on hands trying to get everything ready by myself.”

“I see.”

The servant looked impressed by their friendship.

No matter how close they were, it was rare to see friends come all this way to help and work tirelessly without rest.

At the servant's admiration, the students looked ashamed.

Anglago quickly sprinkled dirt over a trap and covered it up.

'If we're caught now, it'll be humiliating as hell...!'

“More importantly, what is this terrible thing? Did an intruder enter the school?”

“Ah! No, that's not it.”

At Lee Han's words, the servant seemed to remember their original purpose at last, and their eyes trembled with alarm.

“Professor. This is truly serious. I don't know what we should do either. But if it's you, Professor...”

“What in the world happened?”

“The students heard rumors about you and gathered here before the new semester has even begun!”

“...Is that all?”