Reviving a Bankrupt Academy: My Financial Battle

Crash! Boom!

"Hmm, so that's illusion magic… It looks quite elaborate."

"They've perfectly recreated a manticore. It even seems to have a physical presence?"

"They probably embedded a specific object or artifact within the illusion. It's quite advanced illusion magic, but they still couldn't replicate the unique presence of a Rank 7 monster."

"That's not important. The point is that it's such an elaborate illusion. It seems like it could be utilized in a variety of ways… Who would have thought that magic originating from barbarian shamanism would come this far?"

Upstairs in the entrance ceremony hall, in the VIP waiting room.

A leisurely discussion unfolded in the room where numerous dignitaries were gathered, including the kingdom's ministers, heads of large trading companies, principals of other academies, high-ranking nobles, and influential figures from the Empire.

A manticore, a monster that had crashed through the wall of the hall. If it were real, everyone in this room would have to prepare for death or desperately flee.

But since they had been 'informed' beforehand that it was an illusion, it became an interesting spectacle instead.

"Even so, isn't this a bit too much? A monster attack at the entrance ceremony…"

"It's Grandis Academy, after all. The most prestigious in the kingdom, and the place where that Headmistress resides. Even if a real manticore attacked, there wouldn't be any problem."

"If it were any other academy, there would be a lot of talk, but it's Grandis Academy. It's rather novel and good, isn't it?"

"…Ahem, please don't forget that the principals of those other academies are also present."

Naturally, some expressed concerns about the somewhat radical event, but there were more positive voices. All of this was thanks to the reputation of Grandis Academy and the Headmistress.

If another ordinary academy had done this, there would have been an uproar, but it was different for the kingdom's top academy. Some even praised it as a new horizon in evaluation.

Moreover, the strongest Rank 8 in the kingdom had personally guaranteed safety. If one couldn't trust the Headmistress in terms of strength, then they couldn't trust anyone in the kingdom. The dignitaries' composure was only natural in a way.

Crack!

"Isn't that the girl who just thrust her spear, Lisha Claudia? There's a reason why the Margrave dotes on her so much. Excellent skill."

"Moreover, the spot she just hit is one of the few weak points of a manticore. I heard that the Claudia family teaches knowledge about monsters, and it shows."

"This year's freshmen are fearless. To rush at a manticore so enthusiastically? If it were me in my younger days, I would have run away, haha!"

"There are students who are running away. However, most of them are confronting it, and once they've charged in, they realize that it's not a real manticore. Ah, the magic is shimmering over there."

Crackle!

"Oh, that's quite powerful. Just who cast that mag— cough."

"Princess Beatrice is merely here to 'study abroad,' is there a problem with that?"

"N-no sir, Minister."

"Indeed. There's no problem at all, outwardly. Behave wisely."

"Understood!"

Numerous dignitaries were engrossed in evaluating the students. Although their evaluations wouldn't affect the students' grades, leaving a good impression on the dignitaries would be a greater benefit than any score.

However, only a few were concerned about standing out among the countless incoming students. Only the promising talents and those from influential families who would mingle with those dignitaries after graduation. Most of the other students were simply fighting hard for their scores and evaluations.

But the main attraction was still not a particular student, but the illusion of the manticore itself.

"Speaking of which, there was that report published by the Imperial Magic Association a while ago. About the usefulness of illusion magic increasing significantly in the future."

"But that's the Empire, a magical powerhouse. In the kingdom, martial arts are valued more than magic…"

"Even so, it would be worth investing in it beforehand. Should we establish an illusion magic department in our academy as well?"

"As far as I know, Grandis Academy is the only academy in the kingdom with an illusion magic department. This method, although a bit extreme, has certainly caught our attention."

"We should prepare for investment. It would be a good idea to look to the future."

The conversation naturally shifted towards illusion magic, and talks of investing in the only illusion magic department in the kingdom increased.

However, no one was worried about the students' safety or the possibility of friendly fire among the magic students.

It wasn't that the dignitaries were heartless.

It was because the Headmistress had personally intervened.

"Headmistress, how are things?"

"It's a bit of a handful."

In a small space prepared separately in the hall.

In that narrow space, located where the entire hall could be seen at a glance, the Headmistress was sitting on a chair, flicking her hands around.

From my perspective as a Rank 1, it looked like she was just moving her hands out of boredom, but looking down at the hall, the effect was evident.

"Hey! Be careful with that sword! Don't swing it at me!"

"Don't you know yet? Look at this."

Clank!

"What are you suddenly doing…!! Huh?"

"There's a protective barrier around all of us. You can swing your weapon all you want, and no one will get hurt."

"It's true. Huh? But there's magic flying over our heads?"

"Ah."

Boom!

"Hey! You mages! Aim for the manticore only! Can't you hit that big thing?"

"It doesn't matter if we hit each other! Do you think opportunities like this come often? Just ignore it and shoot!"

"Those crazy sorcerers!"

Two thousand. Two thousand people. That many people were all rushing at the manticore for the sake of scores and evaluation.

This caused a different problem than when everyone panicked and fled. Originally, the problem was that they might push, trample, and crush each other in the chaos.

However, while the manticore was big, it wasn't big enough to be surrounded by 2,000 people. As they recklessly swung their weapons and shot magic, they ended up attacking their allies more often than not.

In the end, even with my additional plan, the Headmistress's role remained the same: to ensure the safety of all students.

And no matter how things unfolded, it was an easy task for the Headmistress.

"Finance Director, do you happen to know what I'm doing right now?"

"…I heard that the distinction between Rank 5 and 6 is the presence of Sword Qi, and the distinction between Rank 6 and 7 is whether that Sword Qi can be emitted outside the body."

"Hmm."

"And that someone at Rank 8, like the Headmistress, can freely manipulate intangible forces like Sword Qi."

"For me, a martial artist, it's not Sword Qi but Aura, but frankly, the distinction between Sword Qi and Aura doesn't matter. In the end, the power used is the same, only the names are different depending on the weapon used."

The Headmistress, nonchalantly dismissing one of the most controversial topics in the martial arts field – which weapon's Qi was the strongest – muttered.

"Anyway, I've simply enveloped the students with my Aura. It can be used as a protective barrier."

"All 2,000 of them?"

"Of course. If it were only half the number of students, I could have done it in my sleep."

"...."

It was at times like these that I was reminded that this was the world of and that the Headmistress was a transcendentally strong individual.

It's tough being a Rank 1.

After briefly lamenting my reality, I asked the Headmistress a question that suddenly came to mind.

"But if you can do that, wouldn't it have been unnecessary to leave the VIP room? You're conversing with me without any issues, so why did you bother making time to talk with the dignitaries…?"

"Ah, because it's bothersome."

"What?"

"Those youngsters are so talkative. There's no one from my generation among those gathered as dignitaries."

"Well, if you put it that way, I'm a youngster too, aren't I?"

"Are you joking? Of course, the Finance Director is different. I meant that those youngsters are too obsessed with money and fame. Every time I talk to them, they have political intentions or some hidden meaning, it's truly tiring."

I swallowed the question of whether I, the Finance Director, wasn't also obsessed with money. The answer was obvious.

Anyway, it seemed that the Headmistress had used this as an escape to avoid spending time with the dignitaries. This made me feel a bit sorry for Professor Alon.

'I said the Headmistress's time was expensive, and yet she's doing this, so should I reduce the 40% a little—'

Crash!

"Oh, the manticore illusion just broke through another wall. We'll have to clean up the debris."

"Cancel that."

"Finance Director?"

"It's nothing."

Was I the only one who saw the collapsing debris as money? The hall had to be used tomorrow as well, so I needed to contact the carpenters' guild immediately.

How much would the additional charge be to fix something of that scale in just one day? We would also have to invite the magic tower to re-enchant it.

'Let's just stick with 40%.'

Judging from the dignitaries' reactions, the investment seemed substantial anyway. Considering that the illusion magic department was revived, it was a small price to pay.

As I came to terms with this, the Headmistress, who had safely stabilized the debris with a few gestures, looked at me.

"By the way, Finance Director, your method worked well, didn't it?"

"What? Ah, you mean the top-secret information?"

"I didn't even think of that. To actually sell information about the manticore attack to the incoming students?"

Well, the most effective way to 'not be surprised' by the manticore was to know about it beforehand.

It was practically the same as leaking exam information, something that the staff should never do, but as the Headmistress said, this attack wouldn't significantly affect their grades, so it was fine. Of course, the students didn't know that and were eagerly rushing at the manticore…

Well, since the students wouldn't know the detailed evaluation criteria for their grades, they would all be satisfied with the thought of receiving good scores.

That's why the Headmistress allowed the selling of information. If I had suggested selling information about the midterm exam or something, she would have smashed my head in with that hand of hers. Scary.

"But isn't this a betrayal of the students who gave us bribes? They would have stood out more if only they had the information."

"That's why I gave them more detailed information."

"More detailed?"

"The time the manticore would appear, the location of the wall it would break through, the habits of the manticore and its weaknesses due to being an illusion construct, the seats with the best view from the VIP section, and so on."

The Headmistress's plan was to give information about the monster attack to students like Lisha and get more bribes.

I visited Lisha and the other bribed students as soon as the last meeting ended and immediately traded information for bribes. It was a deal the students couldn't refuse.

I simply added one more thing.

'That the information was leaked from the illusion magic department.'

Other students knowing the information? It was a mistake by the illusion magic department, who planned this whole thing, that leaked the information. Anyway, something like that.

Knowing this, I, out of 'loyalty,' gave them very detailed information about the attack, and as expected, Lisha and the other bribed students were very satisfied.

Additionally, I assigned them seats where they would stand out immediately after the manticore attack. They probably made a strong impression on the dignitaries.

More than anything, I wasn't completely lying.

"But how did you sell the information? You couldn't have mobilized the staff for something like this…"

"I have personal connections. There's no way it'll be traced back to me."

"Hmm."

Naturally, if it was revealed that I was the one behind selling the information, it would be a big problem, so I used a 'middleman.'

All I did was hand over the information leaked (?) from the illusion magic department to those guys. Selling the information was their own doing. Anyway, something like that.

Moreover, those guys wouldn't be harmed even if this were to be exposed… and they were trustworthy…

"Is that personal connection the student council?"

"They're just damn juniors."

It was 'common sense' for senior students to sell internal department information or past exam papers to their juniors, wasn't it?

This time, the scale was a bit larger, but the student council… had always been notorious. Especially with that junior as the current student council president.

A special connection that only I, who had recently graduated from the academy, could have. Perhaps the student council members also made a considerable profit by raising the price, but since they exceeded the initially estimated sales revenue, I could turn a blind eye.

In the end, the illusion magic department would receive the investment they wanted, the bribed students like Lisha made a good impression on the dignitaries, other students would think they received good scores (?), and the Headmistress and I secured a considerable budget.

A happy ending for everyone.

"Oh, it looks like that student is finally stepping forward."

"…Didn't we agree to limit his power?"

"That's right. He wasn't supposed to use Sword Qi… huh?"

A light shimmered.

Behind the swarming students below, a student emitting light slowly walked towards the manticore.

As if understanding that they shouldn't block his path, the students who were rushing towards the manticore slowly moved aside.

Even though their opponent was an illusion and they were under absolute protection, the battle stirred the students' blood. Even those excited students quietly, or sometimes dramatically, stepped back before the light.

Finally, a straight path opened up to the manticore, like Moses parting the Red Sea.

The student, Ruth Spero, swung his shining sword.

A symbol of Rank 6.

Unmistakable Sword Qi.

Boom!

With a thunderous roar, the illusory manticore was bisected and vanished.

Ruth sheathed his sword, having blown away another wall that was still intact.

"...…."

"...."

No, damn it, protagonist.

You promised to limit your power. You promised not to use Sword Qi.

Even if I overlook the power limitation…

'Why do you have to destroy a wall every time you draw your sword?'

Do you have a grudge against walls?

Pay for the repairs, you bastard…