episode_0009

The chairman was speechless, impressed by my grand plan.

I placed the report I had prepared in advance in front of the chairman.

“What is this…?”

“This is a report on the long-term financial surplus of Grandis Academy and the future food source development for its survival.”

“… … Just say it’s a bribery method.”

“Then I will do that.”

The rule is to talk about things like this in a well-packaged way.

I tried to imitate the way professors in the field of public administration came up with paper titles, but the chairman really doesn’t know people’s minds.

anyway.

“According to the current report, it is extremely rare for any of our Grandis Academy faculty and staff to receive bribes. Even those who do receive bribes are barely able to call it a bribe.”

“Because we tried to operate with the utmost integrity.”

“As expected, you are the Chairman.”

“It gives me goosebumps when the Minister of Finance says that. Don’t be squeamish and be honest.”

“As expected, you are the Chairman.”

“… … … … .”

The chairman looks at me with sharp eyes, but this is my true heart. An organization of this size, even with the uniqueness of an academy, is it honest? This is close to a miracle.

Of course, this is not because Grandis Academy is proud of being the best in the kingdom, or because all of its faculty and staff are honest and upright.

It’s just because the salary is so damn high.

‘There is no reason to accept a bribe.’

Why do you accept bribes when you can get paid more than five times the industry standard just by doing rough work?

Isn’t human greed endless? That’s right. And this is where the chairman’s unique strengths come into play.

That is, he is the absolute number one in the academy.

‘According to the bribery reports so far, the chairman has been fired without any consideration for bribery since the establishment of the academy.’

You want to risk getting fired and make a killing? Sorry, but this world is not a country governed by the rule of law.

The chairman was someone that even the king could not treat lightly, a famous person with enormous social influence, and someone who was respected for his upright character.

Unlike other countries where you can get away with just a small fine even if you take a big hit, if you get fired for bribery, the bribe is all confiscated. Where did you hide it? At the time of the firing, the court of the kingdom locked him up in prison and repeatedly interrogated him in order not to upset the chairman.

Of course, if you don’t blow it quickly, you won’t be able to get out safely, and even if you just give up and tell everything, you’ll lose all your assets in addition to the bribes you received, so you’ll just end up penniless. Your social reputation will go down the drain as a bonus.

This is not a prediction that it will turn out like this. It actually happened. There were a lot of bribery incidents in the early days of the academy, but these measures have eliminated them.

In other words, it’s not like they earn so little that they need to take bribes, and the risk of getting caught taking them is just too great.

As this kind of thing kept happening, the noble families and merchants also gave up on bribing Grandis Academy. There was no guarantee that the angry chairman wouldn’t drop them into their own territory.

‘That’s probably why Richa didn’t understand my bribe request at first.’

The chairman’s closest aide, who absolutely does not forgive bribery, demands a bribe? You must be wondering, is this right?

I’m sure that the families of Countess Risha and Count Claudia are most likely judging me as either crazy or incompetent right now.

Since a young guy with no experience and no age suddenly caught the chairman’s eye and became the finance director, you would think he is drunk and running wild in that position.

And that’s exactly what I wanted.

Because I’ll bribe you hard just to manipulate that incompetent guy the way I want.

“Mr. Chairman, what do you think a bribe is?”

“… … ? That is the root of the evil that is eating away at the organization.”

“Wrong. Bribery is the art of relationships.”

“… … … Mr. Finance Minister, have you been working too hard? Why don’t you take a vacation now? ”

“I’m normal. Mr. Chairman.”

“People with mental illness originally say they are normal. Don’t worry. I won’t give up until the former finance minister is completely cured!”

Should I admire the chairman’s loyalty, or should I really slap that idiot who’s starting to think I’m crazy?

I decided to go with the former, as the latter would have likely resulted in cracked fingers.

I continued talking after somehow stopping the chairman who was trying to take me to the infirmary with his eyes wide open.

“Mr. Chairman, let’s say you received a bribe from nobles A and B.”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t a bribe something you just give away? Since you’ve received something, it’s right for the chairman to grant A and B whatever they want. Then, you can continue the relationship and continue receiving bribes.”

“That’s right… …right.”

“But what if A wants C, and B also wants C?”

“Huh?”

“It’s not like I can split C in half and give it to you. What would you do if you were the chairman?”

“… … I will never take a bribe, but if I did, I would give it to the person who gave the most bribe.”

“That’s right. But then only your relationship with A will get better, and your relationship with B will get worse. Maybe you can stop giving bribes. If you give bribes because you want something, why would you give them if you can’t get what you want?”

“What do you want to say? If you don’t summarize it in 3 lines, I’ll send you to the real hospital.”

“The real answer is to prevent such situations from occurring in the first place.”

Bribes usually have a clear purpose, such as a request for passing an exam or manipulating grades, and there is an ultimate goal.

Of course, you can make ‘small’ requests in the meantime, but there is no change to the fact that there is an ultimate goal. So what do you do?

This ultimate goal is to only accept bribes from those who do not overlap.

“What is that… … ?”

“The situation in which both A and B want C is wrong in the first place.”

Of course, minor requests can overlap. For example, even if you refuse a request for a little convenience in cheating, it is not enough to stop bribery. This is because the sunk cost of bribery is too high to stop it with something like that.

But if you reject the fundamental reason for giving bribes, that is, the ultimate goal, then you have no choice but to stop giving bribes.

That’s exactly what we need to prevent. Understand the psychology of those who bribe and manage the relationship appropriately.

That is why bribery was an art of relationships.

“I think I’ve received a lot of bribes somewhere.”

“It’s my imagination. I’m an orphan.”

“Ugh… … … .”

As expected, the omnipotent orphan theory. No matter what the opponent suspects, if I cast a padlip on myself first, I can make them speechless.

Anyway, there was one reason why I kept talking about bribery, which the chairman probably wouldn’t like.

“So please allow me to take a fair bribe.”

“Don’t you think it sounds a bit like talking nonsense when you say it yourself?”

“That’s true, but isn’t that our situation?”

“… … Ugh.”

If you think about it, it’s all the chairman’s own fault. If he had managed his finances normally, he wouldn’t have been so exhausted that he had to accept bribes and use them for his budget.

And most importantly.

“It’s a bit awkward to say this, but.”

“… … … ?”

“At least bribery is much more profitable and stable than futures trading.”

“Cough.”

Oh, the chairman has fallen. He hasn’t been there for long, so get up quickly.

As I patted the shoulders of the chairman, who had collapsed like a corpse with tears streaming down her face, and helped her up, her expression looked very complicated.

Regret about how things came to this, yet determination not to reduce the money spent on quality education, guilt at having to accept bribes that were so denied.

also.

Bribes and budget.

One big step forward.

“Allow… …I will do it.”

“Chairman.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Finance Minister. If I had managed the finances properly, the Finance Minister wouldn’t have to bear the stigma of taking bribes… … .”

If that were the case, then he would never have become the Minister of Finance in the first place.

Of course, I had some sense of it, so I didn’t say it out loud.

“Because I trust the Finance Minister! Because I trust the Finance Minister to truly revive this academy! You can take as many bribes as you want. The Finance Minister, I will protect the Finance Minister no matter what!”

The words of the chairman who had truly taken a step forward were almost like a desperate confession.

A declaration that even if I receive countless bribes in the future and receive strong protests from the faculty and staff, I will take her side until the end.

It may sound like a simple statement at first, but it was even more impactful because it was a decision made by a chairman who had been reluctant to accept bribes until now.

That’s why.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“… … Yes? Well, the Minister of Finance will be accepting all kinds of bribes now. ”

“Didn’t I tell you earlier? Bribery is the art of relationships. So what are you suddenly saying?”

ah.

no way?

“Did you think I was hosting some kind of world-class bribery contest?”

“… … Huh?”

“Chairman, bribes are not given just because someone asks for them. It requires a lot of persuasion and interests, and since the ultimate goals do not overlap, there will be only a few places that accept bribes.”

“Then… … ?”

“I’m expecting about 3 places. I’ve already decided to get it from Lisha Youngae, so there are 2 left.”

“Oh, but you could get caught. If someone finds out about the suspicious money flow… … .”

“… … Mr. Chairman, what is my position?”

“Ah.”

Managing the Academy’s finances? Me.

Writing the academy ledger? Me.

How do you figure out the total amount of money flowing into the academy?

To be honest, if I hadn’t reported it, the chairman wouldn’t have known I had taken a bribe. After all, I was the one who kept the books and managed them.

“… … … … .”

This time, the chairman was struck down with a slightly different meaning, his ears reddening and his face pressed against the table.

I cleared my throat.

“Because I trust the Minister of Finance!”

“That, stop it.”

“Because I really believe that the Minister of Finance will revive this academy!”

“Please, please.”

“The Minister of Finance, I will protect the Minister of Finance in any way I can!”

“Oh my gosh!!!!”

Oh, that’s interesting.

This is the best way to relieve work stress.

*

The chairman clenched his fist and hit me in the chest, almost causing a compound fracture of my ribs and chest, but I escaped successfully.

The injury itself isn’t a big deal, but having to go to the infirmary is the problem.

‘I might as well resign than go where that crazy bitch is.’

How can a woman like that be the head of the medical department? No matter how important skills are, how can you put someone whose character is inversely proportional to her skills in the infirmary?

However, aside from his personality, if you look at his conduct as an office worker, he was a person worth emulating. He was the second youngest person after me, but his madness was so overwhelming that no one could say anything.

Could I be crazy as the Treasury Secretary? What could I do? Digging into the budget?

‘I’m going to quit because the office is coming to cut my throat.’

In times like this, it’s a bit sad that it’s only a 1st grade. Since I’ve already dropped it into the game, it would be nice if they just gave it a modest 8th grade.

Even though I was wearing the triple threat of being the all-powerful orphan, the finance director, and the chairman’s closest confidant, I still had some regrets.

As I walked with random thoughts in mind, I was able to quickly reach my destination in the spacious academy.

‘Dormitory for successful applicants.’

The results of the entrance exam came out right away. The chief examiner was impressed by my eloquence and the process was quick.

A place where prospective students who have already passed and are relieved in many ways stay, although they do take a retest a little later and have a sort of resurrection match.

The remaining bribe candidates would both be here, since they are not from families that would have their own dorms like Claudia’s.

“This is Grandis Academy… …!! I really got accepted!!”

“Do you want to take a tour around our area? According to the booklet the seniors gave me earlier, there are a lot of good restaurants.”

“Can’t I enter the central library yet? I guess I’ll have to wait until the entrance ceremony.”

“That’s right, Mom! I passed!”

The area around the dormitory where successful applicants were waiting was filled with students with smiles on their faces. Some were overwhelmed with emotion, others looked around, and some were already making progress, while others were using magic tools to contact their parents.

It was something to be proud of. Graduating from Grandis Academy alone won’t guarantee you a smooth ride in life, but it will put you in a much more advantageous position than others.

There was a famous Grandis Cartel where graduates of the Grandis Academy would lead each other to various workplaces. If you went to a rural area, you could probably get a job as an office worker with just one diploma.

‘I used to be like that too.’

It’s already been a few years. Now that I’m in a high-ranking position, I can’t help but smile bitterly when I think back to that time.

I didn’t know that back then, when I was so naive.

‘I should have invested in the salt mines in the South then.’

Who would have thought that the salt mine that I had only heard of through rumors would become so popular in just one year?

Then I could have eaten my life in a day, but it’s such a waste. Should I go in now? The gift transaction that the chairman blew two years’ worth of budget was related to that salt mine.

Thinking about the ups and downs of the past few years and the current downs, I think I would have held on to it thinking it would go up if I had invested back then. Yeah, it’s better now than it was then.

“Wait a minute, I need to get my ID to enter the dormitory… … … .”

“Hey you crazy kid! Get your head down quickly! Hey, Adam, Finance Director! I’m so sorry! This idiot is still a rookie and made a mistake!”

“Hey, Mr. Finance Minister!? I have committed a mortal sin!”

“I missed it. Who is in charge of this guard? If it’s the 3rd Guard, isn’t it Russell’s?”

“I’m really sorry! Please don’t discipline me!”

“I’m sorry!!”

“Just kidding. What kind of punishment is that for doing what you had to do? Even if you don’t know me, at least memorize the faces of the medical director or the general examination officer. If you get caught by them, you know?”

“I’ll keep that in mind!!!”

“Yeah, thanks for your hard work.”

At least now, aren’t you in a position to give such tangible advice?

The sentry, who did not recognize the four stars under the chairman, who was the president of the academy, had an expression that said he was barely alive, but looking at the senior next to him, it seemed that he would not be able to let it go easily.

He patted her shoulder as a sign of regret and went into the dormitory. The guard’s voice was unusually loud, so the prospective students’ attention was drawn to him, but it wasn’t a big problem.

It would be okay if the medical director or even the general examination officer were involved, but there was no reason for a student and the finance director to get involved. They just passed each other by.

After the commotion, the discipline of the security guards patrolling the dormitory was unusually tight, but anyway.

I know which dormitory the candidate you want to visit is in, so let’s go there───

“Adam Keynes, the Treasury Secretary, right?”

“Huh?”

“Found it.”

Suddenly, someone in the crowd grabs the hem of my clothes.

The person had the hood pulled down low on his cloak. Judging from his voice, he was a woman, but there was nothing else to suggest his identity.

If they were faculty and staff, they would probably be wearing a special uniform or badge, but they weren’t even wearing that.

‘Wait a minute, this is someone who probably already knows my face, and this is a candidate who just passed the exam. And he can treat me poorly, and he’s not even a faculty member… … !!’

Although I was a little skeptical, there was only one possibility left.

In the crowd passing by us, I quietly bowed my head and whispered to the hooded figure.

“… … The Grandis Academy’s Finance Director meets with Her Highness Princess Beatrice.”

“It’s good that you’re quick-witted.”

Amatrius Delphia Beatrice.

She is the princess of the neighboring kingdom of Delphia, and nominally came to study abroad at Grandis Academy.

He is practically a vassal and one of the mid-bosses of the Academy part of . He is a wizard, but he is despised as half-baked because he cannot control his own magic.

He appeared as an enemy, but later converted by the protagonist and became an ally… … No, whether he was a nerd or a boss in the original work, that was none of my business.

There is just one thing I need to pay attention to.

‘Destroyer!’

Being a wizard but not being able to control your own magic.

That countless classrooms and labs were destroyed.

It was a brief explanation that passed by as if it was nothing special in the game, but it wasn’t the case for me now.

“… … Minister of Finance? Your gaze is a little scary. ”

“That’s because I’m guarding my surroundings. Your Majesty, please move for now.”

“Yes.”

I faced the biggest villain of my finance minister’s life.