Chapter 1355

“P-Professor??”

The Valdrogard students were still inexperienced.

If they had been Einroguard students, they would have immediately understood the situation and reacted with things like, “Heh heh heh, that bastard was the one at fault,” or, “I knew from the start that bastard was going to end up in the punishment room.”

Normally, if you loitered around next to someone who had committed a crime, you could get struck by the same lightning.

But the Valdrogard students had not yet learned this truth through firsthand experience, so they reacted innocently.

“Where did Alter go?”

“Student Alter went to the punishment room.”

“Why? What did Alter do wrong?”

Before Lee Han could even snap his fingers, the door opened again.

A Death Knight strode in and dragged away the student who had just asked the question.

“......”

“Now. Everyone. Let me explain again. You are the honorable mages responsible for the future of the Empire...”

“N-No. Professor! You need to explain! Tell us what Alter did wrong!”

The door opened again, another Death Knight came walking in, and another student was dragged away.

Without changing his expression in the slightest, Lee Han patiently said,

“Now. Everyone. Let me explain again. You are the honorable mages who will carry the future of the Empire. If you are such mages, then naturally, when dealing with other mages from outside, you must observe proper manners and etiquette. If you fail to observe proper manners and etiquette as a mage, you may be sent to the punishment room.”

“......”

“......”

The Valdrogard students suddenly understood immediately.

Ah!

So manners and etiquette were important!

‘That’s it. Alter failed to observe proper manners and etiquette!’

“Everyone, come in.”

At Lee Han’s words, the suspicious workers poured inside.

They split up according to the various schools of magic and stood before the Valdrogard students.

One innocent Valdrogard student blurted out in surprise,

“Why are you wearing rags?”

Swoosh-

The Death Knight came in again. The Valdrogard student cried out in horror.

“Why! Why?! No! I just... I didn’t understand! Why would a mage! Wear rags!”

Even though the other person was dragged away to the punishment room, the Einroguard students strangely did not feel happy about it.

For some reason, it hurt!

“...Do they really look that much like rags, Wardanaz?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Do you have any idea how incredible the spells on that cloak are? I respect you, Anglago.”

‘He didn’t deny the part about it looking like rags.’

Giselle thought inwardly from beside them.

It was certainly true that Einroguard students’ uniforms tended to become dirtier and more ragged as they advanced through the years.

They went through all sorts of incidents and disasters, got tempered by monster blood and every kind of reagent, then had newly acquired special cloth or leather (or stolen material) patched and sewn onto them...

After enough of that, it became difficult to tell whether they were uniforms or rags. Talented Einroguard students usually cast illusion magic over their cloaks when appearing in official settings.

“Should we cast illusion magic now?”

“Why! So we can look good in front of those Valdrogard bastards? Absolutely not! I’m going to make them look at the bloodstains on my rags!”

“Rags?”

“...My cloak! I said cloak!”

The Einroguard students complained, but each of them still prepared to teach their respective branches of magic.

In the case of the alchemy school...

“For this basic potion, you need to choose either abyssgrass seeds or essence of the moon. Naturally, abyssgrass seeds are cheaper and easier to obtain, so...”

“I have essence of the moon! About ten boxes of it.”

“Be quiet before I confiscate all of it.”

In the case of the enchantment magic school...

“Our school can be said to be the most broadly applicable school in the Empire.”

“Ah! I heard Professor Wardanaz is also an excellent enchantment mage. I heard he studied under Professor Verdus.”

“That’s a false rumor.”

“???”

In the case of the dark magic school...

“When can we start commanding skeleton summons?”

“Can we use dark-element magic right away?”

“D-Do we really have to go to a graveyard and steal corpses?”

Raphaedel was flustered.

Naturally, Raphaedel had expected the dark magic school to have the fewest students, but far more Valdrogard students were interested than expected.

Why in the world?

‘Is it because of Wardanaz?’

Imirg, the giant-blooded student helping beside Raphaedel, cautiously asked,

“U-Um. Why do you want to study dark magic? Dark magic is difficult, and it’s not exactly the most appealing school...”

“It’s because of the play <Walpurgis Festival>, where Professor Seden played the lead role. The actor who played the dark mage was incredibly striking.”

“......”

“Hold it in! You can’t kick them out!”

When the furious Raphaedel tried to shout, Imirg quickly grabbed hold. Raphaedel struggled, but could not overpower Imirg.

***

1355?

“P-Professor??”

The Valdrogard students were still inexperienced.

If they had been Einroguard students, they would have immediately understood the situation and reacted with things like, “Heh heh heh, that bastard was the one at fault,” or, “I knew from the start that bastard was going to end up in the punishment room.”

Normally, if you loitered around next to someone who had committed a crime, you could get struck by the same lightning.

But the Valdrogard students had not yet learned this truth through firsthand experience, so they reacted innocently.

“Where did Alter go?”

“Student Alter went to the punishment room.”

“Why? What did Alter do wrong?”

Before Lee Han could even snap his fingers, the door opened again.

A Death Knight strode in and dragged away the student who had just asked the question.

“......”

“Now. Everyone. Let me explain again. You are the honorable mages responsible for the future of the Empire...”

“N-No. Professor! You need to explain! Tell us what Alter did wrong!”

The door opened again, another Death Knight came walking in, and another student was dragged away.

Without changing his expression in the slightest, Lee Han patiently said,

“Now. Everyone. Let me explain again. You are the honorable mages who will carry the future of the Empire. If you are such mages, then naturally, when dealing with other mages from outside, you must observe proper manners and etiquette. If you fail to observe proper manners and etiquette as a mage, you may be sent to the punishment room.”

“......”

“......”

The Valdrogard students suddenly understood immediately.

Ah!

So manners and etiquette were important!

‘That’s it. Alter failed to observe proper manners and etiquette!’

“Everyone, come in.”

At Lee Han’s words, the suspicious workers poured inside.

They split up according to the various schools of magic and stood before the Valdrogard students.

One innocent Valdrogard student blurted out in surprise,

“Why are you wearing rags?”

Swoosh-

The Death Knight came in again. The Valdrogard student cried out in horror.

“Why! Why?! No! I just... I didn’t understand! Why would a mage! Wear rags!”

Even though the other person was dragged away to the punishment room, the Einroguard students strangely did not feel happy about it.

For some reason, it hurt!

“...Do they really look that much like rags, Wardanaz?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Do you have any idea how incredible the spells on that cloak are? I respect you, Anglago.”

‘He didn’t deny the part about it looking like rags.’

Giselle thought inwardly from beside them.

It was certainly true that Einroguard students’ uniforms tended to become dirtier and more ragged as they advanced through the years.

They went through all sorts of incidents and disasters, got tempered by monster blood and every kind of reagent, then had newly acquired special cloth or leather (or stolen material) patched and sewn onto them...

After enough of that, it became difficult to tell whether they were uniforms or rags. Talented Einroguard students usually cast illusion magic over their cloaks when appearing in official settings.

“Should we cast illusion magic now?”

“Why! So we can look good in front of those Valdrogard bastards? Absolutely not! I’m going to make them look at the bloodstains on my rags!”

“Rags?”

“...My cloak! I said cloak!”

The Einroguard students complained, but each of them still prepared to teach their respective branches of magic.

In the case of the alchemy school...

“For this basic potion, you need to choose either abyssgrass seeds or essence of the moon. Naturally, abyssgrass seeds are cheaper and easier to obtain, so...”

“I have essence of the moon! About ten boxes of it.”

“Be quiet before I confiscate all of it.”

In the case of the enchantment magic school...

“Our school can be said to be the most broadly applicable school in the Empire.”

“Ah! I heard Professor Wardanaz is also an excellent enchantment mage. I heard he studied under Professor Verdus.”

“That’s a false rumor.”

“???”

In the case of the dark magic school...

“When can we start commanding skeleton summons?”

“Can we use dark-element magic right away?”

“D-Do we really have to go to a graveyard and steal corpses?”

Raphaedel was flustered.

Naturally, Raphaedel had expected the dark magic school to have the fewest students, but far more Valdrogard students were interested than expected.

Why in the world?

‘Is it because of Wardanaz?’

Imirg, the giant-blooded student helping beside Raphaedel, cautiously asked,

“U-Um. Why do you want to study dark magic? Dark magic is difficult, and it’s not exactly the most appealing school...”

“It’s because of the play <Walpurgis Festival>, where Professor Seden played the lead role. The actor who played the dark mage was incredibly striking.”

“......”

“Hold it in! You can’t kick them out!”

When the furious Raphaedel tried to shout, Imirg quickly grabbed hold. Raphaedel struggled, but could not overpower Imirg.

-Go in.

“No! Call me a lawyer! The Imperial courts allow lawyers!”

-There are no lawyers in the punishment room.

Leaving behind those ominous words, the Death Knight put the Valdrogard student inside the punishment room.

The student, Alter, wailed because he still could not understand the situation.

To think he would end his life in a dark, damp prison that smelled of mold!

“If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve spent all my points on the roast chicken meal! Instead of soup!”

“Hey. Stop crying. Crying will only make you hungrier.”

“?!?!”

Alter whipped his head toward the side in shock.

He had thought he was alone in this dungeon, but astonishingly, someone had arrived before him.

‘Who is that? There shouldn’t be anyone here.’

Alter was the first person to be sent into this dungeon. None of the other Valdrogard students had entered yet.

And yet there was someone in the cell next to him.

‘C-Could it be a ghost of this palace?’

Valdrogard was still a magic school in its own right, so naturally it had magical rumors.

There were rumors that ghosts appeared in the palace, that there was a hidden treasure room, that somewhere in the Empire there was a magic school that locked students up and taught them...

The voice coming from the neighboring cell reminded him of one of those rumors.

“W-Who are you? Are you actually alive?”

“Who I am isn’t important. Hah. I should’ve just kept my mouth shut. Hey. Since it looks like this is your first time, I’ll give you some advice. Don’t sit around doing nothing. It’s better to use magic to make various things. You can use them like currency inside the punishment room. I’m making chess pieces out of pebbles right now.”

For some reason, the other person’s voice inspired trust. It sounded as though they had been in this dungeon for more than a day or two.

Alter suddenly remembered a book he had read before, <Toberiz Escapes the Fortress>.

In that book, Toberiz, who had been falsely accused, befriended a wise old man imprisoned in the neighboring cell, and the two prepared to escape together.

‘Maybe I can escape like Toberiz. The prisoner next door must be a wise old man!’

“Could you perhaps teach me?”

“Teach you? A Valdrogard student? ...Well, fine. I have nothing else to do anyway. First, prepare a quill, ink, and paper.”

“I don’t have any of those. Ah! I understand! You make the quill from bone, the ink from blood, and the paper from the cloth of your clothes!”

Remembering <Toberiz Escapes the Fortress>, Alter shouted excitedly.

But the prisoner in the neighboring cell answered as though Alter had just said something completely ridiculous.

“No?”

“...No?”

“Who makes them in such a stupid way? Guard! Guard!”

When the prisoner shouted loudly, a Death Knight opened the door and came downstairs.

“Please give me a quill, ink, and paper.”

-Understood.

The knight soon threw two bundles through the bars, one into each cell. As the prisoner in the neighboring cell opened theirs, they said,

“What are you doing? Open yours.”

“Ah. Yes. ...Um, this is different from what I expected. I thought they wouldn’t give us anything.”

“There are punishment rooms that don’t give you anything. Now. Pick up the quill. Write this down.”

“Yes. I’m ready.”

Alter felt his heart pounding.

What was this lonely prisoner of the palace going to teach him?

A hidden secret technique?

Or perhaps the location of some treasure room in Valdrogard that nobody knew about?

Or maybe a way to escape...

“I was wrong.”

“???”

“I will never make the same mistake again... Why don’t I hear you writing?”

“N-No. What am I supposed to be writing?”

“A reflection letter. Don’t you want to get out quickly? Right. What did you do to get sent in here?”

“I asked Professor Wardanaz a question.”

“You must’ve asked an incredibly stupid question.”

Alter bristled at the prisoner’s words.

“It was a perfectly reasonable and valid question! I asked whether the mages teaching us were nobles or not!”

“It really was an incredibly stupid question. Hey. I’m from a great noble house too. But that isn’t what matters when it comes to magic.”

“......”

Alter’s eyes trembled.

In truth, the magic lectures over the last few days had shocked Alter deeply.

Before a discipline this vast, what meaning was there in clinging to bloodline and social status?

“What truly matters isn’t bloodline, but one’s attitude toward the pursuit of magic...”

“No! What matters is that you shouldn’t piss off someone who can send you to the punishment room. What the hell have you been learning?”

The prisoner in the next cell snapped in disbelief.

This Valdrogard bastard was amazingly stupid even when someone was trying to teach him.

“...What is that supposed to mean! That’s just flattery!”

“Magic has always been the study of flattery, you idiot! If what you’re writing right now isn’t flattery, then what is it? I’m already done. I will never again interfere with or criticize my friend’s methods... Hmm, good enough. You should hurry up and write that you’ll never say anything stupid again.”

“I refuse to write it! Even if my opinion has changed, I have no intention of engaging in such blatant flattery!”

“Suit yourself.”

Despite Alter’s rebellion, the prisoner next door paid no attention and continued writing.

Unable to contain his curiosity, Alter finally asked,

“...What else are you writing?”

“What I’ve been studying in magic lately.”

“Why?”

“Because that makes me look more admirable and increases the chance they’ll let me out. You’d better write that too. You probably won’t get out with just a reflection letter.”

“......”

While Alter was feeling conflicted, the punishment room door opened again.

New students were then locked into separate solitary cells, each wearing a bewildered expression.

“Y-You guys, why did you come down here?”

“We asked why you’d been sent to the punishment room...”

While they were talking, a mocking voice came again from the neighboring cell.

“Tsk, tsk. I can’t believe they’re that stupid. With stupidity like that, they deserve life imprisonment.”

“...Who is that person!?”

“H-He’s a senior prisoner who was already in this punishment room. He knows a lot. He even knows how to get out...”

“How to get out?! What’s the way out?!”

“He says we have to write a reflection letter...”

The voice came from the neighboring cell again.

“I told you a reflection letter alone isn’t enough! You idiots! Do you think the punishment room is that easy? You have to write down what magic you’ve learned too!”

“We didn’t do anything wrong, so we have no intention of writing a reflection letter!”

“Oh. Is that so? Then enjoy living in solitary confinement.”

The Valdrogard students looked around.

The dark and damp private cells were utterly bleak, without a single useful object in sight.

The beds were as hard as though they had been made from bricks, and cold wind constantly blew in through the bars. The students had never imagined there could be somewhere worse than the servants’ dormitory upstairs.

“How long do we have to stay here? One hour? Two hours?”

“One hour, my ass. Judging by how stupid you all are, you’re looking at at least a week to start.”

“......”

“...W-What are we supposed to write in the reflection letter? I’m not saying I’m definitely going to write one, but what kind of contents...”