Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 577

“Wodanaz!” called out a student, spotting Ethan near the Buyeo magic classroom.

A small group of students hurried over, each struggling to carry a heavy wooden chest. The chests looked old and worn, but surprisingly full.

“Look what we got, Wodanaz!” one student puffed, setting his chest down with a thump.

“Guys, seriously,” Ethan sighed, “I told you, we have enough now…”

“No way, Wodanaz,” another student insisted, wiping sweat from his forehead. “You never know what Professor Verdus might throw at us! We need to be ready for anything!”

Professor Verdus had already told the students about the final exam.

They were to create the best-performing artifact on the spot using discarded materials.

That was the theme of this final exam.

The problem was that this sounded like utter nonsense to ordinary students.

“-Even with perfectly good materials, it’s a gamble, so what’s with the discarded materials? Are you crazy?”

“-Isn’t Professor Verdus doing this because he doesn’t want to give us good materials?”

‘I think it’s perfectly possible to make something good even with discarded materials.’

In fact, Ethan had slightly different thoughts from his friends, but he thought he would get cursed at if he said it, so he cursed at Professor Verdus with them.

-Professor Verdus is definitely embezzling!

-Ah, no, Wodanaz, I didn’t think that far.

-Really?

The students at Einroguard thought it was okay to fight back if a professor gave a unfair task.

Naturally, the students fought back fairly and squarely against this final exam as well.

They filled the warehouse where discarded materials were stored with perfectly good materials in advance!

Thanks to a round of purchases outside, this kind of response became possible.

Even though the warehouse was already full, the students kept adding more materials. They were very worried about the exam.

“I think we should stop adding more. Isn’t that a betrothal stone? There are three boxes of it, so it should be plenty.”

“What if… what if it all flies away while we’re making it?”

“How are you going to lose three boxes…? And dark spirit ink is also in the discarded materials, you know? I checked and it was fine. Don’t worry.”

“Still, it could break down in the meantime. We need to add more.”

‘Buyeo magic isn’t an exam that should make you this nervous, is it?’ Ethan thought to himself.

Unlike other lecture exams, the Buyeo magic exam was surprisingly safe.

Not because Professor Verdus was kind and loved the students, but because he wasn’t very interested.

The more attention other affectionate lecture professors paid to their students, the more dangerous the exam content became, but thanks to Professor Verdus’s lack of interest, the exam was on the safer side.

“Okay, okay. Just bring it to the warehouse. You guys. You know this is a loss, right? It’s a waste if you can’t use it all during the exam.”

Ethan said, feeling sorry for his friends who were wasting the stockpiled supplies they had brought in.

They will be here next year. Why waste materials they could use later?

But his friends didn’t care about Ethan’s words and dragged the chest away.

‘The Blue Dragon Tower kids seem to be too wasteful.’ Ethan clicked his tongue and thought to himself.

Students from other towers would have acted a little more calculatedly without being swayed by unfounded fears.

Tap-

Ethan ran into Salco in front of the warehouse.

The Black Tortoise Tower students were stacking chests inside and said with awkward expressions.

“W-we thought the amount was a little lacking.”

“You could build a castle with that much.”

Ethan shook his head and tried to turn around.

This time, the White Tiger Tower students appeared carrying chests.

“We had something we left behind last time…?”

“Hey. Be quiet. It’s more embarrassing when you make excuses.”

“Shut up and just go in. You wasteful guys.”

“I-it’s not wasteful.”

Headmaster Skull looked at the snowy campus, feeling peaceful.

The Death Knights watched their master with a pleased expression.

Their master was usually very sharp and fierce at the end of the year.

The inspectors from the Empire always annoyed their master by complaining about small details.

“-Excuse me. Duke Gonadaltes. These students clearly received 383 Imperial gold coins in support, but 382 Imperial gold coins don’t match the calculation. Where did they go? Don’t tell me you used them for other magic experiments?”

“-Let’s just overlook such trivial things! Students can make mistakes!”

“-No, how can 382 coins out of 383 coins be trivial!”

But this year was different.

Heartwarming stories that happened outside the school melted the inspector’s cold, icy heart.

Thanks to this, the inspector declared that this audit would simply pass under his authority, Headmaster Skull was satisfied, and the Death Knights could be pleased.

How great would it be if this could happen every year?

“-How about releasing bounty hunters into the city next year and having the students catch them?”

“-Hmm. I think the students would just take the opportunity to escape into the city.”

While the Death Knights were talking, the door suddenly burst open.

Bang!

What’s going on?

Headmaster Skull glared at the Death Knight who burst through the door as if to rebuke him. What is this disturbance when he was enjoying a rare moment of peace?

-A big… big problem has occurred.

Headmaster Skull’s eyes changed.

If the Death Knights, who were dedicated to the headmaster, said that something big had happened, it must be something truly extraordinary.

What… Don’t tell me the Buyeo faction guys caused an accident? That’s why I told them clearly to go to the desert to make it. Do they know what kind of building that old school building is and blew it up! That’s a pretty expensive building!

-It wasn’t the Buyeo faction students who blew it up.

Then? Don’t tell me the Extracurricular Club guys made a hole in the wall? They’ve been banging on the wall for a while now…

-All the Extracurricular Club students have been locked up in the disciplinary chamber.

Then what’s the big deal? The chubby guy locked up in the disciplinary chamber?

-That…

The Death Knight couldn’t dare to look at Headmaster Skull and lowered his head fearfully.

Then he closed his eyes tightly and said.

-Ms. Eunrade has returned.

Eunrade, a graduate of Einroguard who brought the inspector this time.

Eunrade herself was not an evil or dangerous person.

However, the fact that Eunrade, who should have left with the inspector, had returned like this was very, very ominous.

Why?

-That’s… I don’t know either… She said she had to see the master and tell him…

The furniture around Headmaster Skull vibrated and began to shake upside down.

The Death Knights hurriedly shouted, fearing that the expensive furniture would be smashed if left like this.

-Master. It could be for other business!

-That’s right. It could just be a pure greeting…

He doubted that was the real reason.

Headmaster Skull regained his composure.

Not because his anger had disappeared, but because he would only lose out if he smashed the furniture himself.

Tell her to come in. Let’s hear why she came back.

Not long after, Eunrade opened the door and entered like a sinner.

Eunrade was even more humble than the Death Knight earlier, as if she was about to stick her forehead to the ground.

Raise your head. Ms. Eunrade.

“C-can’t you just call me comfortably, Headmaster?”

Feeling a threat to her life, Eunrade tried to bring up memories of her school days between them.

What! I can’t be rude to someone who visited as an imperial official.

“S-still, I learned under you as a student, so please be comfortable…”

Be quiet. Tell me the main point quickly. What is it? Are you going to audit again? Or has a special audit been decided? Or have the budget or subsidies been reduced?

“It’s none of those, Headmaster.”

Headmaster Skull’s eyes softened slightly at Eunrade’s words.

Then? Did you just miss your school days and come back?

“That’s not it… That… His Majesty the Emperor wants to have a private meeting with you. After the semester ends.”

Why? What did I do?

Headmaster Skull was furious at the situation where he was called in after the end of the first semester and had to be called in again after the end of the second semester.

Fearing that an imperial official might be thrown into the deepest part of the disciplinary chamber, the Death Knights hurriedly made excuses.

-It could be a reward, a reward!

-That’s right!

Eunrade felt like crying when she heard the Death Knights’ words.

It was an excuse that she had already made up during the first semester and had been showered with curses for saying such nonsense.

Reward? That’s nonsense. Do you know how many times I’ve received a reward while running Einroguard?

“I-I don’t know.”

It’s less than the number of times you were the top student!

“Well… uh… I’ve never been the top student…”

Yes. You know well.

Headmaster Skull felt a throbbing headache.

What kind of crazy student caused an accident this time?

“That… Headmaster.”

Is there more? Don’t drag it out and tell me at once! If you drag it out one more time, I’ll throw you into the disciplinary chamber!

Eunrade held back her tears and said.

“He said to bring Ethan from the Wodanaz family with you… I’m serious… I didn’t make a mistake.”

Headmaster Skull and the Death Knights were all silent at the unexpected words.

Eunrade glanced out the window.

It might be better to jump out of this window than to go to the deepest part of the disciplinary chamber, a place whose name has been forgotten.

Hmm.

Headmaster Skull fell into deep contemplation instead of getting angry.

Have a seat.

“Yes, yep.”

What does His Majesty the Emperor seem to be thinking?

Headmaster Skull gestured to hear the thoughts of the Death Knights and Eunrade in the room.

-Doesn’t he just want to see Wodanaz? In my opinion, Wodanaz has one of the most outstanding talents among the Einroguard students.

That’s right. Then it’s not bad.

At least it seemed much better than news that graduates had turned a forest into a demon realm or that students had gone out on a request and illegally destroyed a mercenary group.

The Emperor was interested in Wodanaz during the first semester, so it was entirely possible that he wanted to see him in person.

-Master. I think it’s a bit dangerous. As soon as His Majesty said that after the first semester, Wodanaz caught the King of Ghouls again.

That’s something to think about!

Headmaster Skull was sincerely wronged.

How can he stop him from joining hands with adventurers and running around to catch the King of Ghouls while he’s meeting and talking with the Emperor?!

-Besides that, the Sea Serpent in the second semester was also a bit…

-Now that I hear it, it makes sense. His Majesty called him after hearing good stories, but if he hears the details after meeting him, the arrow could turn back to you, Master.

This is so unfair! Good people always suffer.

Headmaster Skull lamented.

But the Death Knights’ opinions were valid.

Think of a reason why you can’t take him. Usually, students will return to their families during the winter vacation. How about that?

Eunrade answered carefully.

“I don’t think that will work because you have to see His Majesty the Emperor.”

…I was going to have him help with the search for new students after this semester, what about that?

“Uh… wouldn’t that make things worse right now?”

Headmaster Skull glared at Eunrade. Eunrade lowered her head.

“That, Headmaster. I forgot to tell you one thing…”

You told me to say everything earlier, didn’t you? I know why you couldn’t be the top student.

“…His Majesty added in the postscript that he should ‘just bring him without making strange excuses’… I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

Eunrade ran to the window. Headmaster Skull sighed and grabbed Eunrade.

It’s okay. What can we do about what’s already happened? It’s not your fault.

-But isn’t it a bit your fault?

“Please…!”

-No, you have to say it right…

Eunrade really hated the Death Knights.