Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 501

The Skull Headmaster spoke slowly, his voice echoing slightly in the quiet air. “Please,” he said, “tell us about the beauty of Einroguard.”

*Can I really do this?* Lee Han thought, his stomach twisting. He had jumped at the chance for an outing permit, but now, facing the Skull Headmaster and the curious minstrel, doubt crept in.

Beauty in Einroguard? *Is there even any such thing?*

*Pain and sorrow. That’s all I’ve ever seen here.*

There was no way someone like the Skull Headmaster would grant an outing permit without a reason.

Of course, he wanted to make sure that when the famous minstrel went out, he wouldn’t compose songs like, ‘Oh, the students of Einroguard are suffering in hell~’.

But no matter how hard Lee Han tried, if all there was in Einroguard was pain and sorrow, there were limits to what he could do.

Could he really pull this off?

“What are those students doing over there?”

“The fence was recently damaged, and they’ve come out to repair it,” Lee Han answered Ipadur’s question without hesitation.

In the distance, the students were repairing the broken fence with curses.

Ipadur, being a seasoned and experienced minstrel, asked a sharp question.

“But why are they repairing it at this hour?”

“Because they love the school so much.”

The Skull Headmaster looked at Lee Han with admiration. *It was amazing* to say such embarrassing words so easily.

*How on earth did someone like that come from the Wodanaz family?*

“They couldn’t finish repairing it during the day, and it kept bothering them at night, so they came out like this. That’s how much they love the school.”

“The wizards’ love for Einroguard is truly amazing.”

“It’s only natural.”

Lee Han handled the situation without batting an eye, even though the students would have thrown hammers if they had heard him.

Lee Han kept a straight face. *A professional*, he thought, *doesn’t let small feelings show*.

“Has there been a flood recently?” Ipadur asked in a surprised voice while walking along the forest path.

It wasn’t supposed to be a damp area, but there were still traces left as if there had been a flood.

“Yes.”

“As far as I know… it’s not the rainy season yet, is it?”

Lee Han looked at the Skull Headmaster. The Skull Headmaster nodded as if to say it was okay.

*It’s okay to talk about that much.*

*Understood.*

“Einroguard is an area with strong magical power, so strange things often happen. This spirit flood was one of those things.”

“Truly amazing. Such strange natural things are rare even in the Empire.”

“It’s quite like that.”

The old minstrel leaned on his staff and looked around with a fascinated expression.

Then, he took out a quill and began to write something down. The Skull Headmaster glanced at the memo.

Einroguard, the place that helps young wizards grow, is where various strange things happen. Young wizards solve these things with the help of experienced wizards.

The Skull Headmaster nodded, a satisfied look in his eye sockets.

It seemed that this seasoned minstrel was also caught in the trap of stereotypes and common sense, and had failed to realize the truth of Einroguard.

Even though there was no help from experienced wizards!

*Keep going like this, Wodanaz.*

*Don’t worry.*

“Wait. How do the students move when a flood hits? Do they use magic?”

“Yes. They use magic to create boats or summon Tanjures.”

“Thank you.”

Ipadur paused while writing.

“Summon Tanjures??”

The Skull Headmaster looked at Lee Han as if asking what he was doing.

Lee Han also realized his mistake.

*I messed up.*

Come to think of it, summoning Tanjures wasn’t the typical way to deal with a flood.

“Who summoned the Tanjure?” Ipadur grabbed his quill, as if he was very interested.

“I summoned it.”

“Very interesting… very interesting indeed.”

The Skull Headmaster gave Lee Han a look as if to tell him to get a grip.

His disciple couldn’t lose his mind already.

“Duke Gonadaltes, can all the students in Einroguard summon Tanjures?”

No, only a few outstanding students can summon them.

“Which students…”

“Ah, look over there! Giants are wrestling!” The Skull Headmaster pointed to the mountains and changed the subject.

Fortunately, Ipadur also turned his gaze, as the giant wrestling was more interesting than he thought.

“It’s rare to see giants like this. Duke Gonadaltes, one thing, this might be a rude question… but do the giants cause any harm to the students?”

Giants weren’t as threatening as monsters, but they weren’t exactly friendly and warm neighbors either.

If they accidentally clashed with the young wizards, there could be significant damage.

The Skull Headmaster laughed loudly. “Haha. As you can see from the distance, the students never meet the giants. They are the mountain keepers who protect the mountains.”

“Indeed. That’s how it is.”

“Wodanaz knows this well, as he spends time with the giants. Tell me, Wodanaz. Do the giants ever meet the students?”

Lee Han looked at the Skull Headmaster as if he were crazy.

Only then did the Skull Headmaster realize his mistake.

*Damn it.*

Come to think of it, Wodanaz was still a student.

“No… Student Wodanaz… a giant…?”

As Ipadur seemed to be in confusion, Lee Han quickly stepped in to resolve the situation.

“Actually, there was a giant who saved me…” Lee Han told the story of the giant Ikurusha saving him, and the story of giving up his hair in a chess match (with some added details).

Thanks to that, he became friends with the giants and was able to watch them raise mountain-destroying sheep last time.

The old minstrel nodded, very impressed. “An amazing story. A truly amazing story! A young wizard becoming so close to a giant.”

“Haha. Wodanaz is a very sociable fellow! I told him so many times not to go to the mountains because it’s dangerous!”

Lee Han glared coldly at the Skull Headmaster.

The Skull Headmaster seemed to realize that he had gone too far and subtly avoided his gaze.

After that, Ipadur walked along the forest path, admiring the mountains, the lake, and the moon and stars that rose above it.

Lee Han was reminded of the good things about Einroguard by the sight of the minstrel singing on the surface of the glass-clear lake.

*The scenery here is better than I thought!*

He usually only thought, *How many fish should I get from the lake today?* or *How many baskets of herbs should I gather from the mountain today?*, so he didn’t know, but seeing it like this, it was quite nice.

Looking to the side, the Skull Headmaster was yawning.

Other students would have cried with envy if they had seen it, to be able to listen to Ipadur’s song directly from the side.

*Hmm. I don’t really know.*

He knew that he sang well, but to Lee Han, who wasn’t very interested, Ipadur’s song was just a well-sung song.

“But there’s something I want to ask Student Wodanaz.”

“Yes. I’m listening,” Lee Han said as humbly as possible, worried that he had been caught thinking about other things.

“Duke Gonadaltes invited me to study the connection between music and magic… Oh, I should have asked this first, but I made a mistake. My memory is getting worse as I get older… Which school are you learning from?”

Lee Han and the Skull Headmaster’s eyes widened at the same time.

*Can I say it?*

*I think it’s okay to say it.*

“I am interested in all the schools within Einroguard.”

“Is that so?!” Ipadur was surprised and took out his quill again, as if this story was also interesting.

“Isn’t that impossible?”

“Thanks to the professors who give me generous attention, I am struggling but somehow achieving results.”

*I ordered him to do it, but he’s really crazy.*

The Skull Headmaster was amazed at how easily Lee Han could flatter people.

Was the idea of keeping this disciple in Einroguard a delusion?

Shouldn’t he be sent to the imperial political world with such a tongue?

*But he loves magic too much for that.*

Lee Han continued to speak, unaware that the Skull Headmaster had decided on his career path in a short time.

“I can feel that the student sincerely respects the professors of Einroguard.”

“I am truly fortunate. Haha.”

“It seems so. Back to the main point… How much interest do you have in music?”

The Skull Headmaster gave him a look that said, ‘Just say you like it a lot’.

“I really enjoyed the last song that Ipadur wrote. The cheerful rhythm…”

“A cheerful rhythm, you say?”

“…Only Ipadur can get a response from the people of the Empire with a song that goes against what’s popular today.”

“Aha.”

Lee Han immediately corrected his words after seeing Ipadur’s reaction.

“I’m lucky that you’re interested. As you know, Duke Gonadaltes needs my help while he’s studying the connection between music and magic, and it seems that I’ll need the help of the students as well.”

Ipadur, having worked as a minstrel for a long time, knew very well that there was nothing as unpredictable as music.

The feeling was different depending on which day the same song was sung, so how much more difficult would it be for wizards?

For sure, he needed other wizards to help him in many ways while doing research.

“Can you help me?”

The Skull Headmaster frowned as if he hated Ipadur’s question.

*What is it?*

Lee Han was puzzled.

Given the Skull Headmaster’s personality, he would have pushed him to learn magic no matter how difficult it was for Lee Han.

“What do I have to do if I help?”

“Hmm. It’s going to be a bit of a hassle. I’ll give you a reward, but…”

” ? ”

Lee Han was embarrassed by Ipadur’s words that he would give him a reward.

Huh?

*I get paid to learn magic?*

Does that make sense?

“…I’m going to take away some of your precious weekends. I’m going to go out with Duke Gonadaltes and meet the Empire’s orchestras and choirs and listen to their music magically…”

“I’ll help you!”

“Are you serious?” Ipadur was amazed.

Even if he was an outstanding wizard, he thought that he would value his own time on the weekends more, as he was still young.

For example, going out to play games or playing chess at a cafe in the city, etc.

“It’s going to take up a lot of your time.”

“Ipadur, I have dedicated my life to magic.”

“Well, seeing that you’re connected to so many schools…”

Lee Han was hurt by his own words.

*I was forced to listen to some of them.*

“I’d be really happy if you could help me.”

…Shouldn’t we check Wodanaz’s talent for music, too?

The fact that Lee Han had to go out for nothing on the weekends instead of studying magic was painful for the Skull Headmaster himself.

To waste precious time on musical magic that may not give results.

“It’s okay, Duke Gonadaltes. Whether he has talent or not, it will all be an important example. Besides, where else can you find such an interesting student? I want to hear more stories.”

Damn it…

The Skull Headmaster muttered quietly.

He had succeeded in diverting attention from Einroguard, but Ipadur had become interested in other things.

Well, there was no way that curious minstrel wouldn’t be interested in a guy like Wodanaz.

“Hmm?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah. It just occurred to me. Unlike a normal flood, a spirit flood won’t disappear naturally…”