Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

The Skull Principal looked down at the bundle of papers and sent a reassuring gaze toward the disciple muttering to himself.

As he had thought before, the most genius talent this mage of House Wardanaz possessed might not be magical skill, but eloquence.

Please sweep away the Empire’s bureaucrats once again this time!

***

Silvas, who worked as an examiner for the Empire’s Treasury Department, was startled.

After returning from examining whether the <Centaur Magic Relay Station> project in the eastern region had any potential, he found the atmosphere inside the Imperial Palace extremely ominous.

—What on earth happened?

—Don’t even ask. Lord Gonadaltes attacked the Treasury Department. The Treasury Minister was hung upside down.

—Oh, no! Because of that absurd research and those experiments?! Isn’t that going too far?!

Einroguard’s mages were notorious for tormenting bureaucrats by asking for gold-coin support even for the most worthless research.

And the one who visited with those applications was the Skull Principal. From Silvas’s perspective, he could not help thinking that way.

—This time is a bit different. They say he was going to permanently confine the thought-form that invaded Einroguard. But who knows the truth? What if Einroguard’s mages took gold coins again with some other strange excuse?

—Still, would His Excellency tell such a shallow lie… Well, he could.

—Exactly. You be careful too. Everyone’s nerves are on edge right now.

No bureaucrat would be happy after having a massive amount of gold coins borrowed almost as if by robbery.

The bureaucrats’ nerves were now as sharp as those of Einroguard students whose food storage had been blown away.

Huh.

Silvas sat down in front of his heavy rosewood desk and fell into thought.

The story he had heard was so shocking that he could not simply let it pass.

Lord Gonadaltes, the lord of Einroguard, received enormous trust as His Imperial Majesty’s Imperial Mage Marshal.

Indeed, entering the Imperial Palace like this and hanging the Treasury Minister upside down to forcibly borrow gold coins was not something just anyone could do. Without His Majesty’s tacit consent, it would have been impossible.

Then had something truly dangerous happened in Einroguard territory?

No. Even so, hanging the Treasury Minister upside down is too much.

The other bureaucrats were now grinding their teeth.

If the Skull Principal did not repay the borrowed gold coins on time, they were planning to mercilessly extract gold from Einroguard’s other subsidies to compensate.

“Excuse me. Are you in?”

“Oh my. Isn’t this Lee Han of House Wardanaz?”

Silvas was startled by the unexpected visitor.

And he thought,

Huh? Has Einroguard’s semester already ended?

It seemed as if there were still a few days left.

“Here’s a gift. You seemed to like it last time.”

Lee Han took out coffee and apple pie bought from <Rock Spirit’s Apple Jam Café>, located in front of the Imperial Palace.

The warm consideration, impossible to find in the arrogant bastards who visited the Imperial Palace, made Silvas’s heart as warm as the apple pie.

Sob. The others should learn from seeing this.

After sharing the snacks with other colleagues—the bureaucrats looked at Lee Han with expressions of shock and emotion—Silvas thanked him once more, then said,

“Oh, right. Mage. <Research on Races Preferred as Food by Trolls> is already showing results.”

“Pardon?”

Lee Han froze at the sudden remark, then belatedly realized what he meant.

This was not his first time visiting the Imperial Palace in the Empire’s capital. Last year, he had come with the Skull Principal and spouted nonsense to get the upperclassmen’s ridiculous research topics approved.

One of them was precisely <Research on Races Preferred as Food by Trolls>.

What did I say back then? Did I say that research on races preferred as food was necessary to reduce the damage caused by trolls?

Looking back now, it sounded like nonsense. Lee Han was amazed that it had passed.

“Wait. You said it’s showing results? Already?”

“Yes. The trend in damage caused by trolls is clearly decreasing. The Wasteland Star Hunters in the west even sent a plaque of appreciation.”

“…”

Lee Han reflected on the fact that he had failed to trust his upperclassman.

Who knew it had been such good research…!

“Einroguard mages’ research is always only for the Empire. Valdr… ahem. Some outside mages slander them, so it is fortunate that at least Silvas recognizes the truth.”

Is that so?

Silvas tilted his head inwardly.

Of course, the research that the boy of House Wardanaz had brought last year had indeed been excellent despite appearances.

But apart from that, the idea that Einroguard mages were being slandered seemed a bit puzzling.

It did not seem as if they were particularly being slandered…

“Actually, I came today because of the thought-form incident that occurred at Einroguard.”

“So it really did happen!”

“Pardon?”

“Oh, no. It’s nothing.”

Silvas quickly changed the subject.

He could not tell an Einroguard student that he had doubted the truth of what the Skull Principal had said.

“I heard that the Principal greatly overexerted himself this time for the students’ safety. And that, because of that, he caused trouble for the bureaucrats…”

“Oh, no. I understand Lord Gonadaltes’s feelings.”

“Thank you for understanding. The Principal is originally a cool-headed person, but when it comes to student matters, he loses his reason.”

Is that so?

Silvas once again tilted his head inwardly.

For that to be true, the rumors flowing out of Einroguard sounded quite ominous…

“The gold borrowed from the Empire’s treasury should be repaid immediately, but could it not be postponed just a little longer? If only for the research of Einroguard mages.”

“Hmm…”

Silvas made an expression full of concern.

In his heart, Silvas wanted to say that he would help, but he doubted whether he could persuade the other bureaucrats.

“I will do my best, but I cannot guarantee anything. Of course, I do think supporting Einroguard mages is important for the Empire, what with <Research on Races Preferred as Food by Trolls> and all, but the other bureaucrats are quite angry…”

“There is no need for that!”

“!?”

The door to the luxurious Imperial Palace guest room opened, and someone Lee Han had never seen before entered.

Thud!

The man was so huge that he struck his forehead on the doorframe while entering. He frowned briefly from the pain, then lowered his head and came inside.

Lee Han had never seen such a large human before. His build surpassed even Senior Palcrius.

“Are you Lee Han of House Wardanaz?”

Even though he seemed to be speaking lightly, the spacious guest room resonated loudly.

Not only that, but his eyes flickered as if burning, and intense energy spread in all directions from his trained body. He looked like a warrior from ancient myth.

Lee Han suspected that perhaps the Treasury Minister had hired guards from the north for revenge.

“That’s correct, but who might you be…”

“I am Wuman, His Majesty’s fourth child. I have heard much about you from my elder sister. Let me express my gratitude first!”

“????”

Lee Han’s brain momentarily stopped as he wondered who this elder sister could be.

And then he belatedly realized.

…Prince Jowurin’s younger brother!?

Come to think of it, Prince Jowurin was the third child. If the man before him was the fourth, then Prince Jowurin was indeed his elder sister.

…Though it was completely unimaginable from their appearances.

“Uh… that is…”

“What is it? If you have questions, feel free to ask! You are a dragon’s contractor, after all!”

“Prince Jowurin seems… still… well… quite young…?”

“Ah! My elder sister has such a large spiritual vessel.”

Wuman explained simply in a booming voice.

Small vessels were completed quickly, but large vessels took a long time to complete.

Wuman had grown quickly because he was a small vessel, while Prince Jowurin grew slowly because she was a large vessel.

…Is there any basis for that?

As a mage, Lee Han wanted to hear the logic and theory, but he did not dare voice any disagreement in front of someone whose build surpassed even Senior Palcrius or Professor Garcia.

Wuman opened his mouth again.

“Actually, aside from what I heard from my sister, I have heard other stories about you separately.”

“Huh. What stories?”

Lee Han instinctively tensed.

There were simply too many things he had done.

Last year, he had defeated powerful enemies such as ghouls, the Frost Giant King, magical criminals, anti-magic extremists, basilisks, and sea serpents. This year, he had faced thought-forms of ancient archmages, evil hamsters, and a demigod trying to conquer the continent, and in his spare time, he had even committed a little robbery in Granden City…

Which one is Wuman talking about?

“That you are very righteous!”

“…Specifically which one?”

“???”

Silvas was confused by Lee Han’s question.

Were there so many stories that he needed to ask which specific one?

However, Wuman shook his head.

“I would like to talk at length, but I cannot. You have your own business to attend to. And Wuman has his own business too! Anyway, Silvas. You do not need to suffer!”

“Pardon? What do you mean by that…”

Silvas, who had belatedly come to his senses, was puzzled.

No matter how much Wuman was His Majesty’s fourth child, he could not suppress the angry bureaucrats…

“Wuman will pay the gold needed for the Imperial treasury instead! Do not touch the support funds going to Einroguard.”

“…Are you truly sure that is all right?”

“Of course!”

Silvas jumped up.

Then, overcome with emotion, he hugged Wuman tightly.

There were noble factions in the Empire that ignored the more than one hundred members of the Imperial Family, but if they saw what happened today, they would not dare say such things.

How could anyone make such a decision without noble blood?

As Silvas was hugging Wuman tightly, he realized there was one more person beside him.

Before he knew it, the mage from House Wardanaz was also hugging Wuman tightly.

“Both of you, step back!”

“Yes! Your Majesty!”

***

The Emperor’s fourth child personally saw Lee Han off as he left the Imperial Palace.

“Thank you so much, Your Majesty.”

“No! There is no need to thank me. You deserve this kind of help, and Einroguard is a school that fully deserves it too.”

“?”

Listening to Wuman’s words, Lee Han felt something was off.

Just from the way he spoke, this dragon seemed like someone who could easily become a faithful patron and investor of Einroguard.

He was a dragon, and he recognized Einroguard’s value…

Then why had Lee Han never heard this person’s name from the Skull Principal?

Was Wuman poor until recently?

“Your Majesty. But the amount of gold is not small. Will you truly be all right?”

“There is no need to worry about Wuman. Every year, I pile up the money from selling Mage Cards in my vault.”

“…You sell Mage Cards?!”

“Yes! It is an honorable role inherited from my ancestors.”

Lee Han felt as if he had stepped into a myth.

To meet the Mage Card creator of the current era like this.

That mysterious creator whose identity no one knew!

“It is an honor. My friend really loves them too.”

“Your friend must be young?”

“…Uh, don’t older people often enjoy Mage Cards too?”

At those words, Wuman frowned. He looked deeply displeased.

“That is wrong! Adults taking away and enjoying things made for children?”

“…”

Lee Han resolved to keep today’s meeting secret from Gainando.

“Anyway, thank you so much for helping. Since you persuaded the most difficult bureaucrats, the remaining nobles and mages should be much easier to convince.”

“You are going to persuade them?”

“Pardon? Yes.”

Wuman muttered,

“Another evil deed by Lord Gonadaltes.”

“?”

“It is nothing. Oh! I have a favor to ask. Could you possibly keep this meeting with Wuman secret from Lord Gonadaltes? Of course, I know it is a difficult request. You are Lord Gonadaltes’s disciple, after all. But this is truly for the greater good and justice…”

“It is not difficult. I’ll do it.”

“?!”