Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 1145

“How many requests have you possibly taken on?”

Until now, I had only heard stories of Einroguard students being sad about not getting requests. This was the first time someone was troubled by having too many. Einroguard was known throughout the magical world as the most prestigious school for wizards.

“Um. Dozens…”

“Dozens?!”

“…except for that, it seems like all the other Einroguard requests are coming to me…”

The guild members were speechless at the unexpected answer.

They hadn’t expected it to be on such a huge scale.

“I didn’t know it was that much. Well, if you’re talented enough to beat up Count Bouillon, it’s strange that you wouldn’t get requests.”

“Pardon?”

“Ah. A slip of the tongue. I was talking about the Pocketknife Fortress. If you’re talented enough to help design the Pocketknife Fortress in your first year, it’s strange that you wouldn’t get requests.”

Lee Han felt awkward but didn’t bother to point it out and moved on.

In the meantime, Yookvelte arrived last. This Blue Dragon Tower senior revealed a faint anger in his voice.

“Running away alone…!”

“Ah. I’m sorry. I didn’t have a chance to signal you. Are you perhaps angry?”

“It’s not because of unreasonable anger, but your reckless actions as a junior without following procedure…”

The members of the Capital Stonemasons Guild coughed lightly. Unlike Professor Verdus, Yookvelte, who at least knew how to be polite, stopped his scolding.

“What were you talking about?”

“I was asking if you were interested in participating as an advisor in a magical construction project.”

Yookvelte was greatly surprised by the offer.

To think he would receive such a request as a mere second-year student.

The other foolish third and fourth-year students from the Buyeo Magic School should learn a thing or two from this junior of the Wodanaz family.

“But I refused.”

“Why?!”

“As I said before, my request list is currently…”

Lee Han took out a scroll from his pocket. Only then did Yookvelte’s memory return.

“That’s right. You rejected the offer because of those requests.”

The request offer had come to Yookvelte, who already had a reputation, and to his junior, who was rapidly building a new one.

Of course, Lee Han had refused it for the time being. How could he accept it when he himself couldn’t even estimate how long it would take?

“Yes. But I said no for now. Maybe if things get better later…”

“Right. You were going to accept the offer once you finished the requests?”

“No. I didn’t say that much.”

Lee Han was dumbfounded by his senior’s attempt to manipulate the past.

‘What is this, like Professor Verdus?’

“I think you did…”

Lee Han ignored whatever his senior was muttering and said what he wanted to say.

“More importantly, is this request that good?”

“It’s definitely on the better side. Being able to participate in such a request as a second-year is a rare opportunity.”

It was basic to hone one’s magical skills, and one could build many connections and a reputation during the work process.

Once a building is completed, it doesn’t easily disappear.

If luck followed, this building would serve as evidence of the wizard’s skill, like a monument praising the king’s achievements.

And this kind of evidence would naturally lead to invitations from other outstanding magical artisans or guilds, so if such an opportunity came in the second year, it was objectively right to seize it.

“How about stopping helping Dirette and taking on the request?”

Lee Han gave his senior the coldest and most contemptuous look he had shown today.

Yookvelte was flustered and explained.

“This is what Dirette said…”

This wasn’t something he had come up with, but something Dirette often said.

‘If a good request comes to a junior, they should temporarily stop helping me (and Yookvelte’s work too) and focus on the request,’ he had continued to explain a theory he didn’t want to know.

So it had unconsciously come out of his mouth!

“Are you trying to put the blame on Dirette just because he’s not here? Seriously, how can someone… even Professor Verdus doesn’t do that.”

“…Bring Dirette here! Right now!”

‘Just because he’s from the same imperial family as Gainan, he’s acting as stubborn as Gainan.’

To think he would use Dirette’s absence to make such unreasonable demands.

Lee Han shook his head.

Seeing the two students arguing, the members of the Capital Stonemasons Guild hurriedly intervened.

“Don’t argue over a request.”

“We’re not arguing over a request… um. Never mind.”

“It’s our fault for not realizing that the Wodanaz student would receive so many good offers. Well, we should have noticed when we heard that the Honeysuckle Magic Tower had entrusted him with a spirit relic request.”

The stonemason guild members regretted among themselves, ‘Why didn’t we notice sooner?’

They had thought it was a false rumor that the Honeysuckle Magic Tower had entrusted a second-year student with a spirit relic request, but after coming and hearing it directly, it made sense.

“That’s… um… never mind.”

Lee Han tried to speak again but gave up.

He felt like he was giving up on saying things a lot today.

“How about this? Building the magical structure inside Einroguard.”

The members of the Capital Stonemasons Guild made a surprising proposal that neither student had expected.

The task they were currently undertaking was a medium-sized magical lighthouse to be installed near the rapids.

It was easy to think of a lighthouse as just a light, but with magic involved, it had to have quite complex functions.

In particular, the magical lighthouse installed near the rapids had to control the wildly swirling currents, appease the enraged spirits of the water, river, and sea caused by this, and at the same time, help the ships passing by.

To this extent, it was a fairly difficult magical structure that even Professor Verdus would find subtly interesting.

In any case, this magical construction request was still close to a blank slate. Not only had they not found laborers or wizards, but the design was also incomplete, so there was not much of a problem even if the location was changed flexibly.

Moving the building after it was completed wasn’t that difficult either…

“Is that really okay?”

“Of course. Wodanaz student. We wouldn’t have brought it up in the first place if it was an unreasonable suggestion. The Capital Stonemasons Guild is definitely not a pushover who takes losses to force incompetent people to take on a project.”

Lee Han, who had been grateful, suddenly felt a sense of doubt.

“But if this was possible, why have I never seen such a request being carried out in Einroguard until now? Perhaps it’s being carried out somewhere other than near the main building?”

“That’s also part of it, but it’s probably because they don’t do it inside Einroguard because of Professor Verdus.”

One of the stonemason guild members replied coldly.

If they built a structure while watching Professor Verdus, even mistakes that didn’t exist would be created due to anger and hatred.

“Hey! Why are you saying such things!”

“You need to know. And it seems like the Wodanaz student knows everything anyway.”

“…Anyway, thank you.”

Yookvelte tapped his shoulder again, and Lee Han turned his head.

“Senior. I told you to call Dirette later. I said I understood.”

Yookvelte completely canceled out the thought that this junior was a little similar to Dirette.

This junior was giving him emotions that Dirette could not give.

It was anger.

Yookvelte, trembling slightly at his fingertips, spoke calmly. Still, he had to say what he was going to say.

“It’s probably impossible.”

“Pardon? Are you talking about the request?”

Yookvelte nodded.

The members of the Capital Stonemasons Guild and the junior of the Wodanaz family didn’t notice, but Yookvelte, a fifth-year student, saw a hidden flaw in this request.

It was the manpower needed.

There weren’t many people who wanted to come all the way into Einroguard to work. There were quite a few people, whether wizards or stonemasons, who were unreasonably afraid of Einroguard.

‘It doesn’t seem particularly irrational.’

Lee Han thought it was rather rational.

And one more thing.

“If fewer people come from outside, can’t we just use the people inside?”

There was no place with a higher density of wizards than Einroguard. If it was the ability of an expert stonemason, there was also the Stonemason Club.

“You might think so. But that’s a mistake.”

“Why?”

Lee Han didn’t understand.

Participating in this would be a good opportunity for other students and the Stonemason Club.

It was a request that came with reputation and rewards, so why would they refuse it?

“Maybe it’s because the request is difficult and there are few students who are confident in their skills. They refused when I suggested it before too.”

“Wasn’t it because everyone was busy at that time?”

“No. It wasn’t just one or two people.”

Yookvelte replied firmly.

It wasn’t a coincidence that everyone who had received the offer had refused so resolutely.

Still, Lee Han still couldn’t understand and tilted his head.

‘I don’t understand. Why are they refusing?’

Lee Han sent paper birds to the Stonemason Club seniors he knew, asking for their opinions.

And to the seniors who participated in this lecture, and to the Buyeo Magic School seniors, or even to seniors from other schools who might be interested.

To Wodanaz,

Thank you for the good request. I’m ashamed that I couldn’t bring such a request to a junior, but I’ll do my best to help since I’ve been offered it.

Anpagon

To Wodanaz,

Was it the stonemason guild members who came to the lecture today who suggested it!? That’s amazing, Wodanaz! To think you’d take on a request to build within the Einroguard territory. Actually, a crazy senior suggested it last year, but everyone stopped him and refused at that time. Anyway, thanks for letting me participate! It’s worth having a good junior!

Marcant

Lee Han’s face hardened as the replies quickly returned.

Yookvelte replied as if he knew it would be like this.

“Everyone refused, I see.”

“…Oh, no. There are more people who want to participate than I thought.”

“How many? How many have refused so far?”

“Z…”

“Ten?”

“Zero.”

Yookvelte fell into confusion.

‘How?!’

Lee Han, who had realized the truth, met eyes with the members of the Capital Stonemasons Guild.

The guild members, who had a lot of experience in this kind of construction, nodded with faces that already guessed what was going on.

In construction, a wizard’s magical skills are important, but so is their character.

You could see it just by looking at someone like Professor Verdus. No matter how outstanding his magic was, he was definitely not a wizard who could command dozens of people.

“I don’t understand. What’s the difference between this year and last year…”

“Maybe it’s because the climate wasn’t good last year, the light of the guest star was dim, and the king of the lightning spirits was imprisoned.”

Lee Han just picked up any nonsense and threw it out there. Yookvelte became even more confused.

“Is that magic to see the future that I don’t know about? It’s telling the future that I’ve never heard of…”

“Isn’t that not your major, senior? More importantly, senior. What role did Senior Anpagon play in the previous request?”

As a fellow Buyeo Magic School student, Anpagon, who was currently a fourth-year, was the most sociable student in the school.

If Yookvelte had carried out the request, Anpagon would have played a fairly important role.

“Anpagon refused. I told you. Everyone refused.”

“…Ah.”

Lee Han read the letter again.

Come to think of it, Anpagon hadn’t written anything about the role he had taken on last year.

He hadn’t written anything about not taking on the role either, but…

‘Shouldn’t the Buyeo Magic School just remove the name school?’

With this level of solidarity, it seemed like a gathering rather than a school, no, even a gathering was too generous a title.

It should be changed to something like or …