Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 148

“I suppose so.”

“?!!”

Lee Han’s words surprised Yoner.

It was the first time Yoner had ever heard that the undead needed to rest.

Could the dark magic world have changed so much without him knowing?

“If we stand guard, how would we do it?”

The headmaster replied, “Hmm… I’ll pick a few students from each tower to wander around at night.”

Lee Han thought, *This patrol idea is not very good.*

He didn’t believe that a few new students wandering around at night could find and catch intruders.

It seemed more likely they would be the ones getting caught.

“Isn’t it a bit dangerous?” Lee Han asked.

The headmaster waved his concerns away. “There’s no need to worry so much. Even if something happens, all the summoned creatures can respond.”

*And he was just saying the undead need to rest…*

The skeletal headmaster had just contradicted himself, but Lee Han answered without showing his doubt.

“Is that so.”

*The skeletal headmaster might be more dangerous than he looks.*

He was already the type to make magical firecrackers to shoot at—no, use on the students.

For some reason, his attempt to force the new students to take a walk at night felt very suspicious to Lee Han.

“It’s best to be careful,” Lee Han muttered.

“Huh?” Yoner looked at him, puzzled.

Were they not supposed to be careful while monitoring the intruders?

“Right? You never know what kind of person might be among the intruders…” Yoner said.

“No. Not the intruders, the headmaster,” Lee Han corrected.

“……”

Nilia gripped her bow tightly, her steps light as she moved. She was on patrol.

Surprisingly, the students from the other towers had readily accepted the skeletal headmaster’s request to patrol at night.

Students like Lee Han thought, *If I want to go out, anytime is going-out time,* whether they had permission or not. But many students didn’t go out much after evening.

Rules were rules, after all, and they hesitated to break them.

But now they were allowed to wander around legally, so they couldn’t help but be excited.

In comparison, Ratford’s expression was serious as he followed Nilia.

“What’s wrong?” Nilia asked.

“You mustn’t underestimate thieves,” Ratford said. “They might be hiding anywhere, waiting for a chance to steal.”

Like a professional thief, Ratford reacted very sensitively to the headmaster’s words that ‘thieves might enter the school during the Spring Festival.’

Weren’t thieves the type to use their hands whenever they had the chance?

“I don’t think it’s that serious…?” Nilia tilted her head.

If it were that serious, the headmaster probably wouldn’t have told the students to patrol.

“Isn’t he just telling us to wander around in case? To enjoy the festival mood?”

“Indeed… If that’s the case, it would be a relief,” Ratford nodded.

The festival wasn’t just about laughing, chatting, and enjoying events.

Preparing for the festival, patrolling, and preparing for thieves were also ways to enjoy the festival.

That was the case when Ratford was in the city too.

People enjoyed preparing for the festival more than the festival itself.

“Right? It probably won’t be dangerous,” Nilia said.

“Yes. It reminds me of the old days,” Ratford agreed.

“Wow… Have you ever prepared for a festival?” Nilia asked with envy.

She wasn’t ashamed of being born and raised in the mountains, but there were times when she envied those from the city.

This was one of those times.

While students born and raised in the city enjoyed various festivals and city entertainment, Nilia chased after prey, bow in hand, going back and forth over the mountains!

“Yes,” Ratford answered.

“Oh, what was it like?”

“It was enjoyable. Thanks to checking for loopholes while preparing, I was able to earn a lot.”

“……”

Nilia decided to pretend she didn’t hear that.

“Look. There’s a light over there. Let’s go,” she said.

“Yes.”

Nilia moved to check the light in the distance.

*Are they students from another tower?*

Neither Nilia nor Ratford were too worried about seeing the light.

It wasn’t too far from the tower, and usually, someone who openly turned on a light like that wasn’t an intruder. What intruder would act so boldly?

That was definitely a student from another tower…

-■■■■■!

“Th-that’s a griffin!!! Ratford! Get behind me!” Nilia shouted.

“!!!”

Nilia immediately nocked an arrow and prepared to shoot.

A griffin!

She couldn’t believe it.

She never imagined that a monster rarely seen even in the mountains would be here on the grounds of the magic school.

*I heard all sorts of monsters come out, but this is too much!*

Nilia observed the griffin without rashly shooting. If she shot hastily out of fear, she would only provoke the opponent.

If the opponent had no intention of attacking, it was best to just move on…

“Nilia. It’s me! Calm down!”

“W-Wardanaz?” Nilia was confused when she heard a familiar voice coming from the griffin.

“Yes.”

“You transformed into a griffin?!”

“…Look behind the griffin!”

Only then did the flustered Nilia realize that there were two friends behind the griffin.

They had been hidden by the griffin’s large size.

“Ah…!”

*Transformed into a griffin? What does she usually think of me?*

Lee Han thought to himself as he greeted Nilia. Ratford, who had lost his strength in his legs and fallen, also hurriedly got up.

“Wh-what is that?”

“Calm down. I can explain,” Lee Han said.

“Did you transform the horse into a griffin?!”

At Ratford’s words, Nilia looked at Lee Han with a surprised expression.

Could it be?!

Lee Han shook his head firmly.

“No, I didn’t.”

“You didn’t? I just assumed…”

After the skeletal headmaster left, Lee Han finished checking the surroundings and brought out Ponryg.

Then, together with Yoner, he carefully fed him the potion.

-You said you can’t completely remove the curse?

-Yeah. If it returns to normal after some time, it means the power of the curse is stronger than the power of the potion, making complete removal impossible.

-Why such a strong curse… No, there’s no point in asking.

Bang!

-……

Ponryg, who had returned from a horse to a griffin as the curse was lifted, glared at Lee Han and Yoner with resentful eyes.

It was a look of ‘I told you so.’

Yoner whispered, looking worried.

“I heard griffins are ferocious and violent monsters. Is it going to attack us?”

“But Yoner, I heard that once a griffin pledges allegiance, it remains loyal forever,” Nilia replied.

“But we thought it was just a normal horse before,” Ethan said.

“Maybe we should still be careful, just in case?” Yoner suggested.

“Screech! Screech!” The griffin cried out loudly, as if he was really upset, pawing the ground.

“Ponryg, it’s a misunderstanding. I trust you, I tell you,” Ethan reassured the griffin.

The griffin glared at Ethan with eyes full of sorrow and injustice.

Ethan had to groom the griffin diligently to soothe its hurt feelings. Slowly, the griffin seemed to relax a little. Just then, Ethan heard footsteps and his friends appeared.

“So… it wasn’t Ms. Wodanaz who transformed it, but Professor Lightning Gait who did it,” Nilia stated.

Nilia trailed off, looking dumbfounded. “I don’t even know where to begin pointing out the problems…”

Even Professor Lightning Gait, who seemed the most normal, was doing things like this. Who on earth could she trust?

Nilia was still thinking about the Headmaster, but Ethan turned to the two Black Tortoise Tower students. “If the Headmaster tells you to do anything, don’t go near him. Especially if he’s about to set off magic firecrackers, avoid him at all costs.”

“What? Okay,” one student replied.

“Yes, we will avoid him,” the other agreed.

The two friends grew up in a dangerous place. They listened to the warning and would think about it more later. The reason could be asked later.

“Are you two patrolling in the Black Tortoise Tower?” Ethan asked.

“Yes. They told us to go around the tower,” Yoner replied.

“That’s a relief,” Ethan said.

Nilia’s eyes widened. “Are the intruders really coming in that much that it’s dangerous?”

“No. I caught one intruder earlier,” Ethan explained.

Nilia gasped. “The Headmaster is *more* dangerous?”

“What did you two do during the festival?” Ethan inquired.

Nilia was more curious about the story of the Headmaster being dangerous, but she answered the question first. “I helped with alchemy, and I participated in the archery contest…”

“I was asked about good places to hide treasure,” Yoner whispered.

Ethan felt a pang of sadness. Everyone else was having fun at the festival, while he was dealing with… griffins. Wouldn’t it be fortunate if at least his friends were enjoying it?

“You were asked about good places to hide treasure? Which faculty asked you?” Ethan asked, looking curious.

Yoner whispered, “The Headmaster asked me.”

“…What?” Ethan asked, surprised.

“The Headmaster asked me about good places to hide treasure, but…” Yoner trailed off.

“Didn’t he say anything else?” Ethan pressed.

“He said he was doing a treasure hunt,” Yoner replied.

Ethan’s expression turned serious. He knew the Headmaster’s personality. He wouldn’t just do a normal treasure hunt… How many traps is he planning to set up?

The next day, before the festival started again, Ethan visited Professor Lightning Gait early in the morning.

“Professor, the horse I’m riding seems to be a griffin,” Ethan stated.

Professor Lightning Gait nodded with a grave expression. “You figured it out faster than I expected.”

“…Why on earth would you do that?” Ethan asked.

“Isn’t it better to learn how to deal with a griffin that has turned into a horse now, rather than learning how to deal with a real griffin later?” Professor Lightning Gait explained.

“Oh…” Ethan was about to be convinced for a moment, but snapped out of it. Come to think of it, there was no need to learn how to deal with a griffin. He’s talking nonsense with a solemn expression.

Ethan wasn’t fooled by such things. “Is that so, Professor?”

“You don’t seem convinced at all?” Professor Lightning Gait observed.

“No, I’m convinced. But Professor, I have a question,” Ethan said.

“Go ahead,” the professor replied.

“If I take off on a griffin around the main building here, wouldn’t magic interfere?” Ethan asked. As quick-witted as Ethan was, he had some idea. There was no reason for the high spires of the magic school’s main building to have stables for flying animals. There was a designated path in the sky of the magic school. If one tried to fly off course and escape, all sorts of magic would come flying.

“That’s right,” Professor Lightning Gait confirmed.

Professor Lightning Gait could clearly see Ethan’s intentions. As soon as he found out it was a griffin, he was trying to escape on it. A prodigy was a prodigy.

“It seems difficult for me to avoid that at my level,” Ethan said.

“That’s right,” Professor Lightning Gait nodded. There were dozens of spells in place, and it was impossible for Ethan to break them all. Before that, an alarm would sound, and other professors would come flying.

“I’ll probably have to find a place like the spire stables that has a path connected to the outside,” Ethan mused.

Professor Lightning Gait got goosebumps for the first time in a while. How on earth?! As one of the places where guests from outside came in, the spire stables were connected to a sky path that was not interfered with by magic. But even so, how could a freshman figure that out already?

“That’s right. Amazing. You’ve already figured it out…” Professor Lightning Gait said, impressed.

“Then please tell me another place, Professor,” Ethan demanded confidently.

Professor Lightning Gait was taken aback. “What?”

“Since I already know about the spire stables, please tell me another path that doesn’t have interfering magic,” Ethan repeated.

Professor Lightning Gait was speechless. What kind of guy was this? But being shameless was also one of the talents of a wizard. And what the boy in front of him had done was certainly worthy of praise. Well, he did figure out the griffin’s identity… Even though it was Professor Lightning Gait himself who had done it, he was honestly still amazed at how he had figured it out.

Before the professor could open his mouth, Ethan spoke again. “If you don’t tell me, Professor, I’ll tell the guests from outside about the griffin.”

“…Get out some paper. I’ll tell you just one place,” Professor Lightning Gait said. He had no choice but to admit that his student was a truly formidable fellow.