Chapter 1337

The mage simply could not understand.

Had that question really been that dangerous?

The expedition members seemed to think the same thing, judging by the bewildered looks they exchanged.

“Admiral... what exactly was wrong with the question just now...?”

“Tsk, tsk. You lot won’t last a day.”

“Are those guys really an expedition party? Saying something that stupid... You could call that natural causes.”

“!?”

When the crew members nearby also began murmuring in pity, the expedition members became even more confused.

What the hell?!

Lee Han shook his head and walked over.

“You don’t have to fall for it. They’re all just making mean-spirited jokes.”

“S-So that’s what it was!”

“Don’t worry too much.”

“But Lord Wardanaz. Then what exactly is the story behind you being a Valdrogard professor...?”

Lee Han got angry.

“Lady Ragesa told you not to say anything useless!”

“S-Sorry!”

***

When the fleet finally returned to the harbor of the city of Ileinas, Lee Han felt a renewed sense of emotion.

Measured purely by time, the voyage had not been all that long, but it felt several times longer.

The reason was simple. The Frost Giant ruins, and...

“It was truly a wonderful adventure, Professor!”

“If the other students hear about this, they’ll all be jealous!”

...the Valdrogard students chattering excitedly behind him.

‘Did magic erase their memories of being trapped under the ship?’

Lee Han was dumbfounded.

They had trespassed aboard, gotten trapped beneath the ship, and suffered quite a bit during the voyage, yet the moment they returned to port, they suddenly started romanticizing the whole experience.

But as their new professor, Lee Han could not nitpick every little detail like this. He knew very well what kind of professor was unpopular with students.

‘And being this good at romanticizing things isn’t necessarily bad.’

The better they were at this, the easier it would be for Lee Han to teach them.

Even if it was painful at first, once they later discovered the joy of magic, it would all become a fond memory.

“Haha. Still, from now on, don’t climb onto ships whenever you feel like it. And make sure to tell your friends about the magic lectures too.”

“Of course! We’ll make sure to be careful when climbing aboard ships!”

“I said don’t climb aboard at all, not to be careful when doing it.”

Lee Han’s expression turned serious for a moment. When the Valdrogard students looked startled, he realized his mistake.

“...Haha! I was only saying it again in case you forgot.”

“I see. We’ll be sure to remember your words, Professor!”

The Valdrogard students, aside from Jandanni and Alnoev, cheerfully said their goodbyes.

Lee Han let out a sigh with an exhausted expression.

‘Was going around looking for Valdrogard students before the lectures even start really not such a good idea?’

He had only done it a few times, yet he was already this tired.

He had been certain the Valdrogard students would be spending their vacation somewhere safe and comfortable, but reality had been different.

“Professor. You’ve worked very hard.”

“So a mage must be able to go all the way out to distant seas for the sake of magic!”

“...There are times when you do have to.”

This time, he had been tricked into doing it, but strictly speaking, that statement was not wrong.

If a mage wanted to train properly in magic, there were often times when they had to use any means necessary.

What if the microcosm on the path they wanted to pursue had been lost, or could only be obtained in some distant frontier?

Then, even through tears, they had to go all the way there and find it.

‘Though it wasn’t exactly a microcosm I absolutely had to obtain.’

If there was one difference between Lee Han and other mages, it was that other mages went out looking for microcosms themselves, while Lee Han kept getting pushed by someone else into going to find them.

‘Maybe I really should just go back to Valdrogard and spend the rest of the time preparing my lectures.’

He was afraid that if he went looking for the next Valdrogard students, he might end up having another microcosm forced onto him.

While Lee Han was thinking, the Death Knight whispered.

-Successor. A letter has arrived from Oculoguard. They say they’re waiting for your visit...

“Ah.”

Lee Han flinched at the reminder of the promise he had forgotten.

Come to think of it, he had promised to help this magic academy during the vacation and had received their cooperation in return.

“The Principal has already returned to Einroguard. Is that all right?”

-They said that was even better and welcomed it.

“......”

The foresight mages of Oculoguard were honest.

When told that the Skull Principal could not come because he had business elsewhere, they had openly said that was even better.

‘They’re not wrong, but is it really okay to say that? If he finds out later, they’ll get beaten.’

“Oculoguard! I’ve often heard rumors about their foresight magic!”

The two Valdrogard students looked at Lee Han with shining eyes. Lee Han, who knew very well that this was not a magic academy anyone should look at like that, spoke firmly.

“It’s not a particularly good place. You two will have a hard time adapting.”

“What...! Professor, I may be your student, but I cannot agree with you on that!”

“That’s right! We can adapt anywhere!”

‘Didn’t you fail to adapt even to the fleet?’

The Death Knight thought inwardly.

The Valdrogard students had suffered throughout the entire voyage. If the Successor had not looked after them, a few might very well have gone splash into the sea.

For students like that to confidently claim they could adapt to Oculoguard, which was famous for its strictness, was nothing short of absurd.

-Successor. Just take them with you.

“What? Why?”

-This is a methodology Einroguard used in the old days. It was called ‘good professor, bad professor.’

It was a scheme in which two professors took on the roles of the good professor and the bad professor and deceived the students.

If the professor playing the bad role harassed the students, the good professor could win their hearts much more easily.

‘That sounds very familiar.’

Places where people lived were all much the same.

Lee Han, thinking that to himself, suddenly felt puzzled and asked,

“Wait. If you said they used to do it, does that mean they don’t anymore?”

-Yes. It fell apart because everyone wanted to play the bad professor. If you’re thinking of Professor Kim now, then that’s just... because Professor Kim is kind.

“......”

It was absurd, but he understood the point.

The more strange magic academies he showed them, the wider the range of strange things Lee Han himself could get away with.

“All right, then. But I definitely warned you. As honorable Valdrogard students...”

At the word honorable, the Death Knight almost snorted. Only knightly pride allowed it to barely restrain itself.

“...if you promise not to go there and complain, you may come with me.”

“We promise!”

“I promise as well, just like my senior.”

The Successor’s strategy was excellent. The Death Knight admired him inwardly.

After making them go that far, even the Valdrogard students surely would not dare complain...

Rustle-

“Please sign this paper too.”

-......

‘Successor... aren’t you a little too suspicious?’

***

Alshicle Pengerine looked at the dull, dry feathers on the back of Alhild Pengerine’s head, a younger mage from the same house, and shook his head.

Normally, the back of a penguin beastkin’s head should have been glossy and fluffy.

There was only one possible reason.

Einroguard.

‘They say the mysteries of magic squeeze a mage’s soul dry, but Einroguard seems to squeeze a little too hard.’

As far as Alshicle was concerned, the only monster capable of maintaining their usual condition while attending Einroguard was someone like Wardanaz.

Normally, when students came out for vacation, they went through a process of stuffing food into their mouths with a dazed expression, lying in bed and sleeping for three straight days, or going to the market, looking at bolts of cloth, and sobbing, ‘You can buy this so easily!’

“Alhild. You don’t need to push yourself so hard. You should rest a little during vacation.”

“No! I still have a long way to go. When Senior Wardanaz was in the same year as me, he took every school of magic and ranked first.”

‘That’s because Wardanaz is insane...’

Alshicle swallowed the words inwardly.

When he was with Wardanaz, they were close enough that he could speak that bluntly, but saying it in front of other people could cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

“Every mage has their own path. Look at me. I focused on only one school, yet I still achieved this much.”

The young genius mage drawing attention throughout the Empire raised his beak arrogantly while making the distinctive wing-flapping gesture of penguin beastkin.

It looked extremely cute, but among penguin beastkin, it was a gesture used to display confidence.

Alhild’s eyes shifted slightly.

For a brief moment, Alhild compared whether to take Senior Wardanaz or Alshicle as a role model.

“Thank you. But I still want to...”

“You compared us in your head just now, didn’t you!”

“N-No.”

“What do you mean, no?! Your soul wavered!”

Alshicle felt deeply hurt after being stabbed in the back by his junior from the same house.

And he had even gone out of his way to arrange this Oculoguard visit!

“I went through all the trouble of getting permission from Oculoguard, and you ungrateful...”

“No! Absolutely not!”

“Then who do you want to emulate more, Wardanaz or me?”

“......”

“Hey!”

Alshicle felt slightly wounded.

You actually have to think about it?!

Among the Blue Dragon Tower students, Alhild was respected for being diligent and cautious—Alshicle still could not believe that this arrogant little brat had somehow earned that reputation—but Alhild was not very good at making excuses in situations like this.

Fortunately, the friend they had arranged to meet appeared in the distance.

“There’s my friend. You can pick them up here.”

“You’re obviously changing the subject, but I’ll let it slide...”

Alshicle ordered the carriage to stop. A squirrel beastkin swiftly climbed inside.

“Hello!”

“So you were a priest. Greetings.”

Seeing Karre dressed in priestly robes, Alshicle treated the younger student politely.

Karre smiled and told him there was no need to be so formal. Alshicle immediately took a strong liking to this easygoing junior.

‘Priests really are different. The exact opposite of ungrateful Alhild.’

“Why does Priest Karre want to visit Oculoguard with us? Are you interested in foresight magic?”

“Yes! I’m interested in foresight magic.”

“I see. Then are you considering becoming a seer or a detection officer later? Or perhaps an inspector? Pure research?”

“No! I plan to use it for stealing!”

“......”

Without realizing it, Alshicle shoved his pockets deep inside his clothes and sealed them with ice.

Karre spoke as though deeply wronged.

“Senior invited me to Oculoguard with you. Do you really think I’d steal from your pockets?”

“Of course I trust you, Priest Karre.”

Alshicle added another ice seal on top.

One thing he had learned from spending time with Wardanaz was that the more someone acted like that, the more suspicious they were.

For some strange reason, this priest’s act reminded him of Wardanaz.

“By the way, Priest Karre. You’re from Phoenix Tower... right? Not Black Tortoise Tower?”

“Phoenix Tower.”

Alhild answered for Karre from the side. Alshicle could not understand and asked,

“Then why exactly did you agree to go together?”

“They promised that if I went with them to Oculoguard, they wouldn’t steal my property next semester.”

“......”

Alshicle had no choice but to admit that this junior was clever.

Truly a genius!

“That’s Oculoguard. It always looks like a prison whenever I see it.”

Alshicle frowned at the prison-fortress-like structure in the distance, sitting atop a gray rocky region.

For a magic academy, Oculoguard was far too dull and gray. The fact that it was so quiet made it look even more like a prison.

“Einroguard is the prison.”

“How could Oculoguard even dare call itself one in front of Einroguard?”

“...Fine. You’re the best.”

Alshicle was dumbfounded by the objections from the two Einroguard students.

What kind of pride was that?

As he was about to enter, Alshicle spotted a strange sight in the distance.

‘Wasn’t that carriage up ahead a Valdrogard carriage? I must have seen wrong. There’s no way a Valdrogard carriage would be here...’