Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 418

Lee Han sighed, rubbing his temples. “These knights are really something else,” he muttered.

Angaroth puffed out his chest. “Of course! Knights are known for their loyalty. They don’t forget help they’ve received, or wrongs done to them.”

“Annoying.”

Angaroth was taken aback by the sudden harsh words. What had the knights even done?!

Meeting these knights is just going to be trouble, Lee Han thought, frowning. He really didn’t want to go into the camp. It wasn’t like this was an official visit. He just wanted to finish this task and be done with it. The adventurers and wizards would go their own ways soon. But the Beechwood Knights… they were different. They were nosy and they talked. Secrets were like water – the more people knew, the more likely they were to spill.

Maybe I should just send someone else, Lee Han thought.

“Let’s just talk to them first,” he said to Angaroth. “Though I’m not sure these knights will understand if we ask them to leave us alone.”

Angaroth nodded. “They are very… enthusiastic.”

Giselle glared at Bartrek, her voice sharp. “What kind of crazy school kicks out students like that?”

“W-well…” Bartrek mumbled, avoiding her eyes.

“Look at me, Bartrek,” Giselle said, her voice getting colder. “Look me straight in the eye. Why are you looking away? Lift your head.”

Bartrek finally looked up, his face pale. “M-Moradi, you’re wrong. You don’t understand. I don’t know anything.”

Giselle was almost certain now. She couldn’t believe she had tried to escape with these fools! ‘Maybe I should just leave them all behind,’ she thought angrily. She understood making mistakes when you tried your best. But Bartrek? He was just… useless. And they had dragged him along just because he was from their tower? The White Tiger Tower students thought safety was in numbers, but Giselle was starting to think she’d be safer alone.

“S-still, it worked out well, didn’t it? Thanks to the knights of the Beechwood Knights here…” Bartrek cautiously chimed in, watching her mood.

The White Tiger Tower students scattered to avoid the pursuers. Not many were lucky. Giselle and Bartrek were among the few who were. While escaping on horseback, they had discovered the Beechwood Knights’ encampment. Naturally, the Beechwood Knights welcomed and accepted these students from the knightly family… and now the two students were contemplating how to leave the encampment.

“While we’re here, shouldn’t we borrow some silver coins?” Bartrek made a statement so lacking in pride that it was hard to believe he came from a knightly family.

Thankfully, Giselle was still sane. Giselle tapped the desk with her finger, staring at Bartrek with contempt.

“Borrowing silver coins from a knight of a family you’re not usually close to, using your own family’s name… a very good idea.”

“Right, isn’t it?”

Giselle despaired. And a curse, something she rarely did as a member of a knightly family, slipped from Giselle’s lips. Bartrek was taken aback.

“I-is it that bad?”

“Why? Why don’t you just go around selling your family name while you’re at it.”

“That’s a little different…”

Before Bartrek could make things worse, the tent flap opened and a Beechwood Knight stepped inside. The tent was small and smelled of canvas and woodsmoke. The knight smiled, his armor gleaming even in the dim light.

“Are you all doing well?”

“Yes.”

“We are grateful for your kindness.”

“Don’t mention it. We were just doing what we had to do.”

Giselle thought to herself as she exchanged pleasantries. Now that they were outside the school, it only made sense to go to the village and buy the necessary supplies. They couldn’t keep being stuck here. The problem was what excuse to make. If they said they were going to the village, the knights here would insist on escorting them, given their personalities, and the moment they were escorted, they would be too conspicuous and likely to be discovered. But if they told the truth, the knights would react with something like, ‘Even so, how could you desert?’ given their personalities.

“Ah, yes. Your friends are here to see you.”

“Friends?” The two were surprised.

Because some time had passed since they scattered, they didn’t think any friends would belatedly come looking for them here.

“Who is it?”

“I wonder. Maybe Dergyu? If it’s Dergyu, in that situation…”

The two who walked out of the tent discovered Lee Han and Angaroth and froze simultaneously.

Why is that bastard there?

The knight’s voice boomed through the camp, and soon other knights were rushing towards the tent, their faces beaming.

“You wish to investigate this place? Why should I allow that?”

“Actually, I am Lee Han of the Wodanaz family.”

“…!!! Lee Han of Wodanaz! Welcome! Welcome to our humble camp! Everyone, come quickly! Lee Han Wodanaz is here!”

What surprised Lee Han was the fact that Giselle and Bartrek were at the encampment.

“Could it be… Moradi. Is he here to… to take us back?” Giselle whispered, her eyes wide with alarm.

Bartrek, who was next to her, was startled.

“Why would I do something so pointless? It would be harder to time it right.”

“Ah. I suppose so.”

Bartrek glared at Wodanaz. This fellow keeps trying to drive a wedge between the White Tiger Tower friends…

“Speaking of which, what brings you here? And why do you have Angaroth with you?”

“Ah. It’s a bit of a long story.”

At Lee Han’s words, Giselle chuckled. She didn’t think it could be that long.

“It doesn’t matter how long it is, so tell me if you can.”

“Yes, Wodanaz. Don’t make up some strange excuse!”

Lee Han shrugged and explained what had happened as simply as possible.

Ihan hesitated. The silence stretched on, longer than he expected.

“Th… That’s right,” he mumbled.

Giselle and Bartrec had no choice but to admit they were trying to sneak away.

The confused looks on the faces of the wizards and adventurers behind them made Ihan wonder if they had been too obvious.

“Wait a minute, Wodanaz!” Giselle said.

Giselle stopped walking, frowning. “You’re sneaking off, right? Seriously? Is this whole thing really worth it?”

Moradi sighed. “Giselle’s right. Wodanaz might not be the best at everything,” he admitted, “but when he plans something like this, he’s very careful. He thinks of everything.”

“Hmm,” Giselle said, still worried. “I’m still not sure about this.”

Bartrec just glared at Ihan, shaking his head slightly. *That little troublemaker*, he thought.

“But we can’t just leave those wizards fighting over there. By the way, are the knights really visiting Einroguard?”

“Yes, they are. It seems they managed to get permission. That’s good,” Giselle said sincerely.

As she said before, the Beech Knights may be a bit lacking in strength, but they have other advantages. Considering the families involved, making friends would make it easier to step in on important matters or act politically when needed in the future.

Besides, considering what happened last time, Ihan wasn’t just at the gathering, but he was the main guest.

Ihan’s face twisted with sadness and pain as Giselle spoke. He was still upset about what happened earlier, and her words felt like salt in a wound. Oblivious to his inner thoughts, Giselle spoke again.

“No matter how great a wizard you are, it’s not often that you get invited to a gathering of knight families, so consider it a good opportunity and be grateful…”

Ihan was furious at Giselle’s teasing, which was scratching at his insides. He was going to let it go, but this was too much to bear.

“Sir Knight,” Ihan said.

“Yes? What is it?” the knight replied.

“Could my friends also participate in the gathering?”

“Hmm! That’s…” The knight hesitated.

Of course, the other students were qualified. All the other students here were from the White Tiger Tower, from well-known knight families. But that didn’t mean just anyone could participate in the knights’ gathering. If only family was enough, even little children would be at the gathering.

Ihan was invited as a guest to thank him for what happened last time, but the others were still apprentice knights. Taking them to the knights’ gathering could make everyone uncomfortable.

Ihan saw the knight hesitate, but he didn’t give up. ‘I will never go alone,’ he thought.

Ihan was determined to take his White Tiger Tower friends with him, even if it meant they were all miserable together. He opened his mouth again.

“Since I’m from a wizard family, I’m not confident in attending the knights’ gathering alone. I think I’d feel less nervous if my close friends went with me…”

Angaro tilted his head. He didn’t know who his close friend was, but it wasn’t him. Bartrec also tilted his head. Likewise, it wasn’t him.

The two turned their heads and looked at Giselle. Giselle spat out in a murderous voice, “Turn them back before I gouge your eyes out.”

“Ah, no.”

“I, I just thought maybe… It was Wodanaz’s nonsense.”

The knight, feeling grateful to Ihan, said firmly, “Alright! You helped us, and I can at least do this for you. I will make sure your friends can come!”

“Thank you. Sniffle,” Ihan pretended to be weak and thanked him. The knight told him not to worry, then suddenly had a thought.

‘Wait… wasn’t I told that the Wodanaz boy is actually a very good swordsman?’ He looked back at Ihan, puzzled.

After the knight left in confusion, Ihan looked at his White Tiger Tower friends and said, “Congratulations. You’re going with me too.”

“Wo, Wodanaz…”

“Thank you.”

“…What are you thinking? Why are you doing this?”

Ihan paused at the three’s reactions. It was different from what he expected. ‘What is it? Is it a bluff?’

“Thank you?”

“Huh? Yeah, well…”

“Going out now? In the middle of the semester? We can’t even bring anything useful. Just useless talk with knights, then back to school with piles of homework?”

“…It’s not useless, you jerk!”

“What do you think a gathering of knight families is!”

The White Tiger Tower students flared up, but Ihan ignored them.

“You can pretend you’re not happy about this, but I know you are. When the time comes, you’ll be excited to go. It’s okay to pretend now, I understand.”

As Ihan turned around and walked away, the White Tiger Tower students were very confused.

“Why is that guy taking us with him?”

“Isn’t he just being shy?”

“Moradi, what do you think?”

But Giselle couldn’t answer. This time, Giselle was so confused that she couldn’t even understand it. Why did he invite them?

It was the wizards who called Ihan back as he was returning after punishing his White Tiger Tower friends.

“Mr. Wodanaz, we have results! We found the source of the magic!”

“Oh…! That’s great!” Ihan felt like he could hear the sound of gold coins jingling in his ears.

“Do you see this spring here? It’s clear that a layer overlap phenomenon has occurred below this spring.”

“Indeed.”

A collision occurred around the spring, causing magic to explode and flow out, creating strange phenomena as it traveled through the forest.

“Then how should we deal with this spring?”

At Ihan’s question, the wizards smiled as if to say wait a moment and began calculating. Then their faces hardened.

“Uh…”

“What’s wrong?”

“According to our calculations, the collision is very severe. It seems that creatures from another dimension will soon appear from the spring.”

“I see.” Ihan wasn’t very surprised. Since it was near Einroguard anyway, he could easily handle it by telling the professors.

“How much time is left?”

“30…”

“30 days isn’t too difficult…”

“…It seems like there are about… minutes left… Wait a minute, let me recalculate…”

Ihan’s face also hardened like the wizards’.