Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 335

Lee Han was lost in thought.

He didn’t need to become famous for dancing at the Imperial ball. He also didn’t need to know every single dance.

He only needed to learn the basics, enough to dance one song and then return to his seat.

The best dancers supposedly knew all the slight differences in the waltzes from each region of the Empire…

‘Is that even possible?’

Lee Han was surprised and felt a little guilty.

Lee Han thought he shouldn’t say that, especially because he was studying every magic subject.

‘The easiest way to learn something like this is probably…’

It would be easier to learn with a friend who was just as bad at dancing as he was, rather than learning alone.

It was easier to ask for help, and easier to practice.

‘And I can prepare him in advance so he can’t spout any nonsense.’

“Is Gainando here?” Lee Han asked the butler.

“No, sir. I am sorry,” the butler replied, bowing slightly.

Lee Han was a little surprised. Gainando wasn’t at home?

“Oh… well, never mind. He probably went out,” Lee Han said quickly, realizing it was rude to ask. “Gainando can go out by himself.”

The butler nodded, thinking to himself, *Maybe Master Gainando has other friends he visits.* But he kept this thought to himself and remained silent.

Gainando had indeed gone out on his own.

“He must have gone out to test the new wizard card he got.”

“As expected of the Wodanaz family…”

“That’s just a guess that has nothing to do with the family. Anyway, I understand.”

“Is there a guest?”

From inside the mansion, Gainando’s mother, whom he had met before, appeared.

The head butler bowed his head at the dazzling radiance of the spirit. Gainando’s mother recognized Lee Han and was pleased.

“Gainando’s friend… or, well, acquaintance from the same tower… um… you are Lee Han from the Wodanaz family, right?”

“Yes. And since we’re friends, you can speak comfortably.”

Lee Han could sense her thinking, ‘Is he really a friend? Are they still friends? I should be careful, in case I say they’re friends and it turns out they aren’t, it’ll be awkward for both of us.’

Gainando’s mother said, sounding surprised.

“I understand. What brings you here today?”

“There’s a big social gathering hosted by the city soon, and I came to practice with Gainando.”

Gainando’s mother looked at him again with a surprised expression.

Her eyes seemed to ask, ‘Why are you going so far for him?’

‘I should pretend I didn’t see that.’

“That’s really… a kind thing to do. If I had known in advance, I would have locked him up so he couldn’t go out.”

“It’s alright, I can wait until he comes back.”

The head butler carefully opened his mouth.

“If you need any help with the practice, I’ll be happy to prepare anything.”

At that question, Gainando’s mother frowned.

A proud aristocrat might have taken offense at such a suggestion.

Offering to help with etiquette when they were from the same noble family could sound like looking down on the other party.

“That’s rude. There’s no way a scion of the Wodanaz family can’t handle something like that on his own.”

“I-I apologize.”

Lee Han felt awkward.

‘I was going to ask for help.’

“He’s the kind of guy who can’t handle something like that on his own, so it would be better to help him.”

From inside the mansion, an aristocrat he had seen somewhere before appeared.

A handsome man with a cold impression, draped in a formal robe made of dark blue silk, holding a cane with the unique elegant movements that only aristocrats could show.

His eyes flickered with wicked mischief.

“Skull…! No, Headmaster!”

“It sounds like you were about to call me casually, but I’ll let it slide as a sign of familiarity,” the Skull Headmaster said, lightly tapping the floor with his cane.

Maybe it was just his imagination, but Lee Han thought the Skull Headmaster looked very tired.

‘That’s strange.’

The Skull Headmaster was one of the most powerful wizards Lee Han knew.

A wizard like that wouldn’t get tired from using a few spells.

“Did something happen?”

“…Why do you ask?”

“You look a little tired.”

“Must be your imagination.”

The Skull Headmaster frowned and glared at Lee Han.

Thanks to that, his words just now had no persuasiveness at all.

‘He says it’s my imagination.’

Lee Han wondered what he had done wrong.

“Did the Ghoul King cause you more work? But that’s not my fault, it’s the Adventurer’s Guild’s fault for not investigating properly…”

“Wait. Ghoul King, you say?” The Skull Headmaster cut off Lee Han’s words.

His sixth sense, developed through precognitive magic, was warning him of something ominous.

Nothing good would come of hearing it!

‘I was harassed by the Emperor until dawn, please don’t tell me…’

The Skull Headmaster had been face to face with the Emperor alone in the Imperial Palace from the end of vacation until dawn today.

It was called a face-to-face meeting, but it was closer to scolding and criticism.

-Oh-soo… I respect your policies. But there are definitely some parts that are too much. I heard that a wizard who graduated from Einroguard caused another accident…

-It’s because wizards are basically crazy, it’s not that Einroguard is particularly strange… The reason why Einroguard has a high percentage is because Einroguard has many capable wizards, so the number of incidents also increases…

-Enough with the excuses. I didn’t call you to hear that. I heard that an outstanding student from the Wodanaz family has entered?

-Yes.

-The fact that you agree so readily means that he must be a truly outstanding student. Well, he is from the Wodanaz family.

-I will take responsibility and teach him well.

-Don’t try to change the subject. I heard that the student is receiving harsh teachings that go beyond the normal level. Is it true that the new student is learning magic from all schools?

-…It’s not like there haven’t been precedents…

-That kid was a troll hybrid. There were many calls to dismiss you back then too. This time it’s the Wodanaz family, so there’s no such talk.

-Just looking at that, you can see how clueless the bureaucrats are, can’t you? No, which one would last longer, a troll hybrid or a pure human?

-If he’s from the Wodanaz family, I can’t help but expect some extraordinary abilities… Stop changing the subject. I only have one thing to say. Teach that student well.

-Yes.

-Oh-soo. When I say teach him well, I’m not just talking about magic. Make sure he doesn’t go astray.

The Emperor’s words weren’t entirely unreasonable.

Wizards were inherently dangerous beings.

And outstanding wizards were even more dangerous, and wizards who were outstanding and twisted were extremely dangerous.

Looking at the skills of the wizards coming out of Einroguard, it was natural for the Emperor to be so serious.

But the Skull Headmaster was still frustrated.

Why was it the Skull Headmaster’s fault that wizards learned magic and caused accidents?

He wanted to argue for hours, but the Skull Headmaster held back.

Saying that to the Emperor, who was tired from managing the affairs of the Empire, would only put him at a disadvantage.

And the Skull Headmaster had too many weaknesses that the Emperor could exploit.

-I will do my best.

-I’m saying this in advance in case you try to use clever wordplay later… Examples of teaching him well include preventing him from fighting a Rock Drake, or stopping him from taking an eleventh class when he’s already taking ten, or preventing a new student from fighting when an intruder appears from outside, or similarly preventing a new student from solving the problem when the Frost Giant King is summoned…

-…I swear, I didn’t deliberately push any of those things.

-Is that so.

-But you don’t believe me, do you?

-That’s right. Don’t resent me too much, Oh-soo… It’s all because you’ve deceived me too much.

It was his own fault, so the Skull Headmaster couldn’t say anything.

The karma of always causing trouble and then denying it had come back to him like this.

But the things related to Lee Han were really not things that the Skull Headmaster had forced him into.

He had mostly volunteered!

-From now on, I will be more careful so that new students don’t experience too harsh trials.

-I’m satisfied to hear that answer… I believe you. Oh-soo. Even though I suspect that after three days, you might go back to harshly passing on your teachings as you please…

-No, Your Majesty. What era do you think this is?

-If you gathered all the disciples who ran away from you, you could build a magic tower. Anyway… I’ll believe you.

He had endured the outrageous Emperor’s slander, who was insulting a virtuous archmage based on unfounded rumors and gossip, and returned, but he couldn’t help but be afraid because the guy who was the cause of all this was saying ominous things.

“Let me guess. Ghoul King… Did the undead rise in the cemetery? It’s about time for that to happen. Idle busybodies give them grandiose nicknames.”

“Ah. How did you know? But it wasn’t a Ghoul King, it was an Undead Chimera. I tracked it down and caught it with Dirett-sunbae.”

The Skull Headmaster felt a phantom headache in his non-existent body.

He had only been away for a little over a month, but he was afraid to ask what had happened in the meantime.

“…Then did the nobles cause an accident? Those guys don’t know what’s dangerous and buy all sorts of things to play with.”

“Oh. Did you hear? But that was a Basilisk.”

“…What’s wrong with you!” In the end, the Skull Headmaster exploded.

“The other Blue Dragon Tower guys take out their family’s wealth and live extravagantly during vacation, but why are you like this! It’s like you have multiple lives when you’re not even a Lich!”

Not only Lee Han but everyone else in Gainando’s mansion was dumbfounded.

“My friends are all working during vacation…”

“You must have influenced them!”

“That’s not… is it?”

The Skull Headmaster became even more sulky when Lee Han agreed.

Gainando’s mother stepped forward to defend Lee Han.

“Gonadaltes, Lee Han of the Wodanaz family is completely different from the psychopaths who commit dangerous acts that don’t match their abilities for the sake of empty fame. There was an accident where the members of the Crimson Forest subjugation team were teleported this time, and they were very grateful to Lee Han for saving their lives.”

Originally, he should have been happy about the student’s performance, but instead of being happy, the Skull Headmaster sighed even more deeply.

The most frightening thing was the anxiety that there were still achievements Lee Han had committed that remained.

After sighing a few more times, the Skull Headmaster decided to accept reality.

‘It’s a relief that I have an alibi.’

Even if the Emperor asked later, he could make the excuse that he wasn’t in Granden City at that time.

He didn’t know how much that would work…

“That’s enough… If he was the kind of guy who could be stopped by being told to stop, he wouldn’t have been that great to begin with. Just learn to dance. Kraha-nim. This guy hasn’t taken social classes, so it would be good if you could teach him.”

“Surely?” Gainando’s mother looked at the Skull Headmaster as if he was going too far.

The Skull Headmaster immediately realized what she was misunderstanding.

“No… Kraha-nim! It’s not that I didn’t let him listen!”

“Then he just didn’t listen?”

“That’s right!”

“Yes… I understand…”

“The reliquary is going to break…! You say it instead!” The Skull Headmaster called Lee Han, enduring his headache.

“Yes? What are you talking about?”

“It was your choice not to listen to the dance lessons, wasn’t it!”

“Yes. It was my choice.”

“Look…!” The Skull Headmaster, who was about to speak, paused at the look of astonishment from Gainando’s mother.

At that moment, the Skull Headmaster realized that it was impossible to clear up the misunderstanding no matter how he said it.

“…Just teach him to dance.”