Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 936
Alsicle was curious too, but restrained himself.
The other party was a great archmage, but also someone with an eccentric temperament.
Alsicle still remembered the story about Baldoron gifting Lee Han a pocket watch.
“More importantly, you bought this artifact in the village? From a shop that sells secondhand items cheaply?”
“Yes. I think Baldoron may have known something and deliberately recommended it… Should I send a letter and ask what he meant?”
“No. He went out of his way to leave a lesson for a junior, and you want to ask for the answer immediately instead of figuring it out yourself? He’d probably be offended.”
Mages who did things like that usually had personalities as twisted as the Skull Principal’s.
Of course, the truth was that Professor Garcia had simply stored the pocket watch away, and it had coincidentally ended up in Lee Han’s hands. Baldoron had never intended to torment or enlighten Lee Han through it.
But there was no way for these two young mages to know that.
Neither of them had any intention of contacting Baldoron.
‘There’s no reason to unnecessarily disturb a quiet archmage.’
Alsicle gave a small bow out of respect. Baldoron looked around in confusion, wondering whether someone had greeted him.
“Now then, Wardanaz.”
“You should call me Stedal.”
“…Stedal. Do you have a plan?”
“Hmm. Nothing concrete yet…”
First, the obstacles Lee Han and the drama club students had to overcome were obvious.
The roads, alleys, shops, and buildings outside the palace had all been sealed off under the pretext of protecting Einroguard’s mages.
Death Knights patrolled both inside and outside. Simply charging out of the palace would never work. They needed enough time to cross the empty streets and break through the encirclement.
First avoid attention inside the palace, then avoid pursuit and patrols while escaping outside?
“I’m thinking of causing a massive commotion.”
As expected, the answer was a massive commotion.
A disturbance large enough to draw the attention of every guest in the palace, as well as the Death Knights.
“At first I considered summoning the Principal’s insane duplicate and having him impersonate the Principal, but the Death Knights probably aren’t that stupid.”
“…Leaving °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° aside whether that’s even possible, the fact that you thought of it at all is terrifying!”
Alsicle shuddered.
There was actually someone insane enough to impersonate the Skull Principal.
And that person was the Skull Principal’s own disciple.
“I thought it was fairly workable. Of course, I abandoned the idea because the Death Knights probably have ways to verify identities…”
“What about revealing your identity as Wardanaz and asking the Death Knights for help?”
Alsicle suggested it with complete sincerity.
It sounded reckless, but from Alsicle’s perspective, there was a good chance it would work.
The Death Knights were loyal to the Skull Principal, but they were also loyal to the Skull Principal’s successor.
And while they were strict toward the former, they tended to be somewhat lenient toward the latter.
If Wardanaz asked them for a favor, wouldn’t they simply pretend not to notice?
“That’s the most pathetic and ridiculous suggestion I’ve heard today. No matter how troublesome this situation is, how could you seriously suggest something like that?”
Lee Han looked at Alsicle with utter disdain. Alsicle protested indignantly.
“I was being serious!”
“Hmph. Don’t lie. There’s no way anyone would seriously suggest that.”
Even if Alsicle truly meant it, Lee Han had absolutely no intention of trying it.
If he revealed himself and the Death Knights replied with, ‘Understood. Please follow us to the punishment cells,’ then everything would be ruined.
“…Fine. I understand. It’s risky. So what kind of commotion are you planning?”
Fundamentally, mages were creatures specialized in causing trouble.
Even mediocre mages could create enormous disturbances if they truly set their minds to it.
Alsicle could already think of several methods: summoned creatures, elemental rampages, sensory confusion, emotional disruption, and more.
But being capable of something didn’t mean you could recklessly do it.
Otherwise every mage would qualify as a magical criminal.
The larger the disturbance, the harder it became to deal with the aftermath.
That was why Lee Han had approached the illusion mages preparing the play.
If they were going to cause chaos, these mages were perfect. They could create something dramatic enough to throw the audience into confusion without seeming unnatural, while also avoiding suspicion afterward.
“We’ll summon illusions that match the play’s content, but make them far more intense and realistic than the audience expects.”
“I see.”
Alsicle immediately understood.
The nobles gathered here were deeply familiar with Imperial theater. Simple magical illusions appearing during a play wouldn’t surprise them.
But what if the illusions were far more vivid and overwhelming than expected?
If the magic became realistic enough for people to mistake it for reality, the entire hall would descend into chaos, and the Death Knights would inevitably respond.
“That’s incredible! You already prepared magic like that?”
Alsicle looked at Lee Han in admiration.
Magic tailored to the story while also throwing the audience into confusion.
Truly worthy of the Skull Principal’s top disciple.
“Huh? I don’t know any magic like that.”
“Then?”
“I thought you’d figure it out, Alsicle.”
“…”
Alsicle clicked his beak and glared at him.
“No… I’m a second-year student. How am I supposed to invent and prepare something like that?”
“You only remember you’re a second-year at times like this! Besides, I’m not an illusion specialist either.”
Alsicle fell into deep thought.
He did know a few spells originating from illusion magic lineages.
‘Charming Giant Penguin… no, that wouldn’t startle people properly, and it doesn’t fit the play. Enraged Giant Penguin… making everyone angry afterward might raise suspicions, and that doesn’t fit either.’
“Do you know any illusion spells that don’t involve penguins?”
“I told you, I’m not an illusion specialist!”
Alsicle hurriedly pulled out an illusion magic book he normally ignored and began flipping through it.
Who would’ve thought he’d one day desperately search through illusion spells he’d dismissed as useless?
“If it’s an illusion suitable for feuding families… maybe an orca illusion?”
“…That doesn’t fit the play at all.”
Two noble houses fighting in the middle of a city while summoning killer whales was a little too absurd.
Lee Han suddenly brightened as if struck by inspiration.
“I’ve got a good idea!”
“Oh? What is it?”
“Master?”
What now?
“…”
Watching him treat the Skull Principal’s insane duplicate like a convenient magical assistant, Alsicle thought that one day Wardanaz might genuinely end up hunted down by a mad archmage.
***
“Thank you, Master!”
Waste time properly on pointless tasks.
Surprisingly, the insane duplicate taught quite diligently. From Alsicle’s perspective, he taught even more seriously than the Skull Principal himself.
“Wrong. Judging from this, the play is based on the feud between House Alkarumata and House Ilhon. In that case, summon the illusion of a dragon.”
“A dragon!? Isn’t that excessive? And what does that have to do with the play?”
“No. Thanks to the achievements of one of their ancestors, House Alkarumata was granted a pact allowing them to summon a dragon into battle once. Their feud with House Ilhon ran deep enough that they used it during their conflict. The bottomless black swamp in their territory is proof of that pact. A dragon’s nest lies beneath it.”
“S-surely…! I thought that swamp was just ominous scenery, but it was actually—?!”
“The records must’ve been lost over time. But House Ilhon wasn’t helpless either. Knowing a dragon would appear, they summoned a demon in response.”
“A demon too!?”
“So make both the dragon and the demon appear in the second act. The spell structure is as follows…”
After the insane duplicate departed, Alsicle spoke excitedly.
“I never imagined that ordinary play hid secrets like that! A dragon and a demon! Hidden inside such mundane scenery!”
“You really do like theater, don’t you, Alsicle?”
“N-no! Don’t say ridiculous things… Anyone in the Empire would be shocked hearing that!”
Alsicle felt deeply wronged by the misunderstanding.
Compared to nobles who genuinely adored theater, he wasn’t even confident enough to say he liked it publicly.
His reaction had simply been genuine curiosity.
But from Lee Han’s perspective, Alsicle already qualified as a theater enthusiast.
‘He likes it but pretends not to.’
The insane duplicate taught them two illusion spells.
【Illusion of Rampaging Azirmo】 and 【Phantom Descent of the Fury Duke】.
Both were fourth-circle spells, but they demanded intricate control and extensive adjustments, making them extremely difficult. Alsicle worried whether he could finish preparing them before the play began.
“Can you at least master one of them?”
“I think I can cast 【Illusion of Rampaging Azirmo】.”
“…”
Noticing Alsicle’s shocked stare, Lee Han hurriedly explained.
“I’ve learned something similar before.”
It was 【Azirmo Summoning Enchantment】. While that spell relied on magic circles and various reagents to borrow Azirmo’s power, it was still a difficult fourth-circle spell.
Since Lee Han already understood Azirmo’s form from learning that magic, mastering this related illusion spell was much easier for him.
“I-I see. You got lucky. Which professor taught you that spell? I should thank them later.”
“Professor Verdus.”
“Forget it. That bastard doesn’t deserve thanks.”
Alsicle waved both arms dismissively, immediately retracting the thought.
It was obvious Professor Verdus had taught the spell to exploit his disciple for magical labor later.
What a vile person.
“Then I’ll prepare 【Phantom Descent of the Fury Duke】…”
A shout loud enough to drown out Alsicle’s voice erupted outside.
“Make way! Make way! The mages of Einroguard have arrived!”
“Ohhh! The pillars of Einroguard!”
“Is this level of security really necessary? Which of the guests gathered here could possibly be suspicious?”
“Please understand. Countless evildoers must be targeting the Empire’s greatest mages.”
“…They’re here! Hurry and make contact. I’ll stay behind and finish preparing!”
“Yes!”
“Wait!”
Alsicle called out to Lee Han just as he was about to run off.
“??”
“Don’t forget to talk to any useful patrons you see!!”
“…Understood!”
***
Yonair was engaged in a serious discussion with friends.
“The black swamp of House Alkarumata symbolizes the kingdom’s gloomy political climate at the time. Otherwise there’d be no reason for such an out-of-place swamp to exist in their territory.”
“I interpret it differently. I think the swamp symbolizes the tragic fate of the two lovers.”
“Wasn’t there supposed to be a Black Dragon living there or something?”
“Nillia! We’re having a serious discussion!”
“I-I was being serious too…”
Nillia looked flustered by the reaction.
Her friends had shared their own interpretations, so why was hers treated differently?
“Welcome to the palace, mages of Einroguard.”
“Thank you!”
The Einroguard students responded with dignified greetings to the nobles who had arrived first.
Of course, their clothes looked worse than a beggar’s, but dignity came from attitude.
No one was better at acting refined while dressed in rags than Einroguard students.
Hearing the students arrive, another group of chatting nobles turned toward them as well.
One figure standing at the center of the nobles approached.
“Who’s that?”
“Ah! That’s Stedal of House Nago. An absolutely incredible person!”
A nearby noble excitedly explained who Stedal was.
Captured by pirates in the southern Empire, then miraculously rescued by coincidence…
“Incredible!”
“How could something like that happen!?”
The students were astonished by the dramatic backstory.
“Greetings.”
Meanwhile, Stedal lowered his head and greeted them in a rough voice. Asan immediately prepared to bombard him with questions, eyes shining with curiosity.
“Don’t be surprised, everyone. I’m Wardanaz.”
“…”
“…”
