Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy Chapter 852

Chapter 852

The one checking the 6th space of the backpack most calmly was Sebius.

While Zandanni was moved by the miraculous friendship and Yi-Han was speaking seriously, Sebius calmly checked inside.

"...Wait."

"What's the matter?"

"This looks like someone opened it once. Look here."

Sebius cast a spell to project the 6th space as an illusion. An enlarged image of the space appeared before the mages.

It looked like a retired mage's workshop. The difference was that instead of the mage packing their things when retiring, it seemed they had left them for their successor.

A birch workbench for examining and classifying reagents, a high-quality alchemy cauldron with eight burners, gem drawers for reagents neatly organized by color, a bookshelf with spare staffs and magic books, boxes filled with gold and silver coins...

Yi-Han asked curiously.

"Couldn't the Einroguard senior have stocked this before closing the space?"

"No. That's..."

"Ah. It's certainly strange! It doesn't make sense that an Einroguard student would pile up those gems or gold and silver coins here, right?"

Yi-Han hit his palm with his fist as if he understood.

Sebius glared at his junior and said.

"...Look at the side too."

"?"

Yi-Han turned his gaze. There were words written on the wall forming the 6th space.

[In memory of my friendship with my big Einroguard friend, I leave my passion for the Einroguard student who will someday open this backpack instead of a Baldurguard student. Please use it well. And forgive the Baldurguard student for turning it inside out.

-Ipeldrem]

"Sen... Senior!"

Zandanni shouted in surprise at the name of the legendary Baldurguard senior.

"It's the senior's name! The one who passed down this bag!"

"...Why are such words written there?"

"That... Could it be that the senior predicted a situation like this?"

Zandanni, who was flustered, put forward a hypothesis.

If the senior had opened the space maze and belatedly heard the message left by his friend, he would have been deeply moved by that friendship.

And then he would have thought like this.

As Einroguard and Baldurguard are the two driving forces leading the empire...

"...Ah, this bastard, really."

"Senior! Why are you really acting like this, Senior!"

Yi-Han was about to hit him but stopped in panic when Sebius tried to rush in first.

It's more surprising when someone who usually doesn't act that way explodes.

Zandanni asked in surprise.

"W-why are you acting like this?"

"Continue. Except for the two driving forces part!"

...Anyway, the senior might have thought that the misunderstanding between Einroguard and Baldurguard should be resolved and they should become closer.

Einroguard students could exchange magic, while Baldurguard students could exchange dignity and honor...

"..."

"..."

Zandanni flinched at the murderous gazes of the two mages.

"D-did I say something wrong again?"

"Please continue."

...with each other.

But misunderstandings couldn't be resolved so easily.

So the senior closed the backpack again and left it for his juniors.

So that someday when the juniors opened this, they could directly hear and be moved by the goodwill left by the Einroguard friend.

"Then what do you mean by leaving it for those Einroguard students?"

"That's simple. Since Baldurguard students can't open this, they'll call an Einroguard student, and then they'll witness this together, won't they?"

"...What nonsense... Does that make sense?"

"But it turned out like this..."

Yi-Han was at a loss for words at Zandanni's appearance, hesitating but still saying what he wanted to say.

...He had a point?

"Senior. Please refute this."

"...Hmm."

"Senior!"

Despite Yi-Han's cry, Sebius kept his mouth shut.

Given how things had turned out, it was difficult to refute.

Garal spoke as if still surprised.

"So you're saying this Baldurguard senior personally opened this, confirmed his friend's message, then filled it with gifts and closed it again?"

"Yes!"

"There was a mage with that level of skill in Baldurguard?"

"...What do you mean?"

"Ah, nothing..."

When his employer glared at him, Garal avoided his gaze while watching his reaction.

Meanwhile, Yi-Han, who had somewhat recovered from the shock, whispered and talked with Sebius.

"Then this mage called Ipeldrem must have met with his Einroguard friend again, right?"

"Probably so."

"That's a relief at least."

"I don't think it's a relief."

"What? Why? Because he maintained friendship with a Baldurguard student?"

"...It's not that, but if he went to meet the Einroguard senior, he probably got dragged to the punishment room together. That's just like the principal's personality."

Although the skull principal was relatively lenient to outsiders, it was a bit different for students from other magic schools.

If someone came secretly to Einroguard to meet a student in the punishment room, the skull principal would have more than enough reason to imprison them.

"Come on. That's not a big deal. Doesn't everyone go to the punishment room at least once?"

"..."

Sebius was about to tell his junior that 'outsiders never even spit towards Einroguard after going to the punishment room just once' but stopped.

"More importantly, it's fortunate that there was no misunderstanding left between the two of them."

"That's true."

"But seeing how he blocked the space again instead of just giving this backpack to any Einroguard student, it seems he didn't learn much from the punishment room."

'He's my junior, but he's really scary sometimes.'

Sebius shuddered at Yi-Han's coldness.

How could he say such things after seeing that?

"Here. Please accept this."

Zandanni held out the backpack.

Seeing the words left by the senior, he could understand why this backpack was left for Baldurguard students.

It was left with instructions to pass it on when they found an Einroguard student they could share friendship with someday.

'Senior. I think I finally understand your intentions.'

"But this is something we stole anyway..."

"Shh. Be quiet."

Sebius covered his junior's mouth.

There was no need to torment the other party when they were ending things nicely and even giving them the item.

  *

Yi-Han shouldered the newly acquired backpack and left the <Visitor Quarters> town with Sebius.

Surprisingly, Sebius willingly gave up the backpack to his junior. Without asking for anything in return.

"Is this really okay?"

"Yes. I originally thought this was Einroguard property and wanted to bring it back. According to the senior's intentions, it's right for you to receive it."

"?"

Yi-Han tilted his head.

"What do you mean?"

"It was left for the Baldurguard friend, and the Baldurguard friend left it for a future Einroguard friend."

Since Zandanni considered Wardanaz as a friend, it was right for Wardanaz to have this.

Yi-Han was shocked.

"But we're not friends???"

From the start, it wasn't easy to become friends with a 4th year Baldurguard student who thought he was a 6th year.

Where should he even begin?

Sebius replied as if annoyed.

"Then go return it."

"Come to think of it, I guess I could consider him a friend."

Yi-Han gave up immediately.

Certainly, when problems arose later, 'I received it from a friend' was better for making excuses than 'I stole it'.

'Right. I can be friends for an artifact like this.'

Although he wasn't entirely willing, he could endure it thinking of this backpack and the items inside.

Yi-Han checked the items in the 6th space again. Various magical items were there, of course, but the gems for reagents and the box of gold coins were especially touching.

'Do these Baldurguard bastards pile up things like this in their workshop and do magic? It's maddening.'

At that point, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it pleasure and luxury rather than magic.

Sebius, who was beside him, was silent as if deeply lost in thought. Yi-Han asked, wondering.

"What's wrong, Senior?"

'Is there something you want from inside?'

If Sebius asked to divide the items inside as his share, Yi-Han was willing to share.

As a senior who had helped Yi-Han, Sebius could take the items from spaces 1 to 5, and Yi-Han would modestly take the 6th space.

"I was thinking about how strange it was that there was a curse on the space maze earlier."

"Wasn't that a precaution?"

"If the principal or Professor Verduus had gotten their hands on it, they would have opened it right away."

From the Einroguard senior's perspective, he would have had to prepare for situations other than his friend opening it normally.

Especially since he had stolen items from the skull principal and Professor Verduus to make it.

'Come to think of it, I should be careful too.'

Yi-Han resolved to change the backpack's outer appearance as soon as he returned.

Although quite some time had passed, weren't they both among the most persistent figures in Einroguard?

"That would have been the case originally. But this was opened by a Baldurguard student and then closed again. He would have known it would be dangerous for his juniors if he put the curse back."

Sebius's point was reasonable.

If juniors later opened the bag to become friends with each other and got hit by a curse, 'Those vile Baldurguard bastards, it's a trap!' would come out before any friendship.

Sebius couldn't understand why something like this wasn't left behind.

"It seems like he would have left advice on how to open it correctly, not forcibly like us... Strange."

"Ah. I think I know."

"What is it?"

"Since Baldurguard bastards never read magic books, they used the backpack the senior left behind, but they probably threw away the book he left, thinking it was a magic book. How about that?"

"..."

Sebius was slightly worried that his junior might dislike Baldurguard too much.

'But... it does sound plausible!'

  *

"Where did this bag come from?"

"I received it from a Baldurguard student."

"I see. So you stole it."

"No. I said I received it."

"Yeah. I got it. I got it."

"..."

Yi-Han made a sour expression at his friends' reactions.

"Yonaire. Does 'received' perhaps sound like 'stole' to you?"

"Huh? Yeah."

"...I really received it."

"What? How?!"

Yonaire was more surprised than when they had opened the artifact.

How on earth did he just receive this?

"Well... We became close by chance and it's a token of friendship."

"..."

Yonaire wondered whether she should lie and say 'I believe you' as a token of friendship, even though she didn't believe her friend.

Yi-Han shook his head bitterly.

"Forget it. Don't believe me."

"N-no. I believe you. I said I believe you, didn't I?"

Meanwhile, his friends started emptying each space inside and filling them with necessary items one by one.

"No. Why are you putting in mana potions? Wardanaz doesn't need them!"

"By that logic, why are you putting in food? Most of the food Wardanaz carries around is eaten by others!"

"...Let's put in mana potions too."

"See!"

His friends took out all the quality wine from the 1st space and filled it with potions.

In the 2nd space, they cleared out various toys and filled it with food, in the 3rd space, they cleared out expensive outerwear and put in survival gear like sleeping bags, cloaks, and coats. In the 4th space, they took out the Toveris series and...

"Ah, no! How could anyone...?!"

Gainando was shocked to see the rare out-of-print edition.

"Yi-Han! Who gave you this?! What kind of person are they?!"

"Gainando. Is that important right now? Hurry up and choose magic books to put in."

"Hey! Do you know how amazing this...!"

In the 5th space, they took out the ballgame horse gear and put in various animal equipment and tools. They left the 6th space as it was for now. They planned to take things out and use them as needed later.

"?"

Yi-Han, who was about to close the backpack entrance after checking inside the 6th space, was puzzled by an item he hadn't seen before.

'What's this? I didn't see it earlier?'

It was a letter.

A letter left by Zandanni in the name of the Alzadek family, asking me to visit Baldurguard sometime.

Yi-Han sighed softly upon seeing it. Then he took out a quill.

"Yi-Han. What are you doing?"

"Writing a reply to the letter."