An existence more terrifying than a subordinate of the Skull Principal was, without question, a subordinate of the Skull Principal who did not know that the Skull Principal was the principal.

Which meant...

“Then... who exactly is Lord Gonadaltes?”

Lee Han asked while clinging to the faint possibility that there might be someone with the same name somewhere in the Empire.

“He is an archmage who has attained enlightenment, a man of noble royal blood, born under the destiny of the Great Wheel of Reincarnation! Surely you are not asking because you truly don’t know?”

“...Where are you from, Lord Intarendals?”

“I am from the Kingdom of Margada.”

“...”

The Kingdom of Margada no longer even existed in the present Empire. Lee Han grew dizzy at the name of a kingdom he thought he had only ever heard mentioned in stories from the Three Kingdoms period.

That confirmed the other party’s identity.

Not a subordinate of the Skull Principal.

A subordinate of the insane duplicate.

Is Einroguard’s defense really all right like this?

Of course, Einroguard was so vast that intrusions could not be prevented completely, but shouldn’t they be more careful when an insane monster was inside the territory?

To think a subordinate of that insane monster could enter so openly...

“How exactly did you get in?”

“What do you mean?”

“Einroguard’s grounds are protected by powerful °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° magic. Especially these days.”

Lee Han was terrified, and his body hurt, but he tried his best to extract even one more piece of information from the enemy.

That way, he could report it to the Death Knights and have them strengthen the defenses.

“Naturally, I entered with permission.”

Intarendals spoke with a refined smile. It seemed like Lee Han’s question had been taken as a joke.

“...Permission?”

“Yes. Are you perhaps curious about the permit?”

“...I would be grateful if you could show it to me.”

Lee Han barely held on to his sanity as he made the request.

Surprisingly, the permit Intarendals presented was real.

According to the qualifications proven by the seal and blood drop of House Dalcard, the following individual is permitted entry to Einroguard. If the promised amount of gold is not spent, a curse will...

Einroguard’s rules were not lax.

First, anyone visiting during club week had to clearly prove their identity.

For noble houses, the ring seal and a drop of blood served as proof.

Since neither could be forged easily, they were reliable tools for identity verification.

After that identity verification, the visitor would enter Einroguard while promising, I will definitely invest or sponsor this much...

“??????”

Lee Han tilted his head in confusion.

House Dalcard should be Asan’s family.

Asan was a friend from the same Blue Dragon Tower.

Why would a great noble house that had served as the Empire’s treasurers for generations be cooperating with an insane duplicate like this?

Asan... Don’t tell me you were a traitor...!

While Lee Han trembled with an absurd sense of betrayal, Intarendals cast him a worried look.

The noble boy before Intarendals seemed to be in poor health. He had been staggering with a pale face this entire time.

“Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. Um... I have a question. Are you affiliated with House Dalcard? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of you.”

“Ah.”

Intarendals smiled with cultured grace.

Only then did Intarendals realize why the boy was confused.

“I am not ‘currently’ affiliated with House Dalcard. Originally, when I was alive, the house name wasn’t even Dalcard, and naming conventions were different back then as well.”

“...”

Surprisingly, the person before him was a distant ancestor of House Dalcard.

So ancient that even the name no longer remained.

Lee Han was dumbfounded as he looked at the archaic ring seal and drop of blood Intarendals showed him.

And House Dalcard would be even more dumbfounded.

Someone was impersonating their house, only for that someone to turn out to be a resurrected ancestor.

This is an absurd nightmare.

“I briefly resurrected and visited Einroguard under Lord Gonadaltes’s orders. Does that explain things a little?”

Intarendals, who had once served as Gonadaltes’s chief attendant, had temporarily defied death and returned under the master’s command.

Then Intarendals gathered the old ring seal and wealth, and came to visit Einroguard. Fortunately, quite a lot of gold had been lost over the generations, uncollected by the descendants.

Later... I’ll ask later. I can’t ask now.

Lee Han was so shocked that even after hearing about the gold, he couldn’t ask where it had been buried.

“I think I understand a little. Then, why are you looking for the boy named Lee Han of House Wardanaz?”

“That reason is related to my mission, so I cannot tell you. Do you have any idea where he is?”

“Ah! I just remembered. I think I heard he’s a sixth-year, so perhaps you should look among the sixth-years.”

“Indeed. Thank you.”

Intarendals turned to bow elegantly, but the boy had already vanished at high speed.

What an impatient boy!

*****

“Puhuh! Where are you going?”

As Lee Han quickly ran to escape the Exiles’ Village on the seventh floor, Palcrius spotted him and stopped him.

“Senior, have you perhaps been bribed?!”

“Huh? What bribe?”

“Never mind, then. Let go of me. Something urgent has come up.”

“What are you talking about? What could be more urgent than wringing gold coins out of outsiders?”

The pot-bellied senior from the Kitchen Club could not understand what Lee Han was saying.

After preparing so hard, where was he going?

“Puhuh... You. You’re scared right now, aren’t you?”

“I am scared, but...”

“Even a genius like you gets scared. But everyone does. I did too.”

Palcrius spoke with eyes damp with nostalgia.

The senior remembered the first time facing club week as a second-year.

Back then, everything had been truly hectic and frightening. Even when customers asked kindly, it sounded like they were disparaging the magic.

“Is this magic pot useful?”

“D-did you just insult my pot?!”

Hmm. Memories.

Palcrius offered another apology in the heart to the customer who had been dunked headfirst into a cauldron because of that incident, then looked at Lee Han with encouraging eyes.

“But Wardanaz! It’s something everyone must overcome. And you’ll be able to overcome it better than anyone. If you can’t overcome it, who can?”

“That’s not what I’m scared of, Senior.”

“I said there’s no such thing as one hundred percent certainty, right? Puhuh. But with you, it might be close. Even among the Empire’s magic schools, geniuses like you are very rare.”

The pot-bellied senior mercilessly patted Lee Han’s back while offering encouragement.

Palcrius usually avoided praising Lee Han too much in case the junior became arrogant, but Lee Han’s skills were more than enough to show off even in front of Einroguard’s upperclassmen.

“And most importantly, there are customers who want to see you. Come with me. I’ll put gold coins in your hands!”

“It isn’t a customer in old-fashioned clothes, is it?”

Palcrius laughed heartily without understanding and dragged Lee Han along.

In the Kitchen Club dining hall, several outside guests had already arrived and were looking around with interest.

“Look. This kitchen knife will make even the clumsiest user cut through the seam between bone and flesh instead of hacking through both. Just imagine this knife being introduced to the butcher guild!”

“Hmm. But our guild’s craftsmen may lose their competitiveness because of this knife.”

“...Uh... I hadn’t thought of that. How about reducing the number of guild artisans?”

“Is that supposed to be an answer?”

People from the capital’s bakery guild and the capital’s butcher guild each added their comments about the magic the Kitchen Club members were researching.

Then they saw Lee Han and Palcrius and shouted.

“Palcrius!”

“Hello, Mr. Goladek!”

“You’re doing much better than when you shoved me into that cauldron two years ago!”

“Puhuh. I’m sorry!”

“No. Thanks to your magic, I was able to break the noses of those annoying confectionery guild bastards.”

Goladek from the capital’s bakery guild praised Palcrius again and again.

Without this Einroguard mage, the bakery guild would have lost the Capital Sugar War!

“Is this mage that junior, by any chance?”

“That’s right, Mr. Goladek.”

Lee Han shook off his slight nervousness and looked around. Fortunately, Intarendals was nowhere to be seen.

“Hello. I am...”

“You’re Lee Han of House Wardanaz, correct?”

“I heard you’re taking courses in every school of magic. Is that true?”

“I heard you’re already being recognized by outside mages. Is it true that you received recognition from Lady Yoanen of House Meikin?”

“Master Puyo has mentioned your name before. I was surprised.”

“I heard you’re already discussing research with fifth-year seniors. Did you really complete fifth-circle magic?”

“...??????”

Lee Han was flustered by the guests introducing him before he could even introduce himself.

What the hell was this?

“How...?” 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

“Puhuh. Wardanaz. The people who visit this place aren’t fools! They investigate very diligently and very keenly.”

Having a great deal of wealth in the Empire did not mean that everyone carelessly threw gold coins around.

At least the people gathered here were those who wanted to invest their gold coins in the best talent.

Goladek spoke with a proud expression.

“Of course, Einroguard may be a secretive sanctuary of magic, but we artisans have ears all across the Empire as well. I dare say there probably isn’t a single piece of information we’ve missed. Isn’t that right?”

“...”

Lee Han recalled the many powerful enemies he had fought this year and last year.

Then he quickly smiled and said,

“There really is no hiding anything from you. You haven’t missed a thing!”

“Right? Haha.”

“I want to sponsor you.”

“Me too!”

Lee Han hesitated at the guests’ proposals.

“I haven’t even mentioned my research yet?”

“What’s so important about the research? What matters is the person.”

No...!

A senior beside him trembled, ladle in hand.

That senior’s masterpiece, <Bowls That Let You Keep Eating Even When They Contain Poisonous Food>, had been criticized for lacking marketability!

This is why non-mages are hopeless! They don’t know anything!

Palcrius looked proud of Lee Han’s success.

“Puhuh. Congratulations, Wardanaz. It looks like this will end successfully. Of course, don’t get too arrogant! If you act selfishly like Professor Verdus, even gentle sponsors might get angry.”

At Palcrius’s words, the guests spoke with serious expressions.

“What nonsense is that?”

“Don’t even mention that ominous name!”

“...What exactly do I need to do?”

Lee Han asked just to make sure.

Free gold coins were nice, but there was no such thing as free money in this world.

Palcrius waved a cauldron-lid-sized hand as if telling him not to worry and explained.

“As I said, as long as you don’t act selfishly like that certain professor, investors and sponsors won’t get angry either. Show them what you’re researching, and listen to requests from investors or sponsors.”

“Requests?”

“Research direction or... improvement plans. Sometimes requests come in to see whether their children have magical talent too.”

That doesn’t sound too difficult.

An arrogant, picky mage might have been furious at such pride-wounding proposals, but Lee Han could even visit a sponsor’s mansion and hold a flashy magical birthday celebration if they paid him in gold coins.

He didn’t know exactly what Professor Verdus had done, but...

...I wouldn’t go that far, would I?

“Twenty Imperial gold coins.”

“Then I’ll offer thirty.”

“Sixty...”

While the sponsors were discussing their respective amounts, someone asked Palcrius a question.

“Is this where Lee Han of House Wardanaz is?”

“That’s correct.”

“Indeed. Who are those people?”

“People gathered for sponsorship.”

“It’s fine. Tell them all to go back. They aren’t needed.”

“Excuse me?”

Palcrius was confused, unable to understand what the other person was talking about.

Intarendals took out a huge chest filled with gold coins and set it down with a thud.

“My sponsorship alone is sufficient for Lee Han of House Wardanaz. The people gathered here should go help other mages.”

“...!”

“!!!!”