Episode 701
Episode 701
"Among the schools of magic, there are some rather peculiar ones. Beyond what you first-years have seen..."
"Aren't you going to ask if any students take more than four?"
When Gainando raised his hand to ask, Perse gave him a sharp reprimand.
"Don't waste my time, junior. Even as your senior, I can't indulge all your jokes."
"N-no, I wasn't—"
Gainando looked deeply wronged.
He'd asked for his friend's sake!
"Where was I? Ah, peculiar schools."
"Are you referring to schools like Black Magic?"
At someone's question, Gainando bristled.
But it was Lee Han who'd asked. Gainando quickly canceled his anger.
"The Black Magic school doesn't even count as peculiar. They just have relatively few members, but they've consistently maintained their numbers and passed down traditions."
"Back in our day, the seniors were genuinely worried it might get abolished."
Perse ignored Gainando's comment and continued.
"For a school to be considered truly peculiar in Einrogard, it should either be something you've never even heard of or make you wonder, 'Who would even study this?' If you're interested, you'd either have to beg the Headmaster to recruit a professor or be lucky enough to find a fifth- or sixth-year senior researching it to learn from."
'I see now.' Lee Han nodded.
Music Magic and Professor Voladi's magic (though he wasn't sure if that even counted as a school!) fell into that category.
'Wait. Is there a separate school for Time Magic?'
"Senior, I have a question."
"What is it?"
"Is there a separate school for Time Magic at Einrogard?"
"Uh... hold on."
Lee Han's question seemed to stump even Perse, who pulled out a conch-shaped artifact and asked,
"Senior Yukveltire. Is there a Time Magic school lecture this year?"
-No.
"And when was the last time one was held?"
-14 years ago. If any junior shows interest in Time Magic, tell them to get a grip.
"Thank you for the advice."
After receiving the answer, Perse relayed it to the juniors.
"It seems it disappeared due to lack of interest for a while. If you're really keen, you could personally—"
Mid-sentence, Perse suddenly covered her mouth in shock.
Had she really been about to suggest such a horrifying thing to her juniors?!
"...Let's pretend I never said that."
"Fifth year?"
Perse violently swung her staff. Gainando, hit by a Silence Curse, made protesting gestures.
"Juniors. Remember this if nothing else: You don't need to respect or revere your seniors, but never mention adding one to four in front of them! Especially not in front of fourth-year seniors!! Understood?"
"W-we're sorry."
"We'll remember."
Perse's gaze held the desperate intensity of a cornered beast, overwhelming the second-years.
"Back to our topic. Your second-year lectures will now primarily revolve around the schools you've chosen. There are still required and elective courses, but most will be determined by your chosen interests within your school."
Even within the same school, each wizard pursued different goals.
For Summoning Magic, some specialized in spirits, others in inanimate objects, others in ancient artifacts...
As such, Einrogard's wizards needed to learn how to shrewdly select the lectures they needed within their chosen school.
"Just so you know, choosing won't be easy."
"Why's that?"
"Because there are a ridiculous number of lectures."
Perse dragged over a blackboard and unfurled a massive scroll that had been rolled up on it.
Horrific Case Studies in Summoning Magic
Flame Spirit Summoning Magic and Elemental Studies
Economic Analysis of Golem Summoning
The Necessity of Summoning Magic in Ancient Artifact Research (Forbidden for Second-Years)
Weaknesses of the Headmaster's Summons
......
Unlike their first year, where there'd been some uniformity, the sheer variety of bizarrely named lectures left the students dumbfounded.
"Are, are all these lectures actually available?"
"No. There are far more that aren't."
Perse quickly explained before the juniors could get even more frightened.
Lectures at Einrogard were usually conducted by professors or the most unfortunate fifth and sixth-year students on the continent.
Each year, professors and unfortunate mages would submit lists of lectures they'd offer...
And those lists remained unchanged year after year.
"????"
"Uh, is that even allowed?"
"Of course not. That's why a significant number of those lectures either lack professors to teach them or lack seniors to assist. Many also only start if you enroll—no professor will run a lecture with zero attendees."
'Hmm.' Lee Han thought he understood but remained quietly silent.
"In the end, you have to check for yourself. Of course, the best method is to consult your department professor. They can recommend lectures tailored to what you want to learn."
As Perse waved her staff, the list of lectures on the paper changed.
[Fire Spirit Summoning Magic and Elemental Studies]
[Pyro-Botany]
[How to Please Spirits Using Fire-Based Materials]
[The Most Famous Fire Elemental Systems]
"These are the recommended lectures a professor once wrote down for me. They're still largely the same now."
"Senior. I have a question. Do you really think... all professors would give such detailed recommendations?"
"Right. I'm well aware that not... all professors provide such detailed recommendations. And you're actually quite lucky. There happens to be an outstanding senior available."
Perse spoke with a voice tinged with reverence.
Noticing her expression, Yoner cautiously asked,
"That senior... is someone who's been held back from fourth year for an extra year, right?"
"That's right. But that senior doesn't find it troubling at all. That's what makes them truly remarkable."
"Could that senior be... Senior Yukveltire?"
Lee Han asked hesitantly, just in case.
Perse brightened and replied,
"Correct! How did you know?"
"Uh... I met them outside once. So... that senior gives advice? Lecture advice?"
"Yes."
"......"
Lee Han was horrified.
The words Senior Dilette had advised him were still vivid in his mind.
'Is this really someone capable of giving advice?'
He was half-convinced it had to be a case of mistaken identity.
After all, even Professor Verdus had a namesake—maybe Senior Yukveltire was the same.
Their personalities seemed somewhat similar too...
"We'll start the consultation now, so don't waste time with pointless chatter. That senior dislikes wasting time just as much as I do."
"Senior. What if I—"
"Quiet! Get in there quickly."
"...Yes..."
Though it was usually hard to notice, there were some advantages to spending over five years at Einrogard.
One of them was that most of your seniors and classmates would have graduated.
Yukveltire didn't particularly care about their infamous reputation, but the fact that most remaining students in the Blue Dragon Tower were now their juniors certainly helped their standing.
Frankly speaking, the perspective of juniors who never interacted with them as peers was bound to be different.
To their peers, Yukveltire was "Verdus's top disciple," but to their juniors, they were "the Blue Dragon Tower's greatest intellect and most admirable senior"!
Yukveltire's indifference, compared to some truly malicious seniors, was repackaged as kindness.
And their obsessive madness for magic, which juniors never experienced firsthand, simply appeared as extraordinary brilliance.
After all, if you only saw the Skeleton Principal from a distance without ever interacting with him, wouldn't he just seem like the Empire's magnificent archmage?
Yukveltire placed an artifact clock of intricate design on the table.
The clock artifact was so massive it seemed more suited for a bell tower than a desk.
'When are they coming in?'
The reason Yukveltire helped second-years with their overwhelming lecture selection wasn't out of senior responsibility.
Such responsibility didn't exist within Yukveltire in the first place.
Yukveltire was only helping with course selection because of a deal she made with her friends during her third year.
-"You're going to keep the Tears of Orvidos all to yourself, Yukveltire?!"
-"It's not like you guys could use it even if you took it, right?"-...
"That may be true, but this is something we collected together, Yukveltire! The three of us risked going to the Punishment Room to get it from the Skeleton Principal's vault!"
-"Let's make a deal. What do you want? If you wish, I can give you advice on your small airship research."
-"Don't need it, I've already finished it! ..."
"Wait, but you seem like you could use some advice? Does it really look that lacking?"
-"About 10%."
-"Only 10% lacking? That's still pretty decent, though?"
-"No. I mean it's only 10% complete. That research."
-"......"-...
"Yukveltire. He doesn't need advice on his small airship research."
-"W-wait. I think I might need it."
-"What we want is for you to help out some second-year juniors. This year's course selection is a complete mess anyway. 80% of the courses don't even exist—does that make any sense?"
-"Why are you asking for help with something juniors should handle themselves? Do you have relatives among them?"
-"I do have relatives, but that's not the only reason, Yukveltire. I want to help them as a senior. It's a matter of noble honor."
-"I'm imperial royalty, and I've never once thought that such pointless meddling had anything to do with my honor. Are you perhaps misunderstanding the meaning of honor?"-...
"Ah, whatever! Are you taking the deal or not?!"
-"Fine."
-"Seriously? It's going to take a while, you know?"
-"If I make an artifact to handle it instead, it'll save time."
-"As expected... Wait. Yukveltire. Then I'm adding a condition."
-"What is it?"
-"Keep helping second-year juniors with their courses until you graduate."
-"Have you finally lost your mind?"
-"Take it or leave it. And Yukveltire. Don't even think about stealing the Tears of Orvidos. If the deal's off, I'll smash it right now. Did you think I wouldn't see through you? We might not be as good at magic as you, but we're still Einrogard students."-...!
Yukveltire opened her closed eyes.
Even now, it was an extremely unpleasant deal. He had never been cornered like that by his peers before.
Thanks to that, Yukveltire was stuck tailoring courses for talentless second-year students until graduation.
"Greetings, Senior!"
"Place your hand on the artifact. Think of the school you belong to, and the subjects your school focuses on."
"I-Is that all?"
The junior student asked hesitantly. Instead of answering, Yukveltire simply stared blankly.
Perhaps sensing the pressure from that cold gaze, the second-year hurriedly placed their hand on the artifact.
Then, with a clanking sound, the clock artifact produced a daily lecture schedule.
"...!!!"
The junior stared at the artifact in shock.
Astonishingly, this timetable not only included lectures related to their school and interests but also courses they hadn't even considered!
"H-how is there a lecture on water elemental fluidity...? I'm not interested in that!"
"This clock analyzes your abilities as well. If you're lacking in certain areas, it recommends lectures to compensate for those deficiencies."
"T-that's...!"
"Are you planning to stand there forever?"
"N-no! Thank you!"
The junior eagerly wrote down the lecture names before hurrying out.
When the next junior entered, Yukveltire closed her eyes and repeated the same words.
And the next junior, and the next, and the next...
"Greetings."
A strangely modulated voice reached his ears.
But Yukveltire wasn't the type to open her eyes and check just because a junior's voice sounded a little off.
"Place your hand on the artifact. Think of the school you belong to, and the subjects your school focuses on."
"Yes."
Relieved that the insane senior wasn't looking at him, Lee Han let out a quiet sigh and placed his hand on the artifact.
He planned to finish this quickly and bolt.
Ting!
"...?"
Lee Han froze when the clock clanked to a stop.
As Yukveltire began to open his closed eyes, Lee Han instinctively threw his cloak.