Episode 02

Royalty. Prince. Princess.

Usually, anything with the word ‘royal’ in it possessed noble and dignified power.

But in the empire, it was a bit different.

There were…

More royals than you’d think.

‘Doesn’t the current emperor have over 100 children?’

No matter how influential the royal family was, having triple-digit numbers of direct imperial children had to be considered a problem.

At that point, if Lee Han sneaked into the imperial palace, the emperor might just think he was one of his kids.

Just as Lee Han had to work hard in life as punishment for being born later than his siblings, the emperor’s children were in the same boat.

If you weren’t born first…

You got nothing.

In some ways, it could be said they had it even tougher than Lee Han.

At least the patriarch of the Wardanaz Family remembered and cared for his children’s names.

But the royals had to take care of their own lives without such attention.

Of course, rotten fish are still fish, so even in front of commoners, royal blood still held some power…

But the ones nearby now were the offspring of the empire’s most prominent families.

They had no reason to bow to an unknown prince.

Even Yoner Meikin, for instance, would be in a better position than most royals.

So why was Yoner sticking around with the prince like that?

‘…Is she a little dumb?’

Lee Han thought Yoner would have been offended if she heard that.

Looking around, he saw a few boys and girls snickering at Yoner.

It was mockery for waiting on a prince when she had her own noble pride.

The pride of the empire’s nobles was on par with the pride of the royals.

In fact, when it came to the great nobles, even the emperor couldn’t treat them lightly.

“Alright. Got it.”

But Lee Han accepted Meikin’s offer.

‘There’s nothing to lose.’

The one being mocked was Meikin, not Lee Han, who received the offer.

And just because the prince had little influence didn’t mean there was any reason to pick a fight right from the first meeting.

Anyone in the world could become helpful if you got to know them.

“…Thank you! What a relief!”

Meikin smiled like bright sunlight. Seeing her so happy, Lee Han was puzzled.

“Why?”

“Three people already turned down my offer.”

“……”

Lee Han slightly regretted not refusing Meikin’s offer.

• * *

The prince, Gainando, was the 97th prince.

There was talk that he was actually the 101st because several siblings were born around the same time, but Gainando insisted he was the 97th. He clearly didn’t want to go into triple digits.

Other than that, Gainando was quite an immature royal.

Fifteen was considered adult, but not everyone matured equally.

He clearly hadn’t realized that royalty didn’t mean much at this school.

“Did you hear, Lee Han?? That guy turned down my offer?”

“Yes, yes. I heard.”

“How dare he??”

“He probably doesn’t know how noble you are, Gainando.”

“What’s ‘noble’?”

Gainando looked at Lee Han, puzzled.

Lee Han stared at Gainando, then nodded with a gentle smile.

At that moment, Lee Han’s opinion of Gainando dropped a notch, but Gainando didn’t notice.

“Noble means high in status and precious.”

“Ah. That suits me.”

“Right.”

“Anyway, he refused my offer but is talking to Adenart! It’s really insulting…!”

Adenart.

The student Gainando pointed at was also royalty. She was probably the 43rd or 44th princess.

‘The atmosphere is completely different.’

Long, flowing silver hair and clear blue eyes. An intelligent and graceful face.

The princess’s mere silent presence made the surroundings feel chilly.

A princess who naturally exuded such dignified air was bound to be respected by the noble-born students.

And besides, Adenart probably…

‘She didn’t call people over through others like Gainando did.’

Even if noble children were proud, they weren’t rude enough to ignore a royal who directly approached them.

If Gainando had just gone and talked to people himself, he would’ve gathered a crowd.

“Will you take care of her for me later?”

Gainando said, looking at Lee Han.

Compared to his peers, Lee Han was tall and sturdily built.

He’d been learning swordsmanship all along, so it was natural.

Even though they’d gathered to become wizards, among boys and girls who hadn’t even properly learned magic, fists spoke louder.

Of course, Lee Han had no intention of fighting anyone for Gainando’s pride.

“Gainando.”

“Yeah?”

“A noble person doesn’t have others bully someone for them.”

“I wasn’t bullying, it was retribution…”

“Whatever. A noble person doesn’t do that. Think about it.”

“Hmm.”

At Lee Han’s words, Gainando wore a thoughtful expression. Now that he heard it, it did seem a bit undignified.

“Then Lee Han, what do you think I should do?”

“Forgive generously.”

“…Anything else?”

“Challenging them to a duel yourself is also an option.”

“Hmph. I’ll forgive generously.”

Maybe he didn’t want to duel himself, because Gainando decided quickly.

Lee Han saw a merit in Gainando’s behavior.

He was simpler than expected.

“Wow. You’re amazing. Even breaking Gainando’s stubbornness.”

Yoner said, surprised. Lee Han asked, curious.

“Why do you hang around with Gainando?”

“We’re relatives. Cousins.”

“Still, do you have to listen to everything he says? The Meikin Family is…”

Before he could ask more, a booming voice rang out in the hall.

-Had enough chatter, ironheads! That’s enough talking. You’ll have plenty of years to chatter ahead.

“!”

It was the same voice from the main gate earlier, and a huge skull floated in the center of the hall.

A skull with blazing eyes, radiating enormous magical power.

‘Lich!’

A great wizard who turned themselves undead to overcome death.

That was a lich.

Lee Han had only heard rumors, this was his first time seeing a lich. The other students were also abuzz with curiosity.

-I’ll give you a question. Why do I call you ironheads?

Adenart raised her hand. Gainando glared, displeased.

-Speak.

“…Because the new students’ symbol is steel.”

-Excellent. Ten points to your dorm!

“Is there such a thing?”

-Of course not. If you want to be a wizard, learn how to see through lies first.

Realizing she’d been tricked, Adenart stopped smiling and blushed.

-Yes. The symbol for you first-years is steel. Just like the second-years’ symbol is bronze. Steel is hard, its quality depends on how it’s made, and it’s a useful material for many things. Truly a metal fitting for first-years.

“Ooh…”

“Indeed.”

The boys and girls gathered in their seats admired the skull principal’s words.

-You’re fooled again! Idiots. Your symbol is steel because you’ve got nothing in your heads. That’s why you’re ironheads! If you don’t believe me, knock on your heads. They’ll make a great sound.

“……”

“……”

The atmosphere instantly chilled.

Many here had never been insulted like this before.

But no one could object.

That was how overwhelming the skull principal’s presence was.

‘Amazing.’

Lee Han inhaled and exhaled.

Ever since the skull principal appeared, the density of magic around him had gone up insanely, making it hard to even move.

It felt like entering the depths of the deep sea.

‘Still… I think I can move. Yes. I can move somehow.’

When Lee Han wriggled, the skull principal turned his gaze to him.

-…?

A look as if seeing something interesting.

Lee Han quickly straightened up and stood properly.

He had come in to graduate with a diploma and connections, so he couldn’t afford to be marked by the principal in his first year.

-It seems I’ve said only harsh things to the empire’s future who have come a long way.

The skull principal’s voice softened. Some felt a bit relieved, but Lee Han wasn’t fooled.

‘Definitely a bit of a madman.’

They say you lose something when you become a lich, and the skull principal had clearly lost a few things.

Lee Han was reminded of the professor in the lab next door during his graduate school days.

That professor also seemed to have eyes full of madness, just like the skull principal…

‘No. Maybe this lich is better than that professor.’

Thinking that, the skull principal seemed unexpectedly manageable.

-Now! The finest chefs in this academy have been preparing a banquet since yesterday for you all. It’s lacking, but enjoy this banquet and relieve your fatigue from the journey. After the meal, warm blankets and beds await you in the dorms…

At those words, a few chubby boys drooled.

What kind of banquet would it be? In western imperial style, a well-raised chicken rolled in flour, cooked with oil and butter, onions, salt, pepper, and simmered with wine, or a gratin smothered in bechamel sauce would be good.

Right now, even just thick cheese and butter to spread on white bread would be great.

Or in eastern imperial style, fresh fish marinated in chili paste and grilled over charcoal would be nice.

Noodles were considered cheap food in the east and not eaten much, but after the long journey and feeling hungry, Lee Han felt he could eat anything served now.

However, on the huge table in the hall, there was no food at all.

“???”

-Fooled again! You idiots! When will you finally wake up? How can you hope to become wizards?

‘Isn’t he insane?’

A few weak-willed freshmen started to tear up at the skull principal’s abuse.

-Now. I’ll tell you the rules. This academy is the cradle of wizards. And the greatest driving force for raising wizards is desire!

With those words, a shabby cloak, a shabby staff, and a bundle of shabby clothes appeared in the air.

-These are your uniforms that you will wear and live in.

As soon as those words ended, hard, black bread and cold rice balls appeared in the air.

-This is the food you will eat and live on.

“That’s, that’s too much…!”

Someone shouted without thinking, and the skull principal replied excitedly.

-Yes! That’s exactly the reaction I wanted! Does that food look too disgusting? Learn magic quickly and get food with your own hands! Do those clothes and staff look like trash? Learn magic and get yourself new clothes and a staff! In this academy, you can get anything you want if you try!

“……”

Lee Han was appalled.

He had heard rumors that Einrogard was harsh, but he didn’t know it was this bad.

In short, the school rule was: If you’re upset, hurry up and improve your magic skills!

‘Is this really okay?’

“Hmph. I’ll just have someone bring stuff in from outside.”

A student with a cocky posture grumbled, looking furious.

The skull principal shouted even more excitedly.

-Yes! I wanted that reaction too. First-years are forbidden from going out! Don’t even think about asking upperclassmen to get you things! You won’t even meet upperclassmen for a while!

“……”

“……”

-Disperse! Ironheads, I wish you luck! Become good wizards!

Lee Han thought he definitely heard someone mutter “son of a bitch.”

Even the skull principal didn’t scold them for that.

Prince Gainando stomped his foot in frustration as the skull principal disappeared.

“Does this make sense?? How dare they treat people of our status like this? Lee Han! Aren’t you angry? Do you think people can live with clothes fit for beggars and food fit for pigs??”

“Huh? Isn’t it okay?”