‘Maybe this is my fault.’

Sevius reflected deeply as he took in the devastated state of the palace.

To think he had sent only a junior capable of half-destroying a palace to infiltrate ahead of them.

He should have at least sent one or two seniors disguised as servants along with him.

Then they might have been able to prevent the accident before it happened...!

“Sevius! Get a hold of yourself!”

“I’m listening.”

“There’s only one thing we need to do right now!”

“Right. We need to find our junior as quickly as possible and—”

“Destroy every trace of our involvement and run!”

“...”

Even in a situation like this, the <Teleportation> Club students had not lost their Einroguard spirit.

If there was no evidence, they were innocent. Wasn’t that obvious?

If they simply destroyed every trace linking them to the theater club and fled...!

Sevius let out a deep sigh.

“That won’t work. Think about it. How many Einroguard students are out in Granden City right now?”

“W-we could just say the theater club did it.”

“The theater club won’t keep quiet. It’s already too late. Let’s just find our junior.”

“Ugh...! I can’t go to the punishment cells this month! I have to graduate!”

Sevius’s friends whined as they followed him.

Unlike them, Sevius, who always prepared for graduation in advance, calmly checked the surroundings.

‘What’s this? Mages from somewhere else?’

When he looked closer, he saw a group of mages near the bridge. Judging by the artifacts and staffs they carried, they seemed to belong to the illusion magic school.

‘Then they may be mages who participated in the play.’

Thinking this was fortunate, Sevius carefully approached.

The half-destroyed palace seemed to have shocked the mages as well. They were muttering among themselves with grave expressions.

-So that illusion was also prepared by Stedal of House Nago and Alshicle of House Pengerine?

-It seems so.

-Hmm. To think both of them vanished... The nobles and critics who watched the play were very eager to meet the mages who prepared that ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) illusion magic...

“Excuse me. May I ask you something?”

Sevius politely addressed a mage with a robe pulled low over the face.

“Y-yes?”

Baldoron flinched and looked up at the sudden question.

His fingertips still felt as if they were trembling from the battle between transcendents.

“What exactly happened here?”

“Didn’t... didn’t you hear? Demon worshippers summoned monsters here.”

“!?!”

The students were shocked.

One of them muttered quietly.

“S-surely our junior wouldn’t do something like that... surely...”

Sevius asked calmly.

“Have the identities of those demon worshippers been confirmed?”

“Ah, yes. I heard they all died.”

A sigh of relief burst out behind him.

So it really hadn’t been their junior!!

Baldoron misunderstood the meaning of that sigh and nodded.

“I also think it’s fortunate those evil people couldn’t escape.”

“That’s not why we’re relieved... Never mind. So the Death Knights dealt with the monsters?”

“The Death Knights, Lord Alshicle of House Pengerine, and Lord Stedal of House Nago dealt with them.”

“...Uh, Stedal of House Nago?”

When the students hesitated, Baldoron kindly explained.

He was an immensely powerful battle mage, and his visit to the palace had most likely been to prepare for incidents like this together with Alshicle.

He had defeated the summoned Blasphemer together with a mighty Spirit King, and the sight had truly been mythical...

“Wow. There was a mage like that?”

“The Empire really is full of eccentric figures.”

The students were intrigued by Baldoron’s explanation.

The Empire was vast, and it was not especially rare for mages who had trained for hundreds of years in unknown lands to suddenly appear.

“Right? Oh, I heard this person was also the recent vigilante of Granden City.”

“...”

“...”

The students’ faces turned pale all at once.

***

“Ugh! I did something heroic, so why do I have to run away?!”

“Are you seriously asking that?”

Lee Han looked at Alshicle as if the question itself was absurd.

After intense spellcasting followed by running, Alshicle was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily.

“Wait. Let me rest for a moment!”

Alshicle flailed like a struggling penguin, displaying a firm determination not to move another step. In the end, Lee Han had no choice but to compromise.

“Huff, huff... I think it would’ve been fine if we stayed a little longer.”

“Will you take responsibility if the knights change their minds and arrest me?”

“...That’s true, but...”

The reason Lee Han had hurriedly left the palace was simple.

The Death Knights might change their minds and send him to the punishment cells.

The knights had pretended not to recognize him on the spot, but with even Perkuntra summoned, there was no way they had failed to figure it out.

“...But they let it slide, didn’t they? I’ve been saying this for a while now. The Death Knights secretly respect you.”

“Ha. Lord Alshicle. That is exactly the trap.”

Lee Han looked at Alshicle with eyes that said, This is why people who didn’t graduate from Einroguard are like this.

Alshicle felt slightly indignant.

‘Wait. Hold on. Come to think of it, couldn’t I have just stayed there?’

Even if the Death Knights changed their minds and dragged Lee Han off to the punishment cells, it did not really concern Alshicle.

“No matter how kindly the Principal’s henchmen treat you, you must never trust them. The moment you fully lower your guard, that’s exactly when the enemy strikes.”

“That... does make sense.”

Knowing the Skull Principal’s personality, Alshicle could not completely deny it.

From Alshicle’s perspective, the Death Knights already seemed to respect Lee Han almost like a successor, but even that might be a trap.

“Young master. Over here!”

Through the open carriage door, Arien and Amur waved their arms.

They had agreed to help with a secret escape after the enemy was defeated. Lee Han and Alshicle quickly climbed inside.

“What on earth did you do?! Rumors are already spreading from the eastern gate to the western canal!”

Arien shouted, bewilderment filling his voice.

Lee Han looked at Alshicle.

Alshicle looked at Lee Han.

“...Ah. You were talking to me.”

‘Who else would it be?’

Alshicle was dumbfounded.

Lee Han explained sheepishly.

“Something unexpected happened, so I had no choice.”

“Of course it was unexpected...”

If yesterday’s events had been planned and carried out deliberately, Arien really might have collapsed on the spot.

Amur, who had been listening from the side, spoke up.

“Still, it’s good that the students got out safely.”

“That’s... that’s true, but...”

Arien wondered whether it was really acceptable to summarize a life-threatening battle against demon worshippers with, Well, at least the students escaped, haha.

“If I’d known it would be this dangerous, I never would have brought you! If something had gone wrong, what would House Wardanaz have thought of me?”

“I think they would’ve thought of you as a kind person who granted my request...”

“Don’t joke around!”

‘I’m not joking, though.’

After that, Lee Han had to endure roughly thirty minutes of lecturing from Arien.

Students should retreat when dangerous situations occurred. They should call other mages. They should not throw themselves into danger.

As Lee Han listened to the lecture, he thought to himself.

‘Hmm. If Arien is reacting like this, I should avoid Professor Garcia for a while.’

If Arien was this agitated, Professor Garcia’s reaction might be several times worse.

Lee Han resolved to avoid the 【Inn of All Sorts of Schemes】 for the time being. Fortunately, the <Teleportation> Club requests were practically finished anyway.

“Phew. I shouldn’t lecture people who’ve just been through such a fierce battle for too long. I apologize. So what are you two planning to do now?”

“First, I was thinking of gathering our scattered friends, then looking for Alshicle’s sponsors.”

“You...!”

Alshicle was moved.

Even after all that chaos, Lee Han had not forgotten his promise.

“...Wait, Alshicle. You’re not crying, are you?”

“Penguin beastkin eyes naturally sparkle brightly!”

Alshicle became angry. Since the momentum suggested he might peck with his beak if questioned any further, Lee Han decided to let it go.

“Do you have enough time?”

“Ah, yes. Since I joined so many clubs, I have plenty of outing time left.”

While his friends would each have to return, Lee Han still had plenty of time remaining.

Even after helping the friends scattered throughout the city and handling Alshicle’s matter, he would still have time to spare.

“We need to find a place to stay first.”

“Then I’ll arrange accommodations for you.”

“Ah, no. That’s a bit...”

Lee Han hesitated at Arien’s suggestion.

He was already grateful for all the help so far. Having Arien provide lodging for him and his friends as well felt far too shameless.

“No. I think you should accept it.”

Alshicle, however, recommended it seriously.

“Why?”

“The Death Knights may go around checking the city’s inns.”

“...!”

Come to think of it, they might be searching for the theater club students who had fled from their assigned positions.

After pondering for a moment, Lee Han made a counterproposal.

“Do you happen to have any spare warehouses belonging to your trading company?”

“We have plenty of warehouses, but there’s no need to stay somewhere like that...”

“No. Considering possible tracking, a warehouse may actually be safer.”

Arien thought to himself.

Einroguard students really were eccentric!

“Understood. Then let’s do that.”

Lee Han took out 【Whispers of Einroguard】 and prepared to contact his classmates.

This was not the <Einroguard’s Watchers> network, but a communication network that included friends like Adenart and Anglago.

-Guys. Gather at the Kaako Trading Company warehouse next to the dwarf bridge near the north gate. I received permission to use it.

-What are you suddenly talking about?

When the message suddenly appeared through the bundle of papers, Giselle failed to understand and asked back.

Since Giselle was not in the theater club, the situation had not been fully grasped.

Anglago hurriedly replied.

-Got it! I’ll head there!

-What do you mean, what are you talking about?

-Well, that’s... Wait. What if you report us?

-...Alpha, have you lost your mind?

-I-I’m not Alpha??

‘The handwriting is identical, though...’

Exasperated by Anglago denying it, Lee Han explained instead.

-The theater club took advantage of the chaos to escape. We’re planning to wander around until the time limit, then return.

-What? I should’ve joined the theater club. How did you escape from that encirclement? Did you set a fire or something?

-Uh...

-Hmm...

-Well...

-...What is it?

-It’s a bit long to explain, so later.

-You’re not just saying that because you don’t want to talk about it now, are you?

-No. It’s really long.

-Ha!

Giselle smiled coldly.

If it turned out to be a short story, there would be severe retaliation against these liars.

-WardanazThereAreManyWarehousesNearTheNorthGateDwarfBridgeButIDontKnowWhichOneToGoToCouldYouTellMeHowToFigureItOut??

-...I’ll come out to meet you. Please wait a moment.

After writing that, Lee Han asked Arien another question. He would have to pick up friends who did not have paper bundles separately.

“Would it be all right if we stopped by a few places before going to the warehouse?”

“Of course. Where are you thinking of stopping?”

“First, the alchemy workshop run by Lady Yoanen of House Meikin. Then the administrative office where Daihal of House Dalcard is staying. My friends should be waiting there.”

Alshicle, who was listening nearby, was amazed by his thoroughness.

“Wow. You arranged meeting places even in that chaos?”

“Huh? No, I didn’t.”

“Then?”

“I just predicted it.”

When the carriage finally stopped at its destination, the hidden friends emerged one by one exactly as expected.

Lee Han opened the carriage door as if this were nothing unusual and welcomed them inside.

Seeing that, Alshicle shuddered.

‘If... if this guy becomes a professor, students won’t even be able to run away...!’