Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 861

“A servant?!”

Jowurin recoiled at Gainando’s furious outburst.

Did he just get angry at Jowurin?

“Of course I’m angry! Who are you calling a servant!? I’m royalty—”

“Grrrr!”

Eandurde, faithfully carrying out Lee Han’s order to “get along with Jowurin,” lunged from the side without hesitation.

Gainando, who hadn’t expected an attack from a junior he’d been relatively friendly with by his own standards, was slammed flat onto the floor.

“You… you little—! Don’t you know who I am!? I’m your senior! Hey! Ahhh! I’m your senior! Lee Han! Lee Han!”

Lee Han! Did you see that!? Eandurde stood up for Jowurin! Jowurin’s friend!

“Truly touching.”

“Lee Han!?”

Gainando screamed as his arm was twisted behind his back.

In this chaotic room, the only friend he could trust had abandoned him?!

“Eandurde. Let him go. And Gainando, how do you lose to a first-year?”

“H-he caught me off guard! And I was going easy on him because he’s a junior!”

“Grrrr.”

When Eandurde bared his teeth and looked ready to pounce again, Gainando immediately ducked behind Lee Han.

Shielding ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) his junior, Lee Han hurriedly explained the situation.

“…So Prince Jowurin is visiting Einroguard for the midterms. Gainando. Can you keep this a secret?”

“Of course!”

“Thanks. Since he’s royalty, we need to treat him with the utmost respect. But this is Einroguard, so I’m nervous. There are too many insane upperclassmen around.”

“That’s true. Just trust me, Lee Han. …Huh?”

Gainando had been nodding confidently while thumping his chest at the important task his friend entrusted him with, but suddenly paused.

He needs to be treated with the utmost respect because he’s royalty?

“…Hey, Lee Han. I’m also roy—”

“Wardanaz. Are you there?”

Adenart, who had come looking for Lee Han, carefully stepped inside after noticing the door was open.

Then her eyes widened at the scene before her.

“W-what in the world is going on here…?!”

Huh? Is that Jowurin’s sister?

Jowurin curiously looked Adenart up and down before speaking.

Lee Han blinked in surprise.

“How did you know?”

I could faintly sense it! I was just guessing!

“Amazing, Your Majesty.”

At Lee Han’s praise, Jowurin bashfully flapped his wings.

‘Wait. Didn’t he ask earlier if Gainando was a servant?’

The thought crossed Lee Han’s mind, but he decided to let it slide for now. That wasn’t important at the moment.

“Imperial Princess. Please listen carefully. Right now…”

Lee Han repeated the explanation from the beginning.

Then he added seriously,

“Since he’s royalty, we need to treat him with the utmost respect.”

“I understand… Wait a moment. Wardanaz. I’m royalty too…”

Adenart felt faintly wronged.

She was royalty as well, so why was only Jowurin receiving special treatment?

But Lee Han gave her no opportunity to protest. Together with Professor Voladi Bagreg, he reorganized the remaining space and finished turning the room into a temporary dragon’s nest.

Jowurin wagged his tail excitedly.

It’s small, but cozy!

“That’s a relief. Then—”

Lee Han, friend, servant, and sister too! I’m so glad I came to Einroguard!

Gainando tilted his head.

“Is Adenart a servant too?”

“No.”

“…Hey! I told you I’m not a servant!”

Gainando exploded again, startling Jowurin badly enough to make him shrink back. Adenart quietly reprimanded him.

“Gainando. Such disrespect in front of Prince Jowurin…”

“You’re only saying that because you’re not the servant!”

“W-what…? I refuse to tolerate such insults.”

“The insult is calling me a servant! Just because you’re a dragon makes you special!?”

Jowurin’s expression crumpled. Tears welled up around his large slit pupils.

At the sight, Gainando visibly faltered.

“Ah, no… don’t cry.”

Gainando keeps getting angry at Jowurin…

“It’s because you called me a servant.”

But Jowurin needs a servant…

“…”

With tears shimmering in his eyes, Jowurin stared fixedly at Gainando.

Unable to withstand the pressure of that gaze, Gainando finally surrendered.

“…Ugh! Fine! I’m a servant! A servant!”

Wow!

“That brat is seriously annoying, Lee Han! I’d get treated with respect too if my mother were a dragon!”

“…Gainando. By any chance, does His Imperial Majesty… no, never mind.”

“??”

Apparently, Gainando still didn’t know what species the Emperor actually was.

Not wanting to traumatize his innocent friend, Lee Han let it go.

Just then, red hair peeked through the open doorway. It was Yonair.

“Why is it so noisy? Gainando. Stop bothering Lee Han and come help clean up—”

Yonair abruptly fell silent. Professor Voladi Bagreg spoke gravely to his disciple.

“You should probably inform your friends.”

Far more people visited Lee Han’s private room than expected.

***

When Jowurin first appeared in the second-year common room, everyone’s first thought was:

‘The Skull Principal finally kidnapped a dragon to kill Lee Han.’

Their second thought was:

‘Professor Bagreg finally kidnapped a dragon to—’

And after hearing the actual explanation, everyone arrived at the same conclusion.

‘It would’ve been really cool if Gainando were a dragon too.’

Wouldn’t fighting students from the other towers have been much easier then?

As everyone stared at him, Gainando grumbled,

“Yeah. I’m a servant. So what? Got a problem with that?”

“N-no, not at all. Gainando. We were admiring your dedication.”

“That’s right. Even though you’re royalty yourself, you set aside your pride for His Majesty. Honestly, it’s admirable.”

The others hurriedly improvised excuses before their true thoughts slipped out. Gainando visibly brightened.

“Really?”

“Of course! Who else could handle the role of servant like that?”

Gainando is an excellent servant!

“Heh. Hehehe.”

“Make the fire stronger. Jowurin likes warmth.”

“Understood.”

Gainando immediately hauled over more firewood.

Chopping wood in the forest, stacking it, and drying it properly was one of the students’ regular chores.

Since anything they wasted had to be replenished personally, it was usually a hassle, but Gainando burned through the wood without hesitation.

Feeling drowsy, Jowurin let out a low rumble and curled into a ball.

The students once again marveled at the utterly surreal sight of the second-year lounge transformed into a dragon’s nest.

“To think there’s still something at Einroguard capable of surprising us…”

“But what kind of test did His Majesty come here for?”

“He said he has to compete against Wardanaz.”

“…Shouldn’t we assassinate him first, then?”

“Quiet. If Wardanaz is already thinking that, we need to lower his guard even more.”

While the students whispered among themselves, Yonair and the alchemy school students prepared food for the dragon nearby.

“Eandurde. You worked hard coming all this way. Here.”

“Thank you!”

Eandurde accepted the bowl happily, overjoyed to eat Yonair’s warm cooking again after so long.

“Are your studies going well?”

“…”

Eandurde avoided eye contact, his pupils trembling. Memories of Yonair’s brutal winter-break lessons were still deeply engraved in his mind.

“Mmph mmph mmph.”

“Yes, yes. Eat first. …Eandurde. You’re not pretending to eat just to avoid answering, are you?”

Asan, helping Lee Han prepare ingredients nearby, asked curiously,

“By the way, Wardanaz. How can that first-year junior see us?”

Normally, first-years couldn’t perceive upperclassmen except in a handful of unusual cases.

Usually involving Wardanaz.

But how could Eandurde do it?

“Professor Bagreg cast a spell.”

“Wow. That was considerate.”

“Because of that spell, if you get caught, you’ll all end up in detention too. Do you still think that’s considerate, Asan? Think carefully.”

“…W-Wardanaz. Are you perhaps angry at Professor Bagreg?”

Asan shrank back at his friend’s disturbingly calm tone.

Lee Han technically had a point, but it still didn’t feel entirely fair to blame Professor Voladi Bagreg for this.

“Angry? I have no idea what you mean, Asan. Thanks to this, His Majesty came to visit the school. I’m not angry at all. Not even slightly upset that I now have to worry about what kind of test to hold with His Majesty.”

“…Meikin! Meikin! I’ll handle the pot! Can you switch with me!?”

Asan fled immediately.

If he stayed beside Lee Han any longer, he genuinely felt like he might get hit.

***

Lee Han let out a long yawn as he entered the classroom.

And he wasn’t the only one. Every Blue Dragon Tower student attending <A Drop of Potion Instead of Complex Magic> looked exhausted.

Taking care of a dragon inside the common room was far more difficult than expected.

Not only did they have to prepare enormous quantities of food for Jowurin to devour, they also had to carefully maintain temperature, humidity, and lighting—and occasionally even sing lullabies.

To make matters worse, Jowurin only liked Lee Han’s singing. Whenever anyone else tried, the young dragon would shake his head violently and smack the floor with his tail. When Gainando sang, Jowurin even growled threateningly.

‘Music magic… apparently works on dragons too…’

Nillia kept tilting her head suspiciously.

Something was clearly happening among the Blue Dragon Tower students, but she couldn’t figure out what.

“Hey. Wardanaz. Wardanaz.”

Nillia approached Lee Han and whispered quietly.

“Hm? Oh. Nillia.”

“What’s going on? Did something happen at Blue Dragon Tower?”

“Something happened… Well. More or less.”

Lee Han looked at his dark elf friend thoughtfully.

Should he tell her?

It wasn’t exactly a secret, but the moment Nillia learned the truth, she’d get dragged into taking care of the dragon too.

If she belonged to the same tower, that would be one thing, but burdening a friend from another tower…

‘…would actually be helpful.’

At Einroguard, the urge to drag others into suffering was often stronger than friendship itself.

Lee Han sighed.

“Sigh. But this is a Blue Dragon Tower secret.”

“What?!”

Nillia’s ears perked up immediately as she fidgeted anxiously.

A secret among friends that excluded her.

“…I-is that so?”

“I could tell you. But if I do, you’ll have to participate too. Sigh. I’m not sure that would really be a good thing. Though there are benefits…”

“Tell me! I don’t know what it is, but I want in too!”

The usually cold and composed Shadow Patrol hunter answered instantly.

Lee Han smiled faintly.

“There’s a dragon living in the lounge right now. We’re taking care of it.”

“…Wardanaz. If you don’t want to tell me, just say so. I’m leaving.”

Nillia turned around sulkily.

Secrets between friends were understandable, but at least he could refuse honestly instead of making up something so absurd.

“No, Nillia. I’m serious.”

Before Lee Han could explain further, Professor Thunderstep entered and class began.

The professor briefly explained next week’s exam before carefully introducing today’s potion: the <Dragon Scale Potion>.

“I’ll say this again—you must be extremely careful while brewing this potion! It isn’t called the Dragon Scale Potion because of its defensive properties, but because of what happens if you fail! Never neglect component detection and conversion, and pay special attention to the timing of adding the Risus potion! If you fail, your body will end up looking like dragon scales—”

“It’s a dragon!!!”

“Stop making a fuss already, you bronze-head.”

The dwarf professor looked at the shouting student with utter disdain.

There was no reason to panic just because the potion failure resembled dragon scales—

“It REALLY IS A DRAGON?!?!?!”

Professor Thunderstep turned toward the window and nearly fainted at the sight of a massive young dragon blinking curiously at the classroom.

‘By my beard… has Einroguard finally fallen?’

Having the exact same thought once shared by both the Skull Principal and Lee Han, Professor Thunderstep desperately tried to assess the situation.

“If anyone can explain what exactly is happening right now, speak.”

“I have absolutely no idea, Professor.”

Lee Han answered instantly.

‘If Wardanaz doesn’t know, then none of the others will either. Could this somehow be Bendozol’s doing?’

Where’s Lee Han?

“…”

At the dragon’s telepathic question, Professor Thunderstep slowly turned to glare at his disciple with a grim expression.