Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 360

“Actually, Professor, isn’t it that you want to participate in the Dark Arts gathering?”

Not all professors in the world were like Professor Volardi.

Some professors wanted to spend time with students. This happened more often than you might think.

This was especially true in less popular subjects like Dark Arts.

It would be difficult to get close to the other professors at Einroguard, so the loneliness would be even greater.

“What?”

However, Dirette was surprised by Lee Han’s words.

“That’s not true. He’s not the kind of person who would do that.”

“Is that so?”

“I’ve recommended it to him a few times, but he declined, saying it was okay.”

“Hmm.”

Lee Han hummed and thought for a moment.

Dirette was an excellent Dark Arts wizard and a great senior, but he wasn’t a clever student like Lee Han.

Professors often said one thing but meant another. To be a clever student, you had to understand what professors *really* meant, not just what they said.

“How did he refuse, by any chance?”

“Hmm? He said, what would I do participating there? It would be a hindrance since it’s a gathering for students.”

“Indeed.”

Lee Han nodded as if he understood. It was a typical fake statement.

“Did he perhaps add that you should call him if you need help with magical research afterwards?”

Dirette’s eyes widened.

“Divination magic?!”

“It’s not divination magic, just a prediction, Senior. If you don’t mind, I’d like to visit Professor Mortoom’s workshop now and invite him.”

“I don’t mind, but… would it be okay? The professor might get angry if you bring up something he keeps refusing.”

“Don’t worry.”

“Want to come along?”

“No.”

Lee Han stopped Dirette. If a disciple who had worked under Professor Mortoom for a long time like Dirette was by his side, he might stubbornly refuse out of embarrassment.

“I’m enough on my own. Then, I’ll be off.”

“O-okay. Be careful going and coming back. …Wait a minute! Hey! Junior! What was that about the professors fighting in the streets!?”

Dirette, who belatedly remembered, shouted, but Lee Han had already disappeared down the street.

As masters of magic at Einroguard, professors usually had grand houses or workshops in Granden City.

Professor Mortoom’s workshop was located in the central noble district, next to the cemetery.

‘Is this really okay?’

Of course, it was a much more dignified space than the nameless public cemetery on the outskirts of the city.

As it was a cemetery for noble families, well-carved marble tombstones and beautifully arranged flowers were neatly placed everywhere, but the watchtower of the cemetery keeper, which was used as a workshop, gave off an eerie feeling.

At this point, it seemed like the problem wasn’t the cemetery but the Dark Arts.

“Professor Mortoom, are you there?”

“Cough. I clearly said it. I’ll finish it by next week. If you rush me one more time, I’ll mix up your organs… Is that Wodanaz?”

Professor Mortoom, who opened the door while speaking fiercely, was surprised to find an unexpected disciple.

“Amazing!”

“Do you have other appointments?”

“Cough. That’s not why I’m surprised… I thought you would have been torn to pieces by now, since there were so many professors who went to catch you.”

Lee Han almost cast a curse spell on the professor at that moment.

Lee Han thought angrily, ‘If you knew, why didn’t you stop them?’

‘Let’s calm down. Professor Mortoom is still better.’

From Lee Han’s perspective, a professor like Mortoom, who did his own work and occasionally hoped to be invited, was better than a professor who came to drag him away.

They were both like immature children, but the latter was a bit more…

“Who were you talking to just now?”

“Ah. Cough. I took on a request, but they keep bothering me about it.”

One of the noble families had a member die, and they wanted to find the inheritance that the noble had hidden, so they came to Professor Mortoom.

They had entrusted it to several divination wizards, but they failed due to a lack of clues. They had to try to retrieve even fragments of the memories that the dead person had through Dark Arts.

“Such requests are possible too!”

Lee Han felt anew that the job of a wizard was truly broad. Perhaps it wouldn’t be bad to control skeletons later to sweep up the work of the transportation guild or try street performances.

“It’s not ideal,” Professor Mortoom coughed. “But Dark Arts wizards *should* do this kind of work.”

“Is it because of connections with noble families?”

“No. Cough. These expensive requests don’t come often.”

“So… what’s the matter? If you’re asking me to stop the other professors from chasing you, that’s impossible. I can’t stop that many.”

‘I know that.’

“How could that be? And it’s an honor for the professors to come find me. I should be the one asking them, but they’re coming directly to a lacking disciple like me.”

“Cough. You have a good personality for a Dark Arts wizard. If it were me, I would have released all the poison. On a student’s vacation…”

Lee Han was about to nod for a moment, but he gritted his teeth and held back.

“The reason I came today is because I wanted you to participate in the gathering.”

“…What gathering?”

Professor Mortoom answered a beat late. That alone was enough. Lee Han was convinced that the other party knew that today was the day of the Dark Arts school students’ gathering.

“I’m talking about the gathering where seniors learning Dark Arts gather to pass on knowledge to their juniors.”

“Ah. Ah…! Cough. That thing, you mean?”

“Yes.”

“I’m fine.”

Professor Mortoom said, waving his hand.

“Cough. If you don’t know something while studying magic, you can come and ask… but… well… you don’t really ask.”

A hint of disappointment flashed in Professor Mortoom’s eyes and disappeared.

Lee Han said firmly.

“Professor!”

“…Why, why are you suddenly shouting?”

“The seniors always want to ask you questions. But they know that you are always suffering from heavy workload and overwork, so they have no choice but to hesitate.”

“Even if you say it’s fine, Professor, the older students won’t ask you questions unless you come to the gathering.”

“What kind of cowardly…”

“I’m sorry. But please understand.”

Even though he spoke brusquely, Professor Mortoom’s face was slightly relaxed.

“Both I and Gainan and Raphaelle have always been curious about the golden experience you have accumulated as a Dark Arts wizard. During the semester, we were too busy with lectures to listen, but we expected to be able to listen at the gathering during the vacation, but we were all disappointed because you weren’t there.”

“T-that’s what you mean?”

“Yes. When we were disappointed, the seniors asked us why. So, when we told them honestly, the seniors also said, ‘We want to invite him too, but we’re too sorry to do so.’”

“That…!”

Professor Mortoom sighed. He knew that his disciples were timid, but he didn’t know they were this timid. There was no need to be so afraid.

“So, I mustered up the courage to come. I thought you might be a little more lenient since I’m a freshman.”

“Cough. Of course, I should be. What wizard would get angry at a freshman’s mistake?”

Lee Han immediately thought of the skeleton headmaster, but he remained silent.

“…Alright. Cough. If you say so much, I can’t help it. I can’t let the few freshmen disappear.”

“That’s right. If you participate in the gathering, Professor, will the freshmen drop out to other schools?”

Professor Mortoom grabbed his staff and stood up. He patted Lee Han’s back and walked away.

Professor Mortoom patted Lee Han’s back, a rare smile softening his face. “Cough. Wodanaz,” he mumbled, “I really do have a good student.”

“No. Professor. I’m just embarrassed.”

Lee Han swallowed the smile of a hunter who had succeeded in his hunt.

‘It would be nice if the other professors were this easy too.’

How comfortable would it be if everyone was happy like Professor Mortoom? Why are there only professors who, when they’re happy, say, ‘Because I’m happy, I’ll teach you more magic’…

“N-no way. I’ve never seen Professor Mortoom so happy.”

One senior whispered, eyes wide, “Did he *poison* him?”

“No. It’s a curse. A curse of laughter, a curse of intoxication, what else do you have to mix in to make him this happy?”

Some of the seniors were shocked by the sight of Professor Mortoom, who usually frowned, coughed, and complained, looking satisfied.

Of course, Dirette was the same.

“H-how…”

“Senior. The professor just wanted to participate in the gathering.”

Dirette looked at Lee Han with a thrilled gaze. The freshman junior, who hadn’t been here for very long, suddenly felt like a reliable colleague.

To the point where he thought he could entrust his back to this junior when dealing with a crazy professor.

‘Am I crazy? What am I doing with a freshman…’

“Cough. The thieves were stubbornly holding out inside the fortress. So, I turned the captured thieves into undead and made them charge. In the meantime, I turned the captured thieves into undead again and made them charge. And… as I did that, they surrendered.”

“That’s truly a lesson!”

“I want to try it too!”

Without Lee Han needing to stir things up, the Dark Arts school students showed deep interest in Professor Mortoom’s long speech.

Thanks to that, Professor Mortoom was very satisfied and finished his speech, taking a break.

“So… you’re a prince?”

“Yes!”

In the meantime, the seniors’ attention turned to the other juniors except for Lee Han.

“Isn’t it bad to be interested in Dark Arts as a royal?”

“Huh? Is it?”

Lee Han slipped in.

“Tell them about using Dark Arts in front of the nobles when the basilisk came out last time.”

“That’s because Lee Han, you stopped halfway thr…”

Lee Han pinched Gainan’s hand. Gainan immediately understood.

“He protected the nobles with Dark Arts when the basilisk came out!”

“!”

“Oh…”

The seniors were surprised by Gainan’s words. To take out Dark Arts in front of the nobles without any calculation.

“There’s no high or low in magic, if you’re confident, what does the world’s view matter, that’s what you’re thinking?”

“High or low? The world?”

Lee Han pinched Gainan again. Gainan understood again.

“Yeah!”

“This year’s freshmen are really amazing.”

The seniors were amazed and whispered. However, their gazes had changed very favorably. They couldn’t have shown such a figure if they weren’t serious about Dark Arts.

“So. White Tiger Tower junior… why are you listening? White Tiger Tower is also a very rare tower in Dark Arts.”

“You’re not listening to learn how to break Dark Arts, are you?”

Raphaelle felt cold sweat running down his back.

“T-that, that is…”

“Raphaelle is receiving such misunderstandings because he comes from a knight family, but in fact, there’s no one as serious about Dark Arts as Raphaelle.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Every time we explore the Undead Realm, he’s always the first to move.”

“Isn’t that just… a pervert?”

The seniors looked at Raphaelle with surprise in a slightly different sense. What’s so good about the Undead Realm?

“He must have just volunteered because he likes the undead.”

‘Isn’t that a pervert?’

Raphaelle’s face turned red, and he stood still, unable to do anything.

Whether they understood it in a different sense, the seniors didn’t ask any more questions.

“Y-yeah. Everyone’s unique, but they’re serious about Dark Arts.”

“I’m glad that juniors like you have come in. …Of course, one person’s taste is a bit strange, but I’ll respect it.”

“Aren’t you going to ask about Imirgue?”

“He’s from the Black Tortoise Tower.”

“That’s right.”

Gainan was dumbfounded and opened and closed his mouth. What kind of petty seniors are these…?

When the seniors’ barrage of questions ended, Lee Han lightly patted Raphaelle’s shoulder.

Raphaelle glared at Lee Han for a moment before opening his mouth.

“…I’ll say thank you.”

One way or another, it was true that Wodanaz had covered for Raphaelle. If not, he wouldn’t have been able to escape safely from the situation earlier.

“Okay. Thanks is enough, pay me back with silver coins.”

“…No, you crazy bastard, really!”