“Well then, I’ll be going.”

Since both of Lee Han’s hands were occupied, he had no choice but to wave the hand holding the hamster cage as a farewell.

The hamster inside let out furious squeaks.

“Wait... wait. Wardanaz!”

Giselle called out to Lee Han, looking unusually flustered.

“Aren’t you going to whip these idiots into shape?!”

‘That’s too harsh.’

The White Tiger Tower students drooped.

Even if their average grades were lower than the Blue Dragon Tower students’...

“That’s too harsh!”

The Blue Dragon Tower students flared up.

Even if they were lacking, wasn’t that going too far?

“?”

“??”

The students of the two towers exchanged bewildered looks.

Only then did they belatedly realize.

‘Ah.’

“I wasn’t talking about you people...”

“Moradi.”

Giselle, who had been frowning while trying to explain to the Blue Dragon Tower idiots, stopped at Lee Han’s words.

Surprisingly, Wardanaz was smiling gently.

“I told you there were things more important than exams, didn’t I?”

“...Uh... yes.”

Giselle was completely overwhelmed by this side of a friend never seen before. When people were too shocked, they truly could not react at all.

“Now that I think about it, I believe I pushed you all too hard. Forcing people forward is not always the answer. Each of you has a path of your own.”

“...”

“...”

Not only Giselle but the other students froze one after another.

As if a basilisk had used its petrifying gaze, none of them could move.

Whether his friends had fallen into a petrified state or not, Lee Han continued speaking kindly.

“Do not overdo it, everyone. Well then, I’ll be going.”

Even after Lee Han disappeared, his friends could not recover right away. Only after several minutes had passed did someone finally shout.

“Wardanaz is broken!!!!!!!”

***

“Thank you, Professor Willow.”

“What are you thanking me for, young one? I should be the one thanking you.”

Professor Willow chuckled and held out a document. On the paper, decorated at each corner with the emblems of the Imperial Gardener Club, the schedule for an auction held by the club was written in dense detail.

And among the auction items, the mandragon Lee Han had raised was proudly listed.

Originally, this mandragon had been a semester assignment for the <A Mage’s Life with Plants> lecture, something to be raised until the final exams and submitted.

But because of the actions of a certain mischievous dragon and basilisk...

-...

The baby basilisk became dejected.

This was not its fault!

...Lee Han’s mandragon had fully grown by the time midterm exams arrived.

It had grown so well that Professor Willow had recommended submitting it to the Imperial Gardener Club auction.

“If it sells, I’ll buy presents for you and His Majesty.”

-!

The baby basilisk’s tail wagged with joy.

“Here. This is an invitation. Since it is held during vacation, you can attend in person.”

The Imperial Gardener Club was not a club just anyone could join. It was an honorable club that only gardeners with outstanding achievements were permitted to enter.

In other words, the fact that the mandragon Lee Han had submitted was listed in the club’s internal auction, and that he could attend personally, meant Lee Han had also been granted permission to join the club.

Perhaps that was a reward more valuable than the gold coins he would earn from selling the mandragon.

“And, young one, there is something you must not forget...”

“The . Is that correct?”

“That’s right!”

Professor Willow moved a bark-covered face and chuckled merrily.

Conversing with an outstanding student made the tree happy as well.

The professor took out a small booklet. Written on its cover was .

“Do not forget to obtain this. With this one thing alone, you can share information about plants throughout the entire Empire.”

“Yes. I was definitely planning to secure the , which allows one to share information on what plants are trending where, what events cause price fluctuations, and who can provide good plants.”

“...Yes, well. It is good that you understand it so thoroughly.”

He knew far more than expected. It was startling.

“From next semester onward, we will meet as fellow gardeners within the club. But do not become too absorbed in plants. The other professors will resent me.”

Mages who did not know much about plants could not understand, but nothing was as charming and addictive as plants.

Professor Willow knew several people who had become so absorbed in the magic of collecting and raising plants that they could no longer escape it.

If Wardanaz became intoxicated by the joy of raising mandragons and neglected his other lectures, how disappointed would the professors of Einroguard be?

“I’ll keep that in mind. And even if I become absorbed in other things, the professors will have no reason to resent you, Professor Willow. It will not be because of plants, but because I have changed my way of thinking.”

“Changed your way of thinking?”

Professor Willow was puzzled by the year’s top student’s words.

“From now on, I will not be so obsessed with exams. What is so important about other people’s evaluations on the path of magic?”

“Hmm. Usually, those words come from young ones who have failed... but if you are the one saying it, young one, it should be fine.”

Originally, words like “only you need to know the magical path you walk” were usually grumbles made by failed students inside Einroguard’s punishment cells, but when the year’s top student said them, they sounded more dignified.

Professor Willow decided to trust the boy before him rather than worry needlessly.

“So you plan to simply get by on this exam?”

“Yes.”

“I see. But what is that?”

Professor Willow noticed the thick report Lee Han was carrying and asked in puzzlement.

“It is a report I submitted for the lecture.”

Professor Willow focused not on “will submit,” but on “submitted.”

When Professor Willow turned slightly, Professor Milei’s writing could be seen on the report, marking it as a perfect score.

“...Right. Keep it up!”

Instead of scolding the disciple as an irritating little brat, the professor quietly praised him.

It was truly an attitude only a dignified professor could show.

***

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

Professor Thunderstep, who was sitting in a cabin chair and eating chicken noodle soup, looked at the disciple before him as if looking at a madman.

Not being so obsessed with exams from now on.

That was like a dwarf reflecting on a life of mining and vowing to plant trees for the rest of time.

Just as dragons flew through the sky and ghouls craved flesh, Wardanaz had to be mad about magic.

“I reflected on myself and decided to change.”

“No... that doesn’t seem like something you need to reflect on or change...”

Professor Thunderstep checked the golden potion Lee Han had submitted with a reluctant expression.

Annoyingly, there was not the slightest error in it. It was a perfect potion, unbelievable for a mere second-year student to have made. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

A person who could make a potion like this was now saying he would no longer be obsessed with exams.

Was he perhaps planning to mock Einroguard’s students in some new way from now on?

‘What a terrifying fellow. To think he can overwhelm other mages like this.’

“But now that I think about it, you made me make poison, Professor.”

“...Cough, cough cough.”

The dwarf professor, who had been slurping noodles through a beard, coughed and wheezed.

“Wh... what... If you are talking about Arlekan’s Eternal Severance, I had no choice. The Principal’s projection told me to keep it secret, so what was I supposed to do?”

“Hmm.”

Lee Han stared intently at Professor Thunderstep.

Under that gaze, the professor grew anxious, wondering whether asking a disciple to make a snack had been a mistake.

Throughout history, when examining the causes of alchemists’ deaths, one found a surprising number who had been poisoned by their disciples.

This spicy broth was quite suitable for hiding poison.

“...Should I handle the remaining work?”

“No. Since I’m already here, I should finish everything before leaving. I need to hurry and complete the exam so I can help the Principal too.”

“No, no. How long has it been since you recovered, and you are already overexerting yourself? I can just have Professor Bendozol do it, so rest a little more!”

Professor Thunderstep, who had suddenly become a caring and affectionate professor, stopped Lee Han from getting up.

When the disciple sat back down, Professor Thunderstep cautiously asked,

“Aren’t you curious how the potion you just submitted turned out?”

At that question, Lee Han let out a light sigh.

Then he spoke as if frustrated.

“Professor. I already told you. I said I would not be so obsessed with exams anymore.”

‘What is this fellow babbling about after coming here first and getting a perfect score...’

Professor Thunderstep cursed the top student inwardly.

Somehow, he seemed to have become even more insufferable.

***

Lee Han finished his exams quickly, with a mind much more relaxed than usual.

Classes like —Professor Verdus had disappeared, so Princess Yukbeltire was evaluating in his place—and , which had essentially been completed before the final exams, did not require much attention.

Of course, he could not ignore them completely. Even though the exams were finished, the lectures remained.

“I know. He disappeared.”

“You knew?”

Lee Han was slightly surprised that Princess Yukbeltire knew about the insane duplicate’s ascension.

“You even erected a memorial, didn’t you?”

“Ah. Senior Diret ordered that, right?”

“What? No...”

“As expected, Senior Diret is truly considerate.”

“What are you...”

Princess Yukbeltire tried to point out her junior’s absurd words, but following the tradition of the Divination Magic Guild, Lee Han ignored the other person and said what he wanted to say.

“More importantly, Senior. I heard you know a lot about Lesser Worlds.”

“I am not an expert, but to some extent...”

“Have you ever heard of a crown-shaped Lesser World magic that looks like this? I happened to use it recently, but the restrictions are more troublesome than I expected. If there are any related magic books, I would appreciate a recommendation. I want to read them during vacation.”

At her junior’s words, Princess Yukbeltire immediately realized what magic he was talking about.

He must have been referring to that faint crown that had flickered above his head when they had explored the underground mine area last time.

She had said nothing for fear that needless interference might ruin the magic, but it seemed her junior had noticed it himself...

“...You used it?”

“Yes? Yes.”

“How?!”

“Ah. It was by chance, but there was a clue in what Senior Diret said. Senior said the condition was being virtuous and devoted, and it was similar.”

“You talked to Diret about it!?!?”

Princess Yukbeltire was even more shocked. So shocked, in fact, that she completely forgot to point out that her junior had used Lesser World magic.

‘I was so interested in it, though?’

Why had those two talked about it while leaving only her out?

Of course, the answer was that she had only thought about it inwardly and had never said anything to Diret, but it was not easy for Princess Yukbeltire to realize that.

“Didn’t you hear?”

“...No.”

“Well, you seniors have more important magic to worry about, so that must be why.”

Lee Han’s consolation did not really reach Princess Yukbeltire.

“...Did I do something wrong to Diret?”

“Don’t you do that every day? Why are you being so dramatic now?”

“It is not that bad.”

“It is that bad.”

Her junior was cold. Mentally cornered, Princess Yukbeltire decided to assume he was right.

“...Could you go to Diret and tell Diret to stop being irrationally angry?”

At those words, which could create anger even where none had existed, Lee Han firmly refused.

“No. You do it yourself, Senior. Anyway, I’ve finished the lecture, so I’ll be going now.”

“Wait...!”

At the sight of her junior leaving so coldly, Princess Yukbeltire unknowingly slammed her fist on the table.

It was the first time she felt such strong anger toward the school’s academic culture.

What exactly was wrong with the Divination Magic Guild for it to have become like this?