Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy

Gainando whined, "They keep glaring at me. What am I supposed to do if they glare at me like that every time they visit?"

Yi-Han thought of a good solution. It was something he had already said to Asan before.

"You can just go outside the mansion."

"Huh?"

"What if you wander around outside?"

"Oh... Will you hang out with me?"

"If that's what you want."

Gainando's face brightened. Seeing his reaction, Ratford felt sorry for him.

'It'll probably be a bit different from what you're thinking...'

Since the topic came up, Yi-Han called Asan as well and set off with his friends.

Gainando asked with an expectant face, "Are we going to buy mage cards?"

"No."

"Are we going to buy the newly released magazine?"

"Nope."

"Then where are we going?"

"The Richmond family."

"???"

Gainando and Asan tilted their heads at Yi-Han's words. It wasn't a familiar family name, so it took them a moment to process it.

The Richmond family...

"Where was that again?"

"You don't know the Richmond family?"

Yi-Han looked at his friends as if he couldn't believe it. His friends shrank back like students who had gotten an easy test question wrong.

"S-sorry. Which family was the Richmond family again?"

"Isn't it the family that runs one of the most renowned carriage transportation guilds in the Empire?"

"..."

"..."

How do you know that?!

While the two were dumbfounded, Yonaire nodded as if she understood.

"Ah. Right. That's it."

"See? Yonaire knows. I'm surprised you guys don't know that."

"..."

"..."

While Asan and Gainando were at a loss for words, the group arrived at their destination.

Located on the outskirts of the city, the building of the Richmond Transportation Guild resembled a huge warehouse.

"Hey, you bastard! Can't you see the carriage is here right now?!"

"That's my line! If you don't move the carriage right away, I'll send you to the temple!"

The coachmen in charge of the carriages were doing their best to somehow quickly get the carriages inside the warehouse, while the guild employees moved without stopping for even a second, unloading and loading boxes.

"It's like your estate, Yonaire," Yi-Han muttered.

"?!" Yonaire was startled by Yi-Han's comment.

'Did our place look that chaotic...?' Yonaire made a mental note to tell the staff not to let too many people wait in front of the estate when she returned.

"Carriage to Krvalgen City, finished!" someone shouted.

"Departure! Departure!"

"Shyles?"

"?!" Shyles, a member of the Richmond family who had been yelling among the workers, was surprised to see his friends visiting.

"I'm really grateful, Wardanaz," Shyles expressed his sincere gratitude and held out a pouch.

Yi-Han was touched by Shyles' straightforwardness in giving him money without any bothersome process.

'The others should learn from this,' he thought, glancing at his friends.

"What's up?" they asked, puzzled by his gaze.

"Nothing. By the way, Shyles, I wanted to ask you something."

"Me? Sure, go ahead."

Shyles was slightly surprised. What could Yi-Han Wardanaz possibly want to ask him? He couldn't even guess what it might be.

'Could it be some items he needs to transport secretly?'

Perhaps there were important items he had to move without being noticed by his family...

"Do you know of any well-paying short-term jobs in the city suitable for mages?"

"...Uh... Umm??" Shyles was taken aback.

Yi-Han's question was completely unexpected. However, Yi-Han was serious.

'Good jobs should be sought out in advance,' he thought.

Mages were always in high demand, but that didn't mean there were many places they could work. To be precise, the cost of hiring a mage was too high.

Even unloading and loading the packed goods from the carriages behind them could be done quickly by a skilled mage, but... The labor cost would exceed the profit.

There were many places to work, but few where mages could earn wages matching their value.

Moreover, in Granden City, there were quite a few students from Einroguard besides Yi-Han. Considering the number of seniors, good short-term jobs would disappear in an instant.

'I need to find them as soon as possible,' Yi-Han thought.

"Are you joking..." Shyles began, but he hesitated upon seeing the fiery determination in Yi-Han's eyes.

Those were not the eyes of someone joking.

'But why would students from the Blue Dragon Tower want to work...?'

It wouldn't be surprising for students from the Black Tortoise Tower, Immortal Phoenix Tower, or White Tiger Tower to seek jobs. In fact, many of them did.

The cost of living in Granden City was high, so few students didn't work during the break.

But the students from the Blue Dragon Tower... Didn't they not need to?

"Well, I don't know much either. I've only heard from friends and guild staff," Shyles said.

"Anything is fine. Tell me."

"Uh, escorting carriages might not be suitable, right?"

The Empire's land was vast, and traveling long distances naturally came with risks. From monsters to thieves.

Naturally, carriage processions were accompanied not only by coachmen but also by escorts. For cheap goods, it was fine, but when transporting expensive and important items, high-level personnel like mages were sometimes included.

"That's a bit tricky. We might not make it back in time for the next semester," Yi-Han agreed.

"R-Right. Well, I heard there are jobs teaching magic to those with aptitude..."

Yi-Han nodded and took notes. It was indeed a decent job.

Not everyone had the talent to enter the Imperial Magic Academy. Some people had magical talent but never realized it and just lived their lives.

Occasionally, some of them decided to learn magic later in life. They came from various backgrounds: adventurers, mercenaries, merchants, sailors, explorers, and so on.

Teaching magic to these people was quite popular among Einroguard students.

"Wait, we're first-years. Are we allowed to teach?" Yonaire asked.

"I heard being a first-year at Einroguard is enough," Shyles replied.

"I see. What's next?"

"Oh, no. There's more?"

Shyles wracked his brain to the best of his ability under Yi-Han's gaze.

"Ah, this isn't always available, but I heard material-gathering requests are good."

"Material-gathering requests?"

Yi-Han paused. Usually, that was a job for inexperienced adventurers or errand runners.

Of course, for high-difficulty materials, huge rewards were offered, and veteran adventurers would take on the task, but... It was unlikely to be popular among students.

"Can't others do that?" Yi-Han asked.

"Oh, there are materials that only mages can collect."

'Aha.' Yi-Han understood.

Some materials could only be collected using magic.

"Shyles, if such a request comes up, be sure to let me know," Yi-Han said.

"But... why... A-Alright. I owe you a lot, so I can do that much."

"Is there anything else?"

"..." Shyles desperately racked his brain again.

'He's not crazy for not working, so why...?'

"Right! There are also jobs assisting mages with their experiments!"

"That's a bit iffy."

"?!"

Shyles was startled when Yi-Han immediately showed signs of refusal.

"Why? I heard this is a pretty good job too."

"Shyles, you should be wary of unfamiliar mages first. You never know what kind of experiments they might conduct."

Yi-Han spoke very seriously. In fact, as someone who had suffered from meeting the wrong mage, he was very concerned about Shyles' naive perception.

Even an experiment with an ordinary name like <Repetitive Training of Basic Magic Combat> could turn out to be a bizarre experiment where all sorts of attacks were thrown at the subject.

"Ah... No, Wardanaz. Of course, they're unfamiliar mages, but they're mages who have built trust and reputation in this city. They're not wanted criminal mages. There's no way they'd conduct strange experiments, right...?"

"No," Yi-Han answered firmly.

"They can. Remember that. Got it?"

"Y-Yes..."

Shyles nodded, overwhelmed by Yi-Han's force. He still couldn't understand the logic, but Yi-Han's voice carried a sincerity that transcended logic.

"But assisting mages with experiments is really a good job, Wardanaz. It's not something you can get right away just because you want it... You can listen to the experiment details and choose a good one, can't you?"

Not all mage experiments were dangerous. Observing and recording unusual magical phenomena occurring near the city also counted as experiment assistance.

"Alright. If you insist, I'll consider it," Yi-Han said.

"No, it's really..."

Yi-Han finished summarizing and looked up. "So, Shyles, which of these jobs are you doing?"

"Me? I'm too busy. I have to help with guild work."

Yi-Han was intrigued. Perhaps the work was closer than he thought.

"Does working for the transportation guild pay?"

"No, I don't get paid, but it's our family's business, so I do it."

"Tsk, Shyles. Even if they're family, working for free is not a good idea. You're undervaluing yourself."

"...Ah, no... It's our family's business, so...?"

As Yi-Han was about to give that advice and stand up, a guild member ran over and said to Shyles, "Young Master, the neighboring merchant group is urgently looking for a mage to organize their potion inventory. Why don't you go? It pays quite well."

"No, look at our warehouse. We have to finish organizing it today. Can't you see the coachmen are about to riot?"

"This is perfect timing. We'll take that request," Yi-Han said.

"?!"

"??!"

Shyles, the guild member, and Yi-Han's friends behind him were all surprised by his words.

"You, Wardanaz?"

"If it's a job that requires a mage, the pay should be decent, right?"

"Ah, no. The pay is good, but it'll be boring and tedious."

"The pay is what matters. So, it's okay to take it, right?"

"Uh... Yeah."

Yi-Han got up, took the paper, and leisurely left. His friends followed him out.

The guild member, still gaping, finally came to his senses and asked, "Ah... No, Young Master. Those friends are nobles, right? But why?"

Shyles deeply sympathized with the guild member's words. Exactly!

"A mage, and an Einroguard student at that? You're absolutely welcome!" the merchant group employee exclaimed excitedly, then looked up and was startled.

'They're nobles!?'

"...You, you know what we do here, right?"

"Rummaging through the warehouse, checking potions, and organizing inventory, isn't it?"

"That's, that's right... But it'll be boring for you. It won't be fun..."

"But the pay is good, isn't it?"

"That's true... We, we look forward to working with you."

Yi-Han's group headed to the warehouse. Nillia, Ratford, and Yonaire didn't think much of it, but Gainando and Asan were still in shock.

"But why are we doing this?" Gainando whispered.

"It, it must be for magic study. That's definitely it for Wardanaz," Asan replied.

As the two whispered, they saw familiar faces in front of the warehouse. It was Salko and his gang.

"!!"

Salko and his friends were surprised to see Yi-Han's group.

"Wardanaz! What brings you here?"

"We came to work."

"You..."

Salko was momentarily at a loss for words, then exclaimed in admiration, "...are truly amazing!"

"Are we really working?" Gainando's whisper faded away in vain.