Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 1009

The wizards’ loud voices broke the quiet. The reason for their excitement was now clear.

“We heard you’ve perfected Gawon’s magic! Please come to the Daylily Magic Tower and show us your amazing talent!”

“Pardon?” Ethan asked.

Ethan remembered the exchange meeting from the year before.

He said, “Well, to be exact, it wasn’t really perfect, more like much better…”

“It was perfect!” one wizard insisted.

“It’s as good as perfect,” another added.

The wizards, who had been so friendly just moments before, were now very serious about magic. They wouldn’t agree that it was just an improvement.

Ethan felt a little overwhelmed. Like true wizards, their passion was intense.

Meanwhile, the skeletal Headmaster and the knights were still talking about unimportant things.

“How about we just say 4th Circle?” one knight asked.

“How about 3rd Circle?” another suggested.

“But we already know about 3rd Circle magic, so that might sound odd,” a third knight replied.

Just then, another carriage appeared.

Ethan recognized the family crest. ‘The Maykin family?’ he thought.

Joane opened the carriage window, wondering about the commotion. “What’s going on?” he asked.

The wizards from the Daylily Magic Tower were making strange noises, like they had drunk a bad potion. They surrounded the carriage in front of them, wailing.

“Ah, I’m sorry, Lord Maykin,” one of the wizards said.

Joane quickly recognized the Death Knights and the skeletal Headmaster. They were hard to forget.

“Lord Maykin, I apologize,” Ethan said.

He wanted to open the carriage door, but the wizards were crowding around like zombies.

“What happened was…” Ethan started to explain.

“You don’t need to explain. I think I know,” Joane interrupted, his eyes gleaming. “You’re all here to invite Lord Wodanaz to the Magic Tower because of his talent.”

“How did you know?!” Ethan was surprised.

Joane was smart, but how could he figure it out so quickly?

“Well, I heard that Lord Gonadaltes did the same thing with Professor Kim back…” Joane began.

“Shhh. Be quiet,” the skeletal Headmaster warned, not wanting to remind the wizards of painful memories.

Joane nodded. Wizards usually didn’t interfere with each other’s business.

“I understand. More importantly, Lord Gonadaltes, don’t you think you’re worrying too much? If you can bring a wizard who has a contract with the Spirit King into the Tower, people will even forgive Professor Verdus,” Joane said.

Joane’s point was correct. The wizards would want Ethan in the Magic Tower, no matter the cost.

“Oh,” Ethan said.

“Ah,” the wizards echoed.

“Why are they like that?” Joane wondered.

“I haven’t heard anything about a contract with a King-level spirit?” Joane asked.

The ancient knight flinched, overwhelmed by the wizards’ eager eyes.

“I… I was going to say it later,” the knight stammered.

“Later? Were you thinking of going to another Magic Tower?”

“No, no! I was going to tell you everything once we got inside!”

“That’s right! He suppressed the demon duke with the power of the Spirit King!” Gawon shouted, remembering.

The other wizards glared at Gawon.

“Are you an idiot?! How could you not say that?!” one yelled.

“Gawon was hiding it! We must take away his invitation rights!” another added.

“Ah… no! I didn’t know either!” Gawon cried. “I thought another student summoned it!”

Joane realized his mistake. He had been too careless.

They didn’t know about the Spirit King contract.

“I’m really sorry, Lord Wodanaz. I didn’t know you hadn’t mentioned the Spirit King. Then did you talk about the Small World?” Joane asked.

“I’m really sorry!” Joane apologized loudly.

The skeletal Headmaster and the Death Knights quickly got back into the carriage.

The skeletal Headmaster gave a cold order. “Depart.”

“Yes!” The knights pushed away the wizards and drove towards the Magic Tower. The wizards’ desperate voices echoed behind them.

The skeletal Headmaster muttered, “Hmm. The reaction is more intense than I thought.”

The knights nodded. It seemed like they shouldn’t just send a message and disappear like they did with Professor Garcia.

There might be a riot.

“The reason for today’s visit is to ask for a slight delay in paying the wages…” the Headmaster began.

“So be it,” Euldam replied immediately.

The skeletal Headmaster and the Death Knights were surprised. It was the first time they felt uneasy, even though things were going smoothly.

The wizards were just nodding with a terrifying glint in their eyes, without saying a word.

A barking dog does not bite. The skeletal Headmaster worried that he had misjudged the situation.

He didn’t want to drive all the wizards crazy.

‘This is dangerous,’ he thought.

He imagined a letter arriving saying, ‘Your student has joined the Magic Tower. Do not look for him.’

The skeletal Headmaster showed kindness that he normally wouldn’t.

“Are your studies going well? If you want, I can give you guidance. I’ll spoon-feed you so you can use it right away,” he offered.

‘So he knows he usually teaches ambiguously,’ Ethan thought.

Many wizards sought wisdom from the skeletal Headmaster, but few received helpful answers. He only gave difficult-to-understand teachings.

For the skeletal Headmaster to say, ‘I’ll teach you the core quickly and easily’… any wizard would be tempted.

“It’s alright,” one wizard said.

“We’re fine. We can’t waste Your Excellency’s time,” another added.

The wizards refused. They didn’t want to owe the skeletal Headmaster anything.

“-So if you have a conscience, send your student to our Magic Tower!”

“Did someone use telepathy?” the Headmaster wondered.

“Pardon?”

“No. It’s nothing.” The skeletal Headmaster shuddered at the wizards’ powerful thoughts.

“Your Excellency, you were interested in the relics our wizards found last time, weren’t you?”

“‘Was I? I don’t quite remember…'”

“We’ll give it to you as a gift,” the wizard offered.

“…That’s alright. I’ll just accept the thought.”

“Then how about a donation?”

“Einroguard’s finances are fine, so there’s no need for that,” the Headmaster lied.

“More importantly, you all know that there’s no guarantee that my student will join this Magic Tower later, right?”

“Of course.”

“Your Excellency will speak well of us. Hey, bring the relic. We have to give it to His Excellency.”

“Stop! I said it’s alright!” The skeletal Headmaster quickly stood up.

He felt like he should refuse any gifts from the Daylily Magic Tower. If he accepted them, they would become his student’s price tag.

The skeletal Headmaster, who had hurried away with his student, ran into Joane in the hallway.

“Why did you say such unnecessary things!” the Headmaster scolded.

“I’m sorry,” Joane replied.

Joane’s sense of strangeness had disappeared from constantly seeing his younger sibling’s friend. That’s why he made a slip of the tongue.

“But then… what were you originally talking about?” Joane asked.

“5th Circle?”

Joane was puzzled. If they weren’t talking about the Spirit King or the Small World, why were they so crazy?

“…I heard that a wizard from the Daylily Magic Tower improved the magic from the exchange meeting last year on his behalf,” Joane said.

“I improved it,” Ethan said.

“I said it was perfect,” the skeletal Headmaster corrected.

Joane nodded. “That’s a perfection.”

“Did you see? Stop being stubborn,” the Headmaster told Ethan.

While Ethan was grumbling, Joane thought, ‘But if that’s the case, wouldn’t the result have been the same even if I hadn’t said anything?’

“You’re not thinking that the result would have been the same even if you hadn’t said anything, are you?” the Headmaster asked.

“…Of course not. Absolutely not,” Joane said, waving his hand.

“What brings you here?” the Headmaster asked.

“I received a production request for the workshop, so I was visiting to check it out,” Joane explained. He had been asked to mass-produce special mixtures that react to specific magical powers.

“I envy you. You don’t have to deal with crazy wizards,” Joane said.

“I envy you. You’re already receiving such requests,” Ethan replied.

The skeletal Headmaster and the knights stared at Ethan.

‘Is this the time to be envious of that?’ they thought.

Joane smiled. “Lord Wodanaz and Yoner will soon be able to receive these kinds of requests. You handled the Nago family’s potion ingredient well last time, didn’t you?”

“Haha. Thank you. I was lucky,” Ethan said.

The skeletal Headmaster was puzzled. ‘What kind of family is the Nago family? I’ve never heard of them before.’

As the carriage moved on, Ethan wondered what the wizards would do next.