Episode 976
Episode 976
Diret experienced the greatest absurdity he'd felt all day.
Was that bastard actually saying those words out loud??
"W-well. Why do you think?"
"Hmm."
Yukveltire fell deep into thought.
At the very least, the two had many similarities.
Both were fifth-year students, and both were from the same school of magic as the junior from the Wardanaz family.
'I don't get it. Why?'
With this many common points, it wouldn't be strange for the junior to say the same things to both of them.
"...Think a little harder."
"There's the difference between Blue Dragon Tower and Black Turtle Tower."
"That's not necessarily... No. Keep going."
"Could it be because I'm royalty? Was the junior's family part of the noble faction..."
"......"
"Diret? Diret?"
By the time Yukveltire, lost in thought, raised her head again, her beastman crow friend was already walking far away.
Yukveltire lamented her friend's rude attitude.
It was fortunate she was a forgiving person—any other mage would have surely gotten angry at Diret.
'Such rude behavior won't do Diret any good either...'
The fourth-year Brass Golem looked at the professor with worried eyes, along with the other students of the Divination Magic school.
Given the nature of their school, Professor Paselet was prone to bouts of madness.
Divination Magic was like a potent toxin to a mage's mind—the longer one used it, the more susceptible they became to insanity. It wasn't for nothing that the professor's personality had split into multiple facets.
But today, it was especially severe.
"IIIIIT'S COOOOMING! IIIIIT'S COOOOMING!"
"Did he always have that personality?"
"Well..."
"More importantly, Senior. Are you going to stay as a golem the whole time?"
"Huh? Yeah."
"Isn't it uncomfortable?"
The other juniors understood well why the senior had transformed into a golem.
It was to evade and endure dangerous misfortune.
The enemies of divination mages weren't just the creeping madness that came for them.
The future, warped by observation; the misfortune that crashed down because of it; even the bureaucrats who occasionally came whining for predictions of the Empire's next year's output—all were enemies of divination mages.
Golem Senior was a student who actively challenged Divination Magic as much as his exceptional skill allowed, and as a result, he had to pay countless prices and suffer endless misfortunes.
So transforming into a golem to block and avoid it wasn't particularly strange...
It was just that he'd been like this for too long.
"It is uncomfortable. That's why I changed the material. From bronze to brass."
"...R-right."
Even within the Divination Magic school, there was a hierarchy to madness.
Rather than prying further, the other juniors shifted the topic.
"But Senior, why is the professor acting like that? Is it a new personality?"
"No... It seems like he saw a very ominous future."
"DOOOOOOM IS COOOOMING!"
Professor Paselet screamed while burying himself deep into his armchair.
No matter how you looked at it, this seemed less like a new personality and more like temporary hysteria from witnessing a dreadful future.
"Did he see a future where the Empire collapses or something?"
"The professor wouldn't just casually see a future like that."
Even for a mage like Professor Paselet, predicting the distant future required extensive preparation, work, and an enormous budget.
He wouldn't suddenly conduct such divination at a time like this. At most, it would be a short-term prediction of a day or two.
"Is there anything that dangerous and ominous that could happen within the next day or two?"
"I'm not sure. But the future is unpredictable, so..."
Golem Senior couldn't think of anything either.
Was there really something that would happen within the next day or two that would shock the professor this much?
"Maybe the Empire is cutting our funding?"
"Even if they did, it'd be the Black Magic school that gets cut, not us."
"Then could it be something related to the professor's personal matters? Like an extension of Einrogard's teaching position..."
"Our school has so few mages to begin with that the professor would've known about it already, right? There's no reason to be shocked about it now."
The students pondered among themselves about possible reasons the professor might be shocked, but nothing concrete came to mind.
Meanwhile, the Brass Golem senior clapped his hands.
"Everyone. Prepare for the lecture. It seems I'll have to lead today."
"But the professor collapsed—shouldn't we take the day off?"
"Oh, no. I glimpsed the future, and if we skip today's lecture, you juniors will fail."
At the senior's strict response, the students grumbled as they took their seats.
Creak
-"Sorry for being late."
"No, it's fine. We haven't started yet. Take a seat, junior."
The Brass Golem gestured reassuringly to the junior who hurried in through the door.
"Today, since the professor isn't feeling well, I'll be leading the lecture."
"Oh dear. Are you alright?"
"He'll recover soon. He kept saying the end is coming... as if he saw some strange future... THE END IS COOOOMING!!!"
The Golem senior screamed in shock upon seeing the person following behind Lee Han.
It was the Skeleton Principal in human form entering the room!
"Wow, senior. You nailed the impression."
"Did he really scream like that?"
"Yeah. That was almost identical."
While the juniors chattered without grasping the situation, the Brass Golem student screamed again.
"THE END IS COOOOOMING!"
"Senior. You can stop now."
"Why twice...?"
"L-look behind you!"
"?"
The Divination Magic students turned their heads.
Most still didn't understand the situation even after seeing the Mad Clone. The Skeleton Principal's human form was, after all, a rare sight to begin with.
Among them, the few who had seen the Skeleton Principal's human form before screamed identically.
"THE END IS COOOOOOOMING!"
"???"
"W-what kind of magic is this? Why is everyone acting like this?"
"...My apologies."
Lee Han apologized on their behalf.
Technically, it wasn't his fault that the Mad Clone kept following him, but someone had to apologize.
After the junior explained the situation to the best of his ability (with some embellishments, of course), the seniors nodded in understanding.
It wasn't the Skeleton Principal himself, but rather a clone of the Skeleton Principal who had suddenly visited out of great interest in Einrogard's magical education... 'Now I understand why the professor ended up like that!'
Honestly, the students also felt like screaming about the end of the world and pretending to be insane.
What difference did it make whether it was the Skeleton Principal or his clone? Having a grand mage sitting beside them, watching the lecture, was equally nerve-wracking.
"What are you doing? Begin."
"...Ah, yes."
The Brass Golem senior was just as tense.
He stiffly turned and walked toward the blackboard, only to stumble and fall.
Thud!
"Was that because of bad luck!?"
"N-no, that was just me tripping from nerves."
"......"
Lee Han reflected deeply. 'I'm sorry!'
"More importantly, junior. How was that prophecy last time? Did it help you avoid misfortune?"
Seeing his junior, the Golem senior recalled the previous incident and asked.
Last time, this junior had taken a powerful prophecy to alter his future. 'It was a warning to avoid contact with the imperial family.' Remembering that, the Golem senior soon reached another realization.
Come to think of it, hadn't he sought that prophecy right after escaping from the Skeleton Principal's Mad Clone, hoping to avoid further trouble?
If the clone was still following him like this, did that mean the prophecy hadn't been very effective...?
"...I think I failed to follow it properly."
"Y-yeah, seems like it."
The fleeting thoughts that passed over the junior's expression revealed that many things had happened in the meantime.
The other juniors also faced hardships often, but the emotions displayed by the one before them now were on a completely different level.
"What in the world happened to make you like this...?"
"Well then, let's begin the lecture... Last time, we discussed celestial magic."
Celestial magic, also known as heavenly magic, was a type of magic that borrowed and utilized the power of the stars.
Divination mages inevitably had to take an interest in celestial magic. After all, if they tried to predict the future by borrowing power from spirits or demons, even a hundred bodies and souls wouldn't be enough.
"The stars move according to celestial laws. Thanks to this, exceptional mages can borrow the power of their movements to glimpse the future. Such observations lessen the burden on the mage and prevent madness. If one grows more ambitious, they could even attempt to form a contract with a star directly—though we don't need to discuss that today. Surely there's no one here greedy enough to try contracting with a star right now, is there?"
The students burst into laughter at the senior's joke.
But two people didn't laugh—Lee Han and the Crazy Doppelganger.
Lee Han sat with a gloomy expression, as if chewing on something bitter. Similarly displeased, the Crazy Doppelganger spoke to Lee Han.
"Cowards, the lot of you. Content with merely observing movements."
"..."
"Ah. Then how about the esteemed teacher giving them a stern lesson? Why don't you tell them to contract with stars too?"
"There's no reason for me to unnecessarily interfere with those who aren't disciples of royalty."
'Tch.'
Lee Han clicked his tongue inwardly.
It seemed he couldn't push the seniors here into contracting with stars after all.
"Today's lecture will involve training to read the movements of stars and glimpse the future. Even if you don't see anything, there's no need to push yourself too hard."
Divination magic wasn't something that could be forced.
Especially when it came to peering into the future through celestial magic—aptitude was even more crucial.
One mage might receive flashes of inspiration about the future just by observing the movements of a blue star, while another could stare at the same star for years without gaining any insight.
The key was first finding a star that resonated with one's own spiritual nature. Omens, divinations, and rules came after.
"So... how was it...?"
After finishing his explanation, the Brass Golem senior stood respectfully before the Crazy Doppelganger.
Whether it was the Skeleton Principal or his doppelganger, a 'headmaster' was still a headmaster.
Naturally, he had to be cautious.
"Acceptable."
"Th-thank you!"
The Brass Golem senior was practically jumping for joy.
"However, it's not without issues. Your attitude when teaching juniors is far too complacent."
"...My apologies."
The senior's expression fell again.
"But considering the level of most mages, such complacency can be excused. Not everyone can study under royalty, after all."
"Th-thank you...?"
"That said, if you remain unchanged, it's something you should reflect on as a mage."
"...Um, I'm sorry, but... Great Archmage. I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to do."
"Let me explain simply."
The Crazy Doppelganger answered breezily.
"You may teach other mages with complacency and laziness, but do not treat this disciple here the same way. Teach him with fervor, like the blazing birth of a new star."
"U-understood!"
The Crazy Doppelganger set the goal with magnanimous grace.
Given that this disciple had contracted with the Guest Star Arna, he would undoubtedly excel at reading other wandering stars as well.
In that case, it wouldn't hurt to memorize the movements of one or two comets or novas right now.
The more divination magic a mage mastered, the easier it became to prepare for misfortune and plan meticulously for the future.
Of course, that was only by the Crazy Doppelganger's standards—not Lee Han's. Lee Han just wanted to observe the moon's movements or find blue and red stars along with the seniors.
"......"
Lee Han, who had suddenly found himself struck down without warning, remained silent.
Then, when the Crazy Doppelganger wasn't looking, he quietly whispered to the Golem Senior.
"By any chance... is there a magic that predicts what nonsense the teacher might spout next?"