Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 477

Kettle, who had been holding back, finally exploded with curses.

Professor Verdus, surprised by this outburst, protested, “That’s rude!”

“Rude? You’re the rude one! What kind of reward is this?” Kettle retorted.

“It is a reward!” Professor Verdus insisted.

Lee Han quietly added, “Well… it’s not really a reward *for you*, Professor Verdus.”

Professor Verdus looked confused. “Not a reward? Why not?!”

Lee Han paused, trying to find the right words.

Explaining things to Professor Verdus wasn’t easy. A normal person would understand a simple explanation, but not him.

Lee Han began, “Rewards depend on whether the person needs them. Even a great item isn’t a reward if it’s useless to the person receiving it.”

“But everyone wants to work in my workshop!” Professor Verdus exclaimed. “Don’t they?”

Kettle clutched his head, looking like he might faint.

Lee Han, however, remained calm. “Even if I worked in your workshop, Professor, my skills aren’t good enough to be useful there.”

“Ah! I see!” Professor Verdus said, understanding at once.

Lee Han was better than the other students, but compared to Professor Verdus, he still had much to learn. Letting Lee Han use his workbench would be a waste.

“I forgot you weren’t very skilled,” Professor Verdus said.

“It’s alright,” Lee Han replied calmly.

Kettle was furious. Was Professor Verdus really saying that to the student who came to rescue him from the underground punishment room?

‘Why do bad people have it so easy?’ Kettle thought. ‘The Headmaster and Professor Verdus are happy, but good people suffer.’

Kettle’s heart ached for the kind freshman.

“Give him something else!” Kettle urged. “Can’t you?”

“Something else…” Professor Verdus pondered. “What could he use, being… not very skilled?”

Before Professor Verdus could get lost in thought, Kettle shouted, “The key to the Holy Relic Hall’s underground warehouse! Tell him to give you that!”

Professor Verdus looked disgusted. Seeing this, Lee Han became curious.

“What’s that place?” Lee Han asked.

“It’s where Professor Verdus keeps his precious stuff!” Kettle explained. “He wouldn’t open it, even when my friend begged him on his knees!”

“It’s a waste,” Professor Verdus grumbled.

Kettle looked desperate, afraid Lee Han would give up.

“Hey!” Kettle yelled. “If you don’t get that key, don’t call me your senior! Don’t say you’re from Einroguard! Einroguard needs strong students, not someone who is too easily pushed around!”

‘Too easily pushed around?’ Lee Han thought. It was strange to hear that.

His friends would be surprised to hear someone call him that.

“I’m sorry, Professor,” Lee Han said. “My senior insists I get the key.”

“It’s such a waste…” Professor Verdus repeated.

“But I can’t ignore my senior,” Lee Han continued. “If I do, we can’t open it, and you’ll be stuck here, Professor.”

“Still, it’s such a waste…” Professor Verdus groaned, but Lee Han stood firm, using his senior’s request as leverage.

Finally, Professor Verdus gave in. “Alright, I’ll give it to you.”

“Thank you,” Lee Han said. “I’ll use it well.”

“Wait!” Kettle shouted again.

His voice was urgent. Getting the key wasn’t enough; he had more demands.

“Make him promise you can choose your hours if you work outside of class! And make him say what he’ll pay you for working!”

“Work is its own reward!” Professor Verdus protested. “Why do I need to pay extra?”

Kettle ignored him. “Did you hear that? Think carefully! You won’t get another chance for Professor Verdus to agree so easily! What you get from him today will decide your life at Einroguard!”

Kettle’s eyes reddened as he thought of his friends who had studied with Professor Verdus. The kind ones were gone; only the crazy geniuses survived.

He didn’t want this freshman to suffer the same fate.

“Make him swear, no matter what! Even if you have to threaten him!” Kettle exclaimed.

“I’m sorry, Professor,” Lee Han said. “My senior says I have to make you swear.”

“Why is he doing this?” Professor Verdus grumbled.

He didn’t understand why oaths were needed. Einroguard’s Enchantment Magic Department worked fine with just passion and respect.

“I swear,” Professor Verdus began, “when I make my student Lee Han from the Wodanaz family work, I will let him choose…” He paused and looked at Lee Han. “But this is pointless, isn’t it? You like working.”

“That’s right, Professor,” Lee Han agreed. “It is meaningless. I’m just doing this for my senior. I wouldn’t refuse even if I had the choice. Haha.”

Lee Han inwardly thanked Kettle. Thanks to the senior in the punishment room, he was getting everything he wanted without any effort.

“…If I make him work, I’ll pay him fairly…” Professor Verdus continued. “The pay will be decided before the work, not by me, but by my student…”

Kettle wiped his eyes with a handkerchief. Lee Han, confused, asked, “Are you crying?”

“It’s just the humid air!” Kettle insisted. “Focus on the oath! Don’t miss a word! And don’t trust the Professor!”

“Okay,” Lee Han replied, feeling sorry.

If Professor Verdus couldn’t hear, he would have said, ‘Senior, do you think I’m crazy enough to trust him?’ But he had to play the part of a respectful student.

“The Professor didn’t mean any harm…”

Kettle coughed loudly, almost collapsing again.

Thanks to Kettle, Lee Han made Professor Verdus swear a few more oaths.

After the oath about not visiting during vacation, Lee Han looked at Kettle with respect.

‘So that’s why he’s a senior!’ Lee Han thought. He was so reliable.

Lee Han now understood why Einroguard was the best school in the Empire.

“Alright… now go,” Kettle said, waving his hand tiredly. “Never trust the Professor.”

“Shouldn’t we help you escape too, Senior?” Lee Han asked.

“I can’t,” Kettle replied. “Professor Verdus only stole the Headmaster’s things, but…”

“I didn’t steal them!” Professor Verdus interrupted.

Professor Verdus was talking very loudly, waving his hands in the air. He looked annoyed, but Kettle didn’t even glance at him. Kettle was sitting on a hard wooden bench in the punishment room, his shoulders slumped. He was much more worried about his own problems.

“…They caught me causing trouble outside,” Kettle mumbled, his voice low. “If I get out of here, they’ll be looking for me right away. And if they catch me again…”

Kettle shuddered, a shiver running all the way down his spine. His eyes were wide and dark with fear.

He didn’t need to finish the sentence. Anyone could see how terrified he was of what might happen next.

“You think… you think we could actually go and talk to the Headmaster? Really?”

“You’re quite the comedian,” Kettle said, but his voice was tired. “Like the Headmaster would ever listen to us.”

Kettle chuckled weakly.

He found the joke from the first-year student funnier than he expected.

To even think of joking with the Headmaster! He was the most important person in the school, like a king.

“While you’re at it, tell him to make this place nicer,” Kettle said.

“Yes, I will. Hey, I brought that stuff I said I would,” Lee Han said.

Lee Han opened his backpack and began to take out the food one by one.

He had brought lots of food. There were preserved foods like canned beef and fruit. He even had special treats like sugar, tea leaves, and coffee. These would be easy to eat in the punishment room.

“This is bread baked this morning, so it’s best to eat it right away. I brought some honey too,” Lee Han said.

“…Where, where did you get all this?!” Kettle asked, startled.

No matter how he thought about it, these weren’t things a first-year could easily get.

If they had managed to get their hands on such things, they would barely have enough for themselves, yet they brought it here.

Even for someone so kind, this was too much.

“Hey. If you give this to me, what will your friends say! Just take it back,” Kettle said.

“Don’t worry, we have tons more!” Lee Han replied.

Kettle was confused.

‘He doesn’t seem to be lying, but what is it?’

He almost thought the first-year students had all gone together and stolen food from the kitchen.

But even if they had, it wouldn’t be this much…

“Senior. Please tell me where you left your things in the school, like you promised,” Lee Han said.

“Ah. That’s right,” Kettle said.

Kettle remembered now. This younger student had started talking to him after the class about being good.

At that time, he never imagined that this fellow would break into the punishment room and succeed in the deal…

“Why do you trust the professor so much when you’re so careful? You shouldn’t trust the professor,” Kettle warned.

“Haha. He’s still a professor, though,” Lee Han replied.

Professor Verdus nodded from behind, as if agreeing.

Kettle sighed briefly.

No one can be perfect.

This younger student had great magical talent, but he also had a weakness.

To trust a professor like that…

“Take this. It’s the location of the room I and my friends used to use. There might be something useful left,” Kettle said.

Lee Han bowed his head and received the map that Kettle handed over.

It was a reward worth coming all this way for.

“Thank you!” Lee Han exclaimed.

“I should be the one thanking you. Thanks for the food. I’ll enjoy it. I have to be here for a while longer…” Kettle smacked his lips and said to Lee Han.

“Don’t become like me,” Kettle said.

“I understand. I’ll be careful when using magic outside,” Lee Han replied.

“No. You can cause accidents with magic outside, just don’t get caught. I got caught, that’s why I’m here,” Kettle said.

Lee Han thought to himself, ‘I don’t think he’s sorry at all…’

Professor Verdus, who was listening from the side, said, “You have to transform.”

“Yes?” Lee Han asked.

“You have to transform. You promised that you’d be a goat for a week if I came to save you,” Professor Verdus said.

Kettle cursed Professor Verdus inwardly and cast the spell.

Bang!

“Then we’ll be going!” Lee Han said.

Baaah!

‘If the Headmaster comes, I’ll blame everything on that guy!’

The goat, no, Kettle glared at the back of Professor Verdus as he left, burning with revenge.

If the Headmaster came and asked, ‘Why is the punishment room in this state?’ he was going to shout, ‘It’s all because of Professor Verdus! Baaah!’

Later, in the library…

“Everyone,” Lee Han said, coming back to the library and looking tired, “the problem with the water is fixed. The flood is over.”

The students were all surprised.

“Really?!” one asked.

“Wodanaz, did you stop the flood?” another exclaimed.

“Hey. Don’t you remember what Wodanaz said last time? He told you not to connect him with everything,” Anglaga scolded the student.

“I did solve this one,” Lee Han said.

Anglaga glared at Lee Han.

This guy had scolded him last time, saying, ‘Do you think I solved everything in Einroguard? Don’t connect me with everything!’

“How did you fix it?!” someone asked.

Tanzuer, who was trapped, thought, ‘Can’t… can’t you let me out before you talk… wizards…’

“Wait!” Salco looked around.

Then, as if understanding, he made an expression of admiration.

“I respect you, Wodanaz. You sacrificed the prince as a sacrifice?” Salco asked.

“No, I didn’t,” Lee Han replied.

“It was a painful choice, but an unavoidable sacrifice. You’ll be alright soon,” Salco said.

“I didn’t sacrifice him,” Lee Han repeated.

Tanzuer thought, ‘Let me out… let me out before you talk…’

“Alright. If you say so, I respect…” Salco said.

Gainando, who had secretly gone to eat snacks and returned, glared at Salco from behind.

Sacrifice someone?

“What!?” Gainando exclaimed.

“What are you surprised about? What?” Salco asked.

“Then who did you sacrifice…?” Gainando asked.

Lee Han said in a tired voice, “I just confronted them head-on. I went to the spirits and persuaded them.”

Tanzuer, who was about to beg to be released, shut his mouth with a look of disgust at Lee Han’s words.

‘What kind of crazy wizard is this!?’ Tanzuer thought.