In that moment, I suspected the Headmistress was a doppelganger, but fortunately, my misunderstanding was cleared up right away.
“Of course, the safety of our students must be guaranteed.”
“Phew, that’s a relief.”
“Finance Director? Why are you sighing suddenly… More importantly, why are you gripping that file like you’re about to whack me with it?”
“That’s exactly how it is. It’s a chronic condition that anyone in the workforce has, so just ignore it.”
“I don’t have such a condition!”
“Well, that’s because you don’t have a boss, Headmistress.”
“Ah.”
Well, anyway.
Though it was the Headmistress who mentioned it, the method she suggested seemed quite reasonable.
Since we were already exchanging bribery, getting advance information about the Entrance Ceremony in return for a favor made sense.
It was a way to assert that I was of enough help while giving the impression that we were truly on the same boat.
“But will it be okay? Isn’t this practically leaking the test contents, and even more so, manipulating the scores? You know how much the Headmistress despises…”
“It’s fine. I don’t plan to grade how students deal with illusions during the Entrance Ceremony.”
“Excuse me?”
“That means it’s not an evaluation; it’s part of the class. I might give some attitude points, but it won’t affect ranks or scores.”
So, it’s just leaking information about ‘class’ content, not ‘test’ content.
To sum it up, getting info about the midterm exam would be a huge problem, but receiving information that there will be a pop quiz during today’s class wouldn’t have much of an impact.
However, this must have been against the Headmistress’s educational beliefs, but she seemed to have managed some compromise.
‘If she weren’t so strong in her beliefs, we wouldn’t be in this financial trouble.’
If the Headmistress had bent her beliefs even a little, she would have raised tuition or accepted donations like crazy, or found other means to maintain the Academy. Instead, Grandis Academy maintained its current status because all finances were generously invested in education and students.
But because it wasn’t like that. Because she was someone who wouldn’t compromise even a little when it came to education and students, they managed to come this far.
…In exchange for now facing bankruptcy, but still.
The Academy could last three more years, and the Headmistress had achieved a tiny compromise.
I hope this works out by accepting the Headmistress’s plan!
“If we follow the Headmistress’s plan, we should profit.”
“Just as I thought!?”
“In that case, it’s time to deal with what we’ve been deliberately ignoring.”
“Ignoring…?”
“Even though it’s an illusion, we’ll need to destroy the auditorium for a sudden monster attack and manage the 2000 incoming students to prevent injuries or fatalities as they panic and flee, along with the risks of generating trauma that could leave students, especially those in Administrative Studies, struggling to earn even those attitude points.”
“…………….”
The Headmistress fell silent. Not because she had nothing to say.
Though she had started to compromise little by little, the well-being of the students and the quality of education was her priority. There’s no way she hadn’t considered the issues I brought up.
In other words, she already had a solution. But,
Saying it now would have no meaning.
“…I will gather the department heads.”
“Right.”
This matter couldn’t be handled just the two of us like with the bribery.
The Entrance Ceremony would involve 2000 incoming students, nearly all the professors of the Academy, and various distinguished guests. The decision to incite a fantasy monster attack in such a situation couldn’t be made solely by the Headmistress.
To be precise, she could make the call, but the aftermath would be no joke. Just imagining professors rushing in thinking the monsters were real or guests fainting in shock gave me the chills.
So a meeting was necessary.
“We only need the Academic Director, Planning Director, Chief of the First Guard, and the involved Professor Alon.”
“Just in case, we should also call the Medical Director…”
“Then I won’t be participating, is that alright?”
“…If everything goes well, I’ll notify you separately.”
Mixing personal likes and dislikes into important meetings would be unprofessional, but considering that, I was still terrified of that woman.
The Headmistress understood what had happened to me with that madwoman, so she agreed. It was only the Headmistress who could hold a normal conversation with that crazy woman.
Anyway, with the meeting decided…
“I’ll make the contact. Let’s head to the meeting room right away.”
“I’ll leave it to you, Finance Director.”
“By the way, Headmistress, that was unexpected. What made you think about taking more bribes?”
“Nothing special! I just thought about how I could squeeze more money out of people if I were Finance Director! Compared to what Finance Directors usually do, this is just a drop in the ocean!”
“Ah… I see. It’s a sign of growth.”
“But after thinking about it myself, I felt that only someone as shady, wicked, and money-obsessed as the Finance Director could come up with such thoughts! Still, I’d like to help as much as possible while ensuring the students’ safety!”
…That’s strange. It sounds like a positive statement about her actively wanting to help.
Why do I feel so uneasy?
“More importantly, Headmistress, I have something to mention before the meeting.”
“Finance Director?”
“Along with your plan, I have a piece of advice.”
“───Hmm, I see.”
“What do you think?”
“You truly are the crazed Finance Director about money! I knew I could count on you! I’m still far behind!”
“………….”
*
Grandis Academy had several departments.
The Academic Department that handles overall operations.
The Student Affairs Office that manages student-related issues.
The Planning Department responsible for events, festivals, and communication with alumni.
The Guards that manage safety and patrol within the Academy.
The Testing Officers that oversee all kinds of exams.
And even the Food Ingredients Management Department, which manages and orders all food, office supplies, and necessities within the Academy.
Each department has minor classifications, but anyway, Grandis Academy operated mainly through six departments.
That was the case until last year.
“Starting now, I will begin the meeting regarding the implementation of the fantasy monster attack at the Entrance Ceremony. I, Adam Keynes, will be the facilitator.”
The newly established Finance Department from last year.
Despite having only one member, its influence was not to be underestimated in any corner of the Academy.
The Finance Director, Adam Keynes, who was a hot topic due to such an unusual appointment, took the facilitator’s chair in one of the many conference rooms at Grandis Academy. A room reserved for meetings only involving department heads, making it the highest-ranking conference room.
A middle-aged man in a suit first raised his hand.
“Academic Director, please speak.”
“The Academic Department strongly opposes this event. And Finance Director, you’re really considering accepting Professor Alon’s absurd proposal?”
“Wh, what do you mean absurd…!!”
Professor Alon, who looked more nervous than anyone in the room, shouted back, but the serious-faced Academic Director didn’t even glance at him.
He simply stared daggers at me, the facilitator.
“I’m only participating as a facilitator, but I think I can answer the previous question. I proposed conditions and haven’t received an answer yet.”
“Conditions?”
“Professor Alon proposed that 20% of all investments into the future Illusion Magic department be donated.”
“20%?”
Was the figure unexpected? The Academic Director seemed to ponder over the 20% for a moment.
Next to him, a man who always seemed to be smiling with squinted eyes raised his hand.
“20%, huh? Finance Director, I have a question.”
“This meeting isn’t a Q&A session for me.”
“Since Professor Alon was sent by both the Academic Director and me, I hope you’ll allow the inquiry.”
“…If that’s the case, then please go ahead.”
“Are you really going to accept the proposal as is? Knowing you, Finance Director…”
“I’m not sure why you’re tapering off there, but the additional conditions I proposed are a 30-year timeframe, an increase in proportions if the target investment isn’t met, and the use of names.”
“Oh? That’s quite generous of you. Professor Alon, consider yourself lucky.”
“W-what do you mean by that, Planning Director?”
“I’m afraid I must inform you, the Adam Keynes I know doesn’t compromise or show any consideration when it comes to money. Yet the fact that it ended with just this means he shows at least some leniency as a member of the same Academy.”
“Huff…!!”
“By the way, Professor Alon, you truly are impressive. While I did instruct him to go to the Finance Director, I didn’t expect him to actually do it. I thought you’d find a nice way to turn him down.”
As the Planning Director chuckled while smirking, the Academic Director remained preoccupied with something.
Professor Alon was sweating bullets while glancing at me, and amidst this strange atmosphere, a fully armored knight in silver steel armor and helmet—dressed completely inappropriately for this setting—raised his hand.
“Chief of the First Guard, please speak.”
“I don’t really know about investments or rates. I have another question.”
“What is it?”
From inside the steel armor came a surprisingly feminine voice.
It was unexpected, but no one in the meeting, including Professor Alon, seemed surprised by this fact.
After all, the Chief of the First Guard had become quite the ‘figure’ in many respects around the Academy.
“According to the report on the fantasy monster attack, it says that if this plan is implemented, a massive chaos is expected in the auditorium.”
“That is likely to be the case.”
“The intention is good. It’s just the intention that’s good. The auditorium may be spacious, but we’re talking about 2000 people—2000! If a monster, especially a Manticore, suddenly attacked in that space, it’s bound to become a complete mess!”
Crack!
The Chief of the First Guard, unable to suppress her excitement, shattered the armrest of her chair with sheer force.
She turned her head toward Professor Alon, who had been standing there like a criminal since earlier, glaring through her helmet.
“Didn’t you even think of this, you professor?!”
“O-overreaction! The initial project I submitted definitely included safety measures for the students.”
“All you included was a line that said the First Guard would intervene to quell the chaos. Even in the planning stages, do you think I’d happily accept that? Huh?!”
“That’s an exaggeration! It’s as if you’re saying I disregard student safety…!!”
“Then are you disregarding it?! No matter how capable the 2000 students who enroll in Grandis Academy are, they’re still kids. Those kids would panic and push each other to escape the auditorium. They’d get tangled up, and the First Guard wouldn’t even be able to get inside!”
“Th-that’s….”
“No matter how eccentric the professors are in the field of magic, this crosses the line! So what? 20% of the investment? Promoting Illusion Magic? Just hit me instead!”
“S-stop!?”
“Chief of the First Guard, the use of force during this meeting is prohibited. Please take your seat.”
“You think you can order me around just because you’ve got the Finance Director job, you little brat?”
“Exactly. Now sit down quietly if you understand.”
“You little—how dare you! You caused all kinds of trouble when you were a student! What do you think you’re doing right now?”
“───!!”
In that moment.
The Chief of the First Guard, who had been raging toward me, trembled.
It wasn’t just her. Professor Alon’s sweat increased, the Planning Director smoothed her smile while still squinting, and the Academic Director bowed her head gracefully.
It may be easy to confuse this since I had been answering continuously, but I was not the host of this meeting. Why did I take the facilitator position, anyway?
At the highest seat in the conference room, the Headmistress, who had been silent until now…
With just a single phrase, she dominated the room’s atmosphere.
‘Ah, it’s hard to breathe.’
This wasn’t a metaphor. The air inside the meeting room truly bent to the Headmistress’s will.
The heavy atmosphere made even breathing feel labored. It was not the result of any particular action but simply a consequence of the overwhelming aura she casually emitted.
Despite constantly facing my scorn, the Headmistress was one of the four Rank 8 individuals in this vast kingdom, and even among that, she was considered the strongest.
The royal family couldn’t treat the Headmistress carelessly because if she decided to stage a coup, the kingdom could collapse.
The Chief of the First Guard’s armored body began to tremble under the weight of that aura, and before long, she composed herself and bowed towards the Headmistress.
“…I’m truly sorry, Headmistress. I’ve acted disrespectfully.”
“This is disappointing, Chief of the First Guard. I didn’t think you’d turn out to be the kind of person who would behave like this.”
“Th-that’s….”
“Go back and take a seat. This is not a request; it’s an order.”
“………Yes.”
Just as expected from the Headmistress. She really delivers.
While fiercely pressuring the Chief of the First Guard, she secretly gave me a thumbs-up under the table, like saying ‘Well done!’
I chuckled wryly for a moment before continuing.
“Then, now it’s time for the Headmistress, the real host of this meeting, to speak.”
“I’ll cut to the chase. Regarding the safety concerns mentioned by the Chief of the First Guard, there’s no need to worry.”
“Could you share the reasons behind that?”
The only ones who could add anything to the Headmistress’s words would be the Academic Director or me, her closest associate. No matter how much prestige the Planning Director or the Chief of the First Guard had, they couldn’t step in recklessly.
It might seem repetitive, but while she may appear a bit foolish in front of me, the Headmistress reigned like a titan at the Academy.
Anyway, as the Academic Director appropriately reiterated, the Headmistress nodded slightly and declared,
“I’ll handle it personally.”
A daring declaration saying she would take full responsibility for the safety of 2000 students participating in the Entrance Ceremony.
Despite the direct warnings from the Chief of the First Guard highlighting various practical issues, the Headmistress spoke about it as if those concerns didn’t exist.
It wasn’t that the Headmistress suddenly went mad and disregarded student safety, nor was it because she turned a blind eye to realistic problems.
Simply put.
“You can trust that if I handle it, it will be sufficient.”
The Academic Director’s statement was no flattery.
Just like the Planning Director and the Chief of the First Guard seemed to agree without hesitation, and Professor Alon let out a sigh of relief.
The Headmistress stepping in directly was more than enough.
‘I’ve heard enough up to this point.’
Sure, 2000 students shouldn’t be a problem at all. Their safety would be securely ensured.
However, the Headmistress wouldn’t just sit quietly during the Entrance Ceremony. She’d have her roles to perform, conversations to share with the kingdom’s important guests, and so on.
To set all that aside and promise the students’ safety amid a fantasy monster attack meant…
“So, Professor Alon.”
“Y-yes!”
“With the time left until the Entrance Ceremony, I think the best way to ensure student safety is not only through my intervention.”
“Th-that’s correct! That’s a wise judgment!”
“Then it seems we need to discuss conditions again.”
“Y-yes…?”
“Of the investment, 40%.”
“……!!!”
“My time is rather costly, you see?”
And from here on out…
Was my ‘advice’ that I had given to the Headmistress.
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