While the Skull Principal and the knights under his command were seriously agonizing over the matter, the reason the mages had reacted so intensely was revealed.

“I heard you completed Gawon’s magic! Please come to the Onchuri Magic Tower and let that jewel-like talent shine!”

“Excuse me?”

Lee Han belatedly recalled what had happened at last year’s exchange meeting.

Then he said,

“Strictly speaking, that wasn’t completion. It was improvement...”

“It was completion.”

“Honestly, it was no different from completion.”

The mages, who had been kindly trying to win Lee Han’s favor just moments ago, showed no compromise when it came to magic.

They immediately grew serious and denied that it had merely been an improvement.

“...”

Lee Han was slightly overwhelmed.

As expected of mages, the madness they resolutely emitted was extraordinary.

Meanwhile, the Skull Principal and the knights wasted time on a pointless discussion.

“How about we just say around fourth-circle?”

-How about third-circle?

-But there are already known examples, so third-circle might seem a little strange...

During that time, a new carriage appeared from behind them.

Lee Han hesitated at the familiar house crest.

House Meikin?

“What is going on?”

Yoanen, who was inside the carriage, opened the window, curious about the commotion taking place in front of the tower.

The mages of the Onchuri Magic Tower were surrounding the carriage ahead and howling, making bizarre sounds as if they had drunk spoiled potions.

-Ah. Sorry. Lady Meikin.

“You all are...”

Yoanen immediately recognized the Death Knights and the Skull Principal in human form.

Even without their undead forms, they were such a distinctive group that it was difficult not to recognize them.

“Lady Meikin. I apologize.”

Lee Han also apologized on their behalf.

He wanted to open the carriage door, get out, and apologize properly, but with the mages wandering around the carriage like zombies, it was impossible.

“What happened is...”

“You don’t need to explain. I think I understand what’s going on.”

Yoanen spoke, intelligent eyes gleaming behind amethyst glasses.

“They must have gathered here to invite Lord Wardanaz to their tower after hearing of his magical talent.”

“How did you know?!”

Lee Han was startled.

Of course, Yoanen had sharp insight befitting an excellent mage, but figuring that out just from this scene?

He could not even guess how Yoanen had realized it.

“Well, I heard Lord Gonadaltes did the exact same thing with Professor Garcia...”

“Shh. Be quiet.”

The Skull Principal warned Yoanen, who had nearly exposed the mage’s trick.

Even if the Onchuri Magic Tower mages’ intelligence had dropped, there was no need to remind them of painful memories from the past.

Yoanen nodded.

Among fellow mages, it was proper etiquette not to interfere in one another’s business.

Someday, Yoanen might also need to lower the intelligence of other tower mages and extort the desired objective.

“I understand. But Lord Gonadaltes, aren’t you worrying too much? If they can bring a mage who has contracted with a Spirit King into the tower, they would even forgive Professor Verdus.”

Yoanen’s point was accurate.

If the mage was someone who had already contracted with a Spirit King despite being only a second-year, the tower members would want to bring him in no matter what humiliation or price they had to pay.

Even if that meant forgiving Professor Verdus.

“Oh.”

-Ah.

“?”

Yoanen tilted a head at the reaction from the Skull Principal and the Death Knights.

Why were they acting like that?

“I haven’t heard anything about him contracting with a king-level spirit?”

At the tower mage’s gleaming eyes, even the ancient knight who had passed through countless battles was overwhelmed and flinched.

-We... were going to mention it. Later.

“Later? Were you perhaps planning to mention it only when you went to other towers, leaving us out?”

-No, no. How could that be? We were going to tell you everything once we went inside.

“...That’s right! Come to think of it, he also subdued the devil duke with the Spirit King’s power back then.”

Gawon finally remembered and shouted belatedly.

The mages beside Gawon hurled murderous reproaches at their colleague.

“Are you an idiot?! How could you not mention that!”

“That friend Gawon clearly hid it to monopolize him! We should strip Gawon of invitation privileges as punishment!”

“No... no! I didn’t know either! I thought some other Einroguard student there had summoned it through a special method!”

“...”

Yoanen felt regretful as the situation descended into chaos in an instant.

As a mage, Yoanen had been careless and let something slip.

Who could have known they did not know about the Spirit King contract?

“I’m truly sorry, Lord Wardanaz. I didn’t know you hadn’t mentioned the Spirit King. Then did you mention the Lesser World?”

“...”

-...

“...I’m truly sorry!”

As Yoanen apologized loudly, the Skull Principal and the Death Knights quickly climbed into the carriage.

When the mages grabbed the wheels and doors, the Skull Principal gave a cold order.

“Depart.”

-Yes!

The knights pushed away the mages clinging to the carriage and hastily accelerated into the tower. Behind them, the desperate voices of the mages echoed ominously.

The Skull Principal muttered,

“Hmm. Their reaction is much more intense than I expected.”

The knights inside the carriage all nodded in unison.

Seeing a deadly reaction several times more vicious than when Professor Garcia had been involved, it seemed they could not simply send a one-sided message like “Professor Garcia has been appointed as an Einroguard professor, haha” and disappear as they had done before.

If they did that, there might truly be a tower riot...

***

“The reason we visited today is to ask whether we might delay payment to the mages who were mobilized for the great magic to confine the thought-form...”

“Please do.”

“...”

-...

When Eulangdam and the other tower mages answered immediately, the Skull Principal and the Death Knights instead became uncomfortable.

It was the first time they had ever felt uneasy despite business going so smoothly.

In truth, they all knew the reason.

The mages, who would normally have grumbled or complained, were nodding without a single word of protest, their mad eyes gleaming eerily.

A barking dog did not bite.

Conversely, a dog that did not bark was something to worry about. The Skull Principal began to worry that he might have misjudged the situation.

He had intended to handle it in moderation, as he had with Professor Garcia, not to drive all the tower mages completely mad.

This is dangerous.

Looking at those crazed eyes now, it would not be strange if, instead of his disciple returning at the start of the second semester, a letter arrived saying, “Your school’s student has chosen to join a magic tower, so please do not look for him.”

In the end, the Skull Principal displayed a kindness he would never normally show.

“...How is everyone’s magical research going these days? If you want, I’ll provide some instruction. Not my usual vague and ambiguous instruction, but something you can use immediately. I’ll spoon-feed it to you, so to speak.”

So he does know that he usually teaches vaguely and ambiguously.

Shh. Don’t even think carelessly in front of His Excellency.

Countless mages had thirsted for wisdom from the Skull Principal, but among them, very few had received satisfactory answers.

Whether because of his twisted nature or some philosophy about transmitting secrets, the Skull Principal had only ever given extremely vague and difficult-to-understand instruction.

For such a Skull Principal to say, “This time, I’ll really teach you the essentials easily and quickly.”

Any mage would be tempted.

However...

“We’re fine.”

“That’s right. We’re fine. We would not dare waste Your Excellency’s time.”

“...”

The magic tower’s mages united and refused in one voice.

Their attitude conveyed a resolute will: they would not owe the Skull Principal any debt. They would only give, never receive.

-So if you have even a shred of conscience, send your disciple to our magic tower!

“...Who used telepathy?”

“Pardon?”

“No. It’s nothing.”

The Skull Principal shuddered at the thought unconsciously formed by the magic tower’s mages.

It was so powerful that he could read its specific meaning.

“Your Excellency. You were interested in the artifact our mages purchased last time, were you not?”

“Was I? I don’t quite remember...”

“Since you are here, we will give it to you as a commemorative gift.”

“...That much should be fine. I’ll just accept the sentiment.”

“Then how about a donation?”

“Einroguard’s finances are comfortable enough that it won’t be necessary.”

Along with the most absurd lie in the Empire, the Skull Principal rejected the proposal.

“More importantly, you all understand that there is no guarantee my disciple will definitely join this magic tower later, don’t you?”

“Of course.”

“Your Excellency will speak well of us, won’t you? You there. Go bring the artifact. We need to present it to His Excellency.”

“Stop! I said it’s fine!”

The Skull Principal quickly rose from his seat.

It seemed he would have to refuse gifts from the Onchuri Magic Tower for a while, if only out of caution.

If he carelessly accepted them, at some point they might become his disciple’s ransom.

The Skull Principal, who had hurriedly escaped with his disciple, encountered Yoanen in the corridor.

“Why did you have to say such unnecessary things!”

“I-I’m sorry.”

Yoanen sincerely apologized.

Originally, even insane archmages became less frightening when someone was constantly exposed to them.

Similarly, after continuously dealing with a friend of that insane younger sibling, Yoanen had lost some sense of danger. That was why the words had slipped out carelessly.

“But then... what were you originally talking about? Fifth-circle?”

Yoanen was puzzled.

If they had not originally mentioned the Spirit King or the Lesser World, why had the tower mages gathered like madmen?

“...He completed a spell that a mage of the Onchuri Magic Tower presented at an exchange meeting last year.”

“I improved it.”

“I said you completed it.”

The Skull Principal scolded his disciple while explaining. After hearing the whole story, Yoanen nodded.

“That is completion.”

“...”

“See? Stop being so stubborn.”

While Lee Han grumbled, Yoanen thought,

But if it was something like that, wouldn’t the result have been the same even if I hadn’t said anything?

“You’re not thinking it would have been the same even if you hadn’t said anything, are you?”

“...Of course not. Absolutely not.”

Yoanen waved a gloved hand as if to say absolutely not.

“What brings you here?”

“A production request came to the workshop, so I thought I would visit in person and inspect it.”

Yoanen had been asked to produce a large quantity of sublimating compounds that reacted to specific mana, needed for ongoing magical research.

Since Yoanen was visiting the capital anyway, it had seemed like a good opportunity to observe the research directly and estimate the cost.

“I’m envious. You don’t have to deal with crazy mages.”

“I’m envious. You’re already receiving requests like that.”

“...”

-...

The Skull Principal and the knights looked at Lee Han as if he were being ridiculous.

Was this really the time to be envious of that?

However, Yoanen smiled without being flustered and said,

“Wardanaz and Yonair will soon be able to receive plenty of such requests too. You handled House Nago’s reagents well last time, didn’t you?”

“Haha. Thank you. I was lucky.”

The Skull Principal, who was listening from the side, was inwardly puzzled.

What kind of house is House Nago?

This is the first time I’m hearing of it.