‘Was the distance to the main gate always this far?’
One of the students from the Black Tortoise mused internally.
It was still dark before dawn, casting a dim shadow around. Perhaps because of that, the atmosphere felt more tense and frightening.
"Wait. Stay put while I prepare."
One thing was certain, though.
That boy from the Wardanaz family...
Was truly a reliable ally when on the same side!
He cast various enhancement spells on the students, held potions suitable for the situation, and even summoned creatures to methodically deal with monsters one by one. His actions were nothing short of admirable.
"All clear. Let's move."
Yi-Han, having completed his check, returned to the gathered students.
As he did, dawn began to break behind him, casting a faint light that seemed to emanate from behind his head.
The Black Tortoise student was momentarily overwhelmed by this almost sacred scene.
"The sun... the sun is..."
"It's bound to rise. Let's go."
"..."
"Do you want to be hit, or will you just go?"
"I’m going, I’m going."
As Yi-Han aimed his staff, the Black Tortoise student snapped out of his trance.
I must have lost my mind for a moment!
The skull principal floated in front of the main gate, waiting for the students. His anticipation felt like the excitement of waiting for a first love.
"How many do you think have fallen?"
"I'm not sure."
“Boring. But surely at least a third must have fallen. Were the sleep catchers placed at the front?”
"Yes."
Pleased with the warehouse keeper's response, the skull principal smiled.
To the unsuspecting students, the sleep catchers were deadly monsters. By now, several must have been whisked away to dreamland.
“And the shadow monsters?”
"Yes."
“Excellent. The sun is still weak, making them a challenging foe for the students.”
Shadow monsters were a tricky adversary for students without prior preparation.
The skull principal waited excitedly.
Then his expression turned serious.
“...Why are there so many of them?”
"It seems the new students are quite skilled."
Frustrated by the warehouse keeper's reasonable response, the principal was incredulous.
“No matter how skilled, it's impossible for all these ironheads to reach the main gate without a single dropout!”
"They seem to have joined forces."
“…”
The principal shifted his gaze at the mention of this.
He then looked at Yi-Han among the students.
Yi-Han appeared oblivious, but the principal had already guessed the situation.
“...Come here for a moment.”
The principal called Yi-Han aside and asked:
"Do you have any complaints about my educational policy?"
"What do you mean... Of course not," Yi-Han replied, feigning surprise.
Internally, however, he had other thoughts.
'How did he know?'
“Imagine this. You're playing by the river, and one of your friends falls into the water, struggling. What would you do?”
"Usually, one would help, right?"
“Let's say you did. I think it's a foolish and stupid act, but let's assume you did! But then, another friend falls in and struggles.”
"Oh dear..."
Is the river's name Einrogard, by any chance?
“Looking around, you see one more, and yet another... Friends drowning everywhere! Think about it. Can you save them all?”
"It seems impossible."
“Exactly! It's realistically impossible. Therefore, you must teach your friends to get out of the water by themselves…”
"Rather than that, shouldn't we find out why friends keep falling into the river and prevent it?"
“…”
The skull principal was momentarily speechless, struck by an unexpected point.
'Oops.'
Yi-Han immediately regretted his words.
He should have just listened quietly, but his tongue had its own plans...
“...We'll see! One day, those friends you've saved will betray you!”
Annoyed, the skull principal muttered under his breath and turned away.
'He's misunderstanding something.'
Despite the principal's curse, Yi-Han was not concerned.
Because...
He hadn't done all this to save his friends. He had joined forces with them not to rescue them from the river, but to avoid being attacked if he went alone.
Perhaps due to his own wickedness, the skull principal always seemed to think Yi-Han was excessively good-hearted.
"Anglago, are you alright?"
"Uh... Huh? I'm fine?"
"That's good."
Yi-Han patted Anglago's shoulder, who appeared even more bewildered.
'Why... Why is he acting like this?'
Although it was strange, Anglago felt more reassured when Wardanaz was being prickly. A kind Wardanaz was several times more frightening than a prickly one.
Yi-Han looked at Anglago with an expectant expression.
'How will he find out?'
“Passed.”
"...?!"
However, dismayed by the unexpected result, the skull principal opened the main gate without properly checking the exit pass.
The students burst out of the gate with shouts of joy.
"We made it! Thanks, Wardanaz! You're a genius!!"
Among them, Anglago's joy was particularly immense.
He had passed the main gate with a fake exit pass, not a real one.
"..."
Yi-Han's expression hardened.
'This guy. He's not helpful at all.'
He had wanted to see how the principal checked the magic of the exit pass, but...
"What's wrong?"
"That's great."
Yi-Han abruptly turned away.
The White Tiger students were puzzled by his sudden change.
"Why is he like that?"
"Maybe he's embarrassed because you're so grateful?"
"There's something off about that Wardanaz guy."
As Yi-Han returned, Gainando spoke with an excited voice.
"Yi-Han! Shall we go to the card shop first? Or the cafe?"
"Gainando."
"?"
"Do you even have money?"
"...!"
After passing through the main gate, the students dispersed, heading towards the nearest town, Philonae.
However, none of them realized the most important problem.
...They had no money!
Gainando's face fell as he faced this sudden reality.
"Can't we just promise to pay later?"
"Gainando. There's no need for that."
Asan spoke confidently.
"Surely, our families must be waiting in Philonae Town."
"Ah!"
Of course, the Dargard family, as well as the other students' families, would have prepared mansions in Philonae Town.
It was a given for noble families in the empire.
However, Yi-Han looked at Asan with a pitying expression.
He would soon face reality.
10 minutes later.
"..."
"..."
Asan and Gainando stared at each other, faces blank.
"Why, why aren't they here?"
"They went to Granden City..."
"Why??"
"I don't know. You know how unpredictable mages can be, right?"
The townspeople shrugged their shoulders and walked past.
The shock that the two students felt was akin to hearing the news that the sky had fallen.
"I have a good idea."
Gainando spoke urgently.
"What's the idea?"
"Let's go to a wealthy person in the town, mention our family's name, and borrow some money."
"Are we beggars!?"
Asan was appalled by Gainando's suggestion.
It wasn't just about borrowing money; it was about dragging their family's honor through the mud for a few coins.
The thought of a noble of the empire resorting to such disgraceful acts was unthinkable.
"..."
Yi-Han inwardly scoffed at the idea.
'You can borrow, you know...'
Even nobles have to borrow money if they don't have any. Would they rather starve?
"Everyone, stop it. I have money."
"What? Where did you get it?"
"I borrowed it with collateral."
"Typical Wardanaz."
"..."
Asan praised Yi-Han while Gainando glared at him murderously.
"Hey... When I suggested borrowing, you called me a beggar...!"
"Borrowing in the name of our family and borrowing with collateral are different things, Gainando."
Asan looked at Gainando as if he was saying something absurd.
'This guy...'
Determined to crush Asan with a newly purchased card set at the store, Gainando moved on.
'Wait? But what did Yi-Han use as collateral?'
"Isn't that the warehouse transporter from last time!"
The shopkeeper, upon seeing Yi-Han, immediately jumped up from his seat and rushed out.
His face lit up with joy as if he had met an angel in hell.
"Why is he so happy to see him?"
"Yeah, why?"
The friends soon understood why.
"The time you bought several weeks' worth of stock in one go and carried it away is still a hot topic around here."
"Stop calling me the warehouse transporter, it's embarrassing."
"Why? It's an honorable title..."
The shopkeeper didn't understand Yi-Han's reaction.
Wasn't it an honorable title symbolizing a big spender in the shopping district?
"Hey, Dargard. Look at this. It's a new card set!"
"Yeah."
"Wow...! The principal is in it too!"
"Then buy it."
Asan answered nonchalantly, and Gainando frowned.
"No. The principal card is trash. It has too many penalties to be used properly."
"Is that so."
While Gainando and Asan were playing in the toy corner, Yi-Han and Yonaire had a serious conversation.
"I don't think we need fabric right now. Let's focus on food supplies."
"We're running low on sugar... The canned goods are fine, but the snacks and candies are all gone."
"Can't be helped. Still, it's much better than last time."
"Thinking about it now... How did you carry everything last time?"
Yi-Han didn't respond.
Reflecting on it, it seemed like a foolish thing to have done.
'This time, we should carry it in parts.'
With the remaining resources and more people, it would certainly be more manageable than last time.
"That should be about it. As long as we buy everything before sunset, we have plenty of time."
"Yi-Han. Can I buy this?"
Gainando approached tentatively, holding a card set. Yi-Han nodded. It was Gainando's money, after all.
"The problem is the midterm exams. I need to buy some books on geometry. I couldn't find anything useful in the library."
"Yi-Han. Can I buy this too?"
Gainando came back, holding a self-moving toy set. Yi-Han nodded again.
"We might also need some alchemy books."
"Definitely. It's so hard to find books about materials in the library."
They wondered why the academy couldn't provide the necessary books, forcing students to buy their own...
But now, Yi-Han and Yonaire no longer complained about such things.
"Perhaps. Maybe the library doesn't provide books to those without skills."
It was the systematically well-organized libraries that were the exception. The common ones were more like chaotic labyrinths...
"Yi-Han. Can I buy this too...?"
"Ah! Just buy whatever you want!"
Yonaire shouted, startling Gainando.
"There's no need to get so angry..."
"Wait a moment."
Yi-Han spotted a familiar face outside the store window.
It was Baldoorn, the skilled illusionist who had taught Yi-Han the basics of dispelling illusion magic.
"Do you know him?"
"That's the mage who taught me magic last time. Baldoorn! Mr. Baldoorn!"
Baldoorn, who was passing by the street, turned his head when he heard his name and was surprised.
The new student from Einrogard he had met before had appeared in the town again.
And this time, he had brought his friends with him!
'No... No, how can a first-year student come out so often??'
Had the rules changed?
As Baldoorn hesitated in his confusion, Yi-Han approached with his friends.
"This is Mr. Baldoorn, a skilled illusionist. Thanks to him, I was able to break through illusion magic. Oh, and Mr. Baldoorn, thanks to what you taught me last time, I was safe when facing another illusionist."
"Whom did you encounter?"
Baldoorn, still perplexed, asked almost absent-mindedly.
Why would a first-year student be dealing with another illusionist?
"His name was, I think, Ogonin..."
"Excuse me???"
