Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy
chapter-438

Yi-Han, who was listening next to them, asked in confusion despite his exhaustion.

"What's good about me becoming notorious?"

-Isn't it cool?-

-Notoriety is also fame. Young Wardanaz.-

The death knight who played the role of a senior knight among the death knights spoke kindly as if explaining, but the content was not kind at all.

-Think about it! When enemies encounter Young Wardanaz, would it be better for them to tremble just by hearing Young Wardanaz's name, or would it be better for them to be surprised, saying they heard that name for the first time?-

"I prefer the latter..."

Yi-Han just wanted to surprise unsuspecting opponents.

-No mage would wish for the latter. Of course, Young Wardanaz may think he can easily gain notoriety at the current pace without using such methods, but...-

-Originally, fame always has a bit of exaggeration mixed in, doesn't it?-

-That's right. Indeed!-

The death knights, perhaps because most of them were famous knights when they were alive, had no aversion to mixing in a bit of exaggeration.

Moreover, if enemies knew their name, it was something to be proud of, so why would they fear it?

A truly strong person was bound to trample even traps prepared by enemies.

"...I think I have enough now..."

-Are you satisfied with exterminating the King of Ghouls in Granden City during the break?-

-You shouldn't be.-

-Yeah, yeah! Just as you have to strike when the iron is hot, you have to spread fame even more when it has spread!-

Yi-Han began to get a headache from the chattering of the death knights gathered together.

He was already tired from the bloody battle...

"I'll... remember you...!"

From afar, Bagdugul was still gritting his teeth at Yi-Han, unable to grasp the situation.

Irritated, Yi-Han sharply retorted.

"Please shut up, a bit."

The death knights nodded their heads contentedly as if that was how it should be done.

The skull principal, who was watching the students being swept away by the rapids while screaming, laughed out loud, but was startled by the report of the death knights.

“What did you say!?”

-The anti-magic extremists attacked the knight order! It seems Bagdugul from the Twilight Dawn Brigade was the mastermind!-

“Uh... is that true?”

The skull principal asked the death knight again in surprise.

Because there was really no reason for the anti-magic extremists to attack the knight order.

Moreover, Bagdugul, who led the Twilight Dawn Brigade, was a rather notorious criminal whose name the skull principal had seen in documents.

He was persistent and sinister in nature, skilled in schemes, and his swordsmanship had reached the realm of aura, so several imperial mages had lost their lives at the tip of his blade.

Why would such a guy leisurely attack a worthless knight order like the Chestnut Tree Knight Order?

The Chestnut Tree Knight Order had no particular characteristics other than abundant gold coins...

'Was he short on money?'

The death knights next to the skull principal were startled and shouted after hearing the report from the scene.

-You have to go right away!-

“What? Aren't the death knights around?”

-The Chestnut Tree Knight Order...-

“Are you saying those guys can get hurt?”

The skull principal looked at the death knights as if saying, 'Why should I make a fuss and care about even those guys?'

Then the death knights shouted as if it was frustrating.

-...They took the students with them! Even your disciple, Master!-

“Ah. That's even better. At most, with an attack of that scale, he would have sufficiently taken care of his own life.”

-????-

The death knights were puzzled by their master's arrogant attitude.

“The death knights at the scene will arrive soon, so there's no need to hurry. Shall we leave slowly?”

-Master. I respect your confidence, but I think excessive confidence leads to arrogance and carelessness...-

“Tsk tsk. Those who have eyes but cannot see, and have a head but cannot think. Well, that's why you are death knights and I am the master.”

The skull principal flew away with a confident back.

The death knights chased after him in a rush. But their eyes were filled with anxiety.

-Didn't he make a mistake last time despite acting like that?-

-I'm worried...-

But surprisingly, this time the skull principal's prediction was correct.

The death knights were amazed at the sight of the camp where suppression was perfectly completed without a single death.

-No way...?!-

-Really?!-

“Look! What did I say? Dull subordinates. What more do you need to believe me?”

The death knights felt wronged.

Hadn't their master been wrong quite a few times too?

-What exactly happened?-

-So that's...-

While the death knights gathered and chattered, the skull principal flew to the knights.

Originally, this was a good time to show off after a battle ended.

It was a good time to be called the great grand mage by healing a few wounds from sword cuts and stabs.

“Ah! The knights of the great Chestnut Tree Knight Order, the people of the empire will not forget your dedication.”

"Lord Gonadaltes!!"

The knights of the Chestnut Tree Knight Order, who were sitting and wrapping bandages, shouted fiercely.

The skull principal was slightly taken aback by the much hotter reaction than expected.

'What?'

"That foresight to have summons on standby in case of emergency, I can only admire it!"

"Thank you for your grace!!"

“Ah.”

The skull principal realized what misunderstanding they had.

They mistakenly thought that the death knights assigned to monitor the students' escape were prepared in case of unexpected rampage by anti-magic extremists.

“As the grand mage of the empire, the lord of Einroguard, the mage of His Majesty the Emperor, and the guardian of the magic barrier…”

A quick-witted death knight ran over and listed the skull principal's titles instead.

“...it's just something that should be done. Moreover, think about the gold that the Chestnut Tree Knight Order has donated to Einroguard. Where do you think the reagents that raised these summons came from?”

When the skull principal winked with glowing eyes, the knights burst into laughter.

Yi-Han thought the knights' sense of humor might have been paralyzed from losing too much blood.

"I now understand the deep meaning hidden in your action of sending your disciple. It wasn't simply to attend the gathering, but to prepare for the intelligence that anti-magic extremists would cause a disturbance!"

“...Haha. You caught me. Can you think of any other reason?”

"..."

Yi-Han stared blankly, but the skull principal lightly ignored him.

“Your disciple must have been quite active.”

"Not just quite!"

"Even after being poisoned, he didn't waver..."

"He reinforced the tent with earth..."

"He caught that leader alone..."

'What did this guy do?'

The skull principal concentrated to maintain his composure.

He had expected some level of activity, but it exceeded that several times over.

“No, why was he dealing with someone like Bagdugul himself?”

Was he crazy about fame or just crazy...

"Pardon?"

“It's nothing. Anyway, I'm really glad everyone is safe.”

"Of course."

"To think that the donation we sent is being used to nurture such outstanding pillars of the empire!"

The knights were very impressed and proud of the level of Einroguard's 1st years.

With this level, it was truly a level where they didn't regret the gold coins they sent.

"..."

"..."

The White Tiger Tower students had to feel guilty as if they had deceived the knights even though they did nothing.

“Hahaha! That's right, that's right!”

The skull principal also laughed, revealing his bones.

It seemed that a generous donation would come from the knight order again at the end of this year.

"Hey! Since this banquet ended so quickly due to the attack of evil ones, how about donating the remaining gold coins to Einroguard instead of holding another banquet?"

"That's a really good idea!"

"I agree too!"

“Very good…”

The skull principal tried to agree on the side, but shut his mouth in case it ruined the atmosphere.

The knights gathered the remaining gold coins in one place as a price for receiving help from the magic academy. The skull principal looked happier than ever.

“Come here, my cherished disciple!”

"?"

Yi-Han was momentarily flustered and looked around.

Huh?

'Me?'

-It is Mr. Wardanaz.-

-It's Mr. Wardanaz.-

-Who else would be the cherished disciple?-

"You mean me?"

“I want you to talk about Einroguard in front of the knights.”

"Pardon??"

Yi-Han was startled and looked at the skull principal.

'Is he serious?'

Of course, the skull principal also noticed the emotion contained in Yi-Han's "??".

“You can do it 'well'.”

"Aha."

Yi-Han looked at the skull principal. The skull principal also looked at his disciple. The two of them established a deal with just their gazes.

"What surprised me when I entered Einroguard was the consideration of the principal who showed us magic from the moment we passed through the school gate, making us familiar with magic..."

"What the hell is Wardanaz doing?"

"Leave him alone and get some rest."

Jijel collapsed on the blanket as if lying down.

The knights, after hearing the whole story, shed tears in admiration of Einroguard's teachings.

The skull principal watched his disciple, who had increased the donation more than three times, with affectionate eyes.

“I'm proud of you!”

"I also always respect the principal. Did you figure out the information about the anti-magic extremists in advance, principal?"

“...That's right.”

"...?"

Yi-Han felt something was off.

"Don't tell me you assigned them to monitor our escape..."

“What nonsense are you talking about! There are many ears listening, and it can cause misunderstanding!”

The skull principal gestured with his eyes that there were still many knights resting around the tent.

Yi-Han noticed and nodded.

"There are many boxes left over from preparing for the banquet, can I take some in?"

“...The knights might want to take some with them when they return to their families, don't you think?”

"Then I'll ask and take them."

The skull principal cursed his disciple.

How could someone from the Blue Dragon Tower be so greedy?

“More importantly, you did well dealing with such a formidable enemy.”

"I was lucky."

There was plenty of time to prepare, the enemies didn't know about Yi-Han, and there was a powerful knight on this side.

Of course, the skull principal looked at Yi-Han with disdain as if he was a madman.

“No one would call that luck.”

"No..."

“Be quiet. More importantly, do you know why these guys attacked the knights?”

"Ah. About that."

Yi-Han explained the unfortunate misunderstanding between them.

Hearing that, the skull principal muttered.

“Dear me. I should have been more thorough. My choice wasn't wrong, but I was too lenient!”

"Is... is that so?"

“Don't worry. Since everyone from the leader to the remnants has been caught, the Chestnut Tree Knight Order won't need to be careful of the night streets.”

"I guess the same goes for me?"

“As for you... you're a mage too, and you've already half-destroyed two anti-magic extremist groups, so it's a bit much.”

"..."

Yi-Han looked around.

He only saw people who loved to spread rumors, from the knights to the death knights.

'To control everyone, you need to be at least at the level of the skull principal...'

“Don't be afraid of your notoriety rising among enemies. The ones who should be afraid are the enemies, not you. Rather than such useless things, there's something interesting. Look.”

The skull principal took out the artifacts he had taken from Bagdugul, not caring at all about Yi-Han's complicated feelings.

“Do you know who made these artifacts?”

"I don't know?"

“These are the <Piercing Eyes of Antagon> artifacts. Artifacts made by the evil magic criminal Antagon.”

"Ah. I see. ...Wait, by any chance, was this person also from Einroguard?!"

At Yi-Han's sincere question, the skull principal glared at his disciple.