episode_0029

While the Minister of Finance was feeling ecstatic for the first time in a while and was dancing like crazy with the sword called salary cut.

The chairman, who had left the conference room first, was walking somewhere with the Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor Circe.

“… … … … … .”

“… … … … .”

“… … … … … … .”

Step, step.

In a suffocating silence and a stagnant atmosphere.

The chairman arrived in front of the chairman’s office and gestured to the head of academic affairs.

“Thank you for your hard work. You go in first.”

“We will process your request as quickly as possible!”

“Please.”

It seemed as if he could already hear the screams of the academic affairs staff, but the head of the academic affairs department just had a determined expression on his face, saying that he would definitely get it done.

So he goes back first.

Only the chairman and Professor Circe were left in front of the chairman’s office.

“Come in.”

“… … Yes.”

The air is stinging. It’s hot and cold at the same time, as if there’s an invisible blade in the air.

Professor Circe followed the chairman, feeling her back soaked with cold sweat.

The image the chairman presents to the public is simple. He is an iron man. He is a king and dictator who does not tolerate rebellion from anyone.

Of course, it would be laughable for any finance minister who knows her true character, but the chairman is an 8th-grade martial artist and war hero.

Thanks to that, I was able to easily imitate Iron Man. If the chairman really exudes murderous intent, most people won’t even dare to make eye contact with him. He can easily instill fear.

And it was no different for Professor Circe.

Crunch!

“Krrrgh… … !!”

Blood is rising from inside.

Even though Circe was a wizard of considerable skill, having reached the 6th rank, she was meaningless in front of the chairman.

The chairman, who had been spewing murderous intent while somehow maintaining his posture while blocking the blood, sat down in his seat.

Her black hair was shaking.

At first glance, a sharp energy pours out from a body that appears to be that of a high school student.

“I was stupid.”

“… … … !!”

“You were too indecisive and too accepting. You were still hesitating even when it came to this point. That is, until the Finance Minister showed up.”

The chairman did not want to answer. Professor Circe could not even answer.

It was just one-sided talk.

“Is it really impossible? Is it arrogant of me, who has only ever done things like killing people, to dream of saving and raising people? Was it a mistake to establish the academy in the first place?”

“Ugh… … Black!”

“I killed my personality back then as much as I could. I had to be the president of the academy, not a human slaughterer. Because I had to be that way… … I only knew how to kill people, so I think I was used a lot. ”

The chairman smiled bitterly. Professor Circe now lowered her head, blood flowing from her mouth.

There are many who have used her: early deans, former finance officials, self-proclaimed investors, and Professor Circe right before our eyes.

The chairman looked at Circe, who was on the verge of collapsing, with cold eyes.

“Still, I try. No matter how much I get fooled, betrayed, and used, when I see students who, unlike me in the past, seize the opportunity to learn and graduate, I feel certain that I am on the right path. Students are my greatest treasure.”

“Coolook!”

“But these days… … … I have one more treasure.”

The chairman smiled as if he was embarrassed. Professor Circe eventually couldn’t hold out any longer and sat down.

Why did the monarch of a great kingdom care about her? Why did the empire, a hegemonic power, keep sending her love calls? Why was she, who was so obviously lacking in economic sense and other abilities to lead an organization, able to lead the academy?

Rank 8. Human butcher. War hero. The strongest in the kingdom.

Over 100 years ago, she was called a mad dragon or a human slaughterer because no one could control her and she was feared.

It brought back a little bit of that feeling.

“So don’t talk back to the finance minister. Don’t test my indecisiveness and arrogance too much. I’ve been killing myself and wearing clothes that don’t fit for decades.”

“Gyeok… … .”

“Above all──

──In this vast academy.

──If one professor suddenly disappears, it will be difficult to find them.

“Please.”

Please don’t make foolish choices.

I hope the day will never come when my fists will be stained with blood.

So that I can remain as the chairman of Grandis Academy until the end.

“Please try hard.”

*

Ah, it’s refreshing.

When I was living in a goshiwon, there was a person in the room next to me who got a job at the National Tax Service. We were pretty close, so he would come over sometimes and buy me meat and drinks.

‘I feel the best when I collect taxes legally.’

I think I finally understand that feeling. It’s really funny how you react to each and every salary cut number in waves.

Ultimately, it was decided to impose a 50% salary cut for 10 years. It was a great achievement that was possible thanks to the active support of professors in the martial arts and administrative fields.

‘How much money did I save this way?’

I’ve been having some mental issues lately because of the main character and the building destroyer, but it feels like all that has gone away.

However, as a very personal deal, Dean Billend lowered his salary. If you become close to that person, there are many good things that can happen to you. When I told him secretly, he was really happy and jumped for joy.

Anyway, I went to the chairman’s office to report with a heavy heart.

“… … … Huh?”

does not exist.

Of course, Professor Circe was absent, but the chairman who was supposed to be there was also absent.

It would have been better to just say, “Where have you been for a bit?” We had promised to meet in the chairman’s office. The chairman was not the type of person to break a promise.

I was thinking about it for a moment.

“As expected.”

“… … … … .”

“Found it, Chairman.”

I was soon able to find the chairman sitting on the rooftop bench.

The chairman sometimes comes up here and looks out over the entire academy. It was also a smoking area that I often used because no one but the chairman was allowed in.

But why are you here?

“The salary reduction plan has been decided. Professor Circe will receive 50% of the salary for 10 years, and more than 90%… … Chairman? ”

“… … Minister of Finance.”

“Chairman, did you… … cry?”

In the eyes of the chairman who was crouching on the bench.

The tear stains were clear.

As I looked at the CEO with a puzzled expression, she soon lowered her head.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Finance.”

“Why are you suddenly like that? Did you do any gift trading again?”

“Just everything.”

It’s not even dawn yet, why are you doing this?

I put the documents I had brought aside and sat quietly next to the chairman.

“What made you do this?”

“Because I’m so… … stupid.”

“Yes?”

“If there had been no Minister of Finance, this Professor Circe case would have been passed over in a daze. Even without that, it wouldn’t have been resolved in the way it is now.”

“Originally, each person can do different things. The chairman is doing his job well… … … .”

“You get eaten up like a fool, you act like an iron man, and you always leave everything to the finance director?”

“… … … … .”

hmm.

Facts are beyond me.

“If it’s a rule, I can make it clear. But this kind of custom… …I started it. After all.”

“What does that matter?”

“If I were just a little bit smarter, this problem wouldn’t have happened.”

That’s true too.

It’s hard to comfort him because he only hits me with facts. What should I do?

“In the end, I dreamed too big.”

“A dream, right?”

“I wanted to prevent more people like me from my childhood. I wanted to reduce the number of people suffering from not being able to learn. All I knew how to do was swing my fist and kill people, but I wanted to keep building the academy.”

That was the chairman’s dream. A dream she had already realized, but one that was on the verge of collapse.

“I wanted to save people with the hands that killed people, and I, who killed people, wanted to raise people. In order to do that, the past human slaughterers had to disappear, so I forcibly killed my personality.”

The chairman.

He expressed his regret with tears.

“At first, I didn’t even want to become Iron Man. But when I did, the entire academy was tainted with all kinds of corruption and bribery. I thought this couldn’t go on, so I turned everything upside down and played the role of a perfect Iron Man.”

“… … … … .”

“When I see things that are defiling my dreams, my students, and this academy, I want to kill them all. But that can’t be done. I’m now the academy’s chairman. So there were many times when I just let it go or hesitated because they were fellow academy members. Eventually, all those problems piled up and piled up until this point.”

The chairman was wearing a wide-brimmed hat that didn’t suit her, as she was a martial artist.

It was something I had hardly ever seen before, but I heard that it was a relic left behind by a former magician colleague.

The chairman muttered quietly, holding it tightly.

“So I’m sorry. It’s all my fault, the problems that were caused by my stupidity and incompetence… …and I’m passing it on to the Finance Minister.”

“… … … Hmm.”

“Look at the finance minister’s clothes. They’re all worn out. Even the fountain pen he bragged about buying yesterday, and the fact that he’s staying in such an old dormitory because he doesn’t want his financial documents to leak.”

“I thought that if I had enough money, there would be no problem. When I first set up the academy, I vaguely believed that everything would go well without any doubt.”

“But how did it end up like this? I really wanted to do well. I wanted to be different from my past self.”

“That custom was also because we wanted to hire good professors and have them teach students as quickly as possible.”

“I’m sorry, Treasurer. I’m sorry, Adam.”

“I’m sorry for everything… … … .”

………I am.

I thought the chairman was a level 8 superhuman, and a being who lived for over 100 years. Although he lacks a lot of economic sense and management skills, I never thought he would have such weaknesses.

But in the end, the chairman was also a person. A person who tried to change, had dreams, and kept the belongings of his colleagues. And a person who shed tears.

That’s why.

“Chairman, if you keep dragging it out like this, what will change?”

“Finance… … Manager?”

“Of course, the chairman is very gullible, lacks many abilities, and is often frustrating. When I first took on the position of finance director, I seriously thought about running away in the middle of the night because there was so much work to do.”

“… … … … … .”

“But are all the current problems the Chairman’s fault?”

This rooftop offers a full view of the academy.

Countless buildings, such as classrooms and research labs, cheering arenas and duel arenas, forests and artificial lakes, streets where students run around laughing, markets, stores, and more.

This entire vast academy.

It consists of all of the chairman’s assets.

“It is rare for someone to pour all their wealth into a dream. Especially if it is an educational institution that does not make more money.”

“… … … .”

“The chairman always thought of the academy and the students. That is not something that anyone can do.”

Even I couldn’t have done something like the chairman right away. I was just an ordinary student.

No matter what the current results are, no one can belittle the Chairman’s dreams, beliefs, and efforts.

Of course I do too.

“A mistake? You did. Mistakes? You made a lot. Problems? There are mountains of things to solve in the future.”

“Minister of Finance… … … .”

“But this academy and the chairman’s dream have not yet been ruined. It’s late, but the chairman and I are trying to do something about it.”

Just like what happened with Professor Alon last time, I’ve also let go of my beliefs a little bit.

There, I don’t even have to leave work, but the chairman stays in the chairman’s office and devotes himself to work.

Of course, the chairman is a level 8 superhuman and I’m only a level 1, but it’s not normal for the chairman to work almost nonstop.

“Anyway, I’ll give it a try. I’ll run until I’m out of breath. And if I fail, then it’s okay to cry.”

“… … … … .”

“As the finance director of the academy, I will do my best until the end and make sure that the chairman’s dream does not crumble. I will keep this academy alive… … … I will definitely make it a lifelong job.”

A job for life. A sweet life after resolving the crisis of bankruptcy.

That’s what I want too. That was the reason I decided to do a proper job as the Minister of Finance in the first place.

But why is that?

I am watching the chairman closely, who never gives up on his dreams and sticks to his beliefs… … Hmm.

‘I don’t know what to say.’

Well, anyway.

Maybe it’s because I’m not used to this kind of thing, but I’m not very good at speaking.

I just wanted to help the chairman’s dream.

I don’t think it’s right to just leave it to break like this.

“So stop crying and shouldn’t you be receiving the salary cut report now?”

“… … I’m sorry, Minister of Finance. I’m always sorry. ”

“Please stop saying sorry. I’m sick of it.”

“I’m sorry I’m going to keep making you suffer, Adam.”

The chairman looked up at me as he said those words, his tears having stopped and he was smiling quite brightly.

I took a cigarette out of my pocket and put it in my mouth. I turned my head away because I felt a little uncomfortable looking at the chairman.

I feel so embarrassed.

I feel strangely awkward and embarrassed.

“Hey, Minister of Finance? Why aren’t you looking at me?”

“I’m going to smoke a cigarette for a moment. Come towards me and inhale the smoke.”

“Look. Doesn’t this hat suit me quite well? I originally bought it to wear, but my colleague took it away. Don’t you have something to say?”

“Yes, yes, it suits you well.”

“Shouldn’t you at least look and talk? I’ll close my eyes. Look quickly.”

“I can’t hear you, I can’t hear you.”

While smoking a precious cigarette and avoiding eye contact.

The chairman has now returned to the form I know.

This is also very different from her ‘original personality’ as she said.

“Thank you, Minister of Finance.”

“Is it thanks this time?”

“There was no one to talk about this. We were originally a community of shared destiny, but now we’ve become even closer?”

“It is truly an honor.”

Why is that?

It seemed like it would be difficult to properly face the chairman for a while… …