While the Finance Director danced a crazy sword dance called salary cuts,
the Headmistress walked somewhere with the Academic Director and Professor Circe after leaving the conference room first.
“…………….”
“………….”
“……………….”
Thud. Thud.
In the suffocating silence and sinking atmosphere, the Headmistress gestured to the Academic Director upon arriving in front of her office.
“You worked hard. Please go in first.”
“I will handle what you ordered as quickly as possible!”
“Thank you.”
It already felt like the screams of the Academic Department staff could be heard, but the Academic Director merely had a resolved expression.
So he went back first.
The Headmistress and Professor Circe remained in front of the Headmistress’s office.
“Come in.”
“……Yes.”
The air was hot and cold at once, almost as if invisible blades were hanging in the air.
Feeling her back damp with cold sweat, Professor Circe followed the Headmistress.
The public image of the Headmistress was simple: Iron Woman. A king and dictator who wouldn’t allow any rebellion.
Of course, anyone who knew her true personality, like the Finance Director, would scoff at that, but the Headmistress was an 8th-ranked martial artist and a war hero.
Thanks to that, she could easily mimic being the Iron Woman. Just her intent to kill was enough to make ordinary people too afraid to even meet her gaze. A simple way to instill fear.
And that was no different even for Professor Circe.
Crack!
Gulp……!!
Blood rose from within.
Despite being a considerable level 6 Mage, it felt meaningless in front of the Headmistress.
As she tried to maintain her proper posture, suppressing the blood, the Headmistress sat down in her chair, scattering her killing intent about.
Her dark hair swayed.
From a glance, she seemed to be a teenage girl, but a sharp aura radiated from her body.
“I was foolish.”
“………!!”
“I was excessively indecisive and too compassionate. Even until now, I hesitated, until the Finance Director finally showed up.”
The Headmistress didn’t want an answer. Professor Circe couldn’t even respond, merely enduring a one-sided monologue.
“Is it really impossible? Is it arrogance to dream that I, who could only kill, could also save and nurture people? Was it a mistake to establish the Academy in the first place?”
Grrr…!
“Cough!”
She felt that the past persona was long buried. She needed to be the Headmistress of the Academy, not a killer. This was necessary… because she had been naïve and used by many.
The Headmistress smiled wryly. Professor Circe now had blood dripping from her mouth, gazing down.
Many had used her. The early deans, past finance staff, self-proclaimed investors, and even the professor standing in front of her.
Seeing the faintly crumbling Professor Circe, the Headmistress’s eyes turned icy.
“But still, I will keep trying. No matter how much taken advantage of, betrayed, or seen as a fool, when I see the students seizing the opportunity to learn and graduate, it reassures me that we are on the right path. The students are my greatest treasure.”
Gah!
“But nowadays… I’ve found another treasure.”
The Headmistress blushed a little. Professor Circe could no longer withstand it and sank to the ground.
Why was a grand kingdom’s monarch being so considerate of her? Why was the hegemonic Empire continually calling for her? Why, with all her lack of economic sense and leadership skills, was she able to lead the Academy?
8th rank. Killer. War hero. The strongest being in the kingdom.
Over a century ago, she was the “Mad Dragon” or the killer that no one could control, instilling fear in everyone.
A bit of that past sensation returned.
“So please don’t oppose the Finance Director. Don’t test my indecisiveness and gullibility too much. I have been working to kill that part of myself and have been wearing ill-fitting clothes for decades.”
Crack….
“Most importantly──
──In this vast Academy.
──If a professor suddenly disappears, it won’t be easy to find them.”
“Please.”
Don’t make foolish choices.
I hope a day won’t come when blood stains my hands.
So that I can remain as the Headmistress of Grandis Academy.
“Please put in the effort.”
*
Ah, refreshing.
There was this guy who used to live in the room next to mine when I was at the study dorm. We were pretty close, and he’d come over sometimes with meat and drinks.
“He said the moment he could legally collect taxes was when he felt the happiest.”
Laughs.
Now I understand that feeling. It’s hilarious how the numbers of salary cuts react like waves.
In the end, it was decided to reduce the salary by 50% for 10 years. Thanks to the proactive support from the martial arts and administrative faculty, it was a great achievement.
“How much cost-saving is that?”
Recently, I was stressed out due to the Main Character and the Demolisher, but that feeling has totally vanished.
However, as a personal favor, I reduced the cut for Dean Villend. Getting close to him brings many benefits. When I shared the news privately, he really jumped in joy.
Anyway, I happily headed to the Headmistress’s office to report.
“………Huh?”
She wasn’t there.
Of course, it was natural for Professor Circe to be absent, but the Headmistress, who was supposed to be present, was also missing.
It wasn’t just a “Where did she go for a moment?” kind of situation since we had an agreement to meet in the office. The Headmistress was not the type to break promises.
After a moment of contemplation, I thought.
“Of course.”
“………….”
“I found her, Headmistress.”
I could quickly spot her sitting on a bench on the rooftop. Sometimes, the Headmistress would come up here to gaze at the Academy’s scenery. It was also a smoking area I frequently used, forbidden for anyone else but the Headmistress to enter.
But why was she here?
“The salary cut decision has been made. A 50% cut for 10 years and Professor Circe will receive over a 90% cut… Headmistress?”
“……Finance Director.”
“Did you… perhaps cry?”
There were clear tear stains on the Headmistress’s face as she crouched on the bench.
As I looked at her in shock, she bowed her head.
“I’m sorry, Finance Director.”
“Why suddenly? Did you get involved in gift deals again?”
“Just, everything.”
It wasn’t even dawn, so why was she like this?
I put the documents I brought beside me and quietly sat next to the Headmistress.
“What feelings are you experiencing to be like this?”
“I’m just… so foolish.”
“Huh?”
“If the Finance Director hadn’t been there, I would have let this issue with Professor Circe slide. I wouldn’t have resolved it in the current way, either.”
“Everyone has different roles they can play. You are doing your role very well….”
“Getting taken advantage of like a fool, acting like I’m the Iron Woman when I’m just putting on a facade, always leaving everything to the Finance Director?”
“………….”
Well.
That’s a fact, so I had no comeback.
“If it’s something determined by rules, I can make it clear. But these customs… I started them, after all.”
“What does that matter?”
“If I had been just a bit smarter, then such problems wouldn’t even arise.”
That was also true.
But facing her with straightforward facts made it hard to comfort her. What should I do?
“In the end, I dreamed too big.”
“Dream, you say.”
“I didn’t want more people like my younger self to come out. I hoped for fewer people to suffer due to lack of education. Even though all I could do was swing a fist and take lives, I desperately wanted to establish the Academy.”
That was the Headmistress’s dream, a dream she had already realized, but it was on the verge of collapsing.
“I wanted to use my hands that took lives to save people and nurture them. For that, the past killer had to die, so I forced that part of my personality to die.”
The Headmistress.
Spilled her regrets through her tears.
“I never wanted to be the Iron Woman in the beginning. But then I realized the entire Academy was tainted with corruption and bribery. I thought, I can’t let this happen, so I overturned everything and pretended to be the perfect Iron Woman.”
“………….”
“When I see everything that dirties my dream, my students, and this Academy, I just want to beat them to a pulp. But I can’t do that. I am the Headmistress now. So there were many times I shared the same Academy spirit and didn’t take things seriously back then. Ultimately, all those issues piled to reach this point.”
The Headmistress, who was a martial artist, was holding onto a wide-brimmed hat that seemed out of place.
I had hardly seen it, but I heard it was a memento left by a past Mage colleague.
Cradling it tightly, the Headmistress murmured softly.
“So I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. Problems stemming from my foolishness and incapacity… but I’ve been passing them onto the Finance Director.”
“………Hmm.”
“Look at your outfit. It’s all worn out. The fountain pen you bragged about buying yesterday is also worn out, and staying in that shabby dorm because of the fear of financial documents leaking is also a problem.”
“I thought it would be fine if there was enough money. I believed that everything would work out fine when I first established the Academy.”
“But how did it end up like this? I wanted to do so well. I wanted to change from the past me.”
“The customs were to get a good teacher to teach students as fast as possible.”
“I’m sorry, Finance Director. I’m sorry, Adam.”
“All, I’m sorry….”
I thought.
I had seen the Headmistress as an 8th-grade superhuman and a being beyond a human who had lived for over a century. While her economic sense and management skills were severely lacking, I never thought she would have such fragility remaining.
However, in the end, the Headmistress was still human. She was someone trying to change, holding onto her dreams and a colleague’s keepsake, and someone who could cry.
Therefore.
“What’s the use of crying like this, Headmistress?”
“Finance… Director?”
“Of course, Headmistress, you seem so gullible, with many shortcomings, and often frustrating. When I first took the Finance Director position, I genuinely considered running away due to the heavy workload.”
“…………….”
“But are all these problems entirely your fault?”
From this rooftop, the entire scenery of the Academy was visible.
Countless classrooms, research rooms, cheer-filled training grounds, duel arenas, forests, artificial lakes, streets filled with laughing students, markets, shops, and so on.
The vast Academy was made entirely of the Headmistress’s wealth.
“People who pour all their resources into a dream are rare. Especially when it’s not something that would yield more money, like educational facilities.”
“……….”
“You have always thought of the Academy and the students. That’s something not everyone can do.”
I couldn’t have done it myself. I was just an ordinary public worker candidate.
Regardless of the current outcome, there is no one who can belittle the Headmistress’s dreams, beliefs, and efforts.
Certainly not me.
“You made mistakes. Sure. You’ve made many mistakes. Problems? There are mountains of them to solve from now on.”
“Finance Director……….”
“But this Academy, your dream, hasn’t gone bankrupt yet. Though it’s late, we are both trying our best to work it out, right?”
Like last time with Professor Alon, she had slightly set aside her beliefs.
And while I was contemplating leaving work, the Headmistress stayed overnight in the office, devoting herself to work.
Of course, the Headmistress was an 8th-grade superhuman while I was only rank 1, but that didn’t mean her working tirelessly without rest was normal.
“Regardless, we must keep pushing forward. Until we can’t breathe anymore, we push on till the end. Then, if we fail, only then can we cry.”
“………….”
“I will work till the end as the Academy’s Finance Director and ensure your dream doesn’t collapse. I will keep this Academy alive… so I can live off it comfortably for the rest of my life.”
Life security. Sweet, comfortable living after solving the bankruptcy crisis.
That was correct. After all, the initial motivation for wanting to perform well as Finance Director was also that.
But for some reason.
Watching the Headmistress, who keeps refusing to give up on her dreams and continues to assert her beliefs… I thought.
“What should I say?”
So anyway.
I wasn’t used to such situations. I knew I lacked words.
But I genuinely wanted to assist the Headmistress’s dream.
It just felt wrong to let it break like this.
“So please stop crying, and isn’t it time for you to receive the salary cut report?”
“……I’m sorry, Finance Director. Always sorry.”
“Could you stop saying sorry? It’s getting tedious now.”
“What I mean is, I might trouble you more from now on. I’m sorry, Adam.”
With those words, the Headmistress looked up at me, and her tears were gone, replaced by a bright smile.
So I took out a precious cigarette and put it in my mouth. I turned my head away, not wanting to face her directly.
So awkward.
It felt strangely embarrassing.
“Hey, Finance Director? Why aren’t you looking at me?”
“I’m just smoking for a bit. If you come closer, you’ll inhale the smoke.”
“Look at this. This hat suits me quite well, doesn’t it? I was going to wear it myself, but a colleague took it away. Don’t you have anything to say?”
“Yes, yes, it suits you well.”
“At least you should report and talk, right? I’ll close my eyes, so hurry up and look.”
“I can’t hear it, can’t hear it.”
While igniting my precious cigarette and avoiding her gaze, the Headmistress had returned to the familiar person I knew.
It may not be the ‘original character’ she described, but still.
“Thank you, Finance Director.”
“This time, is it a thank you?”
“There hasn’t been anyone to talk about these things with. We were already a fate-bound community, but now it’s even closer, isn’t it?”
“Quite an honor.”
For some reason, I felt like it would be hard to face the Headmistress directly for a while…
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