The old yacha waved his arm in irritation. The giants’ mouths were forced shut.

-Come. I kept everything safe.

“What about the chief attendant...”

-He came from the earth, so he must have returned to the earth. Do not feel too sorry for him. It is no blessing for the dead to be bound to this world.

“...?”

Lee Han looked up at the Death Knights flying through the sky on undead mounts.

It sounded plausible, but here in Einroguard, it was not especially convincing.

Sensing that impure look, the old yacha clicked his tongue.

-Like a foolish youngster, you refuse to listen even when I speak. Fine. Just take your belongings.

The old yacha opened a tree stump like a chest and took out the relics stored inside.

A reagent pouch, a white-covered book, and a cage containing a hamster.

“...”

Lee Han, who had been on the verge of feeling moved after receiving the reagents and the book, froze when his eyes met the hamster’s.

“...No, why are you in there?”

-Do you think I want to be like this?!

The hamster trapped inside the cage snapped back with angry squeaks.

A nearby giant grumbled.

-That rat is picky about food. Other rats eat rotten things just fine, but that one refuses.

-Stupid races. Inferior species that should have gone extinct long ago!

The hamster, who had been looked after by the giants while Lee Han was asleep, was full of venom.

Apparently, the giants were not particularly skilled at caring for hamsters.

“I thought you would have returned to normal since Lord Gonadaltes ascended too.”

-I thought so as well.

The hamster, once a magical criminal, spoke while chewing on the grape Lee Han tossed into the cage. After dealing with the giants, it felt as if its belly had stuck to its back.

-But I was mistaken. That madman designed the spell so it would not be undone even if he disappeared.

The hamster had underestimated the ancient archmage’s persistence and perfectionism.

Who would have thought that he would set up the magic to maintain itself continuously through self-circulation even after he vanished?

If the hamster had not been the victim, it might have admired that perfectionism. Unfortunately, this was magic cast on the hamster itself.

“Indeed... isn’t he truly amazing?”

-...

When Lee Han became newly impressed by the insane duplicate’s magic, the hamster felt a surge of frustration.

This young brat, only acting like that because he wasn’t the victim...

But the hamster held back. The only one it could trust here was the boy in front of it.

-I will definitely repay this favor, so please free me!

“Huh? I don’t know how to undo it, though.”

-...Ah.

Only then did the hamster remember that the person before it was merely a second-year student at Einroguard.

After competing against him from the Lesser World onward, and even watching him match wits with Gonadaltes, the hamster had momentarily forgotten. Originally, there was no reason to expect him to dispel magic of this level.

‘Why was I waiting for this guy?’

For a moment, the hamster wondered whether its intelligence had also decreased because of the curse.

For an entire week, it had believed that if only this boy returned, it would be freed from the curse. Now, it could no longer understand why it had ever thought that.

“Didn’t the others dispel it for you?”

-Would you have done it if you were them?

The hamster squeaked in disbelief at Lee Han’s words.

The other mages present had been the Skull Principal and the vampire professor, so why would they dispel a curse for a magical criminal?

“That’s unfortunate. Well, hang in there.”

-...Wait! Wait! Wait! Do not leave me behind!

When Lee Han tried to leave with only the reagents and the book, the hamster squeaked desperately and beat against the cage walls with a frantic rat-a-tat-tat.

-I will definitely be useful to you. Think about it. When the insane duplicate faced the world’s calamity, how could he have overcome it without my help?

“Wait. I feel like you were inciting me to kill him.”

As he recalled the memory, Lee Han’s voice turned slightly cold. The hamster grew even more desperate.

-...That was merely one possible method I presented. When you refused, did I not come up with another method?

“I understand that you helped, but I’m telling you I’m not confident I can dispel it. Just ask that yacha elder over there.”

-Did you not inherit magic from the insane duplicate? Look at that book!

The hamster immediately recognized what kind of book the insane duplicate had left behind.

Magic books left by ordinary mages were usually written to organize their own insights and pass them on to future students.

Some magic books were written in simple characters that anyone could understand, while others were written in codes that only specific schools could read.

Among them, the rarest and most powerful were books of the spirit-book type.

They were magic books created by sealing fragments of a mage’s soul inside them.

Such books could not be easily read or opened like ordinary books. They could not even be destroyed.

They merely transmitted magic to their owners according to the will contained within the book.

“!”

Lee Han quickly understood the hamster’s explanation. He already possessed a similar book.

The black book that the Skull Principal had given him by force.

“Are you saying this book contains the secret to dispelling the curse?”

-That is right.

“...But wouldn’t it take quite a long time to learn that far?”

-Then you need to learn faster! Do not waste time here!

At the hamster’s grumbling, Lee Han made a reluctant expression.

Of course, the insane duplicate’s ascension had left a strong impression on Lee Han and given him a new goal.

But that did not mean Lee Han was naive enough to think, ‘Yes! I must go learn magic!’ just because some hamster was squeaking at him to hurry up and learn.

He intended to proceed in his own way.

‘Should I leave it with the giants since it’s so noisy?’

‘This guy isn’t seriously thinking of abandoning me among the giants, is he?’

The two mages read each other’s thoughts. The hamster squeaked obsequiously.

-...Come to think of it, you are still a student as well, and you would need more time to learn the dispelling method. Learn it slowly. And please, take me with you. Do not leave me among these lunatics.

Is that rat bastard still not dead? The giants are more patient than I thought.

“!”

At the familiar telepathy from behind, Lee Han turned his head.

The giants were already fleeing in every direction, smashing through trees and rocks.

Crash crash crash crash crash! 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

-Waaaah! It’s the Principal!

-Run! Run! He’ll take our alcohol and meat!

The Skull Principal chuckled with satisfaction at the enthusiastic reaction.

The hamster wanted to run too, but it could not because it was trapped in a cage. Instead, it hid itself in the sawdust.

Fortunately, the Skull Principal paid no further attention to the hamster. He had too many urgent matters to worry about to concern himself with such trifles.

Wardanaz, I heard you woke up. I knew you would come here.

The old yacha asked in a curious voice.

-By the way, did you really cast a dream veil over this entire territory?

I understand the shock you received.

The Skull Principal pretended not to hear and ignored him. However, the old yacha was persistent.

-As far as I know, dream veils are not easy to implement even over a very narrow area, so how did you cover this entire territory? Did you perhaps borrow gold? But with any ordinary sum...

Unable to endure it any longer, the Skull Principal banished the old yacha far away.

The yacha race had always had a talent for getting on people’s nerves, even in ancient times.

Since I acknowledged you as my disciple, Wardanaz, I should have explained things to you as my disciple. I formally apologize.

“...No. I was also a little harsh with my words.”

When the Skull Principal apologized politely, Lee Han’s attitude softened as well.

In fact, if he thought about it calmly, the Skull Principal had not done it out of malice either.

...There had been some malice, but that was because the Skull Principal was originally someone composed almost entirely of malice. At least regarding this matter, he had done his best to devise the optimal solution.

“I also apologize for cursing at you. Telling you to remain principal until the end of the world was probably too harsh.”

...That seems much worse than what you said back then... no, never mind.

The Skull Principal felt puzzled by the far more intense curse, but simply let it slide.

That was not what mattered now.

Good. Let us bury each other’s mistakes here in this mountain range and move on.

“Yes.”

Then finish the exam as quickly as possible and come up to the principal’s office. I need your help, my disciple, to persuade the Empire’s wicked creditors.

Having said everything he wanted to say, the Skull Principal immediately turned around and floated away.

Lee Han glared at the round white skull’s back with eyes full of bewilderment.

What the hell...?!

Oh.

The Skull Principal suddenly stopped and floated back.

“What is it?”

Do not send any anonymous tips.

“?!!”

***

“I’m telling you, Wardanaz is in serious trouble!”

“Stop making a fuss. Wardanaz isn’t a weakling like you. He’ll get up once he recovers.”

“That’s not it! He got up, but he didn’t even ask about the exam!”

“...What?!”

The White Tiger Tower students, who were skinning the wild boar they had hunted, stirred in shock.

They were so startled that they cut away precious meat along with the hide.

“Then there was no point in us studying so hard?”

“Damn it. We worked hard for nothing.”

“...”

Giselle, who was holding a pocket knife behind them, glared at her friends as if she wanted to kill them.

The White Tiger Tower students belatedly noticed that gaze and immediately changed their tune.

“Come to think of it, we study for our own self-improvement. Haha.”

“Right. That’s what Wardanaz said in that story he told us last time too. The real treasure hidden in the vineyard was effort.”

“I still don’t really understand that story...”

The White Tiger Tower student tilted his head.

The story Wardanaz had told them last time, about three brothers who inherited a vineyard from an old farmer, still made no sense to him.

When the old farmer left a will saying, ‘I have hidden treasure in the vineyard,’ the three brothers diligently dug up the field.

However, no treasure appeared, and thanks to the field being dug up, only the grape harvest became abundant...

‘Is he saying that, as a mage, you should even suspect your parents?’

He thought it might mean that even magic books left behind by excellent mages might not contain treasure, so one should not accept them blindly and should doubt them rationally.

Of course, Wardanaz had gotten angry at that interpretation, but wasn’t getting angry part of Wardanaz’s daily routine anyway?

“Let’s take some meat and visit Wardanaz. If he isn’t even interested in exams, he must be seriously injured.”

This time, even Giselle did not stop her friends.

Although the Blue Dragon Tower students were prone to exaggeration, this sounded quite serious.

“What are you all doing?”

Lee Han, who was passing through the seventh-floor clearing, looked puzzled at the commotion his friends were making.

His friends were startled and shouted.

“Wardanaz! Is it all right for you to be walking around like this?!”

“I’ve rested enough, so I’m fully recovered.”

Lee Han was holding a hamster cage in one hand and leaves to use as hamster food in the other.

It was a rather sudden pet, but his friends did not really care. Instead, they asked about something else.

“What about the exam?!”

“What exam?”

“The Blue Dragon Tower guys said you completely lost interest in exams... that you went mad...”

“We didn’t say he went mad, you bastards!”

The Blue Dragon Tower students frantically cut in.

Where had such nonsense come from?!

“Ah. I know what you’re talking about. I didn’t lose interest in exams. I just had urgent business to check first. There are things in the world more important than exams.”

“...!!”

His friends were shocked by this new side of Wardanaz.

Usually, if they said something like, “Aren’t there things more important than exams? Like jousting...,” lightning would pour down on their backs!

“Are you... are you really all right?”

“No. I like the new Wardanaz.”

While the Blue Dragon Tower students whispered in shock, with Giselle among them, the White Tiger Tower students accepted it flexibly.

A Wardanaz who was less obsessed with exams felt much more appealing than a Wardanaz who was crazy about them.

“Wardanaz! We welcome your change! There are many things in the world more important than exams!”

“That’s right! What were you doing just now? Looking for food for your new pet?”

“No. I had to finish the exam quickly, so I went and took it first.”

Lee Han shook the exam paper he had placed inside the cage.

It was the exam paper for the lecture, and it had a perfect score, without a single wrong answer.

“...”

“...”

The White Tiger Tower students’ hearts shattered into pieces.

There existed in this world a mage who could earn perfect scores even while being less obsessed with exams.