"I knew it... It seems to be true."

Yi-Han, who misunderstood the skull principal's gaze, nodded as if he had expected it.

“No!”

"Pardon?"

“Do you think all the magic criminals in the empire are from Einroguard!”

"Huh? Aren't they?"

“...”

The skull principal was momentarily at a loss for words.

He was even more dumbfounded because he felt that the disciple in front of him was speaking seriously, not joking.

What the...!

“Seriously, no.”

"Is that so... Uh, you're not saying no because there are knights outside, right?"

“I swear on my magic that it's not. Satisfied?”

"Ah..."

Only then did Yi-Han understand.

The skull principal wanted to punch him, but he held back, thinking of the donation his disciple had just received.

"If it's a magic criminal, then..."

“Yes.”

In the empire, there were enemies who instilled fear and hostility just by their names.

“Anti-magic extremists, evil god worshippers, separatists, dark mag... No, not dark mages. I misspoke.”

"..."

“I meant to say magic criminals, not dark mages. Anyway, since they are wanted criminals of this level, even if your four seniors at Einroguard are troublemakers, it's very rare for them to be stigmatized as magic criminals.”

'It's not nonexistent though.'

Yi-Han wasn't surprised.

It would have been more surprising if there were none at all.

Anyway, the skull principal's logic was valid.

Surprisingly, not just anyone could become a magic criminal.

A mage who flooded a valley due to a failed magic experiment and destroyed all the crops in a village?

Interesting, but not a magic criminal. That just fell under a crazy mage.

A mage who tried to sneak into another knight order's cemetery to steal corpses but was caught on the spot?

Really interesting, but not a magic criminal. That also fell under a crazy mage, no, a very crazy mage.

To be stigmatized as a magic criminal in the empire, one had to maliciously cause incidents incomparable to the ones mentioned above and repel the pursuit of imperial bounty hunters and knight orders dozens of times.

Only then would the words 'In the name of the Emperor of the Empire, this mage can no longer even be called a mage, deal with him dead or alive' come out.

It was one of the highest notoriety a mage of the empire could receive.

No matter how crazy Einroguard was as a magic academy, it couldn't easily produce such the best of the best.

Moreover, seeing that seniors were dragged to the punishment room even after graduation, the skull principal seemed to care about his reputation and status in the empire to some extent and manage them afterward.

"I thought he was just an outstanding mage from Einroguard."

“Many make that mistake.”

The skull principal nodded as if he understood.

If outstanding mages in the empire cause trouble, are they unconditionally from Einroguard?

What was more annoying was that 95% of this misconception was not wrong.

“Going back to the story of Antagon, he's not from Einroguard and he's a young mage who hasn't even lived for five hundred years, but…”

'Calling a mage over a hundred years old young seems a bit strange.'

“He has been notoriously gaining infamy to the point of being annoying for a long time.”

The skull principal raised the <Piercing Eyes of Antagon> artifact and the black spirit wood bracelet artifact with seven snakes intertwined, in an irritated voice.

“When the empire's enemies appear with shabby artifacts, about three out of ten times, it's something he made…”

"Does a mage sell artifacts to anti-magic extremists?"

“The enemy of the enemy is always an easy partner to join hands with. And in the first place, would corrupted ones be picky about their counterparts? They're the kind of people who would swallow their own bodies whole if it benefits them.”

The skull principal's voice was filled with contempt.

Yi-Han understood why the skull principal showed such emotions.

Artifacts were items that relatively easily helped even those who didn't know magic to cause anomalies.

He couldn't look favorably upon magic criminals who made and sold such artifacts to anti-magic extremists and various enemies of the empire.

“The most arrogant point is the theft and mocking use of an ancient kingdom's noble title! How dare he!”

"...Uh... th... that's true."

When important reasons were being mentioned and suddenly a trivial reason came out, Yi-Han was slightly flustered.

“You're too young to know how important this is.”

The skull principal grumbled.

For the skull principal, who inherited the legitimate line of the now-vanished ancient kingdom, the other noble families of the kingdom were honorable titles, each with a different meaning.

And yet, some young bastard who wasn't even from Einroguard was arrogantly stealing and claiming such a title...

"I understand. If I ever meet Antagon in the future, I will definitely point out the arrogance you just mentioned."

“Yes. Make sure to remember.”

Seeing the skull principal taking a joking remark seriously, Yi-Han was dumbfounded, then suddenly remembered something and asked.

"By the way, why did you tell me about Antagon? Ah. Is it because you have some teachings to give me related to this artifact?"

“Ah. Did you want to learn about this artifact? I understand. I'll keep that in mind.”

Yi-Han cursed his light tongue. He couldn't stand hating himself.

"Wasn't it?"

“The reason I told you about Antagon is because, as you just said, I think you might meet him in the future.”

"..."

“He's afraid of me and avoids me, but he doesn't know much about you yet, so he might approach you. Above all, you sliced up the anti-magic extremists like that.”

"I didn't slice them..."

“If you see a suspicious mage, don't hesitate and summon me with the ring I gave you last time. Understood?”

Yi-Han was about to summon him right away but held back.

With the help of the skull principal and the death knights, the camp that had been devastated by the battle was quickly restored.

The knights who were lying down with serious injuries also finished their recovery, got up, and expressed their gratitude to the principal.

The skull principal spoke to the students in a generous voice.

“If you want, you can stay a little longer before returning.”

"Huh? Really?!"

Anglago was startled.

He didn't know the skull principal would show such kindness.

Bartreck blinked in disbelief, looking only at his friend.

“Of course! How much merit have you earned here? Of course you can stay!”

At the skull principal's words, the knights also smiled warmly and spread their arms as if welcoming them.

In the heartwarming atmosphere that couldn't be experienced at Einroguard, Anglago and Bartreck already had a drunk expression.

'The principal is human too!'

'Yeah. Since we fought so hard, it's okay to stay a little longer...'

There was nothing good about returning quickly.

They would only have to roam the mountains and forests to hunt for food with their friends.

In contrast, this was a place where food and drink overflowed in abundance.

"Principal."

Yi-Han called the skull principal.

The skull principal looked at Yi-Han warmly as if asking why.

"Are the spirits causing a commotion inside by any chance?"

“I don't know what you're talking about. Why don't you stay a little longer?”

Yi-Han sighed deeply and called his friends.

"...Hey. Let's go back."

It was clear that a flood had broken out at the academy.

The White Tiger Tower friends, instead of obediently returning to the tower, rolled on the floor and flailed.

"Maybe the flood didn't happen!"

"I'm telling you it did."

"Let's say it did, giving you the benefit of the doubt a hundred times! But do we have to go back?! Wardanaz! You don't want to take care of those guys either, right?!"

"..."

It wasn't that they didn't believe Yi-Han's words, but it was a struggle mixed with denial of reality, not wanting to return to Einroguard.

It was already hard, but now that a flood had occurred, they couldn't even imagine how difficult it would be if they went back.

Yi-Han thought about punching them, but even though they had no discerning eyes, he held back, thinking it was a bit much to beat someone from a knight family at the knight order's camp.

Instead, he called Jijel.

"Moradi. It's your tower, so persuade them and bring them back."

Jijel persuaded the two tras... no, friends, with an irritated gaze.

"Just die there like that."

"..."

"..."

The two stopped rolling on the floor and stood up in an awkward posture. If they resisted when Jijel was like this, the aftermath would be scary.

But they didn't fully stand up. That's how much they didn't want to go back to Einroguard.

“Haha. It seems you're misunderstanding something.”

It was the skull principal who helped Yi-Han.

“If Wardanaz goes back, you guys go back with him. That's what friends are.”

"What?! We're from a different tower?!"

“What do you want me to do? Stamp 'different tower but friends' on your forehead?”

The skull principal was in a very grumpy mood when he heard that Yi-Han was returning to Einroguard.

Sensing the grumpiness in that voice, the two White Tiger Tower students gave up and jumped to their feet.

"Let's go... We have to go."

"Wardanaz... Later, if other friends ask, will you tell them that we also took the lead in returning?"

Jijel couldn't hold back anymore, exploded, and started beating her friends with the scabbard. The two students screamed and ran away.

Yi-Han, regardless of that, packed the boxes to carry back.

"Moradi. Stop beating them and help me a bit?"

"...Wait. There are too many."

Jijel, who recovered after taking a deep breath, slightly frowned and counted the number of wooden boxes.

No matter how she thought about it, it was too much for the four of them to carry back. Even if they brought a horse...

"Ah. From here to here, I'll carry."

"What? How?"

"I'll carry this on my back, load this on Niffirg, and float the rest with magic."

"..."

Jijel was at a loss for words at the method that was too crude than expected.

"Hmm. I received this box too... Isn't the southern-produced whirlpool clam too much of a luxury item? Moreover, it spoils quickly."

Yi-Han, who saw the high-quality clams harvested from the southern coast of the empire filling the chest, fell into a dilemma.

Jijel also agreed and said.

"It would be better to leave that behind."

"It's a waste... Principal. Would you like to barter?"

“Get lost.”

Jijel was so startled that her heart sank when she saw Yi-Han calling the skull principal.

The skull principal was an exception to Jijel, who usually didn't get scared. Even after a considerable time had passed since enrollment, the skull principal was still a difficult opponent.

But to call him like that...

'Is he really crazy?'

"Wait a moment. Merchants who came from the guild. Did you bring any food separately? You did? Would you like to trade?"

Yi-Han went to the workers from the merchant guild who remained in the camp and exchanged the preserved food with the perishable high-quality ingredients they had brought.

Since there were many workers who came to work, the amount of food was surprisingly large. Moreover, they were foods that were small in volume and didn't spoil easily, making them easy to move.

"Wow, can you really give us this for free?"

The merchants were astounded.

"We value frugality as a virtue, so we don't eat such luxurious foods well."

Yi-Han spoke without even licking his lips. The workers readily accepted, thinking it was a good opportunity to have a feast after a hard work.

"Is that the remaining food? It seems there's still quite a lot left?"

"Yes. We brought enough for us to eat in case the work took longer."

Yi-Han fell into deep thought, looking at the canned boxes that were still left.

How to take that?

"Hey. Bring the alcohol."

"Ah... No! Wardanaz!!"

"Now is not the time for you guys to indulge in expensive alcohol."

"We may never have the chance to drink <Knight's Joy> that's over 20 years old in the future!!"

Yi-Han snatched the luxuriously decorated wine bottles from his friends' grasp and exchanged them with the workers. The workers were happy and the friends shed tears of blood.

When the trade was roughly finished, Yi-Han looked at the luggage with satisfaction.

Except for the mountain-like pile, the composition was quite solid.

'With this much, even considering what was lost in the flood, we can easily last a month.'

"Oh. Mr. Wardanaz?"

The knights came and called Yi-Han.

Thanks to the performance shown in this attack, the knights' eyes and attitudes were filled with respect.

"Yes?"

"This is originally a gift given to the knight who most honorably shined in the gathering."

"!!"

Yi-Han widened his eyes.

Could it be?

'Gold coins? A golden statue? Or maybe armor made of gold.'

"Although this gathering was canceled midway, there will be no one who will shine as honorably as Mr. Wardanaz in the future. We are happy to give this to you unanimously."

"It's truly an honor!"

Yi-Han accepted the gift with gratitude.

It was a wine bottle decorated several times more luxuriously than the one he had snatched earlier from his friends.

"..."