First, let’s make an excuse; there was no choice.
Seriously, there was no choice. I was a student at the academy back then.
“So, what you’re saying is you sold the artifacts you had been collecting?”
“It’s not like I just started selling them; I’ve been doing that for years. But about four years ago, a really big crisis hit…”
Four years ago—wasn’t that when I was a freshman? To think the academy almost went bankrupt without me knowing, it gives me goosebumps. Is this what they mean when they say ignorance is bliss?
Anyway, even the king knew the headmistress had a collector’s nature; she was given artifacts last time, so she must have had a ton of them even back then to survive.
In reality, when I just became the finance director, there were barely any artifacts left with the headmistress. Even if there were, she probably sold them all.
“And among those artifacts, it seems some belonged to the Wish Church.”
“That’s right…”
It’s not like she didn’t know she was selling them. It was just that they had to sell anything that precious.
If the buyers weren’t dwarves, she wouldn’t have been able to dispose of such artifacts quickly, and if she said she was selling them, rumors would’ve spread that the headmistress was in dire need of money.
But buying back from the dwarves was out of the question.
“Just to ask, but those artifacts…”
“Have probably been consumed by now.”
“Yeah, I figured…”
Why did the dwarves even buy those artifacts by uprooting their roots? It was all to rebuild their cities.
And the method to rebuild the city was to feed artifacts to the ‘Artifact-consuming Artifact.’
I haven’t seen it myself, but the headmistress, who visited the dwarf city, asserted that it was possible, so it must be an effective method.
Of course, that means the sacred items have long been disassembled, and they can’t be physically retrieved.
In other words, the sacred items the Wish Church has been searching for have already vanished from the world.
If it was the genuine sacred item and had become a ‘conceptual existence’ like the church’s possessions, it would be different; however, it’s just an artifact with great symbolic significance to the Wish Church, rather than being truly sacred.
If this fact gets out, the Wish Church won’t turn against the headmistress—they already had a face-off with her, so they’d just be continuing their enmity.
“Wish Church, Wish Church.”
“Is that the end of the story you had for me? Is there something more?”
“No, there’s nothing more. In fact, many attacked the academy in its early years. The Wish Church was just one of them; I never thought it to be anything special.”
Saying this with an air of nonchalance, the headmistress is the one who utterly crushed the auxiliary forces of the Wish Church.
She mentioned that all sorts of powers attacked in the early days of the Grandis Academy. She had accrued enmity and karma from being called the Radiant Dragon and Human Slayer.
For them, the only revenge they could take on the headmistress was to utterly destroy the academy she built.
She founded the academy with a dream but knew nothing about its operation, leading to chaos in the management. If things went wrong, the Grandis Academy might have entirely collapsed.
The headmistress solved the problem with a very simple method.
“And honestly, they weren’t that strong.”
“…I heard the auxiliary force included up to rank 7.”
“That guy, the archbishop? To be honest, despite being called rank 7, he was a bit underwhelming. If the Wish Church were truly that powerful, they would’ve challenged the church directly instead of hiding and being called a heretic or cult. They were more like thieves trying to take advantage of the chaos.”
“Thieves?”
“There’s no way they could win if they faced me directly.”
The headmistress spoke as if it were a given, without any arrogance or pride. It was a natural fact.
She is one of the few rank 8 mages who fought and killed others of the same rank. By the time she reached rank 8, she was already well-respected by various forces, so it’s rare for anyone to challenge another rank 8. In fact, she is one of the very few with a record of defeating an 8th rank monster.
Considering that an 8th rank monster was said to have caused the fall of a nation, that’s impressive.
Of course, the Mountain King, who was rumored to have destroyed a nation, was effectively a rank 9—he was extraordinarily strong, commanding monsters akin to an army.
Compared to that, the monster the headmistress killed with the noble was relatively weaker, being just a fresh rank 8.
Anyway, because of those exploits, she’s called the Radiant Dragon or Human Slayer.
Everyone who aimed for the early academy… just ended up dead at the hands of the headmistress. Unlike now, where she hesitates to use violence, she hadn’t retired that long ago. She defended all the academy students with brute force and ran rampant.
It’s a method that wouldn’t even occur to her now. The current headmistress works hard not to resort to violence. She wants to genuinely become the ‘headmistress of the academy’ instead of remaining a mere Human Slayer.
So what’s the conclusion?
“In other words, we need to find a way to draw out the Wish Church without the sacred item.”
“Exactly.”
“Even if it was in the past, the entire auxiliary force, including the archbishop, has been wiped out; now the church is on high alert.”
“Uh… right.”
“We even have to time it when we want and control the scale of the damage maximally.”
“…Is that even possible?”
“It’s not about possibility or impossibility. It’s something we must do.”
If there were sacred items, things would’ve been much easier, but since there aren’t, we have to pull the Wish Church into action with lies.
The problem is the church wouldn’t want to commit suicide. Without firm assurance, they wouldn’t risk attacking the Grandis Academy.
Well then.
“We have no choice but to prepare several methods.”
“Oh…!”
“Being the finance director isn’t just for show.”
In the literal sense, I have no choice but to prepare for ‘all kinds of methods.’
Did I ever mention before that the position of finance director has a profit of 3 but a cost of 7? I still think that way. That’s why I’m going through awakening drugs and working like this every day.
But no matter how bad it gets, profit is profit.
I just have to do everything I can like I have until now.
“The headmistress decided, so I’ll contact the Wish Church immediately.”
“Wait a minute, finance director. You’re going in person? To that Millia?”
“Yes.”
“You’re, are you crazy!? She’s a rank 3 mage! For the finance director to go personally…!!”
It definitely sounds dangerous. The opponent might be rank 3, but I’m the weakest rank 1.
But so what?
“Finance Director! I know your efforts better than anyone! So you don’t always have to throw yourself into danger—”
“What do you mean by that?”
“…Huh?”
“Aren’t you under the protection of the headmistress anyway?”
“………..”
Actually, she’s always protecting me with brute strength, right? Thanks to that, I can stroll around without worrying when students duel.
Above all, I still have my secret weapon, so it’s all good. It costs a fortune, but it should be worth it.
With an 8th rank protecting me, what’s the danger? It would be sufficient to just protect from a distance if it’s a rank 3.
To me, it feels like the most natural thought.
But for some reason, upon hearing those words, the headmistress stood there dumbfounded for a moment.
“…Impudent…”
“Headmistress?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Right, I’ll protect you; so what’s there to worry about?”
I feel like she said something earlier, but it seems like I couldn’t quite catch it.
The protagonist, Chloe, Beatrice, and other students seem to understand it, but I, for some reason, don’t get it at all. Is it rank 1 discrimination? It’s so unfair.
“I’ll absolutely protect you, regardless of whatever approaches the finance director.”
However, the headmistress murmured those words, looking dazed as if caught up in something.
With a gentle touch, she caressed my cheek.
“Then how about protecting the finances? You know, from bankruptcy or something.”
“…Um.”
“And these actions are a bit too… inappropriate.”
“?”
She gets so grandmotherly in situations like this that I feel a little weak.
Before my parents divorced, my grandmother took care of me often, and it reminisces about the old days.
…Now that I think about it, the headmistress is much older than my grandmother. What’s that make her? Great-grandmother? Or perhaps, great-great-grandmother?
I brushed away irrelevant thoughts.
“Anyway, I’ll head out right now. I already have a plan in mind.”
“Finance Director.”
“Don’t worry. Today, I’m just going to make contact with Millia. I can’t reveal all my intentions from the start.”
Luring the Wish Church gently into making a move and deeply getting involved in that process. Moreover, all of it needs to be done under the identity of the finance director.
The church wouldn’t even consider terrorism unless a high-ranking official like the finance director cooperates closely. Concealing our identities is a must.
Naturally, we must prevent the church from revealing our collaboration, among many other issues. So the headmistress hesitated as she did before.
If we succeed, it’d be the best-case scenario.
But failing would undeniably mean the end.
‘Still, if the academy is going to go bankrupt anyway.’
I have to muster all the remaining possibilities and take a shot. No, it’s not a shot. I must succeed without any failure.
In case of emergencies, I can always rely on the ‘headmistress,’ so I won’t reach the absolute worst-case scenario. I’ve already brainstormed various countermeasures regarding the vanished sacred items.
Putting aside the worried gaze of the headmistress, I leave her office.
Even now, I still have thoughts circling around my head, wondering if this is right.
‘Let’s go.’
I made my decision, and the headmistress gave her approval. So I’ll move forward.
After skimming through the student records filled with info on Millia, I step out. Now isn’t a time for classes, nor is it when other activities are happening.
It was time to meet Millia, the representative of the Wish Church.
*
In the administration sector of the Grandis Academy.
Though smaller in size compared to the fields of magic and martial arts, it has the highest number of students.
It’s only natural since other sectors don’t need extensive training grounds or practice spaces. Instead, there are many libraries or study rooms that take up less space.
However, that doesn’t guarantee the administration sector is quiet.
“The group project deadline is tomorrow; where the heck are these things!?”
“Looking for a professor to kill! Damn it, I’ve got five assignments overlapping! I don’t just attend your lectures!”
“What do I do about this defense…?”
“My graduation thesis is a nightmare. Why do professors always bring up the thesis of already-graduated seniors, asking why I can’t do the same?”
“Exactly. Especially Adams? What’s up with this guy’s thesis? It has no academic value but they keep saying creativeness makes it all okay, and I’m tired of it.”
Strangely, if we ignore the sounds of explosions, collapses, cuts, and impacts, the voices in this place were the loudest.
A diploma from the Grandis Academy doesn’t guarantee success in life. However, graduating with top scores does.
It’s a shortcut to success for commoners or incompetent people at the level of rank 1 or 2.
The administration sector is always filled with hellish competition and academic struggles. Ironically, places for secret gambling or exam question auctions where dopamine hits the hardest are abundant. People need to relieve stress somewhere.
Thus, there’s a tale of a senior who, amidst all this, had studied in the library for a whole week without going to the festival; it’s passed down as legend. Considering one of the girls is a student council president, that’s quite impressive.
In any case, it’s far more intense and competitive than magic or martial arts.
Right in the office within that sector.
“I’ll do it.”
“…Um?”
“I’ll do it! Please let me cause some terror!”
The fatigued finance director was left flabbergasted by the desperation of a certain female student.
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