Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 691

The Death Knight stared hard at Lee Han and the others, then let out a sigh.

-I understand. I will pretend I didn’t see it.

“Huh… really?”

Gainando looked slightly flustered.

He hadn’t expected it to actually pretend it hadn’t seen anything.

-It’s the senior’s fault for getting caught by juniors.

“……”

“……”

At the Death Knight’s cold words, the others were struck speechless.

It was good news, but…!

-Then it seems we’ve said what we needed to say, so we should be leaving. Are you all ready?

Eandurde nodded. The Death Knight looked at the students and said,

-Lastly, how about you say your goodbyes? You likely won’t see each other for about a year.

“Hmph. Lee Han will ignore that and go wandering around. He already has disturbance potions— KEK.”

Lee Han punched Gainando in the solar plexus and answered,

“Thank you. We’ll say our goodbyes.”

The students gathered there looked at Eandurde.

In their eyes were every emotion you could send to a student who was only just enrolling—pity, compassion, sympathy, regret, poor thing.

“Eandurde. I don’t even know what to say to you.”

“I’m fine!”

At Yonair’s words, Eandurde answered forcefully.

“You’re not just happy because you don’t have to study anymore right now, are you?”

“…N-no…”

Caught out, Eandurde averted his gaze.

At the villa, the one who had made Eandurde study the harshest after Lee Han was Yonair.

“Ahem. Eandurde… that is… agh. I don’t know what to say! Just remember what I told you—edible grasses and easy traps. If you have that, you can at least find some food.”

“You’d better practice opening locks more. In Einroguard, you’re still lacking.”

“Right. You need to memorize more potion recipes. They’re potions you’ll be using often.”

“I know you have strength and special racial abilities, but don’t rely on them too much. To survive in Einroguard, you need technique.”

Listening attentively to the seniors’ advice, Eandurde tilted his head.

“…Isn’t it a magic school…?”

Just listening to them, it sounded like he was going to the worst underground fighting pit imaginable.

“…Well, you’ll find out once you’re inside!”

“Yeah. Don’t be too scared. Einroguard is a place where people live—no… maybe it isn’t, but anyway, you’ll adapt as time passes. …Probably. Gainando. You say something too. You’re the only one who hasn’t.”

“Hm?”

Gainando stood there blankly, then hurriedly thought as the others urged him.

“Uh… uh…”

“Hurry!”

“F-find a friend like Lee Han and stick to him, and life’s easier!”

“……”

“…We shouldn’t have made him.”

“You told me to!!”

Gainando protested, but the others ignored him and called to the Death Knight.

-Are you finished?

“Yes. I think you can depart.”

Before Eandurde left, Lee Han whispered quietly one last time.

“If you really think you’re short on food, leave a mark in front of the Blue Dragon dormitory tower. I’ll secretly take care of you.”

But Eandurde shook his head firmly.

“I’m fine.”

“…You little—!”

“I’ll take it from other students!”

“…You little…”

Lee Han regretted, just a little, that he should have done more character education.

*****

Alde of House Markang was a Blue Dragon Tower student at Einroguard, moving up from second year into third this time.

In terms of grades, Alde sat around the middle of the tower; the house was famous in the Empire’s south for its floriculture; and Alde was deeply interested in illusion magic, the ice element, and numerology.

If there was anything unusual, it was this: while searching for juniors to use for the new semester’s smuggling operation, Alde had been caught by those very juniors.

‘Tch. Humiliating.’

The junior he’d spoken to went into a villa belonging to a different house, so Alde followed out of curiosity—only to get ambushed by a swarm of juniors pouring out at once.

Even if they were juniors, it was hard to maintain the upper hand against several at once. And on top of that, he’d been ambushed…

Unless you’d received proper magic-combat training, casting quickly after getting ambushed was close to impossible.

“Senior. You said you’d stay quietly.”

“If it were you, would you stay quietly? More importantly—how did you find out about smuggling? Who told you? Was it White Tiger Tower? Black Turtle Tower?”

Alde was convinced someone in the same year had told the juniors the truth.

Otherwise, there was no way these juniors would know the smuggling operation this well.

Someone must have sabotaged him to keep a Blue Dragon Tower student like Alde in check.

“I told you. We figured it out ourselves. Every senior we met tried to use us as bait.”

“It’s a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding! I never intended to use you as bait.”

Alde rattled off lies without even moistening his lips.

Of course, it had no effect. The juniors only stared with flat eyes.

“Then you truly meant to include us in the smuggling operation because you were thinking of us?”

“Of course! I did it because I felt sorry for you. Even now, just let me go. If you join our operation, you can get enough food supplies to eat well for a whole year, too. Think about it. Freshly baked mixed-grain bread and buttermilk inside Einroguard. Maple sap dessert with just a little honey mixed in. A banquet like meatloaf with more than a third of it being real meat!”

“…I’m not really tempted.”

“?!”

Alde had made the offer with confidence, but unfortunately his imagination had limits.

With a banquet menu more modest than Lee Han’s meals, the students’ reaction wasn’t very enthusiastic.

“W-why? If you’re new students, you should’ve spent your entire first year thinking about that food!”

“We ate pretty well, actually.”

“Don’t lie! You ate well? How? You probably boiled leather boots in a pot and ate that!”

“……”

At the unexpectedly tragic first-year diet of the seniors, the students shuddered.

And they reflected anew.

‘From now on, I shouldn’t whine about wanting to eat things…’

‘So it really was true that we ate until we were full!’

‘When the semester starts, I should insist we eat chocolate cake.’

When students from all four towers fell silent out of guilt and gratitude toward Lee Han, Alde misunderstood their reaction and spoke.

“You just don’t know how incredible this is because you haven’t experienced it! But it’s really possible! If you succeed in smuggling at the beginning of the year, you can eat like a rich person all semester!”

CREEEAK—

Lee Han, who had returned after seeing off the Death Knight, opened the door and walked inside.

Then, holding the potion he’d confiscated from Alde, Lee Han asked,

“By the way, Senior. You told us to drink this when the inspection starts.”

“That’s a potion that helps with smuggling.”

“This is a mix of a berserker potion and a bladed-bear transformation potion, Senior. If you drink it, you’ll turn into a bladed bear and go on a rampage like a lunatic.”

“…W-which bastard betrayed me?!”

When the wicked intention to transform a junior into a monster and make them run wild was exposed, Alde visibly panicked.

The juniors glared at Alde with contempt.

“…Someone had to draw attention.”

“Of course.”

Realizing he was cornered, Alde sighed and asked Lee Han.

“Hoo. Fine. Then just loosen these bindings on my wrists.”

“Senior, you tried to run away just now. No.”

“This time is different. I’ll swear it on my house’s name. Even if you loosen me, I won’t run.”

For a noble, swearing on the house’s name was a promise that was hard to break.

Even when captured as a prisoner during a territorial war, if someone made that kind of vow, they wouldn’t run even if they had the chance.

When Alde went that far, the students’ mood softened. They judged the senior had finally stopped trying to flee.

“Understood. We’ll loosen you.”

“Haha, what a pack of idiots! Sense—into the maze!”

The instant his wrists and ankles were freed, Alde swiftly pulled a spare wand from inside his sleeve and cast the spell he’d been preparing.

Cold air wrapped around the enemies, muddling their sense of direction and calling up illusions blended into reality.

It was more than enough magic to break through this predicament.

“You’ve learned one lesson today. A true Einroguard mage values a scrap of bread more than a house’s name or honor—!”

THUD!

Lee Han hit Alde once as Alde tried to slip out of the annex, then dragged him back and sat him down.

Then tied him up again.

From the start, Lee Han had read the mana flow around Alde and known Alde was about to cast.

He’d only played along once because it seemed Alde would keep being a nuisance otherwise.

Lee Han swung the wand, sweeping away the remaining illusion magic and bringing his friends back to their senses.

Only then did Alde react.

“H-how… how?!”

“Senior. You just swore on your house’s name.”

“……”

Alde averted his gaze, apparently embarrassed even Alde.

Then Alde muttered,

“Hmph. It’s normal in Einroguard.”

“We don’t do that…”

“You will, you bastard! Give it one more year and you’ll be selling your ancestors’ names too! And you—what tower are you?! How do you know noble honor better than me?!”

“I’m Blue Dragon Tower…”

Gainando, abruptly singled out, answered with an awkward face.

At that, Alde startled.

Thinking about it, this was the nobles’ villa district. Of course there would be Blue Dragon Tower students here.

But…

“Wait—then what about that one?!”

Alde pointed at Dergeu.

No matter how you looked at him, he wasn’t Blue Dragon Tower.

“I’m White Tiger Tower.”

“And I’m Black Turtle Tower.”

“I’m Phoenix Tower.”

“…W-wait, wait, wait.”

Alde was even more shaken.

More shocked than when he’d been ambushed by juniors.

No wonder there were so many and they didn’t feel unified—

“How are you together?”

“Because we’re friends?”

“Blue Dragon Tower can’t be friends with White Tiger Tower!”

Alde shouted firmly.

Gainando almost agreed without thinking.

“Seriously, those bastards are so damn unluc—”

“Can’t you see Choi right next to you?”

“N-no. I mean, not Dergeu!”

After thinking it over, Alde looked at Lee Han and asked,

“Is it you? Are you the one controlling these guys? If that’s the case…”

Sometimes even within magic schools, charismatic seniors earned respect across towers.

Maybe the White Tiger Tower student in front of him was that sort of case.

“Of all things, White Tiger Tower has a guy like this…”

“I’m Blue Dragon Tower.”

“?!!!!”

“Anyway, Senior. I tried to respect your honor as much as possible, but you kept deceiving us. We’re confiscating your wand and all reagents.”

Lee Han searched Alde and seized every remaining item.

“No! Think about it. I’m your senior! Won’t you see my face in the tower?”

Whether or not, Lee Han continued.

“We’ll let you go when the semester starts. You’ll have to come with us to the main gate, though. Until then, you’ll stay inside the annex. If there’s [N O V E L I G H T] anything you want to eat, tell us.”

“Thick pancakes and high-grade salted butter, southern honey, and coffee with lots of milk.”

“Ah. I didn’t mean we’ll just give it to you. I meant we’ll give it to you if you give us advice or information about smuggling.”

“…Are you really a first-year??”

Alde stared at Lee Han with wavering eyes.

To think a lunatic like this had entered Blue Dragon Tower!