Episode 494

Chapter 494

It was not because 3rd year student Valpatan was debauched or wasteful that this incident happened.

Magic, fundamentally, was a field of study that cost an enormous amount.

No matter how much the Emperor supported them and even when the Skull Principal invested and supported them, sometimes even emptying out his own private fortune, this limit could not be structurally overcome.

That didn’t mean they could just ask for more of the Empire’s budget. Even now, the imperial finance officials would clutch at their chests and gasp for breath whenever they heard the name Einrogard.

-Are you… are you telling us to sprinkle more gold coins on those lunatics? Just walk over my dead body! If we had that kind of gold, please let us finish building the poorhouse that’s been on hold due to budget shortages!

-You know very well just how much gold and silver Einrogard’s thieving bastards are carrying off from the Empire! We donated the golden pillar from the plaza on His Majesty’s orders, only for them to waste it in those golden-burning flame experiments—that’s something I’ll never forget, even if I die!

-These shameless wizards! Even when we fine them and bill them for repairs every time they cause trouble outside, it’s still not enough! Every time I hear the name Einrogard, I shudder and feel my blood boil!

…Anyway, no matter how much budget was fetched and distributed among the disciplines, as research went on, poverty was destined to come eventually.

In preparation for such times, the students of Einrogard would diligently save up as much money as they could in their own way, but…

…such amounts would disappear like melted snow after just a handful of magical experiments.

In the end, students like Valpatan, who put up a family sword as collateral to borrow necessary reagents, would inevitably appear from time to time.

Professor Thunderstep, knowing this, felt both ashamed and pained.

“Student Valpatan isn’t particularly lazy or wasteful.”

“We know. Please don’t worry.”

The people of House Meikin gave a gentle smile.

“What’s really needed for magic isn’t intelligence or emotion, isn’t it gold itself?”

“…Haha.”

It was a self-deprecating joke among wizards. Professor Thunderstep could only laugh bitterly.

“Indeed…”

Lee Han, listening from beside them, spoke with a genuinely moved expression. Professor Thunderstep put on a serious face.

“What’s so ‘indeed’ about that. What is.”

For some reason, this boy from House Wardanaz seemed to understand it in a different way.

• * *

“Wardanaz. Go calm the wyverns.”

Professor Lightningstep, checking safety equipment for departure preparations, gave instructions to Lee Han.

The wyverns were supposed to be calmly waiting by now, but instead, they were playing among themselves, rolling around on the grass, having apparently gotten a bit carried away.

“Understood.”

Lee Han nodded and got up from his seat.

Since he had been studying monsters separately with Professor Lightningstep, he knew at least a little about wyverns.

In situations like this, it was best to be strict and to stand one’s ground…

“?”

“??”

The friends sitting next to Lee Han looked at Professor Lightningstep with question marks on their faces.

“Professor, no matter how good Lee Han is, it’s still a wyvern…”

“Yeah, yeah. Good.”

“!?”

Before they could even say anything, Lee Han separated the playful wyverns and patted their heads.

Just moments before, those creatures had been tearing up the grass, but now they lowered their heads like docile lambs.

“…Uh, how did you do that?”

“I told you, read some books, Bartrek. With wyverns, start by not avoiding eye contact…”

“No, if it’s that easy, why do people still get bitten by wyverns!?”

“Well, it’s because I got close to them during this trip.”

Lee Han said this as if it were the most natural thing.

Of course, as Bartrek said, simply following the methods in books wasn’t enough to handle a wyvern right away. Wyverns weren’t that easy.

But Lee Han had built up a rapport with the wyverns during the trip.

He gave them food, cleaned their scales, tucked them in warmly, stood guard by their heads while listening to Professor Voladi’s nagging…

‘I’ll cancel that last part.’

Thinking back, that last bit was probably more out of irritation than friendship.

Anyway, because of these experiences, the wyverns, if not to the extent of Professor Lightningstep, clearly felt friendly toward Lee Han.

Didn’t they show such obedience?

“……”

Nillia thought to herself.

‘No matter how I look at it, they seem scared…’

Every time Lee Han turned his head, the wyverns glanced furtively at him, watching his every move—the classic behavior of a monster obedient out of fear.

“Really? How did you get close so quickly?”

“It’s affection, Bartrek. Join me next time when I feed them.”

“Uh, no… why… They’re scary.”

“They’re not scary. Right? You’re not scared, are you?”

When Lee Han turned to ask the wyvern, the previously slumped creature quickly raised its head, put on a very fake gentle expression, and nodded.

“See? There’s a reason they say wyverns are easier to tame than griffons. They’re all pretty sweet.”

“……”

Nillia decided to keep her mouth shut.

• * *

-Request completed, arrival on schedule.

Hmm.

The Skull Principal nodded satisfactorily at the communication that had arrived from the port city.

‘I had been worried, but they handled it well.’

He hadn’t doubted the abilities of the professors or students who participated, but the situation had been a little complicated.

Since these were long-standing conflicts, he had thought it might drag on if things got tangled up…

It seemed to have been handled well.

Some students spread baseless slander, saying, ‘The Principal must be crazy for excitement, and goes mad if there’s a day with no trouble,’ but, in reality, someone as cautious as the Skull Principal was rare.

He was always a person who earnestly wished for everything to resolve without issue.

Though he did sometimes want to see the students in distress, but that was just an exception.

-Sea Serpent appeared, request for cooperation, extermination with students, magical criminal detected, arrest

…?!?!

But reading the next update, the Skull Principal was startled.

It was surprising enough that the magical criminal made contact, but even more so that he was arrested.

‘What’s this? Did a headless fool make the contact?’

Normally, if someone had such a reputation as to be called a magical criminal, they had accumulated such infamy over many years and didn’t make careless mistakes.

Even when making contact, they were sly, always leaving themselves multiple escape routes before acting.

And yet they had managed to arrest such a magical criminal.

Honestly, it was simply astonishing.

‘Did Baegrek perhaps stab just anyone…’

The Skull Principal felt a twinge of suspicion.

Maybe Professor Voladi, paranoid, stabbed a suspicious passerby, and then everyone else decided, ‘Well, can’t be helped—let’s just call him a magical criminal!’ and covered it up.

• * *

Fortunately, that wasn’t the case.

You… have no curiosity?

Having just finished a meeting with Professor Thunderstep, the returning Skull Principal immediately called for Lee Han.

The story about magical criminal Ianop was so surprising.

His proactivity was astonishing, his capture even more so, but most astonishing was…

“Why did you believe that?”

…Was he even a real wizard?

…He called for the professor without hesitation—the boy from House Wardanaz.

Of course, it was thanks to this that things ended smoothly, but for a student of magic to feel no curiosity in such a situation.

“Any wizard who accepts such a deal is the weird one. In my opinion, they should include reporting sketchy contact like that as an example in the ethics lecture.”

Do you think I’ve never tried that? It’s a pointless endeavor.

The Skull Principal spoke indifferently.

Don’t dabble in forbidden magic, don’t associate with suspicious wizards from outside…

It was, of course, sound advice, and there was nothing wrong with it.

But students listened less than expected.

The moment you said, “Don’t touch forbidden magic,” some would immediately think, “Oh, right, there’s forbidden magic? I’m curious,” and go looking for it.

“How about locking them up in the punishment room all vacation?”

……

Next to him, the Death Knights gasped in shock.

For a first-year to even suggest it, it was an exceedingly brutal idea.

I’ll give it some thought. Anyway, you did a commendable job…

The Skull Principal recalled the report as he spoke.

He had thought Wardanaz would be helpful, but hadn’t expected him to be this helpful.

Settling the discord between various guilds and reconciling them.

‘Certainly, this boy is unusually sociable for someone from House Wardanaz.’

He had felt that way for a while, but the easily overlooked strength of Wardanaz was this very sociability.

Just getting along with Baegrek was proof enough of how impressive that was.

Considering how many high-grade students had ruined personalities regardless of social skills, this strength shone even brighter.

‘Once he’s in 2nd year, I ought to have him accompany the ones with ruined personalities when they go out.’

Without Lee Han noticing, the Skull Principal added more duties for him.

What did you feel about magic?

More important than the mission itself was the conversation about magic.

The Skull Principal’s voice became more earnest.

Since he considered Wardanaz to be something like his own successor, he could only be serious when it came to magic.

“I learned what to be careful about when collecting the flowers myself. Usually you can buy them with just some silver, but picking them myself made me understand which ones are the best and which are inferior.”

Good understanding. Sometimes, wizards who ignore such meticulous work never amount to much.

The Skull Principal was satisfied.

A true wizard needed to be tenaciously attentive to every detail of magic.

Those who arrogantly made servants or hirelings handle the preparations never became great.

“Thanks to that, I think I’ll be able to haggle better if I need to buy materials in the future.”

…That’s not what I was curious about… Well, anything else?

Not at all interested in such petty ambitions, the Skull Principal swiftly moved on.

“I was more surprised by the magic of the magical criminal than I thought. Veteran battle mages are truly unpredictable for me.”

That’s right.

The Skull Principal was satisfied again.

In a similar vein, a wizard who overestimated his own strength would not meet a good end.

Especially in magical combat, the competition was not over who could cast a more difficult spell.

It was about who could cut off their opponent’s lifeline with optimal efficiency first—that was magical combat.

Given that a back-alley wizard could kill even a renowned mage due to a trivial oversight or mere coincidence, a skilled battle mage had to be prepared in multiple layers.

The Ianop you captured was a minion of Antagondals.

“You mean that archmage criminal?”

Archmage? Nonsense!

The Skull Principal grumbled at once.

He was deeply annoyed that a fresh, arrogant magical criminal was even called an archmage.

He was taught by Antagondals, and has gone through a lot in his own right, so it must have been surprising for you.

“That’s right.”

Lee Han agreed.

The way he instantly activated an artifact to block the front when the wall flew at him, drastically enhanced his own physical ability, and had separate means of attack ready…

It seemed like you’d have to train tens of thousands of times to reach that level of proficiency.

So, what did you think there?

“I thought I should take Professor Baegrek with me whenever I go somewhere suspicious from now on.”

……

At Lee Han’s timid answer, the Skull Principal glared at him.