Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 903

“Maybe we were too hard on the priest,” one student mumbled.

“But he did take all our food last time! The wheat, rice, everything! And the fish, cheese, sausages…” Another student sighed, “Well, no one saw him do it. Maybe it was those blue worms again.”

A voice from behind them said, “Still not understanding, I see.”

Professor Lightning-Foot sighed as she walked past the students. *Cute faces can be dangerous,* she thought, remembering Professor Verdus and his… incident. *These first years will learn that soon enough, probably after a few more stings.*

“Yes,” she muttered to herself, walking faster, “lessons learned the hard way stick best.”

She held several thick books tightly to her side. The worn covers had titles like *How to Calm an Angry Griffin* and *Raising Unicorns for Trouble-Makers*. Professor Lightning-Foot had heard a student needed help with a big, rare creature, so she grabbed these books from the library to be ready.

*Griffins and unicorns during exams?* Professor Lightning-Foot wondered. *Professors can be distracted, but students shouldn’t be. Even if he’s the best student, this seems like too much confidence.*

“Ugh!” Professor Lightning-Foot stopped. She was a seasoned explorer, used to seeing strange and scary things. But the sight in front of her made her pause in surprise. Professors Bendozol and Voladi were sitting there, very still and quiet.

*Is this a trick?* she thought. She couldn’t imagine what kind, but the thought popped into her head.

“…What are you doing here?”

“Mind your own business,” Professor Bendozol answered rudely.

“You know what I mean. Why are you just standing around in front of the dorms?” Professor Lightning-Foot asked. Students from Blue Dragon Tower were quietly walking around them, whispering.

“Guarding His Highness, of course.”

“Ah, yes… Waiting for him to come out?” Professor Lightning-Foot remembered Jaurin’s visit. But Professor Bendozol shook his head.

“His Highness is in his room, confined to quarters.”

“Confined to quarters? What do you mean, ‘confined to quarters’?”

“No, you… you donkey! Who put His Highness in his room?” Professor Lightning-Foot snapped, annoyed. Bendozol always knew how to make her angry, even though she tried to respect him as a professor.

“Who else? That Wodanaz boy.”

“…Oh, right.” Professor Lightning-Foot was surprised to find herself believing it, even though it sounded ridiculous. But somehow, if you heard Wodanaz had done it, it seemed possible.

“And you just let him do it? I thought you would have rushed in there to save him!”

“I was going to,” Bendozol said.

“…And?”

Professor Bendozol just pointed with his chin, looking gloomy. Professor Voladi sat beside him, face blank as usual.

“……”

Looking closer, Professor Lightning-Foot saw Bendozol was even messier than usual. His coat was ripped in places, and his trousers were covered in dirt. *He looks like he was attacked,* she thought, quickly looking away. “I have no idea who could have done this!” she said loudly, pretending to be surprised.

“……”

“Well, I should go,” she said, turning to leave quickly.

“Goodbye,” Bendozol mumbled.

Professor Lightning-Foot hurried away, not wanting to get involved.

*I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I miss the Headmaster!* she thought. He was a grumpy old wizard who always bothered the professors, but maybe he was useful sometimes. If the Skeleton Headmaster was here, would he stop a professor from attacking Bendozol? *Probably not completely,* she thought, *but he might try to calm things down.*

-Let go of the magic, please.

-No.

-…Let’s try again, fairly this time! No tricks!

-No.

*I hear nothing,* Professor Lightning-Foot thought, walking even faster. She really didn’t want to hear what was happening behind her.

“Professor!” Leehan smiled warmly, happy that Professor Lightning-Foot had come all the way to his tower to help.

The professor waved her hand, as if she was annoyed. “Yes, yes. Is it a griffin, a unicorn, or something else I haven’t even heard of?”

“Pardon?” Leehan asked.

“I heard you were having trouble with a big, rare creature.”

Jaurin, sitting by the fireplace, looked around nervously, his face sad. Leehan quickly made some tea, put a cup in front of the professor, and said, “I think there’s been a misunderstanding. I haven’t had any trouble.”

Jaurin’s face lit up.

“What nonsense! I heard you sighing all the time!” Professor Lightning-Foot said.

Jaurin’s face fell again. Professor Lightning-Foot started to understand.

“Wait… it’s not a griffin or a unicorn…?” From the strange “confined to quarters” and the way Jaurin was watching Leehan, the pieces clicked in her mind, and she felt a chill.

But Leehan pretended not to know what she meant. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. His Highness and I had a small argument, but we made up right away.”

“Yes!” Jaurin shouted, his face bright again. Seeing him, it seemed Leehan really had apologized.

Actually, Leehan had come back and apologized before Professor Lightning-Foot arrived.

-Your Highness, I’m sorry. I was too angry…

-Waaaaah! Jaurin was wrong!!!

-…I promise I won’t do it again…

-I’ll never do it!!!!

-Okay, I understand. Let’s make up.

-Ah. Does that mean I can leave my room now?

-No. That’s not what it means.

-…A-Are you really not angry anymore…?

Jaurin wasn’t sure if Leehan was really no longer angry, because he was still stuck in his room. But seeing Leehan’s face, he seemed to be telling the truth.

-I just don’t understand, the baby basilisk grumbled from around Jaurin’s neck.

They had clearly made up, but Jaurin was not allowed to go back into Leehan’s sleeve until the “confined to quarters” was over. But Jaurin, being a clever dragon, pretended not to hear the basilisk. He didn’t want to ask Leehan to put the basilisk back in his sleeve now, in case Leehan got angry again.

“I’m glad you’ve made up,” Professor Lightning-Foot said. “So, has the griffin or unicorn caused any trouble?”

“No…” Leehan said.

Jaurin looked sad again at Leehan’s answer. The griffin and unicorn were behaving perfectly, but Jaurin…

“…Of course they have!” Leehan quickly said. “They’re a real pain.”

“Hey,” Leehan mouthed to Jaurin, pleading with his eyes, *Please go along with this.* Professor Lightning-Foot was confused. She had come to help, but what was this act?

She looked at Jaurin. The young dragon was looking up at her with big, hopeful eyes. He looked like he might cry if she said the griffin and unicorn were well-behaved.

“…Oh, yes! I knew those creatures would cause trouble,” Professor Lightning-Foot said, playing along.

“Exactly!” Jaurin said happily.

*I wonder what trouble they caused!* Professor Lightning-Foot thought.

“……”

“……”

Seeing Jaurin’s excited eyes, Leehan had to make up a story quickly. Luckily, he remembered something Professor Garcia had said.

“They wrecked my room. All the furniture is broken,” Leehan said.

“Oh dear!” Jaurin said, looking worried, but he also looked pleased. Professor Lightning-Foot hesitated. *Is it really good for a dragon to be happy when other creatures cause more trouble than him?* she wondered. *Is this the right way to teach him?*

“And, and! What else did they do?” Jaurin asked, eager to hear more.

“Um… they ate all my research papers,” Leehan said.

-Did Phone-Rigg really do that? the baby basilisk asked, confused.

It didn’t seem like the griffin would do that kind of thing. He was too old for pranks. And Professor Lightning-Foot had said he was already grown up when she found him…

“You can never understand a griffin’s mind,” Leehan said quickly. “You hid from me and stole my potion bag, didn’t you?”

-…… The baby basilisk, who had spoken up, suddenly became quiet and hid in Jaurin’s arms.

*Still, the basilisk is much nicer than that griffin. We are both much nicer!*

“I’m glad you’re feeling better. Haha,” Professor Lightning-Foot said, sounding a little fake.

“Yes… I’m glad to hear it,” Leehan replied, equally fake.

Professor Lightning-Foot took another sip of tea. *Of course, the poor griffin, who wasn’t even here, is being blamed. But he’s more mature than these two, he’ll understand.*

“I think that’s all settled, so I’ll leave you now. But before I go…” The professor snapped her fingers. Leehan looked at her, curious. “I heard His Highness is confined to quarters, right?”

“Yes,” Leehan said.

“If you keep him locked up too long, it could cause problems later,” she warned. “Dragons don’t like being confined.”

She explained, “No creature in the Empire likes being locked up, but dragons are especially bad. They are proud and strong. A normal student might be stuck because they can’t escape, but a dragon can easily figure out how to get out if he wants to. If you keep him locked up too long, he might become angry and resentful.”

“His Highness won’t do that,” Leehan said confidently. “And don’t worry, I’m going to stay with him.”

“Ah, yes, to watch him… Wait a minute, you have exams this week, don’t you?” Professor Lightning-Foot had almost said it was a good idea, but then she frowned. How could a student with exams spend so much time in the dorm?

“I’ll take the exams as fast as I can and come back,” Leehan said.

“…Don’t take this the wrong way,” Professor Lightning-Foot said, “but sometimes I think you’re crazy.”

“Even if you think you came for nothing, you don’t have to be so mean,” Leehan grumbled at Professor Lightning-Foot’s harsh words as he walked away. He made sure to go around the back of the building, because Professors Bendozol and Voladi were still standing in front.

Professor Zorzik, with an even bigger walrus mustache than usual, greeted Leehan warmly. “Student Wodanaz! Welcome! Come in, come in!”

“Good day, Professor,” Leehan said.

“You’re the first one here. But that’s no surprise for a student like you, eh?” Professor Zorzik, who taught *Elemental Magic and its Uses*, had very high hopes for Leehan. He had even made learning Azure Flame, a very advanced fire magic, the goal for this semester. It was a difficult goal for a second-year student, but Professor Zorzik thought Leehan could do it, considering the magic he already knew. If Leehan mastered Azure Flame this semester, Professor Zorzik planned to brag about his amazing student at all the wizard meetings during the holidays.

“What’s the midterm exam? Is it Azure Flame?” Leehan asked.

“You remembered! That’s right! It might be hard, but I know you can do it, Student Wodanaz.”

“Now, for this exam…”

Leehan focused completely. Time was very important. Learning more about fire magic on top of everything else he was studying seemed impossible, but he was less surprised this time because he had heard about it before. He had been practicing on his own, so he made quick progress. The flames in the air started to change color. A faint blue flame appeared. It was the first step to Azure Flame: changing the color completely.

“Student Wodanaz! Well done! Exce…”

“Professor! Please wait!” Leehan stopped him, shouting because he was losing focus. It might seem rude, but it was hard to concentrate on such difficult magic if someone was talking.

Professor Zorzik, who was about to say Leehan had passed the exam perfectly and deserved full marks, was amazed. *He’s going straight for the final exam?!* he thought. He had wondered why Leehan hadn’t taken the exam earlier, like the other students, but now he understood. Leehan was planning something amazing! Professor Zorzik stroked his mustache proudly, impressed by his best student.