Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 853
“To who?”
“To a Baldrogard student.”
“Ah.”
Gainando nodded knowingly, then explained to the others.
“He’s writing a threat letter.”
“…No, I’m not.”
Unfortunately, the others had already fully accepted Gainando’s theory.
“Gainando. Don’t say ridiculous things. If anyone asks later, you all need to say it was a normal letter.”
“Right. Everyone remember that. It was a letter.”
“…”
Lee Han covered his ears and hurriedly finished his reply.
I received your letter. Thank you for the invitation. The weather at Einroguard is pleasant as well… (omitted)… the students are all doing well… (omitted)… I’m glad you found telekinesis magic interesting last time. In that case, I’d like to recommend the following books… (omitted)… Don’t simply skim through them. You absolutely must read them carefully. I’ll be checking the next time we meet.
Yonair, sitting beside him, quietly thought to himself:
Does Gainando have some younger sibling I’ve never heard about?
Otherwise, there seemed to be no possible reason Lee Han would send a letter like this.
***
“Thank you all for the warm welcome!”
“Please visit again!”
“Hahaha! Of course!”
As the storm-like club week finally came to an end and the weekend arrived, the visiting guests began departing one after another.
Guests who had arrived honorably, stayed honorably, spent generously, and departed honorably—people like Goladek of the capital’s bakery guild—left deeply satisfied as students cheerfully bid them farewell.
Unfortunately, not every guest departed so peacefully.
Those who had come to Einroguard hoping to gain something and instead ended up suffering losses, whether by accident or by design, left while hurling curses.
“This damned magic academy! I’m submitting a petition to His Imperial Majesty demanding this place be shut down!”
“Wow! Thank you!”
“I’m serious! I really will send one!”
“We’re sincerely grateful! Please make sure you do!”
The noble guest clutching his newly tailored purple leather coat—which had been thoroughly torn apart—stared in bewilderment at the students’ reactions.
How could they stay so calm in the face of threats like that?
“Damn it! Just wait and see! I know several nobles in the capital!”
—We apologize, customer. Revealing information about the academy or submitting complaints is prohibited.
“What? What kind of insane nonsense is that?!”
—You agreed to the terms before entering…
The Death Knights produced the contract with troubled expressions.
There were clearly several additional clauses that had not been visible when signing, but the enraged noble had never noticed them.
“W-When did this happen…?! Do you think this means I’ll stay quiet?!”
—Customer. Magical restrictions prevent you from speaking about it regardless…
“You lunatics! This cursed academy! I’m never coming back!”
After finishing his own packing, Lee Han sat with his friends in the seventh-floor village, watching the departing guests.
The teahouse Hot Water and Cold Water had recently become popular among second-years because it sold tea-like drinks without actual tea leaves at extremely cheap prices.
His friends set down their cups and clicked their tongues critically.
“They’re making way too much fuss after staying only a few days.”
“Seriously. Imagine throwing a tantrum over one torn coat. Plenty of students here live without coats at all.”
“Honestly, once you adapt to Einroguard, it’s not even that hard.”
Are these really the same people who cried and complained nonstop last year?
Lee Han thought in disbelief.
Of course, he didn’t want his friends suffering either, but remembering the first-years who had pawned their wands because they lacked food still irritated him a little.
“Oh. A magical criminal!”
“What?”
Lee Han immediately whipped his head around.
A magical criminal? Right now? While outside guests were still around?
Which lunatic would come here now? Antagondals?
No matter how he thought about it, the only magical criminal reckless enough to show up at Einroguard under current circumstances and effectively scream please kill me would be Antagondals.
Perhaps Antagondals had escaped after being tormented by the insane duplicate.
Or perhaps the insane duplicate had sent him here personally.
“…Those are Baldrogard students.”
Lee Han stared blankly.
His friends, however, remained confident.
“They’re basically half magical criminals anyway.”
“Exactly.”
—Get out already! Don’t ever come back!
—You people probably treated this place like some sightseeing destination! You’ll return home saying things like, ‘If Einroguard students don’t have bread, they should just eat cake’!
Upperclassmen from nearby buildings and streets joined in with vicious jeers.
The Death Knights sternly intervened.
—Everyone quiet down!
—Get lost already! Hurry up and—
The foolish third-year who added one final insult was instantly seized by a Death Knight.
—To the punishment cells!
“Aaaagh! This is so unfair! Baldrogard bastards! Look what you’ve done to me!”
“…”
“Sob… I feel bad for that senior.”
Gainando sniffled emotionally.
The others also looked solemn.
Only Lee Han seemed confused.
Wasn’t that entirely the senior’s own fault just now?
At that moment, Zandani leaned out from a departing carriage and waved enthusiastically.
“Wardanaz! Don’t forget the gift I gave you!”
“…”
Students scattered throughout the street and nearby buildings froze.
“That guy… threatened a Baldrogard student into handing something over?!”
“There weren’t even any openings! How did he pull that off?!”
Because Einroguard students had launched surprise attacks on Baldrogard visitors so many times in the past, the Baldrogard students who came during club week had all prepared thoroughly.
They hired guards.
They stayed exclusively inside the Visitor Accommodation village.
There should have been no opportunity whatsoever.
So when exactly had Wardanaz managed it?
“That’s Wardanaz? The one taking Battle Magic?”
“So the rumors were true…”
“How badly did he threaten them for the victim not to even realize he’d been victimized?”
As the misunderstanding spread wildly, Lee Han urgently shouted back at the upperclassmen.
“I didn’t threaten him! We became friends and he gave it to me!”
“Yeah, yeah. We understand, Wardanaz.”
“Of course you didn’t ‘threaten’ him.”
The upperclassmen nodded with warm smiles that made it abundantly clear they believed absolutely none of it.
Lee Han cursed inwardly.
These narrow-minded, miserable mages.
Mages, of all people, should have possessed the freest and most open-minded ways of thinking.
Tap tap—
“…?”
A paper bird landed against Lee Han’s shoulder.
Frowning, he unfolded it.
Please don’t let this be some threatening message about associating with Baldrogard students.
Come help me with something.
— Bivle Verdus
Honestly, a threat letter would’ve been preferable.
The instant Lee Han recognized Professor Verdus’s paper bird, his mood plummeted.
To manipulate someone’s emotions with a single sentence…
That truly was magic.
“I need to go see a professor for a bit.”
“Professor Voladi Bagreg?”
“No.”
“Professor Garcia?”
“No.”
“Professor Thunderstep? Professor Thunderwalk?”
His friends rattled off every professor they could think of.
They even mentioned the Skull Principal.
“Oh. Is it some professor we don’t know?”
“I’m going to see Professor Verdus.”
“…Why???”
***
Actually, that’s a perfectly reasonable reaction.
Lee Han ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) understood exactly why his friends had responded that way.
If one of them had casually announced they were going to help Professor Verdus with work, Lee Han would have asked why too.
Or checked whether they were trapped under illusion magic.
Still, Professor Verdus had given him the black stone recently and helped with his staff, so Lee Han felt guilty about outright refusing.
I’ll help him this once and ignore him afterward…
Just like before, when he’d accompanied Professor Garcia, Lee Han headed not toward Professor Verdus’s original workshop but toward the attic of the mage tower.
Professor Verdus was currently hiding there to avoid outside guests holding grudges against him.
“Professor! I’m here!”
Clank! Clank! Clank!
The loud sound of chains unlocking echoed through the attic.
Just like last time, Professor Verdus was personally disabling the defensive magic layered around the place.
—Come in!
Lee Han climbed through the ceiling entrance, then blinked in confusion.
Professor Verdus was standing absurdly far away.
“Why are you all the way over there?”
“Professor Garcia betrayed me last time.”
After naively lowering his guard around Professor Garcia and immediately getting physically subdued, Professor Verdus had apparently become even more cautious.
Lee Han smiled bitterly.
“Professor. Look at me. I’m human. I don’t possess Professor Garcia’s close-combat abilities.”
“That’s true…”
Professor Verdus nodded slowly, seemingly convinced, and cautiously approached again.
Lee Han’s eyes glinted ominously while Professor Verdus wasn’t paying attention.
One day, this level of carelessness would absolutely become Professor Verdus’s downfall.
Heh heh heh.
“So why did you call me?”
“Ah. I urgently need to finish something and require your help.”
“Professor, you say everything needs to be finished urgently.”
From Lee Han’s perspective, Professor Verdus simply labeled anything currently interesting as urgent.
Meanwhile, genuinely important artifacts due to the Skull Principal by tomorrow were endlessly delayed because they were “boring.”
“This one really is urgent!”
“What is it?”
Lee Han looked toward the back of the attic.
A small vessel sat there.
Its shape was strange. The sleek metal hull had been crafted with remarkable precision, and instead of ordinary sails, magical artifacts were mounted onto the mast.
“…An airship?”
“It’s small, but yes.”
“!”
Only now did Lee Han realize the hull wasn’t made of wood.
It was magically treated metal.
Lee Han stared in shock.
“Is this what you swindled out of Lady Ragesa?”
“What swindle?!”
Professor Verdus practically jumped in outrage.
“I’ve never swindled anyone in my life!”
“Yes, yes. That’s exactly what all swindlers say.”
“People who aren’t swindlers say that too!”
“Honestly, I’m surprised, Professor. You usually don’t bother completing things properly just to reassure investors.”
“What are you talking about? I absolutely do.”
Professor Verdus looked genuinely offended by the misunderstanding and immediately began defending himself.
One of the greatest false rumors spreading through the Empire’s magical circles was:
Professor Verdus of Einroguard shamelessly takes investments and disappears with the money.
Professor Verdus considered this accusation deeply unfair.
He had never embezzled even a single coin.
“It’s still under development. Just… delayed slightly.”
“Because you keep pursuing unrelated research projects too?”
“It’s interesting, so I can’t help it! Would you ignore something interesting?”
Professor Verdus asked with complete conviction, as though Lee Han were the unreasonable one here.
Fortunately, Lee Han remained utterly unmoved.
“Anyway, Professor. You’re trying to finish this before Lady Ragesa leaves so she’ll calm down a little. And hopefully lower the bounty on your head.”
“…More or less.”
“In that case, I’ll help.”
Lee Han accepted surprisingly easily.
After all, he owed favors to both Ragesa and Professor Verdus.
Professor Verdus brightened instantly.
“I knew you’d find this fascinating too!”
“No. If you keep saying nonsense like that, I’m leaving.”
“Ah, no, but it is fascinating…”
“Because of you, Professor, Princess Yukbeltire keeps getting bizarre misunderstandings too. She thinks all Imperial mages are naturally interested in her research.”
“???”
Professor Verdus tilted his head in complete confusion.
How was any of that his fault?
“And besides, everyone does find my research interesting and worthwhile, so why are you putting your hand on my shoulder?”
“Haha. It’s nothing. I just noticed some dust there.”
