Even if Jowurin acted selfishly, Lee Han could not do the same. He refused firmly.

“That won’t do.”

“Really? Then it can’t be helped.”

The Great Artist did not particularly mind.

After all, the Great Artist had already obtained the mandragon.

The members of the Horticulture Club might be disappointed, but for the Great Artist, that one mandragon was enough.

“Wait. May we stop by over there?”

As they left the hall rented by the Horticulture Club, Lee Han pointed toward another entrance where white-bronze toy decorations were displayed.

Toy Craftsmen’s Guild of Plaher, Granden, and Ilyainas Cities

“...Shouldn’t a second-year student play Mage Cards with some dignity?”

The Great Artist was bewildered.

By the standards of the Great Artist, who was a relatively old-fashioned mage, second-year Einroguard students should play Mage Cards, fourth-years should play chess, and sixth-years should simply give up all pleasures in life.

Mage Cards were one thing, but toys?

“Ah. They’re not for me. They’re gifts.”

“I see. For a young relative?”

“No. For Prince Jowurin.”

“...??????”

The Great Artist tilted the large hat decorated with peacock feathers and nearly dropped it.

The Great Artist could not understand why a dragon would need such toys.

‘Ah. I see. Perhaps out of curiosity, for research or analysis.’

Come to think of it, even Wuman had inherited the art of Mage Cards from a previous generation of dragons.

It would not be strange if Prince Jowurin suddenly wanted to investigate what kinds of toys the other races of the Empire played with.

While the Great Artist was puzzling over the matter, Lee Han carefully checked his Imperial gold coins. Thanks to the sale of the mandragon, his purse was unexpectedly full.

‘A gift for Jowurin, a gift for Basil... At this rate, I could buy what my other friends need and still have some left.’

“I’d like to participate in the auction...”

“Never mind. I’ll buy them all.”

The Great Artist cut into the conversation between the younger student and the manager. Lee Han, who had been about to apply to participate, was flustered.

“I was going to buy them with my own Imperial gold coins.”

“Don’t behave so inefficiently as an Einroguard student. If research is the purpose, the more you bring, the more pleased the other side will be.”

“Research? What... Well, they’ll break them easily anyway, so it would be better to bring a lot.”

Lee Han nodded as he thought of Jowurin’s monstrous strength.

While they played together, at least a few were bound to break. And it would be better if what broke was a toy rather than Lee Han himself.

The Great Artist took out an emerald-decorated pocket watch and checked the time.

Having obtained the target mandragon and heard cases of artworks gaining life, even if only in limited ways, the Great Artist was now thinking of flying back to the new residence and immersing in work.

...Nothing good would come of wandering around the capital for too long and risking an encounter with a mad archmage...

“Are you finished?”

“Do you have an appointment? I was going to pick out gifts for my friends.”

“You mean your Blue Dragon Tower friends, I suppose. Well, that makes sense for someone like you.”

A student worthy of having a name on the Skull Principal’s list would inevitably play a leadership role within the tower.

Just look at Professor Garcia, for instance.

“What about Professor Garcia?”

“Ah. It’s nothing.”

“...?”

Lee Han was puzzled, but the Great Artist did not seem inclined to explain.

Even a mage far senior to him was powerless before fists.

“Ah, Senior. But I need to pick gifts for friends from other towers too, not just Blue Dragon Tower, so it may take longer.”

“...Why????”

The Great Artist was shocked.

***

After touring the auction house and buying the remaining gifts—the Great Artist paid for them while continuously tilting the head in confusion—Lee Han bid farewell to the senior and headed toward where his friends were.

Then he spotted a very rare species in the crowd.

A species that drew envious gazes and whispers wherever they went.

A penguin beastkin.

“Alshicle! ...No, that’s not right.”

Lee Han, who had called out after seeing the plump back of the head, belatedly realized his mistake.

It was the same penguin beastkin species, but the other person was not Alshicle.

‘Wait. This one looks familiar?’

“Greetings, Senior!”

The penguin beastkin rushed over and bowed.

From that reaction, Lee Han realized why the other person looked familiar.

It was Alhild, from the same House Pengerine as Alshicle.

A first-year junior at Einroguard!

“Alhild?”

“You remembered me. What an honor.”

“...Did you perhaps get tortured in the punishment cells this semester?”

Lee Han asked seriously.

Alhild was a boy full of confidence and arrogance, befitting a good family background.

And he truly had the ability to back that up.

It was only because the Skull Principal had egged him on by saying, “Here, Lee Han is about average level at Einroguard, so why don’t you spar with him? Haha,” but he was genuinely an outstanding talent.

For such a talent to maintain this sort of polite, respectful attitude, cautious with every breath...

There was only one answer.

‘Those insane guards. To do this to a junior who is only a first-year?’

Lee Han inwardly cursed the Death Knights.

Since they were undead, they had no human compassion.

“I have never been to the punishment cells.”

“What? Don’t talk nonsense. You must have tried escaping or exploring. Ah, did you manage not to get caught at all? That’s impressive.”

“No. In my spare time, I studied in my private room.”

“...”

Lee Han unconsciously took a step back.

He sensed a terrifying madness dwelling within the other person.

“What are you carrying?”

“Gifts for my friends.”

“I’ll carry them for you.”

“Wai—”

Alhild rushed over to help with the pile of gifts stacked in Lee Han’s arms.

Then he swayed as if he were about to fall.

‘What?!’

His senior had been carrying them so naturally that Alhild had not realized it, but they were much heavier than expected.

He nearly toppled over just from lifting one wrapped gift box.

“Wh-what is this?!”

“That’s why I told you to wait. Are you all right? That’s a reinforcement anvil for Salco, so it’s quite heavy.”

“...”

Alhild, the top student of Blue Dragon Tower and the promising mage of House Pengerine, once again looked at Lee Han with eyes full of respect.

I still have a long way to go!

“I’ll cast a strengthening spell on you.”

“As expected... Senior’s magical skills have been honed because you never stop training, even in everyday situations like this.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

Lee Han was flustered.

Of course, escaping from Einroguard or moving supplies naturally made one accustomed to moving around under an overloaded burden.

In Lee Han’s case, he had gradually raised his weight limit through enhancement magic at first, then knight-style physical reinforcement using mana, then telekinetic magic, and so on.

Thanks to that, he had earned the title of Einroguard’s top porter—though he was not certain, since he had yet to compete with the upperclassmen—but that had been purely out of necessity, not for training.

“Eandurde told us.”

“...”

‘Eandurde!’

Lee Han inwardly shouted the absent junior’s name.

Spreading false rumors!

“This isn’t training. It’s survival at Einroguard...”

“How admirable. I’ll also try carrying heavy loads around from now on.”

“If you respect me, why not listen to what I’m saying?”

Lee Han was exasperated, but Alhild had already made up his mind.

Alhild was thinking of going to some quarry, digging up stones, and putting them into a backpack.

“Oh, right. Senior. Thank you for the food.”

“...I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

For now, Lee Han played dumb.

It was true that he had given Eandurde food to share with friends whenever they met, but he had kept his name hidden.

He had told Eandurde not to mention it, so surely...

“You gave it to us, didn’t you?”

“What are you talking about? Aren’t you mistaking it for food Eandurde obtained?”

“??”

When the respected senior said something strange, Alhild tilted the head and explained.

Eandurde obtained food from somewhere.When asked about the source, he said he received it from “a senior whose name cannot be revealed.”The only seniors Eandurde usually talks about are from Senior Wardanaz’s group.Ah, then it must be Senior Wardanaz!“...”

‘Eandurde!’

Lee Han inwardly shouted the absent junior’s name again.

He should have just said he obtained it personally instead of telling such a clumsy lie.

‘Next time I meet him, I’ll have to train him in how to lie properly.’

With Gainando around, he would make a good teacher for that.

“Well... fine... whatever. It can’t be helped.”

Lee Han quickly gave up, but some lingering attachment remained, and he asked,

“But couldn’t it have been a friend like Gainando instead of me?”

“Puhahahahahaha!”

Alhild burst into loud laughter for the first time that day.

Perhaps because the joke had come in such an unexpected situation, the laughter was even more intense.

“Hahaha, hahahaha! Hahaha... wait. That wasn’t a joke?”

“...You’ve never met Gainando, have you?”

“No. But I heard from Eandurde that he is someone who constantly steals food...”

“...”

Lee Han covered his face with his hands.

Having embarrassing rumors about his tower leak outside was more ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) shameful than he had expected.

“...It’s a misunderstanding. It was just a prank.”

“For a prank, it seems to have happened too many times...”

“Be quiet.”

“Yes!”

When his junior actually went quiet, Lee Han felt sorry and spoke again.

“No. It’s not your fault. Anyway, how was Einroguard?”

New students who entered Einroguard usually experienced a world-shattering shock.

Especially Alhild, who had met the Skull Principal separately before enrollment and heard several additional lies.

That shock should have been several times greater.

Thinking about it, Lee Han still felt a bit sorry.

“It was surprising and wondrous.”

“Huh. Wasn’t it harsh? Didn’t you want to curse?”

“That goes without saying.”

Alhild looked at Lee Han as if asking why he would bother asking something so obvious.

Regardless of whether it was surprising and wondrous, cursing was inevitable.

“...Sorry. But you must have been quite shocked later because of the Principal’s lies.”

The Skull Principal had lied to Alhild by saying, “Mages like Lee Han are lying around everywhere at Einroguard.”

Lee Han was worried that his junior might have been hurt by obsessing over magic because of that lie.

“No. I realized he was lying on the very first day of enrollment.”

“...I, I see.”

Alhild was indeed a brilliant junior.

He had realized he had been deceived right after enrollment by listening to the Skull Principal’s vicious remarks and the professors’ explanations.

“Alhild, come to think of it, what brought you to the capital? You must have had to travel quite far.”

“I came for a family gathering, and I heard Eandurde had received an invitation from a friend. We came in the same carriage.”

Lee Han was pleased to hear that they had come in the same carriage despite being from different towers.

Unlike the cold upperclassmen, the juniors seemed to have been influenced somewhat by Lee Han’s year.

‘Maybe they became close thanks to the food.’

“Did you lend Eandurde the carriage as repayment?”

“That was part of the reason, but actually Eandurde threatened me first and forced a way into the carriage.”

“...”

‘Eandurde!’ 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Lee Han inwardly shouted the absent junior’s name for the third time.

If he had just stayed still, he would have received an invitation anyway!

However, Alhild did not seem to mind much. Personal feelings and grudges seemed unimportant on the grand path of magic.

“Wait. Eandurde received an invitation from a friend?”

Lee Han had a sinking feeling.

The only person he could think of who would send an invitation to Eandurde was Jowurin.

‘Well, Jowurin is affectionate...’

It would not be strange at all if letters were soon sent to Lee Han, the Skull Principal, or Alshicle.

“...!!!”

Lee Han’s complexion changed drastically as he realized the source of his unease. Alhild was startled and asked,

“What’s wrong?!”

“...I left Master Alshicle behind!”