Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 1053

Guinan yelped, “Oh, dear!” and his eyes snapped open. He sat up quickly, looking around nervously. He knew he wasn’t as important as the Skull Headmaster. He could easily get in trouble and be sent away from this comfortable villa – back to the cold tower rooms when school started.

He saw the Skull Headmaster chuckling, a low rattle in his bony jaw. For some reason, Guinan thought the Headmaster was laughing *at* Lee Han. He frowned, suddenly feeling angry.

“Headmaster!” Guinan said, his voice louder than he meant it to be. “Why are you laughing *at* Lee Han?” *Has the Headmaster finally lost his mind?* Guinan wondered, staring at the floating skull.

The Skull Headmaster’s eye sockets seemed to widen in surprise. He stopped chuckling and floated closer to Guinan, looking utterly confused. *What is wrong with this boy?* the Skull Headmaster seemed to think.

“Lee Han!” Guinan quickly said, turning to Lee Han and trying to sound friendly. “I was just laughing because the Headmaster was laughing! I was just joking along with him!”

Lee Han looked at Guinan with narrowed eyes. “But you started laughing *before* the Headmaster,” he pointed out, his voice quiet but sharp. “Didn’t you?”

“No! No, you’ve got it all wrong!” Guinan insisted, waving his hands nervously. “It’s a misunderstanding!”

Lee Han sighed. “Alright,” he said, standing up. “Come with me, Guinan.”

Lee Han had decided he was taking Guinan along.

Lee Han wanted to take Guinan with him for two reasons. First, Guinan had been laughing at the wrong time. Second, it would be a good excuse if Professor Voladi asked questions. He could say Guinan was interested in bounty hunting.

Lee Han thought it would look strange if *he*, someone who usually studied quietly, suddenly wanted to be a bounty hunter.

“Hmph.”

Guinan’s shoulders slumped as he was dragged along to do unpleasant work like bounty hunting. The Skull Headmaster watched Guinan being dragged away and chuckled, a low, happy sound. His skull seemed to grin wider.

“Lee Han. Can’t we take the Headmaster with us too?”

“…Guinan. Sometimes I wonder where you get your courage.”

Lee Han was surprised to hear his friend suggest taking the Skull Headmaster along.

Who on earth could possibly drag the Skull Headmaster along?

“Ah!”

As Giselle came down the stairs, she spotted a floating skull and quickly cast an invisibility spell, hiding behind a pillar.

The Skull Headmaster saw her and called out.

“Moradi. Perfect timing. I need you to do me a favor. Could you be a bodyguard here for a little while?”

“…Excuse me?”

Giselle tilted her head, her eyes full of suspicion.

She couldn’t understand what the Skull Headmaster was up to.

“A bodyguard? For Wodanaz?”

“I don’t understand what you mean by a bodyguard for Wodanaz. He’s perfectly capable of taking care of himself…”

“Not for Wodanaz,” the Skull Headmaster said, pointing his bony finger at Guinan. “For this prince.”

If Lee Han went alone, the Headmaster wouldn’t care. But with Guinan going too, it was different. Guinan wasn’t good at fighting. He needed protection.

A bodyguard was needed to protect the dark magic user who was not good at fighting up close.

The top student of the White Tiger Tower would be more than enough as a bodyguard.

“Ah, I see.”

Giselle immediately understood.

‘But if he needs a bodyguard, why is he taking the prince with him?’

Giselle, who didn’t know why Guinan was being dragged along, could only tilt her head in confusion.

“If something happens, send me a message with a paper bird,” the Skull Headmaster said. “If it’s really dangerous, use the summoning ring. You haven’t lost the summoning ring, have you?”

“Yes. It’s probably somewhere in my backpack.”

…At least remember where it is.

The Skull Headmaster was dumbfounded by his student’s lack of safety awareness.

Even after all the trouble Giselle had been in before, she still wasn’t careful enough!

It was hard to tell if he was brave or just stupid.

“I put it in quickly after receiving it last time… Ah. Here it is.”

“Wodanaz. Wodanaz.”

Giselle called out in a low voice, and Lee Han checked the location of the ring before turning his head.

“I know what you’re curious about, Moradi. Actually, Professor Voladi has gone to get a new wanted poster, and I need to quietly follow him to check something…”

“No. I’m not curious about that.”

Giselle cut him off.

She didn’t really care where Wodanaz took the prince.

At best, it would be a toy store or a wizard card shop.

“Then what are you curious about?”

“Why are you wearing handcuffs on your wrist?”

“Wait. The handcuffs are gone! Thanks for pointing that out, Moradi!”

Lee Han expressed his gratitude at the sight of the dragon armor finally being released.

Magic had exerted its power, but he had missed it because he was talking.

Giselle wanted to shout, but she just thought it in her head. *No, that’s not what I meant! Why were you wearing handcuffs in the first place?!*

“Bounty hunting?”

Giselle’s eyes sparkled at the mention of going to get a bounty poster instead of a toy store or a wizard card shop.

“That’s a bit interesting. Wodanaz. Are you already looking for requests in preparation for the second semester?”

“No. I haven’t thought about that.”

Lee Han was slightly taken aback.

In the first place, Lee Han was able to receive the widest range of requests among the current Einroguard students, as he was taking courses from all the faculties.

Bounty hunting wasn’t that attractive of an option for him.

‘The cost-effectiveness isn’t very good.’

Above all, the fatal flaw was that if you failed among the various requests, you wouldn’t get a single penny.

Considering the professors and graduates of Einroguard, there was a reason why the wizards of the Enchantment Faculty had a high average gold income.

“Wodanaz. Think about it. You’re escaping from the stuffy school and chasing after criminals. You’re using all your learned magic and swordsmanship to engage in fierce battles. Isn’t that what you want?”

‘Not really?’

Lee Han wondered if Giselle had met some fake Lee Han and talked to him while he was away.

However, Giselle continued to persuade him with a rare persistence.

Bounty hunting was basically a high-risk, high-return request, and the permission was quite strict. If it seemed difficult for the students alone, permission wouldn’t be granted in the first place.

However, if you went to catch a wanted criminal who only gave you a small amount of money, it would be a loss in reverse…

“Wodanaz, if you participate, the list of possible permissions will increase greatly. Don’t you want to taste freedom during the semester?”

“The professor will be following us anyway, so it doesn’t seem very free…”

Lee Han didn’t expect much, as he had already felt how annoying the school’s permitted outings were during club activities.

But Giselle, who had become persistent for once, didn’t back down this time either.

“Wodanaz. Our family’s territory goes hunting in the winter.”

“?”

“?”

Lee Han, as well as Guinan, tilted their heads.

Why was she suddenly talking about that?

“I see?”

“Sometimes we chase after wild animals, sometimes we go bird hunting, and sometimes we chase monsters.”

“Ah. Like when Sir Zicklin dragged you out hunting last time.”

“Be quiet. That’s an exception.”

Giselle said sternly.

Giselle’s sister, Zicklin’s, hunting was called ‘hunting,’ but it wasn’t hunting at all.

What kind of hunting was it to wander around the winter mountains alone and attack monsters stronger than herself? That was closer to a trial.

Giselle unconditionally defended Zicklin, but this was a bit much.

“A proper hunt is a much more enjoyable and enriching experience. And the hunt that the knights are most excited about is the hunt for criminals with bounties on their heads.”

“……”

“……”

Lee Han and Guinan exchanged glances.

Guinan asked with his eyes, ‘Can I say it’s barbaric?’, but Lee Han shook his head.

It wasn’t a good idea to provoke her within Giselle’s range. Especially when he was attending as Guinan’s bodyguard.

“Ah, I see…”

Instead of pointing out the customs of the northern knight families, Lee Han respected the relativity of the imperial region’s culture and restrained himself. Then he waited for Giselle’s next words.

But the next words didn’t come.

“Is that all?”

“That’s all. …Aren’t you interested?”

Giselle asked, slightly flustered.

She had just told a very exciting story about bounty hunting, so why was the reaction so bland?

Guinan sent another glance. It was a signal to let him open his mouth.

Lee Han quickly waved his hand, telling his friend to shut up.

“That’s really interesting. I’m interested?”

“Really? I knew you’d be like that, Wodanaz. I still remember hunting with my sister when I was young.”

“Like when she dragged you out last time?”

“That’s an exception. Not that, a normal hunt. You little brat.”

Giselle replied sharply.

Lee Han thought he should stop mentioning Zicklin’s hunting at that reaction. Now that he thought about it, it didn’t feel like hunting back then either.

‘So that was strange even by Moradi family standards. I thought the family’s customs were strange.’

Just like the Wodanaz family had strange customs, he wondered if the Moradi family had such customs too…

“Anyway, it’s interesting, right?”

“Of course. Very interesting. As interesting as that thing knights like… yes, polo.”

Giselle didn’t notice the awkward lie, even though she would have noticed it right away under normal circumstances.

People’s intelligence drops slightly when they talk about a subject they like.

Lee Han nodded silently. It was a consideration for his friend, who was originally smart.

“If it’s a party of about five, it’s in the city, and if it’s about ten, it’s in the fields or forests…”

“L, Lee Han. How long do I have to listen?”

“Guinan, I’ll protect your life in case something happens, so listen with a smile as much as possible.”

Guinan listened to the story about bounty hunting, which he didn’t really want to know, with a tearful face.

What about the guy hiding in the northern village, what about the guy hiding in the river, what about the guy hiding in the forest…

Guinan, who was listening to the story, suddenly became worried and whispered again.

“Lee Han. We’re just going to check if the professor is receiving a bounty poster, right? Not going bounty hunting?”

“Of course. Guinan. We’re just watching the professor.”

Lee Han soothed his friend.

He couldn’t tell him why he had to monitor Professor Voladi, but since he had come this far with him, he needed to soothe him.

And it wasn’t exactly a lie. All he had to do was watch Professor Voladi while she received the bounty poster and returned…

“Are you going to catch them now?!”

Lee Han, who had just run into Professor Voladi coming out of the Imperial Palace, shouted in horror.

He had asked if she was going back to the villa, but the answer was no.

“Yes.”

“Why?!”

“?”

Professor Voladi showed a slight bewilderment at her student’s question.

It was such a stupid question that it was hard to believe that he was the student who always asked smart questions. Giselle, who was next to him, nodded as if she agreed.

‘That’s a stupid question. Did he catch it because the prince is next to him?’

“Because I can catch them?”

“I, indeed. Professor. Um… Can I follow you and watch? Actually, Guinan and I are here…”

Lee Han was about to give the speech he had prepared on the way, ‘Why did I become interested in bounty hunting and why am I not suspicious?’

But Professor Voladi allowed it without listening to everything.

“Do so.”

“Thank you…”

“But that’s strange.”

“!”

Lee Han was startled inside at Professor Voladi’s words.

Did the professor realize why Lee Han was here?

‘That’s terrifying. Is this the intuition of a combat wizard!’

“W… What is it?”

At her student’s question, Professor Voladi still pointed to Guinan with an indifferent attitude.

“I didn’t expect the prince to show interest.”

“……”

Lee Han and Giselle weren’t very surprised, but it was quite surprising that Guinan was interested in bounty hunting.

“…Guinan also wants to grow further as a wizard of the Black Magic Faculty. Isn’t that right?”

“H… Hehe. Yes…”

“More positively.”

“I’m so happy to be participating in bounty hunting. Hehe.”

Giselle poked Lee Han in the waist at Guinan’s answer.

“Wodanaz.”

“?”

“Originally, I was going to make the rest of the group from the White Tiger Tower, but I’ll make an exception for the prince. It’s okay to bring him.”

“…Y, yes. Thank you so much.”

Lee Han answered, glancing sideways at Guinan. It was really fortunate that Guinan didn’t hear this.

Oh