Episode 252

“So, you see.”

Professor Garcia, as a distinguished professor, explained briefly, simply, and precisely, focusing only on the main points.

But sometimes, no matter how well you explain, it’s hard to convince the other person.

When the content is just too absurd!

-This is Lee Han of the Wardanaz Family, and as I mentioned earlier, he’s taking a lot of classes. But he’s so talented in every class he takes that the professors are quite fond of him. So, Professor Alkasis, please don’t call on him too much just because he has an aptitude for healing magic—please show some moderation. There are other professors as well.

“…Don’t do this, really.”

Professor Alkasis let out a sigh drenched in fatigue.

“Huh??”

“I said don’t do this. Who put you up to it? Was it the principal?”

Professor Alkasis was convinced that the skull principal was playing a mischievous prank.

Only the skull principal could play such tricks on Alkasis, the most exhausted and busiest professor in Einrogard.

Other professors couldn’t pull such pranks, as it might literally kill them.

“No, no, no… It’s not a joke!”

“……”

Professor Alkasis frowned as a headache came on. Professor Garcia spoke with concern.

“Shall I cast a pain relief spell?”

“Spells don’t help much if you use them too often… So you’re saying this isn’t a joke?”

“Yes.”

Professor Alkasis tried to accept what he had just heard.

A student is taking a few too many classes?

It wasn’t common, but it happened once in a while.

Even Professor Garcia had been overly ambitious during his school days and didn’t regret it.

…Of course, that student was in a league of his own…

“How many was it again? How many classes is he taking?”

“Summoning magic, illusion magic, imbuement magic, divination magic, transmutation magic…”

“And there was black magic too, right?”

“Oh, right. Keep it a secret from Professor Mortum…”

“Do I look like I have time to go and tell him? Anyway, you’re saying he’s getting good marks in all those classes?”

‘He’s the top student, actually…’

Professor Garcia hesitated, almost saying he was the top student, but stopped himself after glancing around.

It wasn’t a lie, but it somehow felt like one.

“Yes…”

“…Does that make sense???”

“Right…”

Professor Garcia also felt it anew.

He hadn’t noticed when seeing it one by one, but summarizing it for someone else, it sounded a bit too odd.

“Wardanaz Family, huh…?”

“What does that have to do with anything? Haven’t you met anyone from the Wardanaz Family?”

“I have…”

Professor Garcia shrank back, recalling memories of being scolded by Professor Alkasis during his school days.

‘But this isn’t my fault.’

“Hoo. Fine. Alright. Yes. Sometimes such geniuses do appear.”

“Aren’t you being a bit too generous with ‘sometimes’…?”

“Be quiet.”

“Yes.”

“So what do you mean by asking me to show moderation?”

Professor Alkasis’s eyebrows furrowed a little more.

It was absolutely against Professor Alkasis’s nature to give special treatment to a single student. Even if that student had the blood of the emperor, it would be the same.

“Oh. Well. The other professors also have a lot to teach, so if you keep Lee Han too long… or take him outside… You know what I mean.”

All magic took time, but healing magic was especially a time-consuming monster.

Starting with the amount of knowledge required, and spanning various fields.

If you tried to quickly make a usable healing mage by keeping him to yourself, other professors could get angry.

Besides, with healing magic, there were often cases where students were taken outside.

“Is that something you need to say?”

Of course, Professor Alkasis found it absurd.

No matter how short-handed they were, he had no intention of taking a first-year student outside.

This had nothing to do with talent.

Even with extraordinary talent, would you take a first-year student for something involving people’s lives?

“Professor Garcia. You should know. Even doing this much…”

Even though he was half-forcing students to learn healing magic, Professor Alkasis knew, of course.

No matter how much you pushed, those who weren’t going to learn wouldn’t learn.

It was obvious.

No one was as stubborn as a wizard. Would they keep learning a magic they weren’t interested in just because someone told them to?

But if you at least taught them forcibly, you could mobilize them to help when there was a shortage.

A wizard who knew nothing of healing magic and one who’d learned a little were completely different.

Of course, he didn’t expect them to take on core roles.

To expect someone to take on a core role after forcibly teaching them was truly shameless.

He only expected them to play a supporting role in case of an emergency…

“I don’t even expect forcibly enrolled students to do the work of one person. If they can do half a person’s share, that’s doing well. So what’s this about keeping them too long or taking them outside?”

He was trying to fix the shortage by teaching the bare minimum, but then he heard “Don’t treat him like a star pupil, there are other professors too,” so it was only natural for Professor Alkasis to be dumbfounded.

“Right? Sorry. I guess I was worrying too much for no reason.”

Professor Garcia apologized, feeling awkward.

He’d just been worried because every time professors looked at Lee Han, they seemed to want to grab an arm or a leg and drag him to their own tower.

If you pull a person like that, they’d tear apart.

“The professors keep kind of…”

“Alright, so don’t worry. And sorry, but that Wardanaz doesn’t have much talent for healing magic.”

“What?”

Professor Garcia tilted his head.

‘He seemed to do well earlier?’

Professor Alkasis gave a slight glance.

“He’s just pretending. His mana isn’t being used.”

“…Ah, that’s because…”

Professor Garcia decided to explain the last part he had left out earlier.

• * *

“…That’s how it is! Not that surprising, right?”

He figured that since he’d already shared the really surprising stuff, this would be fine.

But Professor Alkasis didn’t answer.

“Professor?”

“……”

“Professor??”

“How much mana does he actually have?”

“Professor, you said you weren’t interested earlier…”

“…I was just asking.”

Professor Alkasis changed the subject.

“But this is a bit unfair. I was too busy to be there when the other professors were talking.”

“Ah, come on, really.”

Professor Garcia tried to push away the image of Lee Han’s limbs being pulled.

“And Lee Han isn’t even that talented at healing magic.”

“…Try it with this.”

Professor Alkasis put away the rope and tossed a bone in front of Lee Han.

Other students flinched, but Lee Han, who was already used to black magic, accepted the bone without a problem.

Crack!

Lee Han broke the bone and immediately reattached it.

It was an astonishing speed.

Understanding of bones, innate mana capacity, delicate control ability.

The specifics would only be clear with more teaching, but even from this, it was undeniable that Lee Han had remarkable talent for healing magic.

“That’s because Lee Han studied black magic diligently.”

Professor Garcia gave a ridiculous excuse.

“Professor Garcia. You know how useful it is to have a lot of mana.”

“Professor Verdus said that yesterday, Professor Craer the day before, and Professor Mortum the day before that…”

“…Anyway, forget what I said earlier.”

“Why are you like this, honestly!”

• * *

“Except for the dissection, it was fun, right?”

“Actually, wasn’t the dissection a bit fun too?”

“…Y-yeah. Don’t come any closer.”

“?!”

When the lecture ended, the students’ evaluation was better than expected.

Considering they were forced to learn and that a person had been dissected during the lecture, it was a very positive result.

“If you want to learn more healing magic… over here…”

As soon as the lecture ended, Professor Alkasis hurriedly disappeared to the upper spire, and upperclassmen who studied under him called out to the first-years.

Even though many students were forced to attend, there were surely some genuinely interested in healing magic among them.

It was the seniors’ job to help such juniors.

…Though normally it should have been the professor’s job, Professor Alkasis was just too busy.

“We look forward to working with you, senior!”

“Hey…”

“Yes, yes?”

The student who greeted energetically was flustered by the senior’s lukewarm response.

‘Did I do something wrong?’

“Keep your voice down… I feel like my head’s going to split from lack of sleep…”

“……”

“……”

‘Even the students who wanted to take healing magic look like they’ll run away.’

“Lee Han of the Wardanaz Family.”

“Priest Tijilling.”

“Are you alright?”

“What do you mean?”

“Even taking healing magic on top of everything else…”

“Oh.”

Lee Han paused for a moment.

In fact, he was more surprised that the Phoenix Tower students knew, than by the lecture itself.

“It’s not like adding one more now will change anything. And if I don’t study when I’m forced to take it, I’m the only one who loses out.”

“I’m seriously worried about your health though…”

The Phoenix Tower priests whispered to each other as they walked, glancing at Lee Han.

-Shouldn’t someone stop him…

-But there’s the honor and pride of nobility…

-People’s lives are important!

‘If you’re going to talk about me, at least do it so I can’t hear, not so vaguely.’

Lee Han felt uneasy.

If the priests kept seriously worrying about his lifespan, he might actually start to feel anxious.

But it wasn’t just the Phoenix Tower priests whispering about Lee Han.

“That’s him… the one the professor mentioned… right?”

“Yeah… healing magic’s… advantages… we need to explain… and draw him in…”

The carrot and the stick.

This age-old tactic was also used in magic education.

Forcing students to sit and learn magic was the stick, and showing the advantages of the magic was the carrot.

Since there were already lots of dropouts and the workload was increasing, the upperclassmen majoring in healing magic were desperate enough to sell their souls to the devil to recruit juniors.

On top of that, there was the urgent message Professor Alkasis left before leaving.

-Lee Han of the Wardanaz Family. Got it? Lee Han of the Wardanaz Family. If you train him well, he’s capable of doing the work of ten. Make him interested in healing magic.

-But professor… how? These days, first-years are so sharp, they’ll have figured it all out.

-If even the professor looks like he’ll collapse from exhaustion, what advantage could there be?

-It’s fine. Everyone values different things. From what I see, he’s not the type who values comfort or an easy life. Given that he’s taking all the other lectures, he’s like Professor Garcia. Driven by academic passion. Got it?

-Ah. I understand.

-Good. Convince him with that. Even if I don’t say anything…

-Of course, professor. We want juniors even more than you do!

“Are you… cough… hack… cough cough… interested in healing magic?”

“…Are you alright?”

When the senior, looking like he might die any moment, spoke to him, Lee Han couldn’t help but be flustered.

“Ah, no. It’s just dry… it’s because it’s dry. Anyway! You’re interested in healing magic, right? That’s why you’re here?”

“Uh… I still don’t know much, so I’m just curious, I guess.”

Lee Han answered cautiously, not wanting to offend.

But the two seniors immediately replied as if they weren’t offended at all.

“That’s exactly what interest is.”

“It’s amazing. To think you’re this interested in healing magic. I think it’s the first time I’ve seen it.”

“Huh?”

Lee Han looked at the priests behind him.

…No matter how you look at it, compared to the interest shown by the priests back there, Lee Han’s interest was like a firefly in front of a full moon…?