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Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy Chapter 655
🕑 Added 2024-07-13 03:24:18 +0000 UTCChapter 655
"H-how could they say such a terrible thing at first meeting?"
Priestess Siana muttered in shock.
Among Einroguard students, saying "5th year" was worse than insulting one's family.
Even if they were enemies, how could they tell someone to stay at Einroguard for that long?
"C-calm down, Priestess. It might have a different meaning in Baldurguard."
"No magic school would mean 'rot for 5 years' as a good thing!"
Ingsen was flustered by the words of the snake mixed-blood student wearing Flameng Order priest robes.
The priestess' language was too rough.
'Is she not a priestess...?'
"What do you mean by 5th year?"
Yi-Han, who had been maintaining a quiet silence, finally spoke.
There was no particular change in his expression, but Yonaire could sense the subtle killing intent hidden beneath Yi-Han's statue-like face.
Even for a friend as iron-walled as him, it was hard to endure being told to attend for 5 years.
"That... Um... Are you Senior Yi-Han of the Wardanaz family? Einroguard's 5th year..."
"?"
"?????"
Not only Yi-Han, but his friends were also flustered.
What year?
"5th year?"
"Yes. 5th year... Oh, are you 4th year?"
"..."
Finally realizing that the Baldurguard students were mistaking Yi-Han's year, his friends started whispering.
"Why do those bastards think Wardanaz is a 5th year?"
"Isn't it because of what happened in Granden City?"
"What did I do?"
"You fought the King of Ghouls, fought a Basilisk, fought a Sea Serpent, fought anti-magic extremists, fought magic criminals, and all that."
"...W-well, there are things I didn't do in Granden City."
Yi-Han, having no rebuttal, grasped at straws.
Of course, it wasn't very effective. His friends ignored Yi-Han's words.
"Well, rumors spread quickly. If I heard such rumors, I would have thought he was a 4th year senior too."
"But they're thinking he's 5th year?"
"No, even so, it's strange. There's no way the events in Granden City and Einroguard could spread that far."
Yi-Han spoke again, but his friends ignored him once more.
"Guys, can you not hear me?"
"Um..."
The two Baldurguard students were flustered as the atmosphere turned strange.
"Senior, are you not 5th year?"
"Rather, I'm curious why you thought I was 5th year."
At those words, Basiu spoke quietly so only Ingsen could hear.
"Oh no, he must be 4th year."
"..."
While Yi-Han was looking at Basiu in disbelief, Ingsen stepped forward to explain.
"Last year, our school's seniors visited Einroguard. At that time..."
"Ah, so that's what happened."
At Ingsen's words, Yi-Han realized what had occurred.
"What is it?"
"Remember the assignment Professor Knighton gave us during the festival last time?"
"What was it? Imperial rainfall and resulting road damage, and repair cost calculation?"
"The number of mages needed to maintain the empire's fortress network?"
"Research possible within Einroguard using Yi-Han's mana?"
Because he was a professor who gave so many assignments, the friends' answers were all over the place.
Some of them weren't even given.
"All wrong. And the last one wasn't even assigned."
"Oh. Yi-Han. The professor mentioned the last one when you weren't there. You were carrying out the pocket knife fortress mission assigned from outside at that time."
"..."
Yi-Han was shocked.
To think they tried to sell him out to his friends while he wasn't present!
"...That's not what I meant. Remember the light and illusion statue Professor Knighton made during the festival?"
"Ah."
Finally, his friends realized what Yi-Han was talking about.
During last year's festival, many outsiders had visited, and they, as first-year students, had worked hard to prepare to entertain those outsiders.
One of those was Professor Alpen's magic circle. Creating light and illusions...
"That wasn't an assignment, but something you did without the professor even asking..."
"Shh. Nillia. Yi-Han can get hurt too."
Yonaire stopped Nillia.
Even if it was a question without malice, it could be a question that hurt Yi-Han.
"...Let's just say it was roughly an assignment. Anyway, Baldurguard students came and broke the magic circle at that time."
"Right. That happened."
"Those Baldurguard bastards... mmph."
Yi-Han covered Gainando's mouth and continued explaining.
"I luckily replaced it with magic I had learned at that time."
The Baldurguard students who visited as guests at the festival had accidentally broken Professor Alpen's magic circle.
Of course, Einroguard students criticized that, and Yi-Han, worried that a fight might break out and they'd all get in trouble (and also because he had already beaten the Baldurguard students with water orbs before), tried to stop the fight and somehow resolved the situation with <Azirmo Summoning Enchantment>.
"So what?"
"At that time, the Baldurguard students called me senior..."
"..."
"..."
His friends were at a loss for words, unable to believe it.
How strong of an impression did he leave to be called senior by seniors from another school?
"I thought I had cleared up the misunderstanding by talking to their professor, but I guess not."
"Still, that's a relief!"
Siana said with a sigh of relief.
"I almost got angry thinking some crazy people were telling Mr. Wardanaz to go for 5 years."
"That's right. Haha. I was surprised too."
'Hasn't Priestess Siana's language become a bit rough?'
'It's just that all the Immortal Phoenix Tower priests have changed overall.'
While Nillia and Yonaire were whispering, Yi-Han turned to face Ingsen and Basiu.
"I think I understand how such a misunderstanding arose. When Baldurguard students visited, this happened..."
Yi-Han explained what heartwarming incident had occurred related to Professor Alpen's magic circle.
It was quite a pleasant incident, even to the point of mistaking him for a senior due to unfamiliar magic.
"Haha. To think such coincidences exist. Rumors can't be trusted, right?"
"...N-no. That was Mr. Yi-Han of the Wardanaz family too?!"
"...?"
Yi-Han was flustered again at the unexpected response.
Huh?
'Wasn't it because of this?'
"The... person who fixed the broken magic circle was... uh..."
"This is strange...? D-dual personality...?"
However, Yi-Han's confusion was nothing compared to Ingsen and Basiu's.
They were experiencing a shock as if their world had collapsed.
To think that the senior student who vilely attacked Baldurguard students with water orbs and the senior student who kindly helped Baldurguard students who broke the illusion magic were the same person.
"Wait. Then why on earth did you think I was 5th year?"
"Y-you beat our seniors with water orbs, didn't you? W-wait. Is this rumor wrong too?"
"...No. That one is true."
"..."
An awkward silence filled the reception room.
***
It took about two hours for Ingsen and Basiu to accept the fact that Yi-Han was the same age and had beaten Baldurguard seniors with water orbs before helping fix the broken magic circle.
Gainando looked at the two from the side as if they were pathetic.
If it were Gainando, he would have understood in about 5 minutes.
'How can they be so stupid!'
"So... the water orbs..."
"There's a bit of a misunderstanding about that. It wasn't a proper duel or magic competition, but more like a festival game, entertainment."
Yi-Han told a very brazen lie.
It was a lie that the people involved would never have acknowledged if they were present.
It may have been called a festival game and entertainment, but the participants had dodged the water orbs as if their lives depended on it.
If that wasn't a duel, then what on earth was a duel?
"It was like a festival game, but because of that, you're saying I humiliated Baldurguard's seniors? That's a completely wrong rumor. You shouldn't believe such rumors."
"B-but the seniors said you were 5th year, and that they were terribly defeated..."
"That was a joke."
"A j-joke?"
Grateful for Yonaire's support, Yi-Han sent her a thankful look and continued.
"It was a mischievous joke. Einroguard's seniors sometimes make mischievous jokes too. Like releasing poison in the underground corridors..."
"????"
"...Or teasing incoming freshmen. Can you be certain it wasn't that kind of joke? Really?"
Yi-Han strongly pressured the two.
When he glared at them as if saying 'Do you really believe the story that I crushed your seniors with magic?', Ingsen and Basiu were greatly shaken.
"Is... is that so...? Was it a joke...?"
"B-but that was clearly serious. It didn't seem like the seniors were joking. They were trembling while speaking..."
Yi-Han spoke firmly.
"It was acting."
"A-acting?!"
"Seniors are always serious about teasing their juniors. Of course they would act too."
"...!"
Ingsen and Basiu were greatly shocked.
Until now, they had thought Baldurguard's seniors were always honorable nobles of nobles who never lied, but that wasn't the case!
"Th-that's impossible! The seniors are nobles!"
"Haha. Being a noble doesn't mean they don't lie. Isn't this a well-intentioned lie to get close to juniors?"
Yi-Han mercilessly turned Baldurguard's seniors into liars and then finished cleaning up.
"I-is that so..."
"Maybe we trusted the seniors too much. We should have believed what we heard and saw with our own ears and eyes."
"That's right. Just because they couldn't dodge water orbs doesn't mean it proves their magic skills. The seniors might have teased us knowing that."
It was a ridiculous statement, but Yi-Han didn't bother to point it out.
He didn't want to have titles like <Baldurguard's Nose Bone Collector> either.
If he had won in a fair and square duel, it would have been honorable, but breaking Baldurguard students' nose bones with water orbs at a festival was close to infamy.
'Somehow it's been smoothed over. Just you wait. Baldurguard bastards.'
Yi-Han felt indignant.
He had kindly helped fix the broken magic circle, but they spread rumors just because they got hit in the nose a bit at the festival.
Next time they meet, he would challenge them to a proper duel!
"What nonsense!"
"?!"
Gainando didn't let it slide.
"If you can't dodge water orbs, you're bad at magic! Don't make excuses when you couldn't dodge!"
"What are you saying, that's a separate issue!"
Ingsen unconsciously dropped his honorifics and argued at Gainando's shout.
Basiu, seeming to agree, shouted too.
"A mage's skill isn't about how quickly they can cast, but how great a magic they can cast..."
"I can't hear you, losers!"
"Are you listening? So dodging water orbs has nothing to do with magic skill? Even the great mage Baqwantallana..."
"I can't hear you, soil destroyers!"
"Magic isn't about fighting in the muddy streets of the marketplace, but something much more noble and dignified...!"
"Boo! Losers! Soil destroyers! Defeated soil destroyers!"
"Eeek!"
The two's faces turned bright red at Gainando's mockery and provocation.
"H-how can a prince act so undignified...! Basiu was right, you have no dignity as royalty!"
"Losers, losers, losers, losers!"
His friends marveled.
'Don't they even fight like this in Baldurguard?'
'Why can't they endure such provocation?'
Yi-Han was worried inside.
'It could be dangerous if they challenge to a magic duel at this rate.'
Even if the opponent's magic casting was slower and clumsier than Gainando's, one couldn't say they had no overall magic skill.
Einroguard's education method was unique, but among the empire's mages, there were many who were slow and clumsy at casting.
It wasn't a big flaw since there were rarely situations where magic had to be completed urgently.
It could be dangerous if they competed in Gainando's weak areas.
"You... How dare you act so rudely just relying on magic. Do you think being good at magic is everything? If you have no honor and no character, that magic has no value! Even if you're the top of your year!"
"???"
However, instead of challenging Gainando to a duel, Ingsen and Basiu lowered their tails and criticized.
Siana tilted her head and asked,
"Who are they talking about now? Are they insulting Mr. Wardanaz?"
"I think they're talking about Gainando..."
Comments
Dots
Time to shatter more baldurguard confidence
