Published at 6th of December 2024 10:43 am

Chapter 610

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

In fact, there weren't surprisingly many people in the imperial capital who refused Einroguard's call.

The people of the capital with a long history had learning abilities. It was rare for someone to boldly refuse after hearing rumors about what happened to those who dared to refuse.

But there were always unfortunate people in any era.

Those who had not been in the capital for long had not heard these rumors, so they made the mistake of arrogantly relying only on their meager strength.

Surely, no matter how great a mage he was, he couldn't do anything in the capital where His Majesty the Emperor resided!

...But if there was one thing they were mistaken about, it was that the skull principal could do such things as much as he wanted.

"I hope there are fewer such idiots this year."

"I agree."

The skull principal stopped at a mansion in the central district of the capital. It was clearly the mansion of a quite powerful noble family.

"The master has no appointments today, but..."

"The letter from Einroguard must have arrived. That letter is the appointment. Open the door."

The skull principal ordered the gatekeeper in a firm manner.

That order soon became a force, pushing the gatekeeper aside and opening the main gate of the mansion.

"Ma-master! The grand mage has arrived! The grand mage has arrived!"

The fallen gatekeeper shouted in a squawking voice. It was as if a person who had long feared death had actually seen the visit of the grim reaper.

The skull principal could have stopped the gatekeeper, but he quietly waited.

"Shall I stop him?"

"Leave him be. Sometimes it's easier to talk when fear spreads inside the mansion."

"..."

Are you sure you came to invite a student?

Before long, a middle-aged noble with a pale complexion came running out from inside.

His appearance, sweating all over his body and pleading with fear, was almost pitiful.

"Y-Your Excellency Gonadaltes! Please listen to me. I absolutely did not ignore Einroguard's proposal or disrespect Your Excellency's honor by refusing." ℞

"Of course. You wouldn't do such a rude thing. I trust you."

The skull principal approached kindly.

It was because he seemed closer to a frightened guy than an arrogant one.

These guys needed a kind approach.

"But my child has too noble and aristocratic qualities. His bloodline is too noble to mingle with the lowly ones from magic towers or magic schools!"

"Haha. I see. I see."

"..."

Yi-Han thought the opposing noble was like pouring oil on his body and jumping into the fire.

Such words in front of the skull principal were the same as saying, 'Please specially torment my child, hehe.'

"I understand what you're worried about. You think that in magic towers or magic schools, there will be many occasions to mingle with ignorant knights or vulgar commoners?"

"Sob. Yes. And crazy priests too."

The noble added a word while sobbing. Yi-Han shook his head.

Indeed, in the world of mages, status or family couldn't exert much power.

Even excluding the extreme case of Einroguard, it was quite common to work under a mage of commoner origin just by entering an ordinary magic tower.

Among those from traditional noble families, there were some who couldn't endure such a situation. These people usually learned magic under a private tutor invited by the family.

"I originally considered Baldurguard too, but..."

"!"

Yi-Han witnessed the skull principal's fingertips trembling slightly with anger. It was a very dangerous sign.

To change the subject, Yi-Han hurriedly asked a question.

"Why didn't you choose Baldurguard?"

"Sob. Even low-ranking nobles can enter if they just pay money."

"I-I see."

The skull principal waited for the other party to cry and rant to his heart's content.

When it seemed like the other party had poured out enough, the skull principal began persuading with a soft and kind smile.

"You have a misunderstanding. Do you think Einroguard would mix nobles and commoners? Hmm?"

"Th-that's not the case?"

"Absolutely not! Look at me. I am a person who has inherited the most pure and noble bloodline of the ancients. Would someone like me mix nobles and commoners?"

'Instead, you make them fight...'

The skull principal called Yi-Han, who was thinking differently inwardly.

"Tell him, my disciple. About the true life at Einroguard."

"You were his disciple??"

"Yes. I brought him to let someone like you know the truth about Einroguard."

Yi-Han nodded to play along.

"That's right. The students at Einroguard are strictly separated from each other. Commoner students dare not even look at the shadows of noble students. Einroguard is the place that most strictly adheres to the beautiful old traditions."

"Oh..."

The noble's eyes wavered at those words.

"In this decaying world, if you learn outside rather than inside Einroguard, you may have more occasions to clash with ignorant knights or vulgar commoners."

"Th-that's right. And crazy priests too."

"In contrast, all the students at Einroguard thoroughly follow the rules. Those without manners all go to the punishment room."

"Indeed...!"

Yi-Han exchanged glances with the skull principal. The skull principal nodded his head in satisfaction.

As expected, it takes two hands to clap.

It was much more persuasive for a young student to speak directly than for the skull principal to persuade.

Of course, most of it was a lie, but…

"Your Excellency Gonadaltes. Perhaps I was just scared for nothing."

"That can be the case. In an era where the law is blurred and the name of nobility is weakening like these days, how difficult must it be for a noble person like you to endure? But I believe you have understood my sincerity by now."

"Yes! I will send my child to Einroguard."

"Yes, yes. You made a good decision."

The skull principal comforted the noble and sent him inside.

Walking out the main gate, the skull principal muttered.

"That family's guy should be assigned to manage the manure in the stables of the Black Tortoise Tower."

"That's a good idea."

***

"This guy has outstanding talent in swordsmanship. If he devotes himself to swordsmanship, he will leave his name in the history of swordsmanship guilds..."

"Swordsmanship can also be honed at Einroguard. My disciple, show them. This is the level of swordsmanship you've honed as a hobby."

"M-my goodness!"

One from a swordsmanship guild who was contemplating whether to have him learn magic or devote himself to swordsmanship.

"I'm worried that if he enters a magic school, his prayer time will decrease and his faith will weaken."

"Thanks to the devout environment at Einroguard, I was able to realize several holy magics."

"!!"

One from a temple who was worried that magic might interfere with faith.

The skull principal showed a rare warm gaze at the sight of his disciple demonstrating his unerring skill.

"Your skills are truly excellent! I'll even have Her Highness Jourin enroll!"

"Don't make such a scary joke."

"I also regretted it a bit after saying it. Haha. It will end faster than I thought. It's all thanks to you."

The skull principal checked the time.

As the capital was the most densely populated place in the empire, it also had the largest number of people who refused admission.

Once the admission process here was completed, the rest of the empire's regions were relatively easier.

"Next are the mercenary guys. Looking at the location of the guild house, they seem like illegal guys... Hmm... They are illegal guys."

The skull principal lightly used a divination spell to confirm the identity of the other party.

As the saying goes, 'There are two types of mercenaries, criminals and criminals who haven't been caught yet,' the empire's mercenaries were always tempted by illegality.

There were numerous people who put up the signboard of a mercenary group and committed all kinds of crimes behind it.

"If they're illegal guys, will you subdue them with force as usual?"

"No. Illegal guys are actually easier to persuade. They have a lot to be wary of, so they're also very scared."

The skull principal answered with a confident attitude.

The capital was not only home to good citizens. Sinister criminals also swarmed in the shadows.

These people sometimes refused Einroguard's proposal out of fear, but…

When the skull principal visited, they immediately repented and accepted the proposal.

"We've arrived. Here it is."

Passing through the slums on the outskirts of the capital, Yi-Han and the skull principal stood out very much until they reached the mercenary group building next to a run-down inn.

The people sitting in the gloomy alleys where someone could die without anyone knowing either glinted their eyes or tightly grasped their daggers when they saw the two walking.

But that was it.

Guild members with the same pattern came running from inside the alley, beat up the sitting people, grabbed their hair, and dragged them inside.

-You crazy bastard. Do you know who that person is!-

-Are you trying to kill us together! Can't you take your eyes off!?-

"There are still guys with good memory."

When the skull principal spoke as if he was satisfied, Yi-Han looked at him with a shocked gaze.

"Where are you from?"

"Are you a member of the Arrowhead Mercenary Group? Tell your leader that Gonadaltes has come."

"I don't know such a guy."

The mercenary guarding the door spat saliva through his teeth and glared at Gonadaltes.

It was an attitude that he wouldn't be intimidated by two people without an escort, no matter how luxuriously dressed they were as nobles.

"Yeah. You wouldn't know. That's why I told you to convey the message, didn't I?"

"I don't want to. I'm not in the mood."

The mercenary arrogantly raised his chin.

It was an attitude telling them to offer a bribe or cater to his mood.

The skull principal spoke as if he was sorry.

"Then I'll have to match your mood."

As soon as he finished speaking, the sword the skull principal was wearing came out of its sheath by itself and swiftly stabbed the mercenary's arms and legs.

"Aaaagh!!"

The moment the blade came out, the arms and legs froze on the spot. The mercenary screamed, frozen to the ground, unable to move.

"You said it was easy to persuade..."

"There are exceptionally more stupid ones. Since he said he's in a bad mood, I'll have to match the mood of the guys inside too. Go!"

The flying sword shot into the mercenary group building.

Then, brutal screams erupted from inside.

***

The Arrowhead Mercenary Group had been in the capital for less than a year, but they were people who had made a name for themselves in the surrounding area through active business expansion.

In particular, Ugda, the leader of the mercenary group, demonstrated excellent skills in smuggling, kidnapping, and trafficking, as well as his combat prowess, making the mercenaries under him happy.

"Sending the young kid I have to Einroguard. What nonsense is this?"

"Th-they're telling you to send him to a place like a magic tower, right?"

"What young kid is there? Is there a young kid here?"

"Come on, leader. There's that young kid you bought for a lot of money last time."

"They want me to send that kid?! Do you know how much I can sell that kid for, how dare you?!"

"That's right, that's right!"

"Crazy mage bastards. These guys are the real thieves!"

"But it's not good to hold a grudge against mages, right?"

"I don't care. Tear up the letter! Do you think those bastards will come looking for us because of one measly kid?"

Ugda gave a rough order.

It seemed that the greedy mage bastards had heard the rumors and sent the letter, but he thought, what could happen even if he refused?

However, Ugda had no idea which mage he was dealing with.

Mages were also different from each other.

Swish!

A sword flew in from the air. As the ownerless sword swiftly drew lines in the air, the mercenaries screamed and rolled on the ground.

"We-we're under attack!! Under attack!"

"The sword is flying...! The mage... Ugh!"

"Is everyone's mood a bit better now?"

The skull principal kicked the mercenaries aside with his foot and walked in with heavy steps.

The mercenaries, not knowing what was going on, groaned while holding their arms and legs.

"Y-you mage bastard...! What grudge do you have against us...!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the sword pierced his arm once more. The mercenary's eyes rolled back.

"A grudge, you say. Watch your words. Aren't I improving your mood?"

"What the hell are you talk..."

Unable to watch any longer, Yi-Han threw a water bead to knock out the mercenary.

It was his own way of showing mercy, but it didn't really resonate with the mercenaries.

"Mo... monster...!"

"...Honestly, compared to the principal, I'm subduing them quite generously, don't you think?"

"To those who don't know, all mages probably look the same."

The skull principal answered nonchalantly while making wind holes in the arms and legs of the fleeing mercenary.

The cool wind holes would surely improve the mercenaries' mood a bit!

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