Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy Chapter 953

Chapter 953

'Damn. I got too cocky.'

Yi-Han, having come to his senses, reflected deeply.

It wasn't for nothing that old fairy tales featured mages who fell into evil power and self-destructed.

Evil power always came with a price.

"What do you mean...?"

Ilendil was flustered, wondering if the junior had already been influenced by the relic.

Anyone could see he was trying to explain, so why was he closing the artifact?

"...Weren't you going to explain?"

"No, I wasn't."

As soon as the words ended, the echo stone forcibly opened again.

And the illusion of the mad doppelganger flowed out.

-A royal must visit in person. Tell me the location.-

"Actually, it seems the problem has been solved."

The mad doppelganger ignored Yi-Han and spoke directly to Ilendil.

-Where is it?-

"Y-yes?"

As the human-shaped skull principal spoke to her directly, Ilendil froze stiff.

Every Einroguard student had an instinctive fear of the skull principal deeply engraved in their soul.

Moreover, the human-shaped skull principal tended to be even more maddening than the basic skull principal form.

The last time Ilendil had seen the human-shaped skull principal was when he tore apart magic criminals who had tried to contact Einroguard students in the western region of the empire...

Naturally, it was unavoidable for Ilendil to freeze stiff.

-I must have asked where.-

"Th-th-the... Granden City Guard 2nd Barracks..."

-I see.-

The mad doppelganger turned off the echo stone. Yi-Han glared at Ilendil.

'To think a 4th year would be so weak-hearted!'

If it had been Senior Direth, she would have held out saying, "You can kill me, but I won't sell out my junior!"

But it couldn't be helped. Not all seniors could be like Direth.

Yi-Han sighed and said.

"You all should go back."

"What? Why?"

The friends who had been cutting up the mercenaries' coats (the fabric was too good quality to throw away) were puzzled by Yi-Han's words.

"Another mage will come soon, so it might be dangerous."

"Wardanaz. What do you take us for?"

The friends spoke with warm gazes full of friendship.

They weren't weak enough to back down just because a dangerous mage was coming.

'Wow. They're really close.'

Ilendil was inwardly amazed at the sight.

How could students from different towers have such friendship?

"It's the principal's mad doppelganger. Hurry and go back."

"...But it's not good to stubbornly ignore your words either. Alright!"

"Wardanaz. It's not that we're scared, we're just respecting your opinion. You understand, right?"

The friends immediately changed their attitude.

Not listening to an expert's opinion and being stubborn in a dangerous situation could lead everyone to ruin.

Watching the friends scurry away, Ilendil was dumbfounded.

"What... kind of kids are they...?"

"They listen well to me. More importantly, let's prepare for the principal's doppelganger coming."

Ilendil nodded at the junior's words.

Even if it was a doppelganger, facing the principal's doppelganger wasn't a comfortable thing.

Moreover, the opponent wasn't in his right mind. In some ways, it could be even more dangerous.

Rustle rustle-

Dozens of types of branches rose like vines from underground and covered Ilendil. It was like a thick armor.

"...What are you doing?"

"Huh? Um... You said to prepare?"

"..."

Yi-Han was dumbfounded at the sight of the senior clearly preparing to 'get hit less painfully'.

"Not that kind of preparation. He's coming to teach magic, we can't learn in this collapsed basement, can we?"

"He's coming to teach magic???"

As the senior suddenly showed intelligence below that of an Einroguard 1st year, Yi-Han wondered what was wrong with her.

"Why else would he come?"

"Punishment... Ah, no. I understand. I'll prepare!"

Ilendil sent back the armor and moved in a fluster. Yi-Han thought inwardly.

'Hmm. Though Senior Ilendil is a 4th year, her social skills seem worse than the dark magic school.'

It was a remark insulting to both sides.

  *

'Will this really be alright?'

Ilendil couldn't stay still and kept pacing in the private room lent by Daihal Dargard.

Though the junior had said, "He's coming to teach magic," from Ilendil's perspective, it was hard to believe.

Did it make sense for the skull principal's mad doppelganger to come for such a reason?

'Shouldn't I run away even now???'

After smashing the echo stone, running as far away as possible...

Meanwhile, Yi-Han was looking at Ilendil as if she were pathetic.

'Why is she so scattered?'

Though Ilendil herself didn't know, Yi-Han's opinion of her kept falling due to this request.

Though it had started below Direth, his current opinion was now below Yukbeltire.

Bang!

"Have you arrived?"

"Yes."

The mad doppelganger who entered after opening the door looked around quickly and called a servant.

"To give a pigsty of a room to a royal disciple. Tell the owner immediately. If he doesn't provide a proper room, I will hold him responsible."

"Y-yes!"

As the terrified servant tried to rush out, the terrified Yi-Han threw himself to block him first.

"Wait, wait! I asked for this place!"

"Have you developed a habit of living like a beggar in the meantime? Well, seeing how you live in the magic school, it's possible."

'It's your fault!'

Yi-Han felt a bit wronged.

Of course, since the mad doppelganger wasn't the real person, he might feel wronged too, but he couldn't say he was completely free of responsibility.

"I deliberately rented this kind of room since I asked in a hurry."

Asan's brother had said he would drive out the Baldurguard mages staying in the building and lend the largest private room, but Yi-Han had shaken his head.

He didn't want to be featured in the imperial newspaper as <The Rudeness of an Arrogant Einroguard Student, Is This Alright?> for no reason.

And considering the mad doppelganger's identity, causing a commotion wasn't a good thing.

If the skull principal had nowhere to complain later, who would he complain to? He might be scolded for what he did while his fake was damaging his reputation.

The mad doppelganger sighed pitifully at Yi-Han's words, as if not knowing where to start explaining.

"To think you'd be this stupid. Should I have entrusted separate etiquette education to Intarendals? What do you think?"

"...Huh?"

Ilendil, who had been hiding in the corner, jumped in shock when the mad doppelganger suddenly pointed at her.

In fact, she had been hiding in the corner since he came in earlier.

The junior had been saying something, but Ilendil had been too scared to hear anything.

"I asked what you think. About this behavior of refusing the proper protocol a royal disciple should receive and trying to learn magic in a pigsty."

"Is... is... is it bad?"

"That's right."

The mad doppelganger nodded as if she had answered properly. At that sight, Ilendil let out a sigh of relief.

But Ilendil didn't notice.

That the contempt mixed in the junior's gaze had deepened even more.

'Is this person really a senior?'

To side with an outsider out of fear.

Yi-Han grumbled inwardly and opened his mouth.

"Hmph. I like it here. Maybe because I've been living like a beggar in Einroguard, this place feels familiar."

"What nonsense."

Thud!

Yi-Han threw himself onto the nearby sofa. At that sight which anyone could see was defiant, Ilendil trembled even more in fear.

The opponent was a great mage who could really rip open bellies!

"St-stop... Get up..."

"...Alright. Get up."

In the end, it was the mad doppelganger who gave in first.

He couldn't waste time unnecessarily when there wasn't enough time even to talk about magic.

"I suppose that's the relic you showed earlier."

"Yes. That's right."

Yi-Han nodded, pointing at the relic located in the center of the private room.

Currently, <Echo of the Demigod> was floating in the air, bound by three layers of temporary sealing artifacts.

As if that wasn't enough, it was suppressing any possible influence of the evil god with additional magic circles.

Pop!

As the mad doppelganger waved his hand, all the surrounding seals disappeared at once. Ilendil tensed up without realizing it.

Even for a great mage, to remove all the safety devices of such a relic.

As if that wasn't enough, the mad doppelganger unhesitatingly grabbed and lifted the relic with his hand.

"It's contaminated."

"Y-yes... What?!!!"

Whoosh!

After finishing his inspection, the mad doppelganger threw the relic to Yi-Han with a light motion.

As the junior calmly caught that relic, Ilendil collapsed with a scream.

'What...?!'

"??"

"Why is she like that?"

"The senior's health isn't very good."

"It doesn't seem like that."

Ilendil grasped her fading consciousness and focused on the master-disciple conversation going back and forth in a calm voice.

"You're... you're fine?"

"Huh? I'm fine. My resistance is strong... In the first place, Master wouldn't give me something I couldn't handle, right?"

"..."

At the sight of the mad doppelganger nodding as if it were natural, Ilendil felt her barely grasped consciousness fading again.

She suddenly realized just what level of monster this junior was.

"I can hear the evil god's voice, but it can't interfere more than necessary."

"That's right. Those so-called gods can't do anything once you remove their worshippers. Sit down. I'll explain."

Yi-Han sat in front of the mad doppelganger. Then he called Ilendil.

"Senior, you should sit too."

"..."

Ilendil looked at the junior resentfully once and sat down obediently.

This seat in front of the mad doppelganger was as painful as a burning throne of hell.

'Sob sob.'

"You remember the black coffin, right?"

"Yes."

"?"

"Ah. The black coffin is..."

Yi-Han explained to Ilendil instead.

It was magic that ancient mages used to imprison artificially created demigods, and the name of that magic was...

"...How do you know that?"

"I ended up helping somehow."

"..."

The distance in Ilendil's heart grew slightly further.

From a kind junior who loved spirits to a junior directly receiving magic instruction from the skull principal's mad doppelganger.

"The principle of this relic isn't much different from the black coffin's principle. If you remove the contamination and sever the connection with the evil god, it can be used as an auxiliary tool. If you do that, even you, disciple, could cast the black coffin alone."

"Senior. Did you hear?"

"..."

As the junior kept rebelling like a madman, Ilendil wanted to cry.

Could it be that the junior wanted to die together with the mad doppelganger?

"Stop talking nonsense and focus..."

-Excuse me?-

As someone knocked on the private room door, the mad doppelganger's eyebrows raised. Ilendil trembled inwardly.

"What is it?"

-We'd like to hear a few things about the mercenaries you captured.-

The mad doppelganger answered firmly to the actions of the annoying outsiders.

"Tell them to get lost."

"Please come in!"

"..."

"..."

The Granden City mages entered, expressing their gratitude.

Though they had already received reports about capturing the remnants of the evil god worshippers, hearing the detailed story directly was different.

"Who is this...?"

"Um... This is Lord Gonadaltes."

"Gasp!!! It's an honor! I-I had only glimpsed the skull state from afar..."

"Lord Gonadaltes says he's glad to meet you too."

Yi-Han interpreted beside the mad doppelganger, who was sitting still like a cold statue without saying a word.

Though the mad doppelganger clearly looked displeased to anyone, he didn't kill the mage, crush the private room, and above all, didn't swallow Ilendil's junior.

'...Maybe... he became sane by going mad twice.'

Ilendil formed a brilliant hypothesis with her brilliant mind.

Since the skull principal himself was such a mad person, the skull principal's mad doppelganger might be relatively sane.

If not, this patience couldn't be explained at all!