"Anyway, I'm glad you iron-headed kids realized it quickly!"
"..."
Despite the praise from Headmaster Lich, no one looked happy. Lee Han felt like he had just heard someone curse at them.
'The Blue Dragon Tower is usually the slowest to adapt.'
But unexpectedly, Headmaster Lich's praise was sincere.
Every year, new students entered new dormitories, but among them, students from the Blue Dragon Tower were known to be the slowest to adapt.
The fastest were the students from the Black Tortoise Tower.
Since many of them were from merchant, commoner, or even slum backgrounds, they naturally had exceptional adaptability.
Next were the students of the White Tiger Tower.
As many of them were from knightly families, they had excellent physical abilities and could endure harsh situations.
In contrast, most of the Blue Dragon Tower students were from high-ranking noble families.
Having never done hard labor in their lives, it was inevitable that they were slower to adjust.
But to see them gather food and feed themselves in just a few days...
Honestly, it was admirable.
'Is that kid the culprit?'
Headmaster Lich's blue eyes pierced into Lee Han.
A great mage's intuition was never wrong.
And if it ever was, you just had to force it to be right with power.
In that sense, Lee Han was fortunate.
He wasn't at all different from the initial impression Headmaster Lich had of him.
'A good mage isn't determined solely by their amount of mana...'
Headmaster Lich didn't rate Lee Han highly just because of his mana.
Of course, that was one of the factors, but there was something else that impressed the headmaster more.
That such a free-spirited student came from the stiff Wardanaz family.
'A free mind — that is the companion that opens the path of a mage.'
That was exactly what Headmaster Lich wanted to teach the students here.
Feeding them hard bread and cold rice was to nurture that free way of thinking.
Of course, he also enjoyed watching their reactions — but anyway, that was the original purpose.
'Why do I suddenly feel a chill down my spine?'
Lee Han suddenly felt an ominous premonition. It was unnaturally chilly for a spring day.
"Headmaster, I understand that we need to cook for ourselves in order to grow as mages. But why must we attend this character education?"
Indeed, the Blue Dragon Tower students were fearless.
Coming from high-ranking noble families, they would say what they wanted, even in front of Headmaster Lich.
The headmaster rattled his skull bones gently and replied:
"Very well said. Why do you think you need character education? Go ahead and answer."
"...I don't know."
"It's because when mages from this school cause trouble outside, that damn Emperor holds me responsible!!!"
Headmaster Lich's booming voice made all the freshmen cover their ears.
"If your seniors hadn't caused such trouble out there, this wouldn't be necessary, you damn iron-heads!!"
"..."
"You want to know why we're doing character education?! It's so that when a high official from the Emperor comes asking about any incidents, I can at least say, 'Look, I've been giving them character education!' That way, you won't all get punished together, you damn iron-heads!! Does that answer your question?!"
"Y-Yes!!"
The student who asked the question nodded repeatedly, overwhelmed by Headmaster Lich's force.
"Mages — by nature — are unpredictable beasts that can cause havoc at any moment. Don't even try to deny it. Lies like that just make me angrier. You'll see when you're allowed to go out later. You'll see how much trouble mages cause! Open your books! Start reading page 1!"
"I will not threaten civilians with magic!"
"Once more!"
"I will not threaten civilians with magic!"
As Lee Han chanted along, he thought to himself:
'Does this really work?'
It felt like this kind of education might make mages more likely to cause trouble...
All the students thought the character education lecture would be boring.
They were wrong.
It was much, much more boring than expected.
"I can't believe... this is a required class..."
"My throat's hoarse from repeating it so much."
"Now, I hope today's lecture has planted a kind heart even in your empty iron-heads."
"Yes..."
"I truly feel that way..."
"Also, I need two people to help me with the upcoming lectures. Any volunteers?"
Headmaster Lich asked in a gentle voice — which only made it more terrifying.
"..."
The students rolled their eyes around, avoiding eye contact. Headmaster Lich smiled contently.
"If no one volunteers, it'll only get worse. Are you really not going to step up?"
"I'll do it."
The one who raised his hand was Lee Han. Headmaster Lich looked slightly disappointed that he couldn't enjoy their suffering longer.
"A true iron-head of Wardanaz. Do you like working?"
"If it's to help a respected professor, isn't that an honor?"
"Wardanaz...!"
"You really are..."
The Blue Dragon Tower students looked at Lee Han with deeply moved expressions.
Yesterday, he had fed them with a twilight barbecue party, and today, he was stepping up to help his fellow dormmates.
No wonder the Wardanaz family was called the pillar of the empire.
Look at that sense of responsibility!
'He's so annoyingly good at saying things he doesn't mean... But fine. Opportunities always come to those who are proactive.'
Lee Han realized that Headmaster Lich had seen through his intentions.
Something he learned from Professor Thunderstep:
Helping professors often paid off handsomely.
Especially in a closed environment like this, it was best to get whatever you could from professors.
Even if that professor was a crazy skeleton lich.
"I'll do my best."
'And probably get good grades too.'
"L-Lee Han. Are you crazy?"
Gainan whispered in shock. Another student overheard him and said:
"If no one stepped up, we all would've suffered more. Wardanaz isn't crazy — he stepped up for us."
"T-Then I should..."
Gainan hesitated and tried to stand up. But his legs wouldn't move.
'Move, legs!'
To become someone of dignity, you had to be able to rise in situations like this.
Besides, Lee Han was probably waiting for him.
'I have to help...'
"A true iron-head of the Dalkard family. Well, the Dalkard family was always good at paperwork."
"Thank you for the compliment."
While Gainan was hesitating, the second volunteer stepped up.
Asan Dalkard.
A boy from the Dalkard family, the same one who got sent flying after being hit by a rampaging mutated pig in the alchemy class.
"?"
Lee Han looked at Asan with a puzzled expression.
Honestly, he hadn't expected Asan to show up.
'Is he aiming for something similar to me?'
Asan adjusted his glasses with elegance and spoke.
"Of course, Wardanaz, you must know why I've stepped forward."
"...I have no idea though??"
Lee Han responded, dumbfounded.
How could he possibly know what Asan was thinking?
"What? Why not?! Isn't it obvious that I'm here to repay the favor from last time?!"
Asan looked even more baffled, as if wondering what nonsense Lee Han was spouting.
There was no other reason for him to be here.
"Ah... Ohhh. That's what it was. Well, you didn't really have to go that far."
"What are you saying? The Dalkard family always repays its debts."
It was heartwarming to see the two hardheaded guys having a nice conversation, but there was something they needed to do right away.
"?"
They had to copy down these safety rules by hand for every student, so they could hand them out during the next lecture.
"..."
Asan looked as if he had been struck by lightning at Principal Lich's words.
"Principal."
What is it?
"I don't understand... Wouldn't it be much easier for you to just use magic to copy the text onto the paper? Isn't having us copy it by hand completely inefficient?"
I know. That's exactly why I'm making you do it.
"..."
Lee Han clearly saw it.
The murderous intent rising in Asan's eyes!
-Sorry, Lee Han.
-We'd like to help, but...
Yoner, Gainando, and the other students left the classroom looking apologetic.
Even if they wanted to help, Principal Lich had blocked them.
Two people are enough! Now scram!
As a result, Lee Han was left copying the safety rules in an empty classroom with Asan Dalkard.
"Unforgivable... Unforgivable... To force us into such an inefficient task...!"
'He's not gonna break down or anything... right?'
Asan muttered as he furiously scribbled with his pen. Watching this, Lee Han started to worry.
Actually, he had a feeling he knew why the principal was doing this.
'If you hate it so much, learn magic and solve it.'
Once you understood the intent behind the principal's madness, it was surprisingly easy to follow.
...The problem was that it was practically impossible.
He couldn't even properly cast magic yet. How was he supposed to use some magic to copy letters?
'Isn't there some kind of hint?'
Trusting in the last shred of conscience that Principal Lich might have left, Lee Han began searching through the empty classroom.
"Wardanaz? What are you doing?"
Asan tilted his head and asked. Lee Han had been searching every nook and cranny of the classroom.
"Seeing if there's anything useful around."
"Is that allowed?"
"There's no rule saying it's not."
"That sounds like stealing..."
"This is Principal Lich's classroom."
"...Sometimes stealing might be justified."
Asan stood up abruptly and came over to help Lee Han.
'Wow, people really break down fast here.'
Noble family or not, once you entered this school...
"Find anything?"
"Not sure. There's some paper here. Might as well take it since we might need it later. Wait. There's a key."
With a jingling sound, a key appeared.
Lee Han didn't know what it was for, but he grabbed it just in case. Asan asked curiously.
"Do you know what that key is for?"
"No. But if I have it, I can use it later if I figure it out."
"Indeed... That's reasonable."
Asan was impressed. It was certainly logical.
Clunk.
When Lee Han opened the last drawer, a voice spoke up along with a surge of magical energy.
If you've opened this drawer, it means you've decided to stop foolishly breaking your wrists copying letters and have chosen to think instead. I hope you did that as soon as possible! The longer you keep doing that stupid labor, the more pathetic and pitiful you'll look.
"..."
Here is a 1st Circle spell, . Take it and learn it. The faster you learn it, the better. Otherwise, you'll be writing by hand for the entire semester.
The principal's hidden intent.
Were the students moved upon realizing it...?
...No, they weren't.
"Wardanaz. I just can't understand. Why does he teach magic like this? There have to be way more reasonable methods!"
Asan spoke with a face full of frustration.
In his mind, magic was something a skilled teacher would kindly teach step-by-step — not something you threw at students to force them to learn for survival.
Is this even a valid teaching method!?
Asan continued, his voice filled with passion.
"Wardanaz. You must understand. Let's go complain to the principal together. If the two of us protest seriously, maybe he'll reconsider... Wardanaz??"
"Hmm?"
Lee Han turned his head.
He was already preparing to learn the magic.
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