Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 1053
Oh, no!
Gainando instantly came to his senses.
Unlike the Skull Principal, Gainando could be thrown out of the villa. Once the semester began, he might even be thrown out of the tower.
“Principal, why are you laughing at Lee Han!”
Had he finally lost his mind?
When Gainando suddenly turned serious and blamed him, the Skull Principal was dumbfounded.
What kind of person was this?
“Lee Han! I only laughed because the principal was laughing! I was flattering him!”
“You laughed a little before that too.”
“No! It’s a misunderstanding!”
“Whatever. Just follow me.”
Lee Han decided to take Gainando with him.
It was not necessarily to punish him for mocking him just now. It was because Professor Voladi might find it suspicious otherwise.
If I say Gainando came because he’s interested in bounty hunting, Professor Voladi won’t suspect anything.
The others had said they could simply go without raising suspicion, but Lee Han thought differently.
How awkward would it look if someone like him suddenly became interested in bounty hunting?
“Hmph.”
Gainando’s shoulders drooped as he was abruptly dragged into unpleasant work like bounty hunting. Seeing that, the Skull Principal chuckled with satisfaction.
“Lee Han. Can’t we take the principal with us too?”
“…Gainando. Sometimes I wonder where your courage comes from.”
Lee Han was shocked that his friend had dared to suggest dragging the Skull Principal along.
Who in the world could drag the Skull Principal anywhere?
“Ah!”
Giselle, who was coming down the stairs, quickly cast invisibility magic and hid behind a pillar when she saw the floating skeleton.
Seeing that, the Skull Principal called out to Giselle.
Moradi. Perfect timing. Provide an escort.
“…Excuse me?”
Giselle poked her head out and looked at him suspiciously.
She could not understand what the Skull Principal was scheming.
Escort Wardanaz?
“I don’t understand what you mean by escorting Wardanaz. He can take care of himself perfectly well…”
Not Wardanaz. This prince here.
The Skull Principal spoke indifferently.
If Lee Han had been going out alone, he would not have worried much, but if Lee Han was taking the burde… no, Gainando with him, the situation was different.
A dark mage weak in close combat needed at least one escort to protect him.
The top student of the White Tiger Tower would be more than enough as an escort.
“Ah.”
Giselle immediately understood.
But if the prince needs an escort, why take him along at all?
From Giselle’s perspective, since she did not know why Gainando was being dragged along, she could not help tilting her head in confusion.
If anything happens, send a paper bird. If it’s urgent, use the ring. You didn’t lose the summoning ring, did you?
“Yes. It’s probably somewhere in my backpack.”
…At least remember where it is.
The Skull Principal was exasperated by his disciple’s complete lack of safety awareness.
How could he be so lax after going through all those incidents?
The Skull Principal could not tell whether Lee Han had nerves of steel or was simply stupid.
“I put it in there in a hurry after getting it back last time… Ah. Here it is.”
“Wardanaz. Wardanaz.”
When Giselle called to him in a lowered voice, Lee Han checked where the ring was and turned his head.
“I know what you’re curious about, Moradi. Actually, Professor Voladi went to pick up new wanted posters, so we’re going to quietly follow and check…”
“No. I’m not curious about that.”
Giselle cut him off.
She was not particularly curious about where Wardanaz was going with the prince.
At most, it would be a toy shop or a Mage Card shop, wouldn’t it?
“Then what are you curious about?”
“Why are you wearing handcuffs on your wrist?”
“Wait. They’re off now. Thanks for letting me know.”
Lee Han expressed his gratitude when he saw that the dragon shackles had finally released.
The magic had taken effect, but he had missed it while they were talking.
…No, I’m asking why you were wearing them in the first place…!
Giselle screamed inwardly.
The handcuffs were off, but her questions were nowhere near resolved.
***
“Bounty hunting?”
Giselle’s eyes gleamed when she heard they were going to pick up bounty notices, not visit a toy shop or Mage Card shop.
“That’s quite interesting. Wardanaz. Are you already looking for commissions in preparation for the second semester?”
“No. I hadn’t thought about that.”
Lee Han was slightly flustered.
Since he was taking courses from every school, Lee Han could currently accept the widest range of commissions among Einroguard students.
For someone like Lee Han, bounty hunting was not a very attractive option.
The cost-effectiveness isn’t that good.
Most importantly, the fact that you could fail and not earn a single coin was fatal.
Considering Einroguard’s professors and graduates, there was a reason divination-school mages had a higher average income in gold.
“Wardanaz. Think about it carefully. Escaping the stifling school to chase criminals. Using all the magic and swordsmanship you’ve learned in fierce battles. Isn’t that what you want?”
No, it isn’t?
Lee Han wondered whether Giselle had met some fake Lee Han and talked to that person while he was not around.
However, Giselle continued persuading him with rare persistence.
Bounty hunting was basically a high-risk, high-return commission, and permission was quite difficult to obtain. If it seemed too difficult for students alone, permission would not be granted at all.
But going after criminals with small bounties would be a loss instead…
“Wardanaz, if you participate, the range of permits we might receive will expand greatly. Don’t you want a taste of freedom during the semester?”
“A professor will come along anyway, so I doubt it’ll feel particularly free…”
Having already experienced through club activities how troublesome school-approved outings could be, Lee Han did not have much hope.
But Giselle, unusually persistent, did not back down this time either.
“Wardanaz. Our family’s territory goes hunting when winter comes.”
“?”
“??”
Not only Lee Han but also Gainando tilted their heads in confusion.
Why had that story suddenly come up?
“I see?”
“Sometimes we chase mountain beasts, sometimes we go bird hunting, and sometimes we hunt monsters.”
“Ah. Like when Lady Jiklin took you hunting last time.”
“Be quiet. That was an exception.”
Giselle’s expression turned serious.
The hunting done by Jiklin, Giselle’s older sister, was called “hunting,” but it was not hunting at all.
What kind of hunting involved roaming winter mountain ranges alone and attacking monsters stronger than yourself? That was closer to a trial.
Although Giselle unconditionally defended Jiklin, that had truly been a bit much.
“Proper hunting is a much more enjoyable and enriching experience. And among all hunts, the one that excites knights the most is hunting criminals with bounties on their heads.”
“…”
“…”
Lee Han and Gainando exchanged glances.
Gainando asked with his eyes, Can I say that’s barbaric? but Lee Han shook his head.
It was not a good idea to provoke Giselle from within her range. Especially not when she was participating as Gainando’s guard.
“I… I see…”
Instead of criticizing the customs of northern knight families, Lee Han restrained himself by respecting the relativity of regional cultures within the Empire. Then he waited for Giselle’s next words.
However, no next words came.
“That’s it?”
“That’s it. …Aren’t you interested?”
Giselle asked, slightly confused.
She had just told them a very exciting story about bounty hunting, so why were their reactions so calm?
Gainando sent another glance. It was a signal asking permission to speak.
Lee Han quickly waved his hand, telling his friend to shut up.
“Really fascinating. I’m starting to get interested.”
“Right? I knew you would, Wardanaz. I still remember hunting with my sister when I was young.”
“Like when she dragged you out last time?”
“That was an exception. I mean normal hunting, not that. You bastard.”
Giselle answered sharply.
At that reaction, Lee Han decided he should stop mentioning Jiklin’s hunting. Now that he thought about it, that time truly had not felt like hunting either.
So even by House Moradi standards, that was strange. I thought it was just a weird family custom.
Just as House Wardanaz had its own strange customs, he had wondered whether House Moradi had customs like that too…
“Anyway, it’s interesting, right?”
“Of course. Very interesting. As interesting as that thing knights like… right, as interesting as jousting.”
Despite it being an awkward lie that she normally would have noticed immediately, Giselle did not catch on.
People’s intelligence tended to drop slightly when they were talking about a subject they loved.
Lee Han silently nodded without saying anything. It was consideration for a friend who was usually smart.
“If it’s a party of about five people, then inside a city. If it’s about ten people, then in the fields or a forest…”
“L-Lee Han. How long do we have to listen?”
“She might save your life in an emergency, so listen with the biggest smile you can manage, Gainando.”
Gainando listened with a gloomy face to stories about bounty hunting that he did not particularly want to know.
Targets hiding in northern villages, targets hiding by rivers, targets hiding in forests…
As he listened, Gainando suddenly became worried and whispered again.
“Lee Han. We’re just going to check whether the professor receives the bounty notices, right? We’re not going bounty hunting?”
“Of course, Gainando. We’re just going to see the professor.”
Lee Han reassured his friend.
He could not tell Gainando why they needed to monitor Professor Voladi, but since he had brought him this far, he needed to calm him down.
And it was not exactly a lie either. All they had to do was watch while Professor Voladi received the bounty notices and returned…
***
“You’re going to catch them now?!”
Lee Han ran into Professor Voladi as the professor came out of the Imperial Palace and shouted in shock.
He had asked if Professor Voladi was returning to the villa estate, but the answer had been no.
“Yes.”
“Why?!”
“?”
Professor Voladi showed slight bewilderment at the disciple’s question.
It was a stupid question, hard to believe it had come from a disciple who usually only asked intelligent ones. Giselle, standing nearby, nodded as if she agreed.
What a stupid question. Did he catch it from being near the prince?
“Because I can catch them.”
“I… I see. Professor. Um… would it be all right if we followed along to observe? Actually, Gainando and I…”
Lee Han tried to give the speech he had prepared on the way: why he had become interested in bounty hunting and was not a suspicious person.
However, Professor Voladi gave permission without even listening to the end.
“Do so.”
“Thank you…”
“But it is strange.”
“!”
At Professor Voladi’s words, Lee Han was inwardly startled.
Had the professor figured out why Lee Han was here?
How terrifying. Is this a battle mage’s intuition?!
“Wh-what is?”
At the disciple’s question, Professor Voladi pointed at Gainando with the same indifferent attitude.
“I did not expect the prince to show interest.”
“…”
While Lee Han or Giselle showing interest was not particularly surprising, Gainando showing interest in bounty hunting was quite unexpected.
“…Gainando also seems to want to grow further as a mage of the Black Turtle Tower. Right?”
“Hic… hic. Yes…”
“More positively.”
“I’m so happy to participate in bounty hunting. Hic.”
At Gainando’s answer, Giselle poked Lee Han in the side.
“Wardanaz.”
“?”
“Originally, I was planning to fill the rest of the group with White Tiger Tower members aside from you, but I’ll make an exception for the prince. It’s fine to bring him along.”
“…R-right. I’m very grateful.”
Lee Han answered while glancing at Gainando. It was truly fortunate that Gainando could not hear this.
