Parthenope ignored I-han’s excuses and continued steering the boat.

She wanted to escape this horrible chorus as soon as possible.

---

*‘Wait a minute?’*

As I-han continued down the underground passage, he began to recognize the surroundings.

*This place...*

*Is that you, Gonadalthes?*

A massive boulder protruding over an underground lake spoke, and I-han greeted it with joy.

“Hello, Bulgasal.”

*Ah. You’re that...*

The massive, rock-like monster, Bulgasal, recognized I-han and waved enthusiastically. Chunks of stone shook loose and tumbled down.

*‘I should tell him not to wave next time.’*

*What brings you here?*

“I’m bringing something inside,” I-han said as he signaled the giants behind him not to come around the corner yet.

The giants, puzzled, waited.

*Bringing something inside all the way to this dangerous place? Be careful,* Bulgasal rumbled in its slow, resonant voice.

While it respected students’ freedom, Bulgasal always reminded them that the greatest danger to a wizard was often their own magic.

Carrying something too dangerous could lead to injuries.

“Would you mind keeping what I’m bringing a secret from others?”

Bulgasal’s stone body vibrated slightly in a slow chuckle.

*Of course. After all, I grew here thanks to a student who brought me in secretly.*

Bulgasal shifted a few stones, as if reassuring I-han to trust him.

No matter what a student brought, Bulgasal was ready to respect it.

“Thank you.”

*–...*

The Siren pulling I-han’s boat, Parthenope, wore a conflicted expression.

She couldn’t imagine that Bulgasal wouldn’t be shocked once he saw what was coming.

*But getting help from the Sirens?*

“Yes.”

*How? Sirens don’t help other species.*

Bulgasal, curious, asked in its slow voice.

“I have connections.”

*Really?*

Parthenope looked as though she were reliving the horror of the giants’ singing all over again—squeezing her eyes shut and pressing her hands over her ears.

*‘They don’t seem close at all,’* Bulgasal thought but decided not to interfere with what might be a miraculous friendship.

*Impressive. Good luck. Take care of it well.*

*‘It’s not exactly something to take care of...’*

I-han realized that Bulgasal misunderstood, thinking I-han was bringing in a dangerous creature, just like the student who had smuggled Bulgasal into the academy ages ago.

I-han almost explained but decided against it.

*‘Better keep moving.’*

Seeing the giants getting restless made him realize he needed to keep things moving quickly.

“Thanks. Everyone, let’s move out again!”

*–Ugh, finally moving.*

*–That was tiring. So tiring.*

The giants emerged from around the corner, their massive steps echoing as they splashed forward.

I-han and the giants found the path that Ikurusha had mentioned—the route among the many side paths of the Webbed Lake that led to the underground storage of the main building.

Bulgasal, watching the scene unfold, was shocked in a way that did not fit his usual calm demeanor.

*‘They’re bringing giants to raise?’*

Students at Einroguard had smuggled in all sorts of bizarre creatures, but giants? This was a first.

*What in the world...?!*

---

“Everyone, thank you for your hard work,” I-han said sincerely as they finally reached the underground storage.

The giants deserved this gratitude.

They had walked such a long way solely to help him.

“Thank you so mu—”

*–We need red. Red is warmer.*

*–No! Yellow is better. Yellow is warmer.*

Of course, the giants were too busy discussing how to decorate the storage to pay attention to I-han’s thanks.

The underground storage was so vast that the giants could have a wrestling match inside. Naturally, they were absorbed in the idea of decorating this expansive space.

*‘Well, at least they won’t be bored. That’s good.’*

It was better for I-han, too, if the giants weren’t bored.

They needed to stay here for a week. If they got restless and wandered outside, encountering Professor Voladi would be disastrous.

*‘Even if one of them gets caught, they could spill the location.’*

Given the giants’ nature, they would probably give away their location if interrogated.

I-han gave them one last reminder.

“Don’t go outside unless necessary. If you get caught, you could face terrible consequences.”

*–Working all day?*

“It could be worse.”

*–Working for two days straight? Nooo!*

“Yes. It could even be three days.”

The giants murmured nervously at I-han’s warning.

Einroguard’s wizards were indeed strange and fearsome beings.

“Take care, everyone.”

*–Leave it to us!*

I-han nodded and opened the door to leave the storage.

*Whoosh!*

“...??!”

As soon as he stepped out, he was greeted by a corridor covered in green fog.

The complex, overlapping flow of magic emanating from it.

It wasn’t just one type of poison—it was a compound poison so layered that he couldn’t guess how many were mixed together.

*‘What’s this? Did a monster appear?’*

At first, I-han thought a monster might have shown up, but then he remembered what Deeret had told him.

*–Of course, we’ll try to talk first. But if that doesn’t work, we might use a bit of poison. The poison isn’t meant to harm others; it’s just to spread rumors that will stop people from coming. Understand? It’s not for hurting others.*

*‘...Isn’t this a bit much?’*

It seemed like poison had been spread not just at the entrance but throughout the entire area.

I-han felt a twinge of panic.

Was this really necessary?

*‘Well... Deeret-senpai wouldn’t do this without a reason. Maybe others didn’t listen...’*

*Clank!*

An undead camouflaged into the wall caught his eye.

It was connected to the magic circles on the floor, ready to spring out the moment someone stepped on them.

Beyond that, there were cursed magic circles inscribed on the floor...

“......”

Was this really necessary to such an extent?!

I-han adhered himself to the wall, using mana manipulation to stay clear of the traps. It was a clever use of *Absorption Tactics*.

Clinging to the wall and moving carefully, he managed to exit the zone, only to find red writing painted on the wall.

*Damn the dark magic faction!!*

“......”

I-han quietly erased the writing from the wall.

It took some effort since it was written with enchanted paint, but a solid blast of mana did the trick.

---

“As expected of the Princess.”

“Indeed! Who else but Her Highness could teach her classmates so well?”

“......”

Adenart glared at her followers, silently conveying how exhausted she felt, but they didn’t seem to notice.

“Next up! Feel honored that Her Highness is teaching you like this!”

“Hey... I’m royalty too, you know...” muttered Gainando, who had come holding a question sheet, glaring at the followers.

Sometimes, Gainando wondered if Adenart’s followers genuinely forgot that he was also of royal blood.

“And teaching others is just the duty of the knowledgeable! Like sharing your abundance! Do you think I-han ever boasts while teaching others?”

“T-that’s...”

“Hmm.”

The followers fell silent at Gainando’s sharp words.

Indeed, Wardanas had taught them much more without bragging about it.

While they sulked, Adenart beckoned Gainando over.

“What? Why?”

“...Tell everyone we’re done studying for today.”

“Really?!”

Gainando’s face lit up with joy at Adenart’s words.

He never thought he’d hear such a thing from his half-sibling.

“...Wait. No, we can’t.”

His brief excitement faded immediately.

Adenart was taken aback.

She had assumed Gainando would leap at the chance to announce the end of studying.

“There’s still material left. If we stop now and I-han comes back to find us unfinished, he’ll really get mad.”

“......”

Adenart shot a look of disgust at Gainando.

*‘How little did you study for Wardanas to react like that?’*

It was unhelpful, to say the least.

*‘This is tiring.’*

Adenart realized that answering other people’s questions was surprisingly exhausting.

Each student was studying different subjects in different factions, leading to a myriad of questions.

The questions weren’t the kind that could be answered just by being the top student.

*–So, what’s the difference when using bull bones versus chicken bones in spells...*

*–Your Highness, I can’t figure out what’s wrong with my patience potion. I added a spoon of golden elixir, two pouches of coldaran, and a handful of stone incense for the first try, and the second try was the same, but why didn’t it work the second time?*

*–Can these makeshift magic circles be used when crafting artifacts on the spot?*

*–And if I wanted to summon an extra spirit...*

It was impressive that she had managed to answer as much as she did.

She’d been lucky, too.

If any of the questions had been outside her area of interest, she wouldn’t have been able to answer at all

.

“Wait. Don’t tell me you just asked me because you wanted to rest?” Gainando looked at Adenart, half in disbelief.

Adenart’s pride wouldn’t let her answer.

“Hey. She’s acting like she wants a break.”

“What are you talking about? That’s nonsense. If Her Highness wanted a break, she’d have told us.”

“She could have told me. After teaching this much, maybe she does need a break.”

“Her Highness never tires from things like this.”

“Yeah. Who do you think you’re talking about?”

“...You guys are too much!”

Gainando swung his staff, and the followers wrestled him down in retaliation.

Seeing this, other students who had been studying decided now was a good time to settle old scores.

“You took the fruit from the bread tree I had my eye on, didn’t you!?”

“First come, first served!”

“This is payback for last week’s project!”

“You messed up and blamed me for your mistakes!”

These students, who already struggled with studying, were always ready to ditch their work for any excuse.

As papers flew and ink splattered, I-han returned.

*Bang!*

The sound of the wall cracking made everyone freeze and turn.

Gainando, who was about to pour ink into the mouth of a friend from the White Tiger Tower, also looked up.

I-han, who had punched the wall, stared at them with a blank expression.

“What’s going on?”

“......”

“...Uh... well...”

“Do you all not want to study?”

The students exchanged glances.

Of course, they didn’t want to study, but admitting that now could get them killed. Even Gainando picked up on that.

“...No, that’s not it...”

“He started it...”

“No, he did...”

“Sit down. All of you.”

At I-han’s command, the students sat quietly.

“Gainando, where did we leave off?”

“Um... almost done.”

“Explain the difference between using bull bones and chicken bones.”

“Well, so, um...”

The other students frantically flipped through their books, preparing for the possibility of I-han questioning them.

I-han clicked his tongue and sat down.

*‘I told them to study.’*

*Slam!*

Once everyone was settled, Adenart whispered softly to I-han.

“...Truly, thank you.”

“???”