Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 586

No!

“Isn’t it?” the Headmaster asked, his expression stern.

Professor Pacelette wasn’t easily convinced. She had been at Einroguard long enough to know better than to take everything the Headmaster said at face value. Professors at Einroguard, like students, learn a lot over time, and she had learned not to trust everything the Headmaster said right away.

The Headmaster had said, “I’m planning to look for new students while visiting the capital with Wodanaz.”

“Aha!” Professor Pacelette responded.

Professor Pacelette immediately understood what the Headmaster was implying: The magical power of the boy from the Wodanaz family could replace the magical power drawn from Einroguard’s ley lines.

But…

“Is that alright?” she asked.

The Headmaster waved his hand dismissively. “There shouldn’t be any major problems.”

*Isn’t that beside the point?* Professor Pacelette thought.

She knew the boy from the Wodanaz family had a lot of magical power, enough that using it like that wouldn’t cause problems. However, Einroguard was the Empire’s best magic school and should be mindful of how it looked to others.

“Of course, don’t go around telling people,” the Headmaster added.

“Headmaster…” Professor Pacelette began, but it was no use.

If the Headmaster was someone who changed his mind just because a professor looked at him, he wouldn’t be the Headmaster of Einroguard.

*Why is he staring? Does he want something more to say?* The Headmaster sighed, trying to sound patient. “No. I entrust the new students to you.”

*That’s what I should be saying to the new students,* he grumbled inwardly.

He already felt annoyed. Everyone thought that being invited to the glorious Empire’s best magic school was a great opportunity, and all the new students would be eager to come. But surprisingly, quite a few new students didn’t want to come.

Some were from great noble families of the Empire who preferred to learn separately with a teacher or at a magic tower. Others were considering different magic schools.

But this was alright, as long as the student had some interest in magic. If he persuaded them gently through conversation, most of them would be convinced, saying, ‘Ah, Einroguard is indeed better.’

The more difficult cases were students who had no interest in magic or were in an environment that prevented them from pursuing it.

The Headmaster remembered some frustrating conversations:

“-No, does it make sense to send our family’s slave to Einroguard?”

“-Ha! This guy is a member of the Three Mice Guild. How can we send him to school when he earns so much money from begging?”

In the case of students from such backgrounds, such as slaves or criminals, they were reluctant to let them go.

Then the Headmaster’s words would gradually become harsh.

“-Even so, it’s a glorious thing, and I’ll pay the price…”

“-I refuse. Give me ten times the amount.”

“-How dare you, you newborn babe, negotiate in front of me, the Emperor’s ‘Maryeonggwan’ (a special title given by the Emperor) and guardian of the magic defense barrier? I will wipe out your short family lineage and turn your house into dust, leaving not even a foundation stone! Now, what will you pay for your family’s worth? Speak!”

After having conversations like this, he would get scolded by the Emperor and denounced by the Empire’s officials…

Anyway, bringing in new students was a difficult task.

In fact, the reason he was trying to take Wodanaz with him was because of this.

“Indeed. Are you going to have him assist when fighting criminals?” Professor Pacelette asked.

“Yes… No! What are you talking about? Not criminals, but when persuading the citizens of the Empire!” The Headmaster, who was about to agree without thinking, was taken aback.

What he expected from Wodanaz was his unique sociability, that allowed him to quickly become friendly with not only noble families but also various classes. This was an ability that even any of Einroguard’s seniors couldn’t easily imitate.

He thought that if he took Wodanaz with him, it would be a little easier to persuade people, and the Headmaster himself wouldn’t lose his temper as much, but it wasn’t because he was taking him to assist in fights. If he were going to have someone assist in fights, he would have taken Professor Garcia!

“What? Not Professor Begreck?” Professor Pacelette asked, confused.

“Yes. Professor Begreck. That’s who I meant. Didn’t I say Professor Begreck?” the Headmaster replied, trying to cover up his mistake.

“You said Professor Garcia, though,” Professor Pacelette pointed out.

“You must have misheard. Professor Krauer. Are you the Headmaster? Am I the Headmaster? Would the Headmaster have made a mistake, or would the professor have misheard?” the Headmaster retorted, becoming a bit defensive.

*He’s really like a petty Archmage,* Professor Pacelette thought, cursing the Headmaster, who changed his tone and appealed to authority when he was at a disadvantage.

But such arguments were always disadvantageous to those of lower status. The professor suppressed his anger, thinking about the budget for the Divination Magic School this year.

“While you’re here, could you check this? It’s the final exam for the new students this year,” Professor Pacelette said, changing the subject.

There shouldn’t be any major problems with the new students’ final exam.

The Headmaster was well aware of the dangers of Divination Magic, because when you counted the number of students in the higher grades who were in bad condition, it always ranked in the top. But if it’s just the new students’ exam, there wouldn’t be anything that dangerous.

The Headmaster nodded, looking at the strange ornaments and amulets spread out on the table. Scattered among the papers were strange objects: a silver amulet shaped like a serpent, a wooden carving of a bird with glowing eyes, and several small pouches filled with herbs that smelled faintly of smoke.

These were wards against evil. Divination mages, who most directly receive the price for foreseeing the future, thoroughly researched methods to avoid the price: receiving it in installments, receiving it on behalf of someone else, reducing the risk itself by making the results of the divination ambiguous…

One of those methods was such a ward against evil. Ornaments closely connected to the future were armor that showed the results of the divination and at the same time paid the price on their behalf.

Unlike other artifacts, these ornaments had to be even more detailed and elaborate, because even the slightest error would immediately cause the price of the divination to flow to the mage.

“It doesn’t seem to be a problem. Hmm…” the Headmaster muttered.

“That’s a relief, then,” Professor Pacelette replied.

Ah. Should he have Wodanaz make a ward against evil with this?

Remembering this, the Headmaster summoned bones from the subspace warehouse. With a rush of cold air, a pile of bones appeared on the table. They were ancient and dark, and seemed to hum with a faint, unsettling energy.

Professor Pacelette frowned at the ominous and powerful magic emanating from the material that anyone could see. There was no reason to use such fierce materials for the 1st grade final exam.

“Don’t look at me like that. There’s a reason for it,” the Headmaster said.

“Headmaster. I respect you, but I can also send a letter to His Majesty the Emperor…” Professor Pacelette threatened.

*What a petty professor,* the Headmaster cursed Professor Pacelette inwardly.

He had to use this much. The intensity of the divination magic is considerable.

“Then… is that so? Wouldn’t it be better to use weak divination magic…” Professor Pacelette suggested.

At Professor Pacelette’s words, the other personalities of the professor who had been listening quietly began to object.

“-If we do it that way, there will be fewer disciples than the Black Magic School…”

“-There is an extraordinary path only for geniuses!!”

Professor Pacelette, who was gradually becoming annoyed by the troublesome behavior from inside and outside, sighed and said.

“Still, they have to choose. They wouldn’t want to see it more difficult for themselves.”

“I asked, and they said they wanted to see it more difficult. Is that alright?” the Headmaster asked.

“Is that so?” Professor Pacelette responded.

“-What did I say…”

Professor Passelet’s face changed for a second. His usual stern look softened, and he nodded quickly.

“Understood.”

A dry, scratchy laugh escaped Professor Passelet’s throat: “Heh heh heh.”

“Did you just laugh?” Professor Krauer frowned. “Are you sure you’re hearing things right, Professor Passelet?”

Ian left the room, feeling a little dizzy after the strange meeting. He realized sleep was more important than he thought.

“Perhaps… I’m not thinking clearly because I haven’t been sleeping enough. Everything feels a bit unreal lately.”

Priest Tissling stared at Ian, his eyes wide with concern. It was as if Ian had said something terrible, not just that he was tired.

“I was so worried about getting a perfect score on the Transfiguration exam, but I don’t know why I was so stubborn. Haha.”

Priest Tissling said nothing, but poured tea into the teacup in front of Ian.

“But the Transfiguration exam… Mmph,” Ian started to complain. Priest Tissling quickly put a chocolate in Ian’s mouth. “Eat this,” Tissling said gently. “No more exam talk.”

“How is the Transfiguration exam going, mmmph?”

Priest Tissling said noth…

“Ah, Wodanaz. You’re awake. Let’s go together!” Priest Siana, who had been planning how to attack the third-floor Oak Forest classroom with other students in the lounge area, was delighted to see Ian get up.

He was always a reliable asset in these matters.

“Mmph, mmmph.”

“I’m glad you’re coming with us… Ah. Why is Tissling here?”

“It’s nothing.”

Priest Tissling, who had been about to glare, sighed softly and said,

“Do you all… really need to attack the classroom like that before the exam?” Priest Tissling wondered if it was really necessary to actively resolve the anomalies in the classroom before the exam like this.

Couldn’t they wait a little longer and see how things went?

And if that person was taking all the other school’s exams, shouldn’t they leave it to someone else?

“What if it’s just a coincidence, or the professor made a mistake?”

“Nah. It’s a trap set by the professor,” Siana said firmly, remembering what Ian had said earlier about strange things happening in classes. “That’s right. It’s probably a trap,” another priest agreed, nodding.

“!?” Tissling was taken aback by the reaction of the Phoenix Tower students, not the other tower students.

Normally, the priests would respect the professor and say, ‘The professor might have made a mistake’?

As if they had been influenced by someone, the priests were very actively suspicious of the professor.

“No. This is amazing.”

Ian seemed to feel it too, and was amazed. Tissling stared at Ian with wide eyes.

“You noticed?”

“Yeah. This must be… the professors’ tyranny has gone too far.”

“Even these pure priests are suspecting the professors. How much have they deceived them to make them like this.”

“Right? Priest Tissling?”

“…Yes…” Tissling gave up and sighed.

In fact, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing that the priests had changed like this.

Originally, this vast freshman lounge would have been filled with quiet stillness, but ever since Ian came, it had been noisy with people talking to each other (and some fighting over faith).

“Now. Let’s go defeat the professor’s conspiracy!”

“Waaah!”

“In the name of Flemeng!”

“In the name of Aglataqua!”

The storekeeper with bandages over his eyes was like a ghost in the school. Students whispered stories of his silent footsteps and how he could appear out of nowhere if you were stealing food from the kitchen at night.

That object of terror, the storekeeper, was now standing in front of the Oak Forest classroom with a very displeased expression.

The yew tree spirit, who was in charge of the Skull Headmaster’s forest, apologized with great regret.

-My mistake…

From the perspective of the forest keeper who manages the Skull Headmaster’s forests located on the Einroguard main building campus, the transformation of the Oak Forest classroom into a jungle was an unfortunate mistake.

He had accidentally spilled seeds while bringing in several plant species ordered by the Skull Headmaster from outside.

The seeds spilled in other areas were recovered before problems arose, but some areas eventually became jungles… One of them was right here.

The storekeeper, whose patrol route had been ruined, showed a very dissatisfied expression and signaled to fix it quickly.

The forest keeper apologized and apologized, barely managing to send the storekeeper back.

-What’s wrong with a jungle…

After the storekeeper left, the yew tree spirit grumbled inaudibly.

Of course, you might get a little lost, but isn’t it much more beautiful than an ordinary main building corridor?

As the yew tree spirit was wondering how to clear this jungle, he heard new footsteps.

They were first-year students.

‘I have to send them back…’ The forest keeper, who was about to put up a tree to send the freshmen back, belatedly recognized Ian’s face.

He was definitely the master’s disciple that the other storekeepers and spire keepers often talked about.

-Did you come to help…?

The students were startled by the sudden appearance of the yew tree spirit.

Ian carefully asked, helping up the priests who had fallen while trying to hide behind him.

“Are you… by any chance…?”

-I’m… the forest keeper… More importantly… did you come to help…?

Ian quickly spun his head.

What is the most appropriate answer when caught trespassing?

“Yes!”

-Indeed…! I’ve heard about it often…!

“…?” Ian felt a little uneasy as the other party seemed to know him.

Why do I feel like I’ve made a mistake?