Episode 1086
Episode 1086
"Right. I'll let you bring your things in too! Lee Han would definitely do that for you!"
"Thank you."
Alhidel's voice was oddly cold for some reason.
No matter how hard he tried to express gratitude, the jealousy simmering beneath wouldn't easily fade.
Poke.
Eandurde lightly jabbed his side—a signal not to show it.
"S-sorry."
"Later. We'll get revenge later. There'll be an opportunity."
"Yeah. You're right."
Alhidel nodded, then suddenly paused...
Wait, was there really anything to get revenge for?
Strictly speaking, the second-year seniors hadn't actually wronged them in any way...
But the burning jealousy in Alhidel's chest was too intense to dismiss so coldly.
Why do they get to live happily in Einrogard just because they enrolled one year earlier????
"Grrk..."
"Huh? What's wrong? Did you choke on something?"
Gainando, who had been stacking chocolate boxes inside other chocolate boxes, startled at the strange noise his junior made.
"N-no, I'm fine."
"Ah, I see. You must be moved, huh? Oh, come on. It's really nothing."
Gainando laughed heartily.
Clearly, the juniors were just amazed at the mere fact they could bring things in from outside. As a senior, he found their reaction rather endearing.
"......"
"......"
Both juniors clenched their fists tightly.
* * *
"Well then, I'll leave it in your hands."
"Yes, Your Excellency!"
The Skeleton Principal concluded the day's affairs by personally seeing off the visiting nobles.
These nobles had come to consult about the Einrogard third-year students.
Originally, they had commissioned the students to remodel the magical statues in their mansions and add new functionalities. However, the students had gotten too greedy and accidentally set the statues loose.
As a result, chaos erupted in the nobles' residential district, forcing them to travel all the way to the capital to lodge a formal complaint with the Skeleton Principal.
The Skeleton Principal sighed deeply, dispatching Death Knights as a precaution and even sending a Paper Bird to Professor Yonlamo, the head of the Transmutation Magic department, just in case.
At the same time, he placated the nobles with smooth words.
"You're pillars of the Empire, aren't you? Surely you understand. We'll restore the village to its original state, so there's no need to report this to the bureaucrats."
"Ah, understood."
"And please refrain from mentioning this to other nobles as well. It might affect future commissions."
"Understood."
"And to other mages too. The commissions might—"
"—......"
Though bewildered, the nobles didn't dare refuse a request from the Magic Tower.
Only the highest noble families could afford to grumble openly—ordinary nobles would never dare act defiantly in front of the Skeleton Principal.
'Once the new semester starts, I'm throwing them straight into the Punishment Room.'
The Skeleton Principal gnashed his teeth. Disgracing the school like this...
As always, he was reminded that teaching students was no easy task.
If left too comfortable, they'd grow complacent and lazy. But if pushed too hard, they'd crack under pressure and spiral out of control...
"Truly a difficult balance."
"—......"
"—......"
The Death Knights remained silent.
Experience had taught them that suggesting, "Then why not reduce commissions and increase the school's funding?" would earn them an immediate trip to the Punishment Room.
Besides, from the knights' perspective, the amount of gold allocated to students was already more than sufficient. Increasing it further would require either professors, knights, or bureaucrats to go hungry.
"Couldn't we ask the professors to supervise commissions more closely? They already accompany students during semester assignments..."
A relatively young death knight came up with a lively idea.
Since professors or the Skeleton Principal's subordinates already accompanied some requests during the semester as overseers, it didn't seem like a bad idea to provide a bit more assistance.
If students made mistakes or seemed about to lose control, they could step in to handle it...
"What kind of absurd nonsense are you spouting at such length? Then the professors should receive the compensation, not the students. Why should students get paid?"
The Skeleton Principal glared at the knight with a look of utter contempt, as if he'd never heard such garbage before.
The death knight wilted and lowered his head.
"If we did that, students would call professors for help every time, Professor Garcia wouldn't get any sleep, and Bible would grow fat and lazy. Is that really what you want? Hmm?"
-No, sir!
"Good that you understand."
It was somewhat forced, but it did make sense.
Setting aside students' autonomy, it was painfully obvious that the future would involve an excessive workload falling solely on certain professors.
Thud thud thud
-"Are you there?"
"...No."
The Skeleton Principal recognized the voice and answered.
However, the other party boldly opened the door and entered despite being told no one was there.
Thunk!
Then they slammed their forehead against the doorframe. The fourth child of the current Emperor, the Black Dragon Uman, entered while grimacing in pain.
"You always hit your head whenever I see you. Have you considered reducing your height?"
"It's terribly inconvenient, I must say."
Uman answered in a booming voice. The Skeleton Principal covered his ears with an annoyed expression.
"Lower your voice too."
"I shall take care."
"What brings you here? Coming to make another donation to Einrogard?"
The Skeleton Principal had good reason to find Uman irritating.
For a long time, this Black Dragon had been deluded by the grandiose fantasy that he was meant to uphold and protect the Empire's justice.
And the most problematic part of that delusion was that he viewed the Skeleton Principal and Einrogard as potential enemies of justice.
It was an idiotic misconception, unbelievable for a supposedly intelligent dragon.
'He was such a sweet, adorable child back then.'
The Skeleton Principal looked at Uman with pity.
The boy who used to follow him around chirping "Lord Gonadaltes!" had grown up to snarl like this just because he'd gotten a bit bigger.
Dragons truly were an insufferable species.
"I've already made a donation."
"You have?! Good thinking. But who did you donate to? Surely not Professor Verdus?"
Surely even Uman wasn't foolish enough to donate to Bible.
"I donated to Lee Han of the Wardanaz family. I provided the gold required for the Imperial treasury this time."
"......"
The Skeleton Principal's expression changed drastically.
Like the great mage he was, he sensed an ominous premonition.
Don't tell me...?
"...Thanks, but why? Are you trying to make a contract too? Don't. Have some pity."
This was genuine.
Even the Skeleton Principal, who pushed his students mercilessly, didn't want to saddle the boy with two dragons.
The kid already has it hard enough as it is...
"No. Please take a look at this."
Uman pulled out a rolled-up scroll from his robe. The Skeleton Principal immediately recognized the gold-embellished format of an Imperial Edict.
That was the Emperor's decree.
"......"
The ominous premonition he'd felt earlier grew even stronger.
The Skeleton Principal snatched the edict to check its contents. The message inside was simple...
Appointing Uman as the Emperor's proxy, granting him the authority of an Einrogard inspector for one semester...
"Coughhack!"
Having confirmed the culmination of his ominous premonition, the Skeleton Principal staggered.
A regular inspector was annoying enough, but one coming as the Emperor's proxy?!
"This is absurd! His Majesty may be petty and narrow-minded, but he's not the type to send an inspector so arbitrarily without a word!"
"There are several reasons for this!"
Uman boomed loudly. At his tone, the Skeleton Principal grew ominous again.
What now?
"First, there have been numerous reports. Among them, the most serious would be recklessly involving students in hunting a monster that crossed over from the dimensional void."
'Voladi Bagrak...!'
The Skeleton Principal bowed his head deeply. He had immediately realized the culprit.
Even after that, he had kept surveillance, thinking, 'Surely he wouldn't go as far as submitting a petition to the imperial palace,' yet the professor had gone ahead and done it anyway.
There was only one possible time slot.
It was clear that Voladi Bagrak had rushed to the imperial palace and submitted the petition right after meeting Alsicle and the Skeleton Principal. Truly insane initiative.
The Skeleton Principal let out a deep sigh. He'd been blindsided by an ungrateful disciple.
'Fine. You got me.'
Upon reflection, he realized he had severely underestimated Voladi Bagrak's determination.
Once that man set his mind to something, he would do anything—he'd been too complacent in his response.
Especially since it concerned his students—he should have been more vigilant...
"Actually, that was the fault of other bastards... Never mind. It's meaningless now, isn't it?"
"Correct!"
"Lower your voice, will you? What's next?"
The Skeleton Principal asked in a weary tone.
At this point, it was certain that Uman would come next semester and be a nuisance.
-Master! No matter what, must you continue to endure such humiliation from a mere fledgling dragon?!
One of the Death Knights stepped forward, incensed.
Though the knights often grumbled among themselves, 'Our master is far too eccentric,' an outsider saying it carried a different weight.
What right did that bratty dragon have to act so arrogant, even if he had contributed to the Empire?
Yet Uman showed not the slightest waver. Unaffected even by the Death Knights' blazing blue gaze—such was the innate strength of the dragon race.
"Since you asked, I shall inform you of the next reason. His Majesty has ordered you to stop exploiting the innocent people of the Magic Tower using your students!"
-......-......
The knights, who had been about to erupt in anger, suddenly froze.
A long-forgotten sense of shame had resurfaced.
But the Skeleton Principal remained shameless.
"If the Magic Tower folks are willing to hand over money, what do you expect me to do? Refuse? You've been swindling gold coins from those mages stuck in the tower with Wizard Cards too!"
"Th-that's...! That's entirely different! Wizard Cards are a gift from dragons to the younger races for their enjoyment! How can you say such things!"
Uman's face flushed as he protested.
Wizard Cards were a gift devised by a dragon during the continent's chaotic times to bring the joy of play to younger races.
To call it a means of swindling gold coins—!
"Ha. More adults play with them than kids anyway."
"Enough! I won't listen to any more of this. You're still mocking me!"
"Wait. Don't tell me His Highness Jowurin's visit was also your doing?"
"Correct."
Uman nodded.
Originally, the Emperor disliked disturbing Einrogard's students, but when Uman personally declared he would oversee his elder sister's visit, he had relented.
"I promised to ensure she wouldn't interfere with the students, so His Majesty permitted it. My elder sister's visit to the Magic Academy's spiritual lands would also be a valuable experience for her."
"That can't be her real motive..."
The Skeleton Principal muttered.
Jowurin's goal wasn't to tour Einrogard's mana-rich mountains, lakes, deserts, lava fields, and other regions to gain enlightenment.
Her true intent—99% of it—was simply to play with her friends.
"Hmm? What did you say?"
"Nothing. So you're personally overseeing His Highness?"
"Correct. Rest assured, I will ensure she does not disturb the students."
"...At least there'll be one more miserable person than me next semester. That's some consolation."