Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 799

“What do we do?”

“What do you mean, what do we do? We have to teach those blokes over there a lesson.”

The Pirate Crone pointed towards the second-year students. They were staring at Lee Han, their eyes wide and scared. It was as if they were saying, “Are you going to hit us?”

Lee Han thought, ‘These guys… Did they learn wordless telepathy while I wasn’t looking?’ He couldn’t bring himself to attack his fellow students; his conscience wouldn’t allow it.

“I can’t do it.”

“What?! Are you even a pirate?!”

“I’m not a pirate, though. And I was *퇴선-ed* – removed – from pirate magic earlier.”

Lagesa chuckled at Lee Han’s grumbling.

“Is it because of the pirate magic? Just as Baegreg said, you are truly eager to learn.”

“No, it’s just that you’re making it so I can’t use what I’ve learned at all…”

“Alright, alright. I’ll agree to this. I’ll just have to teach you. Come on, everyone! Let me teach you the pirate way of fighting!”

“If we learn it, can we give Wodanaz a good smack too?”

“Of course!”

“……”

Lee Han glared at Rapardel, thinking, ‘What an ungrateful wretch!’

“Rapardel.”

“Ah, no. I was just asking. I was just curious.”

“You still have a conscience, I see. And I wasn’t talking about that. Why aren’t the fourth-year students around?”

Come to think of it, the third-year students had just run away, the second-year students were still here, but the fourth-year students were nowhere to be seen. Of course, he knew they were busy preparing for graduation, but not a single one was present.

“The fourth-year students said they had something to do today and couldn’t come.”

“…!”

Lee Han realized and was impressed. ‘The fourth-year students are different for a reason!’

They had quickly retreated after hearing that Professor Kirmin was busy and that guests had arrived from outside, avoiding any possible danger. After all, if they let the juniors meet them first, they could find out who came later…

‘They’re ruthless, really. Is that what it takes to be a fourth-year at Einroguard?’

Bulgasari: Hey! Everyone knows guests are coming next week, right? Get ready!

“!”

Lee Han finished his work at the Duelling Club. He was confused because >Einroguard’s Whisper<, Einroguard's school-wide chat system, started writing words. 'A senior I’ve never seen before?' The senior, using the nickname Bulgasari, seemed interested in the other members and was chatting with them about various things. Bulgasari: Iaktus, how about you? Iaktus: I’m preparing well, of course. Bulgasari: Bakhwantallana, what about you? Wow. Aren’t you excited? "...?" Lee Han felt a strange awkwardness as he watched the conversation, a sense of unease, as if the other person was forcing themselves to be excited. 'I must be mistaken. There’s no reason to pretend to be excited.' The students of Einroguard were fundamentally gloomy beings. There was no need to pretend to be excited. Bakhwantallana: Does anyone know who broke the 6th-floor corridor? Iaktus: Right. Someone broke the 6th-floor corridor. Who the heck was it? More importantly, how did they break it? Lee Han was surprised to see the writing. 'Huh. There really are a lot of crazy students.' Apparently, some crazy student had broken the 6th-floor corridor. The Einroguard main building was protected by powerful magic, so even trying to break it from the inside wouldn't be easy… Gonadaltes: Is that really true? There really are a lot of crazy students. Iaktus: There have always been a lot of crazy students, so I’m not surprised. I’m more curious about how they broke it. If I knew, I’d use it too. Bulgasari: Iaktus. That’s not a good thing to do. Iaktus: Stop meddling in other people’s business. Bakhwantallana: Looking at the scene, it wasn’t just violent and rough. It wasn’t normal magic. I suspect it was a rampaging Great Demon of Hell or a high-ranking spirit. Iaktus: Damn it. Is it ‘Monster in Einroguard’ season again? What’s with this lately? I heard some crazy student came out on the outskirts of the territory too? Gonadaltes: I agree. If a crazy monster is wandering around inside the main building… Lee Han, who had been playing with his quill, stopped. 'Huh?' Come to think of it, wasn’t the Duelling Club located on the 6th floor? The place where he learned pirate magic from Lagesa seemed to be on the 6th floor too… Iaktus: Should we ask the Hunter Club to track down the monster? These guys are too expensive. Gonadaltes: Seems like a pointless thing to do. Shouldn’t everyone be able to protect their own body from a monster? It’s just a waste of money, and you’ll only lose out. Iaktus: Is that so? Gonadaltes: Iaktus. Don’t be fooled. While you’re sacrificing yourself for others, they’ll save their gold and use it for themselves. Iaktus: It does make me angry when I hear it like that. Alright. The one who’s desperate should catch it. Bulgasari: Let’s not all think so selfishly. If you step up even if it’s not your job, someday other friends will step up even if it’s not their job. Iaktus: When? After I graduate? Lee Han felt that there was no point in talking at length about who broke the corridor and what monster was summoned inside the Einroguard main building. 'I need to change the subject. The longer they talked, the more likely an innocent second-year student would be suspected.' Iaktus: Does anyone have information about next week’s guests? Fortunately, Iaktus changed the subject appropriately. Lee Han immediately agreed. Gonadaltes: I know one. Iaktus: Oh. Gonadaltes! My friend with the terrible pseudonym! Who is it? Gonadaltes: Pirate Lagesa. I’ll explain in case you don’t know who she is… Bakhwantallana: Are you talking about Lagesa, the daughter of Torgeord? Iaktus: The admiral of the Southern Privateer Fleet! Bulgasari: …Who on earth invited Lagesa? Lee Han was slightly taken aback. 'No way. She’s that famous?' Of course, he knew Lagesa was a relatively well-known figure in the Empire, but he didn’t know she was so famous that every single member of the club would immediately know who she was. Gonadaltes: Everyone’s amazing. I can’t believe everyone knows her. Iaktus: Haha. Well, I’m a cultured person, so that’s why, but the others probably know for a slightly different reason. It must be because of Lagesa’s achievements? Gonadaltes: What achievements? Iaktus: Come on. Come on. Are you seriously asking? I’m obviously talking about the time she invested twenty boxes of Imperial gold coins in Professor Verdus! Gonadaltes: Ah. That achievement… “……” Lee Han stopped his quill and fell into deep contemplation. He felt a little sorry for Lagesa. She had simply trusted Professor Verdus and invested gold coin boxes, but among the Einroguard students, her image was already fixed as ‘that generous person who trusted Verdus and invested.’ It was truly cruel. Bakhwantallana: I respect Lagesa. Gonadaltes: Is that so? Bakhwantallana: Lagesa is a captain with immense wealth, and she’s also a generous investor who invests in Professor Verdus. I’d love to meet her. Gonadaltes: …… Club Week wasn’t just a period for outsiders interested in the club to come and enjoy themselves. Of course, outsiders could come with that in mind, but at least for the Einroguard students, it was different. What was important to the students was the following: Which of the guests visiting this time is a rich and generous investor? What if there was someone with a heavy gold coin pouch and the generosity to invest in any research? They had to bring them in and persuade them somehow, before other wizards made that gold coin pouch thinner. The students of Einroguard were unyielding in this competition of goodwill. If someone tried to take an investor first, they would rush in, even if it meant a full-scale war. ‘I really don’t want to know this story…’ Iaktus: Thanks, Gonadaltes. Thanks to you, I got very valuable information. I should make some rum. Bakhwantallana: Preparing achievements suitable for a pirate wouldn’t be bad either. Iaktus: Damn. I should have done some pirating. Bulgasari: Instead of thinking about deceiving the guests, why don’t you try to persuade them sincerely? Surprisingly, all the members present pretended not to see Bulgasari’s words. Lee Han thought to himself. 'Bulgasari doesn’t seem to have many friends here…' Iaktus: Gonadaltes. I’ll give you one piece of information too. Apparently, the Kitchen Club has invited some big shots this time. They invited the Capital Baking Guild and the Butchery Guild, so sneak into the Kitchen Club and try to lure them in by showing them around your research. Gonadaltes: Is that okay? Iaktus: Of course not! If you get caught by the Kitchen Club members, you’ll have to go into their pot, so do it secretly no matter what. But it’s worth it. I heard they have so much gold these days that they don’t know what to do with it. Bakhwantallana: If that’s the case, then I’ll give you one piece of advice since I received valuable information. Dejie of the Lequoville family is coming to the Stonemason Club. Iaktus: What?! That master of the Architecture Guild is coming?! How did they invite him?! Bakhwantallana: According to rumors, they showed him the >Tower of Echoes>. I don’t know if it’s true, though.

Iaktus: If it’s Dejie… he’ll be carrying around gold equal to his weight. Damn it. If only I could get him out of the Stonemason Club!

Lee Han listened to the seniors’ stories and realized the advantages of joining multiple clubs for the first time. ‘Wait. Can I approach them all?’

Since he had joined multiple clubs, he could easily approach the visiting guests. ‘If I can get money…’

Lee Han momentarily fell into happy thoughts for the first time in a while. What if he met an investor with a heavy gold coin pouch and a kind heart?

‘First, I should get some investment in the Black Magic School, and ask them to invest in Senior Dirett’s research too. My research hasn’t even started yet… Hmm. But I’m writing the Water Prison Bullet book, so should I ask them to give me a little bit to finish this? I think I can do that much. I can get more support for Basil and Von Rigg’s feed too. Come to think of it, I need some potions to use when practicing lightning elemental magic too…’

Lee Han, who had been spreading his imagination, barely came to his senses. The magic of gold was amazing, making it difficult to escape once you imagined it.

‘Oops. What am I doing? This is really dangerous.’

Bakhwantallana: Gonadaltes. Which club invited Lagesa?

Gonadaltes: The Duelling Club.

Bulgasari: Wow! Professor Kirmin Ku invited Lagesa? I can’t believe it!

Gonadaltes: No. As far as I know, Professor Kirmin Ku was busy, so he asked Professor Voladi Baegreg.

Bulgasari was silent for a moment.

Lee Han tilted his head. ‘What’s wrong?’

Or maybe he was a senior who flinched just by hearing Professor Voladi’s name, like Lee Han. If that was the case, it was fully explained.

Bulgasari: I see. Thanks, everyone. I have something to do, so I have to go now.

Iaktus: Bulgasari. You’re the only one not giving out good information. Instead of just giving advice to others, why don’t you give us some information?

Bulgasari: Ah. Sorry. I didn’t think about it.

Iaktus: I’m sure you didn’t. Bulgasari only likes to lecture!

Lee Han thought as he watched the conversation. ‘Isn’t he making too many enemies? What if they meet like that?’

Iaktus seemed quite confident in his skills, but you never know what might happen in the world. There was no point in making enemies.

Bulgasari: …Duke Icaldo Ren will be participating as a guest. Okay?

Iaktus: What nonsense are you talking about, Bulgasari? Why would Duke Icaldo Ren participate?

Gonadaltes: No. What Bulgasari is saying makes sense. Duke Icaldo Ren is currently confined in a corner of Einroguard.

Iaktus: …How do you know that?

Gonadaltes: …