Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 962

“I’ll remember that, if I ever get to do it again,” Lee Han said, trying to sound polite.

“Good,” his senior replied. “You’ll be helping with this many times, so learn it well.”

*I was just kidding*, Lee Han thought, surprised. He looked at his senior’s big head, not sure what to say. Would something like this really happen again? Getting a donation just by telling a story felt like a strange, one-time thing.

“So, Senior,” Lee Han asked, “is this donation a lot of money?”

“Heh heh. Wodanaz, there’s no set amount. To be honest, we didn’t even have to do this.”

“That’s true, but…” Lee Han knew they could go ahead even if they didn’t get much, but he wanted to get as much as possible. That’s why he was working hard to get donations.

“Don’t worry too much,” Falcrus said. “Just do what you can. And Wodanaz, you’ve done more than I expected already. Especially since you’re busy with your club.”

Lee Han didn’t want to say that he was helping with donations because he was actually trying to avoid Professor Garcia. So, he changed the subject. “You’re working harder than me, Senior. Especially since it’s your final year.”

“Hahaha, Wodanaz, don’t believe all the seniors who complain,” Falcrus chuckled. “Only the ones who didn’t study earlier complain. If you study regularly, your final year isn’t too hard.”

Lee Han looked at Falcrus, who was still smiling, and felt two things. First, he thought, *If Senior wasn’t so big, I’d probably get teased more.* Second, he had a strange feeling of having heard this before. Why did Falcrus’s words sound so familiar? *I can’t remember why.* He couldn’t see a mirror to check himself, so Lee Han couldn’t figure out why it felt familiar.

“And,” Falcrus continued, “I have a debt to pay back.”

“A debt?” Lee Han asked.

“Yes, it’s an old story. From the time of the Great Southern Spirit Famine.”

Falcrus patted his big belly and said, “Heh heh. Wodanaz, I look like this now, but when I was young, I was very thin. I was so thin I couldn’t even get a bowl of porridge.”

Farming was always hard because of the weather, but in this land, farmers had another problem: magical spirits. These spirits lived because of the magic in the land. Wizards could talk to spirits, or even control them, but for most people in the Empire, spirits were scary and unpredictable. Sometimes, when strange things happened together, these spirits could join together and become like a huge storm. Then, bad things happened to the land.

The Great Southern Spirit Famine was a very big famine. Even Lee Han had heard of it. He knew it had ruined a land that was once warm and fertile, and many people had to leave their homes…

“The priests of the Flamen Order – they are priests who help people – helped me when I was lost and alone. I promised myself then that I would pay back that kindness to others.”

“Senior…” Lee Han said, feeling touched.

“And,” Falcrus added with a chuckle, “I also promised never to be hungry again. But that promise didn’t last long after I came to Einroguard! Haha.”

“…Senior,” Lee Han repeated, the feeling of being touched fading a little.

“Heh heh. Wodanaz, you don’t need to worry about my promise. My promise is for me. You only need to worry about your own promise. The one about spending your life making Imperial magic better…”

“I never made that promise!” Lee Han said, surprised.

“Oh? Doesn’t everyone in the Wodanaz family make that kind of promise?” Falcrus looked surprised. There were so many stories about the Wodanaz family that he sometimes forgot which were true.

“Well, maybe it’s something like that,” Falcrus said, not really listening to Lee Han’s protest and moving on. “Anyway…”

Next, they went to the house of Jongseonun, a traveling merchant who worked with the big merchant group in the west of the Empire. *Thud thud thud* – Falcrus knocked on the door.

“Jongseonun is someone who brings in a lot of wheat,” Falcrus explained, “and he promised to donate this time too. Because of you, Junior, I have some extra time, so I thought I’d get the wheat now.”

“Okay,” Lee Han replied.

“I’ll need to find a handcart and a wagon…” Falcrus started to say.

“I’ll just carry it,” Lee Han interrupted.

“Hmm? Are you sure that’s not too heavy?” Falcrus asked, looking at Lee Han.

“If it is, I can use magic to lift it,” Lee Han said with a small smile.

“Heh heh. Wodanaz, you always make funny jokes,” Falcrus chuckled.

“?!” Lee Han just blinked.

The door opened, and standing in front of them was Jongseonun, the traveling merchant. His face was very pale, and he looked worried.

Falcrus looked surprised. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I… I’m very sorry, Priest Falcrus,” Jongseonun stammered. “I can’t give you the wheat I promised.”

“That’s alright,” Falcrus said kindly. “But is there a problem?”

“Well…”

“That stupid jerk!” Falcrus stomped his foot. It was rare to see the always-smiling priest so angry. Lee Han’s face also became serious. The merchant’s sad story had made Lee Han angry too.

Bardan, a nobleman in the city of Granden, had taken the wheat that Jongseonun had saved for donation. Bardan was a distant relative of the powerful Greenbelt family. Recently, he had been very embarrassed because an evil wizard had attacked him. Now, he wanted to have a big party to make himself look good again. And the merchant was suffering because of this party.

Banquets were always like this: the nobles had fun, and ordinary people had to work hard to prepare. Even though Bardan had lost a lot of money because of the wizard attack, he wanted the party to be just as big as before. So, Bardan’s servants went to Jongseonun and threatened him to sell food cheaply. Jongseonun knew he couldn’t risk angering Bardan while working in Granden City, so he had to give up the wheat he had saved for donation.

“Wodanaz,” Falcrus said, his voice low, “there’s something you need to do.”

“Should I make us invisible and pick the lock?” Lee Han asked quickly. “Or maybe climb over the wall?”

“…No,” Falcrus sighed. “If I get too angry, I need you to stop me.” Falcrus suddenly wondered if he had brought the right person. This Wodanaz seemed more likely to start trouble than to stop it!

“Me? Stop *you*, Senior?” Lee Han asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Falcrus said firmly. “I believe in you.”

*Is that even possible?* Lee Han thought, wondering if he should secretly prepare a spell to calm Falcrus down if needed.

“Oh, Senior,” Lee Han said, “this alley is blocked. We have to go around.”

“Blocked?” Falcrus asked. “Why?”

“I heard… I heard that Bardan’s mansion was damaged recently,” Lee Han said quickly. “Something about a crazy wizard attacking it. I heard rumors when I was out earlier for another club.”

“Ah, Stedal of the Nago family?” Falcrus said. “Yes, I heard something about that too.”

Lee Han’s eyes widened slightly, but he tried to look calm. *Rumors spread so fast!*

“Heh,” Falcrus chuckled, “could he be a student of the Headmaster?”

“Excuse me?!” Lee Han blurted out, surprised.

“Why are you so shocked?” Falcrus asked, looking at Lee Han curiously. “Sometimes, wizards who cause big trouble turn out to be students of the Headmaster. It’s a strange thing.”

“Ah,” Lee Han said, letting out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. *Phew.* He thought Falcrus was starting to suspect him.

“No, the crazy one is Bardan,” Falcrus said firmly. “He just took the donation wheat for his own fancy party. Wizards like Stedal aren’t crazy, Wodanaz.”

Lee Han felt a little embarrassed by his senior’s praise, but Falcrus, walking ahead, didn’t notice.

“Hmm,” Falcrus continued, “still, he’s a dangerous wizard.”

“Yes? Why do you say that?” Lee Han asked, curious.

Falcrus pointed. Bardan’s mansion still showed the damage from the water spirit that had gone wild. Even though Bardan had called wizards and builders to fix it, there were still broken parts everywhere. You could see how much damage it had caused.

“Look at that,” Falcrus said. “He completely destroyed it.”

“…Maybe,” Lee Han said, trying to joke, “maybe the wizard Stedal just went to visit the mansion politely, and the spirit guarding the house just got angry by mistake?”

“Hahaha, Wodanaz,” Falcrus laughed, “why are you telling such silly jokes?”

*Ugh,* Lee Han thought, groaning inside at his own weak joke. If a wizard broke into a house and caused so much damage, of course everyone would think, *The wizard did it.* But it was so unfair! Lee Han had just gone in to move something. He *had* met the owner and knocked him out, but… *It’s not my fault the spirit went crazy, is it?*

“Hello? Is anyone there?” Falcrus called out loudly to the house.

The door opened, and a man walked out. He was the head butler, and he looked very irritated. He had been making the servants work very hard to get ready for the party. “What do you want?” he snapped.

“I’m here about the wheat from the traveling merchant Jongseonun,” Falcrus said politely.

“Who?” the butler asked, frowning.

“The wizards from Einroguard and the priests from the temple are giving food to poor people,” Falcrus explained, still smiling. “And it seems there’s been a misunderstanding. This wheat was supposed to be donated, and there was a promise, but it seems your servants took it by mistake. We’ll give you the money back, we just need the wheat.”

But the head butler just didn’t care. “No can do,” he said rudely.

“…Excuse me?” Falcrus asked, his smile faltering slightly.

“No can do,” the butler repeated. “We’re too busy getting ready for my master’s party.”

“But I said we’d give you silver coins to pay for it,” Falcrus said, trying to be patient.

“Then my servants would have to go find new wheat and buy it. I don’t have time for that,” the butler said, waving his hand dismissively.

Lee Han stepped forward. He wasn’t sure what else to do. “It’s nothing,” he said quickly. “Um, I’m from the Wodanaz family.” Even as he said it, Lee Han felt a little ashamed. He had never used his family name to get his way before! But he wanted to help his senior, so he could handle this small embarrassment. If mentioning his family didn’t work, he didn’t know what else to try…

“…” The head butler just glared at him. “Are you threatening me now?” he sneered. “A wizard from Einroguard and from the Wodanaz family? Do you think my master has no powerful friends?” If Bardan, the master, had heard this, he might have thought, *I often threaten people who are weaker than me, but messing with the Wodanaz family might be too much…* But the head butler was used to being rude to people he thought were below him, and he didn’t understand how powerful the Wodanaz family was. So, Lee Han felt even more embarrassed. It was already shameful to use his family name, but now it hadn’t even worked!

“Get out of here!” the head butler shouted. “There’s no wheat for beggars like you! You should be thankful we’re not throwing you out of the city!”

Lee Han saw Falcrus’s eyes flash with anger. He remembered Falcrus saying he needed to be stopped. “Senior!” Lee Han said quickly, stepping in front of Falcrus. “Calm down!”

“Th-thank you, Wodanaz,” Falcrus said, taking a deep breath. He stopped himself. He couldn’t lose his temper in front of his junior. “Did I stop you for no reason?” Lee Han asked. “Should we just attack them?”

“Heh,” Falcrus sighed. “No, Wodanaz. If we attacked everyone who was rude to us, we’d be busy all year. Let’s just go.” Falcrus really wanted to break down the gate, but he controlled himself and gave up easily. He knew that you had to deal with rude people when you did this kind of work. It wasn’t even the worst thing that could happen.

As they walked away, they heard the head butler mutter from behind the door, “Priests… you can’t even tell them apart from beggars.”

“Let’s go, Wodanaz,” Falcrus said. “I don’t have time to deal with people like that.”

“Senior, you go on,” Lee Han said, his voice suddenly cold. “I need to stop somewhere for a moment.” He had been willing to ignore it, but the butler’s last words had been too much.

…It seemed like Stedal Nago might need to visit Bardan’s mansion again.