Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

Chapter 654

"This way! Please wait a moment."

The gatekeepers guarding the Kraha family mansion called for servants when the Baldurguard students arrived.

The students marveled anew at the vast mansion grounds. Even among noble families with long histories, there weren't many as wealthy as the Kraha family.

"The Kraha family is really amazing. It would have been nice if someone from the Kraha family had entered Baldurguard."

"Right. I agree. I heard there's a mage about our age who entered Einroguard."

"Ah. You mean the prince."

"Hmph. I don't like royalty. They're just numerous but have excessively high noses."

"Watch your words, Basiu! The royalty are people who have inherited the bloodline of His Majesty the great Emperor. They deserve respect."

The empire's nobles could be largely divided into three groups.

One was the loyalists who believed in and supported outstanding members of the royal family as the next emperor.

Another was the aristocrats who advocated for alliances among nobles instead of believing in and supporting the royal family.

The last was the neutrals who weren't interested in either. Families like the Wardanaz family were typical neutrals.

Since Ingsen was from a loyalist family and Basiu was from an aristocrat family, even though their friendship was close, they couldn't compromise on these aspects.

"Ingsen. I'll take back what I just said out of respect for your honor. Some royals certainly deserve recognition! But what about the other royals?"

"I'm not saying all royals are outstanding! But there aren't many who are lazy and dissolute. They're the ones tarnishing the royal family's honor! I'm sure the prince of the Kraha family is someone worthy of respect."

"Hmph. I might understand if he were a Baldurguard student, but as long as he's an Einroguard student, I won't acknowledge him. He could be a vile and twisted person."

"No. As someone from the Kraha family, he won't be easily corrupted even if Einroguard's seniors are vile and vulgar."

Ingsen believed in the name of the Kraha family.

A prince who inherited the blood of the Kraha family would surely be worthy of the trust of loyalist families.

"Ah, there's none of this filthy stuff!"

"?"

"The inside was better. It was full of rotten soil there... Gasp. What am I saying! This crazy mouth, this crazy mouth!"

A boy with bright blonde hair was digging up the shaded ground while wearing shabby clothes and holding a hoe and shovel.

Seeing this, the two became interested and dismounted their horses to approach.

"Basiu. What do you think he's doing?"

"I don't know. Judging by his clothes, he looks like a mansion servant... Is he digging up rotten soil?"

"Could it be magic reagents?"

"Is there magic that uses rotten soil?"

Baldurguard didn't deal with dark magic. So the students wondered if there was magic that used rotten soil as a reagent.

"The empire is full of all kinds of strange magic... There might be."

"Basiu. Let's help."

Ingsen said while grasping his staff. Basiu asked back in puzzlement.

"Help a servant's work? Did I hear that wrong?"

It was shameful for a noble to help with a servant's work.

The servants here must be capable too, so why should a visiting noble do such lowly work?

"You heard right. But what's different from what you're thinking is that we'll help with magic."

"Ingsen, I'm always amazed by your wisdom!"

Basiu marveled at his friend's wisdom.

While it would be shameful for a noble to squat down and dig soil together with a servant while walking, helping to dig soil with magic was wonderful charity.

How much would the servant spread rumors in the mansion after receiving help?

"Hey, you there!"

Ingsen called out to the servant boy. Gainando turned his head in puzzlement.

"It looks like you need to dig up soil, so let us help. Now, step aside!"

"What...?"

"Gather, soil. Gather, soil. Gather, soil..."

Ingsen chanted the spell while concentrating.

Gainando, who had been blinking his eyes not knowing what the other was doing due to the slow spell casting speed, belatedly realized.

"Wait, you're not..."

"...Gather!"

Whoosh!

With the spell, the underground soil Gainando had been digging began to surge upwards.

It was a sufficient amount of rotten soil.

Ingsen wiped the sweat beads from his forehead and smiled with satisfaction.

"How's that? This should be enough for you to gather."

"...What nonsense! You bastard!"

Gainando shouted in anger.

"?!"

Ingsen and Basiu were so shocked they couldn't answer. They never thought they'd hear such words from a mansion servant they were visiting as guests.

"H-h-how dare you speak like that..."

"What do you mean how dare I? I can say it a hundred times! You idiots! You maggots not even worth sending to the punishment room!"

Gainando stomped his feet in indignation.

As curses learned from Professor Mortum spilled out, the two noble boys became dazed.

"Y-you dare... to insult us who helped you with your work..."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"What help! Did you think I was doing this because I couldn't dig soil?! Gather, soil!"

As he chanted the spell while swinging his staff, soil surged up right next to them.

The two were so surprised they couldn't even speak.

It was more surprising than the servant cursing.

To think a servant could cast magic.

And faster and more accurately than them!

"H-how...?!"

"What do you mean how! With such an easy spell! Are you guys really idiots? This soil loses its effect when touched by magic! I'm telling you it needs to be dug with equipment made of grave iron to maintain its effect!"

"Th-that's..."

"W-we didn't know."

"Does magic end because you didn't know! What are you going to do! I've been wandering around all day because it's hard to find rotten soil!"

Gainando jumped up and down.

To think all his efforts preparing dark magic reagents all day would be in vain because of some passing crazy guys.

If he returned like this, Yi-Han might suspect, 'Did you just go play?'

"Follow me! You'll explain!"

"W-we need to go now."

"Let's go!"

The two hurriedly ran and escaped onto their horses.

The aura of that mage boy telling them to follow seemed ominous.

"Where are you going?! Get down right now! Come back!"

"W-we're guests! Don't attack us!"

"What kind of crazy bastards are these?!"

Gainando was dumbfounded but didn't throw a curse at their backs.

He couldn't attack them since they were guests of the family after all.

But he couldn't help feeling indignant.

"Just you wait till I catch you! Just you wait! I'll bury you upside down in a dirt hole!"

"Qu-quick! Ride quickly!"

"He wasn't a servant. He must be a family mage!"

The two realized as they fled on horseback.

That boy was clearly not a servant but a mage belonging to the Kraha family.

Otherwise, such an eccentric reaction couldn't be explained.

Where else were there people who disregarded authority and order and acted as eccentrically as the empire's mages?

"He looked young, but is he really a family mage?"

"He must have been drinking an age-deceiving potion!"

"Mages are really all eccentric people. How fortunate Baldurguard is in that respect!"

***

"So you're saying some strange guests cast magic on the rotten soil you had finally found and it all flew away?"

"Yeah."

"..."

The friends looked at Gainando with strange eyes. Eandurde muttered,

"Liar!"

"It's not a lie! Y-you, how dare you doubt your senior as a junior?! If you don't believe me, follow me! I'll show you!"

"Calm down, Gainando."

Yi-Han soothed Gainando.

In fact, he didn't believe Gainando's words much. It was because he had told similar lies many times.

-Yi-Han. The principal's minion stole my homework.-

-Yi-Han. The principal's minion chewed up my grimoire.-

-Yi-Han. The principal's…-

-Hey. Cut it out.-

These lies were even more effective because they could actually happen at Einroguard.

Regardless of the truth of the lie, Yi-Han took out what was needed now.

"Here. This should be enough, right?"

"Huh?! You had it?!"

"I know how to do dark magic too, so I carry reagents around."

Yi-Han took out a bottle filled with rotten soil from his reagent pouch and held it out to Gainando.

"Take it. It's quite high-quality soil, so it should be enough for casting dark magic. We don't know when the Baldurguard students will come, so you should have reagents."

"Yi-Han...!"

Gainando's eyes welled up with tears of emotion.

Yonaire was puzzled looking at that soil.

'Where did he get it?'

While it might be easy to get at Einroguard where dark magic school students make a separate magic tower and live nearby, it shouldn't be easy to get outside, right?

"How did you get it?"

"I gathered it in my spare time when I visited the Moradi family territory."

"..."

Yonaire was shocked by Yi-Han's thoroughness in gathering rotten soil in his spare time while visiting another family's mansion.

'I should keep this a secret from Moradi...'

If Jijel knew, she would be furious saying, 'Who gathers rotten soil in their spare time when visiting someone else's family?'

"Gainando."

"Huh?"

"I believe you."

"...Yi-Han!"

Gainando was choked up.

The nasty friends, no, they weren't even friends.

The nasty Einroguard classmates didn't believe him, but Yi-Han was different.

"You're my real friend!"

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, since I believe you, don't you dare lose to the Baldurguard students."

"..."

Realizing something was off about the atmosphere, Gainando stopped his emotional outburst and looked around cautiously.

Yi-Han's face was as serious as a statue.

"...W-well, with magic, there are areas you're good at and areas you're not so good at."

"That's right."

"Then if I'm unlucky, I might lose to the Baldurguard students...?"

"That's right. But don't lose."

"..."

Gainando looked to his friends for help, but they subtly averted their eyes.

They were scared of Yi-Han right now too.

"Gainando. If you have a weakness, you should strike the opponent's weakness first. Anyway, don't lose. If you lose... No. There's no need to know in advance."

"Yi-Han...!"

Gainando suddenly wanted to return to Einroguard.

"Everyone. The Baldurguard students have arrived. They wish to see you all, how should I relay your answer?"

"They're here."

At Yi-Han's words, the friends felt unnecessarily tense.

It didn't seem likely they would lose to Baldurguard students under normal circumstances, but if by any chance they did lose...

'We might die together with Gainando.'

'We might die together with Mr. Gainando...'

'I don't want to die together with Gainando!'

"Tell them to come in. We'll have to meet anyway if we stay in the mansion."

***

"This is Miss Yonaire of the Maykin family. This is..."

When nobles met, servants usually introduced each other's families and names.

Ingsen and Basiu, who had finished their introductions first, listened intently as the Einroguard students were introduced one by one.

"...This is Mr. Gainando, who has inherited the bloodline of the Kraha family and the imperial family."

"Ugh."

"Gack."

"Y-you guys are...!"

Not only the two, but Gainando as well was shocked.

Gainando wanted to shout 'Soil destroyers!' but had to quietly close his mouth because Yi-Han was glaring at him.

'Wh-what?'

'Wasn't he a family mage...?'

The two tried to somehow sort out their confused minds, but it only felt like they were getting more tangled.

"This is Mr. Yi-Han of the Wardanaz family."

"5... 5th year!"

"??"

Read up to chapter 804 for just 5$ or up to chapter 1129 for just 10$ on /al_squad 

[Select the $10/month plan or the Foundation Establishment tier to access the chapters]

Hi, if you like the story, please rate and review this novel on novelupdates. Thanks!