...His gall might have run cold, but unlike the blood-soaked violence one might have imagined, Yi Han let him off with a light flick to the forehead.
"My lord, are you alright?"
"It is bearable."
"...My lord, that wasn't me, it was the brick."
Well, just because it was a light flick didn't mean he was entirely unscathed.
The cadet who had so arrogantly presented what was either a command or a declaration to his master was punished.
An infinitely weaker punishment compared to what the magicians had suffered, that is.
Afterward, dragging the dead or unconscious magicians along, the group entered the tavern building without permission.
It was locked, however.
Bang!
"Crawl, you rats."
"Hieek!"
In the Lawless District of Kisaengnak, any form of lawlessness was permitted.
Driving out the lawless man pretending to be the tavern owner, they took over the tavern by force.
Afterward, having roughly rummaged through the shelves, Yi Han said.
"Now, unless you want to kill those bastards, sprinkle this and treat them roughly."
"...Yees."
Jack caught the medicinal alcohol he threw.
It wouldn't be equipped in an average tavern, but fitting for a street overflowing with the injured, disinfecting alcohol seemed to be available.
Jack approached to save those from whom they needed to extract information, while Yi Han, on the contrary, flopped down on a shabby chair and stretched his body.
"It's quite a pain trying to subdue them without killing them."
"...It seemed like you handled them lightly, though."
"I actually put some thought into dealing with them."
"......."
"More importantly, young master."
"...Am I a young master too?"
"Rebuttals dismissed. You know you owe me a debt, right?"
"......I am aware."
"Good, that's enough. At least you have some common sense."
...If he had said he didn't owe a debt, he feared the consequences.
'Because I used this man.'
Even though Loen knew of the magicians' existence, he couldn't step forward because he couldn't leave his own traces.
If he fought, inevitably, his family's—
the 'traces of power' possessed by the bloodline of the Grand Ducal House would be left behind.
If that happened, his movements as the heir of the Grand Ducal House, who was already attracting attention, would be restricted.
Therefore.
"Honestly, that letter was close to a gamble. I wasn't certain that you, Instructor, knew them for sure."
"Must be nice, hitting the jackpot."
"...It seems you despise magicians so much."
"Good eye. That's right. They are one of the bugs I loathe the most."
"......."
...Not even treated as human beings.
His hatred for magicians was worse than expected, and a hint of satisfaction could be seen fleeting across his face.
It seemed he felt a sense of achievement from snapping or crushing a magician's neck.
"It's a personal curiosity, but do you perhaps have a personal grudge against magicians?"
"It's nothing much, I just lived as an experimental slave for about 10 years."
"......."
"Truly nothing, right?"
"...Um."
Even if he were a fool with no sense, he couldn't help but know that those words were far from sincere.
Loen smiled bitterly, thinking he had asked something unnecessary.
"—That guy said he doesn't even remember why he ran wild 6 years ago."
"...Are you talking about Professor Odwal?"
As expected, it's comfortable talking to a guy with good sense and a good head on his shoulders.
Because he understands everything without needing a long explanation.
Yi Han casually nodded while maintaining his hidden weapons and hand axes.
"Yeah, that idiot."
"Hmm."
It was a harsh evaluation to give to Odwal Bernard, the youngest professor of the magic department, whose eccentric personality was notorious but whose reputation as a genius was widespread.
However, Yi Han had no interest in the reputation of some spellcaster, and to him, there were only two kinds of spellcasters: bastards to kill, and bastards to keep alive.
In that sense.
"He was just a stupid spellcaster. He didn't even know he was being used."
"So there was a real culprit."
"He said he had a drink with Hans, ...no, with that parasite whose name I don't know, the day before the entrance ceremony 6 years ago. But he says he has no memory after that."
"Drugs, or mental confusion magic must have been used. Both are illegal magic."
"Well, I don't know if it's true. Anyway, that guy never apologized to the people he hurt, and he doesn't care why he acted like that. He's a conscienceless bastard. ...Maybe not remembering is just a lie."
"Your evaluation is harsh."
"It's not harsh, it's strictly the truth."
Yi Han chuckled and stowed the maintained weapons into his clothes.
Jack looked at Yi Han as if it was unexpected.
"Why?"
"Y-You're good at maintaining weapons. Just looking at your image, I thought you'd just use them roughly like disposable items."
"Do you want to be hit?"
"...No."
"Pyeongbeom, if you're a guy who uses blades, listen up. There's no decent guy who handles his weapons roughly or like disposable items. This could be my lifeline. Understand? You impudent assassin bastard."
"I am neither Pyeongbeom nor an assassin."
"Right, former assassin Pyeongbeom."
"...Damn it!"
It was pathetic that he couldn't deny it.
However, Yi Han, whose past occupation was even more splendid than his, shook his head, calling him overly sensitive to strange things.
The emotional sensitivity of a young man in his twenties, easily hurt by trivial things, was a difficult concept for him to grasp.
Like that, Yi Han finished maintaining his weapons and equipped them, then turned to Loen.
"So, you young master bastard who so insolently gave orders to this instructor."
"...The modifiers are a bit much."
"Consider this going easy on you. Anyway, let's talk about something more productive now."
"Please, go ahead."
Loen looked directly at Yi Han with a stiff expression.
As if he had no intention of avoiding any question he might ask.
He would answer what he could, and pass off what he couldn't answer as excuses.
Having finished countless calculations, Loen confidently—
"Have you looked for the 'real' Hans, Dorothy, Kam, Den, and Aleng...?"
"......."
...Completely unexpected.
When a common and obvious question was asked, Loen's words got stuck for the first time.
The people whose identities and faces were stolen by the illegal magicians.
How should he answer that question?
No, doesn't he already know the answer?
In reality, if they were caught by illegal magicians, that already meant...
"If a corpse hasn't been found, there's at least a 1% chance they're alive. Even if they're dead, their remains should be returned to their families."
"......."
"You have power and intelligence capabilities. And there are pests who know information. Torture them or do whatever it takes to find them."
"......."
"Can you do it?"
"...It will take time, but I will definitely find them."
"Yeah, that's enough."
With those words, Yi Han abruptly stood up from his seat.
As if he wasn't curious about anything more.
Loen, without realizing it—
"Are you not going to ask anything?"
Ended up asking himself.
If he wasn't curious about anything.
How he knew about the existence of the illegal magicians.
The reason he was monitoring them.
What purpose the son of the Grand Ducal House had.
He hadn't brought up such perfectly natural questions at all.
It wasn't common sense.
Yet he told him to find the missing people, worrying about them.
What kind of...?
"Loen Dmitri de Lionel."
"!"
The first time he called his full name.
Loen flinched.
Even though he wasn't being scolded, his stomach churned for some reason.
And the blue eyes of the man named Yi Han stared straight at him.
"I don't know what purpose you have. I don't know what you're hiding. I don't know if you're trying to use me or plotting some scheme. But, I'm not interested."
"......."
"Why? Because there's no need to know. People shouldn't have too much curiosity. Curiosity and the thirst for knowledge are merely monsters that sometimes need to be suppressed. Especially for a mere wage earner like me."
"...A mere wage earner."
The position of a White Silver Lion Knight and an Academy Instructor shouldn't be that insignificant.
"To me, everything is the same. Whether a blacksmith, a carpenter, a baker, or a gardener, it's a life of working hard in one's place and making a living day by day. It means that being a knight, or an instructor at an academy for nobles, doesn't make me any more special than the people I just mentioned. And, the lives and existence of others, not just mine, are also 'equal' to everyone else's."
"!"
"Loen Dmitri de Lionel. I am still not interested in what purpose you have. However, do not violate the duty a person must uphold just because of that. If you resort to any means necessary for your purpose, even going against your duty, you will only end up becoming the exact same kind of human as them."
The illegal magicians sprawled on the floor.
Yi Han said, pointing at them, and Loen's eyes grew heavier.
And he clenched his teeth.
He couldn't say it.
He was already prepared to do anything for his goal, his wish, even if it meant becoming 'evil', even if it meant becoming just like them.
Therefore, he—!
Tap.
"...?"
"Damn disciple. Don't try to do everything on your own. If you're a kid, act like a kid and learn to consult adults. Or lean on your parents. Your parents are people in power, aren't they?"
"...What kind of logic is that?"
"It's advice because the kid looks too grim. Sometimes, what one considers the hardest thing might not seem like a big deal to others. Make sure you remember this. Ah, that doesn't mean you should rely on me. I absolutely hate things like nobles and power."
"...Ha."
It was truly an irresponsible piece of advice.
But, why was it?
The more he listened, the more those illogical and unreasonable words pierced his heart.
Was it because they were plain and sincere, or simply because of the presence this man possessed?
He didn't know.
Still, one thing was clear.
"For some reason, I feel like I've been treated like a child."
"If you're in your twenties, you're a kid, I suppose."
"Hmm..."
He could clearly feel that he was much more of an 'adult' than himself.
Patting his head lightly as if comforting him...
It wasn't exactly pleasant to be treated like a child.
* * *
He truly left abruptly, without any lingering regrets.
Without asking anything.
"I'm having all sorts of experiences."
Ever since experiencing the 'Miracle of Time', Loen had a tendency to always treat others as younger when dealing with them.
Even if they were older than him.
Even if they were someone who had lived longer than him before he experienced the miracle, there were few people who would have lived more intense years than he had.
Therefore, he used to look down on others as young, or see them as fledglings.
But today.
'I'm being treated as a fledgling instead.'
Yet it wasn't entirely bad, which was a strange thing...
"......Jack."
"Yes, my lord."
"Treat these bastards and start with the interrogation. Make them spit out all the information they have."
"To what extent?"
"Without breaking their minds. Make sure they are absolutely never killed until their lifespan runs out. You must give them endless pain."
"I will follow your command."
The nature of the crimes committed by the three surviving magicians was so atrocious that the ones who died earlier looked like saints.
A woman who killed people for fun, and a man who raped women before killing them.
And a guy specialized in kidnapping and torture.
They could never be granted an easy death.
They simply had to be made to suffer until their lives ended—!
"Also, find the missing people. If they are alive, save them by any means, and if they are dead, their remains must be safely preserved by any means."
"......."
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"...It's just that I felt good because it felt like I smelled a human scent from you after a long time."
"Nonsense."
"Haha, right, it's just nonsense, haha!"
"......."
Loen fell silent.
More than the anger at his subordinate being surprised by him, he felt a sense of alienation from not knowing that such emotions still remained within him.
Still.
'Being human... huh.'
For some reason, those words.
'Feel like good words.'
Weren't bad.
*
*
*
'...I got tangled up with a headache-inducing guy.'
When he learned that a regressor existed, he realized that the future wasn't very positive.
And today.
As predicted, the 'parasites' appeared.
The bigger problem was,
'That they might keep appearing in the future.'
This was closer to a conviction than a prediction.
The regressor was trying to do something, and it was clear he had designated certain people as [enemies].
He had gotten entangled in that matter once.
'But there won't be a second time.'
Today, he went along with it because they were the type he particularly loathed, but next time, he wouldn't.
He would expel him, whether he was a disciple or not.
A wuxia-style expulsion.
'Hmm, it varies by wuxia novel, but crush the meridians of the four limbs, then destroy the dantian?'
Or should he consider 'Splitting the Muscles and Breaking the Bones' (Fen Jin Cuo Gu)?
That might be easier.
'...Physically possible?'
With just potions and troll's blood, he could 'separate flesh and bone while alive' (Fen Gu Cuo Jin),
meaning a gruesome expulsion punishment where a live human dissection show might be possible—he moved his steps, pondering this.
At some point.
"Knight-nim! You're here."
"...Ah."
He put a period to his aimless footsteps.
Did he have a homing instinct?
Walking while blankly pondering, the place he arrived was surprisingly his own humble abode.
A cabin with a small yard.
And there, wearing a maid outfit and sporting a bright smile, Layla Winter was waiting for him.
"...Why are you here? What about the party?"
He told her to enjoy the party comfortably today, so why was she at the house?
When Yi Han tilted his head in question, she replied with an eye-smile.
"Because I want to hang out with you, Knight-nim!"
"?"
"Ah, the Princess also wanted to hang out, it seems."
...It was only then that he realized she wasn't the only one in the cabin.
Click-clack.
"You're late."
"......."
"Making the host wait for the guest—what is that? It's not polite."
"...Is that something you say to someone who just came back from work?"
Accompanied by the sound of heels, as she appeared, Yi Han looked at her in disbelief.
Isis, a noble woman who didn't suit such a small cabin at all, approached with an elegant gait.
"...What about the banquet? Why are you here?"
"The host is supposed to just host and leave so the guests can enjoy the party. It's a basic rule."
"Then go back to the castle, why..."
"Taking care of a younger brother is also an older sister's duty."
"......."
"Open your eyes properly."
"Good grief..."
She's always doing whatever she wants anyway.
"Layla."
"Yes, Princess-nim!"
"You should say 'Her Highness', not 'Princess'."
"Hehe, yees."
"Hoo, whatever. Bring the finger food and wine. ...Bring something for you to eat, too."
"Yees!"
It was prepared in no time.
It seemed the preparations had already been perfectly completed while he was out.
Yi Han felt somewhat teased by the two women, but.
'I can't really say anything.'
They waited for him.
He was grateful for the sincerity of welcoming him in a house where he was always alone; he had no room to complain.
A banquet opened solely for him.
Yi Han, as if giving up, flopped down on the prepared seat.
"...I will gratefully accept the late housewarming gift."
"Your leisure time itself is the gift, be thankful."
"No, that's not it."
"...Rotten brat."
Smack!
The fan spurted fire, and afterward, Yi Han, Isis, and Layla lightly shared some white wine.
It was neither fancy nor grand, but.
"Why is this so delicious?"
"It's wine brought from the royal wine cellar. I believe it was produced in the Britannia region about 50 years ago, and only a thousand bottles were made?"
"It was really rare."
"Rare indeed, it can merely be bought for a hundred gold coins."
"...Let's just drink, shall we."
It was definitely a very comfortable banquet with a relaxed mind.
The tranquil banquet of the knight, the princess, and the maid went on for quite a long time.
With the starry night pouring down like rain as a backdrop.