Episode 412
Episode 412
"What the—?! How with a golem?!"
"How on earth?!"
At the summoning mages' reactions, the black mages were confused at first but soon grasped the situation.
It was clear they had misunderstood, thinking the Einrogard Wardanaz student was controlling the golem.
"Ah. That wasn't us..."
"Quiet! Be quiet. We... we can figure this out ourselves."
"No, but—"
The black mages were flustered.
They tried to explain, but the summoning mages, too proud to listen, stubbornly huddled together in frustration.
"What is this? How is that golem sustaining such wasteful movements? The mana consumption should be extreme!"
"Maybe it's collecting and recycling the dispersed mana?"
"How efficient could that possibly be?! Even a tenth of it would be hard to recover. D-don't tell me they developed a magic circle we don't know about?"
"Black magic... does black magic have something like that? Some rare property of negative mana..."
"I've never heard of such a thing! If it existed, we'd know!"
"Then what else? What else?!"
"Don't stare too obviously. You'll give us away! Just glance subtly."
The summoning mages groaned and whispered among themselves.
Too proud to openly ask, they stole furtive glances at the golem, but they couldn't figure it out.
There was no unfamiliar magic circle, no new materials—just an ordinary-looking golem...
How was it performing such precise movements repeatedly while maintaining its mana?
"Maybe they just poured an absurd amount of mana into it?"
"...Even if we're desperate, that's not even a joke worth making."
There were no magic stones, potions, or anything around the golem—such a brute-force solution was impossible.
"Hey."
"Wait! Just wait a second."
"No, I'm just trying to explain—"
"Wait!! I said wait!! Ugh!!"
"......"
The black mages wore awkward expressions.
Seeing the faces of those they usually fought with now twisted in frustration didn't exactly feel good.
They had tried to explain, but...
"Ugh... uuugh... uuuugh."
"Grr... grrr... grrrr."
"Hrk. Sniff."
The summoning mages kept agonizing.
One was so frustrated he was on the verge of tears.
Not only had they been outdone by black mages using a golem, but they couldn't even begin to guess how.
As the summoning mages trembled in humiliation and shot defeated glances, the black mages suddenly felt their hearts race.
Huh?
"Actually, what happened was—"
"Shh. Hold on."
"What's wrong?"
"Let's not tell them. They said they didn't need our explanation, remember?"
"...!"
Unaware of the black mages' scheming, the summoning mages gritted their teeth and declared:
"It's not... not over yet. Even if we don't know how it's done, we will have the answer before the festival ends. Just you wait!"
Unable to bear the humiliation any longer, the summoning mages hurriedly turned and left.
The black mages, with nothing to say in return, simply laughed.
"...Kehahah! Kehahahaha!"
"Wahahahahaha!"
"...Just you wait!!"
As the summoning mages retreated, the black mages exchanged triumphant looks, their chests swelling with satisfaction.
How long had it been since they'd felt this good?!
"...Uh. Black mages?"
"......"
Only when Lee Han, who had been watching from behind, called out did the black mages realize their oversight.
"Why aren't those golem guys preparing? What's their deal?"
"Who knows? Did something go wrong?"
Summoning mages from other fields grew puzzled at the strange mood among the golem specialists.
Among the inanimate-target summoners, golem mages were known for their loud voices and immense pride—understandable, given how powerful and in-demand their summons were.
But today, their demeanor was as if they'd just attended a funeral...?
"You good? If you're not preparing, we'll go first."
"...Do as you please..."
"!?"
If this were any other day, they'd have exploded—"How dare you steal our turn?!"—but now, pale-faced, they just yielded, leaving everyone stunned.
"Seriously, we can go first?"
"Yeah..."
"These are the same guys who mocked ego items before. Are they really okay?"
"Alright..."
"...No. Are these guys really okay?"
"I'm getting worried about this..."
Even the summoning mages who had initially planned to let it go began murmuring among themselves.
The Golem Summoners were gradually becoming seriously concerned.
Even ordinary people who knew nothing about magic found it difficult to escape once they fell into the swamp of depression, but for mages, it was especially dangerous.
An exploding mage was several times more hazardous than an exploding civilian.
If they caused an accident for no reason...
"Hey. I get that you've hit a wall. But moping around won't change anything."
"Right. Come here. At times like this, it's better to just stop thinking and watch other mages' spells. Look—the Einrogard students are about to demonstrate summoning magic. It's not every day you get to see the most orthodox of orthodox magic. They're disciples of Lady Millay, after all."
"Summoning some tiny thing isn't..."
"...Can't we just dump these bastards in a ditch and leave?"
"Shh. Hold it in."
The other summoning mages soothed and coaxed the Golem Summoners with the camaraderie unique to fellow summoners.
Eventually, the Golem Summoners pretended to relent and stood up.
"Sigh... How on earth did they do it?"
"Who knows? Stop agonizing over it and just watch the students' magic!"
"Is that the Paper Bird?"
"At their age already?!"
"You still can't summon a Paper Bird, can you?"
"I—I just don't have the aptitude for it..."
The summoning mages chattered noisily as they took their seats in the spectator stands.
Among the summoning mages attending today's festival, quite a few could cast spells of a higher Circle than the Einrogard students.
However, mages who had built as solid a foundation in all the basics of summoning magic as the Einrogard students were exceedingly rare.
Magic was a narrow and arduous path, even for those blessed with talent.
Few mages—and few environments—allowed one to patiently endure, laying aside immediate, visible achievements to diligently master other fundamentals.
For this reason, the first-year students of Einrogard did not seem inferior in the slightest to the mages gathered at today's festival.
They appeared more like the first stirrings of a distant, vast ocean—still small now, but once their momentum built, they could easily overwhelm mere fishing boats in a single surge.
"They're starting. The Paper Bird!"
"Clean execution! Summoned in one go!"
Exclamations of admiration and applause leaked from among the summoning mages.
Yet a few summoners watched without any particular change in expression.
These were the most skilled mages present at the festival.
Knowing Einrogard's standards, they weren't impressed by something at this level.
"Juniors, please..."
"Shh. The professor might hear."
The seniors watched anxiously, their tension palpable despite pretending not to care about Professor Millay.
"Stop right there!"
Whirr—
As the Paper Birds halted mid-flight, the applause grew louder. But the seniors sighed quietly.
The minor mistakes their juniors had made were glaringly obvious to them.
"They should've stopped immediately upon command. There was a slight delay."
"The movements weren't clean either..."
"There was waste when constructing the magic circle. Mana leakage caused those shaky movements."
As expected, the skilled summoners remained expressionless.
The next wave of Paper Birds began to vocalize.
Cheers and shouts erupted, but the impassive expressions of some summoners still didn't crack.
"They should've made them sing! At least make them sing—"
"You couldn't even pull that off yourself, and you expect first-years to do it?!"
"If they'd succeeded, they'd have gotten a standing ovation!"
"Let's just go over and threaten them to stand up now. A trip to the Punishment Room would do them good."
While the seniors bickered, one of the first-years belatedly sent out a Paper Bird. This student, who had taken the longest to prepare, was the last to launch theirs.
"...Huh? Isn't that the Wardanaz kid? The one who was with the Black Mages earlier."
"Why was he with the Black Mages?"
"Who knows...? Does Black Magic help with Paper Birds?"
Lee Han's Paper Bird was unremarkable.
Like the others, it spiraled into the air and began gliding slowly through the sky.
Many summoners clapped but were puzzled.
'Was he just late?'
'Better clap to spare him the embarrassment.'
Even the seniors were caught off guard, failing to notice anything at first.
"Were you late and unprepared?"
"Did those Black Mages hold you back? These damn Black Mages...!"
"No. He's the one who studies Black Magic in the first place..."
Thud!
One of the summoner mages, who had been sitting expressionless, suddenly stood up and locked eyes with Professor Milley.
Professor Milley gave a curt nod—permission granted for whatever they were about to do.
Suddenly, a Spirit Hawk materialized in midair. The fierce summoned creature swooped down, talons outstretched to tear the Paper Bird apart.
Lee Han gritted his teeth, suppressing a curse as he desperately maneuvered the bird.
'Are they insane?!'
Attacking someone else's summon mid-demonstration?
If it had been Professor Voladi, she would've immediately shouted, "Strike the caster!"—that's how rude this was.
Had this not been a festival, that mage would've left with a few broken bones.
Lee Han clenched his jaw, furious at the cowardice of an opponent who only dared attack because of the crowd.
'Dodge, dodge, DODGE!'
Swish!
The Paper Bird executed an impossible maneuver, narrowly evading the attack.
Once. Twice. Three times.
"...!!"
"Wh—what is that?!"
Even the summoner mages who hadn't recognized it before now jolted in shock.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
"Look at its movements! Look at them!"
A Paper Bird summoned from a pre-recorded magic circle had inherent limitations.
No matter how well it dodged, surviving the relentless assault of a vicious, agile summon like the Spirit Hawk should've been impossible.
Yet this Paper Bird was evading with terrifying precision.
It was undeniable—the mage was directly controlling it through consciousness link.
Whoosh—
'...Are they actually insane?!'
Lee Han seethed as some unknown mage suddenly cast a vision-obscuring fog.
First, they attack his Paper Bird, and now they're blinding him mid-control?!
Swearing to settle this after the demonstration—punishment chamber be damned—Lee Han focused on Far-sight.
If he couldn't see through his own eyes, he'd see through the bird's.
'Just hold on a little longer... Got it!'
Fortunately, his Far-sight Magic worked. The Paper Bird dodged yet another strike from the Spirit Hawk.
Realizing further testing was pointless, the summoner mage recalled the Spirit Hawk.
Then, with dignified grace, they extended a hand.
"Congratulations, Professor Milley. You've raised an exceptional student."
"We knew Einrogard's students were skilled, but this is beyond expectations."
As the seated summoner mages all rose to offer their praise, a faint glimmer of pride flickered in Professor Milley's eyes. The seniors, seeing their teacher's reaction, finally exhaled in relief.
"He still has much to improve. That spell was merely an imitation of my own. Soon, he must develop his own magic."
"No need to be so strict. A young mage of his caliber will undoubtedly forge his own path."
'Our teacher is amazing, but sometimes, she's just too much.'
'Right? Unbelievable.'
Even in this moment, the seniors couldn't help but click their tongues at their teacher's relentless standards.
Too harsh!
BANG!
"That mage who cast the fog just now—"
"Ah. So this is the mage who left us in awe."
"Truly impressive."
Lee Han, about to unleash his fury, quickly read the room upon seeing Professor Milley and the surrounding mages' expressions.
"...Thanks to your considerate interference, I was able to overcome the crisis."
"Nonsense. I've never held back in my life. Hahaha!"
'...Didn't that junior look furious earlier? Must've imagined it.'
"THIS MAKES NO SENSE!!"
"!?"
Just when the commotion seemed over, a thunderous shout erupted from behind.
The Golem summoner mages were staring at Lee Han in utter disbelief.
"H-He wasn't a Black Mage?!"
"Then how did he control the Golem?! No—wait—the Paper Bird... Huh... Both?!"
"Now, hold on—"
The summoner mages beside Professor Milley frowned.
Confidence was one thing, but this was outright disrespect in another's territory.
"No! Wait just a moment! He controlled a Golem! I saw it with my own eyes!"
"He can control Golems too! Unbelievably well, at that—!"
The baffled summoner mages assumed the Golem summoners were spouting nonsense.
What kind of nonsense were they spewing about a first-year who was already exhausted from controlling a Paper Bird?
Sensing the tension, Lee Han whispered to Professor Milley.
"Professor, it might be best if you mediate."
"A sound suggestion, Lee Han."
Adjusting his monocle, Professor Milley spoke.
"Let's have him demonstrate Golem control as well."
"......"
The summoning mages who didn't understand the situation frowned, thinking the golem summoners were talking nonsense. What kind of nonsense were they spouting about a first-year student who was exhausted from controlling paper birds?
Noticing their expressions, Yi Han whispered to Professor Millet.
"It would be better if you mediated this appropriately, Professor."
"You're right, Yi Han."
Professor Millet adjusted his monocle and spoke up.
"Let's see the golem control as well."