Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 1005

Wuman was deeply moved by the sight of the mage accepting at once, without a moment’s hesitation.

So there truly was a reason his great elder sister, Jowrin, had praised him so highly.

What an excellent mage. He must understand what the greater cause means.

Crack!

Overcome with emotion, Wuman’s head began reverting to its original form—a dragon’s head covered in jet-black scales.

“Oh no. What a blunder!”

Wuman quickly came to his senses and polymorphed back into human form, but by then the ceiling had already been scratched.

Seeing it, Wuman fell into deep sorrow.

“Wuman still has such a long way to go! To think my mental cultivation remains so lacking!”

“Ah, no. It’s understandable for a transformation to slip by accident.”

“You even have a generous heart. It’s hard to believe you are Lord Gonadaltes’s disciple!”

Lee Han was gradually beginning to understand that the Skull Principal and the dragon before him did not get along very well.

But it did not bother him much.

In the Empire, people who got along well with the Skull Principal were rare to begin with…

The way he talks about him actually makes me trust him more.

…In some ways, not getting along with the Skull Principal could even be considered an advantage.

Not only because of the enormous amount of gold he had received. From Wuman’s way of speaking alone, it was clear that he was a righteous dragon who disliked compromising with injustice.

For someone like that, failing to get along with the Skull Principal was simply a point in his favor.

“Well then, Wuman will be going now. Please take good care of my elder sister! The other dragons are also looking forward to your achievements!”

“…Yes…”

Though he had known it ever since forming the contract with Jowrin, hearing it again from another dragon’s mouth made the pressure feel fresh all over again.

When a contractor made a contract with one dragon, the news spread to the other dragons as well.

Lee Han prayed that the other dragons would grow lazy and forget that fact.

Judging by dragons’ personalities, it’s possible. …Though I might die of old age first.

“Oh! Do you happen to have any recommendations for methods of restraining a mage?”

Wuman, who had been striding away, suddenly asked as though something had just occurred to him.

“Methods of restraining a mage?”

“That’s right. In truth, my elder sister made a request!”

There was a reason Wuman was in such a hurry. Jowrin had personally requested it.

Prepare a method to bind a mage tightly!

Since Wuman himself was a dragon, he was deeply versed in magic. But when it came to methods of restraining mages, perhaps a mage would know better.

Moreover, was this not a student of Einroguard and a disciple of that Skull Principal?

Is she planning to attack the Principal?

Lee Han grew puzzled.

Since Jowrin was not particularly active outside, there were not many mages she would have reason to attack.

Given Jowrin’s kind personality, it would not be strange if she was angry over the Skull Principal’s evil deed involving the vanity-born thought-form. Lee Han was slightly moved.

I should increase the gift budget.

“The best method I know is transforming them into a hamster, but that is probably too difficult. Have you prepared against raw mana shock attacks?”

“Mana shock? I would like to hear about that. Please share your wisdom!”

Lee Han offered advice with all his might.

More mages than one might expect harbored the naive thought, Who in the Empire would brutishly swing mana around to crush magic and everything else? Haha, it is not as if mana grows on trees.

But there were always exceptions.

An archmage like the Skull Principal could summon vast amounts of mana stored elsewhere with just a flick of a finger.

Rather than having carefully prepared spells torn apart in a pathetic display, it was better to prepare in advance.

“…Indeed! Excellent. This Wuman has learned something! I must prepare this as well and offer it to my elder sister!”

“Her Majesty will be pleased. Haha.”

As Wuman rejoiced as though he might leap into the air, Lee Han also felt proud.

As Jowrin’s contractor, he had been of some small help.

***

The Skull Principal was not a mage rich in emotional expression.

But there were times when his emotional expression became abundant, and that was precisely when his disciple returned after sweeping away bureaucrats.

“Everyone, listen—”

Lee Han quickly pulled the Skull Principal back.

He could not simply stand by and watch him shout, “This fellow who swept away the Imperial officials is my disciple!” to the entire café like last time.

“Have you no shame?”

“Shame? If I had shame, would I dare carry such trashy research topics around and visit bureaucrats?”

Lee Han was rendered speechless by the Skull Principal’s words.

They were far too accurate.

Well, that’s true.

“But since you want it, I’ll let it pass quietly.”

The Skull Principal looked at him with a warmth he had not shown since last year. It was a gaze of affection that seemed to say he could forgive his disciple even if Lee Han set Einroguard on fire.

…I think I’ve only seen that in ancient history.

“Excellent! Of course, I assumed you would naturally succeed…”

“Excuse me?”

Lee Han was dumbfounded.

He had assumed Lee Han would naturally succeed?

Lee Han could not understand where that confidence came from.

If Wuman had not come, it would have been difficult even to get a deferment, let alone an alternative payment arrangement.

“…But to think you would completely erase the debt. Your skills improve by the day!”

-Is this not strange?

One of the Death Knights guarding the carriage raised a question.

-Of course we know that the young master possesses rhetoric capable of deceiving even Great Demons.

“What?”

Lee Han was even more dumbfounded.

-But are the Empire’s bureaucrats not misers worse than hundreds of Great Demons combined? For such people to do more than defer payment and erase the debt completely…

The knights’ doubt was reasonable.

They did not doubt that Lee Han would succeed in persuasion, but erasing the debt was another matter.

Was that not too unrealistic?

Those vile and cruel bastards would not hand over a single Imperial coin without a thick report, yet they had yielded so readily?

“The disciple’s persuasion has reached its pinnacle.”

However, the Skull Principal, whose mood had improved for once, overlooked his subordinates’ doubts.

-But…

“Think carefully. Who could have predicted that Wardanaz would persuade a thought-form and even learn a Lesser World?”

“I’m standing right here.”

Lee Han grumbled, but the Skull Principal ignored him.

The Death Knights nodded.

-Certainly…

-That is true.

Come to think of it, the deeds of a superhuman could not be predicted through ordinary reasoning.

The successor before them was superhuman in many ways, but among them, his truly exceptional ability was rhetoric.

Who could have predicted that he would form a teacher-disciple relationship with a vanity-born thought-form and even receive transmission of a Lesser World?

-You are right. I am ashamed. I underestimated the young master.

-But how did you persuade them? Did you create a Lesser World for defeating bureaucrats?

-Perhaps you learned word-command magic related to debt cancellation…

While the knights murmured about how he had managed to cancel the debt, the Skull Principal opened his mouth as if belatedly remembering something.

“Oh, right. About Jowrin.”

“…Yes!”

“Why are you so startled?”

“I wondered if she had escaped again in the meantime.”

Lee Han quickly made an excuse. Fortunately, the Skull Principal did not notice.

“Her Majesty does not go out that often… Anyway, rumors are spreading that you have made a contract with Her Majesty.”

“!!!”

Come to think of it, Silvas had been surprised by Wuman’s appearance, but had not been surprised by the fact that Lee Han had contracted with Jowrin.

Such a reaction would have been difficult to believe unless Silvas had already known.

“The nobles who need to know likely already know, so be careful not to accept unnecessary requests. You could get caught in trouble if you are not cautious.”

At present, the Empire’s nobles were divided into loyalist factions that supported the Imperial Family and opposing noble factions.

And even within the loyalist faction, forces were once again divided according to which member of the Imperial Family each supported as the Emperor’s successor.

However, there was one shocking method that could not only unite all of those people but even draw in the noble factions.

Bringing in the nine pureblooded children who had inherited the Emperor’s blood most strongly.

Even noble factions or neutral forces skeptical about a successor’s ability would likely convert if even one of those nine pureblooded children stepped forward in earnest and declared, “I will become the Emperor’s successor.”

Their abilities existed on a completely different dimension.

“If such a person existed, wouldn’t they have stepped forward already? Her Majesty herself seemed to want to find a successor quickly and hand over the throne…”

“That is correct. Dragons are not a species suited to being emperor in the first place.”

As could be seen from the current Emperor, dragons as a species had extremely strong individualistic tendencies.

There was no way such a species would be suited to taking responsibility for a vast land and the countless races living upon it.

But there was one exception.

An oath.

“Among the nobles, there will be those who try to persuade you to bring in Jowrin. Of course, it would be interesting to see Her Majesty sit on the imperial throne, but…”

“You don’t need to worry. That will absolutely never happen.”

Lee Han spoke firmly.

If one dragon had to suffer, then the Emperor should suffer, not the still-young Jowrin.

Hmm. Is that too despicable a thought?

But it could not be helped.

Lee Han was Jowrin’s contractor, not the Emperor’s contractor.

“Wait. But why did the rumors spread? Could it be…”

When Lee Han looked at the knights with eyes searching for the culprit, the Death Knights flinched and waved their arms.

-It was not me!

-How could I, as an honorable knight, have such loose lips!

-Please believe us!

“The knights did not spread it.”

“?”

At the Skull Principal’s words, Lee Han stopped staring at the knights and turned his gaze.

Then who?

“The dragons spread it. More precisely, they did not spread rumors. They sent letters.”

“????”

“You will understand faster if you see it yourself.”

The Skull Principal took out a letter and tossed it over. The letter, made of antique parchment, was densely filled with characters Lee Han did not recognize.

“Change.”

When the Principal declared it, the letter’s contents changed into standard Imperial script.

The contents were as follows:

…We respectfully inform House Meikin. A new dragon contractor has appeared at this time… If you have anything to report regarding the contractor, please draw three lines above the seal below and write your message… If you threaten or harm the contractor, please be warned in advance that you will face retaliation from whichever dragons still happen to feel motivated at that time…

“Quite considerate, isn’t it?”

“…What is this?!”

Lee Han was so shocked he nearly dropped the letter.

Since it had been sent to House Meikin, it seemed it had gone to at least all the major noble houses.

One Death Knight kindly provided additional explanation.

-In the old days, there was much unnecessary bloodshed due to differences between races, Disciple.

It was difficult for ordinary people to understand dragon culture.

When incidents frequently occurred in which someone recklessly laid hands on a person contracted with a dragon and the surroundings were devastated in retaliation, the dragons decided to approach matters a little more kindly.

They would send advance warnings like this to powers of a certain rank within the Empire.

Then those who did not wish to get swept up and wiped out would take care of preventing problems themselves.

-Can you not feel the wisdom of dragons, who understand and consider the differences between races?

“I cannot.”

-?!

The Death Knights were flustered by their disciple’s indifferent reaction, which was different from what they had expected.

Why?