Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 1149

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 1149

The reason Lee Han was awake in the middle of the night was simple.

The giants could sleep soundly at night, but a mage who had accepted a commission couldn’t do that.

He had to check if there were any problems with the magic performed during the day, send progress reports to the stonemason guild members in the capital, make food for the giants, soothe the complaints of 5th year seniors who seemed to be going through their school years backwards, and check whether the supplies and materials procured were lacking in quality or quantity…

So when he encountered a siren that suddenly emerged bubbling from the water, even Lee Han couldn’t help but be flustered.

“…What is it? What brings you here?”

-…

The siren Parthenope blinked her eyes.

Normally she would have immediately sung a song to put her opponent to sleep before fleeing, but unfortunately the mage before her was a monster immune to siren songs.

Having been defeated several times, Parthenope didn’t dare take that gamble.

“Wait. Your face looks familiar… Ah. Could you be the siren Parthenope I met before!”

Lee Han was greatly pleased to meet a siren he knew for once.

Unlike other sirens, Parthenope had a friendship with Lee Han.

Last year when he had to secretly transport giants through underground passages, he needed the help of these sirens, and Parthenope had served as a bridge between them.

Having granted his request, Lee Han thought he was somewhat close to this siren. At least as close as he was with the giants of the mountain range.

…Of course, Parthenope herself didn’t think that way at all…

Shake shake!

Parthenope frantically shook her head. Lee Han asked in confusion.

“You’re not Parthenope?”

Nod.

“Oh my… I’m sorry. I seem to have mistaken you again.”

It seemed that distinguishing the facial features of unfamiliar races he rarely encountered required a bit more skill.

He had mistaken a siren before, and now he was making the same mistake again. Lee Han felt embarrassed.

“What should I call you? Ah. If your name is difficult, I was going to give Parthenope a human-style nickname ‘Gainando’ last time, so perhaps you could take it instead…”

Shake shake shake!

Parthenope shook her head frantically. She couldn’t accept that disgraceful name she had rejected before.

The siren hurriedly pulled out a slate and wrote ‘Phenoterpa’ on it.

“I see. Miss Phenoterpa. Could you perhaps call Parthenope for me? We have a friendship, so it would be comfortable to talk.”

-…

The tips of Parthenope’s fins trembled.

She wanted to sing a song of rage and pain right into his ears.

I don’t know who that is

But in a singing contest, the siren would be at a disadvantage. Parthenope held back and wrote on the slate.

“Is that so… That’s unfortunate. But Miss Phenoterpa.”

-?

“What brings you here?”

-…

Parthenope almost hiccupped without realizing it.

Lee Han pondered and asked just in case.

“Perhaps building the lighthouse is too noisy…”

Came to help

“Ah. Is that really true?”

Lee Han was surprised by the unexpected words.

He thought the siren, being close to a spirit, would be angry about this construction, but to think she came to help.

“I thought you came because it was noisy. Thank you for this. Did Parthenope perhaps recommend you?”

-…

Phenoterpa, no, Parthenope felt like just sinking to the bottom of the sea forever.

How did things end up like this?

“Then I’ll be counting on you.”

The siren nodded weakly.

* * *

-The knight goes forth, struck by arrows and dies!

-Struck by maces and dies, stabbed by swords and dies!

When morning broke, the giants began their work singing vigorously.

The sirens who had been working since dawn earlier than that covered their ears with both hands, suffering from the pig-slaughtering sounds coming from above ground.

-♪♩!!!!!

-♩♩♪!!!!!!

‘Hmm. I haven’t learned the siren language yet, but I can tell those are curses.’

Lee Han worried that the sirens might start attacking in their rage.

The sirens looked at Parthenope with tears welling up in their eyes.

They could accept coming to teach a lesson and ending up helping with work.

Like Parthenope feared that mage, they too feared that mage.

But wasn’t this too much?

Look at those song lyrics that seemed to insult the very pride of sirens!

-♪♩♩♩♪…

Finally unable to bear it, the sirens launched a counterattack following Parthenope’s lead.

When the melancholy song characteristic of their race echoed, the students around the lighthouse also looked up in surprise.

“Those are sirens, aren’t they? Why are sirens here?”

“Did they come to attack because they’re angry?”

“…No, they’re helping with work? Look, they’re pulling boats over there. Though right now they’re having a chorus with the giants…”

If the sirens had heard the word ‘chorus,’ they would have strangled themselves.

To call this spectacle a chorus!

This was a sacred struggle to push back the giants’ ugly songs.

-Hmph!

-Fish! They’re interfering with our songs!

-The knight goes forth, struck by arrows and dies…

-Struck by maces and dies, stabbed by swords and dies!

But surprisingly, these giants didn’t back down easily.

These giants, who had become interested in singing ever since an anonymous mage taught them songs last year, had been practicing steadily for a long time.

They sang while herding sheep, sang while clearing stones, and sang even when the Yaca old man came begging them to please get some sleep…

That chorus practice was shining here today.

Amazingly, they succeeded in holding their ground against the melodies of sirens, the race of song.

The Einrogard students quickly responded.

“Cover your ears!”

“Anyone who doesn’t know auditory protection magic, come quickly and learn it!”

Whether it was siren songs or giant songs, neither would be good for the students.

If the former won, students would fall into a half-hypnotized state, and if the latter won, students would come to hate music.

“Stop! Stop!”

When the musical competition between the two races showed no signs of stopping, Lee Han quickly stepped in to mediate.

“Both of you, please focus on work again. We don’t have time right now.”

Parthenope wrote on the slate that if the giants’ curses were banned, she would truly do her best work.

“Curses? Ah. The songs.”

-Curses!

-Fish are always like that! Always making the waterside noisy!

Naturally, the giants were furious. They joined forces to convey their demands to Lee Han.

-We’ll work with songs!

-No songs, no work! …But there will still be food, right?

Who would have thought that racial disputes rather than magic would be the problem?

The stonemason guild people were right. In actual field work, wisdom other than magic was always more important.

Lee Han frowned as if his head ached and brought out a new proposal.

“Working while listening to the siren’s song?”

-Ugh!

-…

Parthenope ground her teeth furiously.

If only the water wouldn’t overflow, she would dump those lumps into the lakeside!

“Hmm. Then I’ll play music for you, how about that?”

-That’s… hmm. Can we request songs?

“No. And you’re not allowed to sing along either.”

-Aww.

The giants were disappointed, but Lee Han was firm as a wall.

The moment they started singing along, the war between the two races would begin again.

Having persuaded one side, Lee Han returned to the siren and said.

“I’ve agreed to play music for them, that should be fine, right?”

-…

Parthenope looked at Lee Han with eyes full of suspicion and distrust.

Come to think of it, wasn’t this mage the one who taught those giants that terrible song last year!

For such a person to offer to play music instead was unbelievable. If she had to work while listening to horrible music, it made no difference whether giants sang it or a human mage played it.

While the sirens were contemplating, Lee Han took out his ominous violin. Feeling the sinister aura, the sirens became even more wary.

What kind of instrument is that…?!

Feeling the sirens’ gazes, Lee Han concentrated.

‘I can do this. My skills have improved a lot too.’

Though 【Praise the New Students of Einroguard】 and 【Escape to the Shadow Fortress】 were about all he could play in terms of musical magic, considering the nature of musical magic, this was still quite impressive.

Above all, musical magic was about how well you could play one song, not how many songs you could play.

‘I’m going to play with all my heart!’

Just like when he watched the duel between the Insane Doppelganger and the Skeleton Principal and gained inspiration for 【Escape to the Shadow Fortress】.

Lee Han played with the single-minded determination to mediate between the sirens and giants.

It was truly a magnificent march.

Even the giants who had been trying to secretly hum along opened their mouths wide, and the upperclassmen who had been covering their ears quietly released their magic.

And most surprised of all were the sirens.

That mage who lived with those stupid giants, who had the same level of culture and sensibility as giants, could play like that??

It wasn’t just the melody, but the woven mana that drew in the people around and breathed vitality into their work.

When the performance ended, the giants clapped excitedly. They were completely satisfied with such a performance.

And only after the performance ended did Parthenope come to her senses and unconsciously ask a question.

What song was that???

“It’s the song the giants were singing earlier.”

-…

The sirens felt such shame at being moved by such a song that they could have bitten their tongues.

* * *

The stonemason guild members from the capital who visited Einroguard this time were responsible people.

As such, it was natural for them to worry about this commission.

Working within Einroguard itself had a certain level of difficulty, and they had boasted they would finish it in an even shorter time…

They only offered advice since unnecessary interference could be rude, but they couldn’t help worrying.

“Shouldn’t we go and see?”

“We can’t do that. What if they misunderstand and think we don’t trust the mages?”

It wasn’t good to give the mages too much freedom, but it would also be rude to interfere too much.

If you’re going to entrust something, you shouldn’t, but once you do entrust it, you have to have faith.

“Ah. A letter came. It says they’ve gathered the students as scheduled.”

“That’s fortunate! Since they’ve gathered as many Einroguard mages as they wanted, it’s half successful.”

And some time later.

The next letter arrived.

“What does it say? The construction must have started, right? Considering the date, they should have started right away.”

“…It says they cleared the site with the dragon’s power and started construction with the giants’ power.”

“???”

Mages often wrote in codes or metaphors so that knowledge could only be passed on to those who sought it.

Could this be one of those cases?

“Well… we’ll know when we see the results later.”

And some time later again.

The next letter flew in.

“Hand it over! I’ll read it this time. Hmm. The sirens are helping so the timeline might be shortened. They did fight with the giants, but I reconciled them with my performance…”

“Are you joking with me right now?”

“You read it!”

The guild member who thought his colleague was joking snatched the letter and read it.

Then he opened his mouth.

“…Let’s go see for ourselves.”

All the guild members nodded.

Convention or whatever, this was something they really couldn’t bear without seeing with their own two eyes.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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