Episode 586
Episode 586
No!
"No?"
Even as the Skeleton Principal's expression turned serious, Professor Paselet did not easily concede.
Just as students who attended Einrogard for long grew shrewd, so too did professors who taught there long enough.
One telltale sign of such experience was not readily trusting the Headmaster's words...
"I plan to visit the capital with that Wardanaz boy and recruit some new students while I'm at it."
"Aha!"
Professor Paselet immediately grasped the Skeleton Principal's implication.
With the mana reserves that boy from House Wardanaz possessed, he could easily substitute for the mana drawn from Einrogard's ley lines.
But still...
"Is that really acceptable?"
'It shouldn't cause any issues.'
'But isn't that beside the point?'
Of course, he understood that the Wardanaz boy had such an abundance of mana that using him this way wouldn't pose any problems. But as the Empire's premier magic school, they ought to care somewhat about how things appeared to outsiders.
Not that he'd say this out loud elsewhere.
"Headmaster..."
Professor Paselet gave the Skeleton Principal a pointed look, but it was futile.
If someone could be swayed by a professor's gaze, they'd never have become Einrogard's Headmaster in the first place.
Why are you staring? Do you have more to say?
"No, I don't. Please take good care of the new students."
That's what I should be saying to the new students.
The Skeleton Principal grumbled.
He could already feel the irritation creeping in.
Most assumed that every prospective student would come running when invited to the Empire's most prestigious magic school—an honor rarely bestowed. But in reality, there were surprisingly many who hesitated to enroll.
From scions of the Empire's great noble houses who preferred private tutors or Magic Towers, to students considering other magic schools.
These cases weren't so bad, at least.
Because those students still had an interest in magic.
With some gentle persuasion, most would eventually concede, 'Ah, I suppose Einrogard really is the best choice.'
The trickier cases involved students who lacked interest in magic—or more precisely, those whose environments actively discouraged such pursuits.
-"What nonsense is this, sending our family's slave to Einrogard?"
-"Ha! This brat is a member of the <Three Rats> guild. You think we can just send him off to school when he's earning us so much through begging?"
When dealing with slaves, criminals, or others of similarly disadvantaged backgrounds, their handlers rarely let them go without a fight.
That's when the Skeleton Principal's tone would start to sharpen.
-"It's an honor, and we'll compensate you..."
-"No. Pay ten times the amount."
-"You whelp still wet behind the ears dare to negotiate with me—a Magic Officer of His Imperial Majesty and guardian of the Arcane Barrier? I'll exterminate every last drop of your pitifully short bloodline and reduce your house to dust without leaving a single foundation stone! Now. How will your family pay? Speak!"
After exchanges like these, he'd inevitably get scolded by the Emperor and berated by Imperial bureaucrats...
In short, recruiting new students was no easy task.
Honestly, bringing the Wardanaz boy along was partly for this very reason.
"Ah, I see. You intend to have him assist in dealing with criminals."
Yes—Wait, no! What nonsense are you spouting? Not criminals—I meant persuading the Empire's citizens!
The Skeleton Principal, who had almost nodded along absentmindedly, was aghast.
What he actually valued about Wardanaz was his exceptional social skills.
His ability to quickly befriend not just nobles but people from all walks of life.
This was a talent even Einrogard's most seasoned seniors struggled to match.
Bringing Wardanaz along would make persuasion easier and, more importantly, help the Skeleton Principal keep his temper in check—not to have him assist in fights.
If he wanted fighting support, he'd have brought Professor Garcia!
"Huh? Not Professor Bagrak?"
Yes. Professor Bagrak. Didn't I say Professor Bagrak?
"You said Professor Garcia, sir."
"You must have misheard. Professor Kraer. Are you the headmaster? Am I the headmaster? Did the headmaster misspeak, or did the professor mishear?"
'What a damnable archmage he is.'
Professor Paselet cursed the Skeleton Principal, who resorted to authority by shifting his tone whenever cornered.
But such arguments always disadvantaged the lower-ranked. The professor suppressed his anger while recalling this year's budget for the Divination Magic department.
"Since you're here, could you take a look at this? It's the final exam for the freshmen."
The freshmen's final exam shouldn't pose any major issues.
The Skeleton Principal was well aware of the dangers of Divination Magic.
After all, when counting the number of upperclassmen whose conditions deteriorated, it always ranked high.
But for a freshman-level exam, there shouldn't be much risk. The Skeleton Principal nodded as he examined the strange ornaments and talismans spread across the table.
Protective charms, perhaps?
Divination mages bore the most direct consequences for foreseeing the future.
Mages had thoroughly researched ways to evade such costs.
Distributing the burden, substituting the price, or obscuring the vision's outcome to reduce the risk itself...
One such method was these protective charms.
Artifacts deeply intertwined with the future served both as conduits for divination and as armor that bore the cost in the mage's stead.
Unlike other artifacts, these required far greater precision and intricacy—any slight error would immediately shift the burden onto the mage.
Seems fine. Hmm...
"Well, that's a relief."
Ah. Would the Wardanaz kid make protective charms out of these?
On a whim, the Skeleton Principal summoned bones from his dimensional storage.
Professor Paselet grimaced at the ominous, mana-drenched materials—hardly necessary for a freshman-level exam.
Stop staring like that. There's a reason for it.
"Headmaster. While I respect you deeply, I must remind you that I, too, can send a letter to His Majesty the Emperor..."
'What a damnable professor.'
The Skeleton Principal cursed Professor Paselet inwardly.
He needs to use something like this. The intensity of the divination is considerable.
"But... is that necessary? Couldn't you just use a weaker divination spell..."
At Professor Paselet's words, the other personalities within the professor immediately interjected.
-If we do that, we'll have fewer students than the Black Magic department...
-Geniuses must walk their own extraordinary paths!!
Irritated from all sides, Professor Paselet sighed and relented.
"Still, it should be his choice. I doubt he'd want to make things harder for himself."
But when asked, he said he wanted it harder. Satisfied?
"Is that so?"
-I told you so...
Suppressing another personality briefly, Professor Paselet nodded.
If he agreed to it...
"Very well."
Heh heh heh.
"Did you just laugh?"
Professor Kraer. Seems your hearing's been off lately.
After leaving his private room, Lee Han realized just how crucial sleep was.
"Perhaps... I might've gone strange from lack of sleep."
"......"
Priestess Dijiling stared at Lee Han with a look of utter disbelief, as if witnessing the most reckless person alive.
Is that even a thing to say?
"I just needed perfect scores—why did I push myself so hard? Haha."
"......"
Without a word, Priestess Dijiling refilled Lee Han's teacup.
"But the Transformation Magic exam... Ugh. Ughh."
Still silent, Priestess Dijiling shoved chocolate into Lee Han's mouth. Lee Han chewed it slowly before sipping his tea.
"How's the Transformation Magic exam going... Ughh."
Priestess Dijiling remained silent...
"Ah! Lord Wardanaz, you're awake. Let's go together!"
Priest Siana, who had been strategizing with other students in the lounge's adjacent area on how to conquer the third-floor Jade Forest Lecture Hall, brightened upon seeing Lee Han rise.
He was always reliable in situations like these.
"Ugh... ugh..."
"I'm glad you're coming with us... Ah. But why is Priestess Dijiling here?"
"It's nothing."
Priestess Dijiling, who had been about to glare, let out a faint sigh and spoke.
"Um, everyone... is it really necessary to storm the lecture hall like this right before the exam?"
Priestess Dijiling couldn't understand why they had to so actively resolve the anomaly in the lecture hall right before the exam.
Couldn't they wait a bit longer and assess the situation?
Especially since they were overseeing all the other faction exams—couldn't they leave it to others for now?
"What if it's just a coincidence, or the professor made a mistake?"
"Pfft. It's definitely the professor's trap."
"Right. It's probably the professor's trap."
"I also think it's the professor's trap..."
"!?"
Dijiling was taken aback by the reactions of the students—not just from other towers, but even the Phoenix Tower students.
Normally, priests would show respect to professors, so he expected answers like, "Well, the professor might have made a mistake."
But as if tainted by someone, the priests were actively suspecting the professors.
"Huh. That's strange."
Lee Han seemed to notice it too and looked surprised. Dijiling widened her eyes and stared at him.
"Did you notice?"
"Yeah. This must be... the professors' wickedness crossing the line."
"......"
"Even these pure-hearted priests are doubting the professors now. Just how much have they deceived people for it to come to this?"
"......"
"Right, Priestess Dijiling?"
"...Yes..."
Dijiling gave up and sighed.
Honestly, the change in the priests wasn't entirely bad.
Originally, this vast freshman lounge would have been filled with quiet solemnity, but ever since Lee Han arrived, it had become lively with chatter (and some arguing over faith).
"Alright! Let's go crush the professor's scheme!"
"Woo-hoo!"
"In the name of Flemeng!"
"In the name of Aglataqua!"
* * *
The warehouse keeper, his eyes covered with bandages, couldn't see, but he was a figure of terror to the students of Einrogard.
The sound of footsteps that echoed when sneaking into the kitchen or warehouse at night.
Once caught by those footsteps, escape was nearly impossible.
This very figure of terror, the warehouse keeper, now stood before the Jade Forest Lecture Hall with a deeply displeased expression.
The fir tree spirit, entrusted by the Skeleton Principal as the forest keeper, bowed apologetically.
-I... messed up...
For the forest keeper responsible for managing the Skeleton Principal's woods within the Einrogard main building, the lecture hall's transformation into a jungle was an unfortunate mistake.
While importing a few plant species as instructed by the Skeleton Principal, seeds had been accidentally spilled.
Most spilled seeds had been retrieved before causing issues, but some areas had inevitably turned into jungles...
And this was one of them.
With his patrol route disrupted, the warehouse keeper made his displeasure clear and signaled for a quick resolution.
The forest keeper bowed repeatedly before finally managing to send him away.
-What's... wrong with a jungle...?
Once the warehouse keeper left, the fir tree spirit grumbled under its breath.
Sure, it might be a bit confusing to navigate, but wasn't it far more beautiful than the plain main hall corridors?
As the fir tree spirit pondered how to clear the jungle, the sound of new footsteps reached its ears—first-year students.
-Should send them back...
The forest keeper was about to block their path with trees to turn the freshmen away when it belatedly recognized Lee Han's face.
This was undoubtedly the disciple often mentioned by other warehouse keepers and tower caretakers.
-Came... to help...?
The sudden appearance of the fir tree spirit startled the students.
Lee Han, who had been trying to hide behind the fallen priests, helped them up and cautiously asked,
"May I ask your name...?"
-I'm... the forest keeper... More importantly... did you come to help...?
Lee Han's mind raced.
What was the most appropriate response when caught trespassing?
"Yes!"
-I knew it...! Heard about you often...!
"...?"
Lee Han felt uneasy when he realized the spirit seemed to know him.
Why did he feel like he'd made a mistake?