After finishing the trade and returning, Yi-Han quietly did the things he needed to do without making a fuss and prepared to go out.

He made meals for the priests and served them, listened to the winner's doctrine lecture this time (surprisingly, the competition event the priests chose this time was polo), and in the remaining time, he studied and did homework in advance...

Thus, when it was past midnight and around 2 a.m.

Yi-Han had arrived in front of the Amur stable.

"May luck rain upon you."

"Thank you as always."

Seeing Yi-Han quickly changing into civilian clothes, Amur thought anew.

'He seems too skilled for a 1st year.'

Who would guess that this student was an Einroguard freshman?

Objectively, the number of times Yi-Han went out was not that many.

However, Yi-Han set out to work so skillfully that even the picky Einroguard seniors acknowledged, 'I couldn't do it better than that even if I did it myself...'

A prepared freshman.

That was Yi-Han.

As soon as dawn arrived and it was time for the town stores to open, Yi-Han quickly ran along the new road and purchased the necessary supplies as he encountered them.

Rice, barley, rye, lentils, onions, potatoes, peas, garlic, goat's milk, olive oil and coconut oil, peaches, grapes, melons, bananas...

'I should also get some luxury items.'

A few sauces in jars, peanut butter, slightly spicy tomato sauce, coffee powder and tea leaves, maple syrup, flat cookies, and chocolate.

'It would be better to bring meat too? There's a limit to what can be secured internally.'

Although he couldn't bring much due to the volume, he got salted herring or sardines, lamb and pork sausages with the innards removed, canned beef, and even duck meat.

Before the morning was even over, Yi-Han finished preparing all the supplies.

Boxes packed so tightly that not a single strand of hair could fit in.

Seeing that, Yi-Han suddenly felt a bit of remorse.

'Hmm. Did I buy too much like a madman?'

If someone saw, it would look like a person evacuating due to a rebellion rather than a student returning to a magic academy.

"Were you still resting? If you haven't started preparing yet, let's have a cup of tea together..."

Amur, who woke up late, saw Yi-Han standing outside and thought he hadn't started preparing yet.

However, when he opened the door, boxes piled up like mountains came into view.

"...Are you done?"

"Yes."

"...Th, then let's go have a cup of tea."

Amur opened the door to the Jackdaw Teahouse in Philonae Town, ordered two cups of tea, and sat down.

Instead of sitting by the scenic window, Yi-Han went to the innermost seat.

It was a position where passersby couldn't easily see his face due to the partitions.

Also, if he threw himself there, he could jump out the window or back door. Yi-Han carefully checked the escape routes in case of emergency.

"Do, don't tell me you're worried someone might chase you now...?"

"I'm just being cautious."

Yi-Han spoke as if it was nothing, but Amur pondered whether he should send a secret letter to the capital.

No matter how strict the academy was, did it make sense to send pursuers because he secretly went out on the weekend?

'Could student Wardanaz be misunderstanding?'

While having such thoughts, tea and snacks were served. Yi-Han pondered how he could take some of the dasik (tea cakes) made by kneading rice and honey.

"Ex, excuse me..."

"??"

In the quiet teahouse.

When a new customer who looked blatantly suspicious entered, both Yi-Han and Amur flinched.

In the big city of Granden, it was common for people to cover their entire body with a cloak like that, but it wasn't that common here in Philonae Town.

"What is it? Did any strange customers happen to visit the town recently?"

"There was no such thing... Hmm... Ah. A group of strange people who kept talking among themselves, 'We should also repair golems like that,' did come to the town."

"...I'm sorry. Those people are mages invited for the festival."

"Is that so? Oh, there were dark mages too?"

"Dark mages can also be invited..."

Yi-Han corrected Amur's prejudice.

Amur was surprised that dark mages could also receive invitations.

"Anyway, other than the mages, there were no other visitors, right?"

"As far as I know, that's right."

Yi-Han and Amur stared at the newly entered customer with suspicion.

From the outfit to the behavior, anyone could see it was blatantly suspicious.

However, the misunderstanding was quickly resolved.

Swish-

"Ple, please don't tell anyone that I came here. If you keep this wooden sword, can I get some food and drink?"

"...What are you doing there, Anglago?"

Yi-Han asked in shock upon seeing the White Tiger Tower student.

At Yi-Han's call, Anglago almost fell over with a startled scream.

"Wa... Wardanaz!"

"Yeah."

"Did you come to catch me on the professor's orders! You bastard!"

"...No. I came out first."

"!?!"

Yi-Han and Salko evaluated it negatively, but surprisingly, the escape route the White Tiger Tower students found this time was real.

Even an elephant can step on a mouse if it keeps walking backward.

'Amazing!'

Yi-Han was honestly surprised.

These guys actually found it.

"What method did you use?"

"There was a summoning magic festival this time, right? Because of the festival, quite a few merchant carriages came in..."

The carriages that entered when the main gate was open.

The White Tiger Tower students targeted those carriages.

Since the surveillance would be relatively lax with people coming and going, let's secretly enter those carriages and escape!

It was a brilliant method that took advantage of the situation's weakness, although it couldn't be used regularly.

'I got attacked by anti-magic extremists when I tried something similar, but these kids are lucky.'

Yi-Han grumbled inwardly.

"Wait. Did only one or two of you escape? You guys move as a group."

"Yeah. We moved as a group."

"Then how did you manage to hide in a carriage?"

Yi-Han, moving alone, had no trouble getting on a carriage.

Not only he has invisibility magic, but adding one more person didn't stand out much.

"...We didn't hide."

"What?"

At Yi-Han's question, Anglago answered with a flushed face of embarrassment.

"I said we didn't hide."

"Then...?"

"...We caught the merchant employees, locked them in the carriage, and rode together."

"..."

"..."

Yi-Han and Amur stared at Anglago in shock.

That's...

Carriage robbery!

"You..."

"Don't say it! Wardanaz, I know too, damn it!"

"You're not a knight, but a robber..."

"Sob."

Anglago bit his lip, feeling ashamed even in his own thoughts.

"But there was no other way! How do we persuade the merchant employees! Anyone would..."

Anglago, who was talking, suddenly looked at Yi-Han and changed his words.

"...At least we had no other way!"

'Didn't this guy just look at me?'

"Right. It's not my place to say anything. I might have done the same in your position."

At Yi-Han's words, Anglago's face brightened a little.

He didn't expect Wardanaz to say that.

"Once you miss an opportunity, it's hard to seize it... Anyway, I understand that each of you seized an easy carriage and squeezed in. Then you succeeded, but why do you look so wretched?"

"Well, about that..."

"??"

"After passing through the academy gate and going out a bit... we... released the employees."

"...Don't tell me..."

Yi-Han was shocked again.

"Don't tell me you released them near Einroguard? You should have released them after getting far from the academy, apologizing for what happened today, appealing to their sympathy about how painful the harsh rules of Einroguard are, and promising to compensate them with your family's name, right?"

"...Were you with us?"

Anglago grumbled with a pout.

How convenient would it have been if Wardanaz was in the same carriage!

"No, wasn't there a single person among the White Tiger Tower guys who thought of this?"

"Well... we only released them from our carriage."

"..."

"..."

Amur, who was listening quietly, tapped his forehead.

This was why it was difficult to act as a group.

There was always one loach that turned the situation into a mess.

"This is a secret, okay? The others still don't know which carriage had the staff released first..."

"You're bragging, you bastard."

Yi-Han sighed.

It must have been a disaster for the other White Tiger Tower students who didn't know the situation.

"What did the released employees say?"

"They thanked us for releasing them, so I thought it was okay. We also apologized."

"Weren't their eyes perhaps burning with anger?"

"Uh... they immediately ran to the main gate and reported us..."

"..."

He could guess what happened next without hearing it.

The Einroguard summons waiting at the main gate must have popped out and started chasing the carriages, so the White Tiger Tower students had no choice but to flee in all directions, startled.

Most of them would have been caught...

"How did you manage to escape?"

"..."

"I asked how did you escape?"

"...I, I hid in a box."

"In a box? In a carriage box?"

"Uh..."

Anglago spoke with an even redder face.

No wonder there was a strong scent of moth repellent coming from Anglago, he must have been inside a reagent box.

"Yeah. Good job... What can you do now? Wait. I understand you're worried about getting caught, but why are you bartering with a wooden sword?"

"Because I don't have silver coins!"

Anglago spoke as if he was truly aggrieved.

Students who were thoroughly scammed in the 1st semester prepared for the 2nd semester.

Since silver and gold coins were confiscated when entering the magic academy, it was easy to have difficulties when going out.

So some clever students went to a merchant group in Philonae Town and entrusted money along with a certificate.

And the even cleverer skull principal disguised himself as a student as soon as the semester began and withdrew all the entrusted money.

"...Did you think entrusting it to a merchant group wouldn't get caught? You should have entrusted it to a place that seems unrelated to you. Or carried it around by exchanging it for artifacts with high liquidity."

"...Ugh..."

Anglago was distressed by Yi-Han's point.

If only he had done a little better...!

"Enough. You've had a tough time. I'll buy this, so drink up."

"Re, really???"

"...Yeah."

Yi-Han ordered dasik because Anglago's face looked so pitiful. Anglago stuffed the snacks into his mouth until his cheeks burst.

Amur whispered from the side.

"Einroguard students don't seem to be all the same."

"...Haha. Students are all different."

Yi-Han fell into thought while Anglago was gobbling.

'Things have become annoyingly unsettling because of these guys.'

Since he didn't know how far the pursuers would chase, he couldn't wander around with peace of mind.

There was nothing more unfair than getting caught together for no reason.

Fortunately, he had finished all the necessary preparations in the morning, but...

'I need to secure more silver coins.'

Yi-Han had secured a certain amount of gold and silver coins now, but looking at Einroguard, the more funds, the better.

He was planning to go around the stores and exchange this and that in the remaining time today, but the situation had become annoyingly unsettling.

If the skull principal's death knights were waiting...

"Excuse me, aren't you a mage?"

"!?"

Yi-Han belatedly realized that he had let his guard down due to the conversation with Anglago.

He immediately grabbed the back of Anglago's neck, pushed him forward, and prepared to escape through the back exit.

However, there was no need for that. The other party was a familiar face.

It was Gubon and Bijidek, the adventurers he had done a mission with during the last break.

The two greeted Yi-Han with very delighted faces.

"It is you, Mage! But... the person in front... why...?"

"My hand slipped."

Yi-Han let go of the back of Anglago's neck and dusted off his hands. Anglago glared at Yi-Han.