Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 533

After the lecture, while everyone looked forward to the upcoming weekend and a break, Ethan couldn’t rest. He had far too much to do.

It was no surprise, really. He had to write assignments for Professor Volady on ‘Wardanaz’s Water Prison Sphere and its Basic Principles’ and ‘The Limitations of the Water Prison Sphere Magic and its Development Direction.’ Plus, he had an extra assignment from Professor Alpen.

He usually would have put it off, thinking, ‘I’ll do it on the weekend,’ but not this time.

Going on a group outing with his friends to Headmaster Skull’s villa would take up the whole weekend.

“Wardanaz, wouldn’t you like to go fishing at the lake to honor our Agltaqua?”

“Sorry, Sharukal Priest. I have a book to write.”

The shark-like priest left with his fishing rod, looking disappointed.

“Wardanaz, wouldn’t you like to go mushroom picking to honor our Flemaing? I found a Honey Bread Mushroom colony. We should hurry before others find it! Of course, if others find it, that would be Flemaing’s will!”

“Sorry, Siana Priest. I have a report to write.”

Siana Priest left with her basket, looking disappointed.

“Wardanaz.”

“Sorry, Tizling Priest. I have a professor to get rid of… Oops. No! What am I saying? I have a problem to solve.”

Ethan quickly covered the graffiti with paper. There was no point in showing Tizling graffiti like ‘101 Ways to Bury a Professor Alive’.

“I definitely heard…”

“You must have misheard. Anyway, I’m too busy to go out right now.”

“I wasn’t planning on asking you to go out…?”

Tizling Priest tilted his head and offered a snack: sweetly baked cornbread and hot cocoa in a tin cup.

“Did the other priests ask you to go out? Surely they wouldn’t bother you without a good reason?”

“They did.”

“…There must be a reason. If there’s a reason, then it’s okay.”

The demon hybrid priest smoothly changed the subject. Ethan was slightly impressed.

“Thank you very much. Oh, but isn’t this the cornbread I baked this morning?”

“Ah. Yes. I baked it again because there was a lot.”

“Wait. Is this cocoa the one I gave everyone a bag of last time when they were tired?”

“I didn’t think I needed to drink anything sweet, so I brewed it…?”

*‘Gainando would be horrified if he heard that,’* Ethan thought.

Someone who doesn’t need to drink anything sweet?

It was the complete opposite of Gainando’s beliefs.

“If the priest eats first, then I’ll have some too. No. I have my own food anyway. Few people have as many supplies as I do.”

Ethan argued with Tizling Priest, not believing him.

It was good to be frugal, but not when it came to meals.

Tizling Priest seemed to find it difficult to argue. Then, something caught his eye.

“Did you take out that tart box to eat?” he asked.

“Huh? No. I’m going to sell that for money. Why would I fill my stomach with something so expensive when there’s plenty of other food?”

“Then did you take out that roll cake to eat?”

“I’m supposed to give that to Gainando if he finishes his assignment this week, so I’m going to give it to Gainando.”

“…Then the only thing you can eat here is that bread?”

Tizling Priest asked, pointing to the hardened Einrogard basic supplies.

Ethan was slightly taken aback.

“No. I eat it with cheese, meat, and lettuce in a sandwich.”

“Is that so? …Wait. I don’t see it.”

“…I usually eat it together. I’m just a little busy today…”

“……”

Tizling Priest looked at him with a gaze that said, *’And you’re lecturing me?’*

Ethan gave up and opened his mouth.

“Let’s have something together. Can you call the other priests? Since I’m setting it up, I should set it up together.”

“Sometimes, Wardanaz, you’re like our temple bishop.”

“Oh. Is the bishop perhaps wealthy?”

“No? He’s frugal.”

Ethan was disappointed.

*‘Wait. Then what’s similar?’*

Ethan made a simple meal with the priests in the dormitory lounge.

“The sandwich seems too cold.”

“Isn’t it alright at this level?”

“Hmm. Just a moment. The remaining ingredients for today…”

Ethan threw rice, chicken, onions, and garlic into a pot with the priests in the dormitory lounge, stir-fried them in oil, and made pilaf.

Tizling Priest stared intently, perhaps thinking of the cold, hardened bread Ethan had tried to eat earlier, but Ethan ignored him, pretending not to notice.

*‘A person can sometimes skip a meal when they’re busy.’*

Knock knock-

“!”

At the sound of someone knocking, Ethan immediately grabbed his wand and prepared for battle.

If Professor Volady had seen it, he would have been moved to tears.

“…I, I just knocked on the door.”

“Yes. And that’s how all invasions begin. Who is it? Answer and immediately step back 5 meters.”

-I have come to deliver my master’s gift.

“10 meters back!”

Ethan’s voice became even sharper and fiercer when he heard the Death Knight’s voice.

The priests also sensed that something was wrong and immediately put down their bowls and picked up their wands.

“Nigisore Priest, that’s not a wand, it’s a spoon.”

“Oops. Sorry. It was delicious…”

Nigisore Priest scratched his head in embarrassment and picked up his wand again.

Meanwhile, the door slowly opened. The Death Knight, who had retreated as Ethan had ordered, said calmly.

-I understand that you students are worried, but there really are no traps today.

“Sure, there aren’t.”

Ethan, of course, and the priests chuckled.

The Death Knight was slightly hurt by the reaction.

He understood that the boy from the Wardanaz family was the master’s successor, so it was understandable that he had a twisted personality, but weren’t the priests being too much!

-If you don’t believe me, please check.

“I was going to do that anyway.”

Ethan sent Sharkan and then Gonadaltes to scout around.

Not stopping there, he created water orbs and shot them near the Death Knight, and also cast various attack spells.

The Death Knight couldn’t make a facial expression, but he showed a gloomy feeling in his eyes and brushed off the ice shards that had bounced off his bones.

-Have you finished checking?

“I haven’t checked everything yet, but I understand for now. So, what brings you here?”

“Didn’t I tell you? I came to deliver a gift.”

The Death Knight shook the large wooden chest he was holding.

“It’s a gift from my master.”

“Ah,” Lee Han said.

He looked at the wooden chest and suddenly understood. ‘That tricky headmaster!’ Lee Han thought. ‘It’s one of his traps!’

This must be the trap Professor Garcia told him about. It had arrived already.

One of the many traps the skeletal headmaster used to torment students before the final exams.

It was a snack box with an undead warrior hidden inside.

“Thank you.”

“Then, may I give it to you?”

“Yes. Of course.”

As Lee Han nodded, the Death Knight slowly approached.

When the Death Knight stopped right in front of him, Lee Han quickly took action.

He drew his Morning Star and slashed the wooden chest in half.

Whoosh!

-…?!!!

“Ha! Did you think I’d fall for it!”

From between the precisely split chest, the contents spilled out.

A wicked undead warrior waiting under the headmaster’s orders… or rather, it was clothing.

“???”

-???

Lee Han saw the coat cut in half and realized why the skeletal headmaster had given him this gift.

This weekend, the skeletal headmaster had to go out with the Empire’s minstrel, Ipadur, and Lee Han.

He was taking out a famous person from the Empire, so he naturally couldn’t dress them shabbily.

The cloaks and coats that students wore in Einroguard were not much different from rags…

“…To try to make me wear such clothes. Tell him I can never allow it!”

-Al, I understand.

The Death Knight returned, strangely impressed.

‘He’s tough, just like his master,’ the Death Knight thought.

Later that morning, on Saturday morning.

The skeletal headmaster, having completed his transformation into human form, grumbled inside the carriage.

Lee Han quietly thought to himself, ‘Ipadur, please come quickly.’

Until the minstrel arrived, the skeletal headmaster would likely continue to grumble.

“Originally, I’m from a great noble family, so I can’t wear clothes that don’t suit my dignity.”

You wore them well in Einroguard, didn’t you?

“That was because of the circumstances.”

You didn’t exactly dress up during vacation either…

“I couldn’t dress lavishly alone when I was with my friends.”

That sounds like a lie. You just wanted to find fault, didn’t you?

The skeletal headmaster sighed deeply, looking out the window with a frown. ‘Originally, I’m from a great noble family…’

Since he was going out with Ipadur, he couldn’t scold his disciple even if he whined for expensive clothes.

He suspected that this disciple was taking advantage of that to deliberately extract expensive clothes, even though he had no interest in them.

“I’m sorry I’m late.”

Ipadur arrived, walking slowly but steadily. He was a large tortoise beastman, with a wise look in his old eyes.

The skeletal headmaster personally opened the door and spoke using his vocal cords for the first time in a while.

“No. You’re not. We came early, so there’s no need to worry. Now, where shall we go?”

“If it’s alright, I would appreciate it if you could take me to Philone Village… I want to meet all the people with outstanding singing abilities near here.”

The old tortoise beastman replied in a slow but firm voice.

The skeletal headmaster gestured as if to say not to worry. Then, the carriage door closed and quickly sped forward.

The inside of the headmaster’s carriage was very grand, with soft seats and walls covered in rich red cloth. Ipadur couldn’t help but be amazed by the sight.

“May I look around a bit?”

“Of course. Feel free to look around. Show him around.”

While the Death Knight guided Ipadur, Lee Han and the skeletal headmaster silently sat in their seats and looked out of the carriage. As the carriage sped forward, Lee Han watched the trees and fields rush by outside the window.

“How much progress have you made with music magic?”

Lee Han opened his mouth to break the silence.

Originally, it was the role of subordinates like Lee Han to create a lively atmosphere in such situations.

The skeletal headmaster pretended not to hear and looked out of the carriage.

“Headmaster? Music magic…”

“Hey! Look outside. Butterflies in this season! How beautiful is the cycle of life!”

“…You don’t want to talk about music magic?”

At Lee Han’s words, the skeletal headmaster let out a frustrated sigh.

“Yes. I don’t want to. That’s why music magic is… How can something that changes every time you measure it be called magic? Everything from one to ten changes depending on a trivial mood?”

“But divine magic is also magic, isn’t it?”

There were already magics that included unstable elements like emotions.

Divine magic immediately fell into that category.

Its effects varied quite a bit depending on the priests’ faith or condition.

The skeletal headmaster strongly agreed with Lee Han’s words and said.

“That’s right. That’s why divine magic isn’t magic. I’m glad you know something!”

“…I’m not saying divine magic isn’t magic…”

Lee Han was dumbfounded by the skeletal headmaster’s ability to misunderstand perfectly.

“I can see the future clearly. Maybe some of the guys who sing well can use something similar to magic. But if you record that and tell the students to imitate it, it won’t be anything special. Music magic is meaningful to the magician who can use it, but as a field of study, it’s a failure. It’s difficult to pass on to students.”

While the skeletal headmaster grumbled, Lee Han organized the things he had to do in his head and turned his gaze outside.

“?”

His friends were waving their hands desperately in the distance, quickly moving away.

‘Are they seeing me off?’

Lee Han, who was wondering why they were seeing him off so desperately, realized belatedly.

“…Ah.”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.”

Come to think of it, they had decided to go rob the skeletal headmaster’s villa together this weekend.

‘…I’ll have to go next week…’