Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 654
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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 654
“This way! Please wait just a moment.”
The gatekeepers guarding the Kraha family manor called for servants when the Baldrogard students arrived.
The students were once again amazed by the vast manor grounds. Even among noble families with deep histories, there weren’t many as wealthy as the Kraha family.
“The Kraha family is truly amazing. It would have been great if someone from the Kraha family had entered Baldrogard.”
“Right. I agree. There’s one mage around our age, but I heard he went to Einroguard.”
“Ah. You’re talking about the Prince.”
“Hmph. I don’t like the Imperial Family. They’re just numerous but their pride is excessively high.”
“Watch your words, Basiyu! The Imperial Family are people who carry the bloodline of the great His Imperial Majesty. They deserve respect.”
The Empire’s nobles could be largely divided into three groups.
One was the loyalist faction that believed in and supported the outstanding members of the Imperial Family as the next emperor.
Another was the noble faction that instead of trusting and supporting the Imperial Family, advocated for unity among nobles.
The last one was the neutral faction that had no interest in either. Families like the Wardanaz family were representative neutral factions.
Ingsen was from a loyalist faction family and Basiyu was from a noble faction family, so even though their friendship was close, they couldn’t compromise on such matters.
“Ingsen. Out of respect for your honor, I’ll take back what I just said. Some Imperial Family members certainly deserve recognition! But what about the other Imperial Family members?”
“I won’t say all Imperial Family members are outstanding! But there aren’t many lazy and debauched people. They’re the ones who tarnish the honor of the Imperial Palace! The Prince from the Kraha family must surely be someone who deserves respect.”
“Hmph. Maybe if he were a Baldrogard student, but as long as he’s an Einroguard student, I won’t acknowledge him. He could be vile and twisted.”
“No. Since he’s from the Kraha family, even if Einroguard’s upperclassmen are vile and vulgar, he won’t be easily influenced.”
Ingsen trusted the name of the Kraha family.
A prince who inherited the blood of the Kraha family would surely have the qualifications to earn the trust of loyalist faction families.
“Ah, this is damn hopeless!”
“?”
“The inside would have been better. That place was full of rotten soil… Huh. What am I saying! This crazy mouth, this crazy mouth!”
A boy with bright blonde hair was digging through the soil in shaded areas, dressed in shabby clothes and holding a hoe and dirt shovel.
Seeing this, the two became interested and dismounted their horses to approach.
“Basiyu. What do you think he’s doing?”
“Well. Looking at his clothes, he seems like a manor servant… Is he digging out rotten soil?”
“Could it be magic reagents?”
“Is there magic that uses rotten soil?”
Baldrogard didn’t deal with dark magic. Therefore, the students wondered if there was magic that used rotten soil as reagents.
“The Empire is full of all sorts of strange magic… There might be.”
“Basiyu. Let’s help him.”
Ingsen grabbed his staff and spoke. Basiyu asked back in confusion.
“Help with a servant’s work? Did I mishear?”
It was shameful for a noble to help with a servant’s work.
The servants here would have their own abilities, so why should visiting nobles do menial work?
“You heard correctly. But what’s different from your thinking is that we’ll help with magic.”
“Ingsen, I can only admire your wisdom as always!”
Basiyu admired his friend’s wisdom.
It would be shameful for a noble to squat down and dig soil alongside a servant while traveling, but helping dig soil with magic would be gracious charity.
How much would the helped servant spread word throughout the manor?
“Hey, you there!”
Ingsen called to the servant boy. Gainando turned his head in confusion.
“It looks like you need to dig out soil, so let us help. Now. Step aside!”
“What…?”
“Gather, earth. Gather, earth. Gather, earth…”
Ingsen chanted the spell while concentrating.
Gainando, who had been blinking in confusion at the slow spell casting speed, not knowing what the other person was doing, realized belatedly.
“Wait, don’t tell me right now…”
“…gather!”
Thud!
Along with the spell, the underground soil that Gainando had been digging began to surge upward.
It was a sufficient amount of rotten soil.
Ingsen wiped the sweat beads from his forehead and smiled with satisfaction.
“How’s that? This should be enough for you to collect.”
“…What nonsense are you talking about! You bastard!”
Gainando shouted in anger.
“?!”
Ingsen and Basiyu were so shocked they couldn’t even respond. They never thought they’d hear such words from a manor servant while visiting as guests.
“How, how, how dare you say such things…”
“What do you mean how dare I say such things? I can say it a hundred times! You blockheads! You maggots not even worth sending to the punishment room!”
Gainando stamped his feet in frustration.
When the curses he learned from Professor Mortum came out, the two noble boys became mentally confused.
“You… you dare, to insult us who helped with your work…”
“Help with what! Who do you think is doing this because they can’t dig soil?! Gather, earth!”
When he waved his staff and chanted the spell, soil surged up right next to them.
The two were so surprised they couldn’t even speak.
This was more shocking than the servant cursing.
A servant could cast magic.
And faster and more accurately than the two of them!
“How… how…?!”
“What do you mean how! With such an easy spell! Are you guys really stupid? This soil loses its effectiveness when touched by magic! You have to dig it out with equipment made of grave iron to maintain its effectiveness!”
“That… that’s…”
“We, we didn’t know.”
“Does not knowing end the magic! What are you going to do! I already had trouble finding rotten soil and wandered around all day!”
Gainando jumped up and down.
He had struggled all day preparing dark magic reagents, only to have it all ruined by some passing lunatics.
If he returned like this, Lee Han might suspect ‘You didn’t just go play around, did you?’
“Follow me! You guys explain!”
“We, we have to go now.”
“Let’s go!”
The two hurriedly ran and escaped on horseback.
The momentum of that magic-casting boy telling them to follow was not ordinary.
“Where are you going?! Get down right now! Come back!”
“We, we’re guests! Don’t attack us!”
“What kind of crazy people are these?!”
Gainando was dumbfounded but didn’t cast a curse at their backs.
Still, they were guests of the family, so he couldn’t attack them.
But his frustration was unavoidable.
“Just get caught! Just get caught! I’ll bury you upside down in a dirt pit!”
“Qu, quickly! Drive quickly!”
“He wasn’t a servant. He must be a family mage!”
The two realized while riding away on horseback.
That boy was definitely not a servant but a mage belonging to the Kraha family.
Otherwise, such an eccentric reaction couldn’t be explained.
Where else could you find people as disrespectful of authority and order and as eccentric as the Empire’s mages?
“He looks young, but is he really a family mage?”
“He must have been drinking age-deceiving elixirs!”
“Mages really are nothing but eccentric people. In that regard, I don’t know how fortunate Baldrogard is!”
* * *
“So some strange guests cast magic on the rotten soil you finally found and ran off, making it all disappear?”
“Yeah.”
“…”
His friends looked at Gainando with strange expressions. Eandurude muttered.
“Liar!”
“No! You, how dare a junior suspect a senior?! If you can’t believe it, follow me! I’ll show you!”
“Calm down, Gainando.”
Lee Han soothed Gainando.
In truth, he didn’t really believe Gainando’s words. He had told similar lies many times before.
-Lee Han. The principal’s minion stole my homework.
-Lee Han. The principal’s minion chewed up my magic book.
-Lee Han. The principal’s…
-Hey. Cut it out.
These lies were all the more effective because they could actually happen at Einroguard.
Regardless of whether the lie was true or not, Lee Han first took out what was needed right now.
“Here. This should be enough, right?”
“Huh?! You had some?!”
“I know dark magic too, so I carry reagents with me.”
Lee Han took out a bottle containing rotten soil from his reagent pouch and handed it to Gainando.
“Take it. It’s pretty good quality soil, so it should be sufficient for casting dark magic. We don’t know when the Baldrogard students will come, so you need to have reagents ready.”
“Lee Han…!”
Gainando was moved to tears.
Yoner looked at the soil with curiosity.
‘Where did he get that?’
At Einroguard, dark magic school students built separate towers and lived nearby, so it was easy to obtain, but it wouldn’t be easy to get outside, would it?
“How did you get it?”
“I gathered it in my spare time when I stopped by the Moradi family territory.”
“…”
Durgyu was shocked by Lee Han’s thoroughness in gathering rotten soil during his spare time while visiting another family’s manor.
‘I should keep this secret from Moradi…’
If Giselle knew, she would be furious, saying ‘Who digs up rotten soil in their spare time while visiting someone else’s family?’
“Gainando.”
“Huh?”
“I believe you.”
“…Lee Han!”
Gainando was deeply moved.
Those rotten friends, no, they weren’t even friends.
Those rotten Einroguard classmates didn’t believe him, but Lee Han was different.
“You’re my real friend!”
“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I believe you, so absolutely don’t lose to the Baldrogard students.”
“…”
Realizing something was off about the atmosphere, Gainando stopped being moved and read the room.
Lee Han’s face was as serious as a statue.
“…Well, you know, with magic, there are areas you’re good at and areas you’re clumsy with.”
“That’s right.”
“Then if I’m unlucky, I might lose to the Baldrogard students…?”
“That’s right. But don’t lose.”
“…”
Gainando sent pleading looks to his friends for help, but they subtly avoided his gaze.
They were also scared of Lee Han right now.
“Gainando. If you have weaknesses, you just need to strike at your opponent’s weaknesses first. Anyway, don’t lose. If you lose… no. There’s no need to know in advance.”
“Lee Han…!”
Gainando suddenly wanted to return to Einroguard.
“Everyone. The Baldrogard students have arrived. They would like to meet you all. How should I relay your response?”
“They’re here.”
At Lee Han’s words, his friends tensed up for no reason.
It didn’t seem likely they would lose to the Baldrogard students, but if by any chance they did lose…
‘I might die together with Gainando.’
‘I might die together with Lord Gainando…’
‘I don’t want to die together with Gainando!’
“Tell them to come in. We’ll have to meet them anyway if we’re staying in the same manor.”
* * *
“This is Lord Yoner of the Meikin family. And here…”
When nobles met, servants usually introduced each other’s families and names.
Ingsen and Basiyu, who finished their introductions first, listened intently as the Einroguard students were introduced in turn.
“…And here is Lord Gainando, who carries the bloodline of the Kraha family and the Imperial Palace.”
“Cough.”
“Kheuk.”
“You… you guys are…!”
Not only the two of them, but even Gainando was shocked.
Gainando wanted to shout ‘Soil destroyers!’ but had to keep his mouth shut because Lee Han was glaring at him.
‘Wh-what?’
‘Weren’t they family mages…?’
The two tried desperately to sort out their confused minds, but it only made them feel more tangled up.
“And here is Lord Lee Han of the Wardanaz family.”
“5th… 5th year!”
“??”
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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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