Episode 1025
Episode 1025
However, after hearing the explanation, Alsicle could understand why Lee Han had gotten angry.
Telling someone to just go ahead and try spatial magic that pinpoints a desired location—who wouldn't get angry at that?
If Alsicle had been told something like that, he would've thrown a salted fish at their face too.
"S-sorry."
"I was originally going to ask Professor Garcia, but upon reflection, I thought the professor might be too busy. The Headmaster would be better, right?"
"?"
"???"
The Black Turtle Tower and Phoenix Tower friends standing nearby all had question marks floating above their heads.
Siana whispered to Dijiling,
"Do people normally ask the Headmaster when they don't know something?"
"Shh. Priestess Siana. They might hear us..."
Alsicle firmly said to his junior,
"Asking Professor Kim is definitely better. I'll deliver the message for you."
"Why do you say that? Ah. Come to think of it, the Headmaster must be busy too..."
"No. I just don't want Lord Gonadaltes coming here."
"......"
Though the reason was absurd, Alsicle was so dead serious that Lee Han was overwhelmed.
Alsicle quickly wrote a letter.
Mages who exchanged paper birds over long distances often carried a separate artifact that emitted a mana echo, allowing the paper birds to fly to their location after sharing the mana pattern with the other party.
Since he frequently exchanged paper birds with Professor Garcia, Alsicle had no trouble sending the letter.
"Wait for three... no, four days! Wardanaz, you can go visit the market in the meantime!"
"Tsk. I don't have anything to buy right now, so that feels like a waste of time."
'Didn't you just tell the priestesses to go sightseeing at the capital's market...'
Salko found it ridiculous internally.
What a crazy magic addict!
"Still, I understand. While waiting, I'll check the remaining parts of the estate..."
Whoosh—!
"!"
The students were startled when a paper bird returned over the estate shortly after Alsicle had sent his.
What was that?
"Is it a different paper bird?"
"No... It's definitely from Professor Kim, right? What? Is he in the capital?"
The penguin beastman mage checked the letter with a surprised expression.
To Lord Alsicle of the Pengerin Family!!
I've heard the story from the Headmaster!!!
Sending Lee Han to accompany you in tracking extradimensional monsters—if the other professors find out, they'll never forgive...
Fwoosh!
Alsicle quickly burned the first page to destroy the evidence. The students asked curiously,
"Why are you burning it?"
"P-Professor Kim told me to burn the first page."
Avoiding their gazes, Alsicle hurriedly read the next part.
Fortunately, Professor Garcia only vented his anger on the first page and wrote a proper message afterward...
I'm currently in the capital for magic school-related matters. If Lee Han has something to ask, tell him to come to the Rock Spirit's Apple Jam Cafe...
"The professor says to come to the Rock Spirit's Apple Jam Cafe?"
"Oh. Thank you."...
But is this really a problem Lee Han can't solve on his own? Just in case, tell him to try again before coming.
'I should pretend I didn't see this.'
Alsicle burned the last postscript too.
If Lee Han saw it, he might've been boiling with rage.
"Then I'll be going now, Lord Alsicle."
"Alright. Have a safe trip!"
After seeing Lee Han off, Alsicle had a strong feeling he was forgetting something.
What was it?
'What is it? Why do I feel so strange...'
Alsicle moved to check if there was anything unusual in the estate.
Thanks to Lee Han telling it to wait, the mage ghost in the basement remained quiet for now, and the other areas were quickly being restored to their original state thanks to the combined efforts of the Einrogard students.
"Lord Pengerin! A guest has arrived!"
"Is it Archmage Lady Erindarbel? Oh, for goodness' sake. She could at least check the estate once before visiting. Even if she gets along with Wardanaz, that's still too much..."
"No. It's Professor Bagrak."
"...!!!!!!"
Only then did Alsicle realize what he had forgotten.
He had kept Lee Han by his side because of Voladi Bagrak in the first place!
"Wow. This stone soup is truly magnificent!"
"I see."
The mages from the Magic Academy Petrogard marveled at the taste of the Stone Soup.
The unassuming soup brought out by this rock spirit carried an unexpectedly profound depth of soulful flavor that was hard to believe.
Kkigik.
When the passing rock spirit seemed embarrassed, one of the mages whistled in admiration.
"Over here, Professor Kim!"
"Hello, everyone!"
Professor Garcia, who had arrived late to the café, greeted the visitors from other magic academies with polite courtesy.
Given that she'd summoned them due to certain regrets, her attitude couldn't help but be even more exaggerated than usual.
"You seem even more gaunt than when I last saw you."
A mage dressed like a typical Empire gentleman—complete with a mustache, hat, and silk vest—spoke with apparent concern.
"Oh, no, not at all."
"If Professor Kim collapses, we'll have no one left at Einrogard who speaks our language."
Another mage chimed in. Unlike his companion, this one wore much more casual attire.
To put it generously, it was 'free-spirited' clothing—though in truth, it resembled something an Einrogard student might wear.
A ragged patchwork of tattered fabric draped over him like a cloak, making him nearly indistinguishable from a beggar!
"What... No, it's certainly not that bad. There are plenty of excellent professors at Einrogard."
"Who exactly are you referring to?"
"Who, indeed?"
"......"
Professor Garcia deftly sidestepped the question.
"So, have either of you considered proposals for an exchange meeting or tournament?"
The magic academies of the Empire didn't interact with each other very often.
It wasn't because frequent exchanges would be disadvantageous (though certain academies did suffer losses from them)—each academy simply had its own circumstances.
In Einrogard's case, the astonishing reason was that most professors simply weren't interested.
And in Petrogard's case...
"The proposal is an honor, Professor Kim. But I doubt our mages would accept it."
"I think so too."
The two mages answered apologetically.
Though they held Professor Garcia, an outstanding mage, in high regard, they couldn't unilaterally decide matters between academies.
"By any chance, could you bundle up Professor Verdus and send him to our academy? If you do, we'd be willing to do absolutely anything for you. We could even craft twice the number of magical items you requested last time and send them over."
"Th-that's a bit..."
Professor Garcia clenched her fists to resist temptation.
One of the greatest temptations outside Einrogard was the suspiciously wealthy Empire folk's offers to buy Verdus.
-Bring me just Professor Verdus's head, and I shall reward you with enough gold to fill an entire castle!
And the Magic Academy Petrogard was no exception.
Due to the many times Professor Verdus had tricked them in the past, the Petrogard mages still gritted their teeth at the mere mention of him.
"But this is truly a wonderful opportunity. You all know how important it is to increase exchanges between magic academies and show the Empire what role mages can play."
Professor Garcia had long wanted to revive the dwindling interactions between the various magic academies.
Officially, it was to demonstrate the value of magic academies to the Empire's people (especially the bureaucrats).
Unofficially, though...
"His Majesty has also promised substantial support."
"Hmm."
"We received that offer as well."
Unlike the bureaucrats who gnashed their teeth at the mere mention of magic academies, the Emperor held mages and magic academies in high regard.
As such, he consistently provided support and worked to establish them in respectable positions within the Empire.
The problem was that the magic academies stubbornly refused to cooperate.
Just looking at how Professor Garcia had to step in for Einrogard made it obvious. 'I bet Lord Gonadaltes pretended not to hear His Majesty's words...' Given that even Petrogard had ignored the letter proposing exchanges or friendly tournaments—despite having no real reason to refuse—it was painfully clear how much worse the Spirit Offering Hall Master of Einrogard must have been.
"Well, what can you do? Sigh. If even Petrogard is hard to persuade, the other academies will be even more difficult..."
"What?! Don't tell me those Baldrogard bastards refused!?"
The mage grew furious at the news that Baldrogard had rejected Einrogard's proposal—despite having refused it himself.
Professor Garcia flusteredly replied,
"Ah, n-no. The Baldrogard representatives always say yes."
"What a relief. As they should!"
"......"
At his vehement reaction, Professor Garcia couldn't help thinking to herself,
'Even so, isn't this too harsh on Baldrogard?'
"Anyway, I understand. Thank you both for coming all this way today—"
"Ah, no, Professor Kim. We wouldn't have called you here just to refuse, would we? We actually have a proposal of our own."
"?"
Professor Garcia suddenly eyed them with suspicion.
"You can't have Professor Verdus."
"......That's not it!"
"Come now, do you really think we'd deceive Professor Kim just to kidnap Professor Verdus?"
The two Petrogard mages protested vehemently, but Professor Garcia's suspicion didn't waver.
After all, those who'd sought Professor Verdus's head in the past had employed every cunning trick imaginable.
"Actually, there's currently a grand mage staying at our Petrogard."
"Oh! Who might that be?"
Professor Garcia perked up with interest.
Most grand mages known across the Empire had rather ambiguous reputations.
Duke Gonadaltes and Lady Erindarbel were exceptions, but grand mages typically wandered unpredictably across the Empire—and even beyond dimensions—in pursuit of their arcane secrets.
For such a grand mage to be staying at Petrogard was something Professor Garcia couldn't help but find intriguing.
"Well... their skills are undoubtedly at grand mage level, but... they're a bit suspicious."
"......Are they a magic criminal?"
Professor Garcia tensed.
It wasn't unheard of for grand mages to be magic criminals.
If that were the case, she'd need to approach carefully to ensure the Petrogard mages weren't harmed.
"That's not it! Or... well, since we don't know their identity, they could be...? Um... To be frank, we suspect they might be an old disciple of Duke Gonadaltes."
"Wha—!?"
Petrogard was a wandering magic academy that roamed the Empire instead of having a fixed territory.
Then one day, a mage arrived. With extraordinary skill and an eye for aesthetics, this mage instantly captivated the Petrogard mages.
"This is incredible! I've never seen magic like this before..."
"It's nothing special."
"I believe Duke Gonadaltes used similar magic... Might you be related to him?"
"...How dare you mention that name in my presence!?!"
CRASH!
"??!?"
A grand mage of suspiciously exceptional skill, proficient in ancient magic rarely seen in the Empire, who flew into a rage at the mere mention of Gonadaltes's name.
At best, this was a magic criminal. At worst... the Skeleton Principal's former disciple.
"No matter how much we searched, we couldn't find any magic criminal who matched their description. So we tried subtly suggesting they leave, but..."
"Did they refuse?"
"Yes. They said they'd stay as long as they pleased."
Because of this, the Petrogard mages had split into two factions: one arguing, "Are you insane, keeping someone who might be the Skeleton Principal's old disciple at our school?" and the other countering, "We don't even know for sure, and they might just be a magic criminal—can't we let them stay a bit longer?"
These two, of course, belonged to the former.
"At first, we considered calling Duke Gonadaltes, but we feared it might backfire."
"......That... makes sense."
Professor Garcia immediately understood.
If this truly was the Skeleton Principal's old disciple—her own senior—just seeing the Principal's current state would likely send them into an uncontrollable rage.
"But wouldn't the Duke's disciples cherish each other? Please, Professor Kim, persuade them! If you do, we'll do our utmost to fulfill your proposal!"
"Well... Seniors do tend to pity their juniors, but... I'm already an Einrogard professor, so they'd probably see me as the Principal's lackey..."
As Professor Garcia trailed off, she spotted the young boy from the Wardanaz family approaching in the distance.
If this mage truly was her senior, then this boy—the Skeleton Principal's youngest and purest disciple—would be the one they'd pity most sincerely.