episode_0031

The Luftragina Archipelago. Simply put, it’s a place where uninhabited islands gather.

The archipelago that the chairman holds, Grandis Academy, which is the chairman’s territory, is clearly an inland region, so how did they end up receiving the entire archipelago that is so far away?

“Krakens often appear near those islands.”

“… … Is this the Kraken I know? It’s a level 7 monster that’s a bit lower than the Manticore, but can destroy a port city if just one appears? It’s a disaster of the seas, and in the past, it was called the Sea God among sailors? ”

“Yes. But since they don’t come out of the sea, they’re a bit more difficult to kill than manticores. Also, manticores move as solitary individuals, but for some reason, there were more than 10 krakens gathered near that archipelago. So, since we couldn’t even launch a boat there, we just killed them by beating them.”

“Did you do it alone…?”

“Honestly, if all 13 of them had attacked, it would have been quite a struggle, but after killing three of them, the rest ran away on their own? Anyway, thanks to that, I gave ownership of the Kraken in case it came back again.”

It was a story that gave us a glimpse into what kind of person the past chairman was, but anyway.

Because the Luftragina Archipelago was the Kraken’s habitat, there were no port cities nearby. The entire surrounding area was abandoned due to the danger of the Kraken’s appearance, so they had to borrow a magic ship from the nearest port city.

The negotiation was easy. As it happened, the nobleman’s son was attending Grandis Academy.

But the Kraken might come out, so what about safety issues?

“I’ll go myself.”

“No one can say anything.”

Who would complain when the strongest man in the kingdom accompanies him? Especially when he is the one who drove away all those krakens by himself?

Of course, the work isn’t over just because the CEO and I make a decision, so we went through another, very simple process.

So, what I’m saying is that it was just announced at the department head meeting.

“I will change the midterm exam content. The theme is survival, and the location is my own Luftragina Archipelago.”

“This, Chairman… … ?”

“There are three weeks left until the midterms, right? Submit your plans now.”

“Chairman!!”

“… … Okay.”

I trusted and left it to the Dean of Student Affairs and the General Examinations Officer.

It’s not like the academic affairs department, planning department, food management department, and security guard were completely unrelated, but they weren’t as involved as the dean of students who directly received students’ objections about the exams or the general examination officer who had to manage the exams themselves.

It was obviously a somewhat different course of action from the previous chairman, but what can I say? I had no choice but to criticize him.

Before looking at the chairman with proud eyes, who seemed to have evolved into darkness in a slightly different direction.

I spoke quietly with the head of the food management department next to the despairing student council president and the discouraged general examination officer.

“As you know, this time you only need to prepare the basic survival kit, you don’t need anything else. Other than that, you know it well.”

“Of course. But I have a question. If the midterms are conducted like this, wouldn’t more than 70% of the academy students be sent to a deserted island?”

“That’s right.”

“I roughly calculated it and the expected cost is less than 1/10th of the cost of the last midterm exam. This is… … a coincidence, right?”

“Of course it was a coincidence. As the Minister of Finance, you could say I was lucky.”

“… … Okay.”

The Food Materials Management Manager’s eyes have changed slightly, but if they save money, it’s a good thing for the Food Materials Management Department as well. Isn’t this mutual assistance?

The expected problems are the student council and examination officers who will be working crazy overtime for the remaining three weeks including field trips and writing new plans, the stress of the academy students, many of whom are children of nobles, and the nobles having to pass through ‘that’ chairman’s territory, and the level of objections and complaints from the students during the exams?

It wasn’t much. Instead, we saved a lot of money.

Moreover, I have already thought of a rough solution to those problems.

“By any chance, is the Minister of Finance going to the island too?”

“Yes? Why would I go there? It’s so hot and humid and annoying and there are a lot of mosquitoes. Of course I have to turn on the air conditioning and work at the academy.”

“… … Minister of Finance?”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“The Minister of Finance, please follow me.”

“… … … Yes?”

No, wait a minute.

This is not the story.

I desperately tried to keep my composure and glanced at the chairman, but he just smiled and nodded.

“I would like to ask the other department heads, except for the General Examinations Director and the Finance Director, to attend the Academy. Even if it is only for a week.”

“”””I will follow your orders.””◦””

“Okay, Chairman.”

“No sleep───.”

“The meeting is over! Everyone, go back!”

Adam Keynes, Secretary of the Treasury.

Deserted island trip confirmed.

*

Booo …

The magic ship cuts through the water with a powerful sound.

“It’s refreshing. It’s my first time riding a magic line.”

“Your Highness the Princess?”

“It’s true that the Kingdom of Delphia borders the sea, but it didn’t have enough money to operate a magic ship. It’s the sea, right?”

“That’s right.”

Unlike other equipment that uses magic stones, the unit price of the magic line is on a whole other level. That’s because it’s a ship.

To be exact, the ‘sea’ itself, where the ship floats, was the problem. The sea was a place that continental races, including humans, had not yet conquered.

The sea is a place where monsters of level 2 or 3 appear like trash, and powerful monsters of level 5 or 6 are also seen frequently.

Therefore, a magic ship is not simply a ship that moves with magic power, but it is also equipped with all kinds of weapons to effectively defeat monsters, and it must always have at least one magician on board in case of emergency.

After going through these preparations, a port city was finally created and the sea was developed, but even that was only at the coastal level, and going out into the ocean far away was a dream that was impossible.

Moreover, the magic line that was built with so much effort would shatter like a piece of paper if a 7th-grade monster, the Kraken, appeared.

Except for the empires that were hegemons or the kingdoms that were the powerful states right behind them, there were few places that properly operated the magic lines.

For that reason, Beatrice enjoyed the sea breeze on the powerfully advancing magic ship.

“Well, I’ve just taken a boat to a place where there are no monsters, but this is my first time going to an archipelago that’s a bit far from the continent. Isn’t that the same for you, Ruth Spero?”

“… … I have never seen the sea.”

“You never know when you’ll be on a magic ship like this again, so let’s have fun. And that place? You said it was Millia, right?”

“Oh, that’s not a name Her Highness the Princess would remember! Just ignore me and get on with yourselves… … .”

“How can you do that when you’re on the same team? If you’re on a team, the rule is that you have to have one person each from magic, martial arts, and administration. And I personally chose you.”

“Your Majesty… … !”

“You’ve already been invited to join the student council. Aren’t you being too timid?”

“… … That’s it.”

After meeting Ruth Spero on the street, Beatrice formed a team for the midterms.

In the magical field, Beatrice herself, in the martial field, Ruth Spero, and in the administrative field, Millia.

A freshman who came from a commoner background without a surname, but who had only entered school a little over a month ago, was invited to join the student council.

Beatrice was keeping an eye on Milia for that fact alone.

‘My major will be of great help in the theme of civil engineering and survival.’

Even with Ruth Spheroya’s restrictions, it was only a 6th-grade magician, so there was no problem. The only problem was Beatrice herself, who was a half-wit magician.

Even in the midterm exam where she couldn’t take the artifact, she had already come up with her own method.

Everything is perfectly prepared. Beatrice nodded as she thought so and looked around the vast sea.

“The magic lines over there will each go to different islands, right?”

“Lu, the Luftragina Archipelago is made up of 27 islands… … so we’ll probably go to different places for each grade.”

“About 7,000 people are taking this test, so there are about 250 people per island.”

Grandis Academy has a smaller student population than other private academies. Unlike public schools, private academies rely on tuition fees paid by students as one of their major sources of income.

Naturally, since the chairman of Grandis Academy was the richest man in the kingdom, the tuition was low, but due to the strict entrance exams, the number of students was relatively small compared to the size of the school and the educational environment.

However, conversely, its rarity also caused nobles and confident commoners to continue knocking on the academy’s door.

Beatrice, who was carefully caressing the clock artifact that was already damaged beyond its function as an artifact and was therefore only permitted to be brought in as an exception, nodded as if deciding on something.

‘certainly.’

Get high grades, be number one, and get a scholarship.

I’ll help Adam with that, even if it’s just through my part-time job.

“… … … … … .”

Ruth Spero was looking at Beatrice intently.

“Ugh… … … .”

Millia, a commoner, is caught between a 6th-grade inspector and a foreign princess.

All that could be heard was a groan of discomfort in the swollen stomach.

And finally, the magic ship arrives at one of the uninhabited islands of the Luftragina Archipelago.

As soon as the hundreds of students on board disembarked.

“Then, the midterm exam will begin as of now. The supplies are the survival kits that were just distributed! You have to survive on this island for a week! I’ll post detailed rules in the sky, so check them out anytime! That’s it! ”

Booo.

The ship left without mercy.

“… … … Huh?”

Just a question from a noble student.

It represented the feelings of students left alone on a deserted island.

*

“Chairman.”

“Yes, Minister of Finance.”

“Did you bring me here on purpose to do this?”

“I guess so. What do you think?”

“If you ask me how it is.”

──Of course it’s the best.

One of the islands in the Luftragina archipelago, a small island that is the furthest from the land but closest to the ocean.

Unlike other islands, there was a small house built there. It wasn’t a villa, but it was enough to live in.

And me and the chairman.

He was just lying in a hammock, relaxing, leaving the other faculty members to take care of the students.

“But what is this house?”

“This is a house that was built to be used as a base when hunting Krakens. I asked the faculty who went to inspect it in advance to clean it up, and it’s in better condition than I thought.”

Well, of course the faculty and staff would have cleaned it, thinking it was the place where the chairman would stay. That’s only natural for the richest man in the kingdom (laughs) and the dictator who rules the academy (laughs).

The only difference is that I am added here.

“I’ve already eliminated all the troubles that could occur during the exam, and I’ve even thought of a way to deal with things like student protests. So now all that’s left is to rest comfortably!”

“Surely… …I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve laid down like this with peace of mind.”

“It’s only a week, but it’s my vacation. I brought a lot of food, and I told the faculty and staff not to come unless something really important came up… … … .”

Swish.

The chairman, who had gotten a little closer, smiled at me.

“… … Really, it’s just the two of us.”

Yeah, that’s right.

How long has it been since I had a break like this? … … Come to think of it, this is the first time since I became the Minister of Finance.

Although I feel compelled to stay at the academy and do paperwork during this time when I should be resting.

‘Because it’s a long-awaited break.’

There is a limit to how much you can do while continuing to work under the influence of military stimulants and the chairman’s energy.

Since it has come to this, it might be more efficient to just rest and recharge before working.

While the chairman, who had become a bit too close to me now, was giving me an unfamiliar look, I raised my hand and clapped twice.

Clap clap.

“Hi Circe.”

“… … Minister of Finance?”

“You know that communication-only magic tool I received from the chairman last time? I changed it so that it turns on in response to my applause.”

“But, why the communication magic tool?”

“I have something to do.”

By the way, I’m sure you’re listening, so why aren’t you answering?

Clap clap.

As I clapped my hands again, as if urging him on, a sound came from the fist-sized crystal ball I had been keeping in my bosom.

──Again… …What’s going on?

“Hey, why are you so grumpy? Professor Circe, if you are so angry at such a young age, you will die young.”

──That’s it! Isn’t it because someone cut my salary by 98%! That’s why I was starving yesterday too… … !!

“I’m sure that even if it’s much less than that, it won’t be a problem to live.”

──How would the Minister of Finance know that when he hasn’t even lived that way himself!

I’m really living like that.

Well, you won’t believe me even if I tell you, so let’s just settle this quickly.

“Anyway, aren’t you on island number 4 now?”

──… … Yes. But for some reason, the proportion of magic professors among the supervisors assigned to Island 4 is unusually high. Their gazes are really sharp. Is it a coincidence?

“Of course it’s a coincidence. Oh, really, who would have done that knowing that the magic professors hate Professor Circe? Me too.”

──… … … … …

“Anyway, if it’s Island 4, there must be a lot of coconuts. They even intentionally accelerated the growth to help the students survive.”

──That’s right… … But why all of a sudden?

“Please bring me some. Why do I suddenly feel like eating coconut? Just give me about 20.”

──Oh, my God… … !!!

“Hey, if you want, you can just quit the academy. Then, rumors about Professor Circe could spread throughout this kingdom, the empire, and even the Holy Land. Oh, and did you read the precautions when signing the contract regarding the hair loss treatment research ratio? ”

──… … Precautions?

“If you leave the academy before completing your research, you will only have to pay a penalty equivalent to all the materials, supplies, and equipment you used up until then, and a percentage of the expected profits that could have been generated from your hair loss research. It’s not a big deal, right?”

──… … … …

“If you are going to close it, please tell me right away. The CEO is right here, so we can fix it right away!”

──… … Coconut, I’ll pick it.

“Please make a hole and insert a straw.”

──No, what is that?

Stop.

I think he was going to say something at the end, but he cut me off. If you’re going to get carried away, just stop.

“This solves the snack problem, Chairman.”

“… … … .”

“Chairman?”

“No, nothing… …no.”

Why are you acting like that all of a sudden? You were a little upset and turned around, then right next to me you went back to your original spot.

Since the incident on the rooftop, it seems like it’s become more difficult to understand the chairman’s mind.

‘I don’t know.’

Let’s just sleep until Circe brings us the coconuts.

I felt the chairman’s gaze strangely looking this way.

I quietly fell into dreamland.

It was a sweet, sweet sleep that I felt after a long time.