Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy Chapter 857

Chapter 857

'Well, it's Wardanaz, so he must have his reasons.'

'It would be troublesome if he got angry just because I asked.'

The seniors quietly remained silent.

It was easy to mistakenly think that the power in the kitchen club belonged to Falcrius, but in fact, the kitchen club didn't operate that way.

The power in the kitchen club belonged only to the person who secured a lot of ingredients (and was willing to share them).

In that respect, Yi-Han, who took out his own ingredients and shared them while cooking together, inevitably had more power than the cold-hearted Falcrius who didn't help with the juniors' cooking at all.

Let's not bring it up first!

  *

"Wardanaz. Do you know what you need to be careful about when raiding a herb garden?"

Falcrius asked as he watched his junior climbing up the slope.

For a moment, Yi-Han was confused whether this was the Change Location club or the kitchen club, but he quickly came to his senses.

Come to think of it, wasn't all of Einroguard like one big Change Location club?

"Don't we need to check if the owner is there or not?"

"Puhuh. That's a good answer too. But even before that, you need to check who the owner is."

Falcrius's voice contained the experience of a veteran herb garden raider.

The other kitchen club members nodded at those words.

"Who owns the herb garden is very important. The hardships that Arkan of the great alchemist Maykin family experienced after entering a dragon's herb garden are famous."

'What on earth did Yonaire's ancestor do?'

Yi-Han inwardly resolved to ask Yonaire what had happened when he met her later.

But apart from that, figuring out who the owner was certainly was an important task.

Basically, those who cultivate and care for herb gardens are fellow mages.

There's no way such herb gardens wouldn't be prepared when someone tries to raid them. The defenses varied greatly depending on what kind of mage it was.

'There could be retaliation too.'

"In that respect, we already know it's Professor Uregor. We can say it's very advantageous."

"What kind of owner is Professor Uregor?"

"Hmm. He's petty and mean, but he's not the type to set fatal traps for students."

"...Are there people who set fatal traps?"

"The skull principal or Professor Verduus."

"Ah."

Yi-Han immediately understood.

Those two seemed like they would do that and more.

"Still, Professor Uregor isn't the type to give generously. We have to be careful because we might be tracked if we leave traces carelessly. Senior Falcrius. Can we hear the records about the herb garden?"

Falcrius played back the testimony contained in the paper that the student had handed over earlier.

Memos were good, but it was also important for everyone to listen to the words left directly by the witness themselves.

-While I was staying on the cliff, Professor Uregor passed below. Professor Uregor said this: 'That madman Bentozol seems to have really gone too far, how can he be doing Wardanaz's chores instead...'-

"..."

"..."

The seniors stared at Yi-Han. Yi-Han spoke calmly.

"Professor Bentozol insisted on doing it instead."

"...I-I see."

'Is that possible? It doesn't seem like it.'

-The professor entered a hidden cave below the cliff, pulling three carts of luggage. When I checked later after the professor left, it was definitely a herb garden. I saw various related magic...-

"You couldn't check inside the herb garden?"

"It seems the professor disguised the entrance properly. It would have been difficult to break through alone. And there was no need to overdo it when it wasn't even his lecture. There it is."

Falcrius pointed below the cliff.

The green terrain with lush vegetation looked so dense from the outside that nothing could enter.

However, it couldn't escape the eyes of skilled Einroguard robbers, no, students.

"Clear it away."

"Yes."

Some of the seniors wielded potion bottles, while others wielded staffs.

As the streams of flame that shot out merged in mid-air and the power of alchemy was added, they transformed into a flame giant.

The flame giant neatly cut and burned the vegetation near the cliff like a harvesting farmer. Every time it swung its arm, flames erupted and space was created.

Yi-Han felt the comfort of not having to do anything for the first time in a long while.

'This is nice, coming with seniors.'

Originally, he would have had to do about five people's worth of work, but coming with the seniors, he could sit back and watch leisurely from behind.

The seniors also didn't give him any particular tasks, perhaps because Yi-Han was a junior.

"Should I do something too?"

"Huh? Wardanaz, you don't need to."

"...Thank you. I think I made the right choice joining the kitchen club."

"???"

The club members were bewildered by the sight of their junior who didn't need to come along but did, and then suddenly became emotional by himself.

What's wrong with him?

Whoosh-!

"I found it! Senior! It's here!"

"Move aside."

Falcrius fumbled in his backpack and took out a single boot.

Yi-Han looked at it curiously.

"What's that?"

"Professor Uregor's shoe. It's easy to track in places like this. Now, show us the owner's trail!"

When Falcrius shouted, the boot moved along the footprints on the ground.

The seniors naturally followed as if bringing a professor's boot was an obvious item to bring for such occasions.

Only Yi-Han was inwardly confused.

'Is it normal to just steal and bring a professor's boot for things like this?'

Perhaps Yi-Han should have stolen Professor Verduus's staff in advance.

With the obstructing vegetation cleared away and the exact footprints found, the tracking progressed quickly.

The students who discovered the entrance to the hidden cave below the cliff whistled.

"Shall we go in?"

"No. The professor set a final trap. It's troublesome."

Falcrius, who always smiled, frowned for the first time in a while as he glared at the entrance.

A very faint fragrance was flowing gently from inside the entrance.

Uregor's sunken incense!

Professor Uregor was an outstanding alchemist, but among his skills, he was especially excellent at combining fragrances.

To the extent that few among the kitchen club members here hadn't fallen victim to Professor Uregor's fragrances.

"What's sunken incense?"

"It's a fragrance that literally makes you sink underwater. It's quite tricky."

The moment a mage smelled the fragrance, they were dragged deep underwater.

It wasn't simply an illusion or sensory disturbance. It really dragged the soul momentarily into another realm.

Blocking one's nose was far from enough. The fragrance penetrated through people's skin and expanded to all five senses.

"The professor complained about not having reagents, but I guess he had reagents to make something like this!"

"He's really disgustingly petty!"

The students who came to raid the herb garden cursed the professor just because the defenses were thorough.

Yi-Han watched their reactions and said casually.

"Um, should I try to break through?"

"No. What are you saying? You just rest."

"Puhuh. Wardanaz. Don't worry. It's just tricky, but there are ways to break through. Has anyone here visited the underwater realm recently?"

"I visited a week ago, but I happened to fight with a mermaid there..."

"Uhaha. Then that won't do. You absolutely must not enter."

"I'll just try to break through..."

Yi-Han said once more, but Falcrius waved his pot lid-like hand to stop him.

"No, no. Just stay still, Wardanaz."

"..."

While the junior sat still with a sour expression, the seniors discussed seriously.

"Should we try to make a different entrance?"

"Let's not try anything too reckless when we don't know what kind of herbs they are. If the herbs are damaged, it defeats the purpose."

"What if we break through the day before the exam? Even if the herbs are damaged, we might not have to take the exam."

"That's too much of a gamble. Don't we have any gifts that would work in the underwater realm? We should negotiate after all."

"Ah. Those bastards will probably ask for pearls again. Why do they only like such expensive things? Why don't they accept just seashells? ...Wardanaz! Hey!"

As the seniors' conversation dragged on, Yi-Han quickly ran in.

When Uregor's sunken incense permeated his whole body, his soul shook for a moment and almost moved to another realm, but infinite mana provided weight and pushed back the fragrance.

Yi-Han, who broke through quickly, swung his black purplestone staff to erase the effect of the fragrance.

The seniors who arrived belatedly were shocked at that sight.

'Was this why he came along!'

'A genius really is different...!'

"Wa-Wardanaz. Is this why you said you'd come along?"

Even Falcrius seemed surprised as he stuttered slightly. Yi-Han, not understanding what he meant, asked back.

"What? What do you mean I came along for this...?"

"Puhuh. Never mind. It's nothing! Anyway, thanks for opening it. It's something we should have done originally. Having a smart junior is so convenient like this."

Falcrius laughed heartily.

The other kitchen club members beside him also laughed and said.

"That's right. You don't know how convenient it is that Wardanaz brings food too."

At those words, Falcrius stopped laughing and spoke seriously.

"That's not right."

"I-I'm sorry."

One should feel shame for living comfortably while taking food from juniors, not laugh about it.

"Anyway, let's go in. Follow me. This is... Nephertum. Oh my. Everyone step back."

"!"

Flowers that looked like blue water lilies were settled in the pond inside the cave.

Although the outer appearance was like a water lily, a pure and transparent mana that couldn't be commonly seen was felt from inside.

Falcrius was very careful in case they approached and contaminated the surroundings.

This Nephertum was a plant extremely vulnerable to contamination, so great care was needed from cultivation to harvesting.

"This is for the 2nd year exam."

"That's right."

Hearing the seniors' conversation from the side, Yi-Han asked curiously.

"How do you know? Did you seniors also take an exam using Nephertum?"

"Huh? No."

Along with his words, the senior pointed to the side with his finger.

There was a sign that Professor Uregor had put up.

Nephertum (Vulnerable to contamination, Handle with care, For 2nd year exam)

Yi-Han shuddered anew at Professor Uregor's kindness.

"...Then should we harvest this? We're lucky."

"That's not it."

"?"

"If it were an exam to obtain this, the professor wouldn't cultivate it so carefully. He'd just tell us to get it. This is very rarely... an exam where the professor provides the materials."

"!"

Yi-Han was surprised.

To think Professor Uregor would give reagents and conduct an exam.

"Is that really true?!"

After shouting in surprise, Yi-Han paused for a moment.

'Actually, this might not be something to be so surprised about.'

Maybe exams were originally supposed to be where professors give what's needed.

In fact, maybe Professor Uregor was the strange one...

"Sometimes professors do give materials. Very rarely, but. The problem is..."

The seniors looked at Yi-Han as if regretful.

"Such exams are much more difficult. The logic is that since they even prepared the materials, it's okay for it to be difficult."

'This is really absurd.'

Yi-Han cursed inwardly but couldn't refute the seniors' words.

If it was Professor Uregor, he would surely raise the difficulty, if only to not waste his efforts in preparing the materials himself.

'Why is he suddenly trying to raise the difficulty? It's not like the 2nd years are particularly smart.'

Without realizing that he had inadvertently hit the nail on the head, Yi-Han wondered.

"But don't worry too much. We'll organize and tell you about the potions likely to use Nephertum, so you can focus on studying those."

"That's right. Actually, you didn't need to come along like today."

"?"

Yi-Han realized the identity of the discomfort he had been feeling.

Could it be...?

"...Perhaps I didn't need to come along today?"

"Huh? Yeah."

"..."