Chapter 24

While Dergyu was lowering his evaluation of Gai Nando, Nillia began to list the items she needed for her long night walks.

“Since we don’t know how long we’ll be moving, we need to prepare as much as possible. It would be great to have sturdy boots and a few pairs of quality socks...”

“We don’t have those.”

The atmosphere became solemn at Lee Han’s words.

The principal had deliberately given them rough and old clothes, so it was impossible for them to have such items.

Nillia took out her luggage as if she had expected this.

“I made some spare boots using the skin of the beasts we caught last time. I also made some foot wraps from the fabric of the curtains in the lounge. Here, show me your feet.”

“......”

“......”

When Lee Han and Yoner remained silent, Nillia felt a bit awkward.

‘Did I act too pretentiously again?’

After giving them meat, Nillia had become quite close to the students of the Tower of the Black Turtle, but she still felt a certain distance in their conversations.

Nillia, who was born and raised in the rough northern mountains as a member of the Shadow Patrol, and the students born and raised in the central empire’s large merchant families, naturally felt a distance.

- Hey, do you see that red flower over there?

- Yeah. That flower is delicious. It’s sweet.

- ...Ah, no. Isn’t it pretty?

- It’s prettier and tastier, so it’s even better, right?

Of course, Nillia, who wasn’t stupid, couldn’t have missed the atmosphere.

Since it had become awkward, she had been careful to keep her mouth shut.

But now, she was speaking again.

It was a mistake.

“This... I sewed it myself... but I had no choice...”

“Really amazing!”

“Yeah! Amazing!”

“!?”

However, Lee Han and Yoner’s reactions were the opposite of what Nillia had expected.

“This... is amazing?”

“Of course. To make this yourself...”

“Not everyone can do that. Did you sew this with a needle?”

Nillia’s mouth and eyes trembled with pleasure at Lee Han and Yoner’s reactions.

“...It’s nothing special?”

“Nothing special? What are you talking about?”

“Yeah. Who can do this here?”

“Nillia, you should go into business.”

“Yeah. Sell it to the other students for money.”

Nillia, who had been enjoying the compliments, waved her hand when the topic took an unexpected turn.

“I don’t like business.”

“Why not?”

“Why? Nillia, why do you dislike money?”

When Lee Han and Yoner asked with genuine expressions, Nillia was taken aback.

‘Isn’t it normal for friends to dislike business!?’

Anyone would think Nillia belonged to the Tower of the Blue Dragon.

“I don’t want to take money for this! I hate it!”

At this, Lee Han and Yoner became serious.

“Nonsense. Whether you can take money or not is not up to you but the market.”

“That’s a good point. Nillia, do you understand?”

“...Can’t I just finish explaining? Okay??”

“Ah, sorry. Go ahead.”

Nillia, who had finally escaped, cleared her throat. Her expression was much brighter than before, and her long ears were also perked up in pleasure.

No matter how much she tried to act otherwise, being recognized was always a pleasure.

“But what’s so amazing about this?”

Gai Nando asked, not understanding.

Smack!

Yoner slapped Gai Nando’s back, and Lee Han kicked his shin.

“Nillia, don’t give it to him. He won’t know what’s amazing until he uses it.”

“Yeah. He needs to suffer a bit.”

“You... That’s too much! I’m a prince...!”

‘A prince?!’

Nillia was shocked.

While Lee Han and Yoner, from prominent families, didn’t think much of the three-digit royal family, it was a huge deal to Nillia.

Direct descendant of the emperor.

The name alone was...

‘...not that impressive.’

Seeing Gai Nando get slapped by Yoner and kicked by Lee Han, he looked more like a patient than a prince.

“Hey, do you know how precious these boots and foot wraps are when you might have to walk for hours? Your feet will be blistered after just an hour.”

“Let’s just leave him.”

“No... No! I get it! Don’t leave me behind!”

Once the situation was resolved, Lee Han apologized to Nillia on behalf of Gai Nando.

“Sorry, Nillia. You prepared so much, but Gai Nando said something rude.”

“No, it’s really fine.”

“Are you sure? Should I hit him again?”

“Really, it’s fine!!”

Nillia, who was genuinely not upset, stopped him.

There was no unpleasant feeling at all. Gai Nando, who had never walked for long (let alone being a prince), naturally didn’t know.

“Here, this is the coat I made. It will be chilly at night, even in spring. There will be quite a bit of wind around here.”

“Nillia...”

“Really...”

“...Can you stop reacting to every word I say?”

Although she was happy, Nillia was getting a bit annoyed by the fuss.

“Leather backpack. You’ll need it when we enter the village. Leather water flask. I made this too.”

‘Really impressive.’

Lee Han was genuinely amazed.

To make all of this alone with just leather, needles, and thread...

‘Why doesn’t she go into business with these skills?’

If it were Lee Han, he would have made a good profit.

Looking at Yoner, he seemed to have similar thoughts and looked regretful.

“To move in the dark for a long time, you need to wrap your feet well, prepare for the cold, and have enough to drink and eat...”

Nillia hesitated as she spoke.

She was worried about the food.

While Nillia could survive a day without food while crossing the mountains, would the others be okay?

“I brought food. Sausages, sliced bread, goat cheese, and dwarf honey candy. Is this enough?”

“!”

Nillia was surprised.

The food Lee Han brought was more than enough for emergency rations.

“Where did you get it?”

“I took it from Professor Uregal’s cabin.”

“......”

Are you really from the Tower of the Blue Dragon?

* * *

“Today, the honorable friends gathered here. The knights who have sworn to follow my command.”

At Giselle’s words, the students with robust builds nodded.

These were the students from the Tower of the White Tiger who had decided to trust Giselle and attempt the escape.

Although they hadn’t heard any plan, Giselle’s influence was evident from their gathering.

Several students were taller and bulkier than Giselle, and many looked more intimidating.

Despite her delicate and frail appearance as an elf, Giselle stood confidently at the front.

And she spoke with a haughty and sharp voice.

“Don’t worry about the fools and traitors who didn’t show up. They’ll soon realize their mistake.”

“Of course!”

“You’re right. Moradi.”

“We’ll set off in ten minutes.”

Giselle’s confidence was not without reason.

‘If we follow the map, it should take about four hours.’

Surprisingly, Giselle had an escape map.

A map she found while in the Moradi family before entering the school!

-Only beginner magic books, what is magic, the legends of Einrograd... Is that all?

-I apologize, Moradi.

-Bring as much as you can. I don’t want to be looked down upon by other magicians.

Students from knight families had similar concerns before entering the magic school.

Can I really keep up?

Having only wielded swords all their lives, it was natural to have such worries.

The prideful Giselle didn’t want to be looked down upon. She studied as much as she could before entering the magic school.

And among the books was the escape map.

-Map for escaping Einrograd...? Such a thing exists?

A map detailing the exact method to escape the school.

When she first saw it, Giselle was speechless.

Einrograd was not a school anyone could enter.

It was the top magic school in the empire, where only the talented were selected.

What kind of pathetic person would grab such an opportunity and think about escaping?

However, Giselle understood why the map was made after just one day in the school.

Ah, it makes sense!

-About escaping Einrograd-

Truly, I tell you, the path shown on this map is the only way to escape. Your juniors will escape through this path, which my friends and I have refined...

The map was meticulously and carefully written by the seniors for the juniors.

With this map, we can definitely escape!

* * *

“We’re moving towards the mountains.”

“Indeed...”

Lee Han and his group, lying in the bushes, saw torches moving in the distance.

The students from the Tower of the White Tiger had started to move.

‘As expected, the mountains?’

From Lee Han’s perspective, there were two main routes to escape the magic school.

One was through the massive walls or gates at the front of the school.

Since it was the entrance, it was close, and once out, they could quickly reach the town via the imperial road. However, breaking through the walls or gates was not easy.

The other was the vast and majestic mountain range behind the school.

The long wall would likely end deep in the mountains, allowing them to bypass and escape if they could get in.

Lee Han thought that if Giselle knew a method, it would be the latter.

The vast mountain range behind the school, though dense and daunting from the outside, could be navigated with a map by capable individuals.

His prediction was correct.

“We’re moving. Let’s follow!”

“Huh? Why the mountains??”

Gai Nando, confused, followed behind.

He naturally assumed they would exit through the gate.

“We’ll climb the mountain and break through.”

“Huh? Why?!”

“There’s a path. Dergyu, take care of Gai Nando.”

“Got it.”

Dergyu nodded readily.

Nillia was the best climber among them, and Lee Han and Dergyu had received considerable training as knights. Yoner, having collected alchemy materials since childhood, was also confident in his walking ability.

The biggest concern was Gai Nando!

“Huh? What do you mean??”

“I’m behind you. Prince. Breathe through your nose and don’t stop walking. Go!”

“Huh? No, wait...”

Gai Nando, trying to understand, couldn’t ask any more questions after a while.

“Huff huff huff huff huff.”

“Go!”

“What... Go... Huff huff huff.”

“Go!”

‘Stop it...!’

On a night with faint moonlight, walking through the dark, unfamiliar mountain path was exhausting.

Even with Nillia leading the way, clearing obstacles, the group was drenched in sweat.

Lee Han, despite the effort, tried to record the path.

Thanks to the harsh training under the crazy professor, Lee Han could draw a map on paper even in the dark.

“???”

Yoner, walking beside him, looked at Lee Han in disbelief.

‘Did he use a night vision spell or something?’

It was a mysterious skill that couldn’t be explained unless he had learned it beforehand from the Wodanaz family.

“Ah, look at this.”

“What is it?”

“It’s valerian. If you grind it into powder and mix it with water, it helps you sleep.”

“Let’s take it.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s take it. We might need it.”

“Will we need it?”

Yoner, tilting his head, took the valerian.

‘We’ve been walking for at least an hour.’

“Nillia, how far have we come? It feels like we’ve been walking for an hour.”

“An hour and ten minutes.”

Nillia answered and looked at Lee Han with renewed respect.

To maintain a sense of time in the mountains without being a hunter was impressive.

At that moment, Lee Han felt a chill run down his spine.

‘A monster? No, Nillia would have checked. Did she miss something?’

Hahaha!

“......”

It was the familiar laugh of a skeleton.