Chapter 326
"I thought senior was also yielding with this intention," Yi-Han said.
"What do you take me for, junior?" Direth asked.
"No... if that's not the case, there's no reason to yield. We chased it all the way here."
"That's so like you, Yi-Han."
Gainando nodded as if he had expected this. Not letting go of even a piece of bread without a fight was just like Gainando's friend.
"Junior, it's good to be thorough, but if you act too harshly, it might spread bad rumors about dark mages," Direth said.
"But senior, dark mages already have a bad reputation, don't they?" Yi-Han pointed out.
"..."
Direth's wings drooped slightly, hit by her junior's words.
Gainando whispered beside him, "Why did you say that? Only ignorant people say such things!"
"No, quite a lot of people would say that," Yi-Han said.
"...Really?"
"Really. Why else would those guys, who got beaten and dragged here afterward, pick a fight with us while passing by?"
"!"
"We, we have reflected on our actions," the two adventurers said, who had picked a fight, gotten beaten up, done chores in the cemetery, and ended up chasing an undead chimera. They could be called the most ill-fated ones today.
"Senior, you don't have to be sad about it. Those who know the truth won't be fooled," Yi-Han consoled.
"...What's the point if everyone else thinks badly of us?" Direth asked.
"We'll change that."
Direth's eyes wavered slightly at her junior's progressive words. Perhaps her junior was right. Just like how they had dedicated themselves to the city today, if they steadily built up achievements despite others' suspicions, people's perceptions would change little by little, even if not immediately.
'To think I'd hear such words from my junior. I should have been the one saying that,' Direth thought, feeling ashamed as a senior.
"You're right, junior," Direth admitted.
"Thank you for understanding, senior. From now on, if we see anyone talking nonsense about dark magic, let's stomp on them like those guys," Yi-Han said.
"...No!! That's not what I meant!!!" Direth exclaimed, startled by her junior's aggressive words, which even a magic duelist would be tongue-tied by. Attacking anyone who spoke nonsense to change their minds, what kind of...
Bang!
With a loud noise, two squire knights flew into the air. The cornered undead chimera had exploded its body, breaking through the encirclement.
As the encirclement was breached, the squire knights shouted in surprise.
"The creature is escaping!!!"
"Be carefu... Ah!! Wardanaz! It's Wardanaz! Wardanaz!!"
"What?! Wardanaz!? That Wardanaz?"
"Yes! That Wardanaz!"
"..."
When the squire knights who had visited the academy last time recognized Yi-Han's face and acted friendly, Yi-Han made a displeased expression.
'We're not that close.'
Wouldn't someone think they were quite close if they saw this?
"Wardanaz! Catch it!! If it escapes..."
Before the squire knights could even finish their request, Yi-Han was already holding his staff, ready.
How could he let the undead chimera escape after chasing it this far?
-■■■■...!-
The undead chimera made a growling sound and glared at Yi-Han. Its nine eyes glinted as they stared at him. They were filled with wariness due to the severe beating it had received earlier. It seemed to be looking for an opening to strike Yi-Han and escape.
"Darkness, gather here," Yi-Han chanted.
He didn't recklessly fire a lightning spell. It wasn't a good environment to shoot wildly with the squire knights behind him, and the creature's wariness was quite high.
The advantage of a mage was the ability to flexibly respond to any situation. Having learned how to deal with it from Direth, Yi-Han immediately gathered the surrounding dark elements.
-■!-
The undead chimera didn't know what Yi-Han was doing, but it seemed to feel its strength draining away. It quickly jumped back, trying to distance itself.
-■■■■!?-
However, it was of no use.
'The range...!'
Among them, Direth, the only dark mage who could handle dark elemental magic, could understand what was happening. That junior's magic was gathering dark elements from a much wider range than Direth had done.
'...Amazing!'
While Direth was admiring her junior's magic, Yi-Han shouted urgently, "Senior!"
"Huh? Why?"
"A bit too much dark element has gathered! If I make a mistake, please help me!"
"...Hey!"
Direth screamed when she saw the dark elemental sphere gathered at the end of Yi-Han's staff. At a glance, it was 2 or 3 times the size of the one he had cast earlier.
Because he had cast it over such a wide range, even though he had used a shorter time than before, it had gathered this much in an instant.
"What are you trying to do?!"
Even if he wanted to shoot it as a projectile, it needed to be controlled to some extent. If he forcibly fired it now, it could explode at the end of the staff and injure her junior.
Direth couldn't understand how Yi-Han was going to handle that dark element.
Poof!
"..."
Yi-Han solved it in a simpler and more straightforward way than expected. He charged forward with his staff and stabbed the sphere into the undead chimera. The creature couldn't dodge the charge that happened in the blink of an eye.
-■■■?-
Direth was startled.
'Wait, dark elements have the opposite effect on undead...!'
Yi-Han threw his staff to the side and drew his sword. The Morning Star flashed its blade light and split the undead chimera's body.
From the beginning, the reason he had gathered the surrounding dark elements was to slow down the opponent's movements and bind its feet. Once that was achieved, there were several ways to destroy the opponent.
The impact boosted by the exploding mana struck the undead chimera, and the following sword draw shattered its balance. After launching a series of attacks without a moment to breathe, he sliced off its neck, and cheers erupted.
"As expected of Wardanaz!"
"Excellent!! Your swordsmanship is still the same!"
"Your friends?"
To Direth's question, Yi-Han answered firmly, "Not my friends."
—
Bikelintz, who arrived late, thanked Yi-Han.
"Thank you. The young knights' mistake almost made the situation worse, but you helped us."
"I only did what I had to do."
"Indeed..."
Bikelintz spoke with a slightly impressed voice.
"Some people have prejudices and misunderstandings due to dark mages' magic, but if they saw the dark mages here dedicating themselves day and night like this, they wouldn't dare say such things!"
"Thank you."
Yi-Han replied like that, but he had a different thought in mind.
'But other dark mages do cause too many accidents.'
Even if Yi-Han caught the undead that came out in the city for a hundred days, it wouldn't be of much use if dark mages were caught stealing corpses from graves.
Aladne, who arrived late, looked at the situation in front of the mansion with perplexity and asked, "What happened?"
"Mr. Wardanaz defeated it."
The mansion's butler answered with a hint of disappointment.
"If it had been defeated by the guests of the mansion instead of someone from outside, it would have given more face to Madam Greenbel."
"..."
Aladne thought she should admonish the butler once the guests left and shifted her gaze.
The undead chimera was thoroughly smashed. There were traces of being hit by magic a few times, sword wounds seemingly inflicted by the squire knights, and the fatal blow...
"???"
Aladne thought she had seen it wrong.
'It seems to have been killed with a sword?'
Even when she looked again, thinking she had seen it wrong, nothing changed. It was clearly killed by a sword.
Aladne became confused, wondering if the squire knights and dark mages gathered here were deceiving her.
Why would they deceive her??
"Madam Greenbel, thank you for your kindness."
"No, not at all. You have stepped up for Granden City like this, and I apologize for not being able to provide more assistance."
'Excessively friendly.'
Yi-Han found Aladne's attitude strange. Apart from the rumors of her being thorough and flawless, she was excessively favorable.
Was it really because of the Wardanaz family's name?
'No matter what, is there a reason to go this far?'
Yi-Han couldn't even imagine it. That Aladne had mistaken Yi-Han for a formidable schemer.
'Anyway, I should be grateful for the help.'
Yi-Han bowed politely once again and walked away. The squire knights who were acquainted with Yi-Han excitedly gathered around him.
Seeing that, Aladne asked Bikelintz, "Does the student from the Wardanaz family have a friendship with the squire knights of the knightly order?"
"Ah, that's about what happened when we visited Einroguard last time. What happened was..."
Bikelintz began to tell the story as if it was a good thing. Meeting an excellent swordsman was always a pleasure.
So, Bikelintz didn't notice that Aladne's expression, who was listening to the story, was turning into shock and absurdity.
—
-Wardanaz, I heard you defeated the King of Ghouls. But do you know? The guys from the White Tiger Tower are actually hothouse (greenhouse) flowers.-
-That's right, Wardanaz. What's truly strong are the wildflowers that have bloomed through harsh rolling in the wild.-
-So let's go defeat the King of Ghouls together!-
Yi-Han thought to himself, 'These guys are crazy.'
Recalling the conversation with the squires, Yi-Han shook his head in disbelief. They had misunderstood the rumors about the White Tiger Tower students and Yi-Han defeating the King of Ghouls, and now they were burning with competitive spirit.
But since they couldn’t rival the White Tiger Tower as mages...
The squire knights wanted to bring along a more powerful mage and a swordsman friend.
Of course, from Yi-Han's perspective, it was nothing but nonsense. He immediately reported them.
-Sir Bikelintz. Those squires over there are plotting to hunt prey beyond their level.-
-What...! Those fools!-
Fortunately, Bikelintz was in his right mind. Otherwise, the squires might have collapsed in some remote, unknown cave.
Seeing Yi-Han's expression, Direth asked with concern, "Are you alright, junior? Is it due to the earlier magic usage causing mana deficiency..."
"Ah. No. It's just the squires spouting nonsense."
"..."
Direth decided not to worry about this junior's magic-related issues in the future.
Returning to the cemetery, they spotted a familiar face among the gravekeepers. It was Daihal Dargard, the Imperial Special Administrator, whom they had met before regarding the King of Ghouls subjugation.
"I thought it might be, but really...!" Daihal spoke with a voice filled with reverence upon seeing Yi-Han. "It hasn't even been a week, and you're involved in such an incident again. Aren't you neglecting your own well-being?"
"Junior. What did you do a week ago?" Direth was puzzled. She hadn't heard the news about the King of Ghouls yet.
Yi-Han surveyed the graveyard and quickly devised a plan. Then, he dropped to one knee with a thud.
"Ugh. I used too much magic, so my body..."
"That's why I told you! No matter how talented you are, it's meaningless if you can't manage your own body."
"But... but... as a dark mage... undead roaming Granden City... Cough. Cough."
Direth and Yi-Han's friends were at a loss for words as they stared at Yi-Han. They couldn't believe their friend, who hadn't shed a single drop of sweat until now, was staggering like this as soon as he passed through the cemetery's main gate.
Ymirg whispered, "Is... is there poison in the cemetery?"
"Poison wouldn't work on Yi-Han, right?"
"What do you... Ah. Could it be."
As the three whispered, Yi-Han pretended to be even more exhausted in front of Daihal. After the previous King of Ghouls subjugation, he had realized something.
Even when doing the same task, it was better to show that you did it with great difficulty!
It was a trick that easily increased rewards.
"If this senior here hadn't helped me, I might have died..."
"You must be Miss Direth. I've heard a lot about you from the gravekeepers."
"I just did what I had to..."
"The city people are too harsh on the dark mages who are so dedicated. I will make sure to speak strongly about this."
"No, the compensation is already sufficient..."
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Yi-Han interrupted his senior's words with a fake cough.
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