“How excessively cruel!”
After Lee Han tattled on them, the Insane Doppelganger confiscated every last wax memo pad the Frost Giants possessed.
Naturally, none of the giants dared complain directly to him.
They only grumbled quietly among themselves.
“Since ancient times, wise kings have neither oppressed their people nor silenced their subjects.”
“That’s right.”
“Quiet.”
The Frost Giants instantly fell silent like frightened mice.
The moment everyone shut their mouths, Catten seized the opportunity and brought up the real matter.
“There have been various complications, but let me first explain my proposal. These mages require a trial to prove their qualifications, and I would like your assistance in preparing it.”
The White Tiger Tower students flinched.
Then they desperately began communicating with their eyes.
‘Refuse!’
‘Tell them to refuse!’
How could a proud warrior race assist with some academy exam for magic students?
That would damage their honor. Obviously they should reject it.
“...Understood. We shall assist.”
“!!!!”
The White Tiger Tower students’ expectations shattered instantly.
The Frost Giants feared the Insane Doppelganger far more than they had imagined.
Catten brightened immediately.
“Juniors! This turned out wonderfully! I never expected the giants to agree so easily! Professor Ingledel will be delighted!”
“Wow...”
“Hah... We’re thrilled...”
Lee Han and Giselle answered with painfully fake smiles.
Catten tilted his head suspiciously.
“Aren’t you happy? I’m sensing a somewhat awkward atmosphere...”
“No. We’re happy. Haha.”
“Absolutely thrilled. ...Wardanaz, do you happen to have any of that poisoned liquor left?”
“Damn it. I shouldn’t have thrown it away earlier.”
Lee Han and Giselle sighed heavily.
Had they known they would end up fighting Frost Giants again, they would never have discarded the poison liquor.
“You’re not planning to make us fight them with swords alone, right? Magic is allowed too... right?”
“Probably. Though honestly, having Frost Giants as an exam already feels insane.”
As the two whispered quietly, the Insane Doppelganger urged them impatiently.
“Hurry up. What are you standing around for?”
From his perspective, his disciple was wasting time chatting instead of retrieving the Frost Giants’ artifact.
Naturally, that annoyed him.
Why were they making such a fuss over a few Frost Giants?
His disciple still lacked proper dignity.
Lee Han cleared his throat and looked toward the giants.
“Then I shall present my proposal. I...”
Just as he began speaking, he hesitated.
Come to think of it, although he had fully intended to recover the Frost Giants’ artifact once an opportunity arose—
More accurately, steal it—
He had never planned to announce that intention openly.
Was it really fine to say this directly in front of the Frost Giants?
“What proposal? Speak quickly.”
“Stop dragging things out and speak.”
Both the Frost Giants and the Insane Doppelganger pressured him at the same time.
Unable to dodge the issue any longer, Lee Han finally confessed honestly.
“...I came here to obtain the artifact you’re searching for...”
“...”
The White Tiger Tower students behind him could only stare in admiration.
They had always known Wardanaz was bold.
But this?
‘Incredible, Wardanaz!’
‘He actually said that in front of the Frost Giants...!’
Declaring “I came to take your artifact” directly to a race of murderous giants.
No one had expected even Wardanaz to say something so reckless.
The Frost Giants themselves also fell speechless for a moment.
Apparently even they were stunned.
Fortunately for Lee Han, however, the Insane Doppelganger was standing right beside him.
“Didn’t you hear my disciple? Answer him.”
“...Understood. You may take the artifact.”
Terrified of the Insane Doppelganger, the Frost Giants answered hesitantly.
The White Tiger Tower students were shocked all over again.
‘That actually worked?!’
‘I get it now, Wardanaz. You intended to use the Principal’s projection from the beginning! What a terrifying bastard!’
No matter how long Einroguard’s history was, Wardanaz was probably the first student ever to exploit the Skull Principal’s projection this thoroughly.
The White Tiger Tower students shuddered at his terrifying cunning.
Lee Han himself was shuddering too.
‘This easily?’
Even intimidated, he had expected at least some resistance.
Instead, they surrendered immediately.
At this point, maybe he could push things further.
“Please swear that you won’t challenge me to pointless duels in the future.”
“...Understood. We swear.”
“And no loudly grumbling nearby either. Swear to that as well.”
The Frost Giants looked startled.
How had this challenger read their thoughts so accurately?
‘Is it magic?’
“...We swear...”
“I told you not to waste time on pointless nonsense.”
The moment the Insane Doppelganger spoke, Lee Han immediately sensed danger.
He had gotten greedy trying to exploit his master’s authority too much.
“I apologize.”
“Enough. Let royalty settle such matters. You likely intend to use these Frost Giants as subordinates anyway.”
“Yes... Yes?!”
Lee Han, who had answered absentmindedly, nearly screamed.
What?
“No, I...”
Lee Han’s actual goal had been far simpler.
He merely wanted to avoid getting harassed by Frost Giants demanding duels every time he visited another dimension.
He absolutely did not want giant warriors swarming around him offering lifelong service whenever he crossed dimensions.
Unfortunately, the Insane Doppelganger interpreted his intentions differently.
Like a thoughtful master, he perfectly understood thoughts Lee Han himself had never possessed.
Otherwise, why would his disciple speak in such a roundabout manner?
“You Frost Giants still owe royalty a debt from ages past. Repay it here.”
“...Understood. We swear...”
“...”
Before Lee Han could interrupt, the oath was complete.
From now on, if they met again in another dimension, the Frost Giants would apparently come charging over to fight on his behalf while staking their honor on it.
“Wow, Wardanaz. Recovering the artifact was one thing, but I never imagined you’d make the Frost Giants serve you afterward.”
“...Can’t you shut up?”
“W-why are you getting angry?!”
The unfortunate White Tiger Tower student panicked after being snapped at merely for expressing admiration.
What did I even do wrong?!
***
Einroguard Library.
The historic library had gathered together most of the second-year students from every tower.
Even for a weekend, it was unusual to see students from different towers gathered in one place like this.
However, by now, second-years no longer found such things surprising.
Instead, their attention focused elsewhere.
“W-what the hell is that?”
“That’s the Principal’s projection. I heard it follows Wardanaz around like some cursed specter.”
“No, I know that already. I mean those idiots hammering metal beside him.”
“Ah. The White Tiger Tower students must’ve acquired ore somewhere. They’re forging equipment.”
“...Inside the library?”
Regardless of the stares and complaints from students of other towers, the White Tiger Tower students continued pumping bellows and hammering away.
To begin with, Einroguard’s library had never truly been a place of silence or peace.
If it had been, there would have been no reason to construct temporary fortresses and wage survival battles inside it last time.
At this point, what difference did a bit of forging make?
“Rowena. How’s the sword coming along?”
“This should turn out quite useful. We can probably finish three more today.”
“Hehe. All that suffering was worth it.”
The White Tiger Tower students nodded as memories of mining in another dimension resurfaced.
After enduring so much hardship, the finished equipment felt even more valuable.
“Wardanaz. Thanks for—”
The students trying to thank their friend hesitated.
Anyone could tell Wardanaz was in an extremely foul mood.
Didn’t he look like this after returning from the dimension last time too...?
“Why’s Wardanaz acting like that?”
While everyone puzzled over it, Bartrek proposed a convincing theory.
“Isn’t it because exams are coming up, there’s too much to prepare, and everything’s absurdly difficult?”
“Indeed.”
That was why students from various towers had gathered in the library to begin with.
And as long as Wardanaz remained an Einroguard student, he couldn’t escape exam preparation either.
Considering the sheer number and difficulty of the classes he was taking, it would honestly be stranger if he were in a good mood.
“I think it’s because some people got sent to the punishment cells.”
Normally quiet, Raphaedel unexpectedly offered his own opinion.
That theory also sounded plausible.
Several familiar faces were indeed missing after causing trouble and getting dragged off to punishment.
“...But would Wardanaz really be angry just because someone got sent to the punishment cells?”
One student suddenly noticed the flaw in that logic.
Wardanaz wasn’t the White Tiger Tower’s supervising professor, after all.
Why would he react that strongly?
The White Tiger Tower students, however, no longer found anything strange about it.
“What’s strange? He’s always been like that.”
“Right. The idiots who got sent there are the ones at fault.”
“...Now that you mention it, that does make sense. Moradi, is Wardanaz upset because of {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} the people who got sent to punishment?”
When uncertain about this sort of thing, the White Tiger Tower students instinctively sought out a reliable friend.
Passing nearby, Giselle answered with an expression that clearly said why are these idiots chatting instead of studying?
“He’s probably still annoyed about the Frost Giants. He wanted to avoid getting involved with them, but got dragged into it anyway.”
“Huh? But wouldn’t having Frost Giants help you in other dimensions be useful?”
“At the same time, it means getting tangled up with countless other Frost Giants he never made agreements with. Imagine how exhausting that would be.”
“But Wardanaz was already on good terms with the giants living in the mountain range behind the school. What changes just because Frost Giants got added?”
“...”
For a moment, Giselle found herself speechless.
She hadn’t expected such a devastatingly logical argument.
“...Then go ask Wardanaz yourself.”
“Ah, no. Maybe not.”
Even the White Tiger Tower students understood that saying “you were already friends with giants anyway” to someone currently angry about Frost Giants was probably unwise.
Meanwhile, Lee Han lightly tapped a tiny metal flask hanging from his neck—a container no larger than a locket—with his staff.
‘As expected. Still won’t open.’
The White Tiger Tower students had produced all sorts of brilliant theories, but none of them were correct.
The real reason Lee Han was irritated was because the Frost Giant artifact refused to open.
“Here it is. This liquor. This is what we came searching for.”
“...Poison liquor like before?”
“Something far more precious lies within it. Wisdom!”
“!!!”
Lee Han nearly jumped at the Frost Giant’s explanation.
Liquor containing wisdom.
Every Einroguard student desired intelligence-enhancing potions, and Lee Han was no exception.
Not a failed product that turned people into babbling prophets like last time.
A genuine wisdom potion.
If it was a Frost Giant artifact, maybe it truly existed.
The problem was that no matter what he tried, the flask refused to open.
“How do you open it?”
“We don’t know either. That’s what we’ve been trying to figure out.”
“...!”
The tiny flask, barely larger than a fist, was absurdly durable.
Liquid sloshed inside when shaken, but any mana Lee Han poured into it was dispersed with incredible precision.
‘Damn it. Someone even designed this thing to resist mana hammering!’
Lee Han couldn’t comprehend why the creator had gone to such ridiculous lengths.
“Wardanaz. You don’t really need to worry so much about the Frost Giants.”
“Huh?”
Lee Han looked startled when Giselle suddenly spoke.
“Dimensions are vast. You probably won’t run into Frost Giants very often.”
“Uh... thanks. But why are you suddenly saying that?”
“?”
Giselle hesitated.
Wasn’t he upset because of the Frost Giants?
“Come over here. We’re finishing 【Advanced Magical Mathematics and Esoteric Geometry】 today.”
The impossible declaration came from the Insane Doppelganger standing behind them.
Lee Han’s expression twisted once again.
‘...Ah. So it really wasn’t the Frost Giants.’
Come to think of it, Wardanaz had always gotten along suspiciously well with giants.
Frost Giants were still giants at the end of the day.
Naturally, he would probably become friends with them quickly too.
