episode_0021

How many days has it been since I returned to my room?

I’ve been quite busy lately with repair requests and payments, the aftermath of the entrance ceremony, and investments in the School of Fantasy Magic, so I’ve been working and eating in my office.

Strictly speaking, I haven’t left work, but I still feel strangely good when I return to my room. It’s almost like I’ve left work.

I thoroughly enjoyed the subtle feeling as I moved the piled up files and books here and there, took out some tea leaves from a corner, and brewed them roughly. I can’t guarantee the taste, but it’s better than nothing.

While we were drinking tea like that.

‘oh?’

Luckily, I was able to find a cigarette lying on the floor. It was only one cigarette in a room where I had already smoked everything, but where else could I smoke something?

I put it in my front pocket and it made me feel good for no reason. In the meantime, I sat down at the table with the tea that had been brewing… … But.

What are you doing there?

“Are you interested in those books?”

“Re, Minister of Finance. These books and papers… … ?”

“For study purposes.”

“Studying?”

“As Your Highness knows, I have been serving as the Minister of Finance without any experience or qualifications. This is the minimum effort I can make to maintain this position.”

Honestly, this is a parachute. It’s not for nothing that the Academy faculty gossip about me.

In order to dispel such gossip, and above all, in order to properly perform the duties of Minister of Finance, studying was necessary.

I don’t have a status screen or other-worldly privileges, so it’s not like I suddenly gained the ability to run an academy of this scale.

“I heard that you became the finance director right after graduating from the academy… … .”

“Last year, when I first became the Minister of Finance, it was a total mess. I didn’t understand what was going on, so I somehow finished it and came back and continued studying.”

There’s no way a former public servant could take the position of finance director of a huge academy. That’s why I received a lot of help from the chairman at first.

Even though the chairman was ‘very’ lacking in economic sense or management ability, he knew well how to prepare financial statements and budgets because he had been managing finances all along. The problem was that he only had knowledge and his ability to actually apply it was very poor.

One wonders how someone with such miserable management skills could have founded an academy on his own and become so wealthy that he financed almost all of it from his own assets, but anyway.

“So you studied all these books? In just one year?”

“You can do it by reducing your sleeping time. Now I’m used to it, so I can sleep 4 hours a day.”

“… … … .”

If I had taken on the position of Finance Director and learned finance from a professor or a board member or any other faculty member, I would have been immediately impeached. That’s why I had a hard time learning on my own.

I spent about 12 hours a day working on my finances, and after work, I studied for 10 hours, reading business books and papers by professors in the field of public administration.

Thanks to that, I could only sleep for two hours every day, but I was able to endure it somehow thanks to the tile and bed artifacts that the chairman gave me. Thanks to that, I became quite accustomed to it in just one year, so it was the right choice in the end.

Beatrice, who was at a loss for words for a moment, looked around the books and papers that filled my room and then took out a book. It was .

Flutter.

“… … … You worked really hard.”

“It’s an effort that everyone makes.”

As I opened the pages of the book, which was so thick that Beatrice found it difficult to lift, I saw traces of my studies.

To help you understand, I have written explanations, notes, problem-solving methods, error notes, and even traces of personally creating and solving application problems.

Wow, it was only a year ago, but it’s still a memory.

“Are you still doing this?”

“You’re asking a strange question. Of course I am doing it.”

Just a few days ago, I was studying a thesis by a business professor. Although I still have a hard time understanding the thesis, I feel like times have changed when I think back to the days when I struggled with that one book, .

Well, enough small talk.

“We don’t have much time, so shouldn’t we get to the main point?”

“… … Okay.”

Beatrice, who had been looking at my densely written for a moment, put the book down and sat down across from me. Are you interested in accounting?

He put the teacup down in front of her and continued the story.

“Okay, I’ll listen.”

“Okay. Phew… … Actually, the reason I wanted to meet the chairman was───”

And the story Beatrice told was exactly the same as the story I saw of her in the game.

He wanted to meet the chairman to return to his home country. That’s why he bribed me. In return, he said he could build a branch of Grandis Academy in the Kingdom of Delphia, etc.

I knew it, but I pretended like it was the first time I heard it and then asked what I was really curious about.

“But why are you trying to return to the Kingdom of Delphia so quickly? To be honest, I don’t think it’s because of the succession to the throne, since you are the 4th princess.”

“It’s the first time I’ve heard that in person. It’s rude, but it’s true. I just have someone to meet.”

“Who are you?”

“… … My nanny, who raised me like a mother, is sick and bedridden. She was recently given a terminal diagnosis, and I don’t know when she’ll close her eyes, so I want to go back as soon as possible.”

“I was so insensitive. I’m sorry.”

“No.”

I didn’t know this. Up until the academy part where I played, the companions’ stories were barely revealed, so I didn’t know there was such a backstory.

If you think about it, the main character said something like that too.

──Beware of Lisha Claudia.

──Even if she herself is a good person, she might be different when she holds a weapon.

The weapon is probably the story of the spear? I saw it last time I went to the private dormitory to receive a bribe.

Just like I didn’t know Beatrice’s backstory, I don’t know Richa’s personal story at all. I guess we’ll get to see it after the second part after the Academy part. Damn it.

Then who on earth is the main character who knew that and left me a warning?

Did you just know it personally, or… … …

“Minister of Finance? Any further questions?”

“Oh, sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment. Then, can I ask you one more question?”

“As much as you want.”

“Why did you accept the duel with Chloe Pisty?”

“… … … … .”

“You said I had to get it back. I think you mean the item you were asked to get after the duel with Chloe, right?”

“… … You’re quick-witted.”

Even in the Academy part of , the bad relationship between Beatrice and Chloe was often mentioned. For example, if you take one as your comrade, you can’t take the other as your comrade.

However, the reason for this was not explained in detail. It was only described that Chloe had some feelings for Beatrice.

If you’re really going to have them possess you in the game, why not have them possess you after clearing the level? In web novels, only veteran characters enter, so why am I the only one doing this?

Anyway, if Beatrice, who was planning to return to her home country, accepted the duel, there must have been a reason.

And that’s probably it.

“Did you have any requests for Chloe?”

“To be exact, it wasn’t a thing, it was a ‘right’.”

“Yes?”

“You know that Chloe Pisti is the only magic tower lord in the empire, the disciple of the great wizard, right?”

“Of course.”

When important buildings such as lecture halls and entrance examination rooms were being repaired, the Imperial Magic Tower came and blessed them with magic. Thanks to that, even though the walls of the entrance ceremony lecture hall collapsed three times, the entire building did not collapse.

This was also a special favor the chairman received from the kingdom. They allowed elite magicians from the hegemonic nations to enter their territory. The fact that the chairman and the archmage were acquainted also played a part.

I’ve seen that guy called the Archmage, but anyway.

“And Chloe, the apprentice of the great wizard, has a magical tool that allows her to communicate directly with her master whenever she wants.”

“Did you ask for that magic tool?”

“No way. Even if I asked, you wouldn’t give it to me, right? What I asked for was the right to use that magic tool.”

The right to use magical tools that can communicate with the Archmage. The outlines are finally being drawn.

It was obvious why Beatrice asked for it.

“Is it because of a chronic disease?”

“… … You saw it for yourself in the duel, right? My un-magical antics. ”

The Archmage is a rank 8, like the Chairman, and is one of the most powerful forces the Empire has. Given that the Empire is the hegemon of this continent, it would be unlikely for Beatrice, a weak nation and a mere 4th princess, to meet the Archmage.

So Beatrice wanted to gain the right to use the magical tools that Chloe, the apprentice of the great wizard, had.

To ask the Archmage how to cure her chronic illness, which is the inability to control her magic.

“When I was just born, the Archmage was staying in the Kingdom of Delphia while on a continental tour. And at my father’s earnest request, he looked at me as a baby and judged my talents.”

“… … … … .”

“There, I was evaluated as having the talent to become a great wizard, and my father was delighted and gave me all the support he could. But… … .”

Beatrice had a chronic illness. Although she had an extremely outstanding talent for magic, she had a fatal weakness: she could not control the magic she used with that talent.

Even if you can use high-level magic with that outstanding talent, what good is it? Magic that you can’t control is just a bomb that could explode at any moment.

That’s why Beatrice went from being a promising prospect to a headache for the kingdom. She became the target of enticement under the pretense of studying abroad.

“Surely the Archmage knows how to cure my chronic disease. No, he has to.”

“If the Archmage, the highest of all wizards, doesn’t know, is it because there is no way to fix it?”

“… … Minister of Finance, don’t you hear that you speak too directly?”

“That’s because those who manage money prefer to speak directly rather than indirectly. Anyway, if Her Highness asked for the right to use magic tools, what did Chloe ask for?”

“… … … … .”

“Your Majesty?”

“It’s a pendant. It’s the thing I treasure the most.”

pendant?

What is that expensive thing?

“Is it an artifact or has expensive precious metals embedded in it?”

“No. It’s just a cheap pendant that doesn’t have much value on its own. But… …it’s something the Archmage gave me as a gift when I was a baby.”

“Are you talking about the Archmage?”

“I don’t know why she gave it to me. But it was a token of my recognition, proof that I wasn’t a half-ass, so I kept it. Chloe wanted that.”

“Why on earth would you… … ?”

“The Finance Minister may not know, but Chloe Pisty is very proud of the fact that she is the Archmage’s disciple. When I met her after the entrance ceremony, she kept provoking me with my chronic illness, so I got angry and told her that the Archmage had given me a gift… … … .”

“That’s why.”

“Well, Chloe probably didn’t like me from the beginning. She thought she had to monopolize her beloved teacher’s attention. She probably didn’t like me for being recognized for my talent.”

That’s why.

But in the original story, Beatrice never dueled Chloe? Nothing really happened until she won first place a year later and proposed to the chairman at the awards ceremony.

Why did it change?

“If only it weren’t for that manticore… … No, it was just a matter of time anyway.”

“Huh? What happened at the entrance ceremony?”

“The chairman protected the students, so I tried using magic once, and of course it went out of control, but it ran wild in a way that even interfered with Chloe’s magic.”

“Ah.”

“It was purely coincidental, but I think it caught Chloe’s attention. After that, whenever I saw her in class, she would constantly mention that incident.”

──Isn’t it the opposite of the entrance ceremony?

So that’s what Chloe said during the duel?

Eventually, the conflict between Beatrice and Chloe became more serious because Professor Alon suggested a fantasy monster attack at the entrance ceremony.

Should I keep Beatrice, who I could have sent back early thanks to the butterfly effect? Until I get that pendant back?

‘When we get back, let’s suggest raising the investment ratio to 50%.’

As the well-founded malice washed over Professor Alon, I looked back at Beatrice.

I was anxious, unsure, and wavering, but I never gave up on that pendant.

I wasn’t impressed by that attitude…

‘We need to get the pendant back as quickly as possible so that this wrecker can leave the academy.’

This will help reduce the cost of building repairs and normalize the Academy’s finances a little.

Things are getting complicated.

“Would you be able to get that pendant back through a private transaction?”

“Chloe’s personality is such that she would never give it up. It would be the same even if the finance director approached her instead of me. She’s famous for being extremely obsessive when it comes to her teacher’s belongings.”

She’s such a bother. I didn’t realize she was such a bothersome character because in the game, I had Beatrice as my companion instead of Chloe.

Well then, what.

“A duel would be the quickest answer.”

“… … Of course, that’s right.”

Just as the pendant was stolen in a duel, getting it back through a duel is the fastest way, even if it’s not the most efficient.

Especially Chloe, she won’t think at all that she’ll lose, so she’ll easily agree. That means Beatrice has to be able to defeat Chloe.

Then there is only one thing to do.

“But how can I, who can’t even control magic──”

“Can you overcome that chronic disease if I cure it?”

“───Huh?”

“I can’t guarantee a permanent cure, but there are ways to treat it temporarily.”

Above all, you wouldn’t believe it if you heard about a permanent cure.

So, I have no choice but to quickly tell you the method she, who appeared as the mid-boss of the second-year part in the game, found ‘by herself’.

However, since it was a method that was reluctant in many ways, I didn’t want to tell you about it.

Given the circumstances, there was nothing I could do. Getting Beatrice out of the Academy was the top priority.

And Beatrice’s face hardened as she heard my words.

“… … … I’m not in the mood to joke right now. Even for the Finance Minister, that was a very unpleasant joke. ”

“This is not a joke.”

“How, how can you… … believe that?”

“Because that’s what I heard from the CEO.”

“… … !!”

The theory of the omnipotent CEO is the best along with the theory of the omnipotent orphan. It’s so good that there’s no need to bother persuading.

Of course, the chairman never said anything like that, but he said it anyway. If he just matches his words later, it’s over.

Beatrice, with her eyes trembling, approached me with her breathing ragged.

“Jeong, in words… … ?”

“After Her Royal Highness’s admission was confirmed, the chairman said something. It’s a shame that Her Royal Highness’ chronic illness would get better, even if only for a little while, if this method was used.”

“Ha, ha! Hahaha… … !!!”

Beatrice burst into laughter, seemingly momentarily dazed, but then mad.

He grabbed my shoulder with an expression that was both desperate and mean.

“I’ll do anything. Anything! Anything to cure this damn chronic disease even for a little while!!”

“Your Majesty?”

“Jae, whatever the Minister of Finance wants, I can do it! Even if he tells me to get down and bark like a dog!”

No, why would I do something like that? It’s not like there’s a budget for it.

You said you’d do anything, right? And you said it yourself?

“What you just said.”

“… … … … .”

“You must not forget.”

It’s perfect because it also has a bed, which is the necessary equipment.

Okay, so first of all.

“Shall we start by lying down on the bed?”