'What a shame,' Yi-Han thought regretfully, as the skull principal saw through his true feelings.

In a situation where there was only one suspect, he could not have talked his way out.

The skull principal narrowed his blue pupils and stared at Yi-Han. It seemed like he was having suspicious thoughts...

"No, it's not like that," Yi-Han said.

Indeed. He probably wouldn't have time to spread useless rumors anyway. "Have a good break."

The skull principal gave up cleanly without being clingy, which made Yi-Han feel oddly uncomfortable.

'What is this? Is he planning to send undead after me during the break?'

Inside the magic academy, sending undead to attack the towers at night could be overlooked. But doing such a thing in a major city could attract the attention of the imperial authorities.

However, even considering that, one couldn't let their guard down around the skull principal.

Yi-Han stepped back, feeling uneasy.

'Surely not.'

Over the weekend, the students finished their preparations for the break and walked towards the main gate, carrying their heavy luggage.

Despite the weight and inconvenience, the students were all smiling brightly.

"Niffirg, thank you," Yi-Han expressed his gratitude to Niffirg, who had a bundle of books on its back. Niffirg tapped its hooves as if it was nothing.

"Oh, I need to take these too. Would it be alright to put these books on as well?"

-Puhihing.-

"Thank you. Wait, this book too..."

-...-

Niffirg glared at Yi-Han slightly.

Meanwhile, a singing voice could be heard from the side.

"Einroguard, Einroguard, it's so wonderful."

Asan was humming a song he had composed for his <Basic Music> class assignment.

"A place with warm meals and soft beds, Einroguard."

"A place with warm meals and soft beds, Einroguard."

Usually, friends from other towers would have rebuked them, saying, "You Blue Dragon Tower bastards, stop singing fake songs!" But they must have been in a really good mood, as they started singing along.

"Our juniors will soon come and enjoy this heaven too, Einroguard."

"Just thinking about it makes me excited."

"The juniors won't be coming in the second semester, you know."

"Damn it. Why aren't they coming?"

'Are these the same guys who were cursing the seniors yesterday?'

"There was a noble prince..."

"..."

"What? I'm going to sing the song I want to sing too."

At Gainando's words, the students looked at each other.

Come to think of it, that made sense too.

"One spirit, two spirits, three spirits, four spirits..."

"There was an honorable mage who always prepared meals..."

"When an evil lich attacked, the knights blew their horns..."

'What a mess.'

The singing that had been in unison until just now became mixed and the rhythm was off, as if it had never happened.

Yi-Han patted Niffirg once and hummed.

"Einroguard, Einroguard, it's so wonderful."

"A place with warm meals and soft beds, Einroguard."

The skull principal and professors watched the first-year students heading towards the main gate while singing, with warm gazes.

Professor Garcia Kim, whose eyes were slightly red, looked at the skull principal. The skull principal was talking with Professor Beavle Verduus.

"Why won't you tell me?" Processor Verduus plead.

“If you promise to listen well to what I say from now on, I can tell you where he's staying.”

"I promise!"

“Not just roughly!”

"Excuse me, Principal?"

“Ah, Professor Garcia.”

When Professor Garcia approached, the skull principal stopped the conversation he was having.

"What were you just talking about...?"

“It was nothing important.”

"I only want to wo..."

As Professor Verduus tried to speak, the skull principal summoned a huge piece of tree bark and stuffed it into the professor's mouth.

“So, what brings you here?”

"Ah, I wanted to say you worked hard this semester."

The skull principal's eyes softened.

“How could that be my achievement alone? The other professors…”

When he saw Professors Verduus and Boladi, the skull principal stopped mid-sentence.

“...Well, not everyone, but anyway, Professor Garcia worked very hard too.”

"Yes, everyone really worked hard."

Eunrad Lee, an imperial bureaucrat who had come for the final exams, spoke as if agreeing.

When he was a student, he just wished the professors would drop dead, but after graduating and coming back, he still wished the professors would drop dead, but he could feel that everyone was working hard to maintain Einroguard.

As if reading Eunrad Lee's thoughts, the skull principal grinned.

“Thank you for thinking that way.”

"Ah, Principal."

Eunrad Lee carefully brought up the topic, gauging the skull principal's mood.

Since he seemed to be in a good mood, it seemed alright to mention it.

“What is it...?”

"Well... I received a message yesterday. His Majesty the Emperor wishes to have a private audience with you, Principal. It seems you should go to the capital as soon as possible."

“...”

As the skull principal's soul wavered, the surrounding temperature dropped and frost began to form in an instant.

Eunrad Lee, who thought he might be dragged to the mountains behind Einroguard and buried by the enraged great mage, desperately made excuses.

"I... didn't say much, Principal."

“If you didn't say much, why does he want a private audience? I don't understand. Now is not the time to meet? Tell me honestly. Did you really not say anything?”

"That's... Principal! You can't put me in the punishment room after I graduated years ago! You can't do this!"

“Haha. There seems to be a misunderstanding. There's no way I would put an imperial bureaucrat in the punishment room.”

Despite the skull principal's kind words, Eunrad Lee never let his guard down.

"It's not decided yet! He might be calling you to give a reward!"

“Reward, my ass. How could that be?”

The skull principal was extremely realistic.

Usually, there were only two reasons to meet the emperor: either a mage who graduated from Einroguard caused an incident, or a mage currently attending Einroguard caused an incident.

So what's this about a reward?

The skull principal let out a deep sigh.

Thinking about which bastard caused what incident this time and how much the budget would be cut made his soul shiver already.

"It... it will be alright."

As the skull principal seemed to calm down a bit, Eunrad Lee carefully spoke.

“Do you really think so? Then, if the budget gets cut, donate your salary to Einroguard.”

"My... my salary is like a drop in the ocean compared to..."

“Enough. How would that change anything?”

The skull principal clicked his tongue.

Seeing Eunrad Lee looking truly wronged, it didn't seem to be because of the report...

He wondered if an Einroguard graduate had caused an incident without him knowing. That seemed the most likely.

“I'll have to go see His Majesty the Emperor.”

"Then please also take care of my school of magic's research budget."

"Me too! I need gems for a new artifact..."

"Monsters are needed for combat training..."

“...”

Seeing the professors only caring about their own magic in this situation, the skull principal was disgusted.

Who taught these utterly relentless people?

The skull principal's undead army followed the students who passed through the main gate, escorting them.

Their goal was to safely escort the students to Granden City.

Since there was quite a distance, going without an escort would be reckless...

...but there were already other people waiting in front of the main gate.

"Young Master, over here!"

"You've worked hard. Oh my, no matter how frugal you are, you're wearing such rags!"

"Your face has become half its size!"

The escorts from each family who were waiting for the Blue Dragon Tower students rushed over.

In an instant, they washed, undressed, changed clothes, and even stuffed snacks into their mouths. Seeing this, the students from other towers shook their heads.

"Then why are they attending Einroguard?"

"You're right. It's an act that destroys the teachings of Einroguard."

"Young Master Yi-Han, we've come to escort you."

When the aged knight Arlong called Yi-Han with the escorts, Yi-Han pretended not to hear.

"Young Master Yi-Han?"

"Shh. Don't call out so loudly, Sir Knight."

Yi-Han covered Arlong's mouth. Behind Arlong, familiar knights from his family were waiting on horseback.

"Did you bring a carriage too?"

"A carriage, you say? I thought it would be too much, so I didn't bring one. I apologize. If you want, right now..."

"No, it's fine. Thank you for not bringing one."

If they went to Granden City with this procession as it was, riding in a carriage would make him stand out too much.

His friends from the same tower might not care, but...

"Yi-Han! Want a ride?"

Gainando, who had already entered a dazzling carriage, laid on cushions and gestured to Yi-Han.

Yi-Han ignored him, pretending not to hear.

"Isn't he a friend of yours, Young Master Yi-Han?"

"I don't know him. I heard the mansion you secured in the town was moved to Granden City, is that right?"

"Yes, someone from the academy came."

Arlong stroked his mustache as he spoke.

The thoughtfulness of Einroguard, sending all the mansions to the city so students couldn't get money even if they visited nearby towns!

"It would have been nice if they had informed us beforehand."

"...Right. Einroguard is really something. Can I see the mansion you secured?"

"I apologize, it's not that great of a place."

Arlong unfolded a city map and pointed to a location with his finger.

It was a mansion located in the noble district in the center of the city, occupying a visibly large area at a glance.

'If this isn't a great place, then what is Arlong's standard for a great place?'

Yi-Han wanted to ask if they could just give him the money they saved on this mansion, but he held back.

It wasn't Arlong's fault.

"How was your academy life?"

"It was quite different from what I expected."

Arlong gave a generous smile at Yi-Han's words.

"Isn't that the case with any place of learning, no matter the discipline?"

"That's true, but..."

Einroguard seemed too different, even if it was different.

Yi-Han didn't know about all the educational institutions in the empire, but it was hard to believe there was a place more eccentric than Einroguard.

"Were there any lectures you particularly enjoyed among the ones you attended?"

"Hmm. I was forced to take many of them."

"Hahaha... I was the same when I was in the knighthood before. I just wanted to swing my sword, but they made me learn the Seven Arts, saying I had to maintain the dignity and pride of a knight."

"That's a bit different..."

Yi-Han trailed off.

Learning poetry, music, and dance as a knight was a bit different from being forced to learn magic at Einroguard.

"Ah, thanks to what I learned from you, Sir Knight, I was able to take a swordsmanship lecture. Thank you."

"There was a swordsmanship lecture? Well, of course, not only those from knight families but also the children of other noble families would learn swordsmanship as an accomplishment..."

'Everyone except me was from the White Tiger Tower.'

"It must have been tough with so many students from knight families."

"No, it was surprisingly alright."

"Indeed... Well, since they're all from knight families, they must have been considerate of you, Young Master Yi-Han."

"...?"

Yi-Han paused.

Were they considerate?

"..."

"..."

The White Tiger Tower students passing by also paused upon hearing those words.

They weren't though...

"Well, if I had to say, I guess they were kind of considerate."

"Excellent. That's how knights should be. If they try to trample others just because they learned a bit more swordsmanship, then they haven't learned properly."

Yi-Han stared intently at the White Tiger Tower students who were passing by. The White Tiger Tower students hurriedly moved their steps.

"Are they your friends?"

"No, I don't know them."

"Is that so? Young Master Yi-Han, which school of magic are you thinking of specializing in during your first year?"

"...I haven't decided on that yet."

Misunderstanding that Yi-Han hadn't made a decision yet, Arlong said it was alright.

"It's fine. There's still plenty of time left, so if you take more lectures you haven't attended, you'll be able to make a decision."

"Do I really have to do that..."