Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 1142

Lee Han blinked. Had Professor Garcia used a Time-Freezing Charm? Everyone in the lecture hall was suddenly still.

But no. The frozen people were staring intently at the entrance of the lecture hall.

A strange feeling crept over Lee Han. He slowly turned to look. And was astonished.

“Professor Verdus!”

“Indeed. I suppose I can leave now.”

Yukbeltire reacted instantly. Lee Han glared at the fifth-year senior, feeling a sudden urge to punch him.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Well, now that *Professor* Verdus is here to grace us with his presence, I suppose my work is done? Freedom at last?”

“Freedom? Yukbeltire, you joined *magic academy*. Freedom is what you *gave up* at the door. Now stay put. You’re still lecturing.”

“That’s quite a stretch…”

Yukbeltire started to argue back, but Lee Han cut him off.

The stonemasons, who were visitors, looked confused and pointed at Professor Verdus.

“Why is Professor Verdus here now…”

“There are circumstances.”

“And why are you crawling on all fours?”

“It’s… complicated. But yes, Professor Verdus is trying to apologize.”

“Professor Verdus, you say?!”

The stonemasons were more surprised that Professor Verdus was trying to apologize than that he was crawling on all fours.

Yukbeltire showed a slight disappointment at the sight.

He didn’t have enough vanity to boast in front of people who weren’t on his level, but defeating Professor Verdus was an exception. He wanted to tell everyone he met, if he could.

‘I was the one who brought him to his knees.’

“Think about how much damage the Professor has caused you all. And how rude he’s been?”

“Thinking about it, I still want to throw a hammer at his face. Honestly, I’ve been debating whether to put a bounty on that guy every night.”

Lee Han flinched slightly as the stonemasons, who had been laughing and chatting just moments before, turned serious.

Perhaps because they were all so large and hardened by work, their presence was extraordinary.

“…I don’t know if this apology can repay even a ten-thousandth of what he owes, but I would appreciate it if you could understand it as a sign of sincerity.”

“Honestly, I’m surprised, and I can’t believe it… but I don’t feel too bad. To think that Professor Verdus could change…”

Lee Han chatted with the stonemasons, ignoring Professor Verdus, who remained on his hands and knees near the door, looking completely shocked.

Lee Han quickly whispered to his senior.

“Yukbeltire, please stop the Professor from saying anything unnecessary.”

“Alright.”

Yukbeltire nodded, surprisingly readily.

The only command this fifth-year senior willingly obeyed was the command to attack Professor Verdus.

“…You’re trying to attack me!”

Professor Verdus, as expected of a great wizard, noticed the rebellious intent of his disciple approaching him.

The artifact Yukbeltire held was called the Gag of the Silent Ascetic. It was powerful magic – once it was on, you couldn’t speak.

Few things were as troublesome to a wizard as such an artifact.

Most of his artifacts had been confiscated while he was in the disciplinary chamber, but Professor Verdus hurriedly tried to summon an artifact from thin air.

Clutch!

Just then, the Death Knights grabbed Professor Verdus’s arms and stopped him from moving.

-Put it on him.

“Mmph! Mmmph!”

With the help of the knights, Yukbeltire easily put on the artifact. As the gag was put in place, Professor Verdus struggled as if he was frustrated.

-Calm down, Professor. We’ll take it off anyway since you have to lecture. Just stay still while the successor explains the situation.

“Mmmph!”

-We should have put this on you when you were in the disciplinary chamber.

Lee Han breathed a sigh of relief. The knights had given him the time he needed.

At least, it seemed like he had somehow managed to deal with the situation of Professor Verdus’s sudden appearance.

“Professor. It seems like those people have understood, so please take off the artifact and proceed with the lecture.”

Lee Han quickly said, taking advantage of the gap when the stonemason guild members stepped back.

Professor Verdus, resigned, nodded.

“Mmph.”

-Wait. Don’t take it off.

-Why? Of course, I want to keep it on him, but…

-Did you think I stopped you for that reason? Of course, that’s partly the reason, but first, you need to tell him what you lectured on until just now.

The knights didn’t trust Professor Verdus at all.

He said he would proceed with the lecture himself, but no one knew if it would really resemble a lecture.

After taking it off, he might cool the atmosphere by saying something like, ‘Build a building and bring it to me yourselves.’

At least, they had to let him know what kind of lecture Yukbeltire and Lee Han had been giving.

-Indeed. How were you teaching?

“It wasn’t me, but my senior who was lecturing.”

-Yes, yes. Let’s skip the minor details.

The knights gestured as if they knew everything and wanted to move on.

It wasn’t the first time they’d heard Lee Han say something like that!

‘I feel like punching them for some reason.’

Perhaps because he still felt upset about Yukbeltire earlier, the Death Knights strangely looked annoying.

Lee Han hid his sullen feelings and opened his mouth.

“So, this lecture started with…”

Yukbeltire, who had been taking over Professor Verdus’s lecture, vehemently resisted the newly added lecture.

“I absolutely cannot agree. I will protest to the Headmaster.”

“The current power lies with the Inspector General.”

“Then I will protest to the Inspector General. Wodanaz family junior, you must help me as well.”

“How can I protest to the Inspector General? The Inspector General is a terrifying tyrant and an evil dragon. If I say even one wrong word in front of him, I will be swallowed whole.”

Yukbeltire showed a puzzled expression at Lee Han’s words.

It was quite different from the information he had heard.

“He didn’t seem like that kind of person. His reputation among the royals is good, and when I saw him at the banquet…”

“That’s all a cunning deception.”

“I heard that you, a junior from the Wodanaz family, have a great influence on the Inspector General. How did that happen?”

“That’s also a misunderstanding. I’m just being dragged around and threatened. I’m just doing as I’m told.”

Lee Han lied without changing his expression.

Anyway, Lee Han doubted Yukbeltire would ever meet the Inspector General.

“But senior, you might be able to persuade that evil and powerful tyrant and dragon, unlike me. Would you like to assist him in my place?”

Yukbeltire immediately expressed his refusal.

“I refuse. I absolutely cannot accept that. I already have more unnecessary work because of the Inspector General…”

A recent example was the evil spirits appearing in the Nightmare Echo Forest.

Originally, this was not something a fifth-year student should be dealing with at all.

Dirette, a strange friend, or someone who worried about his juniors unnecessarily, would have stepped up, but it had nothing to do with Yukbeltire. Suddenly, a letter came from the Inspector General.

It was a letter specifically instructing Yukbeltire to do it.

“Cough, cough.”

Suddenly, Dirette, who was next to him, started coughing as if he had choked.

“Are you alright, senior? Here, have some cocoa.”

Lee Han took the cocoa cup in front of Yukbeltire and handed it to Dirette.

“Th-thank you. That…”

“?”

Dirette sighed and decided to stay quiet. What could he say?

How could he say that his junior was using the Inspector General’s power as he pleased?

If Yukbeltire and his junior were trying to use each other, Dirette had no choice but to side with the latter.

Especially if he was in a position to receive help as a senior.

“It seems like Yukbeltire’s magic research lab environment is not good, so you’re coughing. Senior Dirette, wouldn’t it be better for you to go back and do your own research?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? I’ve never heard that the environment is bad. Tell me exactly what coordinates are bad. If you’re even a little wrong, it’s invalid.”

“I’ll stop you two after this…”

Dirette stopped them. Lee Han looked at his senior with a displeased look.

He had distributed the work by using Professor Mortum and Senior Yukbeltire, but he was here to help!

But some personalities couldn’t be helped. Lee Han gave up and opened his mouth.

“Anyway, senior, go prepare for the lecture. I’ll help you.”

Normally, Lee Han wouldn’t have bothered. But lately, he’d been using the Inspector General’s influence to give Yukbeltire extra work and lectures. He felt a little bit guilty.

The other seniors in the Buyeo Magic Academy would never help, even if the sky fell…

“Alright. Good thinking.”

Yukbeltire nodded as if it were natural.

Lee Han cursed inwardly at the sight of him, who was hateful for no reason.

‘I shouldn’t have said I’d help. I should have just thrown the lecture at him.’

“Wait. Where did the cocoa go?”

“What cocoa are you talking about?”

“The cocoa that you, a junior from the Wodanaz family, made. I haven’t even taken a sip yet because I was going to drink it after finishing work.”

“Are you mistaken?”

“There’s no way I could be mistaken about that…”

“That’s not important right now. Let’s get out of here quickly. If the lecture isn’t properly prepared, the Inspector General will burn it and swallow it.”

-Cocoa sounds delicious.

“Do the knights also drink cocoa?”

-I can hardly taste the sweetness, but I can feel the magic. As you know, if the successor brews it…

-Ah. Don’t say unnecessary things. So, you helped Yukbeltire prepare for the lecture? You’re really kind.

Lee Han had cut out the details, so the knights could only admire him.

“Mmph?”

-What is he saying?

“He’s probably asking why you helped even though it’s not your job.”

“Mmmph!”

Professor Verdus nodded brightly, saying that he was right. The knights looked at him with contempt and disgust.

“Leave him alone. Anyway, I went to Professor Knighton…”

“If Professor Verdus had come, I would have kicked him out, but I can’t treat you all like that. Here are the lecture materials you’ve been using so far.”

“Thank you, Professor.”

“According to custom, people from the capital’s stonemason guild will come. They like practical things in many ways, so it would be good to have a free atmosphere and discuss with the students. But…”

“?”

“…Why is Wodanaz helping with the lecture preparation?”

“Haha. He’s my junior.”

“?”

The old professor tilted his head.

If that were the case, Yukbeltire had dozens of juniors, but he had never heard of any of them helping with lecture preparation.

“Anyway, please take care of it. They’re the ones whose building collapsed because of Professor Verdus in the past, so be especially careful when dealing with them.”

Lee Han looked at his senior with a dumbfounded face.

To think it was even a famous incident!

‘I already don’t want to meet them.’

However, the reaction of the stonemason guild members from the capital was completely different from Lee Han’s expectations.

The first thing they said in a rough voice at their first meeting was the following:

“Who is the wizard who beat up Count Buillon?”