Chapter 257

“Academy?”

The story that came out while having a teacup with Duke Lesrom at the aristocratic house was something I personally thought was absurd. Thanks to this, I unknowingly questioned it reflexively, but Duke Lesrom only answered with aloof attitude as always.

“That’s right. It would be ambiguous to say that Weedra is preparing to lay down a public post for you... because that friend has a lot of personal interests. It’s probably a lifetime longing.”

Of course, I won’t learn anything there. It wasn’t that there was nothing to learn at the Imperial Academy. However, in the end, the purpose of the academy is to contribute to the development of technology through theory, to safely learn actual battles to lower the mortality rate on the battlefield, or to train commanders to increase the unit’s operational capabilities.

Sounds like none of that applies to me. Rather, it would be much more beneficial to run a Gaendal party and one more request.

“Honestly, I would like to bet on the fact that Your Excellency and the former court mage Legneva are close enough to have such a conversation, but I will say that now. Do I have to enter the academy by any chance?”

“Do you want to enter school?”

“Not at all.”

I don’t even want to make memories of my fresh school days, but why am I crawling into a place where there is a high possibility of becoming a slave to the state when I graduate?

It is said that he is in a position to receive help and learn from Mr. Widra, but as Duke Lesrom said, he is not providing free education to me either. It can be said that it is a case.

“Sorry. Well, don’t worry. You’re not entering as a student.”

Fortunately, it didn’t seem necessary to have such a time to coordinate opinions, but it seems like it’s an established fact that I’m going to the academy.

“...’As a student’ means you have to go into something else after all, right?”

“Don’t be ashamed of it by speculating too much. You’re just a disciple of Weedra. Nominally, you’ll be considered an assistant.”

It wasn’t because of lack of money that Mr. Widra gave up the position of a court mage that others wanted but couldn’t. It was just a choice to secure stable capital and facilities in a short time while maintaining the confidentiality of the never light topic that humans use magic.

It is a part that makes you guess that Mr. Weedra is not an ordinary wizard in that he can easily give up such a position because of a single study. Surely Seneran and Juk would get along well.

When I first heard of it, I wondered if the support from the royal family was stronger than that of an academy, but I was convinced in terms of confidentiality. If research is supported by the royal family, not only do you have to constantly report progress, but the possibility of information leaking to other countries increases dramatically. Because the title of the secret research of the kingdom’s court mage has more weight than the secret research of the academy professor.

Even if the process of changing jobs is too sudden, there is room for suspicion, so it is said that it is only now that it has been sorted out while preparing various procedures.

Actually, if you listen to the story, it seems that we are very close, but it must be a natural result. If you gave up your stable job and grabbed a student and said you would start researching, it would be normal for you to notice, unless you are a stone head.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell you where to go. The process of accepting you as a disciple was naturally scripted, so it won’t go unnoticed.”

Unlike Duke Lesrom, who chuckled, I just sipped my tea because I felt uncomfortable.

◈

After leaving the meeting with the Duke of Lesrom, I returned home, read the documents of the Holy Cross Society, and lit a fire by the stove for about two days before I headed to the Royal Academy.

I don’t know about everything else, but I thought commuting to and from work would be filthy inconvenient. I remember Cheryl saying that in the aristocratic district, you could go to the academy district where the academy is by riding a horse for about 10 minutes at a leisurely pace. It’s a pity that Lord Ekaf gave me the words I received from Englem like a housewarming gift.

“Hey, the Kingdom Academy is also playing.”

In fact, while living in the capital, when I was asked to pick a district that had the least ties to me, the academy district had no ties to me to the extent that I could answer without hesitation. The academy district, which is a commercial district with all kinds of convenience facilities close to each other in an area as large as the site of a university that was said to be of some scale in the previous life, is so active that at a cursory glance it is indistinguishable from the adventurer district.

Except for the academy buildings standing tall in the distance. Thanks to that, even though it was my first trip, I was able to safely enter the academy without getting lost. After that, I asked the guards and students for directions and arrived at Mr. Widra’s room located in the Professor’s Office in the Magic Building.

“It took quite a while to say it wouldn’t take a week... but even if I tried to talk in the middle, the time didn’t match because you were so busy.”

“Yes. I didn’t expect to go out like this either.”

Did he ever think that he would be involved in the corruption of the devil and Englem and delay the time? I can laugh it off because the reward is satisfactory, but if I just blown my time, I would have been so bitter that I couldn’t sleep properly. In response to my heartfelt reply, Mr. Widra smiled on his tired-looking face and continued talking.

“Ha ha ha, I guess that was the case too. But from a wizard’s point of view, that’s a good sign. To always go according to plan means something has gone terribly wrong.”

“Maybe it’s because I haven’t had a chance to have a deep conversation with a wizard, so this is the first proverb I’ve heard.”

It was a story that even Asilie had never told.

“It’s like an old adage to realize that no matter how powerful you are, you’re only a mortal. That’s why it’s like a superstition that it’s auspicious if there’s a slight disruption to your plans when you’re doing something big.”

It must have been an adage limited to short-lived species. By the way, not only do you stay away from lies, but you also have a humble attitude.

Most of the wizards I’ve read in novels are drunk with power and shout out to never change, but I feel like my faith and trust in my mentor is already growing.