Who Are You?

When the head of the Disciplinary Committee first came to see me, he asked if they could take over Dale’s management.

Of course, now it’s the other way around, with them asking for my help.

That matter has already become a non-issue, but the important thing is that there’s a high possibility that some kind of permission was given for Waden to come directly.

After all, all clubs in Maris, including the Disciplinary Committee, are basically under the Student Council.

The fact that they approached an issue that had already been concluded in the faculty meeting means that the Student Council’s influence was also involved.

This is exactly what I was aiming for.

If the Disciplinary Committee could take charge, couldn’t the Student Council do it too? That’s the hopeful thought.

“Te-Teacher. Can’t you not go?”

As I was heading towards the Student Council room with this goal in mind, Dale clung close to my back as we walked through the corridor.

He must be worried about what would happen if we encountered other students along the way.

“I’d like to avoid it too, but the Disciplinary Committee kids are desperate in many ways. It’s all for the continuation of the Infirmary Attendance Department, so bear with it.”

“B-But… The place we’re going now, that’s where the important person is, right?”

“That’s right.”

To be honest, I’m not sure either since I’ve never met them directly.

It’s just a shot in the dark, so I’ll have to gauge their character and true intentions during the interview.

But I’m definitely not going to meet the Student Council President without any basis.

According to this academy’s rules, sovereignty lies with the students, and the Student Council President is elected through student votes.

In other words, if nothing else, the Student Council President is decided by ‘democracy’.

Naturally, as the president would have high support even among the commoner class, they wouldn’t discriminate based on class, at least like Waden.

Of course, their gaze might not be kind given Dale’s status as a potential problem child, but if it seems that way, we can just leave immediately.

“Let’s hope they’re a good kid. If we get rejected, you’ll have to stay with the Saint for three days.”

“Kyaaah!”

“Hey, you brat.”

I tucked Dale under my arm as he tried to run towards the window and continued walking down the corridor.

At the end, we arrived at a place with an imposing door. A sign above clearly read ‘Student Council Room’.

So this is where the Student Council President of this academy is.

As I was about to knock, hoping that the person inside would be to my liking,

I suddenly noticed that the door was slightly ajar.

“…Did they forget to close the door?”

Just in case, I peeked inside through the gap and saw mountains of documents piled up on the desk.

Literally, towers of papers stacked one after another.

In between, I could see a woman with long blue hair scribbling with a pen while holding her head.

“Mumble mumble mumble…”

Her mouth was moving incessantly.

It seems she’s saying something, but it’s too far to hear clearly.

I could only sense that her fatigue was no joke from her sunken eyes and disheveled hair.

“Teacher?”

“Wait behind me for a moment.”

Whatever it is, let’s check it out first. Thinking this, I opened the door and stepped into the Student Council room.

What I saw was a spacious president’s room. But even in the other seats that couldn’t be seen through the door gap, piles of documents were stacked.

Approval documents, accounting materials, student records, and so on… Just looking at what’s here, one could understand how this academy operates.

“The baseball club’s performance has dropped significantly compared to last year, but considering the policy change, we should increase their budget a bit… Damn it, too much budget has been allocated to the sports department. How… No, wait. This part is a bit strange? What is it? Where’s the error in the calculation…”

The Student Council President was muttering and clutching her head amidst these piles of documents.

Seeing her body trembling, I started to worry that she might explode soon and turn the surroundings into a wasteland.

Even health-wise, overwork should be avoided.

For now, it might not be a bad idea to open a dialogue and recommend a break.

“Excuse me, Madam President. I came because I have a brief matter to discuss…”

“Aaaaargh!!”

Oh dear.

It was already time for an explosion.

“Damn it, damn iiiit! Why did the student in charge of accounting have to graduate early in the middle of everything!! Even if family circumstances are bad, how could they just bail out so suddenly!! How am I supposed to handle all this alone when it’s not easy to recruit new personnel with exams and whatnot!!!”

Aaargh!!

Our Student Council President screamed and pounded on the desk.

Worried that the mountains of documents might collapse from the impact, I held the side, and that’s when the president seemed to notice my presence and started glaring at me.

Dull eyes visible behind her glasses.

It means she’s lost her reason to the point where she can’t even distinguish who’s in front of her.

“You there. Can you help me for a moment?”

“Uh… me?”

“Whatever it is, just for a moment! Over here!! Please organize these documents here!!”

The president grabbed my body and sat me down in a chair.

I tried to ask something in confusion, but by then, the president had returned to her seat and was scribbling on documents again.

And quite roughly at that. If the pen nib breaks and ink spreads on the documents, it would be a disaster.

From what I heard, it seems the accountant graduated early or something… It looks like this president is also on a difficult path, albeit in a different sense from the Disciplinary Committee head.

“But I’m a health teacher, not an accountant.”

I briefly looked over the documents in front of me.

Tables detailing various budgets and documents needed for organization… What’s piled up in front of me were materials left behind by the currently absent accountant of the Student Council.

Come to think of it, I studied this in the past too.

Whether as a lord or a housewife, knowledge of financial management is essential.

Originally, since accounting math is fundamentally based on arithmetic, it would be laughable if a noble who has studied some magic couldn’t handle accounting work.

But being able to do it and having to ‘do it all’ are different stories.

“…How do you do all this without a calculator.”

Right, this world has just begun its engineering development.

At best, they have factories operating tools like looms, or nobles’ hobbies producing things like music boxes or clockwork dolls.

Of course, not only are there no electronic calculators like in the world I lived in, but you can’t even find things like the Pascaline (manual mechanical calculator) made primarily with gears.

In other words, math and arithmetic in this world are basically done through mental calculation and writing on paper.

That’s why accountants in the era without calculators were hired by nobles for high pay, but do I really have to do all this?

“Teacher, what are you doing?”

As I was pondering what to do, Dale, who had been watching the situation, approached me and started looking over the documents.

The hesitation I felt earlier had disappeared from his eyes. His characteristic curiosity had been activated.

The problem is that it’s more labor than academics… Hm, well, I guess this is also an experience if you think about it that way.

“Dale, have you ever organized a household account book?”

“Yes, I mainly did the money calculations when I worked at the tavern.”

“I see.”

Well, to be frank, organizing a household account book is also a type of accounting work.

More precisely, it’s a typical example of single-entry bookkeeping, and there are also double-entry bookkeeping and profit bookkeeping… Well, looking at the current documents, it doesn’t seem to require complicated calculations, so it should be fine.

“Teacher, what are you doing?”

“Just wait and see.”

I immediately wrote some numbers randomly on a paper and performed calculations using arithmetic operation symbols.

Let’s see, hmm… yes.

Okay.

“Dale.”

“Yes?”

“What’s 248,065 multiplied by 1,735?”

“…”

Dale stared at me blankly with round eyes.

He opened his mouth after blinking twice.

“…430,392,775?”

“Here you go.”

I immediately handed the document I was holding to Dale.

Well, for a child who can do mental calculations of 3 digits or more in 5 seconds, there’s no need to worry.

“From what I’ve briefly looked at, it seems you need to add or subtract the numbers in this document and write them in this document here.”

“Um… Am I helping the president with her work?”

“If you score points, it might help improve your perception in the future. And seeing her struggle like that, it doesn’t feel right to just ignore it, right?”

Dale’s gaze briefly turned towards the president.

Towards the pitiful workaholic ghost who still hadn’t realized our presence.

“…Um, okay. I’ll do what I can.”

“Good.”

As soon as I vacated the seat, Dale started examining the documents.

At first, his hand movements when entering numbers were a bit clumsy, but as I watched without pointing it out, I could see him gaining momentum.

Well, he said he was in charge of money management in that harsh place at an even younger age, so he must have some know-how.

After watching for about 10 minutes, his concentration was still strong, and he showed no signs of fatigue, so it seemed fine.

“Then I’ll be going now, so for the next three days, just check in at the infirmary and then come here to help out.”

“Okay.”

“Also, when the president comes, give her these things too. There’s a message I want to convey and some drinks I brought as a gift, so make sure to hand them over without forgetting. Got it?”

“Yes.”

Dale answered while still scribbling on the documents with his pen.

I smiled contentedly at Dale, left the letter and drink bottle, and exited the president’s room.

Hoping that while I guide the Disciplinary Committee, this child will also be of great help to the pitiful president.

---

And as time passed, when the sky was tinged with sunset.

“I-It’s finally over…”

Maya Karis, the Student Council President of Maris, put down the last document she was holding on her office desk and leaned back in her chair.

As soon as the tension was released, her vision began to blur.

The ceiling she looked up at started to twist as if spinning, but that sensation didn’t feel bad.

The fact that she relaxed meant that today’s work was finally over.

‘But it’s only over for today. Tomorrow and the day after, I’ll have to take over the accounting work again…’

The secretary prepares necessary documents or finishes writing, and then runs errands for teachers in the faculty room, while the vice president tends to go down to the school town to search for things needed for school operations rather than staying on campus.

Both are in a state of drawing support from the faculty, civilians, and various factions to bring in what’s needed for school operations.

As a result, the prepared paperwork is usually handled by the accountant and the president, but unfortunately, the student in charge of accounting suddenly decided to graduate early a few weeks ago, so she ended up having to take on that work herself.

She would usually protest, but the other party happened to be a princess whose status determines the fate of a country…

‘It happened so suddenly that it wasn’t easy to fill the position.’

Yes, you can’t just put anyone into the Student Council.

Even if there was a suitable talent, they might have already found their place and were diligently fulfilling their assigned duties.

In the worst case, she had to be prepared to handle the accounting work herself until the end of her term.

‘If I keep working like this, my body won’t be able to handle it.’

At least today, a helper came in the middle, otherwise she might not have finished work even by midnight.

“Good work, Madam President. Here, have some cola.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

Maya took a sip of the drink offered by her helper.

The fizzy sensation added refreshment, quickly relieving her fatigue, but it didn’t take long for that strange sensation to turn into a sense of unfamiliarity.

“…Hm? Cola?”

Cola? Isn’t that the nutritional supplement that was barely distributed in war zones?

She wondered why it was suddenly presented to her, and soon turned her gaze to the person standing blankly in front of her.

A petite girl hugging a tray with a glass, looking up at her.

“Is, is it to your liking?”

Maya adjusted her crooked glasses at the cautious question.

“Ah, yes. Well… it’s delicious.”

No, looking again, it was a boy.

It’s easy to mistake him for a girl due to his blonde hair grown down to below his ears and his delicate physique, but the uniform he’s wearing is clearly that of a male student.

If he’s not cross-dressing, the person in front of her is definitely a boy.

…But is that important?

“By the way, who are you?”

Maya Karis, the current Student Council President of Maris.

She looked at the uninvited guest she had never seen before with perplexed eyes.