Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 472

“I thought so.”

Ihan had planned to get investment from Gainando for his future business, but he gave up.

No matter how he thought about it, he worried it could cause problems.

“Actually, you’re dancing quite well already.”

“Really?”

Ihan’s face brightened.

Yoner had been to many balls. She knew what she was talking about. If that was really the case, it would be easier to participate in balls or banquets to find sponsors later.

“You stepped on my foot once, but anyone can make that mistake.”

“……”

Ihan couldn’t bring himself to admit that he had deliberately stepped on Rowena’s foot, so he remained silent.

“Isn’t this enough? Did you think it was lacking?”

“When the waltz or round dance is played, the new dances we learned won’t be enough, and they won’t suit concertos either…”

“…Are you planning to become a professional dancer?”

It wasn’t as if he was a professional dancer invited to liven up the atmosphere of a ball. There was no need to go that far. One or two dances were enough.

Yoner looked annoyed at her friend’s ridiculous goals.

“Oh, right. A letter came from your family.”

“Did Yoaneen send it?”

“…Don’t say such horrible things!”

Unlike usual, Yoner vehemently denied it.

Yoaneen was a good sister, but not a good pen pal.

If Yoaneen had sent a letter, it would be dozens of pages filled with stories about new potions that Yoner had no interest in.

What was even more dreadful was that she would sulk if Yoner didn’t read it all and reply diligently.

‘Information about newly developed potions wouldn’t be so bad…’

Ihan mentally prepared himself for a slap from Yoner.

Of course, it would be annoying, but the methods for making newly developed potions were valuable.

“Then who sent it?”

“Remember what Nilia submitted last time?”

“Ah, that.”

In the discussions on imperial political affairs and their solutions that the Maykin family held periodically, Nilia had given an excellent answer.

With the political instability worsening in the southern coastal region of the Empire, the production area of Sangoria flowers, how should alchemists respond?

There are many unemployed hunters in the north, so send them to the southern coast… They are good at dealing with monsters because they can attack from a distance… If the monsters are caught well, people will be happy and political instability will decrease… I’m sorry…

It was a very smart plan. Nilia thought of using hunters from the north when they were not busy. They could go to the south to catch monsters and help collect Sangoria flowers. This was good because they didn’t need to use more wizards from the area. Wizards can be expensive, and some people don’t like wizards coming to their towns. Ihan thought, ‘Nilia’s plan is really smart and works well!’

‘Nilia is too pessimistic.’

Ihan thought to himself.

She should be proud of coming up with such a plan, but she kept complaining and saying things like, ‘This isn’t it.’

‘Well, maybe that kind of personality makes the plan more perfect.’

“Why?”

“The family said they’ve finished preparing and are going ahead with it? They’re coming to Einroguard.”

“Really?”

Even if they borrowed the strength of the northern hunters, they couldn’t completely entrust such a task to them.

He would have to go with them to advise on which monsters to catch, collect Sangoria flowers directly, and mediate if the southern coast guilds got angry… Of course, Maykin family staff members had to go along.

It would be even better if a few more outstanding wizards attended.

He already knew that the Maykin family had suggested ‘How about inviting a professor from Einroguard?’ during the vacation, but he was a little surprised that they were actually coming.

‘They managed to get permission during the semester. Did they donate a lot of money?’

Ihan thought it was quite likely. Knowing the headmaster’s personality, he wouldn’t miss such an opportunity, even if it meant he had to take over the teaching duties himself.

“So, which professor is disappearing?”

“Well? It wasn’t written down.”

“Could the headmaster be disappearing?”

“I don’t think so. Rather than disappearing, Ihan, it’s being invited…”

“I hope Professor Begreck isn’t disappearing?”

“……”

Yoner was about to say something, but she felt sorry for her friend and just held back and answered.

“Professor Begreck doesn’t seem like a specialist in alchemy, so I don’t think he’ll come.”

“No, they might need an escort since they’re going so far.”

“Uhm…”

“What about Professor Verdus? Professor Verdus is also an expert in enchantment magic, so it’s worth going, isn’t it?”

“Professor is in the punishment room.”

“We can take him out to work and then lock him up in the punishment room again.”

Yoner lamented inwardly how hard things must have been for her friend to become like this.

Indeed, all the students in the four towers were overly dependent on Ihan.

After that, Ihan indulged in happy fantasies about ‘Which professor will disappear? Can several disappear?’

Yoner felt unnecessarily sorry and closed her mouth, just stepping to the music.

Thud!

Gainando, who had woken up late, hurriedly opened the door and came in with his friends.

“I-I’m sorry! I overslept! Because of the headmaster’s scheme!”

“Student Gainando! If you’re late, you should acknowledge it and apologize with dignity. Such excuses aren’t good!”

“It really is a scheme…”

“Ahem!”

“The rain has eased up a bit.”

“But it’s still raining too much, isn’t it?”

“What do you think, Tanjuer?”

The exams were over, and the students gathered at the temporary dock in front of the library, looking up at the pouring sky and murmuring.

It was the weekend, and they wanted to rest, but the flood showed no signs of ending.

‘Is it really not going to stop until the end of the semester?’

Don’t… torment me…

“I’m just asking?”

That’s… tormenting me… Quickly… release me…

“We’ll release you when the flood ends.”

Why… are you tormenting me like this…

Tanjuer shed tears like beads.

The students would have felt sorry for him normally, but the empathy of the students who had spent more than half a year in Einroguard had deteriorated more than expected.

“Nothing will change if you do that.”

“That’s right. I heard it in the lecture. Never waver even if the contracted being appeals with tears.”

Trash… wizards… release me…

While such conversations were taking place outside, similar stories were being exchanged inside.

“If we don’t clear this out quickly, Mac might attack again. Besides, there are probably other monsters in the library.”

“I hate to admit it, but Moradi is right about this. Wodanaz, what do you think?”

“Hmm… If Professor Begrek disappears… No. Professor Verdus… No. Maybe the Skull Headmaster is a possibility…”

“Wodanaz? Wodanaz?”

Giselle and Salco were surprised when Ethan stopped talking and seemed lost in thought.

It was strange when a friend acted differently. It made Giselle and Salco feel uneasy.

“Ah, sorry. I was lost in thought. What were we talking about?”

“How long the flood will last. The seniors have finished their exams, so shouldn’t they be solving problems like this soon?”

Ethan answered Salco’s question immediately.

“Uh, no, I don’t think so.”

“…Not? Why not?”

“Well, the seniors…”

It was easy for a student who had just entered Einroguard to think this way: If there’s a problem at school, there are plenty of older students, so they’ll take care of it, right?

But surprisingly, it was the opposite at Einroguard. Whether there was a blizzard, a flood, or lava flowing through the school, the older students had the ability to take care of themselves, so there was no need for them to resolve anything. Unfortunately, as underclassmen, the first-year students had to step up.

And there was a practical reason too. The higher the grade, the busier they became, so they had less time to solve problems like this.

“……”

“……”

Giselle and Salco’s faces twisted as they listened to Ethan’s logical explanation.

Ethan felt like he could hear their inner thoughts, even though he wasn’t using mental magic. ‘They’re cursing the Skull Headmaster.’

“So, we have to solve it?”

“Yeah, I guess so. Looks like it’s up to us.”

Ethan, who had been listening to Salco and Giselle’s conversation, was slightly surprised. What they were saying was too much.

‘Do we really have to solve it?’ Of course, it would be good to solve it, but the things that happened at Einroguard were mostly things that couldn’t be solved by human power.

In times like these, it was wisest to leave it to time rather than wasting energy.

“Wodanaz, I heard you have a Helmet of Wisdom. Can we ask the helmet about this?” Salco asked cautiously.

Since it involved using the other person’s artifact, it couldn’t be helped if Ethan refused. It was also true that wasting a chance to use it now was a concern.

“There was?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“……”

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

Giselle’s mind became complicated when Ethan denied it. ‘What is it? Did Tutankha talk nonsense? Or is Wodanaz lying? What kind of helmet is it?’

Salco’s mind was similarly complicated. ‘Did I hear wrong? I definitely heard there was such a helmet? Could it be a rumour from the Headmaster?’

“Ah, I know what you’re talking about,” Ethan finally realized when he saw his friends looking embarrassed.

“There’s a strange helmet. You’re talking about the one I picked up in the school’s underground dungeon, right? It wasn’t very useful, so I tried to sell it to a store, but they refused.”

“……”

“……”

They shouted inwardly, ‘Why would you sell that!’

“It doesn’t seem very useful, but if you want, Salco, we can try it out. But be careful, it’s a cursed artifact.”

“I, I see. So that’s why you didn’t seem to use it.”

“No, it’s not because I’m worried about the curse, it’s just that I don’t have much use for it. It’s not helpful.”

“……”

Ethan rummaged through his backpack and took out the helmet. The helmet, happy to be out of the dark pocket, cried out with joy.

“Finally! Is it time to lend my wicked wisdom? I know what you want. You want to be the top student, don’t you? If you only had my potion of vision…”

“Oh? Really?” Gainando looked interested and looked at it. Ethan smacked him on the back of the head and said,

“No. I’m going to ask something else.”

“Finally!!!” The helmet was so happy that it vibrated back and forth.

Ethan suddenly felt a little sorry for it. ‘Did I neglect it too much?’ If he wasn’t going to use it, he should have found it a new owner, but maybe he had been neglecting it too much.

“Ask! Ask!”

“What should we do to end this flood?”

…Huh?

The helmet flickered its lights in confusion. Surprisingly, the school was in chaos due to a spirit flood.

“Don’t you know?”

“Ah, no. I know. I know… My goal is to increase my knowledge, whether my owner dies or not, but isn’t this too dangerous…” The helmet, which Professor Verdus changed so it always tells the truth, chattered.

Ethan made a bitter expression. Come to think of it, even a helmet that puts its student owner in danger has lived dangerously enough to think, ‘Isn’t this a bit too dangerous?’ A life where you reflect on yourself after seeing a cursed helmet!

“The best way is a sacrifice.”

“A sacrifice?”

“Yes. A spirit’s anger tends to disappear over time, but there were several ways to appease it quickly. One of them was a sacrifice. To cause a flood of this magnitude, there must be a named spirit! In that case, it would naturally want a specific sacrifice.”

“What kind of sacrifice should we offer?”

“How would I know that? I don’t even know what kind of spirit it is…”

“You’re supposed to be a Helmet of Wisdom, aren’t you?” Ethan looked genuinely disappointed.

The helmet was very surprised.

“The question is only one at a time in the first place! I answered, so I will get its power back.”

“……”

“I hope you call me as soon as possible next time my power is restored!” The helmet’s light went out.

Ethan looked at it and asked his friends,

“Anyone want to buy it?”