Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

“Are you really doing this?”

“?”

Professor Voladi Bagreg looked puzzled at the protest from the junior professor.

Seeing that expression, Professor Garcia realized that the other professor felt absolutely no guilt over the conversation that had just taken place.

That, that...!

Professor Garcia trembled with rage at a shamelessness that was exactly like Professor Verdus’s.

Of course, strictly speaking, Professor Voladi Bagreg had acted according to principle.

They had clearly had this conversation before departing.

-But, Professor. Won’t it be too hard on Student Lee Han if we both teach him together?

-It should be fine.

-...Let’s just take turns. We’ll set times—time for me to speak, time for you to speak. Let’s divide it like that.

-Understood.

When principles or rules were established, Professor Voladi Bagreg was surprisingly good at following them.

So while Professor Garcia had been speaking, Professor Voladi Bagreg had been timing it precisely before saying that...

How petty!

Professor Garcia grumbled inwardly as the professor pulled out a pocket watch. Professor Garcia planned to time things down to the second as well.

Clatter—

Jowrin, who had watched until she was sick of it, pulled her face away from the window and returned to her seat.

Then she looked at Lee Han and Professor Voladi Bagreg, who had positioned themselves to study magic, and screamed in shock.

Is it that shocking? Hmm. No, I suppose it is shocking enough.

Professor Garcia understood inwardly.

An Einroguard student might not know, but for an outsider—especially Jowrin, who had been raised preciously in the Imperial Palace—it would be shocking.

“Wha... what are you doing?!”

“We’re studying magic, Your Majesty.”

“Why?!”

“...”

“...”

The three mages fell silent. When actually asked “why,” it was strangely difficult to answer.

Lee Han forced one out.

“Because there’s no time to study at school?”

Ugh!

Professor Garcia groaned inwardly.

When said like that, Einroguard sounded like a rather harsh magic school.

“You can’t even play with Jowrin... but you still don’t have time. This really doesn’t make sense!”

“Urgh!”

This time Professor Garcia made a sound out loud.

Gradually, Einroguard was starting to feel like a very harsh magic school.

I need to appease her quickly.

Lee Han thought he needed to soothe Jowrin as quickly as possible.

He was worried about how Professor Voladi Bagreg might react after having the professor’s allotted time stolen.

Surely Professor Voladi Bagreg would not make Jowrin get out of the carriage?

“What can we do? This is simply how Einroguard is.”

“I-is that so?”

“Yes. All the other students besides me are also immersed in studying magic this intensely.”

“...”

Professor Garcia was so dumbfounded that the professor stared at the disciple with mouth agape.

How could he tell such a shameless lie?

But surprisingly, it seemed to work properly on Jowrin.

“The Einroguard students are pitiful...!”

“Thank you for understanding, Your Majesty. So please wait just a little.”

Fortunately, when Jowrin seemed to understand, Lee Han sighed in relief inwardly.

However, Lee Han did not notice.

The firm resolution Jowrin had made!

This really doesn’t make sense. Jowrin will, Jowrin will...! Change this rotten Empire!

Considering the dragon race’s usual tendency not to take interest in worldly affairs, it was truly a remarkable resolution.

***

“These are the spells currently being practiced.”

Professor Voladi Bagreg took out a small blackboard and drew a chart.

Written on it were things like “<Wardanaz’s Telekinetic Force>,” “water-orb spell,” “Lightning Fire,” “blue flame,” “Soul Fire,” “high-level undead summoning,” “Principal’s secret arts,” and so on.

Seeing it, Professor Garcia let out a huge sigh.

“Gasp!”

“However, as I said before, the number and level of spells have increased.”

“Whew.”

“We need to set priorities.”

“Ah!”

“That does not mean mastering all of them...”

“Oh.”

“...Professor Garcia. Are you all right?”

Unable to keep watching, Lee Han carefully spoke up.

Even Jowrin was looking at Professor Garcia as if something were strange.

Though Jowrin did not know much about magic education, if someone made such interjections after every word, it would definitely be disruptive.

“S-sorry, Student Lee Han.”

“Not at all. Um... you’re not angry, are you?”

“Why would I be angry?”

“I thought you might be taking revenge because of Professor Bagreg’s first strike earlier...”

“...”

At Lee Han’s words, Professor Voladi Bagreg, who had been silently reading a book, raised the head and glanced over.

Professor Garcia, feeling deeply wronged, jumped up. High enough to hit the carriage ceiling.

“Absolutely not!!!”

“Ah. Is that so? I’m sorry.”

Professor Garcia felt terribly wronged.

It was Professor Voladi Bagreg who had been timing people from behind while they were talking, yet Professor Garcia was being lumped together as the same kind of person.

Sob, sob, sob...

“The magic to learn this time is <Intermediate Magic Storage>.”

Professor Voladi Bagreg had no intention of pushing and expanding the advanced spells the disciple had already learned right now.

Just embodying and keeping up with the spells already learned would take quite a bit of time.

Rather, it was better to recommend a few spells the disciple needed at the moment.

Since the disciple had raised his magic level so rapidly, there were quite a few useful spells he still had not learned.

Phew. Thank goodness.

Professor Garcia sighed. This time inwardly, so as not to be caught.

“<Intermediate Magic Storage> is...”

“The advanced version of <Low-Grade Magic Storage>, which Student Lee Han learned.”

Storage magic recorded spells below one’s circle level in advance and allowed them to be cast quickly by using the body like a simple scroll. That was <Low-Grade Magic Storage>.

<Intermediate Magic Storage> was the advanced version of that magic.

“How many circles?”

“Fifth circle. Fortunate, isn’t it?”

What’s fortunate about that?

Lee Han momentarily felt distant from Professor Garcia.

He had absolutely no idea what the professor meant by calling it fortunate.

In truth, Professor Garcia had meant, “Well, since Student Lee Han has learned a few fifth-circle spells before, I’m glad it isn’t sixth-circle.”

Even if Lee Han had understood that meaning, he likely would have felt the same distance.

“Moreover, <Intermediate Magic Storage> is relatively easy compared to the fifth-circle spells Student Lee Han has learned.”

“Oh my. How truly exciting.”

Lee Han looks sad.

Jowrin thought while chewing on candy.

Why did the contractor’s face seem so full of worry?

“If you want to practice <Intermediate Magic Storage>, try storing fourth-circle spells first. It will be good practice.”

“There’s no guarantee that fourth-circle magic will work...”

“Pardon?”

“It’s nothing.”

Lee Han grumbled slightly, then prepared the magic as Professor Voladi Bagreg had instructed.

For a good fourth-circle spell to practice with, it had to be <Wardanaz’s Ice Orb>.

Since Lee Han had handled it so many times, it was also good to use as a test subject for other magic.

“Magic, dwell here. I command repeatedly, dwell here. Like energy settling quietly, like twilight arriving silently...”

Lee Han threw himself into practice, mobilizing everything he had learned, from repeated incantation to melodic spells.

For high-difficulty magic, it was advantageous to succeed once first without worrying about casting speed.

It’s fortunate I learned this stuff. If I hadn’t, I shudder to think how I would have cast it.

Meanwhile, the two professors did not even look at the student and were discussing which magic would be good next.

“What magic would be good next? I’d like to recommend <Milei’s Paper-Bird Summoning>.”

“There’s probably no need to store summoning magic specifically.”

“Yes. I know that too. But considering the meaning of practice, being able to store one summoning-type spell seems like it would be quite helpful. Other summoning-type magic too...”

“Professors. Could you please check if I did this properly?”

Lee Han called the two professors. However, the professors answered carelessly, as if annoyed.

“If it’s Student Lee Han, you must have done well. Just pick any difficult one and keep practicing.”

“Well done.”

“So, Professor. Summoning-type magic originally...”

“...”

Lee Han was dumbfounded by the sight of the two professors becoming absorbed in their conversation again.

What kind of people are they?

Instead, Jowrin clapped from beside him.

“Jowrin thinks it’s excellent!”

“...Your Majesty is the light and salt of the Empire. Sob!”

“Why, why are you... Lee Han. Don’t be sad!”

Jowrin panicked and comforted her contractor.

***

But what kind of work does the Daylily Magic Tower want to assign me?

After getting off the carriage—Professor Garcia ground teeth because they had arrived right before the professor’s turn—Lee Han fell into thought.

“Over there, Student Lee Han. It’s quite different from the place you visited with the Principal last time, isn’t it?”

Among the Empire’s magic towers, those with a certain scale and confidence in their abilities built towers throughout the Empire and connected those spaces to one another.

The Daylily Magic Tower was also such a place.

The tower’s original base was located in Plaher City, but separate towers also existed on the outskirts of the capital and on the outskirts of Granden City.

Of course, even if the spaces were connected, not everything was the same. That was especially true of each tower’s exterior appearance.

The tower located in Plaher City had the most splendid and refined appearance. The tower on the outskirts of the Empire’s capital did not quite match it, but still had a rather antique look. And the tower on the outskirts of Granden City was somewhat shabby...

“Yes. It’s very splendid.”

“Right. Shabby... What?”

Professor Garcia was startled and looked up.

Surprisingly, the tower that came into view was covered in brilliant gold. Professor Garcia had never seen such a magic tower building in the professor’s life.

Did, did the Daylily Magic Tower recently earn a fortune...?

It seemed possible that they had won some magic-related business led by the Empire.

-A carriage has come!!

-Everyone, stop what you’re doing and change clothes!

Professor Garcia clearly witnessed two mages who had been testing alchemy reagents in a manure pit jump out, quickly change clothes, and cover the pit.

The two mages attached various decorations and insignia to each other’s outfits, then cast magic to summon a tea table in midair. Then they immediately sat down in front of it and tilted their teacups.

“Hmm! Truly leisurely indeed.”

“A leisure one cannot see in other magic towers. Isn’t that right?”

The two mages conversed loudly, as if they wanted someone to hear them.

Although he had not seen the two mages jump out of the manure pit, Lee Han noticed that something was strange.

“Those teacups don’t have anything in them, so why are they acting like that?”

“...”

While Professor Garcia was thinking, surely not, several other mages walked out in front of the tower.

They conversed loudly while pretending not to obviously care about Lee Han’s group.

“Did you hear that our magic tower defeated the <Green Pyroxene Mage Tower> this time?”

“You mean the analysis of plant-type entities discoverable in local dimensions. Of course that analysis was excellent, but such things happen so often in our magic tower that I don’t feel the need to mention it!”

“Quite right! Hahaha!”

Staring intently at the retreating figures of the mages, Professor Garcia was shocked.

Vul, vulgar...!!

No matter how much they wanted to scout Student Lee Han after graduation, this kind of ridiculous theater was too much!

Even Jowrin was bewildered.

“The, the mages seem to be under an illusion spell.”

“...Perhaps that might be the case, Your Majesty.”

Lee Han, who belatedly realized the situation, spoke as if pitying them.

To think that the Empire’s good mages had become so corrupted because of the Skull Principal’s evil deception...