Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy Chapter 784

Chapter 784

The message Yi-Han sent with evil intentions arrived soon.

On the 7th floor, at the cafe <Sword-Wielding Mage> where White Tiger Tower students mainly gathered, Jijel, who was resting while sipping acorn coffee, was puzzled when she received the message.

"Wardanaz persuaded Senior Jahan?"

"That's right! Moradi. Congratulations!"

"You bastard, did you bribe him?"

The friends beside her glared as if very suspicious.

No matter how they thought about it, there was no reason for Wardanaz to show kindness without any compensation.

"Wh-what?! Bribe?! You say bribe?! How dare you...! Draw your sword! It's a duel!"

The White Tiger Tower student who was insulted by his friends jumped up and down.

At that attitude, the other friends flinched slightly. They felt the other's sincerity.

"Hmm. Is that not the case? Maybe we thought wrong."

"I'll take back what I just said... Wait. Why do you smell like meat? It's still far from Wardanaz's ration time."

Although Wardanaz had secured plenty of food through smuggling at the beginning of the semester, Einroguard's cold rules prevented buying these foods freely.

The cruel seniors wouldn't just stand by and watch as they bought plenty at cheap prices.

They had to secretly pay money and buy on set days at set times, which students from other towers called Wardanaz's rations.

Thanks to this, they didn't starve to death, but they couldn't eat luxuriously like outside. Even more so when calculating stockpiling for unexpected situations.

So what was this meat smell?

"Traces, reveal yourselves... Y-you bastard! What's this! It's like meat juice??"

"W-Wardanaz was working at the kitchen club, so I secretly received one choripan."

"...You did bribe!! 100% bribe!!"

"I'm telling you it's not! Choi was invited too!"

The White Tiger Tower students who were about to pounce on their friend immediately stopped.

If Dolgyu was invited too, it was a slightly different story.

"If it's Choi then..."

"Come to think of it, that Wardanaz bastard, didn't he visit Moradi family territory during winter break?"

"Shh. Be quiet. Moradi will try to kill you if you mention that."

"Why on earth?"

"Probably because if rumors spread about a political alliance between the northern Moradi family and Wardanaz family, it could unite political opponents in the current imperial political system composed of loyalists, aristocrats, and neutrals."

"Indeed. Especially western noble families could react even more sensitively. They're already spewing anger because knight orders were deployed to the north first."

"That's right. We're from knight families, but at the same time we need to act honorably as Einroguard students."

"..."

Jijel stopped as she was about to swing her sword behind her.

It was good that her friends' intelligence had risen after adapting to magic school, but they kept using their intelligence for things other than magic.

"If he invited Choi too, it's probably not a trap. I don't know what he's thinking. Surely it's not a childish idea like asking us to take difficult lectures together..."

"Uwahahahat! Moradi, even if you dislike Wardanaz, come on. Would someone like Wardanaz have such a childish thought?!"

When all the White Tiger Tower students laughed, Jijel's face reddened slightly too.

Even she thought it was too ridiculous a reason.

"I just threw it out there."

"Kuhahahahaha!"

"What do you think?"

"Uwahahahaha!"

Thud thud thud!

"I asked what you think."

"W-well. Maybe Senior just wanted to teach Moradi too when he called Choi?"

"..."

Jijel frowned then nodded.

They would find out anyway when they went.

  *

"Huhu. How is it, everyone?"

"It-it's tough, but rewarding. Thank you, Yi-Han."

"...It's an honor to be able to learn like this in our spare time. Wardanaz."

"?"

Yi-Han was flustered seeing his two friends collapsed on the floor, panting.

Huh?

"Isn't it painful and tormenting to come out and learn like this in your spare time? You won't have any rest time?"

"Hmm. I'm fine since my next period is empty."

"I don't mind either since my next period is empty too."

"..."

Yi-Han felt a sense of dissonance when his friends' reactions were different from expected.

Originally, it should have been 'To think it was this kind of teaching, kuk I was deceived!'...

...But these two friends were accepting it better than expected.

"Aren't you angry that I called you for this kind of teaching?"

"It's harsh and painful, but isn't one lecture like this bearable?"

"I agree with Choi."

-Don't other people only take lectures like this like Master?-

The baby basilisk asked, tilting its head.

Listening from inside the sleeve, other students' lecture schedules felt quite different from its master's lecture schedule.

It thought they were supposed to be much harsher and more painful...?

"...I see. So one is bearable."

"That's right."

"I'm going to my next lecture now, want to audit it together?"

"No?"

Jijel answered immediately as if saying 'What are you talking about?'

Not only was Jijel not an all-schools student like Yi-Han, but she also wasn't stupid enough to be greedy about areas she wasn't currently learning.

It was enough to work hard on the lectures she was taking.

"It could be a good experience if you audit?"

"...Wardanaz. You're not doing this because I'm not having a hard time, are you?"

Jijel asked, thinking it couldn't be.

She wondered if he was doing this because, unlike Wardanaz, the two of them had free time during lectures and enough rest, so they were accepting Senior Jahan's teachings too easily.

"Moradi. That's rude. How can you say that about Yi-Han? Yi-Han persuaded the senior for us."

Dolgyu argued in a stern voice.

Persuading Senior Jahan to let friends learn together wasn't something just anyone could do.

Jijel seemed to think so too, as she apologized unusually.

"That's... true. I apologize. Wardanaz. It was rude of me to say that after receiving."

"No, it's fine. Haha. ...Are you all not interested in magic combat by any chance?"

  *

Yi-Han headed to the lecture hall with a bitter expression.

'It's unfair. Why do my friends take fewer difficult lectures?'

No matter how much he tried to think it couldn't be helped, it was hard to accept easily.

Yi-Han checked the lecture name.

<From Caterpillar to Dragon>

'Fortunately it's easy to understand.'

Anyone could see it was a transformation magic lecture.

The problem was what year lecture it was!

'It would be nice if it's 2nd year, but probably not.'

None of his friends were taking <From Caterpillar to Dragon>. He might have missed it, but he had to assume it wasn't a 2nd year lecture for now.

High possibility of 3rd year. Possibility of 4th year like a meteor falling from clear sky...

Even Yi-Han thought Calendarium probably wouldn't have recommended up to 4th year lectures, but in Einroguard, one should never let their guard down.

Tap tap tap tap!

"?"

Yi-Han paused at the sight of a familiar senior running from ahead.

"Senior Hormasi?"

"Oh, junior. What brings you here?"

The 3rd year senior from the ballgame club, who had been running like the wind, stopped when she saw Yi-Han.

"I'm going to a lecture."

"There's only one lecture hall in this alley? You're not taking <From Caterpillar to Dragon>, are you?"

"I came to take that."

"What? But that's a 3rd year lecture..."

Carnela looked Yi-Han up and down, then let out an "Ah" exclamation.

"Right, you were that kid?"

"..."

"Yeah. Welcome. Learning transformation magic can't hurt."

Carnela welcomed the junior while twirling the riding crop in her hand.

It wasn't bad to have an outstanding junior enter the same school.

Of course, that junior was involved in all other schools too...

-Master. I'm scared of that person!-

"?"

"Wait!"

Before Yi-Han could answer, Carnela stretched her hand forward and signaled to be quiet with a "Shh!" sound.

"What's wrong?"

"Didn't you just hear a basilisk cry?"

-...-

The baby basilisk felt chills and coiled around Yi-Han's arm even tighter.

It felt like it would be captured by that ruthless dark elf the moment it was dragged out of the sleeve.

"Didn't you mishear? Maybe another snake-family monster..."

"No, junior. What nonsense are you saying? The cry of a basilisk has a different pitch from snake-family monsters. You, you shouldn't raise a basilisk without knowing such things!"

Carnela scolded the junior for saying strange things. Yi-Han understood why the baby basilisk was afraid of this senior.

"Wasn't it your basilisk that spoke?"

"My basilisk is sleeping right now."

"Hmm... If it woke up and spoke, I wanted to have a chat..."

Carnela glared intently at Yi-Han's sleeve. Yi-Han could feel the baby basilisk's tail trembling pitifully.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"Nothing much."

The tall dark elf senior shrugged while crossing her arms.

"What food it likes, when it sleeps and wakes up..."

'That's relatively okay.'

"When and how it defecates, when its breeding season is..."

'This person is crazy.'

Yi-Han realized the baby basilisk's instinct was right.

"Just such trivial chatter? I do want to use the basilisk language I studied a bit."

"You know basilisk language?!"

"I can't use it well. I just learned it. More importantly, junior. If you're taking the <From Caterpillar to Dragon> lecture, you'll have to help this Hormasi. I was on my way to catch a senior."

"A senior?"

"Yeah. This lecture is done alternately by the professor and a senior. But the senior keeps running away."

"..."

To Yi-Han, who only knew of fleeing Verd-, no, professors, a fleeing senior was quite novel.

"Is that allowed?"

"Usually not. You go to the punishment room."

Actually, going to the punishment room was the problem, but if you were prepared for the punishment room, there were surprisingly many things you could do at Einroguard.

Fleeing after taking charge of a lecture, raiding the principal's office, escaping school, and so on.

Yi-Han sensed the senior must be quite crazy, even though he hadn't met them yet.

"Ah, right. I heard you're quite sociable, junior?"

"Pardon? Me?"

"I heard you handled the guests when transformation mages gathered last year?"

"...Ah. That's right."

Yi-Han's face hardened as the memory from last year came back.

The transformation school mages who came from outside were all energetic and enjoyed conversation.

In contrast, Einroguard's transformation school mages were relatively introverted people, so they wanted a junior to handle the annoying tasks.

And Yi-Han was the only junior there.

'It's ridiculous even thinking about it now.'

"It's really fortunate a sociable junior joined. Our school has no sociable people."

"But aren't you quite sociable, Senior Hormasi?"

"Uh... well."

Carnela scratched her cheek awkwardly.

The junior's words were only correct in a very small part and wrong for the rest.

"I usually... only know how to talk to people who like ballgames or animals. When I talk to people with other hobbies, they all run away?"

"..."

Yi-Han finally recalled that 'talkative' is not 'sociable'.

'Well, Professor Verduus was talkative too...'

"What about the senior you're looking for now?"

"Ah. This senior is the most..."

"The most?"

Yi-Han hoped 'sociable' would follow.

"...unsociable and eccentric person."

"I see..."

Yi-Han became depressed.

Why couldn't he find a normal, decent senior at Einroguard?

Carnela patted Yi-Han's back hard and encouraged him.

"But this senior has an advantage!"

"What kind of advantage...? Is it the advantage of running away from lectures?"

"Hmm. This senior has the best talent for making money at Einroguard."

At those words, Yi-Han's heart, which had frozen like ice, started beating rapidly again.