Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 917

“Aren’t you being too modest for royalty?”

After calming down with Professor Garcia’s help, Lee Han decided to ask the questions that bothered him the most.

“You know I’m from royalty? I’ve been hiding it because I’m embarrassed…”

“……”

Lee Han thought, ‘Isn’t that so?’

Lee Han almost said, ‘You told me you were royalty, and your other self bullied me for it.’ He thought, ‘What does the old Skull Headmaster even know?’

The young Skull Headmaster spoke kindly.

“It’s true that I was a prince. It’s also true that I lived in a beautiful palace, was treated very well, and commanded people. But that’s all in the past. I promised myself something more important than becoming king.”

“Which…?”

“I will end suffering on this continent.”

“……”

“……”

Lee Han and his friends knew what would happen later, so they stayed quiet.

The young Skull Headmaster smiled, as if to comfort them.

“Don’t worry. The me from your time might not have reached this big goal. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to fail, right?”

“That’s… well… isn’t it too hard with magic? The chance…”

The young Skull Headmaster answered Lee Han gently, his eyes shining with wisdom.

“Maybe. But that doesn’t matter. I will try anyway.”

“……”

Lee Han stepped back and whispered to the professors.

“I feel too awkward to talk to him. Could you take over for me?”

“I can’t. Lee Han! You’re only talking to him this much because you’re Lee Han. I’m really suffering right now!”

Professor Garcia was just as uncomfortable and troubled.

Dealing with a young, kind Skull Headmaster was worse than he thought!

He wished he was an arrogant tyrant with no skin on his bones!

Professor Volardi quietly started to speak, seeing them in distress.

“Then I will…”

“No. I’ll do it.”

Lee Han quickly stopped him.

No matter how he looked at it, it was better for him to keep talking than for Professor Volardi to do it.

“Um, Mr. Gonadaltes, can I ask a few questions?”

“Of course.”

“Have you, maybe, learned any magic from dragons?”

“No, not yet. Has the future me learned magic from dragons, maybe?”

“Ah, that’s…”

Lee Han was a little worried about telling him this, but the young Skull Headmaster smiled.

“Some fortune-tellers don’t like hearing about the future, but I don’t mind it much. If knowing the future stops me and makes me fail, then that’s just how good I am.”

“…Mr. Gonadaltes, please come to Einroguard!”

“Lee Han, don’t say such silly things…”

Knowing it was impossible, Lee Han said it without thinking.

Bringing someone from a past echo, not even another world, was impossible. It was like trying to grab a shadow.

‘Wait. If he hasn’t learned magic from dragons…’

Lee Han quickly thought about it.

The Skull Headmaster’s life was so long that you could make a timeline, but Lee Han knew some of the most important events.

Royalty -> Learns magic from dragons -> Goes to the Gusanpalhae world -> Tricked by demons -> Somehow learns the truth -> A very long time passes -> Tricks a sad dragon -> Einroguard Headmaster.

‘So, does that mean it’s still early?’

A young Skull Headmaster who hasn’t learned magic from dragons.

Lee Han wondered what the young Skull Headmaster was doing at this time.

He said he was killing evil wizards, but more specifically…

“It’s not hard. Let me explain. I left the kingdom and started a secret group with wizards who think like me. When we agree on what to do and when, we get together to defeat the bad guys and help people who are suffering.”

Even though the young Skull Headmaster hadn’t learned magic from dragons yet, he was already a great mage.

He said he hadn’t done much yet, but even so, going into a strong kingdom to secretly attack and kill magic nobles needed a lot of power.

Lee Han, who was writing things down, suddenly thought of something and asked.

“Do you know about the magic called >Gonadaltes’ Downfall>?”

“Ah, you know about that magic too? I still need to do more research on it…”

The young Skull Headmaster looked a little embarrassed when they talked about magic.

Like Lee Han had heard from his crazy other self, >Gonadaltes’ Downfall> was just something that came from his research, not the main goal.

It was supposed to capture and lock up all the world’s downfalls.

“If you want, I can show it to you.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Since you’re from another world, you probably can’t stay long, so right away… Ah.”

The young Skull Headmaster was about to speak but stopped and looked very sorry.

“Actually, I have something I need to do right now. Could you wait one day?”

“Of course, but… what are you going to do?”

“This city has suffered from bad leaders and attacks for a long time. So, it’s hard to get clean water. I want to find a way to keep the water clean forever and stop it from being polluted.”

“Ah, do you have a connection to this city?”

“Not really.”

Behind the young Skull Headmaster, as he spoke about helping people he didn’t even know, a soft, golden light seemed to glow around him, like a gentle halo. It wasn’t bright or blinding, but it was definitely there, making Lee Han feel even more confused.

Lee Han was starting to miss the original Skull Headmaster with no skin.

‘Ugh, it’s too much.’

* * *

“First, I’m going to mix mermaid tears and lapis lazuli to make a gate. This gate will clean the water and stop it from being polluted,” the young Skull Headmaster said as he walked toward the harbor.

Long ago, when there were three kingdoms, terrible magic sicknesses were everywhere.

Demons were called whenever people were bored, and each kingdom spread sicknesses with magic. The nobles were safe in protected places, but ordinary people would die if they were unlucky.

The young Skull Headmaster planned to carve a big cleaning spell on the gate to stop this.

“Aren’t mermaid tears hard to get?” Lee Han asked, confused.

Mermaid tears were definitely hard to get in the Empire right now.

Were they easier to get during the Three Kingdoms time?

“They are hard to get. But we still have to get them. Here.”

The young Skull Headmaster borrowed a small rowboat and started rowing.

Lee Han asked, flustered.

“I’ll row.”

“No. How can I make guests from far away, especially those who say they’re my students, do that?”

The young Skull Headmaster looked at Lee Han and his friends with loving eyes.

He didn’t want his students to get even a drop of water on them.

Lee Han saw Professor Garcia biting his lip tightly behind him. It was that strange.

Splash!

The young Skull Headmaster wasn’t just rowing with his strength. Magic made the oars move, and the wind helped the boat.

The boat quickly sped out to the open sea.

“Ah, right. I’ll put up a shield for you. There are sirens around here.”

“Ah, I’m okay. I’m friends with sirens too.”

“?”

Professor Garcia tilted his head at Lee Han’s words.

‘Huh…?’

The sirens in Einroguard complained that they were not friends. Parthenope kept saying, ‘How can there be such a weird human?’

Could there be other sirens?

“Really… for someone like you to be my student is a great honor.”

“Please don’t say that.”

Lee Han thought about asking him to treat him like he was nothing.

It was that unsettling and hard to get used to.

He could handle the sirens’ song for a year, but the kind Skull Headmaster…

-♪♩♩♩♪…

“!”

Lee Han and his friends tensed up when the sirens’ song started.

They were ready, but you couldn’t be too relaxed when dealing with sirens.

-!

But the sirens’ song stopped right away.

The sirens saw the young Skull Headmaster’s face, closed their mouths, and bowed.

“Thank you for your kindness.”

The young Skull Headmaster greeted the sirens politely. The sirens protected and helped the rowboat until it passed through their waters.

“…Uh, what magic is that??”

Lee Han asked, confused.

Did the young Skull Headmaster just control the sirens with magic?

“Magic?”

“The sirens… stopped… singing… and… that… you know!”

“Ah, you mean that. The sirens here are sometimes nice to me.”

“Ah, have you saved the sirens here before?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“……”

It took Lee Han a moment to understand.

So, right now…?

‘The sirens are being nice just because of his aura?’

It was unbelievable.

The sirens of Einroguard would never do that.

It felt like they had barely become a little friendly after long and complicated talks…

‘Could it be that the Einroguard sirens have become evil after so much time?’

Just then, a large sailing ship sank far away. The sirens were attacking the ship because it had entered their territory.

“…Professor Garcia, I can’t believe sirens would help like this.”

“I’m also very surprised, Lee Han. It’s hard to believe, but… it’s probably like your brother, Arsil.”

“My brother was only popular with spirits.”

The young Skull Headmaster kept moving, getting kindness from different sea creatures.

Lee Han saw not only sirens but also big fish and even whales coming out to greet the young Skull Headmaster. He started to wonder if he had gone to the wrong past.

It was too strange!

“There, there’s a mermaid!”

Lee Han shouted, seeing the mermaid’s tail fin. The young Skull Headmaster praised Lee Han.

“Great! You found the mermaid first.”

“…How are you going to get the tears?”

Lee Han asked, ignoring the praise.

Mermaid tears were precious.

Even if he tried to get them by talking to the mermaid, she might not give them up. Even if humans thought they were a huge treasure, the mermaid might not think they were important.

But the mermaid was strong, so he couldn’t just capture or threaten her.

A mermaid in the sea could move as fast as a unicorn. If she felt uneasy, she would disappear into the deep sea.

“I should ask first, of course.”

“…Th-that’s all?”

“Asking is more important than you think.”

The young Skull Headmaster spoke to the mermaid humbly.

The mermaid listened politely, disappeared into the sea, and came back with a sparkling jewel. She gave it to the young Skull Headmaster.

It was a mermaid’s tear.

“Thank you for your kindness. I will never use it for myself.”

The mermaid bowed and disappeared.

And Lee Han thought he would never be surprised again.