It might sound obvious now, but the magic school was not a safe place.
Even excluding the professors, dangerous incidents were bound to happen.
The novice mages learning magic couldn’t avoid causing accidents even if they tried.
The rampaging summoned beast was just one example.
The upperclassmen, who had prepared the summoned beasts for magic experiments at the start of the semester, had failed to control them.
"... No, even if they failed to control them, does it make sense for them to cause such chaos within the school grounds? Isn’t this a fundamental problem with the school’s system?" Lee Han was dumbfounded after hearing Professor Garcia’s explanation.
Still, holding onto a sliver of hope, he asked again, "I heard other summoned beasts have escaped too... They’ll be dealt with soon, right? The empire’s most outstanding mages are here at this school, aren’t they?"
"Of course," Professor Garcia replied, and Lee Han felt relieved.
At least the situation would be resolved!
"It’ll take about a month to catch them all, Lee Han."
"......"
Lee Han’s face stiffened.
It was dark, and Professor Garcia, focused on the vine monster, didn’t notice his expression.
"... Then what are we supposed to do for the next month?"
"Be careful while moving around," Professor Garcia said seriously.
It wasn’t out of malice, but if the escaped summoned beasts were hiding and roaming the school, one really had to be cautious.
...
Of course, from Lee Han’s perspective, this was utterly ridiculous.
‘Professors will be professors!’ No matter how kind they seemed, there was always a certain level of madness lurking within them.
Swish!
"Th-thank you! Thank you!" Professor Garcia summoned a sharp ring of wind, cutting through the vine monster’s tendrils and safely rescuing the White Tiger Tower student who had been trapped.
Though it looked simple, it was actually a highly complex sequence of magic: using mental magic to threaten the vine monster, wind-elemental magic to sever the vines, and gravity distortion magic to safely catch the falling student.
Lee Han couldn’t believe Professor Garcia had executed all of this in one seamless motion without even breaking a sweat.
‘Amazing!’ Seeing Professor Garcia’s magic in a calm moment, rather than during chaos, reminded Lee Han of a ballerina.
Just as a master ballerina could create an aura of untouchable grace with a simple arm extension or leg lift, Professor Garcia exuded the same elegance.
"Are you okay?"
"Ugh... sniff..."
The White Tiger Tower student, clearly terrified, forgot their knightly upbringing and burst into tears.
Or perhaps it was because this was the first time a professor had spoken such warm words to them since entering the school.
"But why were you outside at this hour?"
"Ugh... that Wodanaz guy... came into the lounge... and took our tower’s flag..."
"......"
Professor Garcia turned her head with a baffled expression.
It was already strange that the student was out at night, but the fact that someone had breached the lounge’s magic was even more shocking.
How?
But Lee Han was already gone.
He had fled the scene.
Lee Han returned safely with the flag, but the Blue Dragon Tower students’ expressions were微妙 (subtle).
Before they could even celebrate, a voice echoed from outside.
"Summoned beasts have escaped within the school grounds. Students, please be cautious. I repeat, summoned beasts have escaped within the school grounds..."
The students were speechless.
This school never failed to deliver new shocks every week.
‘Surely there’s nothing new after this, right?’ Yet, every time they thought that, something new happened.
How were they supposed to stay relaxed even within the school?
"......"
"... Do you think one of the professors let them loose?" one of the Blue Dragon Tower students muttered.
If this had happened in the first week, the response would have been, "What nonsense are you talking about?" But now, everyone was seriously considering it.
"It’s definitely a professor. I think it’s the headmaster..."
"No! Professor Thunderstep is suspicious!"
"More importantly, why can’t they catch them right away?"
Lee Han, listening quietly, thought to himself, ‘Isn’t it because the professors are too lazy?’
Thinking about it, the fact that it would take a month was a bit strange.
How many mages were there in this vast magic school? If the outstanding professors mobilized and set up a perimeter, whether it was summoned beasts or even dragons that had escaped, they should be dealt with quickly.
But fundamentally, professors rarely moved on their own.
They usually had their disciples handle their mistakes, and if the disciples made mistakes, they had their own disciples handle those.
So, for them to personally deal with this summoned beast escape incident...
‘If I say this, everyone will be shocked, so I’d better keep my mouth shut.’ Lee Han decided to stay silent for the sake of the students.
"At least tell us what kind of beasts escaped! Aren’t the seniors being too much?!"
"That’s what I’m saying!"
The anger shifted from the professors to the faceless upperclassmen.
The freshmen vented their frustrations, cursing the upperclassmen.
It was because of their incompetence that they were suffering!
"Enough talking. Let’s have breakfast. Everyone worked hard last night, so I made something special."
Lee Han lifted the large pot hanging by the fireplace.
The rich red tomato beef stew brought smiles to the Blue Dragon Tower students’ faces.
Though the amount of ingredients he had brought from outside was considerable, Lee Han had no intention of wasting them.
Who knew when they’d be able to go out again? But in this situation, it was okay to be generous.
Everyone had been through a lot.
‘I should grow more vegetables.’ Lee Han thought about expanding the cottage garden.
Not just sweet potatoes and potatoes, but also wheat, and maybe some fruit trees around...
‘I’d like to raise more chickens too.
If I start raising pigs, will Professor Thunderstep think I’ve gone mad?’
Managing the garden made Lee Han realize how important fresh vegetables were to human life.
Just having access to fresh vegetables could change the quality of a meal.
The tomato beef stew he had made was a perfect example.
The umami and aroma came from the tomato sauce and spices, and the visual impact came from the large chunks of beef, but...
The deep, rich flavor of the stew was thanks to the onions, garlic, carrots, potatoes, and mushrooms.
These vegetables had been sautéed as part of the preparation...
‘Wait, what am I thinking about now?’ Lee Han paused mid-thought.
Somehow, since coming to the school, he had gained more insights into fields other than magic.
The Blue Dragon Tower students, who had suffered through the night, filled their bowls with stew and enjoyed their breakfast with bread.
The sunlight streaming through the stained glass of the lounge made the warm morning feel like they were back home.
"Summoned beasts have escaped within the school grounds. Students, please be cautious. I repeat, summoned beasts have escaped within the school grounds..."
"... This is ruining my appetite..."
"Then should I eat it?"
"Get your hands off! I’ll challenge you to a duel."
Lee Han got up, took a bowl, and headed to the princess’s private room.
By now, he was used to doing this without being asked.
"?"
But unlike usual, the door didn’t open.
Lee Han knocked a few times, but when there was no response from the princess, he gave up and returned.
"What’s wrong? Did Her Highness say she didn’t want any?"
"No. There was no answer."
"Ah. She must be sleeping. She was probably tired from yesterday..."
The students serving the princess nodded in understanding.
After what had happened yesterday, it made sense that she was exhausted.
Lee Han felt a slight pang of guilt. ‘She’s not holding a grudge about me using her as a hostage, is she?’
Unlike Gainando, Adenart was both capable and had many admirers.
Even if it wasn’t now, if Adenart said during the break, "Wodanaz held me hostage," it would be quite troublesome.
That’s why he had added extra beef to the stew...
"Then let’s not wake her. Wodanaz, thank you. Her Highness has a small appetite, but when you bring it to her personally, she can’t refuse out of courtesy."
"...?"
Lee Han tilted his head.
Was that so?
‘She seemed to eat quite well before...’
Gainando, scraping his wooden bowl with a spoon, asked, "Isn’t it better to wake her up early than to let her go hungry? You can sleep anytime, but eating..."
"Don’t talk nonsense, Gainando! Do you think Her Highness is like you?"
"Right! She’s not obsessed with food like that!"
Actually, Lee Han agreed with Gainando.
Sleeping could be done anytime, so it would be better to wake up, eat, and then go back to sleep...
‘Well, her followers probably know best.’
"By the way, Lee Han."
"Yes?"
"Are you okay for the morning class?"
"Morning class... Oh."
Lee Han checked the schedule and paused.
"It should be fine."
"......"
Yonell’s eyes seemed to say, "No matter how I think about it, it doesn’t seem fine."
"......"
"......"
Basic Swordsmanship Class.
Given what had happened last night, the White Tiger Tower students were glaring at Lee Han with extremely uncomfortable expressions.
The only one who spoke to him was Derku.
Derku spoke firmly, "You didn’t need to do that for my sake, Lee Han."
The moment Derku was hit and fell, he realized it.
Lee Han, the honorable one, had taken on the role of the villain for Derku’s sake.
When he woke up, the White Tiger Tower students had been furious, asking, "Do you know what that bastard said to you?" But Derku remained unshaken.
"If you can’t do what you need to do because you’re worried about others’ opinions, then you’re not a true friend. A true friend understands both honor and friendship."
"Touching words, Derku."
Lee Han thought to himself, ‘Yesterday, I stole the flag, which has nothing to do with honor,’ but he nodded respectfully to Derku.
When the person you’ve hit forgives you, it’s best to stay quiet.
"So, from now on, you don’t need to play the villain."
"Sure, sure."
Of course, Lee Han planned to act similarly if a similar situation arose again, regardless of what Derku said.
Derku might not care, but the other White Tiger Tower students surely would.
Even now, the White Tiger Tower students were glaring at Lee Han.
"Derku’s being fooled again...!"
"Don’t let that guy near him!"
Some students were grinding their teeth and even forming a human wall to block Lee Han.
Anyone watching would think Derku had been brainwashed by Lee Han.
"Good morning, everyone."
The elf swordsman and professor, Ingeldel, appeared, leaning on his sword like a cane.
The students, who had been standing scattered, quickly straightened their postures and bowed respectfully.
Professor Ingeldel continued in a voice that was unusually soft for a swordsman, "When I woke up, I found that the escaped summoned beasts were roaming the school. It made me realize how absurd this place is."
"......"
All the students nodded.
No matter which tower they were from, they could all relate to that statement.
"But since the students have to stay here... I’ve been thinking about what might help."
"?" Lee Han suddenly felt uneasy.
When professors thought about helping students, it rarely ended well.
"So, I caught one of the escaped summoned beasts. Let’s practice dealing with it together."
"......"
Lee Han began to seriously worry that Professor Ingeldel was becoming too much like the school itself.