SMMA 104

Chapter 104

Yoener questioned the claim that the White Tiger Tower students had kidnapped Ihan.
It hardly seemed possible.

Ratford, who was standing among the Black Turtle Tower students, tilted his head in doubt.
“I would think that’s rather difficult to pull off…”

“No, it’s possible.”

Nillia said with a face full of worry. Her long ears drooped down on either side from the weight of concern.
“Even the cleverest beasts fall into traps sometimes.”

“Um, Ihan’s not exactly a beast…”

“But just imagine if those cowardly White Tiger Tower brutes had placed a snare along the path Wardanaz takes! Or if they’d poisoned the water he drinks! Or laced the bread he eats with sleeping draught! Or maybe—”

“……”
“……”

Yoener and Ratford exchanged uneasy looks, uncertain how to stop her.
At this rate, was she planning to dig Ihan’s grave in advance?

The bigger problem was that the Blue Dragon Tower students were starting to take Nillia’s words seriously.
“If someone from the Shadow Patrol⁶ is saying that, then I’d say there’s a high chance they really did kidnap him…”
“I ran the numbers—it’s a 90% likelihood that the White Tiger Tower did it.”
“Those bastards, I’ll butcher them all!”
“Calm down, everyone. Let’s take a breath and calmly plan how to kill them.”

Yoener hurried off to find other students, hoping to stop the situation before it escalated further.
‘Her Highness the Princess…’

But to his dismay, the Princess was already among the students, earnestly helping plan their assault on the White Tiger Tower.

Yoener drooped his head.
Without Ihan, there wasn’t a single sane person left in the tower.
‘Please, come back soon…!’

Monday morning, the atmosphere in the Basic Magical Ethics class was more charged than ever before.

Of course, that class had never been known for its lighthearted mood. Normally, everyone looked as if they’d been dragged into a graveyard.

But today was different.

The Blue Dragon Tower students had sparks of fury in their eyes, looking ready to leap across desks at any moment.
“Tell us where Wardanaz is right now!”
“What nonsense are you Blue Dragon brats spouting?! You think we’d ever stoop to something like that? We don’t do things like that!”
“Bold words from cowards who attack three-on-one!”

A White Tiger Tower student flared red at the remark, having been hit right where it hurt.
That reaction made a Blue Dragon Tower student step forward, brandishing his staff menacingly, ready to cast a curse.
“Tell us where you’re hiding Wardanaz!”

“We’re missing two of our own right now. Isn’t it more likely you kidnapped them?”

The White Tiger Tower’s retort enraged the Blue Dragon Tower students even further.
How dare they insult those of noble blood!

“Us? Did you just say us?! You would dare say that to noble heirs of legacy?”
“Funny words coming from the lot that sneaks into other dorm towers at night,” Giselle sneered.

This time, the Blue Dragon Tower students were the ones hit where it hurt.
But Giselle hadn’t expected one opponent—Gainando.
“We’ve never done that, though.”
“……”
“Got proof? Go ahead, bring it, if you’ve got any proof we did.”

“…Is that guy really of royal blood??”

Even the White Tiger Tower students whispered among themselves. Not even the Black Turtle Tower had students this shameless.

“I don’t think it’s my place to interfere, but if you’ve really kidnapped Wardanaz, wouldn’t it be best to return him and reconcile? Class is about to start.”

A student from the Black Turtle Tower—Salko, a dwarf… no, an elf—spoke up.

The White Tiger Tower students frowned, displeased by the interference, but the other Black Turtle Tower students behind Salko didn’t back down either.
Given their rough upbringings, they weren’t intimidated by a few knightly noble brats.

Even some of the Phoenix Tower⁷ students spoke up—Priestess Siana and Tisiling cautiously offered their thoughts.
“If you’ve kidnapped Lord Ihan of House Wardanaz, it would be better to return him…”
“We told you we didn’t!”

Having all three towers suspect them, the White Tiger Tower students couldn’t hold back their outrage.

They, too, had lost two members and spent the entire night arguing: “Did Wardanaz abduct them?” “But there were three of them together?” “Then how did they lose even with three-on-one?”

Yet, somehow, these scheming Blue Dragon brats were twisting the situation against them.

To control the chaos, Giselle stepped forward.
The elf who led most of the White Tiger Tower students bit her lip irritably, then spoke.
“I swear on my family name—we haven’t even touched a single finger of Wardanaz. If you doubt us, ask any others here. Perhaps some of them are close to him.”

There were a few within the White Tiger Tower who kept to themselves, such as Rowena—a follower of Princess Adenart—and also Derregue, considered a trustworthy upperclassman.

When everyone turned toward them, Rowena answered carefully.
“Your Highness, in my opinion… I didn’t see any sign of a kidnapping plan.”

At her words, all eyes of the Blue Dragon Tower students turned to the princess.
Princess Adenart shook her head coldly—her answer was clear. She didn’t believe them.

“Your Highness?! Your Highness?!”

Rowena felt her world shatter; the princess she served did not trust her word.

Emboldened, the Blue Dragon Tower students shouted,
“She doesn’t believe you!”
“Ha! As expected—you’ve been hiding something suspicious. Derregue of the Choi family! Let’s hear your opinion. What do you think?”

Not backing down, Giselle turned to Derregue as well.
“Yeah, go on—say it. What’s your take?”

Derregue realized Giselle’s voice had dropped to a deadly chill—she was furious.
Had the other students not been present, both of her swords would’ve already been drawn amid curses.

“I think… well, I haven’t heard anything about a kidnapping plan.”

“See?!”

“I wasn’t done talking yet!”

Conflicting reactions echoed around them. Giselle glared at Derregue.
“I swore on my family’s name just now—surely you don’t distrust that, do you?”

“……”

Derregue hesitated slightly.

Before joining the academy, the old Derregue would have replied, “If you swear by your family name, I can only believe you.”

But since enrolling, his perspective had changed.

If someone like Ihan from the proud Wardanaz family could freely abuse his own lineage’s name, there was no reason Giselle couldn’t do the same.

“…You, Choi, are you serious right now…?!”

Just as Giselle’s ravaged voice rose in protest, a sudden chill swept through the classroom.
Every student felt it.

“Good morning! Now, what were you all doing?”

“Doing absolutely nothing.”
“Just greeting each other warmly.”

They were furious with one another, but none were stupid enough to confess to fighting in front of the Skeleton Headmaster.

Even in this nightmarish school, there were unspoken rules.
One of the most sacred among them: Keep your mouth shut in front of the Skeleton Headmaster.

“Looked to me like you were fighting. Why not continue, then?”

“I think you’re mistaken.”
“Oh no, we all get along splendidly!”

The Skeleton Headmaster clicked his teeth in disappointment.
That small gesture alone made even those who had been ready to fight suddenly want to reconcile.

“Boring lot. Very well. So, did you bring back the outing permit?”

An uncomfortable silence answered him. As though expecting it, the Skeleton Headmaster sighed.
“Disappointing. None of you? Your predecessors all handled assignments like this on time.”

Had Ihan been present, he would have warned, “Don’t fall for that nonsense.”
But unfortunately, Ihan was currently away on the island for advanced study.

The students shrank, crestfallen.
“Very well, then. Just this once, I’ll give you another chance. Now stand up, all of you—and walk to the lake!”

The students were startled by this unexpected generosity.

Of course, none of them knew what awaited them on the island, so such surprise was understandable.

As Ihan had always said, whenever the Skeleton Headmaster seemed kind, that was when you should start worrying.

The Headmaster watched the students march toward the lakeshore with visible delight.
The lake, impossible for most freshmen to cross unaided—he never truly expected them to complete the assignment.

The extra task had been a simple matter of misdirection:
If he suddenly said, “Go cross the lake to the island,” some might hesitate or flee.
So instead, he prepared an “assignment” first to make it seem like a learning exercise.

Once the students failed that impossible task, he could then graciously “allow” them to try crossing the lake—removing all suspicion.

Even the brightest freshmen couldn’t suspect a trap disguised as kindness.

After all, the Skeleton Headmaster had been teaching at this magic academy for centuries.
Not a single new student could ever slip from his grasp.

‘Wait… Where’s that little dragon from House Wardanaz?’

Thinking of Ihan with a nickname that would certainly irritate him, the Headmaster rotated his floating skull a full 360 degrees.

Still no sign of Ihan.

Could it be he’d already crossed the lake?
Though a freshman, Wardanaz was no ordinary mage—and with that temperament and talent, it wouldn’t be unthinkable.

But even then, the moment he stepped on the sand, he should’ve been transported into the underground dungeon.
Even with unreal luck, the summoned creature Jorban II⁸ stationed there would have caught him.

‘If he missed class for some other reason, that’s fortunate. But if he’s already gone to the island… most unfortunate indeed.’

The trial beneath the island was designed to force cooperation between students of different towers; if they didn’t arrive together, it wouldn’t begin.

If he had crossed the lake over the weekend, then he’d simply be waiting underground the entire time.

Crack!

With a glitter in his eyes, the Skeleton Headmaster froze the surface of the lake, forming a path of solid ice.
The students couldn’t help but marvel at the feat—raising thick ice with a mere glance.

“Now, after such kindness, surely none of you will turn back in fear, right? Not in Ainrogard⁹, the Empire’s finest academy? Pair up—and begin crossing.”

“Do we have to go in pairs?” one asked hesitantly.

“Then feel free to go all at once, break the ice, and feed the monsters under the lake.”

“…We’ll go in pairs.”

The restriction was simple:
If he let too many cross at once, one or two might run away before touching the sand.
Sending them in pairs ensured no escape.

Such was the Skeleton Headmaster’s “educational philosophy” as the proud overseer of the Empire’s greatest magical academy.

The students began crossing the lake two by two over the icy bridge.

???

But as the first pair stepped onto the sandy shore, the Skeleton Headmaster felt an uncanny sense of wrongness.
And that unease soon became reality—the students weren’t sinking into the sand.

Realizing his carefully planned lesson had gone awry, the Headmaster felt anguish deep enough to tear apart a soul he didn’t even have.

Why?!

“W-what?!”

The nearby students startled at his mournful voice—they’d never heard him sound that distraught before.

Why?! Jorban II, I even gave you a name! How dare you slack off so insolently…

Reaching out to summon his creature immediately, the Headmaster froze—Jorban II had been forcibly unsummoned.

A vanished Wardanaz, disobedient sands, and a reversed summoning of Jorban II…

Put together, these signs pointed to a single conclusion.

When all impossibilities are eliminated, whatever remains—no matter how improbable—must be the truth.

The Skeleton Headmaster couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this astonished in centuries.

“Wardanaz! Wardanaz, you little brat!!”

And as if in answer to that furious cry—
Ihan appeared, pale and exhausted, emerging from deep within the island.