Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 337

“Not bad, is it?”

“?!?!?”

Nilia looked up, startled by Lee Han’s words.

For a moment, she thought he was teasing her, but his expression was serious.

“Sangoria flowers aren’t easy to get outside of winter. The Shadow Patrol has relatively more freedom outside of winter. Good choice. I was thinking of negotiating with the guilds to take a break and support the wizards, but using the Shadow Patrol seems like a much better way.”

“No… why… are you crazy…?” Nilia knew the Shadow Patrol were for monsters in the north, not political problems in the south. She wondered if her friend, who had been top of their class, had lost his mind.

To solve the political instability on the southern coast of the Empire, you need some clever method, not call in northern hunters.

“Yoner, look at this.”

“Hey!!” Nilia screamed.

Lee Han had called Yoner instead of just looking at it himself.

‘This is why they say never trust nobles, all of them!’

“What do you think?”

“Not bad? Mobilizing wizards is too expensive, and more than anything, there’s no guarantee it’s immediately possible.”

“That’s right. The Shadow Patrol is much more reliable in comparison.”

“There might be adaptation issues since their areas of activity are different, but is that alright?”

“If there were such issues, Nilia wouldn’t have written it in the first place.”

“I suppose.”

“…Huh?” Nilia flinched as she listened.

…I just wrote it without much thought…

“It’s not that.”

“Looking at this, I think I was overthinking it. The most simple method is the best method.”

“Definitely. I agree.”

“Guys? Guys??”

Whether Nilia called them or not, Lee Han and Yoner were lost in their own world, adding to Nilia’s plan.

“Hunters might be better when working with local guilds too.”

“When magical power becomes rough and spirits are angered, many people feel more uneasy if wizards approach them.”

“……” Nilia was appalled at the sight of her two friends adding stories that hadn’t even happened.

“I’ve seen it all, Nilia. Indeed, the Maykin family was right to give you first place.”

“I’m proud to be your friend.”

“I… didn’t do anything…”

At Nilia’s words, her two friends gave knowing smiles.

“How modest.”

“A drop of modesty makes a genius stand out more.”

“But don’t be too modest, Nilia. If the top student is too modest, it’s hard on the people below.”

Nilia was dumbfounded by the bold words of the top student, who was always modest.

Before she could reply, too dumbfounded to speak, her two friends finished the conversation on their own.

“What happens if the Maykin family adopts it?”

“A method this good is likely to be tried in practice. They’ll probably call Nilia and ask, won’t they?”

“Indeed. The result is anticipated.”

Nilia, who had been listening blankly, whispered like a growling beast.

“…Both of you are helping.”

“Us?”

“Do we need our help? I don’t think we’d be much help.”

“That’s right.”

Nilia absentmindedly tried to take out the bow she had at her waist, but belatedly realized she was wearing clothes suitable for a social gathering.

‘This outfit is so annoying!’

“It feels so awkward. Am I wearing it right?”

“I don’t really know either. Wow. Wait. Look at Nilia. How is she wearing it so perfectly?”

“Nilia has a lot of friends here and there. She must be good at wearing these complicated clothes since she has many opportunities to attend gatherings.”

“????” Nilia turned her head sharply at the sound of the Black Tortoise Tower friends chattering as they passed by.

‘What are these bastards saying?!’

Yoner pointed ahead, puzzled. “Huh? Isn’t that a professor?”

Lee Han replied as if he was talking nonsense. “What are you talking about, Yoner? No.”

“Huh? Beaver beastman… isn’t it? It’s Professor Verdus, isn’t it?”

“It must be someone who looks alike.”

Professor Verdus found Lee Han and walked over with a gloomy expression. Lee Han clicked his tongue openly. Yoner looked at his friend in disbelief. ‘He recognized him, didn’t he!’

“Professor, what brings you here?”

“Because of an unfair instruction.” Professor Verdus waved his wand with a gloomy expression.

Then, the wrinkles in the clothes of a student passing by were smoothed out, and the knot was tied perfectly.

“Unfair instruction?”

“The headmaster must have told you to come out and help the kids.” Lee Han guessed right away.

Given the Skeleton Headmaster’s personality, there was no way he would just let Professor Verdus do useless things nearby.

“Why the dance… the time… the cost… the artifact…” Professor Verdus grumbled and waved his wand. Lee Han gestured to Yoner. ‘Let’s get out of here quickly.’

However, Professor Verdus, bored and dull, didn’t just let Lee Han go.

“Want to try this?”

“What is it?”

“Shoes that make you dance well.” Professor Verdus held out shoes that felt like they had magical power.

Yoner asked, amazed. “There are artifacts like that too?”

“Shhh. Yoner. There’s no reason to give us a normal artifact.” Lee Han saw through Professor Verdus’s thoughts.

He must have made the artifact because he was too bored and dull, so the artifact was unlikely to be ordinary and normal. It probably had something strange or a disadvantage.

“Have you ever made an artifact like this?”

“Why would I make a trash artifact that makes you dance well?”

‘Hmm. It must be dangerous.’ Even if it was shoes that made you dance well, it was dangerous to wear an artifact that he couldn’t handle.

Just like someone who has never swung a sword would only hurt their muscles if they picked up a sword that allowed them to use ancient swordsmanship, there was a high possibility that these shoes would be the same.

“What’s that?” Gainando, who arrived late, asked a question.

Lee Han checked the time and asked. “Why are you so late?”

“Hehe. I won against three people.”

“Did you have a dark magic duel or something?”

“It’s a wizard card battle!” Gainando flared up.

After creating a new deck, Gainando was truly intoxicated with power. He was pondering whether this was what it meant to be all-powerful.

“Shoes that make you dance well.”

“Ah. Thank you.” Gainando readily accepted Professor Verdus’s offer.

Lee Han frowned and said. “It looks dangerous. Wouldn’t it be better to just dance without them?”

“I can’t, I didn’t practice.”

Lee Han didn’t say, ‘You should have practiced during the time you were playing cards.’ He felt like he was nagging too much.

“How about making an excuse and skipping it?”

“I’ll get scolded if it gets to Mom’s ears.”

“You should have practiced during the time you were playing cards.” The words that came out of his mouth were different from what he had thought, just one second after making up his mind.

The banquet was enjoyed not only by the Blue Dragon Tower students who usually enjoyed social gatherings, but also by students from other towers.

Instead of making it too strict for the freshmen with a formal atmosphere, the people of Granden City welcomed them with a soft and pleasant atmosphere. Thanks to this, even students who didn’t know these kinds of events well were able to sit down and chat and dance happily.

“Wizard, how is life in Einrogard?”

“Uh… um…”

“Haha! It seems to be incredibly good! Well, you’re learning at the best magic school in the Empire, so there’s no reason to be dissatisfied! I wish I could go in and learn too.”

“……”

Of course, there were also people who sometimes hurt the students’ feelings, but it wasn’t intentional.

‘Not bad?’ Lee Han was relieved by this atmosphere.

In this atmosphere, even Lee Han, who had little experience with social gatherings, could get through it smoothly…

“Lee Han of the Wodanaz family. I was truly impressed by the magic you showed against Doin of Valdrogard. Would you like to dance a song?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Lee Han of the Wodanaz family. I heard Yoaneen of the Maykin family praising you. Would you like to dance a song?”

“…Yes.”

“Lee Han of the Wodanaz family. His Highness Prince Bogajun…”

“Basilisk…”

“King of Ghouls…”

“This time, an undead chimera in the cemetery…”

“I heard you saved the knights.”

Lee Han thought it would have been better to learn swordsmanship under Alar Long or Ingeldel. At that time, he didn’t have to be so nervous about stepping on the other person’s feet.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

The excuse for dancing at the Empire’s ball was similar to the reason why a drunkard drinks. If the weather is good, they dance a song because the weather is good, and if the weather is bad, they dance a song because the weather is bad, and if the other person has done something, they dance another song with that as an excuse… And Lee Han was a walking excuse himself.

Plop- Lee Han was able to sit down on a chair only after dancing to the last excuse.

‘What is it?’ Lee Han was puzzled when Giselle, who was sitting next to him, stared at him.

“Was there a mistake in the dance?”

“No.”

“Was there a good request?”

“No.”

“May I ask why you’re looking at me?”

“…I heard there’s a freshman who claims to be Gainando of the Moradi family. I’m wondering if you know anything about it.” Giselle said coldly. Lee Han replied immediately.

“I’ll tell Gainando to be careful. Mistaking his family. What an absurd mistake.”

“I heard he has black hair.”

“Gainando has been very interested in hair color transformation magic these days.”

“I heard he uses magic better than the second graders.”

“Gainando has a talent for magic.”

“Are you confident you’ll never meet him in your life?” Giselle asked threateningly.

She meant that she would bring Balgaro of the Alpha family, a second-year senior from the White Tiger Tower, to meet him. So Lee Han didn’t bat an eye.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

‘I just need to avoid it.’ He couldn’t stay under the professor if he was scared of something like that. Even if the lie is discovered later, he must be able to insist without batting an eye right now to survive as a disciple.

‘What kind of bastard is this, really?’ Giselle was speechless.

Coming from a great noble family of the Empire, he was more shameless than a street thug, so she had nothing to say. What the hell is this bastard?

“Wodanaz?”

“Ah. The professor is calling me. I’ll be on my way.”

“You real…” It was Professor Kirmin Ku, who was teaching illusion magic, who called Lee Han.

Professor Ku blinked at Lee Han and said. “I’m sorry to call you when you’re having so much fun.”

“It’s okay.” Lee Han was sincere.

In fact, even if Professor Ku sent him back, he was planning to return to the hall as slowly as possible.

“I called you because I need help. It’s a bit difficult to do alone.”

“Do I have to move luggage or something?” Lee Han asked.

Professor Verdus did, so it wouldn’t be surprising if there were a few more magic school professors here. Lee Han was thinking of calling Professor Verdus if there was any odd job. He couldn’t bear to leave the professor who was bored.

“No, no. It’s not that…”

“Then what is it?”

“I have to scare the students.”

“…????”

I thought a crazy professor had finally appeared for the first time (maybe it wasn’t the first time), but Professor Ku was very sane.

“It’s an annual event. We surprise the students and see how they react.”

“Why are you doing that at the ball?”

“Wodanaz. A wizard must always be on guard. …That’s what the headmaster said.”

‘That’s why they don’t raise donations.’ Lee Han realized who the culprit was and sighed inwardly.

“Oh? But don’t I have to participate?”

“The headmaster told me to exclude you no matter what?”

“……”