I Became the Finance Director of an Academy on the Verge of Bankruptcy – Chapter 134

Chapter 134

Rank 8 – Part 3

『 Translator – Divinity 』

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I want to die.

That was the only emotion Laura felt these days.

Was it because of work? There was no way they would give her, the daughter of Viscount Edelvine, excessive work. And the people in the Food Services Department were all kind.

Because of graduate school? She was steadily preparing for that.

Then because of Adam? Adam had been holed up in his office for days, working all-nighters without going home. It was a common occurrence, so Laura just missed having drinks with her friend after work and didn’t think much of it.

…But strictly speaking…

It was because of Adam.

“L-Laura.”

“…Head of Department. This is the seventh time today.”

“I know. I know, but…”

“I went up to see the Finance Director six times at your request, but I was rejected every time. The Finance Director’s office is right next to the Headmistress’s office. He must have realized why I was coming.”

“If even Laura can’t do it… then there’s no hope for us…”

The middle-aged Head of Food Services clutched his chest and collapsed. It was a somewhat exaggerated act, but the other staff members in the Food Services Department were similar.

They were all groaning, clutching their heads in pain, and some had even fainted.

The feeling of wanting to die that Laura felt was similar.

It wasn’t mental stress, but…

‘Adam… you didn’t have a fight with the Headmistress, did you?’

…the oppressive aura emanating from the Headmistress’s office on the top floor.

The Headmistress, a Rank 8, was emitting her aura without restraint. Extreme irritation, displeasure, and anger were transmitted through her aura to the building itself.

There were hardly any Rank 1 staff members, but the Rank 2 and Rank 3 staff members had long since fainted, and even those with higher ranks or those on lower floors were suffering from headaches and stomachaches.

No one knew the exact cause. But everyone knew the solution.

Adam Keynes. The Finance Director of Grandis Academy.

If he could calm down the Headmistress, everything would be fine. But…

‘I’m as desperate as the Head of Department.’

He was already a trusted friend and close confidant of the Headmistress, but what he showed during the recent emergency budget meeting was beyond imagination.

He entered the meeting room holding the Headmistress’s hand, and the Headmistress even blushed and acted shy. All the gossip and rumors about the Finance Director disappeared in an instant.

Because the rumor about him being her secret lover turned out to be true.

It was only natural that sympathy for Adam surged after that. Considering the age gap between the two, it was a shocking sight for both the professors and staff. There were probably very few couples in the history of the continent with such an age gap. Perhaps they were the first.

Therefore, Adam’s reputation (?) skyrocketed to the point where his name was mentioned whenever the Headmistress was involved.

‘But what’s the problem?’

Despite spending every hour of the day with her beloved Adam, the Headmistress’s irritation and anger only grew. The story of the two having a lover’s quarrel became the established truth.

But there was something strange about that.

‘The last time I went up there, they were even k-kissing behind the door.’

Adam seemed very passive, but how could a Rank 1 resist a Rank 8 in the first place? The Headmistress, although embarrassed, was still kissing Adam.

The words “Please be mindful of your age” almost escaped her lips, but she endured with superhuman patience. But even when she tried to talk to Adam…

…the door was locked and wouldn’t open. Only the small window on the door revealed what was happening inside.

It would have been fine if it ended there, but…

“Ugh, ugh!!”

Thud!

“…That guy failed again. Shouldn’t we help him up? He’s a messenger from the royal palace.”

“Head of Department, can you even move…?”

“…It would be easier to just faint.”

The problem was that His Majesty Akendelminos had sent a messenger to the academy. And the messenger arrived after the Headmistress, in her irritation and anger, locked the doors to her office and the Finance Director’s office.

The messenger tried his best to meet with the Headmistress, but he couldn’t overcome her rough aura, both physically and mentally, and kept falling down the stairs.

At first, everyone rushed to help him since he was a messenger from the royal palace, but after a few days, no one moved.

They were all struggling just to move after being constantly suppressed by the aura for days.

‘That messenger… must be here because of Beatrice.’

The ordinary staff members might not know, but Laura, the second daughter of the Edelvine family, could easily grasp the recent trends in the royal palace. Her father was the Minister of Justice.

Although she couldn’t hear the details, she could easily guess that the messenger came because of Beatrice.

‘She’s practically a hostage, even if they call it studying abroad, and I heard the situation in the Delphia Kingdom isn’t looking good.’

She heard that the current king was captured by the Duke of Wei and would be executed in a few days. It seemed like King Akendelminos was trying to use Beatrice to intervene in the civil war.

…But it was ultimately something unrelated to Grandis Academy, and more importantly, Laura herself was in a hurry now, as it felt like she was about to be executed.

‘Come to think of it, those students were also looking for Adam.’

Ruth Spero and Chloe Piste. The two top students also came to Laura and asked about Adam, but she had nothing to tell them. She just said that he was currently focusing on his work.

She heard that they were visiting the student council room every day to meet the student council president, but it wasn’t something Laura cared about. Cassandra was her junior, but as mentioned before, her own matters were more urgent.

‘Adam, you bastard.’

What were you doing…?

***

Glug.

“I’d like some sparkling water for my next drink.”

“Alright.”

“Oh my, model? Since the next course is steak, Delphia Kingdom wine would be a better pairing. Sparkling water could spoil the taste.”

“If the ‘Skillful Chef’ says so. Please.”

“Of course.”

Meat was being grilled in front of me, and I was enjoying the drinks served by the old man, the maid’s massage, and the child’s antics.

What was this? It felt like I had become some tyrant of a ruined nation. It was even creepier because they were all smiling brightly as if they weren’t tired at all.

I looked back at the ‘Cunning Officer,’ who was fanning me with a rotten expression. Of course, I was lying in bed.

“May I ask for an explanation?”

“You’re asking quite quickly.”

“Well, I’ve enjoyed everything I could. What is this place? And that chef sculpture suddenly appeared.”

“He didn’t appear suddenly, he was just finished being sculpted. That’s why he appeared in the studio.”

“…Studio?”

This place?

Looking around, with the luxurious wallpaper, various decorations, chandeliers, high-quality carpet, and even mood lighting, it was clearly a top-class bedroom.

And this was a studio?

“Sculpting is an art that can be done with just a chisel and a hammer. There’s no need to draw lines or paint. So there’s no need to make the studio uncomfortable.”

“Then you sculpt here? But that chef appeared suddenly.”

“You don’t think this room is the entire studio, do you? If you open that door and go outside, there are countless rooms like this. Models come in, I sculpt them, complete them, and send them out. The sculptures can move freely within the studio, so it just seems like they appear suddenly.”

“…To do that, this place would have to be on the level of the magic tower created by the Archmage.”

“That’s right. I could sculpt the Archmage, but it would be a poor imitation. This is possible because this studio is also a sculpture. The title is ‘Infinite Rooms.’”

He was truly living up to his name as the Sculptor. This entire room was a sculpture?

Then was this bed also a sculpture? Well, if he could create people with sculptures, it wouldn’t be impossible to create a soft bed.

But I heard that the Sculptor didn’t have a main body. Then who sculpted the chef?

“You’re wondering who sculpted it. That’s simple. All of ‘us’ sculpt.”

“You mean… each sculpture can create other sculptures?”

“That’s right, although they have to pass various strict internal examinations, such as inspiration, completeness, artistic aesthetic sense, implied meaning, and appearance.”

This was crazy. It was practically a sculpture army.

If one created another, their numbers would double every time. It made sense that his sculptures were spread throughout the continent.

It seemed like he wasn’t just creating them recklessly, but according to strict standards. Otherwise, the Sculptor wouldn’t be a Rank 8, but a terrorist who would be a top priority target for subjugation.

“Wait, are there other models like me in the other rooms?”

“Of course.”

“…Then what happens to the models when their work is done?”

“What do you mean, what happens? They’re sent back, of course. I can see from your expression. Did you think the main material for the sculptures was people?”

“Well…”

“Don’t misunderstand. The main material is marble made by mixing magic stones and various other materials. Humans are only used when necessary. Some works require the model’s heart, brain, eyeballs, or internal organs for a sense of realism and emotional depth.”

“………”

The Archbishop said that some of the bishops of the Wish Cult were ‘hunted’ by the Sculptor.

Their body parts, or even their entire bodies, must have been used for sculptures. Even if it was just using necessary materials for sculptures from the sculptures’ perspective, it was completely different from the victims’ point of view.

Remember this. He was the most eccentric and troublesome Rank 8 on the continent.

‘Always be ready to use the trump card.’

So…

“I have one more question.”

“What is it?”

“You keep mentioning the titles of the works, is that so important?”

“Of course it is, it’s like the meaning of our lives. Like the ‘Innocent Maid’ massaging your feet, the ‘Skillful Chef’ grilling the steak, and the ‘Benevolent Elderly Man’ running errands without complaint. The title is our life, the meaning of our existence.”

“Is that why you’ve been scanning my heart with your mana while pretending to explain things? ‘Cunning Officer’?”

“Hmm, you’re perceptive. It’s normal for a Rank 1 not to know.”

Well, the sacred relic and the scabbard in my heart had been reacting to a strange mana since earlier. I didn’t have any mana, and neither did the other sculptures in this room, so the culprit could only be that officer.

Despite being a mere sculpture, he was conversing like a human, thinking, scheming, and even using mana.

Even if each individual sculpture wasn’t as strong as the Headmistress, the Sculptor was truly a monster.

As the officer withdrew his mana-infused hand and an uncomfortable silence filled the air,

The door finally opened, and ‘Untitled’ entered.

“Sorry! It took a while! It seems the sculptors who haven’t seen you in person were being picky.”

“Well, I don’t know much about my heart either! Cunning Officer, did you find anything?”

“I’ve been trying to guide him with conversation and probe him since earlier, but I haven’t found anything. Untitled, Pure Maid said there was something in this model’s heart, is that true?”

“I’m a sculpture developed in the spiritual sense! There’s definitely something in his heart!”

“Then…”

Clang.

The Cunning Officer, drawing the saber from his waist,

Immediately pointed the tip at my chest.

“Shall we start by taking it out? The heart must be a necessary material for the sculpture.”

“Wait, wait!”

“Why? It’s an honor to become a material for a sculpture. Accept it.”

“That’s not it, I haven’t received my reward yet. The reward for being a model.”

“…Hmm.”

“Right, I went out because of that, so let’s take out the heart later.”

Putting aside the chilling remark that they would eventually take it out,

Untitled, who had brought something in a sack, approached me with a smile.

…He was still smiling, but his face was so ordinary that I would forget what he looked like if I blinked.

“Here, take this. It should be enough.”

‘Enough for what?’

There was no way anything could be enough compensation for taking out my heart. I knew his intentions, so I prepared to activate my trump card, and then, pretending to be fooled, I looked inside the sack.

“Holy shit.”

“How is it?”

Inside… were pearls. Large, round, and flawless pearls, almost the size of a fist, filled the sack.

I had received pearls from the Archmage before, but they were nothing compared to these. I wanted to ask where he even got these.

Well, it was an amount I would gladly give my heart for, as long as I could live without it.

“Thank you very much, but I want a different reward.”

“You put the sack away, didn’t you? Your eyes are still glued to it.”

“It’s just instinct.”

“You want a different reward? That’s the most expensive thing we can offer.”

“It’s fine. It’s not a monetary reward.”

In the first place, why did I come here willingly while saving my trump card?

The Archbishop was separated and trapped somewhere, and I wasn’t sure if my trump card would work in time within this studio, which was another sculpture, but…

…this was an ‘opportunity’ worth all those risks.

“What kind of reward is it?”

“A commission.”

“Huh?”

“I’d like to commission sculptures. At least five, and I get to decide the titles.”

“…Decide the titles beforehand?”

“Yes. The titles I want are…”

It was something more valuable than anything I had earned in this kingdom on the verge of civil war, something I had always wanted.

Something that was still insufficient despite being slightly filled by Circe, Milia, and Professor Alon.

Something essential not only for the academy to escape the threat of bankruptcy but also for its continued survival.

“…’Subordinate employees who don’t receive a salary, don’t leave work, don’t take vacations, don’t complain about any task, and always produce the best results.’”

That was the only reward I wanted.

And Untitled, unusually, had a rather flustered expression. Although he was still ordinary.

“The modifiers are too long…”