Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy - Chapter 721

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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 721

“Come to think of it, Angrago. I told you not to get interested in the festival, but you kept saying you’d participate.”

‘Oh no.’

Angrago realized he had made another slip of the tongue and blamed himself.

Perhaps his intelligence had declined because the food had become terrible since the semester started.

“Like this…”

“It requires more mana than expected.”

“That’s true. I’ll help you charge it whenever I get the chance.”

“It’ll take quite a while, so it’s fine.”

Salko declined Lee Han’s offer.

Just from the explanation, the process of charging mana into artifacts was more labor-intensive than expected.

It would be a waste of time for the already busy Wardanaz to help with each task.

“No. I just meant charging it with my mana.”

“…I, I see.”

After temporarily charging everyone’s paper bundle artifacts, Lee Han asked.

“So… what do you think? About meeting regularly?”

“I agree. Moradi might not agree though.”

“I agree too. Of course, Tutanta might not understand the current situation and cause internal strife.”

Lee Han made an expression of being fed up.

Tijiling, who had been listening in front, nodded her head.

“Look at both of them. Even Tiziling Priest is fed up.”

“…I agreed to the meetings.”

“Ah. I see. Right. I’ll take that as agreement.”

“Cooperation is always welcome, Lord Wardanaz.”

“That’s right. It wouldn’t be bad to join forces and burn the upperclassmen.”

At Nigisol’s words, the other students turned their gazes away, pretending not to hear.

Though there were some extreme opinions, the second years needed to stick together now.

The fantasy of meeting reliable and dependable upperclassmen for advice had long since disappeared.

More difficult and complex lectures, greater responsibilities than in first year, upperclassmen who only thought of exploiting underclassmen…

To endure such situations, there was nothing but unity.

“But Wardanaz. Did you bring in a lot of food?”

Giselle suddenly felt puzzled and asked.

Earlier too, Wardanaz had been talking as if he had secured quite a bit of food.

Surely there wouldn’t have been a chance to smuggle during enrollment?

“To some extent.”

“How?”

“Oh my. It’s time to go to lectures. Well then, everyone see you at the next meeting. Everyone hang in there.”

At Lee Han’s words, not only Giselle but others also reflexively responded with “Yeah, take care.”

Giselle only realized it was night after Lee Han had completely disappeared.

“Wait. It’s night right now.”

“…Amazing. Even though it was clearly night, when he said he was going to lectures, it didn’t sound strange at all.”

* * *

When morning came, Lee Han visited the 7th floor and headed to the cooking club.

He wanted to confirm the stories he had heard yesterday before lectures started.

“Uhaha, Wardanaz!”

Falkrious, who had been lighting a fire under a cauldron as big as his body and preparing ingredients since dawn, brightened up upon seeing Lee Han.

As an underclassman he had marked as talent to lead the cooking club in the future, his appearance was bound to be welcome.

“Welcome, welcome! Did you come to help with our soup club’s work?”

“Yes. Senior Falkrious.”

“Puh. But there’s nothing to help with. One of our soup club’s rules is ‘everyone boils their own pot.'”

Falkrious stretched out his hand to stop Lee Han when he tried to help.

The cooking club was one of the clubs often misunderstood as having iron-clad discipline.

The club’s membership conditions were strict, they managed club-owned buildings and grounds rigorously, and members moved in perfect coordination during every meal time, leading to misunderstandings, but inside it was actually quite free.

Selling food to Einroguard students at the club’s restaurant was entirely up to individual freedom.

You just had to procure ingredients yourself, cook, and sell them.

The club merely helped its members.

“Then is the rumor about one gold coin per dish also fake?”

“That one’s real.”

“…”

“Uhaha! That’s like a tradition and identity of this 【Iaktus Soup Club】, so we can’t raise it any higher. Sorry, but please understand.”

“I wasn’t wondering if you could raise it, but if you could lower it.”

“???”

Falkrious was flustered at receiving a completely unexpected question.

It was a question no underclassman or upperclassman had ever asked before.

There were plenty who wanted to raise prices, but wanting to lower them?

“You’re asking if lowering is possible?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“…Well, just curious?”

“Underclassman. Have you ever wondered why there are no ballrooms near Einroguard?”

Usually near Empire schools, there were social clubs as well as ballrooms and banquet halls where those social club members could dance or drink.

Basically, students were beings who liked to have fun, and if they enrolled in boarding schools, their families were usually wealthy.

Naturally, citizens of cities adjacent to schools also welcomed such students as money bags.

But Einroguard didn’t have such things. Since going out was rare to begin with, you had to go quite far to find a village.

“I haven’t particularly wondered about it…”

“Think about it once. Why do you think that is?”

“Students don’t go out, and you can’t operate targeting village people, can you?”

“Puh, right! You know well. When you think about it, it’s obvious logic. That’s why everyone doesn’t bother asking.”

“??”

“Your question about lowering prices sounds exactly the same to me!”

“…”

Looking at the senior bursting into laughter, Lee Han made a displeased expression.

This wasn’t such a funny question, was it?

After laughing for a while and wiping away tears, Falkrious apologized.

“Sorry. You could be curious! Did I laugh too much?”

“So is it possible?”

“Hmm! It wouldn’t work. Other members would lose out.”

“I see. Then when do you make the oath?”

“What oath?”

“The oath not to sell cheaply…”

“Ah. Did you hear from someone outside the club members? Uhaha! Half the rumors at Einroguard are false rumors. Why would we make an oath about something like that? What idiot would sell cheaply!”

It was just a verbal promise, and the cooking club wasn’t generous enough to use expensive reagents and materials to make members swear ‘not to sell cheaply.’

“Puh. Don’t believe false rumors too much. I once heard there was an Unbreakable One at Einroguard. But I searched for over a year and couldn’t find it.”

“That’s…”

“Senior. We’re here.”

With tired voices, other members appeared from behind.

Even though it was morning, the upperclassmen’s faces looked full of fatigue.

Looking down, he saw that in one hand they held bronze geese, and in the other hand baskets full of screaming mushrooms.

“Wardanaz? You’re Wardanaz, right?”

“Hello.”

“Nice to meet you! I’ve really been wanting to meet you.”

“We had to make some concessions because of interference from other clubs, but you’ll definitely like our club the most.”

The upperclassmen smiled brightly.

Thud!

Then one of them suddenly collapsed to the side. Lee Han cried out in shock.

“Are you alright?!”

“Ah. I’m fine. Don’t worry. I just heard too many screams at the farm.”

The sounds that screaming mushrooms emitted were toxic, so even mages could faint or get seriously hurt if they heard too much.

“We originally wanted to pick some Crescent Honey Fruit, but there were too many monsters there today.”

“We really need to increase our mercenaries. At this rate, we’ll have to abandon the eastern part of the farm without even being able to enter.”

“…Wait. Senior.”

“Oh. What? Do you have a question?”

“Why do monsters appear in the club’s farms and pastures?”

“Hm? Of course monsters appear in farms and pastures…”

The senior who was tilting his head paused.

“…Come to think of it, monsters don’t usually appear much in farms or pastures outside, do they?”

“That’s generally the case. Except for the occasional one that wanders in from outside.”

“Oh right. That’s how it was. Sorry about that.”

The senior apologized and explained again.

The pastures and farms that the Soup Club owned were a bit different in concept from those outside.

How should one efficiently obtain food at Einroguard?

Normally one would farm and raise livestock, but it wasn’t easy for already busy students to secure the necessary amounts through such heavy labor.

However, mana sometimes creates miracles.

In places where mana accumulated, unpredictable changes and strange phenomena occurred, and among them was the rapid growth of crops and livestock.

Miraculous lands where crops and livestock prospered abundantly even when left alone.

The Soup Club students had identified several such locations and were using them as farms and pastures.

‘I feel like I’ve experienced something similar?’

Lee Han fell into thought while listening to the upperclassmen.

Come to think of it, Lee Han had experienced something similar too.

When managing Professor Thunderstep’s garden, hadn’t the crops grown much more abundantly than expected?

He had been speculating it was because of the staff the Wood Spirit gave him, but hearing the upperclassmen’s words, it seemed Lee Han’s mana had also had quite a significant influence.

“But monsters also gather in places where mana accumulates. It can’t be helped.”

“Once you get used to it, it’s nothing much. Haha.”

With all that accumulated mana, the Soup Club’s farms and pastures had to be considered monster lairs.

Whenever members wanted to secure ingredients, they formed parties, prepared thoroughly for combat, and went in.

‘I had pointless expectations again.’

Lee Han, who had expected proper farms and pastures, squeezed his eyes shut.

He had made pointless expectations again.

Looking back, the senior who had collapsed from the screaming mushrooms was still unconscious.

“You’re late! Did you guys go by yourselves?!”

“Yeah. You lazy bastard.”

“S-sorry. Can’t you share just for today?”

One senior who arrived late looked at the ingredients the members had brought and pleaded desperately.

However, the members were cold. Falkrious burst into laughter and shouted.

“Uhaha! That’s quite a joke!”

“S-senior. Please help me just once.”

“I’ll help you prepare the food!”

“I don’t have ingredients! If you could lend me some ingredients…”

“Isn’t there an ingredient right there?”

Falkrious pointed his finger. The late senior turned his head.

There was a stone on the ground.

“Just put it in and boil it!”

“…Who’s going to eat that!”

“Then you should have gotten up early and secured ingredients. Pfft. Why do you think your friends got attacked by bronze geese from dawn and fainted from screaming mushrooms!”

Falkrious laughed heartily and patted the late senior’s back.

“If you don’t earn anything today, just earn it tomorrow. Pffhh.”

“I have equipment to buy today. Senior! Then please lend me some money!”

“Uhahaha!”

“Senior!”

“Uhahahaha!”

The late senior realized there was no point in saying more and hung his head low.

“Huhu. One less competitor.”

“I will dominate the dining hall today.”

Lee Han didn’t understand why the upperclassmen were muttering with such enthusiastic voices and asked a question.

“Is there a reason to compete?”

“Of course there is. Junior. We all sell food for one gold coin. Then which food will students buy? Delicious and hearty food? Or soup with just stones boiled in water? If you prepare half-heartedly, you won’t take home a single penny.”

“…!”

Seeing the upperclassmen preparing while burning with competitive spirit, Lee Han realized.

The Soup Club was definitely not a harmonious social club.

Rather, it was a fierce battlefield that seemed like Einroguard itself had been transplanted here!

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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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