Episode 1233
Episode 1233
At that moment, the Skeleton Principal was teaching the first-year students <Advanced Basic Magic Character Education>.
The first-year students felt extremely uncomfortable seeing the Skeleton Principal's return.
Why had he come back from the capital so soon?
"Professor Garcia isn't teaching us anymore?"
'Don't you feel sorry for Professor Garcia?'
'Well, that's true.'
The first-year students immediately understood.
Though mocked as iron-headed blockheads, these first-years had a rough grasp of Einrogard's situation.
It was obvious someone like Professor Garcia would be doing the most work.
"We haven't seen Inspector His Highness lately—has something happened to him?"
That guy's in the Punishment Room.
"What absolute nonsense!"
"Do you take us for fools?!"
The first-years were outraged by this ridiculous claim.
No matter how little he thought of them, how could he tell such an obviously insincere lie?
Clearly, the Skeleton Principal must have used some evil scheme to trap the Inspector.
"He might have assassinated him."
"Surely not—the Emperor sent him. He wouldn't go as far as assassination. Kidnapping or imprisonment, maybe..."
After a year of lectures, these iron-headed blockheads haven't improved at all.
The Skeleton Principal lamented the freshmen's attitude.
Why were all these young mages so rough and uncouth in character?
Crash!
"?!?!"
"What was that?!"
Startled, the students rushed to the classroom windows.
From the upper floors of Einrogard's Main Building, a familiar dwarf came crashing through a window and leaped out.
"P-Principal! Enemies must have invaded the school!"
Calm down. That's Professor Thunderstep.
The floating skeleton spoke in a bored tone.
"O-Of course, Professor Thunderstep... Wait! This isn't something to calm down about!"
The students panicked even more.
If Professor Thunderstep was jumping out like that, wasn't it even more dangerous?
Magic Criminals, attackers, assassins, debt collectors coming to kill Professor Verdus...
Various thoughts flashed through the first-years' minds.
That wasn't an attack. He couldn't control his tongue and brought this on himself. Learn from this.
"????"
The students were baffled by this cryptic remark.
What on earth did that mean?
Fortunately, they soon understood.
From the broken window, Professor Garcia leaned out and began wildly swinging her staff, unleashing spells.
Professor Thunderstep, having landed, shouted things like 'I'm sorry it came to this' and 'Couldn't we at least talk?' as he fled toward the forest.
The Skeleton Principal lightly commented on his skillful use of smoke screens to block her aim.
He's quite good with smoke screens. You should learn from this.
"......"
Let's return to the lecture. Now, write and recite: 'Before graduation, I will not directly confront an Evil God even if I encounter one'...
"Why is the Principal making us write and recite this? Who would actually do something like this?"
"It's obvious. He just wants to torment us pointlessly."
"That happened?"
Rumors spread quickly that Professor Garcia had thrown Professor Thunderstep out the window.
Technically, Professor Thunderstep had used a smoke screen and escaped out the window first, but rumors were like shape-shifting magical creatures.
The professors grew deeply wary upon hearing this news.
Every professor here, to some degree, owed Professor Garcia a favor.
"This must be because of Professor Verdus! He exploited Professor Garcia's kindness, working her to the bone—of course she'd snap!"
"No. It's not that—I think it's because her student fought an Evil God this time."
"Wardanaz? Why would Professor Garcia attack Professor Thunderstep over Wardanaz fighting an Evil God...? Gasp, did Professor Thunderstep instigate it?!"
"Impossible."
Professor Lightning Step clicked his tongue as he spoke.
This dwarf professor knew his nephew's personality all too well.
"Without a doubt, he probably went and tactlessly asked if he could dump some work on Wardanaz in the Punishment Room. Serves him right."
"......"
Several professors' expressions turned solemn.
Truth be told, they'd also been considering delegating some tasks to that capable student in the Punishment Room.
While the professors were conversing, the dark elf professor who looked the most exhausted silently poured black tea over the sugar cubes stacked in her cup.
Then she downed it in one gulp. It was a signal that her brief break was over and she was about to leave.
"Wait. Professor Lagrinde."
"?"
Professor Alkasis turned his gaze with an expression that seemed thoroughly annoyed and weary.
"Aren't you at all interested in Wardanaz?"
In truth, if any professor here could reasonably delegate work to Wardanaz in the Punishment Room, Professor Alkasis was the most likely candidate.
The Healing Magic department always suffered from chronic manpower shortages, to the point where even the professors in charge were rarely seen.
Moreover, Wardanaz had barely managed to attend lectures this semester due to various incidents—he certainly hadn't participated in any of the Healing Magic department's schedules.
From Professor Alkasis's perspective, he had every right to claim his due and assign the backlog of work to his student.
And he certainly had the boldness to say such things right in front of Professor Garcia!
"His Majesty the Emperor has sent us personnel."
"???"
"He told me to assign the work to them instead of Wardanaz. I'll take my leave now."
Worried about falling behind schedule if he lingered any longer, Professor Alkasis left first.
The remaining professors could only stare in shock. Professor Mortum coughed and spoke up.
"Cough, why only the Healing Magic department? The Black Magic department is perpetually short-staffed too."
"......"
'Even among colleagues, he's truly shameless.'
No matter how you looked at it, how could he compare the Black Magic department to Einrogard's Healing Magic department, which handled patients from across the entire Empire!
Still, regardless of Professor Mortum's audacity, it was astonishing. His Majesty the Emperor had personally sent replacements for Wardanaz.
While Wardanaz had indeed accomplished remarkable feats, even considering that, the Emperor's attention seemed excessively meticulous.
Was it because he was a Dragon Contractor?
"Or perhaps it's because he's the one student the Headmaster particularly pities."
"That's also a possibility."
Among the Skeleton Principal's students, Wardanaz stood out exceptionally. Who else at that age could face an Evil God head-on and survive?
Perhaps because of such abilities, Wardanaz had been particularly exploited by the Skeleton Principal from an early age.
The professors knew better than anyone that the Skeleton Principal had taken Wardanaz along to extort additional funding for Einrogard.
Thud!
"!?"
At the sudden sound of someone dropping to their knees, the professors turned in surprise.
A professor with a spiteful expression was kneeling on the floor of the faculty lounge, tears streaming down his face.
"I, Professor Bendozol, have a once-in-a-lifetime request for all of you."
"......"
The professors' reactions were lukewarm.
This Professor Bendozol was a notorious eccentric who would readily declare things like "This is my first and last request" or "I'm only asking this once in my entire life" whenever convenient.
"What is it?"
"Please... send me to the Punishment Room...!"
"......"
"......"
The professors immediately averted their eyes, pretending not to see. Then they whispered among themselves.
"Who told him about the Punishment Room?"
"He must have found out himself. He is capable, after all."
"Send me there, you bastards!"
When persuasion failed, Professor Bendozol resorted to force.
But the professors weren't about to fall for such a pathetic provocation.
"Waving your staff around here won't get you sent to the Professor's Punishment Room, Professor."
"At best, you might end up in the Deep Punishment Room. Care to join Professor Verdus there?"
"Then at least let me go visit him!!"
Faced with such sharp and cold rejection, Professor Bendozol's frustration only grew more intense.
Why was he the only one not allowed to visit when other professors could go?
"The Headmaster said no, so why are you telling us..."
"Go argue with the Headmaster then."
"Gaaah! Gaaaaaah!"
The Skeleton Principal was no fool.
Sending someone like Professor Bendozol to Uman or Jowurin, who were already in a troubled state, would only make things worse.
For now, he had to be kept away.
Professor Zorjik, who had been watching his colleagues' commotion with great interest, stroked his mustache and spoke up.
"Everyone. I, Zorjik of the Benmalpa family, have a proposal."
"I doubt it's a good one... but what is it?"
"We submit a petition to His Majesty the Emperor to have Wardanaz released."
This professor, who dreamed of becoming the next Headmaster of Einrogard, always overflowed with ambition and knew how to wield political savvy.
There were multiple advantages to getting Wardanaz out of the Punishment Room now.
First, Wardanaz would be deeply grateful, ensuring solid student support when Zorjik aimed for the Headmaster position later.
Moreover, since the professors here all wanted Wardanaz released, wouldn't they be profoundly grateful for Zorjik's resourcefulness?
'Is this guy insane?'
'How is he even a professor? Then again, we have people like Professor Verdus too.'
Of course, the other professors felt no gratitude whatsoever.
With the Skeleton Principal having just stormed off, what kind of absurd request was this?
And before any reply could come, they had to worry about Professor Garcia's enraged fists first. Her eyes were practically spinning—who knew what she might do.
"If Wardanaz is released, Professor Bendozol, I'll put you in his place."
"?!?!"
Professor Bendozol shot to his feet, his face brimming with excitement and hope.
"Is that true?!"
"I, Zorjik of the Benmalpa family, never lie!"
"I'll support you, Professor Benmalpa! Let's hurry and get Wardanaz out!"
Professor Zorjik nodded in satisfaction, then glanced around.
And spoke again.
"But there's one thing we need first."
"Somehow, I doubt it's just one thing... What do we need?"
"A joint petition signed by all of you, showing we're united in this cause..."
At that, the professors all stood up at once and stampeded out of the lounge.
Professor Zorjik called after his colleagues in panic, but none of them returned.
"Everyone?! Everyone!"
'Magic is important, but from now on, they really should test professors for at least the bare minimum of social skills!'
Eandurde cautiously peeked inside.
No matter how much the Death Knights had guided her for the lecture, the Punishment Room was never a place to take lightly.
As a first-year, she had endured countless dangers and hardships here.
And this was the Professor's Punishment Room—it was bound to be even worse...
"EANDURDE!!!!"
A golden projectile shot toward her and tackled Eandurde.
Startled, she tried to break free, but a dragon's physical prowess was a step above that of a Gorgon half-breed.
"I missed you so much!!!!"
"Ugh. Ughhh."
Her pride wounded, Eandurde struggled desperately to shake Jowurin off.
But the more she resisted, the more stubbornly the dragon clung to her.
"...What the hell! Seriously!"
"J-Jowurin just... really wanted to see Eandurde..."
"...Fine. I get it. Just let go a bi— Wh-what is that?!"
"Ah. Lee Han is working on a request."
Jowurin pointed at a solitary cell and explained.
Inside, familiar and unfamiliar mages were working with expressions of utter exhaustion.
Lee Han, who had been inspecting Yoanen's potion, gasped in surprise when he saw Eandurde and shouted.
"Professor! Eandurde is here for the lecture!"
"I know."
Professor Voladi stood up calmly, as if he had already been prepared. Lee Han suddenly grew curious and asked.
"Who taught Eandurde while you were gone, Professor?"
"Sir Garzidahaka."
"...Who in the world is that?"