-Th-that is...

-...Professor Verdus was there too!

Fortunately, there was one quick-witted knight among them.

The other Death Knights looked at their colleague with admiring eyes.

Displaying such wit in a situation like this was truly the wisdom of a knight.

Of course, Professor Verdus had not participated voluntarily. He had been kidnapped and forced to take part. But for an Einroguard professor, being kidnapped was originally a crime as well.

And if it was Professor Verdus, that warranted aggravated punishment.

That damned Bivle... Fine. At least it has not been completely ruined. That is fortunate. What do you mean the duplicate punished Bivle? Did he die, by any chance?

The Skull Principal asked with slight concern.

Unlike his benevolent and generous self, the duplicate of honor was merciless. Someone like Professor Verdus could really have died after fooling around without any malice.

Although the domain’s magic protected the people inside, magic had loopholes, and archmages were the ones most skilled at exploiting such loopholes.

-No. The professor did not die.

It would have been fine if he died once or twice.

The knights pretended not to hear the Skull Principal’s muttering and continued their report.

-Professor Verdus merely suffered a harsh ordeal. Some of his works were broken...

I thought as much.

The principal sighed as if he felt sorry after hearing the report.

In fact, if they were not going to kill Professor Verdus, there were not many ways to punish him. One of them was destroying Professor Verdus’s works.

For that beaver beastkin mage, breaking his works could deal a much heavier blow than cutting off his limbs.

It was not that the Skull Principal did not know this method. In fact, he had used it several times before.

It is meaningless work.

The reason he called it meaningless was simple.

The shock of having his works broken would last a few days at most, and if they broke his works every time, Einroguard would go bankrupt first.

Most of the works Professor Verdus created were either contracted pieces or commissioned works. Since he was a mage with so many debts, the number of works that were purely personal was small.

Still, does it not feel good?

One of the Death Knights thought to himself.

It was rare for students and knights to agree on things, but when it came to Professor Verdus, the thought I want to kick that bastard just once often aligned quite well.

Still, everyone must have felt good. I wish I could have seen it too.

-!

The list.

-Here it is.

The Death Knight respectfully presented the catalog. It was a list of the artifacts Professor Verdus had been working on and the items damaged this time.

Seeing it, the Skull Principal became very troubled.

...He broke quite a lot.

-There is more on the back page.

One tactless knight was additionally sent down to the punishment cells.

The Skull Principal shook his head as if fed up and said,

Write down the rest and report it. If I listen to every single thing one by one, the semester will end.

-How will you handle the punishment?

Send only Professor Bivle to the punishment cells and leave the rest alone.

Strictly speaking, Professor Garcia and Professor Voladi were guilty of omitting reports and stealing relics, while Professor Verdus was guilty of being kidnapped and failing to protect the artifacts.

But the former two were innocent.

The two of them had much work to do outside, but Professor Verdus could work even inside the punishment cells.

After all the knights left, the Skull Principal stared at the blank letter paper.

This white paper, which exuded a presence more intense than a great demon from the burning hell dimension, consisted of letters that had to be sent to the Emperor, the Imperial treasurer, and various noble families.

The Skull Principal called for the Death Knight outside again.

...When Bat-anaz wakes up, bring him here. If someone who will support the Empire asks, those people will be a bit more lenient.

-They may not cooperate because of what you did, Master.

The Skull Principal sent the loyal knight to the punishment cells, then called the knight beside him.

Bring him.

-Yes!

***

A mage’s dreams were different from ordinary people’s dreams.

In the divination magic school, dreams were one of the most powerful means. In that ambiguous realm, one could divine the future while avoiding all kinds of rebound.

Even without entering the divination magic school, mages were often influenced by intense dreams throughout their lives.

A mage who made a wrong contract could be chased through dreams by interdimensional beings, and if a mistake was made, the damage could reach the mage’s real body. A mage who attempted overly complex magic could see bizarre scenes in dreams as an aftereffect, as if having eaten hallucinogenic mushrooms.

In that regard, it was only natural for Lee Han to have intense dreams while he was unconscious.

In the dream, the young, healthy Skull Principal from his human days appeared. The Skull Principal obsessed with honor appeared. And the current evil Skull Principal appeared as well.

When the guest star Arna, the Lesser World, the Personal World, the Yacha King, all kinds of grand magic, and all manner of transcendents appeared and mixed together chaotically, the contents of the dream became even more incomprehensible.

-...I entrust the world to you.

-Hmph. Bat-anaz, you are neither the first disciple to hurl insults at me, nor will you be the last.

-Are you talking about that fellow who played Mage Cards during lessons?

-That was Gainando...

-...I entrust the world to you.

-Do not forget the Lesser World. Continue to strive.

-Nobility for others.

-You little hamster bastard. Were you instigating him from the side?

-...I entrust the world to you.

The magic he had hastily learned recently was naturally absorbed into his mind like melting ice. And when the three Skull Principals began rotating round and round like Senior Hormasi’s cerberus, Lee Han woke up in a cold sweat.

“!”

What he felt upon waking was fatigue throughout his entire body, as if he had been beaten; a head that refused to work, as if he were drunk; and a baby basilisk clinging tightly to his arm.

...I will have to argue about this later.

Lee Han planned to argue, once the baby basilisk woke up, that throwing it last time had not been his own intention, but the work of wicked alcohol.

The Frost Giants’ liquor surely had side effects as evil and vile as that race.

“...”

Lee Han, who was about to go down from his private room, felt the events that had happened return to him.

Even if it felt futile and empty, it could not be helped. The mage who had disappeared would not return, and Lee Han had to do what he had to do.

...I should write an anonymous tip to the Empire.

But separately from that, Lee Han planned to send at least one anonymous tip to the Empire.

An evil tyrant who did not listen to students’ opinions at all was ruling the magic school...

“Wardanaz!”

When Lee Han came down, his friends, who had been sitting in the common lounge studying for exams, were startled.

“Are you all right?”

“I am fine. My body just feels a little heavy. What is that over there?”

Lee Han was puzzled when he saw an unfamiliar betting board hanging on the wall.

It was a betting board divided into “possible” and “impossible,” and the Blue Dragon Tower students had written their names on the side they chose.

Seeing that there were more names on the “possible” side...

“I understand. You bet on when I would wake up.”

“No. We bet on whether you could become valedictorian without attending the final exams.”

“...Thank you, everyone. How long did I sleep?”

“Over a week.”

“!??!”

Lee Han was shocked.

He thought he had slept for a long time, but it had been that long?

“There are still a few days left before the exams, Wardanaz.”

“We did not slack off just because you were not here.”

His friends spoke with proud expressions.

The reason the second-year students had not indulged in debauchery this time was purely the power of friendship.

As long as they had a conscience, they could not play around when their friend had collapsed.

“No. I was not asking because of the exams.”

“What?!”

This time, his friends were shocked.

They had naturally expected Lee Han to start talking about exams as soon as he woke up. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

“What happened afterward? The principal’s insane duplicate disappeared.”

“Ah. That...”

“Everyone was sad and disappointed. Gainando even went to the punishment cells.”

“?!”

Lee Han was surprised.

Being sad and disappointed was one thing, but Gainando going to the punishment cells?

“Why on earth? Did he attack the principal or something?”

“Uh... it was similar, but a little different.”

When the insane duplicate disappeared and the Skull Principal returned, even the Einroguard students quickly noticed the change.

-Oh. Where did the principal’s insane duplicate go?

-Right? We can see the principal, but why...? Principal. Do you know where the duplicate went?

-He is dead.

-...Murderer! Murderer!!

The fearless upperclassmen threw filth at the Skull Principal, only to be beaten up and chased away in return.

Lee Han, who had been quietly listening to the story, tilted his head.

“Wait. The upperclassmen were just chased away, so why did Gainando go to the punishment cells?”

“He threw an egg by himself.”

While stones or filth might be forgiven, throwing an egg was unforgivable.

Gainando was immediately dragged to the punishment cells for the crime of luxury and waste.

“...Anyway, I am glad everyone remembered Master.”

“Wardanaz. Are you all right?”

“I am fine. It is disappointing, but it cannot be helped.”

Lee Han spoke in a bitter voice.

Perhaps, as the Skull Principal had said, this might have been a better ending for the insane duplicate himself.

Though he had denied it, there was no way a lingering spirit bound to the world could have been without pain.

Still, I will write an anonymous letter.

Now that he thought about it, writing two seemed appropriate.

Lee Han resolved to send two letters under pseudonyms.

“The Enchantment Magic School upperclassmen erected a memorial at the mountain-range workshop. Do you want to go see it?”

“...What? Which school?!”

Lee Han, °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° who had been about to pour coffee from the kettle on the fireplace into a tin cup for recovery, almost dropped it.

Among all the many schools at Einroguard, was that not the school least suited to memorials?

“I was surprised too, but the upperclassmen apparently built it.”

“Hmm. I see. So even the Enchantment Magic School upperclassmen were moved...”

I think it is just because he beat up Professor Verdus.

His friends thought so inwardly, but seeing Lee Han look happy, they said nothing.

***

Due to the great battle, no trace of the workshop remained, but the giants were still nearby, consoling their grief.

Several students left letters beside the memorial saying things like, “Thank you for beating Professor Verdus,” and, “Please return someday and sit on the principal’s throne,” before turning away.

The giants sniffled and hugged such students tightly.

Crack!

As the students staggered away, Lee Han appeared. The giants saw him and rushed toward him.

-Wardanaz. Drink this. Sadness disappears.

“Is that not giant liquor?”

-Mages hold on to sadness for a long time because they do not have this. We have this, so we send sadness away quickly.

“I am fine.”

The blazing giant liquor could send away more than just sadness. It could send away a mage’s mind too. Lee Han firmly refused.

-Right. Wardanaz. The old yacha was waiting for Wardanaz.

“!”

While Lee Han was surprised by the unexpected name, a voice came from behind.

-You are finally here.

A familiar old yacha walked out from among the giants. The yacha spoke while holding a bundle in his arms.

-Do you know how long I waited among these idiots because of you?

“What is the matter?”

-The chief attendant left something for you. He asked me to deliver it.

“...Why to you, sir?”

As far as Lee Han knew, the chief attendant had no particular relationship with the old yacha.

-Well, there were only giants and this old man around, and between the two, I was the better choice.

At the old yacha’s words, the giants felt slighted and poured out jeers.

-The mage made the wrong choice just by looking at race.

-We could have delivered it well too!

“Thank you anyway.”