Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 632

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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 632

While they were having their conversation, Duke Ikalderen finally managed to spit out the gag that had been in his mouth.

Even though he had been captured and dragged here, the Duke tried not to lose his usual dignity and authority as he spat out his words.

“What… what is the meaning of this!”

The three stopped their chatter and looked at the Duke.

Duke Ikalderen seemed to think it would be much more likely to persuade the other two rather than the Skeleton Principal, so he turned his gaze.

Between the Skeleton Principal’s ambitious top student and Alsicle of the Penguerin family, who would be more reasonable?

“Alsicle of the Penguerin family!”

Lee Han felt slightly hurt that Duke Ikalderen called for Alsicle instead of him.

In this situation, wasn’t he more trustworthy than Alsicle?

‘We’ve even talked before.’

“You’ve got the wrong person.”

Alsicle pretended not to know, not wanting to get involved in this matter.

However, there weren’t that many penguin beastmen in the Empire. Especially penguin beastmen with bloodlines as pure as Alsicle’s were even rarer.

“Aren’t you Alsicle of the Penguerin family! Are you going to just stand by and watch this illegal scene?”

“No. Gonadaltes sir. If you’re going to gag him, you should do it properly.”

Alsicle grumbled.

Wasn’t it because the gag wasn’t properly secured that he had to hear such words?

Having heard the words directly, it would be difficult to back out later if problems arose.

Despite Alsicle’s cold response, the Duke didn’t give up. Instead, he shouted even more sternly and forcefully.

“Think of the Penguerin family’s reputation. Do you think you can just stand by now? Are you planning to just watch the evil deeds of these two?”

“…Uh, wait. Why two, Your Highness?”

Lee Han protested as if it were absurd.

The Skeleton Principal was the one who kidnapped him, Lee Han had nothing to do with it!

Of course, the Duke ignored Lee Han’s words, pretending not to hear them.

In the Duke’s mind, Lee Han had already been firmly branded as the Skeleton Principal’s top student and accomplice in this kidnapping.

“No matter how great an Archmage you may be, there are Imperial laws, and you absolutely have no authority to commit such acts…”

“Ah. Stop whining, you brat.”

The Skeleton Principal spat out as if annoyed.

“Do you think I kidnapped you without any thought? Of course I kidnapped you because it was okay to kidnap you.”

“What… that’s nonsense…”

Even as he spoke, the Duke felt fear rising within him.

In the current situation, there was only one reason the Skeleton Principal could act so freely.

“I’m talking about your subordinates who entered Einroguard. Did you think they weren’t caught? They were captured the moment they entered.”

‘Wow. How shameless.’

Lee Han clicked his tongue inwardly.

To not find them for nearly a year (though it was admittedly hard to find them when they were turned into statues) and then find them just before vacation and act as if he knew all along.

However, the bluff was very effective. The Duke felt as if he had been hit in the back of the head with a hammer.

‘He knew from the beginning…?!’

When his subordinates’ contact was cut off, he thought they might have gone missing or died, but to think they had been captured.

Then what were the actions of the Skeleton Principal and the Wardanaz family boy who came to visit afterward?

“Then, then why did you just…”

“I was waiting to see how you would act. You played quite entertainingly.”

“!!!!”

The Duke froze stiff as if struck by lightning, unable to move. It was a shock as if the sky was falling.

He, who had wielded strong influence in the Empire’s political and social circles through conspiracies and schemes his entire life, had been played without noticing anything.

It was simply unbelievable.

“That’s… that’s impossible…! Was it all an act? Even when that boy tested me?”

“Uh, that wasn’t really an act…”

“That’s right. He was playing with you.”

“…”

Lee Han had nothing particular to say, so he just nodded. He couldn’t ruin the Skeleton Principal’s plan here.

The Duke seemed to have no strength left to shout and was dejected.

The person who had been so imposing when wearing dozens of artifacts now looked as pitiful as a sick old man.

Seeing this, the Skeleton Principal patted the Duke’s shoulder.

“Cheer up. It’s not that you’re lacking. I’m just that great.”

“Immortality… does it make sense for you to have the secret of immortality all to yourself!”

The Duke shouted desperately, unlike before.

“Among the Imperial mages, you’re the most cunning and sinister, so you must have it. The secret of immortality! To keep it all to yourself. That should rightfully be given to the Empire’s nobles!”

“Not to the Empire’s nobles, but to you.”

The Skeleton Principal was indifferent.

There had always been old nobles who came to the Skeleton Principal when the time came, acting as if they had entrusted him with the secret of immortality.

Having seen it so many times, he felt no particular emotion about it anymore.

“Don’t speak as if you represent the nobles when you’d have a fit if I said I’d spread the secret to lower nobles.”

“The most noble nobles should have priority in managing that secret!”

“Your definition of nobility is a bit different from mine.”

The Skeleton Principal answered indifferently.

“Brat. You probably think of yourself as some great pillar of the Empire, don’t you? Since you hold multiple titles and are responsible for multiple affairs, you must have worried about how chaotic the Empire would become if you disappeared.”

The Duke didn’t answer, but a faint sense of agreement could be felt on his face.

“But the reality is, most of the work you do is like children’s house-playing games. The work you do wouldn’t matter to the Empire even if you didn’t do it. It wouldn’t matter to the Empire even if no one did it. Do you know what a real great pillar of the Empire is? Someone like the Head of Wardanaz Family here is a truly great pillar. Exploring the outer realms and protecting the Empire from the monsters and demons that flow out from there – that’s truly important work.”

The Skeleton Principal was neither angry nor contemptuous beyond necessity.

He was just speaking with annoyance, as if explaining to someone who knew nothing.

That boredom made the Duke even more terrified.

“The reason you could play house comfortably with the nobles was because people like me, the Family Head, or the Emperor were protecting you. Nobility? Do you know what your ancestors were doing during the great chaos of old? They locked every gate they could and stuck their heads in fireplaces by themselves. Praying that the demons would just pass by. A guy whose only achievement in life was being born to the right father – what nobility are you claiming?”

The Skeleton Principal took a step forward. The Duke instinctively squirmed to escape, but there was nowhere to run.

“Do you want to know the secret of immortality? I’ll tell you. I’ve never hidden any secret of immortality. Brat. Someone like you would think my storage is full of immortal treasures passed down from ancient times, but what sleeps in my storage are only vicious and cursed artifacts. Items that would bring disaster to the continent the moment a brat like you took them out. Even if such treasures existed, could someone like you handle them? Someone like you who doesn’t even know the basics of magic?”

The Skeleton Principal tapped the Duke’s head with the tip of his staff.

“There’s only one secret that can reach immortality. Magic. Give up the idea of finding the secret of immortality through treasures. Immortality isn’t what you think it is.”

Even after the Principal finished speaking, the Duke was overwhelmed and couldn’t give any response.

The Skeleton Principal threw the Duke aside as if he didn’t care much and said.

“I’ll have to lock him up in Einroguard for a few years. If you happen to meet him in the punishment room, don’t release him.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Seeing how you released Beavle, I thought you had a hobby of releasing detestable people.”

“…”

Realizing that continuing the conversation would only be disadvantageous, Lee Han changed the subject.

“But why are you planning to imprison His Highness the Duke? It seems like you’ve already taken everything…”

Duke Ikalderen wore artifacts worth enough to buy a castle when he went around.

Seeing that the Skeleton Principal had brought him here, he must have removed all those artifacts.

And if he removed them, they certainly went into the Principal’s pocket.

There was no way he wouldn’t have taken other things while taking the artifacts, so he probably scraped up quite a bit of the manor’s wealth too…

“What are you talking about? This is just the beginning.”

The Skeleton Principal reproached Lee Han’s naive thinking as if he was dumbfounded.

Young people these days didn’t know the old traditions well.

In the old days, when you caught a noble once, it didn’t end with just taking what they had.

They would expand to the noble’s family, the noble’s paternal and maternal family lines, etc., and extort ransom money.

Of course, the other side wasn’t naive either, so they wouldn’t give up easily, but ultimately such negotiations were bound to favor the person holding the party involved.

Duke Ikalderen might want to pay as little compensation as possible now, but the longer he stayed in the punishment room, the more suddenly non-existent wealth would appear and he would be able to pay appropriate compensation.

“…”

“…”

Lee Han and Alsicle exchanged glances.

‘Should we get going now?’

‘Sounds like a good idea.’

“Well then, we’ll be taking our leave now.”

“We’ll see you next time, Gonadaltes.”

“Yes. Be careful. You both worked hard. See you at school.”

The Skeleton Principal waved goodbye along with the Death Knights.

Lee Han woke up his junior who was sleeping in the adjacent cabin, then quickly exited the carriage with Alsicle.

* * *

Alsicle checked his attire. An unusual tension filled his entire body, quite unlike his usual self.

Eandurude asked with a look of confusion.

“Going to a duel?”

“Must be nice being stupid. You don’t even know what kind of family the Wardanaz Family is, so you can be at ease… Ack! You bastard!?”

Eandurude immediately kicked Alsicle in the shin. Alsicle screamed from the surprise attack.

-Oh, you’re bringing that guy to your family home?

-Yes. He’ll be returning to Einroguard when the break ends anyway, so I thought I’d have him study with me until then. I’m worried he might learn strange things if he stays with the Principal.

-That’s more than he deserves. To think he gets to visit the Wardanaz Family.

-It’s not that big a deal though? If you’d like to visit too, Alsicle, you’re welcome to come.

-What? Really?

-Yes. Our family doesn’t invite people over simply because there aren’t many people in the family, not because we have some strict rules.

-Wait, wait just a moment. Let me get some new clothes tailored.

-That’s not necessary though…

The three finished their preparations and found a carriage to ride near the village.

The yawning coachman looked at the three and asked.

“Where are you headed?”

“Please take us to the Wardanaz Family Estate.”

“…”

The coachman, who had been sitting comfortably just moments before, suddenly straightened his posture. His expression was filled with fear.

“The… the Wardanaz Family?”

“No?”

“??”

“????”

Alsicle and Eandurude stared at Lee Han. However, Lee Han answered shamelessly.

“We’re visiting as guests.”

“Ah… Phew. I see.”

The coachman’s tension decreased by about 5%.

It was natural, as guests visiting the Wardanaz Family weren’t ordinary people either.

“Why lie?”

“People around here get too frightened when they hear the family name.”

‘Even so, do people usually lie about their own family name?’

Alsicle thought to himself.

The carriage raced quickly along the forest path. The chirping of birds and the sound of leaves rustling in the wind. The thick canopy of green made the mages feel pleasant.

Clatter-clatter-

“Oh. Are those knights from the Wardanaz Family?”

Hearing the sound of hoofbeats in the distance, Alsicle wondered if they were knights.

Great noble families with vast territories had knights who patrolled their lands.

They not only caught intruders but also served to welcome and escort guests.

Hearing the hoofbeats, they definitely seemed like knights…

A monstrous demon with dozens of hooves arrived in front of the carriage.

-Are you guests?

“Hic, hiic!”

Seeing the coachman hiccupping in terror, Alsicle suddenly felt sorry for no reason.

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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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