Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

"Professor, I may not be well-versed in imperial law, but I believe kidnapping is illegal."

"I had permission."

"What??"

Yi-Han was shocked.

He knew adventurers were crazy, but to agree to such a proposal...

'Ah. No, that can't be right.'

For adventurers caught in a scam, refusing was not an easy option.

Moreover, Professor Boladi wouldn't have detained them harshly, so the atmosphere must have been quite intimidating.

'Putting a knife to someone's throat and asking a question isn't permission, it's coercion.'

"But if you had permission, why put them in a box and carry them away?"

"Can't just let outsiders roam free, they might cause trouble."

"Indeed."

Yi-Han only replied 'indeed,' but he thought otherwise.

That's not a reasonable explanation!

Thud!

The students of the Blue Dragon Tower gazed at Yi-Han as if he were a deity descended to earth.

The cake in the center of the lounge was almost reaching the ceiling.

"We'll eat this together once the final exams are over. Understand?"

"My goodness..."

"Sharakan, bite anyone who touches it."

Sharakan bit Gainando's ankle. Gainando screamed.

"I didn't touch it! I only thought about it!"

As Gainando hopped about, Yi-Han added,

"Those who fail won't get any."

"No...!"

Some students were horrified.

How could he impose such a cruel condition?

"Failing isn't necessarily wrong!"

'Isn't it, though?'

Yi-Han ignored his friends' protests and turned away. Yonaire whispered in astonishment,

"I thought it was for the festival."

"What festival? Ah, the Phoenix Festival?"

In the empire, there were various festivals every season.

Among them, the Phoenix Festival was a celebration where offerings were made to the phoenix to ensure the proper arrival of early summer.

It was said that in the past, the phoenix would bolster the power of the sun, ensuring the seasons cycled correctly.

'It's just a silly superstition.'

If that were true, the snowstorm at the magic academy last time must have been because the Phoenix was sleeping.

And, separate from the superstition, the Phoenix Festival wasn't a festival that needed to be attended with such importance.

Moreover, the final exams were right after the next week.

In such a situation, it would be foolish for any students to celebrate the festival...

"...What are you doing?"

"Huh? Making decorations?"

The students of the Blue Dragon, weaving wreaths with red-painted feathers and cockscombs, looked puzzled.

Yi-Han sighed internally.

'I forgot these kids can be so foolish.'

With exams looming, even trivial things can become interesting.

With only assignments and exams left, even a minor Phoenix Festival could be immensely entertaining to the students.

"Wardanaz, here's a wreath. Wearing it during the festival will make you resistant to the heat."

'Thank you.'

"Aren't you going to study?"

"...I, I'm about to!"

'Oops.'

Yi-Han intended to thank them for their thoughtfulness, but his inner thoughts slipped out instead.

Yi-Han looked with pity at his friends scurrying away.

'Wait. Are these kids actually...?!'

Looking around, Yi-Han belatedly realized the oddity.

Everyone was at their desks, but few were genuinely studying.

Asan was scribbling with a quill on paper; Yi-Han thought he was working on an assignment, but he was actually designing ornaments for the Phoenix Festival. Nebren, instead of working on his Enchantment Magic assignment on artifact improvement, was making a ball to play with during the festival.

Yi-Han looked at the princess, the last bastion. In a hurry, she flipped open a book and placed it on the desk.

"...You don't think the principal created the Phoenix Festival, do you?"

"That, that's not the case, right?"

Yonaire was flustered by such an absurd conspiracy theory.

It seemed unlikely that a festival celebrated throughout the empire was created by the skull principal.

"Yi-Han. Normally, you need to play a bit to focus better."

Gainando said cautiously, glancing at Yi-Han's hands as if afraid of being hit on the back of his head.

"Gainando. What are you holding right now?"

"...A, a spinning top?"

"Is it for an assignment?"

"No... um... it might be used for one...?"

Gainando hastily rubbed off the Phoenix design he had drawn on the spinning top.

The new week's Monday.

Yi-Han had hoped only the students of the Blue Dragon Tower were foolish, but reality was a bit different.

Rolling-

"Wardanaz! Kick the ball here!"

As a leather ball with a Phoenix design came flying, Yi-Han kicked it in the opposite direction.

The students of the White Tiger cursed, pounding the ground.

"What are you doing!"

"Disrespectful! Don't you know it's the Phoenix Festival?!"

"Just study."

The students were making all sorts of excuses to play.

Playing ball to commemorate the Phoenix Festival.

Spinning tops to commemorate the Phoenix Festival.

Playing card games to commemorate the Phoenix Festival...

'Do card games’ players really have no conscience?'

"I added a Phoenix card to the deck."

"..."

"No, won't play it."

Gainando sneaked the deck back into his pocket as Yi-Han glared at him.

The Phoenix Festival was such that instead of preparing something grand or flashy, it was celebrated by playing with items decorated or drawn with Phoenixes, making it an easy excuse for the students.

The skull principal who entered the <Basic Magic Character Education> classroom seemed to think the same.

“Are you commemorating the Phoenix Festival?”

"Prin-principal!"

Students playing chess with Phoenix pieces eyed the skull principal.

But the principal kindly said,

“Continue playing.”

"Re, really?"

“Yes. It's you, not me, who will end up in the punishment room if you fail the exam for playing like fools.”

"..."

The students quietly put away the chessboard. The principal looked pleased.

“As you all know, I didn't assign you extra work out of consideration for you, even though you have so much spare time.”

"No! We were really busy..."

“Remove that Phoenix decoration before speaking. Foolish boy.”

The student who spoke blushed and removed the Phoenix epaulettes from his shoulder.

"We were indeed busy, principal."

“Daring to say that after seeing your friend?”

The skull principal turned his head to locate the bold speaker, then hesitated as he saw Yi-Han.

“...So. Next week is the exam.”

"..."

Even the principal couldn't bring himself to say Yi-Han had too much spare time.

“You might doubt me, but the final exam won't be that difficult.”

"Ha!"

"Yeah right!"

The principal's eyes flashed, and the students who had just scoffed were suddenly hanging upside down from the ceiling.

“Keep your insults to yourselves, fools. And it really won't be difficult. I could even give you a hint.”

"What is it?"

A student asked skeptically.

“A bureaucrat from the empire will come to test your character education.”

"..."

"..."

The students were more astonished than when their friend was hung upside down.

"We... haven't really learned much about character education, principal."

“What nonsense. Even if you haven't realized it, it's been gradually accumulating within you. It would be wise to answer well. If you get on the bad side of a bureaucrat, life becomes difficult.”

'This is somewhat frightening.'

Yi-Han, who had remained calm despite his fear of the final exams being several times greater than the other students, was now truly afraid of the character education test.

Who would come, and what would they ask?

'Can the situation at the academy be exposed? No, that's strange. If it were possible to expose, it wouldn't make sense for the skull principal to still be in his position.'

“There's no need to be too afraid.”

The skull principal, noticing the students' anxiety, spoke gently.

“I will help you with a rehearsal.”

A curtain of darkness fell in the classroom, limiting the students' vision to only their feet.

“One by one, come forward!”

It was Yi-Han's turn. He stepped towards the floating blue light in the darkness.

“State your name.”

"It's Yi-Han."

“Not mentioning your family first. I'll give you 10 points.”

"Uh... Would a real bureaucrat do the same?"

“Silence. I ask the questions here. Have you ever wanted to attack someone while attending the magic academy?”

"..."

Yi-Han was at a loss for words.

'Damn. Too many to count.'

If the skull principal could detect lies, he would be caught immediately.

"If I said no, that would be a lie."

“Honest. Another 10 points.”

'Is this really how it's supposed to go?'

Admitting to having aggressive thoughts seems like it should lead to deductions...

“What is the reason you chose to learn magic?”

"I thought it was the most useful and versatile among the many disciplines of the empire, ensuring I wouldn't starve in my lifetime..."

“Is that what you call an answer!?”

The skull principal retorted incredulously.

Yi-Han was slightly taken aback.

"Is it wrong to answer like that in front of a bureaucrat?"

“That's irrelevant. Unless you're planning to kill someone or summon fragments of a forgotten ancient evil deity, anything goes. But what's with that lack of ambition!? You might as well say your dream is to be an imperial bureaucrat!”

"Being a bureaucrat seems nice..."

“Silence! I don't want to hear it. No matter how much you flatter them, even a bureaucrat would be flustered by such flattery!”

Yi-Han grumbled inwardly.

What's wrong with being a bureaucrat...

“Next, talk about the magic you're learning and why you chose it... Let's just skip this question.”

"..."

Yi-Han felt slightly hurt.

“Is there any student in the other towers that you particularly dislike?”

"Not really."

That's unfortunate. I would have given you 10 points if you had said yes.

"No..."

Many more questions followed. Most were about what he intended to do with magic, whether he had thoughts of using forbidden arcane rituals, or if a rampaging magic spell was heading towards a town, would he redirect it to another town with fewer people, and so on.

Surprisingly, it wasn't difficult.

"Is it really not that hard?"

“That's right. As long as you keep your wits about you, it's not difficult.”

The skull principal grumbled, clearly very dissatisfied. Yi-Han, puzzled, asked,

"Is there a problem?"

“You might not understand, being as perceptive as you are, but every year there are students who spout nonsense! And then it's all blamed on me.”

'Ah.'

Yi-Han immediately understood.

Indeed, if someone responded to a question with 'I'm learning fire magic to burn the world,' the emperor would likely say, 'Summon Gonadaltes here.'

The students were more innocent than expected, not knowing how to lie.

“Make sure to dissuade anyone in your tower who might give strange answers.”

"I'll do my best. But, principal, isn't there something more dangerous than that?"

“What are you talking about?”

"Well, I was thinking if the bureaucrat heard about the incidents that occurred during the semester, they might be alarmed."

“Thank you for your concern, but it's alright.”

"?"

The bureaucrat coming is from Einroguard.

"..."

Yi-Han couldn't help but be amazed.

He's really sharp when it comes to the bad stuff!

In recent weeks, Professor Boladi's class had become physically easier.

However, they had become mentally more demanding.

After finishing the basic course, Professor Boladi, intent on completing the comprehensive combat magic theory, began asking about everything learned in other classes.

"In dark magic, we covered poison and curses. In summoning magic, skeletons. Next."

"In illusion magic, we learned about the structural understanding of illusion."

"You must have learned additional topics from Mr. Ogonin."

"...Ah. I almost missed that. Thank you."

Yi-Han cursed the skull principal.