Episode 561

The punishment room? How did you hear me? I’m praising you two.

“Uh. Yes. Thank you.”

“When do we go to the punishment room…?”

No matter how much the two students spoke, the Skull Principal growled while holding back anger.

I said I’m not sending you. I’m not! Of course, you did set an all-time record for a freshman escape, but I told you I’m not sending you!

-The master is sincere.

A Death Knight beside him couldn’t help but add.

-Of course, the two of you set an all-time freshman escape record and made the master foam at the mouth, but…

The Skull Principal waved his hand irritably.

Then, the Death Knight giving the explanation was immediately banished to another dimension.

The other Death Knight next to him wasn’t surprised and continued the explanation.

-It looks like an auditor from the Empire happened to witness the scene.

“You mean, witnessed us escaping and running around?”

-No. Saw you two helping Imperial citizens.

“Ah.”

Only then did the two understand why the Skull Principal was acting this way.

But there were still parts they didn’t get.

“Is it really reasonable that we don’t go to the punishment room just because we did some good deeds?”

“Wardanaz is right. I don’t get it either. If so, why did our seniors have to go to the punishment room?”

-Do you two really want to go to the punishment room that badly?

The Death Knight looked dumbfounded at the two’s reaction.

If you got lucky and avoided the punishment room, surely it should be “Wow! Hooray!” Why are you reacting like “Does this make sense? Are you tricking us?”

-First of all, the good deed you performed that impressed the Imperial auditor isn’t just an ordinary good deed…

Giselle nodded unconsciously.

Indeed, thinking about it, it wasn’t an ordinary good deed.

-…Your seniors never really did any good deeds, did they?

“There’s no way none of them ever did?”

-Not…really? Doesn’t seem like it. Is there?

The Death Knight genuinely looked puzzled, and then asked the Skull Principal as well.

The Skull Principal also shrugged as if he didn’t remember.

Don’t recall. They cause a lot of trouble, though.

‘Hrm. If I ask more, I might suffer retaliation.’

Lee Han read the room quickly and changed his attitude.

“I sincerely thank you for your magnanimity, Principal. To so generously forgive what originally should be punished…”

Enough. Before I smack you.

“…Thank you.”

Right.

‘He doesn’t like flowery language.’

The Skull Principal still looked cranky and grumbled.

When will they arrive?

-They say they just arrived. They’ll be up soon.

“Who’s coming?”

An Imperial inspec…

-The auditor.

Yeah. The auditor.

‘Ah.’

Lee Han felt a bit more convinced.

If the auditor said he wanted to meet the good students, it made sense for the Skull Principal not to send them to the punishment room.

“Oh? Principal.”

What? Why? What? Why?

Though nervous, Lee Han asked what he had to ask.

“If the Imperial auditor evaluates Einrogard more highly thanks to us, then the school’s funding will probably go up too—wouldn’t that be our accomplishment?”

“…Hey…”

This crazy bastard…!

Even when he faced the three-headed tiger in the blinding blizzard of the North, this might have been less scary.

Giselle wanted to sew shut the mouth of the Blue Dragon Tower enemy next to her with a needle.

The Death Knight had a similar expression, looking at Lee Han in shock.

‘He must have left his sense of fear back in his mother’s womb!’

The Skull Principal stared at Lee Han for a moment, then spoke through gritted teeth.

…That’s why I asked if there was anything you want to eat. Hm?

“We got enough food outside, so perhaps some reagents for the exams…”

-The master. The auditor is almost here.

I know.

-Yes. Just in case you might explode…

The Skull Principal banished another Death Knight and walked to the door.

Then he looked at the two and repeated himself firmly.

Fine. Just make sure to say the right things in front of the auditor. Understood?

“Yes. We’ll certainly raise the school’s reputation!”

Lee Han braced himself and nodded.

When Giselle kept staring silently, Lee Han asked with curiosity.

“What is it?”

“I think you really are the successor.”

“How dare you?!”

The Skull Principal’s successor glared furiously at Giselle.

• * *

Hodrong praised Lee Han and Giselle so much he was almost hoarse.

Usually, Einrogard students make trouble whenever they go out and harass good, honest Imperial citizens, but to see first-year students so devoted…

“I believe it’s thanks to Einrogard’s excellent educational philosophy and the principal who devotes himself to us.”

“Hm. Hm. Maybe I misjudged. That could’ve been my own prejudice…”

Iunrade, next to him, almost said “It’s not a misunderstanding,” but pinched his own thigh hard and endured.

“I’ll be sure to report what I saw. If more students like these show up, the other bureaucrats will change their opinions too.”

“Ow.”

“?”

When Iunrade pinched the other thigh and yelped, Hodrong looked at his subordinate quizzically.

“Well then, Lord Gonadaltes. I’ll send a letter when I get back. Thank you for your hard work this year.”

Oh? Isn’t it worth seeing the other students, too?

“It would just make things harder for both sides, wouldn’t it? Let’s let this year be.”

For the first time today, the Skull Principal smiled.

The sincerity of the auditor had melted the heart of the frosty archmage.

Few things are more nightmarish than an auditor coming into the school and inspecting the upperclassmen’s magical research.

When they ask for school support, the students act like they’re ready to discover all the truths and principles of the world, but when it’s time for inspection they whine and make excuses like total newbies.

Travel safely, Inspector Hodrong. Next time, come visit us again!

“I doubt that’ll happen. It changes every year.”

Hodrong gave a polite bow and walked out with Iunrade.

The subordinate sighed in relief and spoke to his superior.

“I’m just glad it’s all over.”

“Yes. I’m not completely happy I didn’t see the upperclassmen directly, but nothing good would’ve come from it anyway.”

If you asked for extra support with moving stories of good deeds but also included upperclassman research updates, the bureaucrats moved to tears might get angry all over again.

For the sake of Einrogard’s future talent, Hodrong decided to let it go just for this year.

“But, Lord Hodrong, may I ask—why didn’t you ask about what happened during summer break?”

Iunrade was slightly curious and asked.

Hodrong had directly confirmed the good deeds from the students this time, but hadn’t asked about summer break or before.

He’d made the effort to check with city folk and then just glossed over it.

A rare lapse in Hodrong’s usual meticulousness.

“It was just a rumor, wasn’t it?”

“Excuse me?”

“It was obviously a rumor to me.”

“…Uh, well, that is…”

Iunrade wondered where to even start explaining.

How could he phrase the story to make it sound plausible to his boss?

• * *

With finals a week away, a strange tension hung over the school.

Especially when morning class was -Advanced Basic Magical Ethics-.

Because that meant the lecture was from the Skull Principal!

“Hey. How’s my outfit look?”

“Um… That scarf and hat you bought outside—you should put those away.”

“Guys, everyone breathe through your nose—not your mouth.”

“Put away your magazines, toys, snacks. Get rid of anything you bought outside!”

The more anxious students were especially cautious even before the Skull Principal entered.

With the big escape last weekend and looting so much stuff, the fear was even greater.

Lee Han and Giselle had returned safely, but the principal’s moods were unpredictable. He might explode after some time had passed.

Even Gainando was pretending to read and study today.

Good to see you all.

“Hello, Principal!”

“Good morning, Principal!”

Yeah. Good morning.

The Skull Principal looked over the class. The students froze, barely able to breathe, just rolling their eyes.

Do you know what this class is called?

“Uh…”

“Uh” is not the name of the class.

“-Advanced Basic Magical Ethics-.”

Right. Ethical education. But what’s the point of learning that all year? You all just break the rules together anyway.

“……”

“……”

With that sudden jab, the students avoided his gaze.

It’s not your fault. It’s the fault of your seniors. If the seniors don’t set an example, how could you?

Lee Han nodded as if in agreement.

Not you, Wardanaz. Stop nodding.

“But…”

‘But didn’t we barely ever meet the seniors, anyway?’

Yoner couldn’t quite understand.

What the first-years did didn’t seem to have much to do with the seniors.

So, a few announcements: This year, there’s no final exam for -Advanced Basic Magical Ethics-. The teaching materials are gone.

“……”

“…Hurray!!! Hurray!!!”

One student kicked aside a chair and climbed onto a desk, with others following.

Some students even swung their staffs, shooting fire, and Gainando tore out notebook pages and threw them in the air.

The Skull Principal blinked once. Instantly, all the students who’d just rioted were hanging upside-down from the ceiling.

The room instantly became quiet.

Instead of the final, everyone will write “I will not run away from school with my friends” one hundred times and turn it in.

That was an absolute freebie. The students nodded happily.

But Lee Han looked at the Skull Principal with suspicion.

“Isn’t this a trick to make us let our guard down?”

“Gasp. Is it?”

Gainando, hanging upside down, perked up at the plausible theory.

Also, Wardanaz, Dalkard, you two come with me.

“So it really is a trick??”

“Nah. He called Ahsan too. If it were a trap, he’d only call Lee Han.”

“Shut up, Gainando.”

• * *

Surprisingly, the Skull Principal didn’t take them to one of Einrogard’s hellish traps.

The place he brought them was just a regular storage.

Ethics Class Storage Room

-No Outsiders Allowed-

As the Skull Principal muttered a quiet spell, a wall opened, statues were moved aside, and the storage door was revealed.

There’s no final, so instead, there are some chores to do.

“Do the two of us have to clean the whole storage?”

No. I’m making the other brats work too. They don’t get to slack off.

“Oh. I thought it was just us.”

Lee Han felt a bit awkward.

He’d thought it was another of the Skull Principal’s spiteful punishments.

Come to think of it, the Skull Principal wasn’t the type to single out just one student he hated.

Since they all broke out together, he’d hate them all together.

You’ll supervise the rest, clear out everything by next week. Throw away what’s broken, get rid of anything that’s worn out… for next year’s new students.

“……”

For a moment, Ahsan thought to himself, ‘Do we really have to care about the new students when we barely survive?’

Your seniors probably thought the same, Dalkard.

“Gasp… How did you…!”

You don’t have to do it perfectly—just enough so I can grab things for class. That’s what I mean.

The Skull Principal looked around the dusty storage.

Bang!

A nearby shelf collapsed and a guillotine rolled out.

Clicking his tongue, the Skull Principal said,

Broken. Gotta throw that away.

“……”

“……”

They were curious why it was here, but decided not to ask.