My goal is to normalize the financial status of this academy as the Finance Director.
To achieve that, I’ve done various things like receiving bribes from some students, trying to send Beatrice back, and negotiating with the dwarves or merchants. But most of it was focused on ‘incoming revenue.’ The thought that we need to earn money because we’re short on funds.
However, there is a clear limit to this.
‘Ultimately, unless we receive grants or donations, we can’t expect long-term revenues.’
Bribery has to be done secretly, so it can only be on a small scale, and if we let it get out of hand and the academy actually becomes corrupt, that would be a problem too.
With the artifact I received from the king this time, I managed to get through this month and extend our lifespan, but this was also just an unintentional short-term revenue.
The academy’s lifespan? It has increased. But even as that happens, time keeps flowing. If I only spend a day to earn a day, we’re just maintaining our status quo.
Of course, that doesn’t mean I should neglect efforts to increase income. The reality is that it’s not even going to be easy to maintain our status quo at this rate.
Therefore, another method was needed.
It doesn’t only have to be about increasing income to normalize finances, right?
‘Then, we can reduce costs.’
If we can’t significantly increase the incoming money, we just have to reduce the outgoing money.
And among the academy’s various expenditures, the part I decided to tackle was.
“D-Dear Finance Director, are you serious? You’re talking about abolishing customs…?”
“Of course, I won’t eliminate every custom. However, from now on, magic field professors won’t own their research outcomes.”
“Is that nonsense! That’s our privilege—”
“Treating the Headmistress’s kindness as a privilege is already proof that you’ve strayed far from the original intent. According to the employment contract you signed when you were appointed as a professor, all research outcomes are jointly owned by the academy and cannot be used arbitrarily.”
“But everyone knows that Grandis Academy grants professors ownership of their research outcomes! If you’re abolishing that now, how can we attract competent professors….”
“Grandis Academy has already gained the reputation of being the best in the kingdom, and many professors want to work here. Moreover, if a professor seeks a position in this academy solely based on the ownership of research outcomes, we would decline.”
“Even so….”
“Above all, you must clarify your words. This is for ‘magic field professors,’ not for ‘all professors.’”
“……………”
We’re abolishing the customs held by magic field professors.
What does that have to do with cutting costs? It’s right that this itself doesn’t have much effect. Honestly, Professor Circe’s custom is too unusual; typically, owning research outcomes does not cause the academy to suffer significant losses.
Just as not all research generates funds, typically profitable research is shared with the academy. In fact, there have been several studies with similar profitability to Professor Circe’s improved healing potion research, and those profits played a major role in keeping the academy afloat after the Headmistress’s wealth had nearly depleted.
Abolishing customs is merely a ‘trigger.’
I needed it for the cost reduction I wanted, while also being the easiest to touch.
“Even so, no matter how you are the Finance Director, you can’t just abolish customs that have lasted for decades!”
“Hmm.”
“This is a blatant abuse of power by the Finance Director!”
Anyone would resist if you take away what they’ve been given. Even if it’s derived from the Headmistress’s kindness, as they say, if kindness continues, it’s seen as a right.
Just like when a new company commander in the military orders to abolish the initiation ceremony, the soldiers secretly continue it while complaining about destroying a long-standing tradition.
After all, there’s something to gain from that custom. Soldiers enjoy bullying recruits; professors gain benefits.
Naturally, I expected this kind of backlash.
‘But, you see.’
There’s a reason I’m saying this to Professor Circe instead of Dean Villend.
“Don’t worry, I’m not the one abolishing customs.”
“W-What? You mean, the Headmistress…!?”
It’s understandable to think that. I could withstand the losses and push back, but opposing the Headmistress would be impossible.
How could you defeat the eighth-ranked martial artist who built this academy, operated it for decades with her own money, and is always earnest about education?
Especially since I’m rumored to be her close confidant and secret lover.
“No.”
“Then.”
“It’s Professor Circe.”
“………Huh?”
If I step forward as per Professor Circe’s words, there’d be a considerable backlash. I could use Professor Circe as a meat shield, but I wouldn’t escape the blame either.
In the end, it might seem like the new Finance Director is abolishing the ‘tradition’ for good performance.
From the professors’ perspectives, the academy seems to have no financial problems, the Headmistress is still the richest in the kingdom, and it appears it will continue to exist for another hundred or two hundred years, so that’s entirely normal.
But what if a professor from the same magic field stands up instead of the new Finance Director?
Even if Dean Villend worries that the customs have been misused excessively.
If the person in question hasn’t officially used the customs yet, it would seem like they haven’t used them at all?
“What… do you mean?”
“Above all, you haven’t used the customs, have you? Even if they’re abolished now, it wouldn’t have any effect on you.”
“If I do that, I’ll become a public enemy among the magic field professors! Why would I accept such a proposal?”
“Instead, you could cross over to the Sacred Nation faster.”
Thud.
Professor Circe, who was reacting fiercely, froze in shock.
Did she think I wouldn’t know?
“Professor, you needed quick cash, didn’t you? You certainly said to the church that your ‘pure faith’ didn’t require payment.”
“……How did you know.”
“Did you really think you could force ownership of a research outcome of that scale while just saying it was a custom? I already spoke to the church.”
“………….”
Thanks to that, I could clearly see Professor Circe’s true intentions. The cardinal on the other side was quick-witted, so he provided me with all the dialogue between them.
From the church’s perspective, it must have been surprising when an unrelated professor suddenly presented research outcomes claiming it was their own, but they couldn’t reject it.
However, noticing that the matter was quite significant, the cardinal hinted that they could return it but ultimately declined after some thought. Perhaps he didn’t want to make an enemy of the Headmistress, to be precise.
Of course, this wasn’t to imply that they handed over as a hostage. After all, only the church could make healing potions, so even if they wanted to get it back, they’d have to negotiate again, which is why they simply sealed a new deal right away.
Instead of the academy saying anything about this, they agreed to receive a certain number of healing potions free of charge every month. This felt a bit insufficient, and the rest transferred over to the right for me to make personal ‘requests’ to the cardinal whenever I wanted.
“By transferring research free of charge, you would build a solid relationship with the church, and by continuing that relationship, you’d develop a hair loss remedy… You had plans to smoothly migrate to the Sacred Nation, didn’t you? Even if you share intellectual property rights and give most of the profits to the academy.”
“…………….”
“All you needed was a record of accomplishing what the church said was impossible.”
Your ambitions of developing hair loss remedies actually were sincere. If your goal were simply to migrate to the Sacred Nation, donating the improved healing potion method now wouldn’t be a problem, but according to the cardinal, what Professor Circe truly desired was a high position in the Sacred Nation.
In the end, she used the academy as a stepping stone, which, to be honest, isn’t a big issue. Just as the Headmistress turned a blind eye to recruit professors in the past, professors often transfer jobs between different academies. While they may be frowned upon as traitors, it’s not illegal.
It’s just that until now, getting out of Grandis Academy, the best in the kingdom, was rare.
“Surely, you’d face significant condemnation from the magic field professors, and you’d become an object of hatred, but that doesn’t mean everyone would consider you an enemy.”
“……You mean the professors from the martial arts and administration fields.”
“From their perspective, the magic field is the only one enjoying excessive privileges. If a young genius professor, who has no history of using the customs, steps forward to abolish that, they would all be thrilled.”
What if she declines? It’s obvious how things would go.
I’d expose Professor Circe’s customs and migration plans to everyone. Then I’d use the ensuing chaos to achieve my goals; that was the original plan.
However, since the magic field is the academy’s main focus, if such chaos were to ensue, it could take a lot of time and effort to resolve. That’s why I chose another method.
Even though Professor Circe is already cornered, I should toss her bait to make it easier to lure her in.
“Of course, you wouldn’t really want to spend 20 years researching a hair loss remedy. Would you like to shorten that period?”
“What do you mean…”
“I’ll raise the research budget to ten times the previous amount for the next three years. In three years, you must have a sense of how long it would take, right? Of course, it won’t be through the magic field’s funding; I’ll channel it directly.”
“I see you know.”
“Of course, especially considering conflicts with other magic professors; it’s natural to be aware. Dean Villend even gave me a heads-up.”
Why would the Dean casually ask me to check in on other professors if he didn’t care? From his perspective, it was the best way to give me a polite nudge without getting entangled in politics.
After I received the documents the Headmistress sent yesterday, I immediately checked with a junior, and they said that magic field students often saw Professor Circe quarreling with other professors.
“You must be under a lot of envy and scrutiny. Is that the fate of geniuses?”
“………….”
“If you step up, the other magic professors would receive considerable criticism from others, wouldn’t that just be refreshing?”
Ultimately, Professor Circe has no choice but to accept. She shouldn’t have been so brazen. Even if she tried taking advantage of the academy and the Headmistress, she tried to take too big a bite, right?
That said, if she truly succeeds in the hair loss remedy research and gives 80% of the profits to the academy, it would greatly improve the academy’s financial status, so I was feeling a bit generous. Just a tiny bit.
“If you reject this proposal, you will immediately come out with your customs.”
“Don’t worry. Even due to your research on hair loss remedies, you won’t be dismissed. However, your position, already slim, will grow even smaller. It might take not 20 years but double that. The research budget will be cut for an unknown reason.”
“So that’s why you kept it secret and didn’t announce it… This is quite the ambush.”
“So, what will you do?”
I reach my hand toward Professor Circe, who is biting her lip in anxiety.
She gazes at my hand intently.
“…I believe that after development, migrating to the Sacred Nation will be smooth.”
“If you succeed in development, I’ll personally negotiate with the church, so focus solely on your research. After all, it won’t go well if you stroll around.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
In the end, Professor Circe accepted my hand.
Migrating to the Sacred Nation? I will assist only if the academy doesn’t go bankrupt before that.
If it goes bankrupt, any promises won’t hold, and if she truly succeeds in developing the hair loss remedy and prevents bankruptcy, I could help a bit. Of course, I’d subtly mention Professor Circe’s ‘nature’ to the cardinal.
‘I’ve got a little grudge.’
Having been severely taken advantage of once, I won’t let her off easily.
Fortunately, the cardinal is a reasonable person, so I minimized my losses, but if she hadn’t acted inappropriately like donating without consultation, I could have negotiated from a much better position. She would’ve taken away much more. Since the church already has all the research materials, if she had tried to play hardball, it would have been truly troublesome.
She caused a fuss with the healing potion research, yet there’s no sign of an apology, and she confidently states she’ll spend 20 years researching with the academy’s funds, which really pissed me off. You better be ready. You seem capable, so I’ll squeeze you dry.
I don’t understand her obsession with high positions in the Sacred Nation, but if she focuses solely on developing the hair loss remedy, it’ll still be a good thing───
──Circe, your appearance at the academy was a disguise. You’ve turned the Sacred Nation into this!
──You’re that student I’ve seen at the academy…the perennial bottom rank?
──I’ll never, never forgive you…! Circe!
──Yeah, I was quite inexperienced back then. I must eradicate everything related to my past this time.
“………….”
“Finance Director?”
“No… it’s nothing.”
What was that just now?
The moment I shook hands with Professor Circe, it felt like an echo or ringing in my ears, a voice I’d heard somewhere.
It wasn’t my voice. It was a voice I recognized, but I couldn’t recall where I had heard it.
The voice I clearly heard vanished from my memory in an instant. Only vague remnants remained, and I couldn’t even remember what was said.
…What on earth was that?
Looking at Professor Circe, who gazes at me with questioning eyes, I can only meet her gaze with a somewhat distorted expression.
*
On the day when countless people cursed, Monday.
From that Monday morning, the large conference room at Grandis Academy was bustling with many people.
“What on earth is this? Is there some important matter to discuss?”
“The budget allocation meeting for research funds has already finished.”
“I heard the Headmistress requested that all professors from magic, martial arts, and administration suspend their classes and gather.”
“Well, a break sounds good. Once this is over, I can take a nice long rest. I hope this doesn’t count against the number of times we can take a break.”
“But where’s Professor Circe…? Is she not here because of her so-called important research? Where’s Dean Villend?”
Professors from magic, martial arts, and administration fields.
Gathered once again in the same meeting room where they had previously met for the budget allocation. They were each pondering the reason for the gathering, happily looking forward to the break, and chatting with fellow professors, creating a buzz.
Some professors were anxiously wondering if something had gone wrong at the academy, while others spoke about the absent professors, but.
Soon, the professors’ voices began to die down.
Something.
Something with a colossal presence was approaching the conference room.
“All professors, please rise.”
“The Headmistress is entering.”
The dean of the martial arts and administration fields sat at the front, taking the lead in calming the professors.
While all of the professors stood in line to show their respect, the door to the conference room opened.
“Sorry for gathering you all so early in the morning. Please take your seats.”
“We meet the Headmistress.”
“””””We meet the Headmistress!””””
The warm greetings were delivered as if welcoming a king.
At least within the academy, the Headmistress’s status was equivalent to that of a king, so it wasn’t an unreasonable comparison.
Receiving the professors’ greetings with a simple nod, the Headmistress sat down in the distinguished seat, flanked by four individuals.
The Academic Director and the Finance Director.
With the two powerful figures among the department heads appearing, the professors’ attention was captured, though.
But compared to the others, there was not much interest.
“Dean Villend.”
“Yes, Headmistress.”
“Please begin.”
“Understood.”
One of the two, the rather grim-looking Dean Villend, stepped forward with heavy footsteps in front of the professors.
After a brief cough, he opened his mouth.
“This emergency meeting is due to a certain professor’s confession.”
“A confession…?”
“What does that mean?”
“Is it about…?”
“Professor Circe, please speak.”
“Yes, Dean Villend.”
Then the last participant, Professor Circe, stepped forward with her usual icy demeanor. She seemed to glance at someone in the middle but carried on her way.
Upon the arrival of the young professor known as the genius among the magic field, most professors from the martial arts and administration areas tilted their heads in confusion.
But only a few professors from the magic field seemed to realize something and widened their eyes.
“I stand here today for a confession of conscience as a professor. I extend my boundless gratitude to the Headmistress for arranging this gathering.”
“Please continue.”
“At this moment, I want to confess about the ‘privileges’ that the professors from the magic field, including myself, have been enjoying.”
“Is she… about to—!!”
“Professor Circe! Shut your mouth this instant!”
“Stop talking nonsense!”
Only then did the professors realize what Circe was about to say, and only the professors from the magic field rose from their seats or raised their voices in protest.
However, with just a gesture from the Headmistress, they were forced to quiet down or sit back down.
Meanwhile, the Academic Director glared at the professors trying to resist, while the Finance Director continued to write something down.
Dean Villend lowered his head with a somber expression.
“I’m here to confess the corrupt customs and bad practices.”
Professor Circe dropped a bombshell in the conference room.
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