Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 1134

Professor Kirmin and Professor Voladi were friends since school. You might forget this because Professor Kirmin was always friendly and honest.

Professor Garcia felt a wave of guilt wash over him. *How could I be so foolish?* he thought, shaking his head. After all this time in Einroguard, he should have known better.

*I forgot the simplest thing,* he scolded himself.

Anyone, even someone who seemed completely normal, could hide darkness inside.

Lost in these bitter thoughts, Professor Garcia didn’t notice the merchants until they were almost upon him. Carts creaked and wheels crunched on the dusty road. *Too late!* If only he had been paying attention, he could have warned them to turn back.

“Are you from Einroguard?”

Naseda signaled the soldiers with him to quickly dismount.

The way they got off their horses showed respect. Even simple things like this can show politeness.

Indeed, a coachman with a stern face among the knights (whose faces were hidden by helmets) seemed quite pleased.

“-We are from Einroguard. Who are you?”

“I am Naseda, sent by Count Bouillon. I have come to clear up a misunderstanding!”

“One.”

Lee Han muttered. Professor Garcia felt a moment of curiosity.

*What’s he counting?*

“-A misunderstanding? Do you know what offense your Count’s soldiers have committed?”

The knights spoke with disdain.

In truth, the knights weren’t particularly angry. They were putting on a show for the heir behind them.

If they acted too friendly, saying something like, ‘Oh, you’re from there? It seems there’s been a misunderstanding…,’ they might as well be asking, ‘Do you worship dark gods?’

The merchants and even the soldiers were taken aback by the knights’ harsh words.

‘What’s going on? Why are they like this?’

‘…Could they have found out we were diverting the relief supplies?’

“Two.”

Lee Han muttered again. Professor Garcia’s curiosity grew, along with a slight worry.

‘He’s not counting the number of people to kill, is he? Surely not like Professor Beggrec…’

Naseda was confused by the unexpectedly harsh reaction.

He wondered if the soldiers had been particularly rude, but even so, smashing up the checkpoint shouldn’t warrant this level of anger.

Still, he had to play it safe. If these people were here to check on the relief supplies, they were in serious trouble.

“Ha, haha… Yes, of course, I know. How could I not, with the checkpoint destroyed like that? The soldiers made a grave error. We will hold them accountable.”

“-Hmph!”

“Count Bouillon wishes to apologize in person. Would you be willing to wait at a nearby manor?”

“Three.”

“?”

Professor Garcia was now simply curious.

What could that number possibly mean?

The answer came immediately. Lee Han announced in a firm voice:

“They seem suspicious. Arrest them for questioning!”

“……”

So that was it!

Professor Garcia, even as the knights swarmed the merchants, found himself thinking idly.

Perhaps he was simply trying to escape the situation by losing himself in thought.

“Wh-what! What is the meaning of this…”

“-Stay still, you dark god worshipper!”

“Dark god worshipper? I… I’ve never even believed in a god!”

The merchants and soldiers floundered, caught completely off guard.

Being called ‘dark god worshippers’ made them even more confused.

Could the Count have secretly been worshipping a dark god?

‘He doesn’t seem the type?’

‘Wouldn’t he steal the money meant for the dark god?’

“Let us go! Even if you are from Einroguard, do you think you can get away with this! Count Bouillon will lodge a formal complaint!”

Naseda shouted, hoping to buy time by invoking the Count’s name, even though he had no idea what was happening.

“-Are they really dark god worshippers?”

“-They’re awfully defensive.”

The knights muttered amongst themselves.

They had arrested them to appease the heir, but now they seemed a bit suspicious.

The soldiers and merchants were acting as if they were hiding something.

Besides, the lead merchant’s sudden change in attitude was suspicious. Was his earlier demeanor just an act?

“You!”

Ibinta shouted, feeling pressured to do something while the knights were taking action.

“Do you know who this person is! He’s from the Wodanaz family!”

“?!!”

Naseda stopped short at those words.

From the Wodanaz family.

There was only one Wodanaz family wizard of that age from Einroguard currently on the continent.

“…D-don’t lie! I heard that Wodanaz was a rising star destined to lead the Empire!”

Merchants made it their business to gather rumors from across the vast Empire.

Gathering information was a crucial part of their profession.

And from that perspective, the Wodanaz family wizard currently in Einroguard was an exceptional wizard destined to lead the Empire.

He had defeated invaders from other dimensions who had descended on the continent, and despite his young age, he had collaborated with wizards from various magic towers to achieve remarkable magical feats…

…So when he heard the rumors, he thought, ‘He’s quite different from the other Wodanaz family wizards.’

But now it seemed the rumors were wrong.

He was just like the other Wodanaz family members!

“…Ibinta, don’t say unnecessary things.”

“Ah. Yes. Sorry.”

Ibinta regretted his words at Lee Han’s cold rebuke.

He shouldn’t have mentioned the family!

Count Bouillon felt uneasy, even though he had sent his trusted right-hand man.

“Why did the Einroguard wizards visit this place anyway?”

“Perhaps they were heading to Bepaim City? Crossing the bridge would shorten their journey, and Bepaim City has suffered greatly recently, so they might have called for wizards.”

“Then why did they react so violently?”

“The foolish soldiers must have made a mistake. You know how greedy they are.”

The Count didn’t pay his soldiers well. As a result, it was customary for the soldiers guarding the checkpoint to supplement their income.

It was only natural that these soldiers would be friendly if bribed and rude if not.

“Is that so? Those blockheads! They should have just talked it over and sent them on their way…”

Boom!

“What was that?”

“It sounds like a carriage accident outside.”

“Clumsy fools! They can’t even drive properly.”

Wham!

Another loud noise.

It even sounded closer than before. The Count and the head butler’s faces hardened.

Craaash!

“-Aargh! We are not dark god worshippers! We really aren’t! We have nothing to do with dark gods…”

The head butler rushed to the window to check outside. Then, the head butler disappeared from the window.

“?!!?”

Startled, the Count leaned out to see what was happening. The head butler, bound by opaque iron chains, was being dragged down below. It was a bizarre sight indeed.

“Ugh!”

And, of course, the Count was dragged out as well. The Death Knights were grabbing anyone they saw and dragging them out.

“What is the meaning of this! Do you know who I am!”

“-Tell us later. Drag them all out! Where do you think you’re going!”

Some of the servants, thinking it was some kind of raid, tried to flee but found themselves back where they started.

It was as if an invisible maze of illusions surrounded the mansion.

The dragged-out Count Bouillon was forced to kneel in the front garden of the mansion along with the others. The Count didn’t give up and shouted:

“Do you know who I am!”

“Quiet. Be silent.”

Lee Han warned the Count with a voice laced with annoyance.

He was focused on preventing anyone from escaping the mansion, and the Count’s constant whining was grating on his nerves.

“I am Bouillon…”

Thwack!

Naseda and the merchants, who had been captured earlier, were horrified as Lee Han knocked the Count unconscious with a Water Orb.

His willingness to use force without listening made him seem truly insane.

‘He really is a Wodanaz…!’

“If the Count is a dark god worshipper, then you must be…”

“-N-no, we’re not! We just diverted the supplies and sold them for profit!”

The merchants cried, tears streaming down their faces.

It was the first time they hadn’t been believed even when telling the truth.

However, Lee Han’s gaze remained suspicious.

There might be a dark god worshipper among the Count or his retainers.

Even if the merchants were truly innocent, it was worth investigating.

“-We’ve captured everyone.”

“…Diverting the supplies is all they did?”

“Probably. Well, it’s their own fault, isn’t it?”

Professor Kirmin shrugged.

As he said before, it was the fault of anyone who got in the way when someone was angry.

Besides, after hearing the merchants’ testimony, he didn’t feel any sympathy. They had abused their authority to secretly divert and sell relief supplies.

Sometimes fate acted justly. Perhaps fate had used Wodanaz’s hand to strike down the Count.

“……”

Professor Garcia stared at Professor Kirmin.

This wasn’t the time for his student to be making such profound statements…

‘Should I have brought someone else?’

The knights were too sycophantic to be helpful, and Professor Kirmin, whom he had trusted, was being too lenient, perhaps out of sympathy for his friend’s student.

Some time later.

The knights returned, having quickly completed their search, interrogation, and investigation.

“-We haven’t found anything inside the mansion. They diverted supplies and abused their authority, but there’s no evidence they colluded with dark god worshippers.”

“-The testimonies are the same. The Count has been accumulating wealth through despicable means, but he has never met with dark god worshippers. He usually only associates with merchants…”

“Th-that’s right! Please believe us!”

“We were only focused on money. We have no interest in dark god worship!”

The Count, regaining consciousness thanks to the merchants’ shouts, understood the situation and stammered.

He couldn’t imagine why he was being accused of being a dark god worshipper.

“Tsk.”

Lee Han clicked his tongue in displeasure.

He had hoped to catch at least one bad guy, but they were just ordinary criminals.

The Count couldn’t help but stare at the wizard from the Wodanaz family.

Of course, hearing an explanation wouldn’t change the situation. He wasn’t a dark god worshipper, but his most closely guarded secret—diverting relief supplies—had been exposed.

But still, Count Bouillon wanted to hear something, anything. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.

Wasn’t this whole situation caused by the accusation of being a dark god worshipper!

He would feel better if they had just said they suspected him of embezzling relief supplies.

‘Say something, anything!’

“You shouldn’t have acted suspiciously. In these times, we must be careful.”

With those words, Lee Han turned and left. He didn’t offer any explanation or say why he had done what he did. The knights exchanged glances and quietly followed Lee Han.

“……”

“……”

The Count and the merchants swore at that moment:

They would never, ever approach a place where a member of the Wodanaz family lived!

‘That crazy family…!’