Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy Chapter 1026

Chapter 1026

'No!'

Professor Garcia inwardly screamed at the sight of her innocent disciple approaching without knowing the current situation at all.

Seeing her disciple approaching with a look of recognition and delight, the professor quickly made hand signals.

This gesture expressing a skull was a 'no approach, danger' signal that any Einroguard student would understand.

'Wait a moment, Yi-Han!'

"Hello, Professor."

"No!"

Professor Garcia unconsciously lamented that her hand signals hadn't worked.

"Why did you come!"

"Pardon? You told me to come to this cafe..."

"That's not it! Just now my hand signal..."

"Hand signal? What did it mean?"

Yi-Han looked puzzled as if not understanding what Professor Garcia was talking about.

Professor Garcia was shocked at this sight.

'...They don't use this anymore these days!'

The fact that hand signals used during her student days no longer worked was a big shock even to a mage like Professor Garcia.

Meanwhile, the Petroguard mages looked Yi-Han up and down.

"Hello. You seem to be an Einroguard student."

"Yes, that's right. I am Yi-Han of the Wardanaz family."

"!"

Great waves arose in the two mages' eyes.

There were truly many rumors following that name.

Fighting the King of Ghouls and King of Frost Giants, fierce battles with magic criminals and anti-magic extremists...

But for the two mages, the most important rumor was one:

The new disciple currently receiving the skull principal's favor!

"Could you be that... who Lord Gonadaltes is personally teaching?"

"Pardon? Yes."

"Are you the student confirmed to join the Day Lily Magic Tower after graduation?"

"That's not true though?"

"Right? I thought that wouldn't be true."

The Petroguard mage quickly accepted this.

Honestly, the words of Day Lily Magic Tower mages were a bit less credible. Hadn't they spread such false claims about Professor Garcia coming to their tower too back then?

"Anyway, you are currently Lord Gonadaltes's only disciple, right?"

"What's with that unpleasant expression?"

Yi-Han was slightly displeased when these unfamiliar mages said unpleasant things.

Like a mage dressed as an Einroguard student, they were even speaking rudely like an Einroguard professor.

"There are many besides me. There's Professor Kim here, and Professor Bagrak, and Professor Mortum."

"Ah, though they did study under him, they've now become independent as professors."

'They don't treat you as a disciple once you become a professor?'

Yi-Han was slightly intrigued.

Becoming a professor meant escaping the expression of being the skull principal's only disciple.

"We have a request for student Wardanaz, who currently maintains the only pure disciple status!"

"...If it's about handing over Professor Verduus, that won't work."

Yi-Han answered with a voice mixed with wariness at the mages' desperate request.

  *

"Yi-Han! Why did you do that!"

Professor Garcia shouted in a small voice so the two mages couldn't hear.

Surprisingly, this kind disciple had accepted the Petroguard mages' request!

It was truly a bewildering outcome for Professor Garcia who had done her best to prevent him from getting involved.

"Well, but they said they would grant your request too if I did this, Professor."

"You did this because of me?!"

Professor Garcia was even more shocked.

Though she did want to strengthen exchanges between magic schools, that wasn't something that should be done by sacrificing a poor disciple.

Hadn't Einroguard been self-sufficient until now anyway?

"No. It's not just because of that."

"Then...?"

"Well, you said the cause of this commotion is the principal's former disciple, right?"

"It's not confirmed. In the best case, they could be a magic criminal."

Yi-Han ignored Professor Garcia's muttering as if he hadn't heard.

"Then I feel I have some duty too... I wanted to help if possible."

"...!!!"

Since inheriting many things from the doppelganger of honor, Yi-Han had been feeling quite a sense of duty about promises.

In the past he might have said 'If the principal's former disciple caused trouble, should we submit anonymous reports?', but...

...Now he would go as far as stepping up himself to help persuade them.

"And I can't leave you to face such a person alone, Professor."

"...Yi-Han!"

Professor Garcia was deeply moved.

If not for a certain friend whose bones were broken during school days, she might have hugged him.

"But about that letter earlier, magic that Yi-Han couldn't solve. What kind of magic is it?"

The mages were now visiting the capital villa first instead of departing immediately for Petroguard.

Since Yi-Han said there was a magic problem in the mansion, they wanted to help with that first.

"Well, there's this mad mage ghost in the basement..."

Professor Garcia's face, which had been listening casually at first, gradually stiffened.

An infinite space labyrinth.

Could it be...

"Could that be the mad mage Noenchenpf???"

"Who?"

Yi-Han was puzzled.

A mad mage?

'Aren't there too many?'

Honestly it was a title that could be attached to most mages.

"There was a mage called mad mage Noenchenpf who caused trouble before."

Professor Garcia opened her mouth recalling old memories.

Mad mage Noenchenpf was an incident that appeared in imperial newspapers when the professor was an Einroguard student.

Strange building discovered near west gate of Isran City! A mage's curse?

An anonymous local mage testified it seemed like the work of an Einroguard graduate mage...

Found in Flaher City too! Suspicious magic installed in basement of alchemy shop!

Is it really the work of an Einroguard graduate mage?

Some mad mage had installed strange space labyrinths that couldn't be entered in basements of mansions and shop buildings throughout the empire.

Naturally, an Einroguard graduate mage was most likely to do such bizarre things, and indeed the skull principal quickly deployed mages thinking a graduate had done it (while additionally admonishing current students not to follow the graduates' example).

However, surprisingly, the person who did this wasn't an Einroguard graduate mage but just an independently mad mage.

A mage who researched space-time magic his whole life then embedded his unsolved challenges throughout the empire!

'What a nuisance.'

Yi-Han firmly resolved that even if he had unsolvable magic later, he would not embed it throughout the empire.

What kind of nuisance was that?

"Was it solved?"

"No. If it was solved, Yi-Han's villa basement would have no problems too. Those basement space labyrinths are all connected, one magic. If it was solved, mansions with labyrinths throughout the empire would all have returned to normal."

The choice of mages who encountered this difficult challenge, not even from an Einroguard graduate, was simple.

Just destroy the magic in the basement space and exorcise the ghost.

Since the magic installed in the basement space was just like an entrance to the space labyrinth, destroying it wasn't very difficult either.

Though they couldn't solve the fundamental problem, at least the mansions became peaceful.

"!"

Yi-Han brightened at this solution that cut through the complex knot like Alexander’s gordian knot.

Come to think of it, if the problem couldn't be solved, there was such a solution.

'If it's that, I think I could do it too.'

Since the ghost's combat power wasn't that strong...

"However, Yi-Han. If you use this method, the mansion will collapse."

"...What???"

"Well, when you destroy magic there's bound to be shock to the surroundings, usually shaking the foundation or first floor."

"..."

Yi-Han, having received a great shock, couldn't say anything.

Professor Garcia thought inwardly.

'He seems more shocked than about the principal's former disciple story...'

Surely not?

"Th-then Professor. What if we just leave it?"

"Pardon?"

"Living together while leaving the mage ghost alone?"

"...Though it's fine if they're not threatening, do you really want to do that, Yi-Han?"

Professor Garcia was bewildered by her mad disciple's resolve.

Even so, to resolve to continue living together with such a mad mage ghost.

"I'm fine with it. Previous mages did it too, how could I not?"

"???"

  *

Not noticing the conversation between Professor Garcia and her disciple behind them, Petroguard mage Dalser knocked on the villa mansion's door.

"Wow, very neat!"

"The Wardanaz family is a great noble family. Natural for even their villa mansion to have dignity."

Benjamin of the Garnok family, also from Petroguard, nodded as if it wasn't surprising.

"Let's quickly solve the problem and visit Petroguard."

"Indeed. Ah. There are other students too."

The two mages spotted students moving around inside the mansion.

-You bastard, won't you stop there?!-

-N-no. Prince! Is this necessary just for picking up one meat pie! You're too petty unlike Wardanaz!-

-Shut up! How dare you touch food before preparations are done!-

"...Oh, aren't those Einroguard students?"

Dalser was slightly bewildered.

If he was seeing correctly, students from different towers were definitely gathered together in one place.

That shouldn't be possible at Einroguard?

"What brings you here?"

"Ah, we came with student Yi-Han of the Wardanaz family... he's coming behind."

"Come in."

Salko opened the door without concern.

It didn't matter to him if the prince or White Tiger Tower guys lost face in front of outsiders.

"But why did you come with Wardanaz?"

"We heard there's an unsolved magic in the basement so we came to help."

"...Oh, just the two of you?"

Salko looked them up and down.

"When even Wardanaz failed, you two..."

"...We're from Petroguard. You understand?"

"Yes. But when even Wardanaz failed, you two..."

"..."

Dalser was dumbfounded.

Though he knew Einroguard mages excelled at turning other mages' clothes inside out, to think a mere 2nd year student would show such ability.

"We... well... technically serve as professors at Petroguard."

"Yes. I know, but you two..."

"Just guide us!"

When his voice rose, other students turned their gazes. Siana asked curiously.

"Ah. Guests have come?"

"Hello. We are..."

"You came to solve the basement magic."

"Just the two of you?"

"..."

The two Petroguard mages began feeling dizzy and lightheaded.

...Could Professor Garcia have invited them here for revenge?

'N-no. Professor Kim isn't someone who would do that, she's not Lord Gonadaltes...'

"You two! Wait a moment!"

Professor Garcia who arrived belatedly called them.

"Actually the basement magic..."

"Don't worry, Professor Kim. We'll solve it right now and come back."

Dalser showed rare enthusiasm. Professor Garcia fidgeted anxiously trying to stop them.

"So that's not an ordinary..."

"Please wait for us!"

The two Petroguard mages headed to the basement with their cloaks fluttering majestically.

Professor Garcia muttered with a sad face watching them.

"What do we do if these people come to hate Einroguard too..."

"...I'll try my best when I go to Petroguard."