Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 1080

Instead of making a weak excuse, Lee Han smiled confidently.

But because he looked naturally serious and a bit scary, it didn’t really work. Dirimpa thought to himself.

‘How did Dirett become friends with such a fierce wizard?’

Actually, Dirett was good at summoning and making deals with scary undead monsters and demons.

But who knew that would work on wizards too?

‘Well, he gets along well with that strange princess, so he can probably befriend anyone.’

Lee Han came to the gathering and said goodbye. He even told Alsicle not to send letters because they were not close friends. Then, he left with the Dark Arts Department students.

The Count’s nephew stared at Lee Han, or rather, Stedal’s disappearing figure, looking very regretful.

If there wasn’t a meeting to attend, he looked like he would follow him around like a lost puppy.

“Senior, how long do I have to stay disguised? Can I take it off soon?”

“Now that we’ve gone this far, keep it on until the end.”

“?”

Dirett spoke firmly.

Knowing Cohalti’s personality, if he found out that Stedal was a junior, he would be very embarrassed.

“Dirett, could you ask Nago later when he might be free to meet?”

Cohalti asked quietly, unaware of his friend’s complicated feelings.

It seemed they were quite close, and with Dirett’s help, he might become friends with Stedal Nago.

“No.”

“Yeah, I guess someone like him, who travels all over the Empire, probably doesn’t want to make plans,” Cohalti said, trying to sound understanding. “Okay, then, could you at least ask if he has a special mark for sending messages with paper birds?”

“No,”

“Oh, right,” Cohalti mumbled, looking down at his shoes. “He’s probably really focused on his magic and needs quiet to meditate. Paper birds would just bother him. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

“…”

Dirett looked at his friend with a mix of dislike and shock.

His friend, who would normally be yelling, ‘Oh, why not!’ was now acting so shy in front of a disguised junior.

‘If only he had listened half as well during school days…’

Even after being rejected several times, Cohalti kept admiring Stedal.

“I want to be friends!”

“Senior Cohalti, please stop it,” Dirimpa said, sounding annoyed.

If he wanted to be friends, he should try to befriend him himself, instead of constantly trying to use Senior Dirett.

“Dirimpa, could you do it for me…”

“I only met him today too, you know? And if you keep doing that, I might take back my offer to help earlier.”

Cohalti shut his mouth at those words.

He was worried that Stedal might have heard their conversation.

“If you want to be friends, you can just go to the mansion and show off your skills when catching demons.”

“W-well, yeah. Wait a minute. But even if I catch demons, it’s only helpful to me if I can use the Einrogard Dark Arts Department’s magic…”

“Then are you just going to leave? Mr. Cohalti?”

“Stop calling me ‘Mr.’! Alright, alright.”

Cohalti complained that he had brought it up for nothing and gained nothing.

Well, considering the help he received from his friend and juniors today, helping them a little was nothing.

If he was lucky, he might properly show off his abilities and play an active role in front of Stedal Nago.

“Speaking of which, Senior, isn’t that person you like here?”

“All the second-year students are gone.”

Dirett shrugged.

The third and fourth-year students were doing various requests and research with Dirett during the vacation, but he didn’t bother calling the second-year students.

There was no need to make the juniors, who would soon be miserable enough, miserable in advance.

“But isn’t he supposed to be at least a fourth-year student?”

‘Really?’

The other Dark Arts Department students who were listening paused.

Dirimpa’s words made more sense than they thought.

“No matter how skilled you are, it’s not good to ignore the year level.”

Stedal advised in a serious voice.

Even though he was an outside wizard, hearing the conversation of the famous Einrogard students seemed to inspire him to give advice.

“Yeah. Juniors also need time to spend with friends of the same year.”

“Mr. Nago is right.”

The Dark Arts Department students were immediately convinced. Cohalti especially nodded several times.

To give such careful advice!

“…”

Dirett stared closely at his junior. Lee Han subtly looked away.

“But…”

As Dirimpa opened his mouth again despite the answer, Lee Han looked worried.

What was he about to say?

“…Isn’t he supposed to be helping with magic after being caught by that strange person this vacation? Then he wouldn’t have time to spend with friends anyway, would he?”

“Yukbertire isn’t that strange.”

Dirett defended his friend. Lee Han thought to himself.

‘It wasn’t about the Skull Headmaster.’

At first, he thought Senior Dirimpa knew that he had helped the Skull Headmaster, but it turned out it was about Yukbertire.

There were so many strange people in Einrogard that it was hard to guess just from the fact that someone was strange.

‘More importantly, how did Senior Dirett immediately know it was Senior Yukbertire?’

“And Yukbertire couldn’t take him this vacation. The Headmaster took him first.”

“Hmm.”

Lee Han wondered if he should say something.

In the end, Senior Yukbertire did chase after him until the end…

“What? The Headmaster took him?”

“…Which is worse, spending the vacation with that senior, or spending the vacation with the Headmaster?”

“That’s a really hard question.”

The Dark Arts Department students murmured.

Spending the vacation with Senior Yukbertire, or spending the vacation with the Skull Headmaster.

Both seemed truly terrible.

“If the Headmaster took him, there’s nothing we can do, but Senior Dirett is too nice to that strange person.”

“That’s right.”

“I agree too. Dirett.”

Not only the juniors but even Cohalti joined in.

Please use the affection you have for Yukbertire on the juniors of the Dark Arts Department!

“I thought so too… no, friendship is each person’s freedom. Um.”

The fierce battle wizard, who was about to add something himself, quickly shut his mouth.

Dirett was about to step on Cohalti’s foot.

“Anyway, I heard he’s quite a great battle wizard. It’s a shame he’s not here.”

Maybe he’s not so bad after all, Lee Han thought. He relaxed a little at Dirimpa’s kind words.

Lee Han had thought Dirimpa was crazy. Dirimpa spent most of his time underground and sometimes just threw away jewels!

“That junior is really something,” Koholt said, impressed.

Koholt liked Lee Han a lot. Lee Han had helped Koholt when he was new to the school.

Koholt, my senior, Lee Han thought. He felt a warmth inside. They hadn’t known each other for long, but being connected to a senior from the same school felt special. It was a bond that didn’t easily break.

“At first, I thought he was crazy for taking all the courses from every school. But he’s kinder and works harder than I thought.”

“He seems quite normal?”

“No way! He’s completely mad! Taking every course? Who does that! Ha!”

Koholt thought his junior wasn’t there. He felt safe and made a joke.

He never dreamed that his disguised junior was right next to him.

Hmm. Koholt’s help was wasted.

Bulselek of the Gral family was a rich aristocrat. Like many nobles, he enjoyed collecting things.

As his hobby grew, he started walking a dangerous line between what was legal and illegal.

He even went to secret auctions where stolen goods or items with unknown origins were sold.

“I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!”

The fat aristocrat bowed many times and said sorry.

He had bought dangerous items at a secret auction and was ashamed to face the wizards.

“I will never go to those auctions again.”

“Hmm.”

“That is…”

The students from the Dark Arts School looked at each other, embarrassed.

The wizards of Einroguard also went to secret auctions. Wizards thought it was okay to get what they needed, whether it was legal or not.

“It would be good if you didn’t go in the future!”

“That’s right! Haha!”

The students laughed to avoid the topic. Their consciences bothered them.

“Thank you for understanding. I was worried after hearing the rumors, but the Einroguard wizards are kinder than I thought!” Bulselek said. He had expected the Einroguard wizards to be mean because of the rumors, and he was touched by their kindness.

He couldn’t believe they were so nice.

“Hmph. The Dark Arts School is especially generous…”

Dirette hit Stedal Nago on the back when no one was looking.

The junior, whose identity should be kept secret, was acting too obvious.

“We aren’t so strict with people who didn’t mean to do wrong. Would you show us inside?”

“This way!”

Bulselek nodded quickly and led the group into the mansion himself.

After the demon was called, he had sent all but a few trusted old servants home because he didn’t want rumors to spread.

“The condition is better than I thought?”

“There’s no strange magic here either.”

“It seems like it’s not a very strong demon…”

The students were disappointed as they looked at the old hallway with clean white wallpaper.

Even if a demon was trapped inside, a powerful demon would leave traces everywhere.

There would be pollution from magic or strange changes in the air.

Dirette called the wizard who had fought the most high-ranking demons, not including himself.

“Do you feel uneasy?”

“…I don’t feel anything yet, but why are you asking me?” Lee Han asked, surprised.

Why ask Lee Han when there were senior students and a graduate here?

“You have more experience with high-ranking demons than almost any other wizard.”

“No, that’s not true…”

Lee Han stopped. Was that true?

He had fought two duke-class high-ranking demons, Greed and Wrath. And there were other powerful demons too…

“And I trust what you feel. No one can sense things like you do.”

“Senior!”

“Don’t call me senior like that,” Dirette said coldly.

It felt strange to be called senior by a strong battle wizard who looked at least ten years older than him.

“I don’t feel uneasy. It seems to be a weak demon, or one that is good at hiding.”

Could it be hiding because of him?

Dirette thought for a moment. Demons shared information quickly, especially the Wodanaz family, which was famous among demons.

If the demon in the mansion knew about the Wodanaz family’s bloodline and was hiding, it would be hard to get it out.

“We will start the operation.”

“Alright.”

Dirette nodded at the junior’s words. Since there were no obvious dangers, he planned to continue as planned.

The dark wizards took out censers filled with ash, lit them, and chanted spells.

Smoke that could strongly bind demons spread through the mansion. This smoke spread not only physically but also into other dimensions.

The smoke flowed into other dimensional spaces, like inside mirrors, portraits, and garden fountains.

Whoosh!

A black figure flashed past inside the mirror. The demon hiding in the mansion had started to move.

“If you come out now, we will make your punishment less severe, demon!” one of the students warned.

It was a strange threat. Of course, demons didn’t come to the continent for good reasons either…

Clang!

Dirimpa gave a signal. They were sealing off several portraits and trapping the demon.

The demon’s path became simpler. Once it was trapped inside the mansion, its fate was sealed.

Since it hadn’t escaped before the wizards arrived, it couldn’t do anything.

It will be caught soon, Lee Han thought, waiting to see what kind of demon it would be.

Just then, the demon appeared in the mirror in front of Lee Han and cried out.

“-Help me!”

“…Is it perhaps a crazy demon?”