Ragesa was an experienced pirate veteran—and, thanks to her ties with the Skull Principal, knew quite a bit about how Einroguard operated.

And from what she remembered, the academy had always been like this.

Thirty-seven years ago.

—Why don’t you have a staff?

—I traded it for a loaf of bread.

—...I see. Understood. Then why don’t you have a cloak? Did you trade that for bread too?

—No.

—Then what happened to it?

—I traded it for half a loaf...

—...

Twenty-nine years ago.

—At least you still have your staff!

—Yes! We found the kitchen yesterday! We stole all the food inside and used it to buy back our pawned staff and cloak!

—Kihihi! Good! Well done. At least you earned the food with your own strength! But what’s with the iron chain around your ankle?

—The Kitchen Keeper caught us and said we could either go to the punishment cells or work in the kitchen... so I chose kitchen duty. Starting tomorrow, I have to work ten hours a day.

—...I don’t know much about teaching magic, but can someone still learn magic while doing kitchen labor ten hours a day?

Seventeen years ago.

—Impressive. You caught a pretty big beast.

—Thank you.

—Then why are the others lying over there without eating?

—They tried to gang up on me and steal it, so we fought a little...

—Oh my. That’s not your fault. Those idiots are the ones to blame for trying to steal food from a troll half-blood.

—I told them I’d share, but they tried to jump me from behind... sniff...

—Tsk tsk. You can’t negotiate rationally with people who’ve been starving for a week. You rule them with violence. Use those fists of yours.

—But I don’t like violence?

—Then you need even greater violence. At minimum, keep your fists clenched tight. Someone who’s starved for one week will give up after a beating, but someone who’s starved for two weeks won’t stop even after several.

“Hm. I doubt things changed much.”

After finishing her nostalgic recollection, Ragesa spoke with certainty.

No matter how she looked at it, Einroguard would remain a brutal, miserable place as long as the lord of the academy stayed the same.

There was a reason Ragesa often lectured her pirates with:

You brats shouldn’t complain about drifting at sea all year. There’s a place called Einroguard...

“When I was a first-year, everyone was hungry, sure, but we still managed to eat three meals a day...”

“Really?? Are you sure you didn’t attend Valdrogard by mistake?”

“Ragesa!”

When Lee Han protested indignantly, Ragesa burst out laughing.

There truly was no insult more effective against Einroguard students than being compared to Valdrogard.

...Wait. Could this be because of Eandurde?

Lee Han suddenly flinched.

Eandurde, currently assigned to Black Turtle Tower, was experienced in combat and naturally inclined toward fighting.

The last time they met in Professor Voladi Bagreg’s class, hadn’t Eandurde casually mentioned “extorting food from other towers”?

Lee Han had handed over a large bundle of food afterward and told Eandurde to share it with everyone, but honestly, even Lee Han himself had doubted whether that actually happened.

Because if it had been him, he absolutely would not have shared it.

If it were me... I would’ve hidden it away in storage first.

No matter how much people talked about helping fellow students, it was difficult to care for idiots who attacked you every time they saw you.

Why would he generously feed people like that?

“I think I know the reason.”

“What is it?”

“There’s one junior I know...”

Lee Han briefly explained the situation with Eandurde.

Ragesa, however, looked unimpressed.

“How much could one kid steal? They’re all mages. Even if food’s scarce, they should be perfectly capable of hiding some if they put their minds to it.”

“No. Eandurde is genuinely capable of terrifyingly efficient theft if motivated enough.”

...Do you hate this junior of yours or something?

Ragesa briefly found herself wondering that, considering how serious Lee Han sounded.

“Fine. I’ll ask them directly. You stay behind me under invisibility.”

Ragesa strode forward confidently.

The first-year students, who had been desperately devouring the cheese, bread, fruit, and oversized rice cakes from the basket, finally noticed her and jumped in alarm.

“Wh-Who are you?!”

“Relax. Even if all you brats attacked together, you wouldn’t touch a single thread of Torgerd’s daughter’s clothing. I’m the owner of that food basket.”

“...We c-can’t return it! Absolutely not!”

“...”

“...”

The reaction was so desperate that even Lee Han felt awkward.

“I’m not here to take it back. Do you really think I accidentally dropped that basket? I threw it there so you kids could eat.”

“Th-Thank you...!”

The first-years looked ready to cry from gratitude.

Now completely won over, they answered every question Ragesa asked without the slightest suspicion. At this rate, they probably would have revealed all of Einroguard’s secrets if prompted.

“Why are you all starving this badly?”

“The meal portions are too small... and food disappears before it even reaches us sometimes...”

“With territory this huge, couldn’t you gather or hunt for food?”

“We try, but most of the time we fail...”

Failed gathering and hunting attempts only made them hungrier afterward.

And for first-years at Einroguard—most of whom were complete beginners—that happened often.

Exploring the academy buildings was even worse. If they got lucky, they could strike gold. If not, they ended up dragged to the punishment cells.

“Oh dear. Could it be someone named Eandurde stealing all the food?”

“Eandurde? No, it’s not because of him.”

“Eandurde actually shared food with us recently. The real problem is Priest Karle stealing everything.”

“That’s impossible!”

Lee Han exclaimed in shock.

The first-years nearly jumped out of their skin too. Hearing a voice emerge from empty air was not an easy thing to stay calm about.

“W-What was that?!”

“Don’t worry about it. Just a ghost pirate following me around. Anyway, it’s not Eandurde?”

The first-years nodded earnestly.

They belonged to White Tiger Tower and naturally fought with Eandurde—who was from Black Turtle Tower—on a regular basis.

—Ha! You turtle bastards really think you can beat us? We’ve trained with swords since childhood! Gah! Aaaagh! I surrender! I surrender!

—Stomp them! Crush them! Win!

—Aaaah! I was wrong! I said I was wrong!

Eandurde beat up White Tiger Tower students, Blue Dragon Tower students, and sometimes even Phoenix Tower priests if the mood struck him.

Priest Karle, in particular, got beaten up with impressive frequency.

Among the Black Turtle Tower first-years, Eandurde was practically a hero.

To stop someone like him, White Tiger Tower needed a monster like Ulgan from the northern mountains, while Blue Dragon Tower needed a genius like Alhild of House Pengerine.

Unfortunately, Ulgan mostly wandered the mountains and rarely joined inter-tower fights, while Alhild refused with comments like:

I’m nowhere near good enough yet. Why would I waste time on childish fights like this?

As a result, Eandurde stood out even more.

“So it really is because of Eandurde?”

At the disembodied voice, the first-years answered with puzzled expressions.

“Well... Eandurde doesn’t attack unless we attack first.”

“And once he’s full, he doesn’t steal extra food either.”

What kind of wild beast is he?

Lee Han suddenly regretted not teaching his junior the importance of stockpiling food reserves.

“And recently he even brought us a food bundle to share. He said a senior gave it to him, but he couldn’t reveal the name...”

“I see.”

After hearing the full story, Lee Han felt unexpectedly guilty toward Eandurde.

His junior had faithfully followed instructions, yet Lee Han himself had doubted him.

Ragesa, who had been listening quietly, suddenly asked with curiosity:

“So what exactly did Priest Karle steal?”

Priests were not normally associated with theft, after all.

“Priest Karle belongs to the Bildotzcal Order...”

“Oh! Bildotzcal! The Empire’s true order!”

Ragesa clapped enthusiastically, delighted in a way only a pirate could be.

The first-years stared blankly.

“I see. So that’s why.”

“Aren’t priests supposed to not steal?”

The White Tiger Tower students sounded deeply aggrieved.

Ragesa merely snorted dismissively.

“And how do you so-called knights beg for food? I saw you stuffing your mouths more desperately than beggars earlier.”

“...”

“When you’re starving, you steal and take. The fool is the one who gets robbed.”

“We didn’t know the priest would rob us!”

“Exactly! That’s the only thing you idiots did right! Kihihi!”

Before the students started piecing together Ragesa’s identity, Lee Han quickly stepped in and pulled more food from his backpack.

“Here. Take some more.”

“Th-Thank you, Ghost Pirate!”

“I recommend eating the canned food first. And don’t just throw the corned beef cans directly onto a fire because you’re starving. Put everything into a pot and boil it together with the bread inside. Even if it’s troublesome, boiling it properly is better.”

The White Tiger Tower first-years stared reverently into empty air.

As expected of the Ghost Pirate. Clearly, experience spoke.

Lee Han watched the students hurriedly pack up the food and run off before suddenly pausing in confusion.

“...Wait. If Eandurde isn’t the problem, why are these kids starving this badly?”

“I already told you. This is normal at Einroguard. Why do you think those brats don’t even have staffs anymore?”

“...Why don’t they?”

“Are you seriously asking that?! They traded them for bread! Are you even an Einroguard student?!”

“...?!”

Lee Han stared blankly.

“There was nothing like that during our year. Well... except Gainando secretly trading books for snacks.”

“That’s strange. Did you have some reliable food source?”

“I regularly snuck outside and maintained a vegetable garden.”

“...”

Ragesa looked at Lee Han as though she had just discovered the dumbest mage in the Empire.

“It was because of you!!!”

***

“I see...”

“This is unbelievable! To think there were first-years at Einroguard who lived comfortably!”

“No, we struggled too.”

At Lee Han’s defense, Ragesa only snorted.

If you’d never had to trade away your staff for bread and lose the ability to cast magic, you weren’t a real Einroguard student.

“Well then, Ragesa, I should head to class now.”

“I’ll come too. I may as well watch. Besides, if I wander around alone, every idiot who sees me will start treating me like the fool who threw gold at Bivle.”

“Won’t you get bored? It’s a healing magic lecture.”

“Healing magic sounds boring.”

“Then wouldn’t another place be better?”

“No, no. Wherever you go, kid, something’s bound to happen eventually. That alone should make it entertaining.”

That’s a little harsh.

Lee Han grumbled inwardly.

It wasn’t like trouble followed him everywhere.

Anyone hearing that would get the wrong idea.

Even the corridor incident from before had happened because Ragesa taught magic like a lunatic, not because of Lee Han.

And there absolutely were lectures he attended quietly without incidents...

Well.

At least a few.

“Ah, wait a moment. Ragesa. Have you seen Princess Yukbeltire’s research presentation yet? If not—”

“That arrogant brat looked down ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ on me more than anyone else, didn’t she?”

“...”

Lee Han found himself genuinely amazed.

Even with a bronze golem that impressive, it was apparently still possible to fail at securing sponsorship.