Reviving a Bankrupt Academy: My Financial Battle

Thud!

A collision.

My head collided with the desk.

"F-Finance Director? Are you alright…?"

"I'm not alright. Damn it."

I can't do this anymore.

I can't do this anymore. This damn academy. These damn finances. These damn documents. This damn Headmistress!

I'm sick and tired of it all. I wish I could just go crazy. I wish I couldn't feel all this pain and stress.

Anger wells up.

Why am I doing this? I'm angry. Why am I doing this?

Frustration washes over me.

Why am I doing this?

No, there's no need to endure anymore, is there? If I just let it all out—

"…Finance Director."

"...…."

"Did you smoke that 'cigarette' again? You said you smoked them all."

"…I found one left when I searched my room."

"…It's alright. I'll take care of it."

Of course, the Headmistress couldn't resolve the finances that were on the verge of collapse.

However, the Headmistress, who had approached me at some point, gently grabbed my wrist.

And then…

"Haa…"

"Are you feeling better now?"

"Thank you as always, Headmistress."

The frustration, anger, and irritation that were filling me to the brim subsided.

As a human, I naturally had those three emotions, but it wasn't to the extent that I couldn't control them during work. The reason I almost lost control of myself and was dominated by all sorts of negative emotions and unpleasant sensations… was a side effect.

A side effect of the military stimulant.

"I told you. It's produced with the premise that those Rank 4 or higher will consume it. If you keep using it like that, Finance Director…"

"I know. That the side effects are severe even for a Rank 1."

"Then…"

"But I can't endure without this. Don't you remember when I collapsed from a nosebleed and fainted in the dormitory after work last year? You can't always be by my side, Headmistress, so I have to endure using this during those times."

"..."

More than 12 hours of hard work every day, more than 5 hours of studying, and only 4 to 5 hours of sleep.

I had been repeating this pattern for over a year without a single day off or a moment of rest. Although I quickly became accustomed to the work, it was physically impossible to endure.

That's when I used the military stimulant. At first, I endured with the help of the Aura from the Headmistress, but after collapsing and falling unconscious in the dormitory and on the street, I always carried the military stimulant with me.

To somehow move this body, even when the Headmistress wasn't around, to focus on work and study. To force my mind and body awake, reach the Headmistress, and then collapse.

The severe side effects caused by exceeding the recommended dosage and using it despite not being the appropriate rank were handled directly by the Headmistress.

'What was it again? She said she directly inserts her Aura into my body and extracts the side effects.'

A drug without addiction or side effects, long live Rank 8.

"Even if there are side effects or aftereffects, the Headmistress will take care of them, so isn't this pleasure without responsibility?"

"…Finance Director."

"Don't look at me like that. This is all my choice."

Well, it was true that at first, I became the Finance Director semi-forcibly after accidentally seeing the financial status report in the Headmistress's office.

But after working for a year, and even now, I was quite serious about this position. Although I sometimes get the urge to quit, it must be a side effect of the stimulant, probably.

'To be honest, it's because I've come too far to give up now.'

I had invested my time, experience, and studies.

I was going to use the military stimulant and everything else to revive the finances of this academy.

That was my role as Finance Director.

"Now that the side effects are gone, I feel refreshed. Headmistress, do you have the duel report for today?"

"I… do."

"Let's see. Hmm, there were a total of 37 duels today. Of those, 21 were properly held in the duel arena, and 16 were on the streets and in classrooms… flower beds and fountains, half the street was destroyed… the classroom was blown up because it was a magic department student… the total damage is… damn it."

"Finance Director?"

"Headmistress, could you remove the side effects again? I'm suddenly filled with frustration and irritation."

"…Should we increase the disciplinary action for violating the duel regulations?"

"Please do. Let's make it a top priority at the next faculty meeting."

It was only right for the students to compensate for the damage they caused by violating the regulations.

Considering the students' circumstances, they could pay compensation in installments instead of a lump sum. And since most students chose to pay in installments rather than a lump sum, the academy had to pay for the immediate repairs and slowly recover the costs through the students' compensation payments.

If the academy's finances were normal, it wouldn't be a problem, but this month, it was in a precarious state due to the tyranny of the Four Heavenly Kings of Finance Destruction.

What was the point of receiving the money later when we didn't have it now? I couldn't help but grab the back of my neck.

'No, but I did take care of Beatrice's matter.'

Although I couldn't get additional bribes due to the complications, it was still good news that the Building Destroyer was leaving the academy.

She was the worst of the Four Heavenly Kings, destroying five classrooms in just a week after enrollment. If such a demon attended the academy for three years, how much damage would she cause? I didn't even want to imagine it.

I did think that this year, with the protagonist and his companions enrolling, would be the real deal, but I never thought it would be this bad.

Still, Beatrice must have won against Chloe, so I could be relieved—

"…Headmistress, there's a printing error here."

"What? An error?"

"If you look here, the winner should be Beatrice, but it's wrong. Please correct it."

"Wait a minute… it's correct? I cross-checked it with other reports, and they all say Chloe Piste."

"Ah."

"Finance Director?"

"Life, damn it."

What?

Why did you lose?

Honestly, I knew it would be realistically difficult for her to defeat Chloe, who was currently the strongest among the freshmen excluding the protagonist, having just overcome her chronic illness in an incomplete state.

But she should have won. She just had to win. In the web novels I read, they always win after something like that happens. That's the cliché.

Anyway, Beatrice losing meant…

'She didn't get the pendant back.'

So she's staying at the academy instead of leaving?

That Building Destroyer? The God of Destruction who obliterates five classrooms a week?

"…Headmistress. Regarding Beatrice's repatriation, what did His Majesty Akendelminos say?"

"The weakness I have over that Aken guy is a love letter he wrote to me when he was an adolescent. When I showed it to him and asked if I could talk to the queen, he immediately said he would grant me anything."

"Was there a deadline for how long he would grant you anything?"

"Not really. However…"

Why?

Why was she saying "however"?

"He asked me if we could keep her here. He said that the recent movements within the Delphia Kingdom are unsettling, and the fourth princess would be a sufficient card to have in case of emergency."

"This fucking—"

"He said that in return, he could give us some artifacts from the royal treasury if needed."

"—As expected of His Majesty Akendelminos. The very definition of a wise and intelligent monarch."

"...."

He wasn't giving us artifacts for repair costs. From the king's perspective, the Headmistress was an unprecedented millionaire who had single-handedly maintained the kingdom's largest academy for decades.

The king was probably just trying to appease the Headmistress, who was a renowned artifact collector since way back. Although the Headmistress ended up selling most of the artifacts she collected.

But as I told Beatrice, artifacts were expensive. Moreover, the artifacts given by the king to the Headmistress would naturally be of the highest quality, rare, and expensive.

Of course, it would be quite troublesome if it was discovered that the artifacts given directly by the king were sold and ended up in the hands of others, but there was a way to prepare for that.

"Let's call the dwarves."

"…Although it's a bit much to say this, they're the best when it comes to money laundering, at least for artifacts."

"That's why we can't stay away from the dwarves, even if we dislike them."

We could just sell them to the dwarves.

In fact, that's how the Headmistress disposed of all the artifacts she had collected. If she sold them to humans, there could be rumors like, 'Huh? Isn't that the precious artifact the Headmistress had? Why did she sell it?'

The Headmistress told me that the artifacts sold to the dwarves were 'disposed of.' And it wasn't a metaphor; they literally disposed of them.

"They're physically grinding artifacts into their city for reconstruction. They'll disappear completely."

"An artifact that consumes artifacts. I can't imagine it."

"I know because I visited the dwarven city before it collapsed. It's probably the most secretive and unique artifact in the world."

How would the dwarves feel, having to grind the artifacts they earned by diligently mining gold and minerals, or the ones they acquired through negotiations with humans at a high price?

Come to think of it, it wasn't my concern, so I decided to ignore it. I had my own problems to deal with.

"Do you happen to know the quality and quantity of the artifacts?"

"Probably… about this much. It was about this much when I received artifacts before."

"Oh."

Indeed, since it was the king who was giving the artifacts, the expected exchange value was substantial. It was substantial, but compared to keeping the Building Destroyer here… which would be more beneficial?

'Ah, whatever.'

Let's take what we can get and pretend we don't know anything if Beatrice wins the duel. I might get some glares from the king, but it's not like we're receiving any subsidies from them anyway.

Honestly, I would love to receive subsidies even if I had to bark like a dog, but the conditions for royal subsidies were quite strict. Submitting financial statements and reports on the current financial situation as conditions? That's tyranny by the royal family. Every academy except ours was receiving them just fine, but it was tyranny nonetheless.

More importantly, the current financial situation was too disastrous to worry about things like the king's mood. If we went bankrupt, his mood wouldn't matter.

I used my skill as a first-year social worker, 'Postpone it to my future self,' and ended my turn.

"For now, I understand. Still, thanks to His Majesty's benevolence, wisdom, and fairness, we can breathe a sigh of relief this month."

"Th-that's right. If we agree to keep Beatrice, he'll send the artifacts immediately, and since the dwarves come as soon as we call them, we can convert them into cash right away."

"We're saved. If we get through this month, the investment in the illusion magic department will start coming in next month."

Although there were some issues along the way, the results turned out well. If we exchanged the artifacts for cash, we would have more than enough to get through this month, and considering the future investment, the academy's lifespan would be significantly extended.

'Even though the expected increase is only about three months.'

Still, after barely extending it by a day or two at a time, a sudden three-month extension… I even felt a strange sense of accomplishment.

We could try something more with this extra time. That's how we would endure.

As I was smiling at this slightly hopeful prospect, the Headmistress suddenly received a call.

"Huh? Wait… what? Is this for real?"

"...…?"

"For now, I understand. Uh, Finance Director?"

"What is it? Did something get destroyed again, or did a professor request additional funding, or were there unexpected expenses, or did His Majesty say he couldn't give us the artifacts?"

If it were any of those, I was ready to throw away my smile and strange sense of accomplishment and go on a rampage.

But the Headmistress's words were rather unexpected.

"It's a student interview request."

"What? For me?"

"Amatriuss Delphia Beatrice… wants to have an interview with the Finance Director."

"?"

"?"

No way.

An interview with me?

Why?

***

Beatrice, who I failed to get an additional bribe from despite teaching her how to overcome her chronic illness, yet still lost the duel and now had to be kept at the academy due to the king's request, was waiting for me in the interview room with a sly smile.

Didn't you lose? Judging by your smile, it seems like you won.

"It's been a while, Your Highness. It's been a week since I saw you last."

"To be exact, it's been a week and 2 hours and 45 minutes, Adam."

"…Your Highness?"

Why do you remember that?

No matter how I think about it, it's narcissistic, but could it be…?

"Heheh, just kidding."

"I thought so."

"But to be precise, it wasn't a joke. I bought a clock artifact right after we parted ways. I calculated it with that. There might be a few minutes of error, though."

"…Yes."

A clock artifact.

The clock artifact Beatrice took out of her pocket was clearly broken. The hour and minute hands weren't moving.

What's with her, it's scary.

As if sensing my gaze, Beatrice smiled wryly.

"It broke during the duel with Chloe Piste. But I set the hands to that time a week ago. This way, I can remember that moment forever, right? The moment I overcame my chronic illness for the first time."

"Ah, I see."

Oh, I was needlessly scared.

It was understandable that she would want to preserve it like that since it was the first time she overcame the chronic illness that had been plaguing her. It seemed like I had a needless delusion because I was a bit tired.

With the misunderstanding cleared up, I ate one of the prepared snacks and looked at Beatrice.

"I hate to say this, but… I heard you lost the duel."

"Yes, she was strong as expected. Even if not among all the freshmen, she's worthy of being called the overwhelming number one in the magic department."

"But shouldn't you challenge her again? If you want to get that pendant back…"

"That's… true. Well, I'll get it back someday."

…What's this, her reaction is different from when we last met.

Back then, she reacted strongly, saying that the pendant was proof that she was acknowledged, that she wasn't half-baked. I could feel the desperation in her need to get it back.

But now, it felt much lighter, as if she didn't need the pendant anymore.

What kind of change happened in just a week?

"And Adam, I have something for you."

"What? This is…?"

A familiar-looking box was placed on the table.

Isn't this the bribe box I received before? The one with the jewels and gold.

Why do you have this?

"Didn't you use it all to buy artifacts? I told you to do that."

"It would be troublesome if I rashly spent all my money on artifacts and still couldn't defeat Chloe, wouldn't it? So, for this duel, I bought about five for testing purposes."

"Hmm…"

Come to think of it, that made sense.

But didn't you say your nanny was sick and you had to go back as soon as possible? Was it okay for you to be so relaxed?

Considering the king's request, it would be good for Beatrice to stay at the academy for a long time.

But I felt a prick of conscience for not asking.

"Wasn't there a reason why you had to return quickly?"

"What? What do you mean… Ah, yes. I received a letter. It said her condition has improved a lot, so she's fine."

"If that's the case…"

I couldn't say anything if she said so herself. It was good that things were good, so I just agreed.

Beatrice, who was looking at me with a smile, suddenly turned her gaze to my shirt pocket.

"You don't have it today. The 'cigarette.'"

There was no point in hiding it since she already knew.

"I smoked them all. I need to restock them for work, but I'm worried because I heard it would be difficult to get them for a while."

"Hmm…"

Scribble.

After a moment of contemplation, Beatrice tore a page from the notepad on the table and wrote something on it.

Along with her signature, there was a drawing that seemed to be the emblem of the Delphia Kingdom.

"Show this to the merchant who sells those 'cigarettes.' They're from the Delphia Kingdom, so they'll recognize it."

"What is this?"

"I can't be sure, but you'll probably be able to buy them at half price. He'll also have them ready right away."

"Your Highness…?"

"In return, promise me one thing."

"What kind of promise?"

Half price? Considering the price of a pack of military stimulants, I could save a considerable amount of money.

I would usually promise anything, but what kind of promise was it that she was offering this much for?

"When you smoke those 'cigarettes,' please smoke them in front of me."

"What? But I often smoke during work. And with my workload, it would be difficult to come see you every time I smoke…"

"Even if not always, please do it in front of me at least when you have time. It's not that difficult of a request, is it?"

"…I promise. Thank you very much, Your Highness!"

I didn't know what her intentions were, but to get the stimulants at half price just for that, it was a great deal!

Perhaps good deeds are rewarded with good fortune. For the first time, Beatrice started to look truly beautiful.

"Don't mention it. Anyway, please take this. It's my way of showing sincerity to Adam."

"Your Highness, as I said before, it would be better to use this to buy artifacts…"

"Didn't I tell you? This isn't a gesture of sincerity towards Grandis Academy, the Headmistress, or the Finance Director."

"W-wait?"

Beatrice, who came closer and brought her face near mine…

Smiled.

It was a truly pure and gentle smile.

"It's a gesture of sincerity towards 'Adam.' Do you understand what I mean?"

"...."

"Dedication is a flower that should be reciprocated. Otherwise, the flower will wither and die."

"Even if you use military stimulants, you're only forcibly maintaining your form while your insides are rotting."

"I hope this sincerity, this reciprocation…"

"Will become a reason for your flower to live."

"That's all, Adam."

"That's all."