Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 859
Contrary to Lee Han’s assumptions, the Skull Principal was not particularly pleased about the Emperor’s youngest child visiting Einroguard.
Einroguard students were inherently unpredictable creatures — as mages usually were — and the Skull Principal understood that better than anyone, considering he actively encouraged it. If students somehow attacked a dragon, both sides could end in tragedy.
The students would be torn apart, and Jowurin would suffer emotional trauma.
At least the students getting torn apart was manageable. But if Jowurin suffered emotional wounds, even the Skull Principal would struggle to deal with the aftermath.
Unfortunately, dragons were one of the few races magic worked poorly against.
Much like that boy from House Wardanaz.
Fortunately, Jowurin was still young.
A young dragon’s whims boiled over and vanished just as quickly.
So when Jowurin had loudly declared, “Jowurin shall visit Einroguard!” after meeting Lee Han during winter break, the Skull Principal hadn’t taken it seriously.
He assumed it would disappear alongside countless other declarations like:
“From now on, I won’t be picky about food!”
or
“Even if I lose at chess, I won’t flip the board over with my paws anymore!”
However, even the Skull Principal’s predictions failed on rare occasions.
Jowurin’s obsession with visiting Einroguard happened to be one of them.
The wildly chaotic stories Lee Han had told about life at Einroguard had sounded far too entertaining.
Naturally, Lee Han had embellished certain parts because he was speaking to royalty.
Unfortunately, those embellishments only made things worse.
No matter how much the Skull Principal tried to dissuade him, Jowurin stubbornly refused to give up.
“Jowurin shall visit Einroguard!”
“…Your Majesty. Perhaps you should sleep on it and reconsider tomorrow.”
“No! Jowurin will visit Einroguard! Gonadaltes just wants Jowurin to forget!”
“Absolutely not. You misunderstand.”
Tch. Ever since talking with that Wardanaz boy, His Majesty’s become sharper.
“Then Jowurin shall visit Einroguard!”
“…His Majesty the Emperor will disapprove.”
“I already got permission!”
“…What? Has the Empire finally reached its end?”
“What?”
“Nothing, Your Majesty. The students will be frightened.”
“Who cares! If nobody recognizes me, it’ll be fine! Jowurin will hide in Wardanaz’s room!”
“You are somewhat too large for that, Your Majesty.”
“Then I’ll stay in human form!”
“That would be uncomfortable.”
“Jowurin can endure it!”
“You won’t receive proper meals. You won’t be able to bring knights, servants, or even your toys. Einroguard’s environment is harsher than Your Majesty imagines.”
“That’s fine! …But if Gonadaltes rules that territory, why are conditions still so terrible?”
“Hehe. The students are simply too rough and unruly, Your Majesty. Even I have limits.”
“Anyway, Gonadaltes! Jowurin will visit Einroguard, so make preparations! If you keep making excuses, Jowurin will consider it interference!”
“…Understood, Your Majesty.”
Realizing further excuses would no longer work, the Skull Principal obediently withdrew.
Of course, that did not mean defeat.
After returning to Einroguard, the Skull Principal simply ignored Jowurin’s letters and waited.
Ignore him until he forgets.
What exactly could Jowurin do if the Skull Principal refused to reply?
Unfortunately, the Skull Principal had overlooked one thing.
Jowurin could actually do quite a lot.
Once his letters stopped receiving responses, Jowurin began writing directly to Einroguard professors instead.
The quicker-witted professors immediately grasped the implications, pretended the letters had never arrived, and quietly burned them.
Unfortunately, one soft-hearted professor remained.
Lee Han Wardanaz clearly invited Jowurin, but Gonadaltes and the other professors are interfering! Professor Bagreg, if you care about your disciple, help Jowurin!
“Hmm.”
Professor Voladi Bagreg could not coldly reject someone who had supposedly been invited by one of his only — no, two — disciples.
After long contemplation, he replied:
A professor does not possess the authority to officially invite royalty. However, if Your Majesty wishes to visit, then visit as an examiner.
Excellent! But what does that mean?
It means Your Majesty should participate as the one administering the midterm examination.
That sounds incredibly fun! Jowurin accepts Professor Bagreg’s proposal!
Understood.
Oh! Keep it secret from Wardanaz! Jowurin wants to surprise him!
Given Your Majesty’s abilities, I believe informing him beforehand would be fair so he can prepare appropriately.
No! Wardanaz can handle it perfectly well!
“…That’s true.”
“What do you mean, that’s true?”
Lee Han exploded in outrage after hearing the story.
To think Professor Voladi Bagreg had actually been fooled by Jowurin.
Even now, it felt absurd.
Who in the world actually gets deceived by Prince Jowurin…?
Lee Han blamed himself.
Realistically, this situation was closer to a natural disaster nobody could have predicted, but he still felt he should have been more vigilant.
At the very least, he should have become suspicious the moment Jowurin started expressing interest in Einroguard.
Damn it. This is the Principal’s fault.
No matter how he looked at it, at least half the blame belonged to the Skull Principal.
Hadn’t Lee Han relaxed because the Skull Principal confidently claimed, “His Majesty will forget after one night’s sleep”?
“Professor. When is His Majesty arriving?”
Lee Han refused to give up.
This still wasn’t over.
If he sent another letter before Jowurin arrived, maybe he could stop the visit somehow.
I’ll say Lee Han Wardanaz has been kidnapped by an insane duplicate and can’t receive visitors.
Technically, it wasn’t even a lie.
“Next Monday.”
“…There appears to ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) have been a misunderstanding. I’ll send another letter immediately.”
“A misunderstanding?”
“Actually, I never invited Hi—”
RUMBLE!
A tremendous crash echoed from beneath Professor Voladi Bagreg’s underground lecture hall.
Lee Han flinched.
“What was that?!”
“The underground airfield.”
Apart from the tower stables, Einroguard possessed several locations where flying vehicles from outside could land.
The underground airfield was mainly used by visitors who preferred to arrive discreetly.
A gigantic cavern stretched out beneath the school like a tunnel, hidden behind magical concealment, large enough for dozens of flying carriages.
Ordinarily, discovering a new place inside Einroguard would have thrilled Lee Han.
Ordinarily.
“…What just happened at the underground airfield?”
“It sounds like something large and heavy has landed.”
“…What are the odds it’s His Majesty Jowurin?”
Instead of answering, Professor Voladi Bagreg silently stared at him.
Lee Han found the answer in that gaze.
“…Let’s go greet His Majesty.”
“I thought you said there was a misunderstanding.”
“Saying there was a misunderstanding was itself the misunderstanding.”
Lee Han answered sorrowfully.
At this point, there was no escape left.
***
Following behind his senior, Eandurde’s eyes gleamed with excitement.
“Eandurde. Don’t attack His Majesty when we meet him.”
“Why not?”
Because you’ll get beaten senseless…
Eandurde was talented in combat by any standard, but there was no comparison between him and Jowurin.
Even a gentle swipe from the young dragon’s paw would send Eandurde flying across the room.
“His Majesty is my friend.”
“Ah!”
Eandurde nodded in understanding.
While secretly feeling disappointed.
He had wanted to fight a dragon at least once.
“But Professor, is it really alright for Eandurde to know about His Majesty Jowurin?”
This was a serious imperial secret.
At Lee Han’s question, Professor Voladi Bagreg answered casually.
“It’s fine if he’s an Einroguard student.”
“I see. So Einroguard students possess authority over classified information.”
“?”
Professor Voladi Bagreg looked puzzled.
“…Wasn’t that what you meant?”
“I meant a gag order would be placed on him.”
“Ah.”
Lee Han immediately understood.
The Skull Principal had let him slide because handling him was troublesome, but ordinary students would simply receive magical restrictions.
As they walked through the deep underground passageway, Eandurde could no longer suppress his curiosity.
“How are we fighting him?”
“Hmm.”
At his junior’s innocent question, Lee Han was once again reminded of the reality he desperately wanted to forget.
Since Jowurin had come as part of the midterms, the exam really was going to involve him.
If I choose telekinesis, do I have to pick Jowurin up and throw him? If I choose alchemy, do I need to brew a potion strong enough to defeat him?
Forget passing or failing.
Lee Han was starting to worry he’d get arrested the moment he graduated.
GROOOAN!
A familiar dragon’s voice echoed from the distance.
“Your Majesty?”
“…J-Jowurin is not here.”
“???”
Wondering what nonsense that was supposed to mean, Lee Han focused mana into his eyes.
Then he saw Jowurin embedded in the wall ahead.
Apparently the dragon had become too excited while flying, failed to slow down properly, and crashed directly into the underground airfield.
Jowurin himself was perfectly unharmed.
The wall, unfortunately, had not survived the collision.
It had collapsed entirely and buried the dragon beneath rubble.
“Your Majesty. Are you injured?”
“Mmm…”
“Didn’t you just say you weren’t here?”
“Shh. Eandurde. Sometimes when people embarrass themselves, they pretend not to exist.”
“??”
Eandurde looked completely confused.
Weren’t dragons supposed to be the Empire’s wisest and noblest race?
And yet this dragon was hiding under rubble like a five-year-old child refusing to come out after making a mistake.
“Your Majesty, please come out. This much damage is easy to repair anyway. It’s barely scratched.”
“R-Really?”
Jowurin cautiously crawled out of the debris.
Though not fully grown yet, the large Gold Dragon blinked curiously.
The moment Jowurin spotted Lee Han, delight flooded his eyes.
“Lee Han!”
The dragon immediately grabbed Lee Han with a gigantic forepaw.
Having experienced this before, Lee Han instantly raised a telekinetic barrier with <Wardanaz’s Telekinetic Force>.
Watching from the side, Professor Voladi Bagreg quietly appreciated how much his disciple had improved.
“Urk. Your Majesty. I’m dying.”
“No! Lee Han must not die!”
“Your Majesty is squeezing too hard…”
“I let go! I command you to return to life!”
“Thank you. I’ve resurrected.”
Lee Han dusted himself off as he answered.
Meanwhile, Eandurde stood nearby looking deeply conflicted.
Should he attack the evil dragon assaulting his senior?
Or should he keep his promise?
“…???”
“Who is that?”
Jowurin asked while looking toward Eandurde.
Both Professor Voladi Bagreg and Lee Han were familiar, but this mage was someone entirely new.
“He’s my junior. Eandurde.”
“Nice to meet you, Eandurde!”
Delighted to hear Eandurde was Lee Han’s junior, Jowurin immediately tried to hug him too.
Despite using far less strength than before, Eandurde still began choking from the overwhelming pressure.
“Wh-Why is he making that sound? Is something wrong?”
“You need to use even less strength.”
Startled, Jowurin loosened his grip further.
The instant he did, Eandurde clawed furiously at the dragon’s forepaw — though Jowurin didn’t feel it at all — and leapt backward.
Then he bared his teeth and growled defensively.
Seeing someone openly dislike him, Jowurin’s eyes immediately filled with tears.
“L-Lee Han… does Eandurde hate Jowurin?”
“Uh… well…”
Lee Han glanced sideways.
His junior looked fully prepared to declare eternal hostility.
“Grrrr!”
“…Eandurde. Would your opinion perhaps improve slightly if I gave you this?”
Lee Han quietly placed chocolate into his junior’s hand and attempted diplomacy.
