095
“I really have no intention of going out. But if that puts you at ease, I’ll be happy to listen to it.”
Lee Han said with a serious expression.
Saying that with a sculptural face and without a single joke made Salko unwittingly confused.
‘Did you really never go out at night?’
Salco turned his gaze to the other black tortoise tower friend next to him. Then the friend shook his head.
It was said not to be deceived.
“……”
Salco’s expression darkened slightly. Also, it was dangerous to believe the nobles who were slick on the outside.
“…follow me. I will explain.”
Then Salko whispered something to the Black Turtle Tower friends.
Lee Han got curious and asked a friend who had eaten vegetable stew last time.
“What did Tutanta say?”
The other party replied with an apologetic expression.
“…don’t talk to me alone when you’re not here…”
“……”
* * * *
In fact, Lee Han wasn’t the only one going out at night. Some students were now slowly leaving the tower.
It was just that he realized that he couldn’t survive in this school by sleeping quietly at night.
Whether it was for food, for homework, for him or for an escape, he had to wander around the school looking for anything.
Of course, Salco was there too.
“You sneak around school at night and blame me?”
“…I never criticized.”
Salco said absurdly.
Come to think of it, there really wasn’t.
“Right. Go on.”
“……”
Salco continued the story.
It was on the third floor of the main building that Salco and his friends continue to challenge these days.
The main building is the largest and contains the most mysteries among the magic school buildings.
Rumor has it that even the principal doesn’t know what’s in the main building.
As if to prove that rumor, the 3rd floor of the main building kept changing every time I visited.
Sometimes there are five hallways, sometimes there are no stairs leading to it, sometimes I can’t even take a few steps and it’s blocked by a wall…
However, Salco was in a state of finding a way to get in to some extent by hanging on with the persistence of a mason guild.
“How do I get in?”
“When the hours and minutes are odd, and when the moon is not overcast, and when the staff is in the left hand. By doing this, the corridor on the third floor will open properly.”
“……”
For a moment, Lee Han wanted Salko to make fun of him. But Salco was very serious.
“That… that’s right.”
Well, if it was a magic school, it could be.
Lee Han was grateful enough that the condition that the corridor on the third floor was properly opened at night was not to have to jump over the circle of fire while riding a unicycle while roasting peanuts with lightning.
“Thank you. Useful information.”
Still, it was Lee Han who had to visit the stable located on the upper floor of the main building. The information on the third floor was quite useful.
“The information is not over yet. There is someone on the third floor who can help you.”
“Isn’t it the spirit of lightning?”
“?”
“no. It’s a joke. What kind of existence are you?”
Ian was curious.
Even if it was a magical being, the magic school was already full of all sorts of strange beings.
Lich, mixed troll, vampire, thunderbolt, etc…
And it’s probably not a good person to meet and talk to most of the time. Lee Han could even bet gold coins.
“That cannot be said.”
“……”
“I made an oath to walk without revealing the identity of that existence.Because.”
“Right. Do you want me to go check it out myself?”
“no. Finding its existence is more complicated and difficult than entering the hallway on the third floor. I have to go with you. As you decide, I will go to the corridor on the third floor and guide you to the being.”
Salco said so with a hard rocky attitude. However, Lee Han was skeptical.
‘Isn’t this a child trap?’
When he was unfairly attacked by other students, he heard his suspicions first.
Still, the opponent doesn’t like nobles and knights.
When I went to the corridor on the third floor, the students of the Black Turtle Tower might have been waiting in masks.
Or maybe the presence in the hallway on the third floor wants to sacrifice a student, but Salko chose Lee Han…
“Why?”
Salco asked, not even dreaming that Lee Han had a very disrespectful suspicion.
“I made an oath to that being, wouldn’t she hate me if I guided her?”
“not. He said he doesn’t mind bringing in new students as long as he doesn’t reveal his identity. Just in case, I checked it again in the ＜Basic Imperial Language and Logic> lecture.”
‘Ttt.’
The opponent was a sincere student as much as Lee Han. I couldn’t play with it as easily as Guynando.
“Do you really think it helps?”
“On the honor of my family, I think so. Of course, my judgment is not always right.”
Salko said seriously, stroking his beard like a dwarf.
‘Anything needs information.’
Contemplating, Lee Han nodded his head.
He didn’t have time to go through cold or hot water to find the way to the stables located on the upper floors of the main building.
“great. When are you planning to go?”
“Tonight.”
* * * *
Saturday evening.
It was time for the other students to wrap themselves in blankets and bask in the warm bonfire in the common room.
Time to hold a cup of steaming tea or coffee in one hand and a quill or chess piece or card in the other.
At that time, Lee Han and Salko were walking up the dark stairs of the main building.
‘The others don’t seem to exist.’
Lee Han checked the surroundings, being alert for any possible ambush. The Black Turtle Tower students did not seem to follow.
Salco had a staff in one hand and a hammer in his waist.
To be honest, that hammer felt more menacing than the wooden swords worn by the White Tiger Tower students.
“I asked other students. Wodanaz.”
Salco said in a low voice reminiscent of granite.
“What did you ask?”
“Who are you?”
“……”
Lee Han checked his surroundings again.
Salko said, ‘Die, Wodanaj. Your evil deeds will end here!’ I was worried that the students who had been ambush would run out.
Fortunately, no such thing happened.
“I heard you feed the other students,” he said. Not only all the students of the Blue Dragon Tower, but also the students of other towers.”
“okay.”
“Good deeds are to be respected, but I want to stop them. People who have not worked to find what they eat and wear on their own will not know the value of it, even if someone takes care of it.”
Lee Han nodded his head unconsciously.
That was too right.
“…?”
Salko was taken aback when Lee Han nodded.
It was not expected that Lee Han, who came from the Wodanaj family, would admit that without any objection.
“You understand… do you understand?”
“There is nothing wrong with what you say. Those who did not work for themselves in the first place do not know the value of it.”
“right. how sacred is laborDo the Hanji nobles know? Or the knights? Those guys who know how to do nothing but grunt, grab a knife and mumble?”
“Basically, I think the nobles and knights should also send farms to plow the fields. You learn swordsmanship through culture, but there is no reason not to learn farming.”
The two young workers worked together passionately.
When the conversation was over, Lee Han and Salko looked at each other as if they were quite good. Salko’s rocky face softened slightly.
“I think I misunderstood you. I apologize. Wodanaz. Some White Tiger Tower students say you are an evil archmage without blood or tears…”
“……”
“…that was the rumor of arrogant knights.”
“right. Such rumors always blind us, so we should always be on the lookout. As a wizard.”
“That’s right.”
Salko shook her head with a look of remorse.
Ian thought to himself.
‘Even if any rumors spread in the future, you can still call them nonsense.’
Salco looked at Lee Han’s hand. It was a hand that was hardened by gardening and various work. Nobles could not have such a hand.
How people with the same hands recognize each other. Salco fully acknowledged Lee Han for that.
Then, Salko was rather curious.
Why does a student like Lee Han take care of other lazy trash?
“Wordanaz. I want to ask you one thing.”
“what?”
“Why do you take care of students in the same tower?”
“……”
Ian was perplexed.
yeah…
‘It’s because of the money…’
I do it because I get paid, but I don’t get paid, so would you like to make breakfast for free and visit me to feed me?
Of course it was for money.
However, Lee Han didn’t think it would be a good idea to say that it was because of the money, in a situation where Salco had a fairly high evaluation of him.
Lee Han decided to answer ambiguously.
“Because they are friends.”
“……”
The answer made a strong impression on Salco.
He thought that the reason why there were students following Woudanaz was because of Warda Naz’s magical abilities, but it seemed that it wasn’t just because of that.
“I’ll never do that, but… So I think I know a little bit about the honor your nobles are talking about. It wasn’t completely absent.”
“……”
Lee Han put the ledger in his arms a little deeper.
If caught, Salco will never trust the nobles for the rest of his life.
Salco, who was walking ahead in the hallway of the main building on the 3rd floor, suddenly stopped. Then he pointed to the statue in the hallway. It was a statue of an unknown wizard.
Although it was an old, faded, and broken statue, it was nonetheless a breathtakingly beautiful appearance.
He’s so handsome that it feels like he’s not human.
‘It’s strange. Why does it feel so familiar?’
“Do you see this statue broken, Wodanaj?”
Salco pulled out his hammer. Lee Han took a step back and placed his hand on his waist and nodded his head.
“This statue was repaired by me last time. I couldn’t help but stare at this ruined stone statue.”
‘You’re a workaholic.’
But I also understood this.
Just like Yoner wants to water the plants when she sees it, Nilia wants to catch her prey when she sees it, and Han Yi wants to bow when she sees Professor…
Salco has such an occupational disease.
“But it broke again like this?”
“okay. Even if this statue is repaired, it continues to break. And that’s the secret to unlocking this hidden door.”
Salco carefully removed the broken statue.repaired
Then, in the dark, the statue rotated once with the sound of rolling stones. At the same time, a hidden passage opened.
“Go inside. Wodanaz. From here on, I have to go alone.”
“Tutanta. …I believe in you.”
“Know. So you must have come this far.”
“I really believe in you.”
“Why are you repeating it?”
Without even thinking that Lee Han was reading his reaction, Salko tilted his head.
* * * *
Did a new student arrive?
“!”
There was a statue inside the passage. It was a statue that looked like a mixture of several beasts.
nice to meet. I am the statue of the forgotten beast. I’ve been at this school for quite some time. The student who came in after repairing the statue. First of all, will you swear that you won’t tell anyone about me?
“…I swear.”
When Lee Han answered, the tail of the dog in the statue turned happily.
“Excuse me, but what are you doing here?”
It’s just killing time. The room I was guarding was closed 187 years ago. Since then, I’ve been wandering around the cool places of this school.
“I wonder why you shouldn’t talk about it, but…”
That’s because the professors can get me to work again.
“You are so wise…!”
Thank you for your empathy.
Lee Han could be sure that this statue was truly wise.