Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 763

The air hung heavy with unspoken questions after Ethan mentioned the unsettling rumors about the Black Magic Tower. Agdung, sensing the shift in mood and feeling everyone’s eyes suddenly fixed on him, clapped his bony hands together. “Right then!” he announced, his skull-like face somehow managing a wide, if slightly unsettling, grin. “Mushroom field, anyone? Haha! Lovely weather for it, wouldn’t you say?”

Gaynando blinked, surprised. “Lovely weather? But… there’s no sunlight down here.” He couldn’t recall ever hearing anyone describe the atmosphere near the Black Magic Tower as ‘lovely.’ Even the most cheerful students usually became quiet and somber in its shadow.

Agdung chuckled, a dry, rattling sound. “Ah, but you see, my friend, it’s lovely by *black magic standards*!”

Gaynando just stared, completely bewildered.

“Come on, come on!” Agdung urged, already starting to jog ahead, his bones clattering softly.

As Agdung ran ahead, Gaynando whispered to Ethan.

“Ethan, the people of Callarogard seem a bit strange.”

“They might be…” Ethan replied.

Yoner and Siana, who had been waiting after finishing the potion, were startled by the visit of the Callarogard student.

“You scattered spores in this mushroom field eleven years ago?!” Yoner exclaimed.

“Shouldn’t we ask about the skeleton thing first…?” Siana muttered, but the topic quickly moved on.

“That’s right. The professor and the seniors were looking for a good spot back then and found this mushroom field,” Agdung explained.

Ethan and his friends whispered among themselves at the words of the other magic school’s senior.

“Then, doesn’t this school effectively own this field?”

“Will the seniors listen?”

“They’re guests from another magic school; surely they won’t just insist. They have some evidence here, too,” Ethan pointed out.

Ethan gestured towards the scroll Agdung had brought. It contained the location of the mushroom field, the types of mushroom spores scattered at the time, the date, and so on.

“We went to the trouble of completing the >Arlkan’s Ferocious Beast Potion>. Shouldn’t we use it? It’ll lose its effect if we don’t use it today,” Siana said, sounding reluctant to waste the potion she had worked so hard to complete.

However, all her friends (including Yoner) agreed to try peaceful negotiation first. Siana grumbled.

“They don’t know how difficult it is to make a potion!”

“I’m really sorry, Siana Priest of the Flemin Order. But since they came as guests from Callarogard, I’d like to avoid a fight if possible. I do want to test the potion you made, though, it looks really amazing…” Ethan said apologetically.

“Then I guess it can’t be helped,” Siana replied.

Siana quickly forgave him at the compliment. Yoner, who was listening nearby, asked curiously.

“Does Callarogard have a rule against fighting other magic schools or something?”

“Ah. There’s no such thing, but if you fight Einrogard students, you usually get beaten pretty badly,” Ethan admitted.

Ethan and his friends felt sorry for the misdeeds committed by their seniors’ seniors.

“Uh, we’re sorry,” Ethan mumbled.

“What are you sorry for? It’s not like you guys did anything!” Agdung waved his hand dismissively and stepped forward. Yoner followed behind him, saying,

“He seems like a kind person, unlike his appearance?”

“I think so. But he’s acting a bit differently towards me. I guess he had something bad happen with the Wodanaz family,” Ethan explained.

“Oh dear. It would be nice if there was a chance to talk,” Yoner said with concern.

Ethan nodded at Yoner’s words.

If only he had a chance to talk sincerely, he was confident he could clear up the Wodanaz family’s bad reputation.

Actually, demons are just like porters…

“What, why are there so many…?” a voice called out.

The senior guarding the mushroom field was slightly taken aback by the sight of the students rushing in. Moreover, one of them even seemed to be from another magic school.

“Are you perhaps from Callarogard?” the senior asked.

“That’s right. My name is Agdung from Callarogard,” Agdung confirmed.

“Oh… nice to meet you. From your appearance, it seems you’re doing research on turning people’s bodies into undead,” the senior remarked.

Ethan’s friends were shocked.

‘That research is famous enough that he can tell just by looking?’ they wondered.

“That’s right. I’m glad you recognize it,” Agdung replied.

“I read about it in the >Imperial Magic Journal>. But what brings you here?” the senior inquired.

“Actually, I came because of this mushroom field,” Agdung explained.

Agdung, like a polite skeleton gentleman, presented the materials he had brought as evidence, explaining his claim.

The senior’s face wavered at the powerful argument that could overturn the mushroom field ownership dispute from the root.

“Th, this…! I never knew there was such a hidden story!” the senior exclaimed.

“I ask for a wise decision,” Agdung requested.

“I need to talk to the other students for a moment. Would you come with me?” the senior asked with a serious face, trying to gather the students waiting near the mushroom field.

It seemed they would have to discuss the ownership again.

“Yes. These juniors here also…” Agdung started to say.

“That won’t do,” the senior refused firmly.

“Why not!? I wouldn’t have even come here if these students hadn’t guided me…” Agdung protested.

“That’s separate. The information about this mushroom field cannot be disclosed to outsiders,” the senior explained.

The senior was thorough, as expected of an Einrogard student. Even if the Callarogard student was allowed to attend as a concerned party, there was no reason to allow the juniors, who were outsiders, to attend. If they were allowed to attend, they would only gather all the information about the mushroom field and then use it for theft, so he couldn’t let his guard down even more.

“What! Still… I’m going back anyway once this is over. After that, the Black Magic Faction will receive our rights and manage the mushroom field,” Agdung argued.

“Then explain it separately when you transfer the rights after today’s discussion. People without rights cannot attend,” the senior countered.

“What’s going on?” a voice asked.

Two or three seniors from the mushroom field, hearing the commotion, approached with puzzled expressions. Agdung appealed about the situation where the juniors who had helped him were not allowed to attend.

“Does this make sense?” Agdung asked.

“Hmm. I’m sorry, but it’s a bit difficult to allow people without rights to attend…” one of the seniors replied.

“How can we trust that you won’t steal or attack us in secret?” another senior added.

‘How perceptive,’ Ethan’s friends thought.

Some of Ethan’s friends wore guilty expressions. They had been planning to do exactly as the seniors had predicted.

“Senior Agdung, we’re fine. You attend and assert your rights. We can take care of it later,” Ethan whispered from behind, but Agdung shook his head and didn’t back down.

“Please,” Agdung pleaded.

“I told you it’s not allowed. We’re already suffering from theft and attacks,” the senior repeated.

“Even so!” Agdung insisted.

“What’s not allowed is not allowed,” the senior stated firmly.

Ethan’s friends were even more puzzled as Agdung continued to plead.

“Why is he being like this?” one of them wondered.

“Is there a reason why we absolutely have to attend?” Ethan asked.

“I wonder…?” Agdung mumbled.

The seniors at the mushroom field seemed frustrated by the continued requests.

“You need to bring a reason, how can you just ask?” one of the seniors said impatiently.

“Th…” Agdung stammered.

“Th?” the senior repeated.

“Do you even know who this person is!!!” Agdung suddenly declared.

Ethan and his friends all turned their gaze in the direction Agdung’s finger was pointing. The seniors also turned their gaze in unison.

‘…It’s me?’ Ethan thought in shock when he belatedly realized he was being pointed at. The seniors seemed similarly bewildered.

“Wh, who is it?” one of the seniors asked.

“Is it royalty…?” another senior wondered.

“What’s so great about royalty? There’s no way he’d act like that just because of royalty, right?” a third senior questioned.

As the seniors whispered, Ethan hurriedly stopped Agdung.

“Mr. Agdung. Why are you doing this? What are you doing right now?” Ethan asked, distressed.

“Just wait a moment! I’ll persuade them,” Agdung replied.

Agdung, heated up because persuasion wasn’t working, loosened his tie and declared. Of course, Ethan was dying inside watching this.

‘Is he a social assassin?’ Ethan thought.

There was no more fatal blow than going in front of the seniors and saying, ‘Do you know that this person is from the Wodanaz family!’ From the seniors’ perspective, they would just think, ‘So what.’

“This person is a disciple of the Imperial Spirit Master! Are you going to exclude him even knowing that!” Agdung exclaimed.

Silence filled the air at the words that exceeded everyone’s expectations. Ethan was also flustered and silent.

‘It wasn’t about the Wodanaz family?’ Ethan thought.

He naturally thought it was because he was from the Wodanaz family, but it was because of his relationship with the Skull Headmaster.

‘No. Both are equally annoying!’ Ethan thought.

Whatever the reason, it was never good to act like that in front of the seniors.

Ethan tried to remedy the situation as quickly as possible.

“Wait a s-!” Ethan started to say.

“Oh… did we make a mistake?” one of the mushroom field seniors asked.

The mushroom field seniors’ momentum waned, and they began to look around. The magicians of Einrogard didn’t care about royalty or descendants of great imperial families, but the Skull Headmaster’s associates were a bit of an exception.

If he was really the Skull Headmaster’s disciple, they couldn’t treat him arbitrarily, no matter how junior he was. It wasn’t because they were afraid of the Skull Headmaster, but because they were afraid that the Skull Headmaster’s disciple himself would retaliate someday. How vicious and cruel would that disciple be! He could remember even these trivial grudges for over a hundred years and come back to repay them.

“Hmm. If he’s really the Headmaster’s disciple… but is he really the Headmaster’s disciple?” one of the seniors pondered.

“There’s no way someone from Callarogard would be mistaken, right? Wait. Isn’t he that guy? The one who takes classes from every faction?” another senior asked.

“…That might make sense!” the first senior exclaimed.

The mushroom field seniors talked among themselves and came to their own understanding. If he was just the Skull Headmaster’s disciple, they might have thought it was a false rumor, but the fact that he took classes from every faction made it seem a bit plausible.

“Seniors. There’s a misunderstanding. I did hang out with the Headmaster, but strictly speaking, the definition of a disciple is…” Ethan tried to explain.

“You hung out with him?” one of the seniors interrupted.

“I mean, coincidentally…” Ethan corrected himself.

The seniors nodded at Ethan’s words. And then they thought simultaneously in their minds.

‘He’s definitely a disciple!’ they concluded.

If the Headmaster’s personality was so awful that he brought him along, he could be considered a disciple. It was truly amazing.

“Join us, junior!” one of the seniors exclaimed.

“I trust you won’t hold a grudge over today’s events! Haha!” another senior added.

Ethan was distressed as he realized the rumors that would be added on top of the rumors of him taking classes from every faction.

“Good… no. That’s good. Haha!” Ethan replied awkwardly.

Agdung, who thought he had solved the problem, smiled brightly, clattering his bones. He couldn’t help but feel proud that he had succeeded in getting him to attend without damaging the reputation of the Spirit Master’s disciple.

Ethan stared at Agdung with an icy gaze. Agdung flinched at the gaze, sensing something was wrong.

“…Was I, was I too late?” Agdung asked nervously.

In the end, Ethan couldn’t get angry at Agdung. He couldn’t get angry at someone who was being nice to him because of the Skull Headmaster’s bad reputation. Instead, he tried his best to persuade him.

-So, I did hang out with him a bit, but I’m not really a disciple…

-…Isn’t that usually what a disciple is? Agdung asked.

‘Damn it. I said it, but it seems like it lacks persuasiveness,’ Ethan thought.

Ethan lamented inwardly. He felt like his words lacked persuasiveness even as he spoke them. Well, he himself felt somewhat like the Skull Headmaster’s disciple, so there was no way he could be persuasive.

“We will transfer the rights to the mushroom field in a unified manner then,” one of the seniors announced.

The seniors, unable to refute the evidence from Callarogard, eventually gave up their ownership. Ethan asked cautiously.

“Are you alright? Is there a loss…?”

“It stings, but this much loss is common in Einrogard,” one of the seniors replied.

“That’s right. I also get scammed a lot. You have to accept that when you buy something like this,” another senior added.

Ethan vowed inwardly that he would check a hundred times before buying real estate from the seniors in the future.

“The Black Magic Faction will manage this place on behalf of Callarogard,” Agdung declared.

The seniors murmured at the appearance of an unfamiliar faction.

“If the Black Magic Faction manages it, what will happen to the mushroom prices here?” one of the seniors asked.

“Hmm. If the faction doesn’t have money, they might raise the prices… they seem poor,” another senior speculated.

“…The prices will remain the same. The Black Magic Faction has plenty of money,” Ethan stated firmly.

“Oh!” the seniors exclaimed.

Ethan’s Black Magic Faction friends cast bewildered glances at his declaration.

…Did we?