Episode 1241
Episode 1241
'Ah.'
Lee Han realized the other party didn't know that much about him.
Apparently, since it was such an insular magic academy, rumors only spread to a limited extent.
Considering how he usually heard things like 'Are you the Wardanaz taking all the courses?' or 'Are you the Wardanaz who's enrolled in every department?' whenever he met outsiders, this reaction was quite refreshing.
'This is an opportunity. If I handle this conversation well, I might be able to salvage the situation.'
Of course, even if he spoke carefully, he couldn't hide titles that were already out there like <Mad Herald of the Apocalypse> or <The Monster That Devours Divination>, but this was better than nothing.
"Well, this and that, roughly..."
"Lee Han is taking all the courses! It's an achievement you Oculogard students could never dream of matching!"
"......"
Lee Han angrily smacked Gainando's back without mercy. Gainando howled and ran away.
"Why!? Why!?"
"Th-that's truly amazing! Studying magic from every department for divination magic. Is that the Einrogard way?"
"Well, to some extent..."
"Absolutely not. He's the only junior who does that."
Golem Senior answered firmly.
It would be more troublesome if outsiders got strange fantasies about Einrogard's Divination Magic department.
However, Lee Han glared at the senior with eyes full of betrayal. Golem Senior was flustered by that gaze.
'Why!?'
Did he need to lie here and say something like 'It's a common method, there are several students taking all courses'?
Not that anyone would believe that...
"...It's not just for divination magic... I just ended up taking all the departments by chance."
"That's truly remarkable. Could this be one of the causes behind the abnormal influence you have on the future?"
"I don't know. Maybe you just did your divination wrong."
Lee Han boldly argued.
This wasn't entirely false either.
Einrogard divination wizards could still perform divination just fine with Lee Han around (though they did avoid him sometimes), while Evil God Worshippers and Oculogard members seemed unnecessarily sensitive.
Perhaps they were blaming Lee Han because their own skills were lacking.
"That possibility can't be completely dismissed either. After all, there's no such thing as absolute divination magic."
Surprisingly, Paridim didn't strongly refute or argue against Lee Han's words.
His attitude made Lee Han relax slightly.
"So what can I help you with?"
"Just a moment. There's something I need to do first."
"?"
Paridim took out a broom and staff and began cleaning the detention room and hallway. The Einrogard students looked on in bewilderment.
'Is he a cleanliness freak?'
"Gainando. You should learn from that. Cleaning your surroundings before studying helps with concentration."
"Not even Oculogard mages could have divined that I'd get scolded here..."
Gainando muttered resentfully.
Who would have thought he'd get scolded here?
Feeling wronged, Gainando decided to pick a fight by asking:
"Why are you cleaning?"
"It's part of our duties. Oculogard students are responsible for maintaining assigned areas."
"We have something similar too."
Einrogard also had chores that students were responsible for handling. Gainando suddenly felt a sense of camaraderie with the other.
"Do your dorm leaders bully you too if you don't do your chores?"
"Gainando. We can all hear you."
Gainando flinched. Fortunately, Paridim answered immediately, preventing Lee Han from interrogating further.
"We don't have that issue."
"I envy you, Oculogard!"
"Instead, we get sent to the Punishment Room."
"...Uh, th-that's it?"
Of course, Einrogard also sent students to the Punishment Room quite often, but...
...They send you to the Punishment Room just for skipping chores?
"Is it because you keep disobeying orders?"
"No. Not exactly. Usually, you get sent if proper management isn't maintained."
"That's ridiculous! People can make mistakes!"
True to his nature as a student who often made mistakes, Gainando vehemently objected.
"If they send people for that reason, they'd also send you for not helping a friend who failed to manage properly!"
"Huh? You'd get sent for that too. Even if another student fails..."
"???"
Gainando blinked rapidly.
He couldn't quite process what he'd just heard.
"Lee Han. Did I hear that wrong? You're saying you get sent to the Punishment Room even if another student messes up?"
"You heard right. I heard it too."
"Why on earth would such a rule exist?"
Gainando couldn't believe it.
Even if the first part made some sense, getting sent to the Punishment Room just because another student didn't do their part?
"Is it like a dorm leader system or something?"
"No. It's more about taking responsibility for failing to properly monitor other students."
Paridim kindly explained.
Given their goal of controlling the future through disciplined collective action, these mages' rules were extremely strict.
Not only did even minor violations land you in the Punishment Room, but entire groups of students tied together would get dragged in as well.
The more he listened, the more horrified Gainando became.
"Are you telling me there's a magic academy even worse than Einrogard...?"
"Each has its pros and cons. At least Oculogard's headmaster doesn't deliberately set traps for students."
Paridim gave Lee Han a puzzled look, wondering if he was joking.
There was no way a headmaster would go around deliberately setting traps.
"But why go to such extremes?"
"If you're asking why..."
The Oculogard student fell into brief thought before pulling out an imperial silver coin.
He flipped it upward. It landed heads-up.
"???"
Gainando didn't understand why he'd suddenly done that.
Was he deciding who goes first in Wizard Card?
But instead of explaining, Paridim flipped the coin again. Heads once more.
And again. And again...
As heads kept appearing, Gainando's eyes grew wider.
"Th-that's a trick, right?!"
"It's not a trick. It's a form of Divination Magic. Controlling the future in a favorable way."
"...!"
Gainando was utterly captivated by the Divination Magic displayed before him.
He never imagined magic like this was possible.
What exactly had the Einrogard Divination Magic school been doing all this time?
"Lee Han. The Einrogard Divination Magic school seems pretty lackluster. How about transferring to Oculogard's?"
At this outrageous statement that should never be uttered, Golem Senior coughed awkwardly in alarm.
"...The Causal Induction Magic method used by Oculogard isn't something I'd recommend. The trade-offs are too clear."
While twisting the future to one's will might sound tempting at first glance, it naturally came at a cost.
Just glimpsing the future required significant sacrifice—how much more would twisting it demand?
The reason Oculogard mages could use such magic was because every one of them maintained ironclad discipline through strict rules.
It was only through the Primitive Magic formed by their collective unconscious actions that members could wield this power.
"Think carefully. Manipulating a coin's outcome isn't that difficult. Any skilled thief guild member could do it. To achieve something so trivial through magic requires that level of resolve and restriction—how inefficient is that?"
Golem Senior earnestly persuaded his junior, worried he might defect.
And there was genuine sincerity in his argument. Even Golem Senior didn't believe Oculogard's methods were correct.
Oculogard's approach was far too extreme.
If one mage acted rightly, the future might change ever so slightly for the better.
Then what if you gathered more mages acting more rightly?
It was somewhat intriguing, but anyone with knowledge of magic couldn't help but notice the glaring flaws in this approach.
This was as absurdly unrealistic as trying to fill the ocean by dumping in handfuls of dirt.
As an Oculogard student, Paridim stepped forward to counter.
"We don't presume to control the farthest reaches of the future either. Even if we can only influence the relatively near future, isn't that meaningful enough?"
"Manipulating events even one second ahead is already incredibly difficult, so what kind of— And to sacrifice mages' freedom for that? Isn't that treating them like galley slaves?"
"I've heard Einrogard grinds its mages down just as harshly."
"......"
Golem Senior was struck speechless again. At a loss for words, he turned to his juniors with a pleading look.
Back me up here!
"Einrogard is... well, quite free and respects individual will."
"Even if the Headmaster digs pits for us."
"You could say it values free will."
"Even if the Headmaster torments us."
"Hey. Shut up."
Unable to take it anymore, Lee Han clamped a hand over Gainando's mouth. Gainando squirmed, muttering under his breath.
What am I supposed to do if it's true?!
"Let's just agree to respect each other's magic. How about that?"
"Fine. I might have gone too far. And let's respect each other's students too. No more abducting students from other schools."
"......"
Lee Han stared at Golem Senior in disbelief. The senior, seemingly embarrassed, averted his gaze.
"Thank you, everyone. Now that cleaning is done, could you assist with the magic?"
"Understood. ...But how would anyone outside even know if we skipped cleaning?"
A sudden doubt crossed Lee Han's mind.
Now that he thought about it, the school rules were strict inside, but how would anyone outside find out?
"One of you might snitch."
"......"
"......"
Instead of pressing further about Oculogard, Lee Han quietly took his seat.
He feared that asking more might make Einrogard seem favorable by comparison.
"I'll be practicing divination."
"!"
Relieved by the unexpectedly normal practice topic, Lee Han let out an inward sigh.
Oculogard might be a slightly strange magic academy, but at least their Divination Magic seemed fairly standard.
"Ah. So you needed someone to perform divination for."
"Correct. Today, I'll be examining your magic. I intend to determine which spells would be best for you to learn now."
"Oh..."
At Paridim's words, the occupants of the Punishment Room began creeping closer.
Not just Jowurin, but Uman, Professor Voladi, and even Golem Senior, who had been about to leave, all crowded around to watch.
Lee Han, baffled, spoke up.
"What's so interesting about this?"
"Well, I'm a little curious about what might come up."
"Even in Jowurin's opinion, such matters are best judged by outsiders."
Had Professor Paselet performed the divination and recommended certain spells, people would have suspected bribery or coercion.
But with an outsider mage here, it was different. The likelihood of foul play was slim.
"By the name of Oculogard, I seek to glimpse the future. By the name of Oculogard, I seek to govern the future..."
Paridim chose Wizard Cards as his divination tool.
To mitigate the severe backlash of peering into the future, mages often used various tools—Wizard Cards being one of them.
"Wizard Cards are diverse in type and rich in symbolism, making interpretation tricky. Truly befitting an Oculogard student."
Uman, as the overseer of Wizard Cards, watched with interest.
After a moment, Paridim flipped three cards, then, as if entranced, discarded two and left only one.
The remaining card was an upside-down Skeleton Principal.
I don't know what it means, but it looks extremely ominous.
"The magic you should learn now is..."
Everyone stared intently at Paridim's lips.
"...Small World."
"Amazing!"
"As expected of Oculogard!"