I-han paused momentarily before responding.

"True, the world’s full of crazies."

"You think Gonadaltes might have broken it?"

"Could be."

"Gonadaltes has been especially cranky lately."

Professor Verdus set down an artifact that looked like a wrench and brushed off his hands.

"Especially after he locked me up the other day. He’s been in quite a foul mood."

"How peculiar."

"Actually, I know the reason."

"Oh?"

I-han was surprised.

Professor Verdus knew why the Skeleton Principal was angry?

*He actually figured it out?*

In truth, the real reason was probably due to a certain well-meaning student of Professor Verdus who had accidentally touched one of the Skeleton Principal's belongings. Not that Verdus could have pieced that together… However, Verdus had certainly done plenty of other things to irritate the principal.

Still, could the professor really be that perceptive?

"It’s because it’s the end of the year."

"Excuse me?"

"Once the year ends, the imperial officials start pestering him. Asking why money was spent here, or why it was used there."

"Ah."

I-han understood immediately.

Enroguard didn’t charge a single copper for admission or tuition to students or their families. Other magic academies in the empire demanded exorbitant fees that shocked even the wealthiest noble families, so this was a drastic difference.

Of course, Enroguard’s funds didn’t just fall from the sky. Since the Skeleton Principal was the academy’s lord, he had to hustle and scramble to secure funding. I-han, having sat in on a few such meetings, knew some of what Gonadaltes went through.

He relied on donations from dignitaries and major noble families, personal support from the Emperor, and even pulled out suspiciously hefty bags of gold from his own vaults—bags that often coincided with news headlines about missing notorious criminals.

But one of the academy’s primary sources of income was the official support from the Empire.

Imperial bureaucrats constantly tried to cut it down, while the Skeleton Principal fought tooth and nail to keep the budget up. Naturally, at year’s end, imperial treasurers did everything they could to reduce the coming year’s budget.

*I should definitely be more cautious,* I-han thought, promising himself to be extra discreet if he ever had to "borrow" something from the principal’s office. Spending a week in the punishment cell rather than a day was a real possibility.

"Here, take this."

"What is it?"

"Today’s lesson. We’re making winter-proof attachments for clothing."

I-han opened the crate and saw it was full of various reagents.

Fire-resistant enchantments, anti-cold and wind-repelling charms, and more.

With year’s end approaching, Enroguard was getting colder by the day. Students patched up their coats with whatever they could find or carried alchemical bottles of slow-cooling liquid, but it wasn’t an easy solution.

There were temporary spells, like *Imbue Heat,* but it was impractical to keep re-casting them while moving around campus.

Instead, the ideal solution was to inscribe a lasting enchantment directly into an object, creating a semi-permanent artifact. This method didn’t require repeated spellcasting and lasted far longer.

*…But could Professor Verdus have thought of that himself?*

"Did you come up with this, Professor?"

"Of course. I knew you’d figure it out!"

Verdus replied, clearly waiting to be asked. His voice was filled with a sense of injustice.

"Do you really think I’d pick something this dull? Of course not. Professor Garcia insisted! Said if I didn’t, she’d break my workbench. How could someone be so cruel?"

"Surely you misheard, Professor. Garcia wouldn’t hurt a fly."

"No! I heard her right!"

Verdus was practically hopping with indignation, but I-han just ignored him.

---

"...So today, we’re making winter attachments for clothing," Professor Verdus muttered, and the students were visibly stunned.

They all turned to I-han and shouted at once.

"Wardanaz, did you threaten the professor??"

"......"

Before I-han could answer, Professor Verdus clarified.

"No, Garcia threatened me."

"Come on, Professor. Garcia wouldn’t threaten anyone," one student said, though Giselle seemed thoughtful.

*Or could she…?*

While Garcia was considered one of the academy’s kindest professors, anyone could have hidden potential for intimidation.

"I swear, she really did!" Verdus protested, flailing his arms. I-han calmed him down with a pat on the shoulder.

"Professor, focus. If the students don’t complete this, your workbench might end up broken."

"Right."

Professor Verdus didn’t mind if his students studied magic for twenty-five hours straight, but he’d go to great lengths to protect his workbench.

"Now, as for what you can enchant with spells for winter use…"

Verdus explained which articles of clothing could hold enchantments: hats, scarves, coats, cloaks, vests, sweaters, shirts, and so on.

"What about gloves?"

"Those work too."

"Ah, gloves…"

As a friend started to jot down notes, I-han raised his hand again.

"Can we enchant them at our level?"

"Hmm. What’s the highest circle of magic you can cast? Four-circle?"

"For Wardanaz, it’s probably…" one student began.

"Zip it."

While Verdus could instantly calculate complex artifact equations, he had to count on his fingers to estimate the students’ proficiency level.

"Nope. Not possible."

"I figured. Gloves are too small, so it must be difficult."

"It’s not that hard. You’re just too simple-minded."

"......"

A few students from White Tiger Tower whispered amongst themselves about stuffing Professor Verdus into a snowbank.

Meanwhile, Verdus finished explaining the garments and the enchantments that could be used on them.

"*Imbue Heat*, *Wind Resistance*, *Cold Resistance*, *Snowproofing*, *Condensation Resistance*... these should do the trick."

"Some of these are spells we haven’t learned yet."

"Hm? You’ll learn them today, then."

"......"

Several students from White Tiger Tower began plotting more seriously about that snowbank idea.

*Wait a minute.*

As I-han recalled helping prepare the lesson materials, he noticed something odd.

"Professor, even if it’s not fully permanent, these artifacts are meant to hold their magic for a while. Can normal clothing handle that kind of durability?"

"No. That’s why you need special fabric or leather."

"Oh. You brought some ahead of time?"

I-han was surprised Verdus might have been this prepared.

"Didn’t bring any."

"…Sorry?"

"I didn’t bring any. You have to gather it yourselves."

"......"

"......"

A gust of frigid wind whistled outside, eerie as a ghost’s wail.

"So… where do we get it now?"

Professor Verdus scratched his head in response.

"Your seniors always kept a stash on hand. Didn’t you? Any leftovers from last year?"

"We’re first-years, Professor."

"I know. So what’s left from last year’s stockpile?"

*Not entirely sane,* thought I-han, tuning out Verdus and flipping through his notebook to confirm the suitable materials.

"Professor, would Twin-horned Ox leather work?"

"Yes, it’d hold all the spells I mentioned."

"Hm. I’ve got two boxes, but it might not be enough. What about *Basala fiber*?"

"That’ll do, but it needs to be harvested in winter from Basala’s stalks."

"Oh, I’ve heard it’s hard to find in the mountains. How about wool?"

"Not just any wool."

"What about the wool from a *Mountain-Crushing Sheep*?"

"What? That exists? Give me some!"

Professor Verdus was astonished to hear about such a rare fabric.

Ignoring him, I-han resumed checking his stock.

A puzzled Anrago, watching from the side, spoke up.

"Wardanaz. Hey, Wardanaz."

"?"

"You’re off to raid the principal’s stash, aren’t you? Let me join."

"...No, I collected these myself."

At this, not only the students from White Tiger Tower but others started chuckling.

"Yeah, sure, Wardanaz, you ‘collected’ them. Let's just say that."

"So, when’s the raid happening?"

"......"

Suddenly, I-han felt self-conscious, wondering if his friends really saw him as some kind of thief.

"I *did* collect them, you lunatics."

"How, exactly?"

"Hold on, Wardanaz… Are you secretly… a third-year?"

*Whack!*

"By doing actual work, you idiots."

Rapping his friend on the head with his wand, I-han shook his head, exasperated.

"Actual work?"

"Yes."

"Professor’s work? Is that really enough to get all this material?"

Everyone murmured in astonishment.

It wasn’t that I-han was naturally a thief, but it was hard to fathom how a first-year like him had managed to amass so much.

"I got some from seniors too."

"?"

"???"

The students were all equally perplexed.

*Seniors?*

*Can you even meet seniors that often?*

*Could Wardanaz really be a third-year?*

Verdus impatiently urged I-han.

"Let’s get started if you’ve got the materials. We need to finish these before Garcia has my workbench."

"Yes, Professor."

"Hey, about that Mountain-Crushing Sheep wool?"

"Well, you guys are coming with me to the

 White Tiger Tower storage."

I-han ignored them, leaving with the White Tiger Tower students to gather materials.

---

Anrago, hauling a heavy crate, suddenly raised a question.

"Hey, Wardanaz. This is for the Phoenix Tower, right? So why are we the ones moving it?"

"Don’t you need the materials too?"

"Well… yes, but… the priests could also…"

"Then you should be helping."

"...Alright, alright."

Giselle, lugging a crate in the distance, stayed silent, strategizing. Sometimes, patience was the best tactic.

"Hm. We might be short. Let’s get more. Rowena, there are a few boxes buried two meters down. Dig them up."

"Got it."

Nillia’s thoughts briefly wandered to a squirrel burying acorns but said nothing.

"Why bury them here?"

"Lack of storage space. Personal rooms and lounges fill up quickly. Maybe I need a warehouse."

At this, I-han realized why upperclassmen often risked sneaking into secluded spots outside campus for storage.

When he’d first entered the academy, he’d thought a personal room and lounge would be plenty, but he’d been wrong.

Even stockpiling basic supplies ate up space quickly, especially for someone like him who had a lot of magical items.

*The hideout I found last time isn’t very accessible… Maybe I should stash things in the old hut where they kept a basilisk.*

Judging the quantity, Nillia gave I-han a questioning look.

"Wait, don’t we have enough? Why gather more… oh, I get it."

Nillia glanced meaningfully at I-han and nudged him.

"You’re planning to…”

"Sell it," I-han replied.

A brief silence followed.

I-han nodded slowly.

“Well, maybe you could say I’m sharing it.” 

“No…”