Bang!
Crash!
I collided.
My head hit the desk.
“F-Finance Director? Are you okay…?”
“I’m not okay. Damn it.”
I can’t stand this.
This damn academy. This damn budget. This damn paperwork. This damn Headmistress!
I’m sick of it all to the point of madness. I wish I could lose my mind. I just want to stop feeling all this pain and stress.
Anger surges. Why am I doing this? I’m mad. Why am I doing this? Frustration floods in. Why am I doing this?
No, I don’t even need to hold it back, right? If I let it all out───
“…Finance Director.”
“………”
“Did you light up another ‘cigarette’? I told you it was all smoked up, right?”
“…I found one left after searching the room.”
“It’s fine. I’ll handle it.”
Of course, the Headmistress couldn’t fix the broken budget on the verge of collapse.
But she had come to my side and gently held my wrist.
Then.
Huuuuuuh…
“Are you feeling a bit better?”
“Thank you always, Headmistress.”
The overflowing frustration, anger, and annoyance that were about to burst within me faded away.
I’m human after all, so it’s natural to have those emotions, but it’s not to the extent that I can’t hold them back while working. Not being able to control myself and almost being dominated by negative feelings and unpleasant sensations was… a side effect.
The side effect of a military awakening agent.
“I told you, it’s produced on the premise that it will be used by those ranked above 4. If the Finance Director continues this way…”
“I know. I also know that the side effects can be severe even for Rank 1.”
“Well.”
“But without this, I can’t endure. Don’t you remember that I collapsed while bleeding from the nose in the dorm after work last year? You can’t always be by my side, Headmistress, so I have to use something like this to survive during those times.”
“………….”
Over 12 hours of excessive work, over 5 hours of studying, and only 4 to 5 hours of sleep.
This pattern has repeated for over a year without a single holiday, without a break. While I’ve gotten used to work faster, physically, I couldn’t hold on any longer.
That’s when I use the military awakening agent. At first, I held on by receiving the Headmistress’s energy (氣), but since the time I fainted on the street or in the dorm, I’ve always carried the military awakening agent with me.
Even when the Headmistress isn’t around, I somehow move my body to focus on work or study. At the very least, I forcibly awaken my mind and body just to meet the Headmistress before fainting.
The misuse that far exceeds the recommended dosage and the serious side effects due to mismatched ranks are handled directly by the Headmistress.
What was it again? She said she would directly insert energy into my body and withdraw it.
An addictive and side effect-free drug, long live Rank 8!
“Anyway, even if side effects or aftereffects occur, you’ll solve it for me, so isn’t this a pleasure without responsibility?”
“…Finance Director.”
“Don’t look at me like that. I chose all of this myself.”
Well, it’s true that I was practically forced to become the Finance Director because I accidentally saw the budget report in the Headmistress’s office.
But after working for a year and reaching this point, I’m quite sincere about being in this position. Sometimes I get an urge to quit, but it’s probably a side effect of the awakening agent, maybe.
To be honest, I feel like it’d be a waste to give up now.
The time and experience I’ve invested in this have been significant.
I’m thinking of reviving the academy’s finances by using everything, military awakening agents, and all.
Because that’s my role as the Finance Director.
“Now that the side effects are fading, I actually feel refreshed. Headmistress, do you have the report on today’s duels?”
“I have… it.”
“Let’s see. Hmm, there were a total of 37 duels today. Of those, only 21 were properly conducted in the duel arena, while 16 happened on the streets and in classrooms… the flowerbeds and fountain are half-destroyed… and the classrooms blew up because it was a student from the field of magic… the total damage is… damn.”
“Finance Director?”
“Headmistress, could you remove the side effects again? Suddenly, my frustration and irritation are rising.”
“…Should we raise the penalties for violating the duel-related rules?”
“Please do. Let’s make it a top priority in the next faculty meeting.”
Even so, since these were damages caused by breaking the rules, it’s right for the students to compensate. Most students tend to repay in installments rather than in a lump sum, considering their circumstances. And since most of them compensate in installments, the academy ends up paying the immediate repairs, while slowly covering it with students’ compensation later.
If the academy’s finances were normal, it wouldn’t be a problem, but this month, we’re precariously hanging on due to the rampage of the finance destruction great four.
If we have no money now, it won’t matter even if it comes in later. Naturally, I can’t help but feel a tightness in my neck.
But hey, at least I handled Beatrice’s affairs.
I couldn’t get additional bribery since things got a bit tangled, but just the fact that the Demolisher is leaving the academy is good news.
The worst of the great four blew up five classrooms within just a week of enrollment. If that demon attended the academy for three years, what would the total damage be? I can hardly even imagine.
I thought this year was going to be the real deal when the protagonist and his comrades enrolled, but I never expected it would be to this extent.
Still, since Beatrice must have beaten Chloe, I could at least relax───
[Duel Arena 21: Amatrius Delphia Beatrice vs. Chloe Pisty]
[Result: Chloe Pisty’s victory]
“…Headmistress, there’s a printing error here.”
“Eh? An error?”
“If you look here, the winner should be Beatrice, but it’s listed incorrectly. Please correct it.”
“Just a moment… this is real? I cross-checked it with other reports, and they all say Chloe Pisty.”
“Ah.”
“Finance Director?”
“Life is damn.”
What the hell.
Why did you lose?
To be honest, I know it realistically would be difficult for her to beat Chloe, the strongest among the new students, especially since she just partially overcame her chronic condition.
But she had to win. Absolutely, she had to win. Usually, in web novels, after such events, they always end up winning. That’s the cliché!
So Beatrice losing means…
Since she didn’t retrieve the pendant.
She’s not leaving the academy; she’s staying?
That Demolisher? The destroyer that blew up five classrooms a week?
“…Headmistress. What did Prince Aken Delminos say about Beatrice’s return?”
“My hold on Aken’s weakness is a love letter he wrote me during puberty. When I waved that around and asked if I could talk to the queen about it, he immediately said he’d do anything for me.”
“Was there any deadline for how long he would be willing to do that?”
“Nothing in particular. However…”
Why.
Why say “however?”
“He did indirectly ask if he could keep her, saying that recent movements within the Delphia Kingdom are suspicious, and that having the fourth princess would be a sufficient backup in case of emergencies.”
“What the hell—”
“In exchange, he mentioned he could hand over some artifacts from the royal treasury if needed.”
“—As expected of Prince Aken Delminos. Truly the wise and clever ruler himself.”
“………….”
It’s not like they’ll give the artifacts for repair costs. From a king’s perspective, the Headmistress is an extravagant billionaire who has maintained the largest academy in the kingdom for decades.
It’s just that the Headmistress’s reputation as a famous artifact collector from long ago seems to have made him butter her up. Although in reality, most of the artifacts the Headmistress collected have been sold anyway.
But as I told Beatrice, artifacts are expensive. And since it’s the king personally handing over artifacts, they’re undoubtedly top-notch, rare, and valuable ones.
Of course, it would be quite troublesome if it were discovered that the artifacts given by the king were sold immediately into someone else’s hands, but there’s a solution for that.
“We’ll call a dwarf.”
“…I don’t mean to say this, but this is actually optimal for money laundering, at least regarding the artifacts.”
“Even if I hate dwarves, I can’t stay away from them.”
You can just sell it to the dwarf.
In fact, the Headmistress sold all the artifacts she had collected that way. If she sold them to a person, there could eventually be whispers like, “Hey? Isn’t this the precious artifact that the Headmistress had? Why did she sell it?”
Artifacts sold to dwarves are effectively disposed of, as the Headmistress explained to me. It’s not a metaphor; they truly are disposed of.
“The dwarves will probably physically grind it down for city restoration. It’ll completely disappear.”
“Artifacts that eat artifacts. I can’t imagine it.”
“I only know because I went to see the dwarf city before it collapsed. It must be the most secretive and unique artifact in the world.”
How must the dwarves feel, having to either earn money by laboring to mine gold or minerals to buy or by negotiating with humans, only to turn around and grind the artifacts they acquired?
Thinking about it, it’s none of my business, so I decided to neatly ignore it. I’ve got enough on my plate as it is.
“Do you happen to know the quality and quantity of the artifacts?”
“Probably… about this much. When I received artifacts long ago, they were about this level.”
“Oh.”
It sure seems like the artifacts personally given by a king have a substantial expected cash value. Which is significant, but compared to keeping the Demolisher around, what would be more advantageous?
Ah, I don’t know.
For now, let’s take what we can get and wash our hands clean if Beatrice wins the duel. I might earn a few side-eyes from the king, but it’s not like I’m receiving support funds from them anyway.
If I could, I’d want to bark like a dog to receive support funds, but since royal grants come with strict conditions, it’s a real hardship. Submitting financial statements and current financial situation reports as conditions? That’s a blatant royal abuse of power. While every other academy is doing fine, it’s abuse, I tell you.
What’s more, with a financial situation this catastrophic, analyzing the king’s mood as well while making moves becomes impractical. If I were to go bankrupt, the mood would be irrelevant.
Using the skill of “postponing to future me” as a first-year working adult, I ended my turn.
“Alright, understood. Thanks to the gracious, wise, and fair prince, this month we can catch a breather.”
“Right. If they say they’ll take Beatrice, they’ll send the artifacts right away, and the dwarves can come the same day, so we can cash them immediately.”
“I really feel saved. If we can endure this month, the investment funds for the Illusion Magic department should come in starting next month.”
There have been several things in between, but things are looking up. If I can liquidate the artifacts, this month we would more than manage, and considering the future investment ratios coming in, the academy’s lifespan would significantly extend.
That being said, the projection is only about three months.
Still, gaining a few extra days here and there and suddenly stretching it to three months feels oddly satisfying.
With the time gained this way, I could try to do more. This is how we endure.
Smiling at my slightly optimistic outlook, the Headmistress suddenly received a call.
“Hmm? Wait… Yes? Is that true?”
“………?”
“Okay, I understand. Uh, Finance Director?”
“What’s going on? Did something break again, or did a professor request additional funds, or unexpected costs arose, or did the king say he couldn’t give the artifacts?”
If it’s any of that, I’d be ready to throw away any smiles and odd satisfaction and start going crazy.
But what the Headmistress said was somewhat unexpected.
“It’s a student interview request.”
“Excuse me? Are you talking about me?”
“Amatrius Delphia Beatrice… wants to interview the Finance Director.”
“?”
“?”
No.
An interview with me?
Why?
*
Beatrice, who had given up the additional bribery while overcoming her chronic condition and ended up losing, is now being kept in the academy by the prince’s request.
She was waiting for me in the interview room with a smile that did nothing but exude confidence.
Didn’t you lose? Just looking at her smile makes it seem like she won, though?
“It’s been a while, your Highness. It’s been a week since we last met.”
“Technically, it’s been a week and 2 hours and 45 minutes. Adam.”
“…Your Highness?”
Why do you remember such details?
No matter how I think about it, it seems excessive self-awareness, but could it be…
“Hehe, just kidding.”
“Of course.”
“But technically, I’m not joking. I bought a clock artifact right after parting with Adam. I calculated it with that. There might be a few minutes of error in between, but.”
“…Yes.”
A clock artifact.
The clock artifact that Beatrice pulled out from her pocket was clearly broken. The hour and minute hands weren’t moving.
Is she a bit scary?
As if she noticed my gaze, Beatrice smiled gently.
“It broke because I used it during the duel with Chloe Pisty. But I adjusted the hour hand to match the time from a week ago. Now I can forever remember that moment, you know? The time when I first overcame my chronic condition.”
“Ah, that’s indeed true.”
What? I was worried for nothing.
Having just overcome her chronic condition, it’s understandable that she’d want to commemorate it that way. It seems I was having unnecessary thoughts, probably due to fatigue.
With that misunderstanding resolved, I popped a prepared snack into my mouth and turned to face Beatrice.
“I hate to bring this up right now, but… I heard you lost the duel.”
“Yes, she was indeed strong. Not necessarily the strongest among all new students, but definitely first in the magic field.”
“Still, you should try again. If you want to retrieve that pendant…”
“That is… true. Well, I’ll get it back someday.”
…What’s this? Her reaction is different from the last time we met.
Back then, she reacted intensely, saying the pendant was proof that she was recognized, not a fool, and that she absolutely had to retrieve it. That urgency felt heavy in the air.
But now, it seems… much lighter. As if the pendant isn’t that necessary anymore.
What could have changed in just a week?
“And Adam, I have something for you.”
“Excuse me? What is this…?”
A familiar box is placed on the table.
Wait, isn’t this the bribery box from before? The one filled with precious metals and gold?
Why do you have this?
“Didn’t you use it all for buying artifacts? I told you to do that.”
“Just in case I recklessly spent all the money to buy artifacts and still couldn’t win against Chloe, that’d cause trouble. So, for this duel, I only bought about five as an experiment.”
“Um…”
Thinking back, that does make sense.
Didn’t you say your caretaker was ill, and you needed to return as soon as possible? Is it really okay to be lounging around like this?
Considering the king’s request, it would indeed be better for Beatrice to stay longer in the academy. But…
I really couldn’t just let that slide without questioning it.
“Didn’t you have a pressing reason to return?”
“Yes? What do you mean… Ah, I received a letter. It says her condition has improved a lot, so she’s okay now.”
“In that case…”
If she says so, I really can’t argue. It’s a good thing, so I accepted it.
Beatrice, who was looking at me with a smile, suddenly turned her gaze towards my shirt pocket.
“You don’t have any ‘cigarettes’ today.”
Since you caught me anyway, there’s no reason to hide it.
“I’ve smoked them all. It’s work-related, and I need to replenish them quickly, but I’m worrying because it’ll be difficult to prepare for a while.”
“Hmmm….”
Szzzzzz.
After a moment of contemplation, Beatrice tore a page from the notepad on the table and started writing something.
Her signature and what seemed to be the Delphia Kingdom’s emblem were drawn.
“Here, show this to the merchant who sells ‘cigarettes.’ They’ll definitely recognize it since they hail from the Delphia Kingdom.”
“What is this?”
“I can’t be sure, but you’ll probably be able to purchase them at half price. They’ll prepare the goods right away too.”
“Your Highness…?”
“But instead, promise me just one thing.”
“Eh, what do you mean by promise?”
Half price?! Thinking of the price of a box of military awakening agents, that’s a significant amount of money saved.
I’d promise just about anything for my savings, but what’s this promise you’re giving me along with this?
“When you smoke ‘cigarettes,’ please do it in front of me.”
“Eh? But I often smoke during work. And considering my workload, it’s tough to show up every time…”
“Not always, but at least when you have the spare time, please do it in front of me. It’s not too hard of a request, right?”
“…I promise. Thank you so much, your Highness!”
I don’t know the intent behind it, but getting the cost of the awakening agent down to half price is an absolute win!
Is this what they call karma for doing good? For the first time, Beatrice actually started to seem really pretty.
“What? Anyway, take this. It’s my sincerity to Adam.”
“Your Highness, I told you last time that using this to buy artifacts…”
“I told you? This isn’t a sign of sincerity for Grandis Academy, the Headmistress, or the Finance Director.”
“W-Wait a moment?”
Beatrice leaned closer, bringing her face near mine as she smiled.
It was a truly clear and gentle smile.
“This is a sincerity shown to ‘Adam.’ Do you understand what I mean?”
“………..?”
“Devotion is a flower that should be rewarded in return. If it doesn’t, the flower will wither and die.”
“No matter how much you use military awakening agents, you’re just forcing it to maintain its form while it’s rotting inside.”
“I hope this sincerity, this reward…”
“Becomes a reason for your flower to live on.”
“That’s all there is to it, Adam.”
“That’s all.”
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