Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 622

Lee Han suddenly knew he had made a mistake. Too late now.

He thought, “Criminals are supposed to be caught, aren’t they?” That was the whole point.

Everyone in the Empire knew the saying: “The North has only knights and criminals.” And it was true. Criminals ran to the North to hide in its endless, frozen lands.

It was a hard, empty place, perfect for disappearing.

And catching those criminals? That was one of the jobs for knight families like theirs.

“Perhaps if I catch a criminal, Lady Zicklin might be pleased?”

“Dream on. There’s no way Sister would be satisfied with something like that.”

Lee Han grumbled inwardly. ‘Aren’t her standards a bit too strict?’

“But is there a way to verify their identity? Can we just attack them?”

Just because a spirit felt someone was a criminal, didn’t mean they actually were.

Spirits might sense bad people, but feeling like a criminal wasn’t the same as breaking the Empire’s laws.

“Of course not. Do you think this is Ainroguard?” Giselle said it like it was a stupid idea.

Unlike in Ainroguard, you couldn’t just attack someone without checking who they were first.

“Then?”

“We have to approach them and confirm their identity.”

“Too bad. If this were Ainroguard, we could just attack.”

Giselle nodded, then stopped. ‘What was I thinking?!’

She realised she was getting too used to Ainroguard.

“The North is a truly cursed land.”

“Shhh. Keep it down.”

The mercenaries cursed, watching their breath turn into white clouds. Even for mercenaries who roamed the Empire, the cold of the North was hard to get used to, especially in the winter.

“Are you saying we can’t even move our mouths now?”

“Idiot.”

“What? Who are you calling an idiot? Want to warm up by throwing some punches?”

“Don’t let the silence fool you. Monsters can appear at any time in the North.”

The other mercenaries flinched at the words of the one who had been to the North a few times. Hearing that, the surrounding tranquility felt ominous, like the calm before a storm.

“…Doesn’t look like anything will come out around here. It’s all snow and ice.”

“You can’t see it because you’re not a local. Just shut up. We don’t want to attract attention from monsters, knights, or patrols.”

The mercenaries glanced back at the client following them. As mercenaries who took on any request for the right price, they had accepted this job, but they were curious about their client’s identity.

What circumstances would lead someone to spend so much gold to gather mercenaries and head north in such a hurry?

Like the mercenaries here, they must have committed a few crimes against the Empire, but beyond that, they couldn’t guess.

“Bloody hell, it’s a knight!!”

“Control your expression! Control your expression! Hey, you there. Stay put. We’ll answer for you.”

The client, who had pulled their robe low, nodded. The mercenaries straightened their clothes with tense faces.

In the North, one couldn’t let their guard down, even in the most desolate and remote places. Knights occasionally patrolled this far out. Even if there were only one or two, they should never be underestimated. There was a high chance other knights were waiting nearby.

‘Thankfully… They’re just kids.’

The mercenaries breathed a sigh of relief when they saw how young the approaching knights were. They could handle these ones.

“K-Knights! What… what are you doing here, sirs?” The mercenary at the front spoke, putting on a frightened act. His performance was so convincing that the other mercenaries were impressed.

‘So that’s why he’s so expensive. It’s no exaggeration that he’s completed dozens of requests.’ A mercenary’s skill was proven by the requests they had completed. The fact that he had survived dozens of requests meant he was no ordinary mercenary. He wouldn’t have lasted this long without exceptional abilities.

The young knight, seemingly fooled by the act, greeted them gently.

“Ah, it’s nothing much. There are a lot of monsters in this area. I was just wondering if you needed any help.”

“Oh, is that so? Thank you very much.”

The mercenary bowed obsequiously. He looked genuinely moved.

“A knight like you, caring about people like us…”

“Don’t mention it. It’s a knight’s duty in the North.”

As the knight, who was as handsome as a sculpture, said that, the slender and pretty knight beside him stared intently. The mercenaries wondered why he was staring like that.

“…You’re quite admirable as a knight.”

“Haha. Thank you.”

‘Ah, so that’s the top dog.’ From the brief exchange, the mercenaries roughly guessed the hierarchy between the two knights. The slender knight probably joined the order first, and the handsome knight joined later.

The handsome knight spoke again.

“You’ll need to find a campsite soon. I can guide you to a good spot.”

“Ah, no, there’s no need to go that far…”

“It’s a knight’s job to keep people safe in the North. Really, we insist.”

‘Hmm. One’s soft. The other looks a bit picky. Is the handsome one from a common background? He’s too good-looking for that, though. That’s true. Let’s just accept it for now.’

The mercenaries nodded.

“Oh, alright. Thank you. May we ask about the Knights’ families?”

“I am from the Alpha family.”

“…Me too.”

Quietly borrowing the family name of their absent friend, Lee Han and Giselle apologized inwardly.

“Alpha family, huh? We’ll remember that.”

“Haha. It’s nothing. This way.”

The handsome knight led the group down towards the cliff. It was a good campsite, close to the river and sheltered from the wind thanks to the terrain.

“A place like this!”

“Is it alright?”

“Yes, yes! It’s a luxury. Finding a place like this thanks to you, Knight Sir! We are truly grateful.”

“Then I’ll help you prepare the campsite.”

“!”

The mercenaries were surprised by the offer and hesitated, ready to say no. But then, the knight with the gentle face suddenly frowned and spoke angrily.

“Are you serious? Help with setting up camp? That’s not really a knight’s job, is it?”

“Come now. We can manage this much. What if you encounter monsters?”

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

The angered knight turned sharply and distanced himself.

The handsome knight spoke to the embarrassed mercenaries.

“Do not worry. He only speaks like that.”

They didn’t think so.

In truth, the mercenaries thought the pretty-faced knight was the more typical knight. Usually, they would grumble about why they should help mercenaries, not step forward to assist.

“Sir Knight, you really don’t have to help…”

“Suddenly, water came out of the staff.”

The knight, surprisingly, pulled out a staff and brandished it. Clear, sparkling water gushed from the staff, like a mini waterfall. It splashed loudly into a large pot, quickly filling it to the brim. The mercenaries watched, eyes wide.

“You’re a wizard?!”

“Haha. I only know a few simple spells.”

There were wizards affiliated with the knight order, but the mercenaries had naturally assumed he was a knight due to his physique, and were quite taken aback.

‘Is he really from common stock?’

‘Seems so.’

The wizard’s magic was astonishing. The wizard waved his staff, and suddenly, walls of wood rose up around them. A fire started in the middle of the campsite, just like that!

The mercenaries’ mouths dropped open. They stared at the wizard, forgetting to act tough.

“Huh…!”

“Sir Wizard, you are truly amazing.”

The handsome wizard was very embarrassed.

“It’s nothing much.”

“Even that much magic is impressive.”

“That’s right, that’s right!”

As the outer walls of the campsite were erected and the bonfire blazed, the handsome wizard bowed his head and said,

“Then, I shall take my leave. Have a good journey.”

“Hey! Pour Sir Wizard a cup of coffee.”

“Haha. No, thank you. You must be short on coffee for your journey, and I can have some when I return.”

The handsome wizard truly did not linger any longer, and turned to leave with the knight who had been waiting.

Only then could the mercenaries relax.

“Whew…”

“Really wasn’t a big deal.”

“I was surprised, really. Did he not get more nervous because he’s so innocent?”

“Indeed. Still, the campsite is neat enough!”

The mercenaries burst into boisterous laughter.

The laughter came more easily now that the tension had eased.

“Did you see his face when he looked at the client? He went completely red! Probably never seen a woman in a robe before, haha!”

The client, who had not said a word until now, opened her mouth from within her robe.

“Is it alright to stay in a campsite that these knights showed us to? It feels uneasy.”

“There’s nothing to worry about. From what I saw, they were soft, greenhorn types. They didn’t seem suspicious at all.”

“They’ll just leave, thinking they did a good deed. Besides, wouldn’t it be a waste to abandon a campsite made like this?”

“The magic is amazing, though! We don’t even have to fetch water.”

The mercenaries were impressed by the sight of a neat campsite, something they usually didn’t see. Originally, preparing a campsite in this cold weather would have taken several times the effort. Digging into the hard-frozen ground, breaking the ice to get water, boiling that water, fetching firewood…

All those processes were solved by one kind wizard, so how convenient was that?

“Coffee’s ready!”

“Ugh. Give me some first. My body’s freezing.”

“Me too, me too!”

The mercenaries, without exception, poured freshly boiled coffee to melt their frozen bodies. And then, without exception, they fell sound asleep.

“Hmm. Easy.”

“……”

Lee Han and Giselle were watching from afar, cloaked in invisibility magic.

-Oh, there are quite a few of them? Even mercenaries?

-This is going to be troublesome.

-Moradi. If I ask them to stop in the name of the Moradi family, would the mercenaries listen?

-Those kinds of guys… usually don’t. Experienced mercenaries prioritized the request over imperial law. If they said they wanted to check something, they would immediately attack or scatter while stalling for time.

-I suppose so? Let’s subdue them peacefully.

-Is there a way to subdue them peacefully?

-There is. I’ll play the good wizard, and you play the bad wizard. That way, their wariness will be dulled.

-Seriously? You seriously want to do that?

-Don’t worry. It worked in Einrogard, so it’ll work outside too.

And it actually worked. Seeing Lee Han’s skill in mixing a sleeping potion into the water when filling the pot, putting all the mercenaries to sleep, Giselle thought that she should think more carefully about drinking any potions given by Wodanaz in the future.

“Wait! I need to verify your identity. Your cooperation would be appreciated.”

Lee Han shouted to the client who hadn’t drunk the coffee even as the mercenaries were collapsing. The hand holding the staff was not threatening, but prepared to respond at any moment.

“…Where did these guys come from?”

“The Northern Knight family has the appropriate inspection rights and, in case of emergency, the right to arrest pedestrians according to imperial law. Where are you from?”

The person in the robe muttered.

“So, it was a trap! I knew it. Filthy imperial dogs, always trying to trick us.”

‘How did they know?’

“Prahgal will descend without yielding to the schemes of you dogs!!”

“Moradi!!”

Lee Han shouted, and Giselle immediately drew her twin swords and dashed forward. The artifact twin swords shone brightly, focusing their power at the tips. However, before Giselle, Sharkan and the skeleton warriors, who had been waiting, rushed in all at once and attacked the fanatic.

The fanatic tumbled down powerlessly.

“Kraaah!!”

“Whew. That was a surprise.”

“……”

Giselle glared at her friend, who was acting up even though she could have subdued him sufficiently.