Life of a Magic Academy Mage Chapter 1289 part 2

Grumbling every second as he walked away, Gainando left the punishment room feeling like he’d come for fun but ended up with extra burdens.

With final exams nearing their end, many students could be seen around campus relaxing and unwinding.

Normally, Gainando would have joined a group playing wizard cards and challenged them to a match, but today he wasn’t in the mood.

The “list of dark magic spells” he had received from his friend weighed on him like an ominous grimoire.

‘Wait a second. Now that I think about it, Lee Han can’t leave the punishment room until the next semester starts, right?’

Perhaps influenced by the “grimoire,” a sinister whisper began to rise in one corner of Gainando’s mind.

Come to think of it, his friend was stuck in the punishment room for the entirety of the break.

…Which meant that the deadline for mastering these dark spells was effectively the end of the vacation, wasn’t it?

Sure, he wouldn’t be able to visit Lee Han in the meantime, but that was something he could endure.

“Gainando, what took you so long? Come here quickly! We’re holding a party to celebrate the end of finals.”

“!!”

As he entered the lounge, Gainando was startled to see his classmates preparing for a party.

And then he was startled again. The menu for the party was shockingly humble.

Meatless meatloaf. Peach tarts without peaches. Coffee brewed without coffee grounds. Boiled peas. Roasted peas. Steamed peas. Mashed peas spread on bread crumbs. Pea jam. Pea soup…

“Why are there so many peas?”

“We raided a storage room, and it turned out to be a pea storage.”

“I see… Wait, no! That’s not the point! What’s with this menu?!”

“Why are you acting surprised?”

The students of the Blue Dragon Tower responded nonchalantly.

This semester, the second-year students had gotten a taste of what true Einroguard dining was like.

First, because of the inspector. Second, because the tower’s giant had been sent to the punishment room.

After enduring such hardships, the students of the Blue Dragon Tower had come to appreciate the mundane daily meals they used to have.

“Our usual meals were actually amazing!”

To students who had developed such gratitude, even this party menu felt like a feast.

“Gainando, I heard from some seniors that they consider this kind of menu a feast. If you think of it that way, you might find it satisfying too.”

Despite his friends’ attempts to convince him, Gainando wasn’t so easily swayed.

As a prince who had survived on the snacks Lee Han had given him before being taken away, Gainando simply couldn’t accept a party with such rough and meager food.

“No way! This kind of party is an insult to the semester we’ve endured! Everyone, wait here for a moment!”

“Gainando! Whatever you do, don’t raid the professors’ storage! If you get sent to the punishment room after the semester is over, you’ll only suffer!”

As Gainando dashed out, the students of the Blue Dragon Tower shook their heads.

That prince still hasn’t grown up!

“He should be thankful we even have enough peas to eat. He’s too spoiled.”

“Meikin, where do you think the prince went?”

Yoner hesitated at his friends’ question.

Now that he thought about it, he couldn’t quite figure out where Gainando might have gone.

‘Wait a second. Where *did* he go?’

It wasn’t like he was Lee Han, and Gainando wasn’t exactly the type to raid a professor’s storage, given how easily scared he could be…

Yoner’s thoughts were interrupted by his friends’ nonsensical chatter.

“These pea dishes are pretty good. Should we bring some to Wardanaz?”

“Right? I think they turned out well too. They might even be on par with what Wardanaz usually makes.”

“Stop it!”

Horrified, Yoner quickly stopped them.

Setting aside the terrible taste, he didn’t want to make their friend in the punishment room worry even more.

This could very well push their overly concerned friend to break out of confinement.

‘How long has it been, and they’ve already forgotten what real food tastes like?’

Just then, a paper bird flew in, sent by Gainando. When Yoner unfolded it, his eyes widened in surprise.

“What’s wrong, Meikin?”

“Gainando… He went to another tower and proposed that we hold a joint party.”

“?!!”

* * *

The students of the Blue Dragon Tower whispered among themselves as they headed toward the open field. Their faces still showed signs of amazement.

“I never thought Gainando could come up with something like this.”

“Yeah, it’s not like he’s Wardanaz.”

If it had been Wardanaz, it wouldn’t have been surprising. He had always maintained good relationships with students from other towers, so organizing a joint party would have been expected.

But with Wardanaz currently in the punishment room, no one had imagined a joint party would actually happen…

And yet, here was the prince, having gone out of his way to negotiate and make it happen. It was truly astonishing.

“What made you think of this, Gainando? Did you decide to step up because Wardanaz isn’t here?”

“Huh? I just thought it’d be nice to share food with the other towers.”

“……”

“……”

The friends who had been so moved by his actions now wore cold, unimpressed expressions.

“This stays between us. Don’t let the other towers find out.”

“Of course. It’d cause a fight immediately.”

Sure enough, with the addition of food from the Black Turtle Tower and the White Tiger Tower, the feast became much more abundant.

Gainando walked around the party with a satisfied expression.

“Can’t Wardanaz come out, even for a little while?”

“No, he’s in the punishment room. That’s the whole point.”

“I wasn’t asking you, Moradi.”

“Then you should be grateful I answered without being asked.”

‘Ugh.’

Watching Salco and Giselle bicker, Gainando realized something.

Normally, Lee Han would have been the one to stop them, but he wasn’t here.

“Everyone, calm down! Lee Han would be sad if he saw this!”

“Why would Wardanaz be sad about this? If anything, he’d be angry.”

‘Oh. That’s true.’

Gainando almost agreed for a moment. It was true; their friend wasn’t the type to get sad over something like this.

But as a student of Einroguard, Gainando knew that backing down in a situation like this would only put him at a disadvantage.

“Don’t any of you feel bad for Lee Han?! Let’s be honest—how many of us haven’t benefited from his help?”

“Why are you bringing this up all of a sudden…? It has nothing to do with what we’re talking about…”

“It does! Who here hasn’t been helped by Lee Han?!”

“……”

Overwhelmed by Gainando’s energy, the students fell silent. Gainando began passionately recounting all the hardships Lee Han had endured for them.

“Just recently, he even had to break the Frost Giant King’s curse!”

“But technically, that was because of you…”

Salco tried to interject, but Gainando ignored him.

“And now Lee Han has to spend the entire vacation alone at school!”

“Then why don’t you stay with him?”

“…What?”

Gainando froze at Giselle’s suggestion.

Wait, what?