Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 340

“Can you really eat that? It doesn’t look very tasty.”

“It is… tasty, though…”

Rowena said, her voice slightly deflated by Lee Han’s harsh critique.

Not all elves insisted on a vegetarian diet, but some elven families were mad about vegetables. Lee Han knew this, so he didn’t blame Rowena.

“I take back what I said about it not looking tasty. But considering our schedule, it’s best to eat something substantial.”

With those words, Lee Han snatched Cltran’s plate.

Cltran wore a more pained expression than when he broke his ankle during a sports game. The plate was piled high with golden-brown pancakes, dripping with sweet honey and sticky syrup, three kinds of fruit tarts, and a crispy, three-layered meat pie, arranged almost artistically. It was all being taken away.

However, the Princess’s face brightened slightly.

Lee Han placed the pancake-filled plate in front of the Princess and handed the bright green vegetable plate to Cltran.

“Cltran, you eat this.”

“…Couldn’t I just get another one, Wodanaz?”

Cltran called out to Lee Han, using his title, Wodanaz.

“Suit yourself.”

Cltran anxiously rose from his seat again, hoping the pancakes hadn’t all been eaten. Rowena, seeing that Lee Han had no plate, said,

“Wouldn’t it be better to eat something, even just a little?”

“This is enough for me. You should fill up your plate.”

“I’m also fine…”

“What’s this, Your Highness? Are you worried about me? Rowena is worried, you know.”

The Princess, with a mouthful of pancake, looked at Lee Han as if he were quite mad, but he ignored her, pretending not to notice.

Rowena nodded in understanding and got up from her seat.

“Are you really sure that plate is alright for you?”

“It’s fine.”

Lee Han didn’t particularly like Rowena’s fresh green plate, which was piled high with bright green vegetables, some still glistening with water, smelling fresh and earthy. But he wasn’t hungry, and more importantly, he was used to rough food.

Even when his friends from the Blue Dragon Tower, his old training school, gagged on hard, black bread, Lee Han could swallow it without a problem.

“Sir Wodanaz, you certainly seem to enjoy vegetables.”

“That’s not… No. Just go fill your plate. The break is almost over.”

Lee Han sent Rowena back to her seat as well. Then, he turned to the Princess.

“Are your followers bothering you?”

The Princess choked, a piece of pancake going down the wrong way. She coughed, her face turning slightly red, and tears welled up in her eyes. Lee Han handed her a glass. She took a small sip of fruit juice and answered slowly.

“…No.”

“Are you sure? I’ve thought this since we were at the academy, but they seem to be bothering you.”

The Princess was silent for a moment, as if choosing her words.

“They don’t have bad intentions… They’re just a little… overzealous, but…”

Lee Han remembered how Gainando, another student, always complained loudly about everything. ‘Gainando should see this.’

Lee Han was impressed by the Princess’s reluctance to criticize her followers.

If it were Gainando, he would have immediately burst out, ‘These guys won’t let me eat what I want, won’t let me play when I want, and force me to study when I don’t want to. What kind of followers are they?’

“Can’t you just tell them to restrain themselves? They’d understand with just a word.”

At Lee Han’s words, the Princess shook her head.

She explained, “Well, it’s not easy. They support me because I’m part of the Imperial Family. I can’t just ignore what they expect of me.” She felt she had to act how her followers expected because they supported her as part of the Imperial Family.

Rather than saying, ‘I’m not the person you think I am’ to each and every one of them, a person who silently nods solemnly would naturally seem more charismatic.

‘What is this?’

Lee Han was beyond impressed; he was astonished.

To think she was considering such things.

Of course, there might be members of the Imperial Family who had such a sense of responsibility, but playing with Gainando made the comparison striking and surprising.

‘Is she maybe five years older than Gainando?’

“Even if the number of your followers isn’t that high yet, wouldn’t it be better to start persuading them now? How many followers do you have?”

Lee Han thought about Boguejoon, Judrantas, and, though it was a bit embarrassing to put them in the same category, Gainando’s followers.

According to city rumors, Boguejoon’s followers included a mid-sized Earth Element Mage Guild, a well-known adventurer party, three merchant guilds, two banks, a sports game team, and about five noble families. Judrantas’s followers included a tower founded by mages from Valdrogard, a famous city for mages, a large leather guild, a magic tower specializing in carnivorous plant research, two swordsman guilds, and about three knight families.

Gainando’s followers, if you were to force it, would be the owner of the Granden City confectionery shop or the owner of the toy store?

Of course, the Princess would have more followers than Gainando, but if it were around the level of Boguejoon or Judrantas, it would be worth trying to persuade them one by one and gain genuine support.

“The Palm Tree Knights, the 積雨 Mage Tower, the Imperial Western United Merchants Association, the Cross Brothers Swordsmen Guild, the Olodo Party…”

“……”

However, the Princess listed many powerful groups and people who supported her, including knight orders, mage towers, and rich merchant groups.

The Palm Tree Knights were an honorary knight order formed by the great nobles of the Empire. Their martial prowess was weaker than that of real knights, but their reputation alone could crush several knight orders. The 積雨 Mage Tower was a magic tower founded by mages from Einrogard, known for its powerful magic tower.

The Imperial Western United Merchants Association was a massive capital group formed by merchants and traders from the western region. The Cross Brothers Swordsmen Guild was a prestigious swordsmanship guild that had produced many excellent swordsmen. Some knights even went there to learn swordsmanship, so there was no need to say more. The Olodo Party was an adventurer party that even Lee Han had heard of a few times.

‘Was it this much?’

He had thought her name was frequently in the Imperial newspapers, but he hadn’t realized that such prominent figures were already supporting her.

And that wasn’t even the end of it; there was more to come.

Lee Han understood why so many of the new students supported the Princess.

‘I’d want to support her too.’

With that level of backing, she was practically the horse with the highest odds of winning in the Empire. Even Lee Han felt like supporting her.

The Princess stopped speaking and looked at Lee Han.

As the top student who had accomplished so much even during the vacation, she looked forward to his insightful advice on the current situation.

“Your Highness.”

“!”

“Good luck.”

“……”

The Princess glared at Lee Han. Her eyes narrowed, and her usual gentle smile disappeared. A spark of annoyance flashed in her gaze.

“…I told you to try persuading them.”

“Hmm. On second thought, sometimes dignity is better than persuasion. There’s also the saying that silence is more valuable than gold. Look at Gainando over there.”

The Princess couldn’t argue when Gainando was brought up as an example in such a petty way.

Until the very end of the event, Lee Han remained vigilant, but there were no further attacks.

Ethan watched the Headmaster, whose face looked a bit like a skull, greet the important people of the city. The Headmaster seemed sad, but Ethan felt relieved.

‘He survived somehow.’

“Excuse me, Mr. Wodanaz. Can I ask you something before you go?”

Ethan frowned. Rowena’s question confused him.

“Are you asking me to join you on some adventure?”

During the vacation, some students from White Tiger Tower heard rumors. They came to Ethan and suggested going on quests together. They thought they could find a quest and get rich. But Ethan thought these quests were silly and impossible. No one else wanted to do them, and the papers describing the quests looked old and dusty.

“Ah, sorry. I haven’t heard of any quests to defeat a Ghoul King.”

“…Rowena. First, I’m not someone who looks for Ghoul Kings.”

“How modest.”

Rowena laughed. Ethan thought that the White Tiger Tower guys were annoying.

“So, what did you want to ask?”

Rowena took out a thin booklet from her pocket. The cover read:

To Her Most Honorable Highness Adenart, may this riddle make Your Highness less bored.

“Isn’t that incredibly rude?!”

“Uh… huh?”

Ethan didn’t understand Rowena’s anger at first.

Rowena explained that the Empress had different kinds of followers. Some, like her, truly believed in the Empress. But others were more cautious. They were powerful people in the Empire, like Dukes. They tested the Empress to see if she was worthy. They could do this because they were important and wouldn’t be punished easily. This riddle was from one of these Dukes. It was like a test. If the Empress couldn’t solve it, it would make her look bad.

“That’s certainly rude…”

“The Duke has sent riddles like this before! Once should be enough, but he keeps doing it…! No matter how much he gives as gold coins, if he keeps doing this…”

“Gold coins?”

“Yes?”

“Didn’t you just say gold coins?”

“Yes, I did?”

Since the other party was royalty, they didn’t just send riddles. When the riddle was solved, they sent a huge gift as congratulations, or as an apology for testing them.

Hearing that, Ethan felt jealous of Adenart.

‘Lucky!’

Ethan could solve those riddles, so why didn’t the nobles send them to him?

In fact, Ethan knew the reason. They could send such things to royalty, one of the Empire’s heirs. If nobles sent such things to each other, it would be crazy.

“Wait. Guinan knew about riddles… no, never mind. This is different. Anyway, are you all thinking about this riddle together?”

“Yes.”

“Did you all think about it together last time too?”

“Yes.”

“Did the Empress take all the gold coins you received?”

“No. She shared them with us.”

“……”

Ethan wondered if he should have become close to the Empress instead of Guinan.

He was satisfied now, but listening to the Empress’s followers, he felt regret…

“Isn’t that a Wodanaz family wizard?”

Ethan looked up. The familiar voice belonged to Duke Icaldoren.

“What a nice surprise. It’s been a while since we met.”

Of course, it was a lie. Duke Icaldoren was here to meet valuable students from the magic school.

And the boy from the Wodanaz family was the most valuable.

‘He’s with Empress Adenart. Does he support the Empress? I heard he’s close to Prince Guinan?’

Duke Icaldoren had many thoughts in that short time.

“It’s a pleasure to see you, Duke.”

“Would you mind talking for a moment if you’re free?”

Rowena looked displeased. Ethan poked Rowena’s back, telling her to control her expression.

-Why?

-That Duke sent a rude riddle!

-Oh, really? Well, last time he gave a Basilisk egg…

-Yes?

-Never mind.

Whether the Duke kept testing the Empress was not important to Ethan.

If the Duke was the one who presented the riddle, he should talk to him. That way, he might find a hint.

Just then, an eerie aura flowed out of the alley. It was a dangerous aura with murderous intent.

Duke Icaldoren’s guards rushed forward in surprise.

“Step back, Master!”

“It’s alright. I’ll handle it.”

Ethan sighed and raised his wand.

The guards were surprised by Ethan’s confidence. They didn’t know what to do – be amazed, stop him, or be angry. They reacted slowly because they were confused.

“What on earth… Mr. Wodanaz. I know you’re a wizard from Einrogard, but this is not a joke…”

“I said I’d handle it.”

Ethan stared at the alley.

Then he shook his head. He thought the skull Headmaster’s prank was too much.

Was the Headmaster causing trouble again? But why would he do it here, outside? If he wanted to cause problems at the party, wouldn’t he do it inside, where all the important people were?

“…Wait.”

Ethan sensed something was wrong.

The aura coming from the alley was getting stronger, and it didn’t seem like a prank.