Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 625

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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 625

“Please speak comfortably. Family Head.”

Alsicle courteously yielded the seat of honor.

As a guest visiting another family’s territory, he had received respectful treatment, so now it was time to tell him there was no need for such formality.

“I’ll do that. Penguerin.”

“Please speak comfortably to me as well.”

“Thank you. Wardanaz.”

After exchanging light greetings, they took their seats.

At that moment, a knight staying in the territory knocked on the door.

“Lord Penguerin. You said you would help repair the ice wall today… Gasp! I apologize!”

“No. It seems you had a prior engagement.”

The Family Head gestured without any change in expression. It meant to continue speaking.

“Well, today, Lord Penguerin said he would cast magic on the ice wall at Climbing Rock Cape Fortress because it had weakened. The time has come, so I came to find you…”

“Ah. That’s right.”

Alsicle felt a moment of realization.

He had accepted the knights’ request and promised to cast magic to help with patrols.

“I apologize. Family Head.”

“No. If it’s a prior engagement, that’s understandable. Rather, the Moradi family should be grateful. Take good care of Penguerin and return safely.”

“Yes!”

Alsicle bowed his head in gratitude to the Family Head who didn’t scold the knight and showed consideration for everyone’s dignity.

Then he made eye contact with Lee Han.

‘Gasp!’

Lee Han was looking at Alsicle with the eyes of someone staring at a traitor.

“Th-this isn’t what it looks like!”

“What isn’t?”

“Unlike last time, this is really a coincidence!”

“Ah. Yes. I’m sure it is.”

Lee Han’s gaze toward Alsicle had already dropped to the level of how he looked at the Skeleton Principal.

Feeling that change, Alsicle’s heart ached.

‘Ugh.’

“I’ll be back. Let’s talk again.”

“Yes. Sure.”

“I’m telling you it really wasn’t intentional…”

Alsicle went outside, whining until the very end.

‘Hmm.’

Lee Han felt inexplicably nervous as he was left alone with the Head of Moradi Family (though there was a junior present, he wasn’t much help).

Even Jicklin had an excellent talent for suffocating people when facing them one-on-one, so what about the Family Head?

‘He looks like a cold person.’

He was an elf with such a cold impression that it seemed not a drop of blood would come out even if pricked with a needle.

Lee Han recalled the things he had heard about the family.

One of the most prominent knight families in the north, iron-blooded and cold-blooded, never forgetting grudges…

They had characteristics that were typically Moradi-like.

And if he was the head of such a family, he would be faithfully carrying out the family’s virtues more than anyone else.

“I heard about the evil god worshipper incident. Wardanaz. I express gratitude in the name of the family.”

“I didn’t do it alone.”

“Even so, it doesn’t change the fact that it was remarkable. I heard you’re also close with Giselle. I’m curious how you became friends despite being from different towers. Could you tell me?”

“Cough.”

Lee Han almost spat out his coffee. The junior reading a book nearby looked at him as if asking if he was okay.

He couldn’t very well say ‘Moradi kept picking fights with me’ in front of the Family Head…

“Uh… we became close while overcoming Einroguard’s hardships together.”

The Family Head listened to Lee Han’s words and fell silent for a moment.

Then he asked again as if he didn’t understand.

“All Einroguard graduates would have overcome hardships together, but those from different towers who are close to each other are rare as far as I know. What’s the difference?”

“What the upperclassmen overcame were fake hardships, while what we overcame were real hardships.”

Lee Han answered very shamelessly.

Since he was already making excuses, he planned to do so boldly.

It’s not like the Family Head could know the internal situation of Einroguard anyway…

‘?’

The Family Head who heard Lee Han’s words paused briefly, not understanding.

He wondered if he couldn’t understand because he had never attended Einroguard himself.

‘What’s the difference between fake hardships and real hardships?’

The Family Head who had been pondering soon came to his senses.

This wasn’t what was important right now.

While it was surprising that Giselle had made a friend, that was ultimately Giselle’s business, and what the Family Head himself needed to do was gauge the Wardanaz family’s intentions.

“I see. Wardanaz. How is your Family Head doing these days?”

“He’s still in seclusion. He’s completely absorbed in exploring the outer realms.”

“How admirable. I’ve respected the Head of Wardanaz Family since I was young.”

Saying such words with a cold face made Lee Han feel slightly flustered.

‘Doesn’t he know how to act with his expressions?’

To Lee Han, the empire’s greatest facial expression actor, the straightforward elf Family Head before him was somewhat unfamiliar.

“Then what is your goal, Wardanaz?”

“I’m thinking of becoming an imperial official.”

“Hmm. Is that so.”

‘As expected, he won’t tell me easily.’

The Family Head wasn’t surprised or impatient at the answer the boy before him gave.

The Head of Moradi Family was someone more familiar with nobles’ conversations than knights’ conversations.

It was rare for nobles to bare their hearts on first meeting.

Pretending otherwise on the surface and later revealing fragments of their true feelings when they realized the other was someone worth joining hands with – that was exactly how noble conversations worked.

What could the Wardanaz family boy possibly lack that he would dream of becoming an imperial official?

That was surely just a display of modesty.

‘Lord Gonadaltes highly evaluated the Wardanaz family boy. There’s a strong possibility he’s considering him as his successor. In that case, saying official isn’t completely wrong either. What a remarkable answer.’

The Family Head was quite impressed by the boy’s manner of speaking, combining a display of modesty with subtle metaphor.

It was completely different from other Wardanaz family bloodline members he had met in the past.

“That’s an admirable goal.”

“Do you think so?”

Lee Han brightened up.

He hadn’t expected another family’s head to support him.

“Of course!”

“Thank you.”

“If you become an official, you’ll travel around the empire’s territories. I’d like to personally introduce you to our family’s territory.”

The Family Head proposed to show him the family’s territory, using an appropriate excuse.

If the other party had ambitions, they would surely show some reaction after seeing the Moradi family’s power.

“Oh… I gratefully accept.”

Lee Han accepted without much thought.

Compared to someone like Sir Jicklin coming and suggesting they go hunting, touring the territory was a very mild and comfortable rest.

And it was good for flattery too.

‘It seems to have inherited the cold climate of the north… Hmm. That’s cliché. The energy of the cold northern sea…’

‘His eyes have changed.’

Seeing the Wardanaz family boy seemingly lost in deep thought, the Family Head felt even more anticipation.

* * *

“This is an underground pasture.”

The Moradi Family, situated on massive rock formations, had spent a long time carefully completing various facilities.

Among these facilities were precious installations that would be hard to find in other northern families.

One of them was this underground pasture created by drilling deep into the cave.

“Magnificent!”

“Thank you.”

“To think you drilled through rock like this to create space and use it as a pasture. No other family could match this!”

“You flatter me.”

The Family Head merely responded politely to Lee Han’s praise without showing much interest.

The other person’s praise held no value whatsoever.

What mattered was what kind of agreement would actually be made.

‘Fascinating.’

Lee Han gave some perfunctory flattery then looked around.

Since pastures naturally required open spaces, one would easily think of flat ground above surface, but to have an underground pasture like this deep inside a cave.

Among the animals raised inside were not only ordinary livestock but also rare animals. It was indeed a facility worth boasting about.

“A lot of magic is being used here too.”

“If you thought knight families don’t use magic, you’d be mistaken, Wardanaz. In reality, the Moradi Family has quite a few mages too. Of course, compared to the Wardanaz Family, it’s nothing much…”

“We have fewer. We’re not this ostentatious to begin with.”

While the Family Head analyzed what meaning was contained in that last remark, Lee Han looked around at the animals in the underground pasture and the magic installed around them.

Certainly, having studied diligently for this past year seemed to have paid off, as he could tell what kind of magic was installed.

It was thanks to the harsh training from people like the Skeleton Principal and Professor Verdus.

Lee Han felt a renewed sense of gratitude toward them…

‘No. I’m not grateful.’

…or tried to, but it didn’t quite work out that way.

‘Heat generation, and wind… Ah. Is this for air circulation? Is this for drawing water? This looks like purification magic, there must be animals that dislike filth.’

There was no way the Family Head could miss Lee Han’s behavior as he observed the magic with interest.

As expected of Wardanaz Family blood, he seemed very interested in magic.

“Is there something you’re curious about?”

“Ah. I was just briefly considering whether this could be arranged more efficiently.”

The Family Head found Lee Han’s words intriguing.

He couldn’t tell whether that confidence was justified confidence or arrogant overconfidence.

No matter how much of an Einroguard student he was, it seemed unlikely that a mage who had just become a second-year could fix that…

But the other person was of Wardanaz Family blood, wasn’t he? He might show something extraordinary.

‘Either result doesn’t matter.’

The most important point was that it didn’t matter whether he succeeded or failed.

The other person would feel goodwill toward the kindness the Family Head himself had shown.

“Then give it a try, Wardanaz.”

“What? No. If something goes wrong…”

“Other mages of the family are not far away. Even if problems arise, we can solve them immediately. I think giving experience to a young mage is more important.”

The Family Head spoke without changing his expression. His features were so cold that others would probably be intimidated.

But Lee Han had become too bold to be intimidated by such things.

‘This should be doable enough.’

“Hmm. Then I’ll try it briefly.”

By cutting away the complexly entangled parts for mana maintenance and amplification in the magic circle, and injecting mana close to overload into the remaining parts, it could be configured with a much simpler magic circle.

It was a method only Lee Han could use, being able to cover with his own mana while reducing the number of magic stones.

“…!”

As the work progressed and the flow of mana began to change, the Family Head’s expression, which had remained the same all day, wavered for the first time.

The Family Head looked at Lee Han with amazed eyes. Being an excellent knight himself, the Family Head could instinctively sense what Lee Han was doing.

‘To reduce mana in such a way!’

“I think it’s done. Is there anything wrong?”

“No. Excellent, Wardanaz. I’m impressed.”

“Haha. Thank you. The practice at Einroguard was worthwhile.”

The Family Head quickly calculated the number of magic stones saved by the recent work.

“Would you take a look at other places too? I’d like to hear your opinion.”

“But what I just did is kind of like patching, so it might be difficult for complex magic circles.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’d be grateful if you just looked with a light heart.”

The Family Head smiled for the first time today.

The cooperation with the Wardanaz Family that had been in his mind quickly faded.

His mind became filled with thoughts of how much of the territory could be improved with the genius the boy before him possessed.

* * *

“I’m here?”

Giselle, who arrived at the training grounds, looked around to find where her sister was.

In the deepest part, Jicklin sat with a troubled expression.

“Giselle.”

“Yes.”

“Hmm. Never mind.”

“…Why? You can just tell me!”

Giselle urged her on, curious about what her sister was worrying about.

Most of Jicklin’s worries were useless, but occasionally there were dangerously reckless ones like ‘I want to spar with a giant swordsman.’

“I’m your sister, aren’t I? Trust me and tell me.”

“Hmm.”

After pondering, Jicklin finally opened her mouth.

Giselle listened carefully, wondering what the worry was.

“Father keeps Wardanaz with him, so I can’t show him my swordsmanship.”

“…”

Giselle regretted asking.

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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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