Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

-It has been corrupted. It acquired an ego. It's still immature, but we can't afford to give it too much time.

The hamster squeaked as it explained in Lee Han's place.

Since this was such a shocking matter, it seemed better for an experienced mage like itself to explain rather than Wardanaz.

Professor Voladi returned the favor for the helpful explanation.

"I wasn't asking you."

-......

The hamster repeated a curse inwardly about three times.

What an insufferable bastard!

"It has been corrupted. It acquired an ego, and although it's still immature, I don't think we can afford to give it too much time."

"I see."

-......

The hamster was even more dumbfounded.

Hadn't that just been its explanation repeated word for word?!

"This is serious. An evil god has been corrupted."

Professor Kirmin pulled the professor's face away from the corridor wall, stopped the nosebleed, and returned with a gloomy expression. Lee Han asked worriedly.

"Did you two perhaps fight upstairs?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Wardanaz. There's no way I would quarrel with Voladi. Have you ever heard me insult Voladi?"

"While we were tracking Professor Voladi..."

"That's not what's important right now!"

When it seemed the student was about to start listing the things the professor had said behind the friend's back, Professor Kirmin firmly cut him off.

"An evil god has been corrupted. What do you think?"

-We need to organize a subjugation force immediately.

A Death Knight spoke in a grave voice.

Fundamentally, divine beings like these were not much of a threat precisely because they lacked egos.

The same was true even of evil gods. If there were no bastards borrowing power from them and running rampant beneath them, the evil gods themselves did not cause much trouble.

But the story changed if an evil god could think and desire things on its own.

That remained true even if its way of thinking was still immature. In some ways, that immaturity made it even more dangerous.

-I'll contact the Master immediately.

"Then we'll finish cleaning this place up and follow. That's fine, right, Voladi?"

Professor Kirmin asked while looking at the friend.

They could not simply leave after this kind of chaos had erupted in the city. They needed to remove the traces of wicked magic and clean everything up so it would no longer be dangerous.

The problem was how this impatient friend would react.

Surely the professor wouldn't be unable to endure even that short delay and go off alone again?

"Fine."

"Truly, on your honor?"

Professor Voladi nodded. Professor Kirmin placed a hand on the friend's shoulder to show trust.

"I believe you."

"Thank you."

"Then you can swear on your student's honor too, right?"

"......"

-......

Lee Han and the Death Knights stared at Professor Kirmin in disbelief.

-If you're going to wager something, wager your own things. Why drag the Successor into it?

"If Professor Voladi has already decided to lie, I don't think a promise like that would mean very much..."

When no one supported the professor, Professor Kirmin said with an aggrieved expression.

"Don't come regretting it later when Voladi runs off again."

"Surely Professor Voladi wouldn't do that again."

-No. In my opinion, there's certainly a possibility...

Professor Voladi silently watched the mages, including the student, discuss the possibility of another escape.

Feeling awkward and uncomfortable for no reason, Amrek called out to the group.

"Everyone. Is there perhaps anything you'd like me to do?"

-Ah. There is.

The Death Knight answered immediately. Amrek's face brightened.

"Please tell me anything. I'm not afraid of evil-god worshipers in the slightest."

-Pretend everything that happened today was done by you alone. If Einroguard's name gets mentioned, it could make the remaining remnants go into hiding.

"...Pardon?"

Amrek turned around.

The miserable sight of the half-destroyed workshop entered his view.

No matter how he looked at it, this was not the kind of destructive force a single knight could produce.

"I don't think people will believe me if I say I did all this by myself..."

-Convincingly deceiving people about that is also part of a knight's training. I believe in you. From the moment I first saw you, I sensed the qualities of a great knight.

"Th-that's..."

Amrek felt that, despite his doubts, part of him desperately wanted to believe it.

Praise from these renowned seniors was simply far too tempting for a young knight!

***

-Master. The Successor has escaped.

He didn't escape. He must have gone out on a commission.

When the first report came in, the Skull Principal answered indifferently.

At present, the Skull Principal was staying not in the principal's office he normally used, but in a secret hideout located on the ninth underground floor of the main building.

That was because an annoying dragon kept coming to visit whenever he stayed in the principal's office.

At first, he had assumed the dragon would hear the students' resentment, lose heart on its own, and leave, but the situation changed because some damned sycophant had started giving advice from the side.

Thanks to that, the annoying dragon had gained even more courage and confidence and had begun pestering him much more actively.

'Einroguard must be reformed even further!' 'Please do not disregard this Uman's opinion...' And so on and so forth.

Judging by how triumphant the dragon looked, in the worst case, it might remain until next semester.

-No. I'm certain this was an escape, not a commission.

A bastard who could stay outside for an entire semester just by taking the commissions he already had wouldn't need to escape... Ah.

The Skull Principal recalled the professor who was currently absent without permission.

Like teacher, like student.

He must have gone to find Bagreg. Leave him be. This should make for an interesting contest.

Professor Voladi had more experience escaping than Wardanaz and was a powerful combat mage, but Wardanaz's hand was no weak one either.

With the various connections he possessed and that insanity-filled mind of his, this side had a fairly decent chance as well.

And if one also took into account how soft Professor Voladi was toward the student...

'The odds are quite good.'

-Should we send him to the punishment room when he returns?

You only lock up someone if confinement actually means something. If we send Wardanaz there, he'll be delighted to get some rest. Forget it.

The Skull Principal was a generous and magnanimous person. Naturally, he disliked unnecessary punishment.

Especially for a mage like Wardanaz, who was already walking a path of self-imposed hardship, the punishment room did not mean much.

-Then will you also let the knights who followed him go?

...Lock those bastards up for a while.

The Skull Principal was dumbfounded.

So that was why their numbers had seemed a little low. They had followed Wardanaz?

'There really are no shortage of sycophants.'

And several days later.

Professor Garcia came storming in.

"Principal! I would like to formally report another professor!"

So this moment has finally come. Professor Garcia, how many times have I told you that you should report Bivle already? Do you really think that beast has enough conscience to remember your kindness just because you look after...

"No. I'm reporting Professor Kirmin!"

What?!

The Skull Principal was startled.

With all of Professor Verdus's countless evil deeds, Professor Garcia wanted to report Professor Kirmin?

Perhaps Professor Garcia was misunderstanding something?

Not Bivle? Professor Garcia. You may have forgotten, so let me remind you. The one who raided your reagent storage was Professor Bivle. The one who manipulated the work schedule to dump his work on you was Professor Bivle. And the one who lied that it was my order and made you grade the exams was Professor Bivle too. Shall I continue?

Without even pausing for breath, the Skull Principal rattled off Professor Verdus's evil deeds.

One could talk about that person's wicked acts for three days and three nights without reaching the end.

And yet Professor Garcia had still defended and looked after the colleague...

"...Now that I hear it all again, I am getting a little angry, but that's not why I'm here. I'm reporting Professor Kirmin."

F-fine. I understand. What charges are you planning to report Professor Kirmin for?

"Negligent student supervision and aiding an escape!"

......

Immediately understanding the situation, the Skull Principal gave the professor a stunned look.

Professor Garcia was simply angry about being left behind!

Professor Garcia. You do know that among the professors, you and Professor Voladi are the ones who absolutely never report other professors, don't you? Voladi is the kind of bastard who lives as though laws don't exist, so we'll leave that aside, but I've always thought you should report people a little more often.

"I'm doing it right now!"

...But you're really going to ignore the professor you genuinely hate and report someone over such a trivial reason? Really? Don't come crying later asking me to withdraw it.

"Hmph! If Professor Kirmin really thought of me as a fellow professor, we wouldn't have done all the tedious work together only for me to be left behind when something like this happened!"

Professor Garcia huffed furiously, clearly far angrier than usual.

They had spent the entire semester looking after the student together, yet the moment something important happened, Professor Kirmin had gone off and left Professor Garcia behind!

Of course, Professor Garcia knew that Professor Kirmin was Professor Voladi's friend. Professor Garcia was fairly close to Professor Kirmin within Einroguard as well, but there was no comparing a close friend with a junior colleague.

Even so, leaving without saying a single word crossed the line.

It was even more infuriating because Professor Kirmin was the one who normally said things like 'Student Wardanaz needs to become independent now' and 'Just leave him to handle things on his own.'

As Professor Garcia radiated an aura of fury from the entire body, the Death Knights slowly backed away.

It was impossible to imagine that these were the same knights who normally threw jokes at professors whenever they came by.

Maybe Wardanaz was the one who left you behind.

"Don't say something ridiculous. There's no way Student Lee Han would do that."

Professor Garcia stared at the Skull Principal as if the suggestion were absurd.

'Hmm. If I try to stop this one more time, I'll be reported too.'

Since the Skull Principal knew very well how resolute the student's will was, he no longer tried to persuade the professor.

Fine. Professor Kirmin has probably earned a taste of bitterness by now. Then...

Whoosh!

The flames suddenly flared, and a letter shot out of the cauldron installed in the center of the Skull Principal's hideout.

The bronze cauldron, engraved with complex ancient characters, was a magical device the Death Knights used when they needed to send urgent reports.

The Skull Principal's eyes flickered as he opened the letter.

Oh.

"D-did something happen?"

Professor Garcia forgot all about being angry and immediately became worried.

If Lee Han had been injured, or if one of the other professors had been hurt...

Good news. They say they caught Professor Voladi.

"!!!"

Professor Garcia was greatly shocked by the unbelievable news.

They had really caught Professor Voladi!

"How did they do it?! Did they perhaps use Student Lee Han as bait for a trap?!"

What an active imagination. Though I did think of that method myself.

The Skull Principal did not say it aloud, but that had indeed been one of the possible strategies he had imagined for Wardanaz's group.

If they simply went to the area where Professor Voladi was and made it look as though Wardanaz's life were in danger, wouldn't the professor come out?

But surprisingly, judging from the report, they had not used such a method.

It seems they persuaded Professor Voladi.

"...I knew I could trust Student Lee Han!"

Professor Garcia exclaimed, face brightening considerably.

If Lee Han could bring the escaped Professor Voladi back through persuasion rather than force or a trap, there could hardly be a better outcome.

...Though Professor Garcia still wasn't entirely sure how that was even possible!

Instead, they're going to travel around with Professor Voladi and help with the revenge.

"......"

Professor Garcia's face twisted with fury once again. The Skull Principal inwardly felt relieved.

'Good thing Kirmin went with them.'

If Professor Kirmin had not been there, that anger would surely have been directed somewhere else.

"They should be coming back immediately, and instead they're going to travel around helping Professor Voladi get revenge...!"

Calm down, Professor Garcia. You know how stubborn Professor Voladi is. If they hadn't agreed to that, they probably wouldn't have been able to persuade the professor at all.

"...That's true, but still."

Fortunately, once Professor Garcia's anger subsided, the professor judged the situation rationally.

Professor Garcia even said the report against Professor Kirmin would be postponed. As long as Lee Han did not return injured, Professor Garcia declared that the matter would simply be overlooked.

A wise decision. Very wise.

However, there was one thing the Skull Principal had misjudged.

That was Professor Garcia's persistence.

Starting the very next day, Professor Garcia began knocking on the door constantly.

"Is there any new information?"

"Did perhaps any new information arrive during lunch...?"

"Why are the knights so slow at reporting in the first place?"

"Principal. I think the reporting system should be changed..."

'With Uman out of sight, this one's the one causing trouble.'

The Skull Principal tried hard not to forget that Professor Garcia did the work of five people.

It would have been easy to drive the professor away with a shout or simply move the hideout elsewhere, but doing that would dramatically reduce Einroguard's administrative efficiency.

"Is there really no new information?"

I'll send you a paper bird the instant anything arrives, so please go and do your own wo—

Whoosh!

A letter shot from the bronze cauldron along with a burst of flame.

Professor Garcia snatched the letter out of the air with movements faster than those of the Empire's greatest polo player.

Even the knights were startled.

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