Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 934

Professor Garcia was in his room at the inn. He was thinking about many plans and felt more and more worried.

Usually, Professor Garcia’s students met every evening to talk about their day. But tonight, one student, from the second year, was missing.

It was okay to miss meetings sometimes, depending on how the commission was going. But this time, it felt different.

“Huzzah for the righteous thief! Huzzah for the end of oppression!”

“Who knew Granden City had such a hero!”

Behind Professor Garcia, the inn buzzed with life. Adventurers, faces red and sweaty, slammed their heavy mugs together with a loud *thunk*. The noise made Professor Garcia jump, and his worry grew.

He’d hoped the rumors about the righteous thief would just disappear, but they were getting louder, not quieter.

“Hey, you hear?” one adventurer shouted over the din. “Captain of the West Guard is scared stiff, like a kitten! He’s got twice as many guards now!”

“Too late for that!” another yelled back, laughing. “That righteous thief will find him anyway!”

A third leaned closer, lowering his voice a bit. “But who *is* it? Someone said it’s a mage.”

“From Einroguard, maybe? It’s not far from here.”

“Nonsense. Einroguard mages, for all their skill, are a strange bunch. They wouldn’t do something like this.”

“Maybe their strangeness makes them able to do it…”

“…I don’t think this is something an Einroguard mage would do!”

“Oh!”

The adventurers were surprised by the troll-blooded mage’s sudden interruption.

They subtly checked themselves, making sure they hadn’t said anything wrong. It was never smart to make a mage angry.

“Sorry. Were we being too loud?”

“Oh, no problem! Just… interesting stuff you’re talking about. Couldn’t help but listen in.”

“Really! So, the mage is interested too!”

The adventurers perked up.

They were already curious, and now a respected mage had joined their conversation.

“The righteous thief must be a mage, right?”

“Ah… most likely.”

Professor Garcia sighed to himself.

The adventurers weren’t dumb. He couldn’t deny what was obvious.

“It’s so easy to get past strong magical defenses… even if an adventurer has magical items, it’s not easy. It makes sense that the thief is a mage.”

“Yeah, yeah!”

“Hey, everyone! The righteous thief is a mage!”

The adventurer’s announcement made the inn’s customers cheer and clap. Someone stomped their feet loudly.

“To celebrate, I’m calling this new ale ‘The Righteous Thief of Granden’! Everyone, have a glass!”

“Waaah!”

Professor Garcia glared at Mapara, the inn server.

Mapara, the inn server, was usually friendly and very good at understanding people. It was almost like he could read minds. But today, this skill was causing problems for Professor Garcia.

Wouldn’t that just keep the rumors going?

“Professor Garcia, please, have a glass!”

“Thank you…”

Professor Garcia forced a smile as Mapara poured the wine into a tin cup.

“What’s happening?”

“Hey! Today, ‘The Myriad Schemes’ is giving away free glasses of ‘The Righteous Thief of Granden’!”

“Huzzah for the righteous thief! Huzzah for the wine!”

Even people on the street heard the noise and came inside.

The adventurers, now drinking wine, didn’t notice Professor Garcia’s worry and kept asking him questions.

“Mage! What kind of mage do you think the righteous thief is? From Einroguard, maybe?”

“I told you, no!”

“Yes, it is!”

“…I don’t think it’s an Einroguard mage. As you know, Einroguard mages are… kind of strange.”

Mapara, who knew who the mage really was, stared in disbelief, but Professor Garcia stopped talking.

The server shook his head, wiped the counter, and started putting meat stew into bowls.

‘Einroguard mages are all kind of strange.’

“Yeah, Einroguard’s mages are a bit odd.”

“Shhh! Are you scared? Didn’t you hear about the adventurer who insulted Einroguard and was turned into a toad?”

“That’s just a rumor! Don’t Einroguard mages have anything better to do than chase adventurers and turn them into toads?”

“…Anyway, we all agree that the righteous thief isn’t an Einroguard mage, right?”

Everyone nodded to Professor Garcia’s question.

Everyone was enjoying the wine, so no one in Granden City wanted to disagree with the troll-blooded mage.

“I think they’re at least a hundred years old.”

“Yeah! They say mages get stronger as they get older, right?”

“And they must be destructive and violent.”

“That’s right! Look at what happened to the people who were attacked today.”

Professor Garcia sighed in relief.

At this rate, people would never guess who the righteous thief really was.

“A destructive and violent mage over a hundred years old… who could it be?”

“Isn’t that the mage from the Lava Zone Tower? The one with the hair that’s always on fire.”

“What about Gargajun? He’s over a hundred years old, destructive, and violent.”

“Isn’t he in the Imperial dungeons?”

While they were arguing, ordering more wine, and the server was smiling, the inn door opened, and a young man who looked like a noble came in.

Lee Han looked around at the happy scene and asked Professor Garcia quietly.

“Is there a festival today?”

“…Follow me upstairs, now!”

“Honestly, why didn’t you stop them?!”

Professor Garcia wanted to pinch his student’s face when he heard that.

“That *was* me trying to stop them, Lee Han!”

“Why are they so happy, anyway?”

“I guess the people of Granden City are happy… Don’t tell anyone you did this.”

The people of Granden City might be happy, but the people who were attacked might be angry.

Lee Han wasn’t a strong mage yet and didn’t need to make enemies.

“Got it. Sorry about that.”

“It’s not your fault. It was just bad luck… or good luck?”

Professor Garcia chuckled when he saw the stack of books Lee Han was carrying.

“Lee Han, are you studying magic even when you’re out? You can have fun, you know!”

“Ah, no. These aren’t for studying magic. They’re about popular Imperial plays and stories.”

Professor Garcia gasped and dropped his tin cup.

Lee Han used telekinesis to stop the cup from hitting the ground and asked, surprised.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m just surprised you’re having fun, Lee Han!”

Lee Han grumbled to himself as he gave the cup back to his teacher.

“It’s not that. The play… it’s for the commission. I need to sneak into a place.”

“After all that, there are still commissions left?”

Professor Garcia looked confused.

Were his seniors making Lee Han do too much?

Lee Han pretended not to hear. He couldn’t talk about the play club mission.

“I need to pretend to know about plays, but it’s hard.”

Lee Han pulled out a thick leather book called .”

“Ah, that book. Professor Krinval helped make it.”

He was a famous dancer.

“I helped too.”

“Professor, you know about plays?!”

“Yeah? I often go with Professor Krinval.”

‘Unbelievable!’

Lee Han was shocked.

Professor Garcia was a cultured man, but he had spent his life on magic.

How could he watch plays too?

‘Did he use time magic to do it?’

Professor Garcia didn’t know what his student was thinking and asked.

“How far have you read, Lee Han?”

“I’ve read to .”

“…That’s the first page.”

Professor Garcia was speechless.

He was stuck on the first page of the book… had he just gotten it?

“Ugh. The book is hard…”

“It’s not hard at all.”

He learned magic that was a hundred times harder in an instant, so he didn’t understand what Lee Han was talking about.

Professor Garcia told his student.

“Come on. Read it now. You said you needed it.”

“Okay, then…”

Lee Han reluctantly opened the first page.

And then he stopped.

“…Lee Han. Can’t you turn the page faster?”

“Ugh. Got it.”

Thanks to Professor Garcia, Lee Han learned about the popular Imperial plays, which plays were popular, what magic actors learned, and how mages made money from them.

“Now. Tell me about the most popular play.”

“Two people from enemy families fall in love, but they can’t be together, so they die.”

“Right. And then?”

“A great lich comes and brings them back to life… but wouldn’t it be better without that?”

“What are you talking about, Lee Han? That’s the best part. The great lich’s solo is amazing.”

‘Ugh. This is why art is…’

Lee Han thought art was harder than magic.

It was hard to understand the emotions.

“But you won’t seem weird if you know this much.”

“Thank you, Professor.”

Lee Han thanked his teacher, who had helped him.

He might have failed without Professor Garcia.

How else could he have learned so much?

“I should go now.”

“I’ll be cheering for you, Lee Han!”

Lee Han nodded and left the inn. People were waiting for him outside.

“Are you Stedal Nago?”

“Yes. Let’s go!”

Can’t you think of a better name…

Arion said seriously.

“You can’t beat anyone up this time.”

“…Why would I beat anyone up?”

“I know, young master. But you really can’t beat anyone up.”

‘You don’t seem to know at all.’

Lee Han thought.

Arion said he trusted Lee Han, but he seemed to doubt him.

Lee Han had to fight because of bad luck, so it was unfair.

“Now. Tell me again.”

“Meet the nobles, introduce yourself, and be friendly. Go to the palace to watch the play. Then, meet the Einroguard students.”

“Good. What kind of noble is Stedal Nago?”

“A noble from the southern Empire who was captured by pirates and saved by Lagesa, the daughter of Torgeird, who leads a privateer fleet. He made a lot of money by finding a treasure map he got when he was captured by pirates. Since then, he has studied alchemy, made potions, and made even more money…”

“That’s too much. We don’t need to know how he made his money… but it’s good to be ready. It’s fine.”

Arion was surprised that Lee Han knew so much, but he nodded.

He had only thought about ‘what family from what area’…

‘It’s good to know so much.’

“Stedal Nago made even more money when the Imperial Bonesal Flower market changed.”

“I understand, you can stop now.”