Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 537

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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 537

Though it wasn’t an ability he had wanted, after spending nearly a year at Einroguard, Lee Han had developed the ability to read the Skeleton Principal’s thoughts to some degree.

This was one of those times.

Seeing the mercenaries training to break out of the storage, he could strangely imagine in concrete detail what would happen this year-end.

The Skeleton Principal would suddenly make a fuss about an external attack, tell them to be careful of outsiders, and strangely mercenaries familiar with dealing with mages would come rushing in…

‘Don’t tell me those anti-magic extremists and adventurers from before were also the Skeleton Principal’s trap?’

The Skeleton Principal would have felt very wronged if he heard this, but this was actually close to karma.

Just like the shepherd boy lost trust through repeated pranks, the Skeleton Principal had already lost trust as well.

Lee Han checked the mercenaries’ appearance through the gaps in the storage wall.

It was truly absurd to see mercenaries who looked like they could easily kill a few people as casually as having lunch, getting scared of Death Knights and chattering among themselves about ‘how to deal with mages.’

‘I’ve memorized their faces, so I should tell the others to be careful too.’

Having finished checking the final exam, no, the mercenaries, Lee Han turned around.

To avoid arousing suspicion, he had to return as quickly as possible.

* * *

Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap-

“…?”

Lee Han was bewildered when he returned to the cafe where he had been.

Much more intense applause than when Ifadur had sung one song earlier was erupting from all directions.

‘What? Did Einroguard collapse or something?’

In Lee Han’s imagination, unless Einroguard had collapsed, it would be hard for such thunderous applause to break out.

Amidst the noise, Lee Han grabbed an elf merchant nearby as calmly as possible and asked.

“What happened?”

The elf couldn’t answer. He was sobbing, unable to escape from overwhelming emotion.

“Please sing just one more song!”

“Just one more! Just one!”

“I think we should get going. More importantly, where is that Wardanaz brat?”

At the Skeleton Principal’s words, Lee Han raised his hand.

“I’m here.”

“Why are you over there?”

“People pushed me?”

“You got pushed just because they pushed? Did you attend Einroguard or did you attend a ranch where sheep leisurely graze around?”

The Skeleton Principal scolded Lee Han while gesturing with his hand.

The people who had been lost in emotion tried to reach out with ecstatic expressions at that gesture, but were greatly pushed back by an invisible force.

“Let’s go. I’m doing all sorts of things because of disciples who insist on learning useless magic.”

“Oh, it was truly moving.”

Lee Han said tactfully.

Though he hadn’t heard the Skeleton Principal’s song, judging by the surrounding reactions, it seemed to be quite a moving song.

Ifadur agreed enthusiastically. The old bard’s eyes were moist.

“That’s right…! Isn’t such a song the reason this old poet is alive?”

‘What on earth did he sing?’

Lee Han suspected the Skeleton Principal had summoned Death Knights to threaten people into being moved.

“Stop it. It’s not even a pleasant compliment.”

“How on earth did you learn such an amazing song?”

“When I was a prince, I learned it to make the people in the palace happy. It was a very long time ago.”

Ifadur was moved by the heartwarming story.

However, Lee Han was rather bewildered.

‘I can’t imagine it.’

Being told about the Skeleton Principal’s childhood was just confusing.

It was like being told ‘Professor Boladi was a very kind and gentle child in his childhood’ – just bewildering.

“Let’s go. There’s a place we need to stop by before it closes.”

“Yes? Where?”

“We need to get an instrument too. To practice music magic.”

The central district of Granden City was a quiet space mainly frequented by city nobles and wealthy people.

Among the various antique shops located there was 【Inpallenin’s Trio】.

“Ah. I’ve heard the name. He’s an excellent instrument craftsman.”

“Probably so. His skills were decent when I summoned him for artifact-related work before.”

‘Why trio?’

Lee Han wondered as he followed the two into the shop.

The shop was like a museum of instruments.

Various instruments were displayed, from familiar ones Lee Han knew the names of to strange-looking instruments he was seeing for the first time.

The faint sound of a seven-stringed zither could be heard from somewhere, then stopped abruptly.

Soon after, Inpallenin, the shop owner, appeared.

‘Ah.’

Lee Han could understand why the shop was called a trio. Inpallenin was an asura with three heads and six arms.

“My… my… my goodness. The two people I respect most have come to my shop…!”

“Calm down. Keep your arms still.”

The Skeleton Principal hurriedly stopped Inpallenin, worried he might knock over some instruments by wildly swinging his six arms.

He couldn’t bear to see this well-organized reddish-brown space become a mess of broken instrument debris.

“Wh, what brings you here… Do you perhaps need help making artifacts? But I… I… well…”

“We didn’t come to ask for artifacts.”

At the Skeleton Principal’s words, Inpallenin’s face brightened considerably.

“Thank goodness! I wasn’t confident I could meet that mage’s demands…!”

“…”

Lee Han looked at the Skeleton Principal, somehow understanding the rampage of a certain mage.

The Skeleton Principal also seemed genuinely sorry as he sighed and said.

“…I’m sorry about that. You won’t have to deal with that bas… that person, so don’t worry. If they ask for work in the future, I’ll make sure to keep distance.”

“No. It was an honor to be entrusted with the work, but it was due to my inadequacy.”

“We came to buy an instrument today. This disciple here wants to perform… By the way. Do you know how to play any instruments?”

The Skeleton Principal asked without much expectation.

Naturally there wouldn’t be any, so he was thinking of choosing the easiest instrument.

Like a pan flute or kalimba…

“I know how to play the violin.”

“Violin?”

The Skeleton Principal was surprised by the unexpected answer.

Though music was included in nobles’ liberal arts education, that was only for appreciation, not performance.

To perform at a decent level required painstaking effort, which didn’t suit lazy nobles.

But the Wardanaz family boy knew how to play violin.

“The Wardanaz family doesn’t even hold concerts often, do they? You must really love music.”

“No…”

Having mentioned an instrument he had learned without much thought, Lee Han was flustered to suddenly become a music enthusiast.

“I don’t particularly love music that much.”

“Right. Right. Of course.”

“…”

The Skeleton Principal treated Lee Han’s words like a rolling pebble, then began discussing instruments with Ifadur.

Lee Han glared at the Skeleton Principal.

“How about this one?”

“The wood is too fierce. Such an instrument would damage the performer’s reputation.”

“That’s a valid point. This back plate is too unique. Even if the resonance is good, it would develop bad habits.”

“Excellent. Ah. This one is quite nice. You used red elm wood.”

“Red elm wood? The elemental balance seems too skewed to one side… Let’s set it aside for now. We’ll know once we try it.”

Excited Inpallenin also rushed over.

“In my opinion, if that student is going to use it, how about this one? To make this bow, I waited a month in the cold Sageumpalri Mountain Range…”

Lee Han, who had been blankly watching the three of them chatting excitedly, suddenly became curious and asked.

“But Principal. Whose money are we using to buy the instrument? Don’t tell me I have to pay…?”

“Don’t say such ridiculous things. People might misunderstand if they hear that.”

The Skeleton Principal reacted faster than usual, perhaps because there were listening ears nearby.

“Of course I’ll pay with my gold coins. It’s necessary for magical research.”

“Huh? Is that really okay?”

“Yes. It’s damn expensive, but there’s no choice. Remember this well. In magical research, if you try to save money unnecessarily, you’ll end up spending more later.”

‘Is this why Imperial Officials hate Einroguard?’

The Skeleton Principal’s words did make sense though.

If you used cheap materials and equipment to save gold coins, the results could go wrong.

Then you’d have to experiment again and the costs would be that much more…

To avoid such situations, it was better to prepare with full commitment from the beginning.

Of course, such arguments weren’t very persuasive to the bureaucrats in charge of the Empire’s finances.

No matter how rationally they tried to think, receiving reports like ‘We burned half a ton of pure gold to explore magic haha, but it’s still incomplete so please provide more support’ would make their necks stiffen and their vision go dark.

“Thank you. I’ll use it well.”

“Good. Don’t go selling it anywhere.”

“…”

“Why can’t you answer right away?”

“I was briefly worried someone might steal it.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll cast magic on it, so if anyone steals it, I’ll chase them down and retrieve it for you.”

‘Tch.’

Lee Han clicked his tongue inwardly at the Skeleton Principal’s thorough statement.

No matter what excuse he made, selling it seemed impossible.

“It would be good to choose one of these three…”

“I think so too.”

After a long discussion, the choices were narrowed down to three.

One was made from fully grown eight-stage wood, a stable violin where Inpallenin had observed only the most famous violins in the Empire and combined their advantages.

The other was made using young red elm wood. It was a fellow with quite adventurous body and fingerboard structure, so while less stable, it had a unique character and was good for growing together with a young performer.

And the last one wasn’t a violin made by Inpallenin, but one he had purchased.

It was an ominous object steeped in all sorts of bloody history: the previous performer died from love affair issues, the one before that died in an unfortunate accident during performance, the one before that died in a fire, and so on.

“The first one seems safe…”

“I think so too. After all, the student lacks experience…”

Lee Han was naturally going to choose the first one, but the Skeleton Principal made a firm decision.

“The third one looks good.”

“Why on earth?”

To Lee Han’s question, the Skeleton Principal answered as if it were absurd.

“Can’t you feel that mana? It’s rare for a natural object to have that much mana imbued in it.”

“No…”

Did we come to choose an instrument or to pick a mana-infused object?

Of course Lee Han also knew that mana could be felt from the third violin.

It was just that it felt damn sinister and violent.

When all the owners had met tragic fates without exception, it would be stranger if the felt mana was pure and peaceful.

“Thinking about music magic, you should naturally choose an object with high mana.”

“But it’s an ominous object.”

“Look at your arms.”

“?”

Lee Han looked at his arms at the Skeleton Principal’s words.

The cursed artifacts he usually wore were jingling.

“A guy who’s wearing cursed artifacts all over himself, what… Take this one.”

“A-are you really sure? This wasn’t put out for sale…”

“Then it’ll be cheaper!”

* * *

When all schedules were finished, the weekend was almost over.

Lee Han sighed as he rode the carriage through Einroguard’s castle gate.

Even Lee Han felt bitter as the golden weekend ended like this.

“Oh.”

When the Skeleton Principal casually opened his mouth while looking ahead, Lee Han also turned his gaze.

Professor Boladi was waiting with an expressionless face.

“Why is the Professor like that?”

“Oops… Damn it. I forgot. Originally Professor Bagrek said he had something to teach you on the weekend.”

“Why on the weekend?”

“On weekdays, his time would be completely filled because of the other professors.”

“…?”

Lee Han tilted his head at the unidentifiable sense of discord he felt from the conversation.

The professors’ information sharing was too natural.

What’s this?

“Professor Bagrek! Sorry for disrupting the schedule, but there was a reason.”

The Skeleton Principal who got off the carriage approached Professor Boladi. Lee Han, who was tied up helping Ifadur get off from behind, was shocked by the following words.

“That guy was very interested in music magic and kept pestering me to go out together. So I had no choice. Well then, I’ll be going.”

The Skeleton Principal returned to his skeleton form and disappeared with a whoosh.

When Lee Han made eye contact with the expressionless Professor Boladi, he unconsciously looked at Ifadur.

‘Hmm. That would be impossible for me.’

Lee Han’s magic was too lacking to blame Ifadur and disappear.

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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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