Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 293

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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 293

‘What? Is this a trap?’

Lee Han hesitated when other elders from the family came out instead of Asan.

Could it be that Asan was using this trick because he didn’t want to repay the silver coins he borrowed?

‘No. Asan isn’t that evil of a guy.’

But he couldn’t let his guard down.

Even if Asan wasn’t like that, other people from the family could use underhanded methods.

Not all nobles were honorable people.

If there were those who truly worshipped honor, there were also those like Lee Han who considered honor just a matter of keeping up appearances.

There were quite a few ways to maintain noble honor while not repaying money.

For example, if they found fault with Lee Han’s attitude and issued an eviction order saying ‘How dare a guest commit such rudeness. Please leave immediately!’ Lee Han would be pushed out before he could even say to return the borrowed money.

If that happened, things would become quite troublesome.

Since Lee Han was also from the Wardanaz family, he couldn’t protest in front of the manor shouting ‘The Dalcard family should repay the borrowed silver coins!’

The noble way was to be direct and rough for large amounts, but for small amounts like Lee Han’s case, it was to spread rumors that would damage the opponent’s reputation and bring shame to their honor…

‘The problem is that whether the Dalcard family gets disgraced or not, I won’t get a single silver coin back.’

A mutually unhappy ending.

That absolutely couldn’t happen.

The best method was still to avoid giving the opponent anything to find fault with.

“Greetings. I am Lee Han of the Wardanaz family.”

Lee Han greeted as politely as possible, without deviating even an inch from proper etiquette.

Seeing this, the stern faces of Daihal and Hidan softened very slightly before returning to normal.

It was such a brief moment that no one around noticed, but Lee Han was different.

A genius of perception acknowledged even by the Skeleton Principal, capable of reading the emotions of even Einroguard’s eccentric professors!

‘It seems I passed the first impression test.’

The other party seemed satisfied, but Lee Han didn’t let his guard down.

He still hadn’t figured out their true intentions.

“To meet a mage from the Wardanaz family like this. It’s an honor. I am Daihal of the Dalcard family.”

“I am Hidan of the Dalcard family.”

Lee Han shook hands with the two twins. Their hands were dry and cold.

“Being from the Wardanaz family, you must be standing out at Einroguard as well.”

“Not at all. Family bloodline doesn’t necessarily guarantee ability, and there are so many excellent students at Einroguard.”

The twins’ faces hardened slightly again.

To think someone from the prestigious Wardanaz family of the Empire would say such weak words.

They began to suspect he might be lacking in ability.

“Is that so? Excuse me, but I’m curious about which students are superior to a mage from the Wardanaz family. What kind of students are they?”

“Uh.”

Lee Han was at a loss for words.

Of course, since he was the year’s top student.

The harm of excessive modesty!

‘Damn. Did I make a mistake?’

“?”

When Lee Han didn’t answer, light wrinkles appeared on the twins’ brows.

Then Asan whispered quietly from the side.

“Brother. Sister. Wardanaz is the year’s top student.”

“Is that really true?”

“You’ve made a very fine friend.”

Daihal and Hidan’s expressions relaxed enough to be called ‘soft’ for the first time today.

Asan couldn’t help but be surprised seeing such an expression from the usually strict pair for the first time.

“…Wardanaz being top of the year isn’t something to be that happy about, is it? You’re not usually like this…”

“What are you talking about? We’re happy about the fact that you’ve made a decent friend.”

“We usually have nothing to be happy about because you keep making mistakes. If you had done things properly from the start, it would have been fine.”

Lee Han, listening from the side, thought to himself.

‘Hmm. These are quite crazy people.’

It might have been a bit rude, but seeing how they nagged their younger brother like that, they didn’t seem quite right in the head.

Looking at them, he could guess why the two had come out. They came out to assess what kind of person their younger brother’s friend was.

‘I’m really glad I came before Gainando.’

Lee Han had the exact same thought as Asan.

“And who is this person…”

Daihal asked, looking at Ratford.

As Ratford, overwhelmed by the atmosphere, hesitantly tried to speak, Lee Han struck first.

“This is Ratford. He’s the top student in his tower.”

“!”

Once again, Daihal and Hidan’s expressions softened.

“You’ve made an excellent friend.”

“Learn much and strive hard.”

“The first reception room should be empty now, use that. Call for anything you need.”

The twins once again greeted Lee Han and Ratford politely and withdrew with satisfaction.

Ratford asked in confusion.

“But I’m not the top student in my tower?”

“I meant the top thief. Let’s go.”

“…”

Ratford and Asan looked at Lee Han as if he were absurd, but Lee Han didn’t care.

* * *

“…So that’s why they’re like that.”

“Oh my.”

After hearing Asan’s detailed explanation, Lee Han felt sorry for him.

‘Wait. The atmosphere isn’t right for asking when I’ll get my money back.’

No matter how much Lee Han wanted to get his money quickly and go to the next manor, he wasn’t heartless enough to bring up his business in front of a friend saying ‘My life is painful because of my too-excellent brother and sister.’

“Sorry, Wardanaz. Actually, I’m not the only one with this kind of worry. You’re similar too, right Wardanaz?”

Not all great noble families were happy and comfortable.

With the heavy honor and responsibility of the family’s history placed on their shoulders from birth, the family’s children had no choice but to compete fiercely with each other.

Of course, to Lee Han, it sounded quite like a rich person’s complaint.

It was better to compete fiercely within a family than to be without a family and not compete fiercely at all…

And most importantly, Lee Han’s situation was different from Asan’s.

“No. Our family has no interest in each other.”

“Really? Well, the Wardanaz family is rather unique.”

Among the great noble families, there were few as uninterested in the Empire’s politics or social affairs as the Wardanaz family.

A single-minded family that poured all their interest solely into magic.

“But Asan, about the borrowed…”

“Ah! What should I do? Wardanaz? I don’t want to disappoint my brother and sister! Help me, Wardanaz. You’ll definitely be able to give me 100% reliable advice.”

“…”

Lee Han was flustered but calmly changed the subject.

“You said there’s a gathering at the estate salon today. You can show your abilities there.”

Lee Han didn’t know what level the other magic school students were at either.

But one thing was certain.

They absolutely couldn’t be better than Einroguard students.

‘No matter how I think about it, that’s impossible.’

Asan’s magical skills would be more than enough to impress the guests who came to the gathering.

Then Asan’s older brother and sister would also be satisfied with their younger brother’s abilities…

…and Lee Han could receive the money he lent and leave.

“Indeed. At the gathering. That’s a good idea.”

“Actually, something even better would be to just pretend he doesn’t exist.”

“Thanks for the joke, Wardanaz. It gave me confidence.”

‘It wasn’t a joke though.’

* * *

Just because the city’s famous figures gathered in a salon didn’t mean they did anything particularly extraordinary.

In fact, except for the refreshments and drinks served, it wasn’t much different from the tower’s lounge.

Musicians played chamber music (in the tower’s lounge, students sang about being hungry), well-dressed nobles sat playing chess or card games (same as in the tower’s lounge), and talked about recent interesting events in the city…

“This is a gem staff I recently acquired. Three other people were after it besides me, so it was quite troublesome, but it was worth the effort.”

“I’m worried because the price of amad has gone up quite a bit lately. I’ve commissioned a workshop, but if they demand a higher price…”

‘How familiar.’

From bragging about acquired items to discussing recent worries, it was exactly the same as the tower students.

“Oh. Are you perhaps students from Einroguard?”

When Lee Han, Asan, and Ratford revealed themselves, several guests turned their gazes toward them.

Since it was vacation period and they had heard that someone of Dalcard Family blood had enrolled in Einroguard, they couldn’t help but be curious.

“That’s correct.”

“What an honor! I’m called Guwon. I run a modest silk and fabric business.”

The elf Guwon’s words were close to modesty. Someone who ran a small fabric business could never dress like Guwon.

Silk with embroidered patterns and accessories on his wrists.

One could guess how wealthy he was.

‘A rich person.’

And Lee Han liked rich people.

“I’m Lee Han from the Wardanaz Family. Please treat me well.”

Lee Han extended his hand with an artificial smile to win favor, just like before.

And Lee Han could see it.

Fear flashing like flames in the other person’s eyes.

“War… Wardanaz Family…! Please, please treat me well…”

“…”

Lee Han lamented inwardly.

He just wanted to become friendly, but just the name of the Wardanaz Family caused this result!

Still, Lee Han didn’t give up and spoke.

“Though I’m still inexperienced, if you need any help related to magic…”

Actually, this was a proposal without much meaning.

Of course, even a 1st year Einroguard student had much more solid skills than the wandering mages most easily encountered outside.

Mages were an extremely rare profession, and thanks to that, there were quite a few who boasted about being mages just by summoning a single flame.

But someone who could participate in a gathering like this would have the ability to call upon proper mages, not such wanderers.

In other words, Lee Han’s proposal wasn’t really asking them to tell him if they needed magical help, but was closer to meaning ‘let’s use that as an excuse to become friendly with each other.’

“Yes… I’ll do that. Thank you for your consideration.”

‘Damn. It failed.’

Of course, the other person’s reaction wasn’t very good. Lee Han felt bitter.

“You’re Einroguard students?”

Lee Han and his friends turned their heads.

At a glance, they could tell the other person was a mage. The flow of mana around the other person was different from other places.

“That’s correct.”

“I heard you’re new students, may I check your skills once?”

If it had been any other occasion, Lee Han would have used his family name or whatever else to crush them, saying ‘Who are you to arrogantly try to test me? Have you ever given me gold coins? Are you a professor?’, but now was different.

He had been planning to display his magical skills in front of the people participating in the gathering anyway.

‘How grateful.’

Originally, this kind of thing couldn’t just be done casually.

If Lee Han went first with something like ‘Ladies and gentlemen, please look this way, those from Einroguard will show you something,’ it would damage his dignity and honor.

This way, when the other party first said ‘I’ve heard your name, I’d like to see your skills,’ the correct answer was to pretend to be reluctant and say ‘Well then, just once’!

“Though my skills are still lacking, I’ll do my best.”

“What’s happening?”

“The Einroguard students are going to show us magic.”

“Great fortune followed us today. To think we’d get to see something like this.”

The guests nearby also stopped their conversations and games and began showing interest.

A perfectly prepared situation.

‘But who is this person?’

“Let me introduce myself formally. I’m called a disciple of the Baller Family. I received instruction in magical advancement at Baldrogard.”

“Ah.”

“Hmm.”

One of the guests nearby let out an exclamation of admiration.

“Baldrogard! Isn’t that one of the Empire’s finest magic schools!”

‘Is this how school spirit develops?’

For a moment, Lee Han almost flared up and retorted without realizing it.

What kind of magic school allows students to go out freely whenever they want?

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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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