"I think I've got everything."
Lee Han had finished his frenzied shopping spree.
His shopping didn't just stop at the grocery store and the fabric shop.
He also visited the stationery store and the bookstore ("Please fill it with cheap and sturdy paper! Do you have any illusion magic books that might fool a professor's eyes?"), the agricultural store ("Where can I find edible seeds and seedlings?"), and so on.
The staff were amazed.
"He really wouldn't starve even if he were stranded on a deserted island!"
"Where is the stable?"
"The stable... for horses?" Arien was puzzled.
As mentioned earlier, it wasn't possible to bring a vehicle near the school.
But Arien didn't ask any further.
It was clear that this young master of the Wodanaz family had something in mind.
The Amur Stable was bustling with people coming and going.
Thanks to this, the stable owner, Amur, was swamped.
He was consulting a group of adventurers who wanted to buy new mounts, and he had to hurriedly open the flying mount area on the roof for a customer who wanted to leave their lightning eagle...
Running a stable in a village frequented by adventurers required more than just ordinary knowledge and skills.
One needed to know how to handle not only horses but also most of the various mounts seen in the empire.
Just as the busy time was winding down, an unusual customer arrived.
'A magic school student?'
"Hello."
"Hello. What are you looking for?"
"Do you have anyone here who goes directly to the school?"
"!" Amur was surprised.
The student was right.
The magic school located in the mountain range was a place of fear, but it wasn't without visitors.
There were merchants contracted with the magic school who regularly supplied goods, adventurers who came to fulfill requests from the mages, and occasionally, when someone caused trouble, the emperor's messenger would fly in like mad.
However, among those who knew the situation, the main gate of the magic school was infamous.
It was said that "you'd grow old and die trying to pass through it."
So, those in a hurry would go underground or fly through the sky.
As long as their identity was confirmed, passing through was relatively easy.
"That's correct. Why do you ask?"
"I'll pay. Can you help me escape on the agreed date?"
"...!" There was only one reason Lee Han had come here. 'I need to prepare the next escape method.' It was a level of persistence that even the skeleton headmaster would admire.
Instead of wandering around the village and eating desserts on a good day with an outing pass, this student was seriously preparing the next escape method.
And that burning sincerity was conveyed to Amur as well. 'Impressive!' Amur looked at Lee Han with astonished eyes.
He had heard rumors about the magic school.
It was a place of such harsh education that students would attempt to escape.
Yet here was a young magic school student, still a novice, boldly planning such a scheme.
Even among the tribes living in the empire's wildest lands, there weren't many boys with such guts. 'I want to help him.' Amur, impressed by Lee Han's courage, wanted to help him.
But there was a problem.
"That... is difficult."
"May I ask why?"
"I've taken customers to the magic school a few times, and the identity checks there are extremely thorough."
Compared to the main gate, it was easier, but it wasn't a walk in the park.
Those who approached the magic school by flying had to stop at a designated location.
When a signal was sent, someone from the magic school would fly over to confirm their identity.
If it matched the pre-arranged person, they would be let in.
"But since you've been there before... couldn't you come up with a reasonable excuse to enter?"
"That's correct. Entering isn't the problem. The problem is leaving. The school checks the number of people when you leave too."
"...!" If Amur flew in on a lightning eagle, they would check if he was alone on the eagle when leaving.
They even used various spells to ensure no one was hiding, making it nearly impossible to deceive them.
Hearing this, Lee Han's expression darkened. 'Damn.
Do I have to go this far?' At this point, the magic school's motto might as well be changed to "Do I have to go this far?"
"But there is a way."
Amur lit a thick cigar and spoke.
"What way?"
"Find an ownerless mount inside. When I come to get you, you can fly out on the mount you found inside and follow me."
"...?" Lee Han didn't understand.
Wouldn't he get caught if they checked when leaving?
"Won't I get caught if they check when leaving?"
"It's a bit different. I found out by chance... When someone from outside leaves, they thoroughly check the mount too, but when someone from inside leaves, they don't check as thoroughly."
The professors also went out, so when someone from inside left, they didn't check as thoroughly.
When Amur happened to leave with one of the professors once, he was checked several times, but the professor was let through without a second glance.
"Of course, if you leave alone, the chances of getting caught are higher. But if I come in and we leave together, the attention will be on me. That's the best way I can think of."
'Damn.
Can I even find an ownerless mount inside the school?' He wanted to steal a mount with an owner, but...
"Just in case, don't even think about stealing a mount with an owner."
"Of course not. I wouldn't do such a thing."
Satisfied with Lee Han's answer, Amur smiled and nodded.
"That's right. Forcibly separating a mount from its owner is barbaric and cruel."
"......"
Lee Han had given up on the idea because he thought, 'Since it's a mage's mount, the alarm would go off and the owner would be notified the moment I stole it,' but since the other party seemed satisfied, he didn't point it out.
'There are still many uncertainties, but... this is the most feasible plan for now.' Lee Han didn't say, 'How am I supposed to find a flying mount inside the school!' or 'Even if they don't check thoroughly, wouldn't I get caught if I just took off my hood and cloak?' That was the talk of a loser. 'I'll do it.
If that's the only way to get out!'
"... I'll be in your care!"
"Indeed! I thought you were no ordinary student when I first saw your eyes. I'll come to the school every two weeks, at midnight on Saturday. If you've prepared a mount, come to the stable at the top of the school tower. I'll wait for an hour each time. If you're ready, we'll leave together."
Lee Han nodded, then suddenly became curious.
He was paying, but this was too much trouble for the stable owner.
Amur wouldn't even know if Lee Han would come out or not, yet he was willing to come and wait for an hour each time.
"But... this might be an impertinent question, so please forgive me. Why are you helping me like this?" At Lee Han's question, Amur scratched his beard and smiled.
"The school is tormenting students like you with absurdly harsh rules. In my hometown, we despise such rules. Seeing a student stand up to them like this, I couldn't just stand by."
"... Thank you!" Lee Han was moved.
Outside the school, there was still a sense of righteousness and chivalry alive!
The time on the outing pass was running out.
He had to calculate the time to return, so there wasn't much time left. 'There's one more place to go.' Lee Han hurriedly ran off.
It was the <Workshop of the Illusion Mage Valdororn>.
Not all mages worked as civil servants in the empire.
Some mages took on requests with adventurers, while others set up workshops in villages and made a living from various requests.
The place Lee Han was heading to was one such workshop.
"...??" Valdororn was bewildered by the student who had come to see him.
It was clearly a student from the magic school. 'Why is a magic school student here?' Valdororn was a mage whose maximum magic level was the third circle.
That was about the level of a second or third-year student at the magic school.
With so many great mages inside, why would someone come to Valdororn's workshop? Moreover, judging by the other party's demeanor, they didn't seem like an ordinary noble.
From their accent to their appearance and gait, a great noble couldn't be hidden even if dressed in rags.
"What brings you here...?"
"I came to consult about magic."
"......"
Valdororn was dumbfounded. 'Is he here to pick a fight?' In his youthful fervor, thinking, 'How dare he set up a workshop at this level!'...
"Go ahead."
But since he had already received the consultation fee, Valdororn decided to listen.
"I'm trying to enter a certain tower, but there's a magic barrier preventing intruders. Since you specialize in illusion magic, I thought you might know something."
"......"
Valdororn was stunned.
It was too obvious which tower he was talking about. 'That's the tower inside the magic school...!' Looking again, Lee Han's clothes were those of a first-year student.
Valdororn was even more bewildered.
So, this first-year student had not only managed to escape the school but was now looking for a way to bypass the alarm magic inside the school? '...
He's going to be a great mage in the future!' Valdororn could only marvel.
At that age, he had been smoking and leisurely wandering around...
"The magic that prevents intruders comes in countless varieties. No mage can know all of them. A skilled mage can discern the structure of such prevention magic, and an even more skilled mage can reverse it, but..."
Valdororn trailed off.
This was a matter of knowledge and experience, beyond talent.
A skilled safe-cracker had the designs of thousands, tens of thousands of locks in their head.
That way, even when encountering a new lock, they could quickly figure out its structure by comparing it to existing lock designs.
Bypassing intrusion prevention magic was similar.
One had to have hundreds of the empire's commonly used prevention magics in their head to recognize, when encountering a new magic, 'This is a mix of these spells' or 'This is similar to that spell.' No genius could bypass prevention magic without knowledge and experience.
"This... requires seasoned experience and vast knowledge. Even if I tell you a few suspicious magics, if you're not proficient in handling them, you won't be able to bypass them. It's better to break the magic than to bypass it..."
Valdororn suddenly stopped.
He had inadvertently said something absurd.
Of course, elegantly and quietly bypassing magic was more magically challenging.
But breaking magic was by no means easy.
In some ways, it was even harder.
If the magic inside the magic school was of considerable mana, one would need a tremendous force to shake the sturdy structure supporting the magic.
Where would one get such power?
"... No. That was a slip of the tongue. That's an impossible method."
"No. Please tell me more about that breaking method."
"?!!"