"Huh? It's over already?" Yi-Han's friends, who had been hiding behind the tables preparing their magic, asked in surprised voices.

Checking the mirror, the basilisk was indeed collapsed on the ground. Yonaire put away her potion and stood up. Nillia also stopped enchanting her arrow and rose to her feet.

Gainando, along with his summoned skeleton warrior...

"Put it away, quickly!"

"What are you doing, seriously!"

"Ah, but... why...! This is magic too!"

Gainando felt wronged. They had all prepared to fight the basilisk together, so why was he the only one being scolded?

"Dark magic is magic too!"

"I get it, so put it away! Other people will see!"

Gainando sadly de-summoned the skeleton warrior.

'This filthy Empire, discriminating against only dark magic.'

"Summoning me is no trivial matter," Ferkuntra solemnly admonished Yi-Han before being de-summoned.

“You are wastefully consuming precious opportunities that, once used, could not be used again for some time.”

Surprised, Yi-Han asked, "Besides the time limit, are there other penalties?"

“...”

For a moment, Ferkuntra nearly forgot its dignity and sincerely got angry at the young mage.

“The mana consumption... no. Forget it. Anyway, remember this! If you waste precious opportunities, in the end, it is you who will regret it."

"This time I called you because it was truly dangerous. But why did that basilisk collapse?"

"Perhaps it was hungry. How would I know." With those words, Ferkuntra averted its gaze.

However, the basilisk had not collapsed from hunger or fatigue. Traces of a powerful petrification curse were felt throughout its body, as if it had been struck by its own evil eye.

“Hit by its own evil eye…”

"Pardon?"

"The power of the evil eye is no trivial matter either. If blocked, the damage rebounds onto oneself. Did you have an artifact for evil eye defense?"

"No."

“...”

Ferkuntra quickly grasped the situation. That young mage had deflected the basilisk's evil eye purely with the amount of mana.

'What is this...'

"I'll be going now."

"I'm fine, so could you stay a bit longer?"

"Enough."

Ferkuntra hurriedly prepared for de-summoning, not wanting to praise Yi-Han. Its retreating figure seemed quite sulky.

Yi-Han thought that next time he had to go to the punishment room, he should buy a gift that the spirit liked.

"Is... is it all over?"

"Yes. It's all over. Just in case, please wait a moment."

Yi-Han called the escorts waiting outside. It was to securely confine the basilisk in case of any eventualities.

The startled escorts rushed over, and the situation was roughly wrapped up.

Thump!

"?"

Prince Bogajun tightly grasped Yi-Han's right hand. With greedy eyes and tears welling up, Bogajun exclaimed, "Mr. Wardanaz is my life's savior."

"No... even if you were cursed with petrification, this isn't some remote place. A healing mage would have arrived within an hour."

Yi-Han was dumbfounded by the prince's fuss. Seeing Gainando make a fuss over receiving a single snack, calling him his life's savior, perhaps being dramatic was a characteristic of the imperial family.

Thump!

This time, Princess Judrantas grabbed Yi-Han's left hand.

"Life savior...!"

"No. I said it's not."

"I shall repay the favor with a visit!"

"Let's have a gathering sometime!"

"I spoke first! Move aside!"

"Go and resolve the plague first!"

"How dare you be so rude... The bribery case your escort knight received!"

The two royals pulled Yi-Han towards themselves while growling. However, their strength was far inferior to Yi-Han's, so he didn't budge an inch.

'But is this okay?'

Yi-Han was puzzled. The royals, who had been maintaining their dignity until now due to the many eyes watching, were now arguing in a rather unseemly manner, perhaps shocked by the basilisk.

Is this level of behavior acceptable?

-That's a bit…-

-Even though Mr. Wardanaz is refusing, they're forcibly insisting like that. How impolite.-

'It's not okay.'

Seeing the nobles whispering, it seemed it indeed was not okay. Yi-Han decided he needed to stop the royals.

"You two. Your current behavior is a little..."

"Yi-Han. Yi-Han."

Gainando scurried over and whispered. Yi-Han threw him a stern look.

"Didn't I tell you to only say 'yes,' 'no,' and 'hehe'?"

"It's an emergency, so it can't be helped! Mother has arrived!"

"..."

Upon hearing the news of Gainando's mother's early arrival, the visiting guests froze.

Normally, even if she arrived early, there would be no reason to freeze, but today was a bit different.

Despite holding a gathering at someone else's residence, hadn't they nearly caused a catastrophe by releasing a basilisk?

As the owner of the residence, it was natural to be furious.

Brodon, who had brought the egg, couldn't raise his head, feeling like a sinner.

"I apologize to everyone."

"No. Lord Brodon. We are also members who participated in the gathering. How can we say it's only Lord Brodon's fault?"

Seeing everyone's nervous state, Yi-Han asked Gainando, "Is your mother that strict?"

"We're doomed... doomed..."

"..."

Even Gainando was in despair, making Yi-Han flustered. This incident wasn't Gainando's fault, was it?

"It's not your fault, so why are you like that?"

"She told me not to mess up the residence while she was away."

"The others did it, so she'll probably consider that."

At Yi-Han's words, Gainando raised his head and looked at him with hopeful eyes.

"Really? You think so? Will you speak on my behalf?"

"No. I'm a guest, so you have to speak."

"...Please speak for me...! I'm not confident!"

Gainando clung to Yi-Han's sleeve and pleaded. It seemed he thought it would be much better resolved if Yi-Han spoke to his mother instead of himself.

"Lady Kraha is entering."

As the family's servants announced, the guests hurriedly tidied their attire and stood up from their seats.

Even the royals checked their own appearance for any issues before standing up.

Whoosh!

As the door opened and Gainando's mother entered, an immense light swept through the hall.

Those who faced that light involuntarily let out exclamations of admiration.

"Ah...!"

"Facing Lady Kraha's beauty, it feels like my eyes will go blind...!"

"???"

Yi-Han was startled. Everyone except him had an enchanted expression.

In the first place, so much light was pouring from her face that he couldn't see properly.

Despite that, for them to be like this...

'Is it the power of charm?'

It wasn't only monsters like succubi that possessed the power of charm. Among spirits, there were also those who charmed people.

It was said that Gainando's mother had mixed spirit blood, so it wouldn't be surprising if she had such power.

Yi-Han had high resistance to status ailments, so he endured, but...

"Gainando. Don't you have that kind of ability?"

"What ability?"

'He doesn't.'

Yi-Han felt regretful. If Gainando had such an ability, he could have also gathered followers like the other royals.

The light subsided. Gainando's mother had put on a veil.

"So. What happened?"

"I apologize!"

Brodon, the noble with the most responsibility, stepped forward first to explain the situation.

"It's our fault. Lady Kraha!"

"It's our fault!"

Gainando's veiled mother didn't respond but became lost in thought. Then she asked, "Who resolved it?"

"Uh... Prince Gainando and his friends..."

"Enough with the flattery. Who resolved it? The escorts?"

"Ah, no. It really was Prince Gainando and his friends who resolved it..."

"Didn't I say enough with the flattery!"

Bang!

As Gainando's mother struck the armrest, a sharp sound filled the hall. A strong belief that there was no way Gainando could have resolved it.

'Hmm. Indeed, parents know their children well.'

Unlike Yi-Han, who had no responsibility for this incident, the nobles and royals froze even more than before.

"That... well... Mr. Yi-Han of the Wardanaz family did take the lead, but Prince Gainando truly participated as well..."

"It's not a lie... They resolved it together."

The nobles, who had been lying behind the tables as soon as the incident occurred, hadn't accurately grasped the situation. They could only guess that Yi-Han had done something while calling his friends.

As such, it wasn't strange for them to think they had done something together.

"It wasn't like that. Yi-Han alone... Ack."

As Gainando pointed it out in puzzlement, the three simultaneously pinched Gainando's back.

Read the mood!

Only then did Gainando's mother seem to accept that the nobles weren't just flattering. Slowly turning her gaze to Yi-Han, she spoke.

"I apologize for making you listen to such a harsh conversation despite having no fault. You said the Wardanaz family?"

"Yes."

"Excuse me, but what is your relationship with Gainando?"

"Oh, we're friends."

"..."

"...?"

A heavy silence hung in the air. For a moment, Yi-Han wondered if he had answered incorrectly.

'Is the answer "friends" used as a curse in this residence?'

"Is that true?"

"We're really close! The closest of friends!"

Gainando answered instead, choking up. Gainando's mother ignored him and asked Yonaire.

"Really..."

"They are friends."

"Why..."

"Because he's kind?"

"Later, won't it lead to family issues..."

"Yi-Han isn't that narrow-minded, so it should be fine."

The nobles and royals couldn't understand, but Yi-Han roughly understood.

'Hmm. It seems Gainando angered many of his previous friends.'

Gainando's mother threw a glance at Yi-Han from behind the veil. Although her eyes weren't visible, Yi-Han somehow felt that she regarded him with pity and gratitude.

'It's probably my imagination.'

"Thank you for preventing it from turning into a bigger accident."

"I merely did what had to be done."

"It's a humble offering and I hesitate to present it, but please accept it. Here."

As Gainando's mother gestured, one of the servants carefully presented a jewel pouch to Yi-Han.

While Yi-Han was thinking, 'Should I refuse once and then accept? What if they really take it back?', Gainando's mother spoke again.

"Please don't refuse. Accept not the value of the gift, but the sincerity contained within."

"If you insist, I will gratefully acknowledge that sincerity."

Yi-Han, moved, slipped the jewel pouch into his bosom. Gainando's mother was truly an extraordinary person.

Consideration on a different level from someone who gave a worthless token of gratitude!

'Is this a true noble?'

"Feel free to stay as long as you wish. Then..."

As Gainando's mother left, only then could the nobles let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you. Mr. Wardanaz."

"We are truly indebted to you today."

Not only did he stop the basilisk, but he also shielded them from Lady Kraha's reprimand.

No matter how many times they thanked him, it wouldn't be enough.

Brodon and Zolbabden vowed that at the next gathering, they must inform everyone of what the young man from the Wardanaz family had done.

Not noticing their inner thoughts, Yi-Han nodded appropriately.

"No. I merely did what had to be done."

"Prince Gainando was also excellent. To think you could stop the basilisk. But what magic did you use?"

"Uh... um... hehe."

"Aha. It's a secret, I see."

Among mages, there were those who didn't reveal their area of expertise. The nobles interpreted it positively.

Surrounded by praise, Gainando's mood instantly improved.

"For me to do that much... Hehe..."

As he spoke, Gainando realized the two royals were glaring at him and was horrified.

'Adenart isn't the sly one; it was this guy all along.'

'Even though you're close, you were hiding it, huh?'

They had been wary of Adenart because Yi-Han had a friendship with her, but it turned out the one they really needed to be wary of was someone else.

"Y-Yi-Han. Those people are glaring at me..."

"Ignore them and pretend you didn't see."