"What did you say?" Arlong asked, puzzled.

"No. It's nothing," he quickly changed the subject, not wanting to worry the kind old knight unnecessarily.

"What are your plans for the break, Young Master Yi-Han? If there's anything you need, this Arlong will do his best to assist you," the knight offered.

"Well... I'll have to study," Yi-Han replied, glancing at the stack of books Niffirg was carrying.

Just because they gave them a break didn't mean he could relax and take it easy. Giving a break was closer to saying, "It's your choice to rest, but study on your own. If you don't, you'll be left behind."

Especially in a harsh school like Einroguard, there was a high possibility that professors would assume, "You must have studied up to this point, right? Then I'll skip over it, assuming you know it."

Even for students who took fewer classes, it was risky to slack off, but for Yi-Han, who took many classes, studying was not a choice but a necessity.

"Excellent," Arlong said, deeply impressed, unaware of Yi-Han's desperate inner thoughts.

Not everyone from the great noble families of the Empire was as diligent and hardworking as Yi-Han. On the contrary, there were more who were extravagant or lazy. It was only natural, given the solid support their family background provided.

Yet, Yi-Han had never shown a single moment of laxity and had been diligently devoting himself to magic.

'As expected, Young Master Yi-Han is someone befitting the bloodline of the Wardanaz family,' Arlong thought.

"However, Young Master Yi-Han, when young masters gather in one place to train and polish themselves, it's not just for studying but also for getting to know each other and socializing. Studying is good, but wouldn't it be a waste to spend the entire break studying?"

"Of course, I have plans for that too," Yi-Han reassured him, and Arlong's face brightened once more.

"I'm thinking of collecting coins. There should be quite a few places to work part-time in Granden City."

"...?" Arlong was slightly taken aback by Yi-Han's words. It was a completely unexpected answer.

'What is this...?' He glanced at his subordinate knights, thinking that since they were much younger, they would better understand what Yi-Han meant.

-We don't know what he means either.-

-Could it be a metaphor only used by mages?-

-Is he really trying to collect coins?

-Don't say nonsense in front of Sir Arlong. Why would Young Master Yi-Han do such a thing?-

"I... see. Excellent," Arlong said, not wanting to be a tactless old knight who couldn't keep up with the trends of young mages these days, so he cheered him on for now.

But his inner thoughts were still confused.

"But don't you have any other plans...?"

"Other plans?" Yi-Han tilted his head. He hadn't really thought of anything besides studying and coins.

"Like... social activities with your friends..."

"Ah." At those words, Yi-Han belatedly realized and nodded.

"I should meet my friends too."

Arlong inwardly sighed with relief.

"You've thought well. If you ever want to hold a gathering or a banquet, please let me know anytime. I will prepare it in a way that won't shame the name of the Wardanaz family."

'I don't think there's a need to go that far,' Yi-Han thought to himself at Arlong's words.

The reason Yi-Han wanted to meet his friends was to collect the money he had lent them.

Upon arriving at his residence in Granden City (Yi-Han had left early to avoid the crowd of onlookers that had gathered at the city gate due to the procession of luxurious carriages of the Blue Dragon Tower students), Yi-Han first took a rest.

After taking a deep sleep on the soft and fluffy bed and waking up, the events at the magic academy suddenly felt like a long nightmare.

Of course, it wasn't a dream.

Yi-Han got up and roughly estimated the amount of coins written in the ledger with his eyes.

Even with a rough calculation, it seemed like it would be enough for twenty Imperial gold coins.

It was such an impressive amount that it made him have unfounded confidence in his own business skills.

'...No. I need to get a grip.'

For a moment, he even thought he should aim to be an Imperial merchant instead of an Imperial bureaucrat, but Yi-Han quickly came to his senses.

Although earning twenty gold coins in one semester was a tremendous income, it was thanks to the unique closed situation of the magic academy.

As soon as he became a second-year student, it would be difficult to do this kind of business.

'I need to be humble. If I get cocky, I might lose everything.'

Nevertheless, the amount of twenty Imperial gold coins was enough to make his heart race.

A farmer with a not-so-small piece of land had to work hard all year round to get one gold coin...

"I will prepare breakfast, Young Master Yi-Han," a servant said from outside. Yi-Han opened the door and said,

"Something simple to snack on will do. Has Ratford woken up by any chance?"

"Yes. He asked me to let him know when you awake, Young Master."

"I'm sorry. Could you call him? Ah, wait a moment."

Yi-Han stopped the servant who was about to leave and asked,

"Yesterday, when we entered through the west gate of Granden City, do you know the small general store near the city gate? It was quite crowded..."

"Yes. Is there anything you need from there, Young Master?"

"If I were to buy that general store, how much do you think it would cost?"

The servant pondered for a moment and then carefully answered,

"It would cost at least two hundred Imperial gold coins, wouldn't it?"

Yi-Han had to put strength into his body to avoid staggering.

He didn't think it would be cheap, given that it was one of the most prominent cities, but for a general store of that size...

'I was being cocky.'

He was ashamed of himself for thinking he could be a merchant just by earning that much.

"Young Master Yi-Han?"

"...I see. Thank you for answering."

Not long after the servant left, Ratford came in.

The old-fashioned atmosphere of the mansion seemed quite unfamiliar to him, so as soon as he saw Yi-Han, Ratford ran up to him with a bright face.

"Mr. Wardanaz!"

"Did you rest well?"

"My body is comfortable, but my heart is a bit..."

"You'll get used to it soon. Let's have breakfast first."

Although Yi-Han had asked for a simple meal, the breakfast the servants brought was more plentiful than he had expected.

After cutting the slightly spicy seasoned eggs and putting them in his mouth, Yi-Han let out a deep sigh.

"Did something happen?"

"It's nothing much. I was thinking of buying a small store later, but the price is not as low as I thought."

At Yi-Han's words, Ratford, who was drinking cold milk from a bottle, nodded in understanding.

"I understand."

"What do you understand?"

"Weren't you telling me to secure gold coins for you?"

"...Ratford. Theft is a crime outside the magic academy."

Actually, it was a crime inside too, but Yi-Han thought it could be considered as extenuating circumstances to that extent.

Even among thieves, depending on their motives and purposes, some were called righteous thieves, weren't they?

In Yi-Han's opinion, stealing from the skull principal was definitely righteous.

At Yi-Han's words, Ratford looked confused.

"So... are you telling me not to do it? Or are you telling me to do it well without getting caught?"

"I'm telling you not to do it. Ratford, if I ask you to do something, I won't use metaphors and will ask very specifically, so never act rashly."

"Yes."

Ratford looked slightly crestfallen.

He didn't get a chance to show off his thieving skills.

With a clattering sound, Yi-Han cleanly emptied the bowl of rice.

It had been quite a while since he had eaten Eastern-style meals at Einroguard, so it tasted particularly delicious.

Ratford finished a slice of buttered toast and tilted his head slightly.

"Does it not suit your taste?"

"Ah, no, that's not it."

"It doesn't seem like it's not. I'd appreciate it if you could be honest with me since it's really okay."

"Well... the ones you made tasted better..."

At Ratford's words, Yi-Han laughed.

He was happy to receive a compliment from his friend.

"Thank you. But that's because of the special situation at Einroguard. In that situation, anything you eat will taste better."

Originally, when you're starving, anything tastes better.

Otherwise, there was no way Yi-Han's cooking could taste better than the cooking of the chefs at the mansion.

"Is that so?"

"That's right."

At Yi-Han's words, Ratford nodded, but inwardly, he wasn't fully convinced.

'Objectively, it really seemed to taste better though...'

"I think I'll go out for a bit after eating. Do you have any plans for today?"

"Where are you going?"

"I'm thinking of collecting the silver coins."

Ratford asked in a slightly expectant voice,

"By any chance..."

"I'm not going to steal them, I'm going to receive them."

"Yes. I'll still go with you."

Ratford was disappointed.

Asan of the Dargard family was so tense that he couldn't even breathe properly.

"I heard that a member of your family has been admitted to Einroguard. Congratulations."

"Thank you."

The Dargard family's mansion in Granden City had a long history, and accordingly, there were many family members and guests staying at the mansion.

On top of that, as luck would have it, there was a gathering today, and people of high status in Granden City were gathering one by one as guests.

Given the situation, it was inevitable that the family's student who had just come out of Einroguard yesterday would become a topic of conversation.

"Being from Einroguard, the name of the Dargard family will shine even brighter."

"Thank you."

"I'm curious about which school of magic he's majoring in. May I ask after listening to the performance today?"

"Please do so."

'Save me.'

Asan felt suffocated.

If he made a mistake in front of the famous people of Granden City gathered here, it would tarnish the family's honor.

"Focus," Daihal, Asan's older brother, approached him.

Dressed in a wrinkle-free suit, Daihal was the kind of person who wouldn't sweat a single drop even in the scorching midsummer sun.

"You still make a lot of mistakes. You were a beat late when greeting earlier. And when answering..."

Haidan, Asan's older sister and Daihal's twin, also approached.

Like Daihal, she was the kind of person who wouldn't bat an eye even if a dragon appeared above the city.

"You didn't notice the dust on your cufflinks. That's why you make a lot of mistakes. Think about the mistake you made eighteen days and four days ago."

"It was embarrassing because of your miscalculation."

"It was really just the last digit that was wrong..."

"Be quiet. It's that kind of complacent attitude that makes you keep making mistakes."

Asan closed his mouth at the reprimands of his older brother and sister.

If those two made mistakes while saying such things, he would have retorted, but they were so perfect that Asan could only feel intimidated.

Daihal had been selected as an Imperial bureaucrat and was rapidly rising through the ranks, while Haidan had gotten a job at the Bronze Dwarf Bank in the East and was impressing the fastidious dwarves...

"That's why you couldn't take first or second place in the tower."

"It's not that I couldn't do it, it's just that the first and second place were too good..."

"Be quiet. Stop making excuses."

"Young Master Asan. A guest has come to see you," a servant of the family came to the rescue of Asan, who was being scolded.

Although he didn't know who the guest was, Asan was happy for now. It was an excuse to get out of this situation.

"Brother! Sister! It seems like a friend has come to visit!"

"Why do you look so happy?"

"Well... how can I not be happy when a friend has come to visit?"

"..."

"..."

Daihal and Haidan stared intently at their unreliable younger brother.

"Since a friend of my younger brother has come to visit, I should go and greet them."

"I'll go too."

"What?! I can do it..."

"Be quiet. Greeting a guest who has come to the mansion is not your duty, but mine."

Asan followed the two with a tearful face.

'Please, anyone but Gainando. Please, anyone but Gainando.'

Given their personalities, if the visiting friend was not satisfactory, there was a high possibility that they would mercilessly criticize Asan.

Asan prayed that any of his other friends had come to visit first, not Gainando.

"Hello."

"!!!"

Seeing the familiar face entering, Asan let out a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, his most reliable friend had visited first!