Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 558

Coffee dripped from Hodrong’s face. He took a handkerchief and wiped it, his eyes fixed on Iunrade.

Iunrade felt like he had a million excuses to make.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!!”

“It’s fine. It’s alright.”

Hodrong, having wiped off all the coffee, spoke with a suspicious glint in his eyes.

“Did Gonadaltes send you?”

“…No!!”

Iunrade, suddenly fearing he would be strangled by Hodrong – or worse, by the Skull Headmaster back at Einrogaard – strongly said no.

“Why would he do such a thing!?”

“There are plenty of reasons. To create confusion by splashing coffee and then steal my bag. Or to launch an attack while I’m briefly away.”

Hodrong deeply distrusted the mages of Einrogaard.

In fact, not only Hodrong but most of the empire’s officials didn’t quite trust the mages of Einrogaard.

There had been a few people who visited Einrogaard in the past and were caught up in unfortunate magical accidents.

Duke Gonadaltes had pleaded with tears in his eyes, insisting it was purely coincidental, but the officials didn’t believe him.

“Or perhaps it’s emotional retaliation.”

“No! Really, it’s not!”

“Alright. I’ll believe you for now. But keep your distance.”

Hodrong gestured, openly suspicious of his subordinate. Iunrade stepped back, expressing his innocence with his whole body.

“Now then. Let’s go.”

“Yes? Where are we going?”

“You just heard, didn’t you? They said an Einrogaard student caught a wanted criminal.”

“Ah.”

Only then did Iunrade remember why he had spat out his coffee.

‘This is a disaster!’

The people of the city were shouting, ‘An Einrogaard student caught a wanted criminal!’ but Iunrade wasn’t fooled.

After all, Iunrade was also from Einrogaard.

It was clear that people were mistaken.

At first, the cry was ‘An Einrogaard student is a wanted criminal!’ but as it spread from person to person, it changed to ‘What? An Einrogaard student caught a wanted criminal?’

“Ho, Hodrong-nim. Perhaps it’s just a rumour? The city is always full of rumours. There’s no need to waste your time on such things!”

Iunrade tried to stop him, complaining to himself why he had to go to such lengths.

‘If only those juniors could handle things properly, there wouldn’t be a problem!’

“Are you even listening to yourself right now? Come along. I need to see what’s going on.”

“Ah, no… there are so many people, and there might be pickpockets…”

Hodrong seemed to gain even more conviction from Iunrade’s hesitant attitude.

He would see with his own eyes what the Einrogaard student was up to and put a stop to it!

*

*

“I’ll flay the skin off you, salt you, hang you from a mountain peak for the crows to peck at, you piece of trash, you’re worth less than a broken, rusty sword!”

“I’ll lock you in the deepest dungeon of the punishment chamber to rot forever, turn you into stone so you can’t even blink, you piece of trash!”

The captured Gardam was shedding tears and flailing his hands, desperately trying to crawl away, even if it meant dragging himself along the floor.

He had been through thick and thin, surviving even the fierce Incartan Rebellion, but all that experience was useless in the face of the terrifying existence that was a true mage.

The two mages hurled insults at the fallen Gardam as they dragged him back.

“Try to escape one more time, and we’ll put a few more holes in you.”

“You’ve made such a big deal out of something that could have been resolved by surrendering. Are you even human? Do you know how many students are being harmed because of you!”

‘I don’t know, you bastards!’

Gardam let out a silent scream at the mages who were spouting nonsense.

He thought he had succeeded in escaping when he broke through the main gate and used up all his magical items to block the way.

—Get out of the way! Move!

Gardam pushed and kicked his way through the citizens who filled the main street.

He hoped that this wall of people would prevent the pursuing mages from recklessly casting spells.

—A basilisk has appeared, citizens of Granden! We need to capture it and move it outside, so please clear the way!

However, the mages pushed people aside just as forcefully as Gardam as they chased after him.

Moreover, they didn’t hesitate to use magic. Spells flew threateningly.

—Wodanaz, what if you miss?

—I won’t miss! Moradi. Enhancement magic, I’ll cast it, so be ready!

—Alright, wait, are you sure? There are side effects…

He prided himself on his determination, but the two mages relentlessly chased Gardam, chased him, and chased him again.

If he knocked over stacked fruit boxes to block the way, they would destroy the boxes. If he slipped into an alleyway, they would summon familiars to chase him. If he jumped into the canal, they would cast freezing magic until he was half-dead.

Gardam himself couldn’t believe he could run this far. It was the power of fear.

However, there was a limit to willpower.

As his strength waned and his magical power scattered, the fatigue accumulated in his muscles came crashing down.

Crack!

A leopard familiar leaped out from the side and bit Gardam’s ankle.

At the same time, Giselle slashed Gardam’s arms, severing them. The weapons he was holding flew away.

Yihan, who was behind him, fired water orbs, accurately fracturing both of Gardam’s legs.

“I surr…”

“I’ll flay the skin off you, salt you, hang you from a mountain peak for the crows to peck at, you piece of trash, you’re worth less than a broken, rusty sword!”

“I’ll lock you in the deepest dungeon of the punishment chamber to rot forever, turn you into stone so you can’t even blink, you piece of trash!”

He realized there was nowhere left to run and tried to declare his surrender, but the mages who had chased him this far were beyond furious.

Gardam shouted to the citizens.

“Save me! Please save me! The mages are…”

Thwack!

Yihan cast a silencing spell on Gardam’s solar plexus and quickly explained to the onlookers.

“No, everyone! This man is a wanted criminal!”

“Ah, that’s him!! ‘Bleeding Hand’ Gardam!?”

“That’s right, that’s him!”

‘Phew.’

Yihan and Giselle exchanged glances and sighed in relief.

They could have been arrested by the city guards and faced an uncomfortable situation, but someone recognized Gardam’s face, and it was resolved smoothly.

“But who are you?”

“Uh… we’re adventurers from the Granden City Adventurer’s Guild. Right? Gu Bon?”

“…Y-yes, that’s right.”

‘Who’s Gu Bon?’

Giselle had no idea what was going on but played along for now.

It wouldn’t be good to be exposed as students here.

“Oh? Aren’t you mages from Einrogaard?”

“That’s right, that’s right! That shabby, unimpressive, simple clothes. And that staff! They’re mages from Einrogaard!”

“How could a wandering mage use magic like that?”

“……”

“……”

Yihan and Giselle exchanged horrified glances.

They had tried to hide all the Einrogaard emblems with their cloaks, but they were being suspected just because of their shabby and unimpressive appearance.

‘What should we do?’

‘Turn it around. Wodanaz. Turn it around!’

“…What are you saying? Einrogaard mages? No!”

Yihan shouted loudly.

“We’re adventurers who earn our living day by day, using the dirt as our bed and the sky as our blanket…”

“Oh, you look like nobles?”

“Aren’t you nobles?”

The city people who looked at Yihan’s face asked with very suspicious eyes.

Yihan flared up in anger.

“I said no! Don’t say such things!”

“But, your face…”

“Don’t judge people by their faces! Here, Gu Bon… he may look pretty on the outside, but inside he’s dangerous and evil, a swordsman who cuts down anyone who doesn’t listen to him in a single stroke!”

‘This bastard…’

Giselle was furious but couldn’t ruin the atmosphere. She silently closed her mouth, glared at the people, and nodded.

“Oh! Mage-nim!”

Just then, a voice called out. ‘Oh! Mage-nim!’ A young man with a friendly smile, wearing adventurer’s clothes, approached. It was Gu Bon, the adventurer they had met before.

“What are you doing here? Nice to see you!”

“You know each other?”

“Yes. This person is Wodanaz-nim, a mage from Einrogaard.”

“……”

“……”

Giselle glared at Yihan as if she wanted to kill him.

*

*

“…Anyway, we’re not.”

“Yes… well.”

“I understand.”

The gathered people hesitated and then nodded.

They mostly had expressions that said, ‘They’re mages from Einrogaard, but they probably don’t want to reveal it, so let’s respect that.’

Yihan and Giselle became gloomy.

‘We’re doomed.’

‘Doomed.’

They felt like the time left until they were sent to the punishment chamber was rapidly decreasing.

Yihan glared at the fallen Gardam as if he wanted to kill him. Gardam was terrified and buried his face in the ground.

“Should we hand this man over to the city guards?”

“If it’s a request from a mage-nim, we should do it without hesitation. But are you sure it’s alright? It’s something that mage-nim did…”

“…It’s fine.”

Yihan waved his hand and smiled sadly.

That smile seemed to say that worldly fame and wealth were insignificant on the path of a mage.

The people present felt a deep sense of emotion as if it were their own affair.

“Moradi. Let’s go buy some things.”

“…Let’s. There’s no other choice.”

Giselle sighed softly once and then accepted reality.

Now that things had come to this, there was no point in cursing at Wodanaz.

They had no choice but to prepare to be caught, buy the items as quickly as possible, and return.

“Wait. Wodanaz. We didn’t stop by the mansion, so do you have any money?”

“Could I get the silver coins I left with you last time? Thank you.”

Yihan received the silver coins he had left with Gu Bon last time.

“The next silver coins are left at the staff crafting shop, so let’s use them as we go there.”

“Are you crazy?”

“Why are you cursing?”

*

*

Hodrong arrived later. He told Iunrade to wait. Then, Hodrong looked around and tried to understand what was happening. The citizens of Granden were speaking to him. They were important people in the empire, so their words were reliable.

“So, when the mercenary threatened to release the basilisk, the mage grabbed it tightly in his hands, risking his own life, didn’t he?”

“Huh!”

“He chased him so persistently, not even a family enemy would be chased like that.”

“Why do you think he chased him like that?”

“There’s only one reason, isn’t there! He must have been furious when he saw that mercenary, full of wickedness, smashing and knocking over the citizens’ belongings!”

“Huh!”

Hodrong exclaimed in disbelief and checked the testimonies several times, but similar stories came out.

“So, he’s a first-year student?”

“That’s right.”

Gu Bon answered with a sincere attitude.

Then, the important citizens of Granden next to him looked at Gu Bon with distrust.

“Aren’t you mistaken?”

“You know how adventurers exaggerate.”

“He didn’t look like a first-year to me. I know a bit about magic, and he looked like a third-year.”

“Ah, no… he’s definitely a first-year! I’ve worked with him before!”

Gu Bon shouted in frustration, but it had the opposite effect on the Granden citizens.

“Ha!”

“Sure, sure.”

“Have I ever told you the story of how I met His Majesty the Emperor when I was young? That big, beautiful…”

“Yes, yes. I’m actually a son born outside of marriage from a count’s family.”

“……”

Gu Bon trembled with humiliation.

What was even more unfair was that if another adventurer had said such things, he himself would have treated them as ‘What crazy nonsense are you spouting?’

Whether the city people did so or not, Hodrong recorded all the testimonies and then looked at his subordinate with admiration.

“Perhaps there may be hope for Einrogaard after all.”

“Ha! There’s no way that could be!”

“……”

“S-sorry. It was a reflex… I’m really sorry.”