The Academy is Doomed

Chapter 30

Feeding a group of people is no easy task.

The academy currently has a total of twelve people.

And aside from clothing and housing, the daily food expenses alone were not insignificant.

Of course, Brestle took up the lion’s share of the food budget, but there was no denying that the healthy children who were growing up also took up quite a bit of it.

‘Add in the cost of textbooks, water bills, etc….and it’s a lot of money.’

The problem is that the King of Mango farm, which was responsible for all of these expenses, has been flooded and ruined overnight!

‘In a world full of people asking for money, the only one who gave money disappeared.’

Amon put his hand over his eyes.

‘……Let’s think about it. Isn’t there a way to make money?’

Maybe ask Sloth for help?

With the conflict with her family resolved, wouldn’t the money flow if she asked the marquis?

‘No, not a chance, he’d probably send a mercenary army to destroy the academy, which is a failure anyway.’

There was already a lot of negativity toward them, so it was hard to imagine anything positive.

And Marion, the rotten Viscount?

‘I don’t expect it, but I’ll ask him later,’ he thought, but Marion only sprinkled salt on Amon’s aching chest, ‘I only want to drink until I die.’

‘Reinbelt is penniless, living on wild herbs in a crumbling hovel.’

I sighed at the pathetic state of affairs.

‘How is it that none of the teachers at the Academy are sane?’

As the only one with common sense, I’m ashamed!

Clicking his tongue, Amon lowered his gaze.

“Then, Headmaster, may I ask if you have anything constructive to say?”

Anar’el’s ears twitched pitifully as she buried her head in the ground.

A stranger might ask, “What does the failure of the King of Mango Farm have to do with her?” but Amon saw it.

A letter arrived with a scorpion informing him why the King of Mango Farm had failed.

[Your damned ritual of praying for a good harvest has caused an unprecedented and historic flood, and I demand compensation for it, and I wish you a long, long watery road ahead…….]

It was a letter from the King of Mango Farmer, filled with desperate rants and curses!

Anar’el, having found it late, tries to eat the letter, confessing the shocking fact that ‘elves are actually related to goats’, but was stopped by Amon.

Anyway, Amon muttered to himself in disbelief.

“I should have known something like this would happen when you visited the farm and performed the ritual to pray for a good harvest.”

“Hmph.”

“No, you should have split your shins on the way out of the academy.”

“Ahhhhhh.”

“You said it wouldn’t do any good in our territory, and you clenched your teeth and refused to do it.”

Amon sighed as he saw her with her ears hanging down in sorrow and regret.

“Anyway, what are we going to do now, do we even have any operating funds left?”

“Ooh, there are quite a few operating expenses……left!”

“Okay, let’s hear it. How much do you have left?”

Anar’el stretched out the four fingers of his backward right hand.

“Four thousand gold, by any chance?”

“Well, that’s not likely. I haven’t even gotten that much in dividends every quarter.”

“I see. Forty gold, then.”

When I told her how low my expectations had sunk, Anar’el spoke up, her voice full of authority.

“No, it’s four hundred gold!”

“Well, I kind of expected that. 400 gold, by the way…….”

It wasn’t a small amount of money, but it wasn’t much to feed twelve people in the academy.

‘Still, 400 gold might last a year if I spend it wisely.’

As Amon thought this, he suddenly saw something on the desk.

It was Brestle’s thick food bill.

-Bam!

Tearing it up, Amon muttered to himself.

“Even if I try to survive with the remaining money, it’s just eating my own flesh. I have to find a way to survive.”

“Hmph…….”

“Well then, Headmaster, get up.”

Anar’el stood up as if he’d been waiting.

Carefully arranging her sweaty hair, she spoke.

“Do you have any ideas?”

“I need to think about it. More importantly, the farm owner wants me to pay compensation. What should I do about that?”

Anar’el smiled broadly at the question.

“It’ll be fine, because the Imperial Investigators won’t move unless they can prove a connection between the Elven dance for a good harvest and this weather event!”

“Does that mean you’re going to make a big deal out of this?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Hmm.”

Sometimes I look at the elf in front of me and I can’t tell if it’s a prickly elf or a wisdom bag.

“I’ve had a lot of King of Mango so far, so it’s a bit hard to keep my mouth shut, but there’s no other way now. Let’s ask.”

“Hehe.”

I wonder what she’s smiling about.

“Anyway, with these 400 gold coins, how should I invest them to make a name for myself?”

It’s way worse than when I first arrived at the Academy!

I had 4900 gold then, and now I had less than a tenth of that.

As I pondered this, Anar’el’s eyes lit up.

“I have an idea.”

“Ho ho, I hope it’s not racing snails.”

If she happens to say snail race, I’ll raise my clenched fist and punch her in the face.

Anar’el giggled and clapped her hands.

“Mr. Amon, the snail race is only held once every ten years!”

“…….”

“I swear, you love the snail race!”

Amon’s fists clenched at the sight of Anar’el grinning from ear to ear.

He was debating whether or not to punch her.

“…… Okay, let’s see if you have a good idea.”

“A unicorn race!”

Anar’el’s head exploded with a sound like something splitting.

“You never fail to disappoint me.”

“Awww, my, my head……!”

Sighing heavily, Amon scratched his head.

“Well, let’s look outward for now.”

Because there’s no answer internally!

“What about externally……?”

“We should try to find new sources of investment.”

Amon and Anar’el hurried to the Gold Road Trading Company.

* * *

They say even dung is nowhere to be found when you need it for medicine, and sure enough, there wasn’t a decent investment opportunity in sight.

So as Amon grunted through the few business prospectuses that looked decent.

“Amon, Amon.”

He glanced up as she tugged at his sleeve.

“What’s ……?”

“How about this, it looks good.”

“Let’s see.”

I took the manual and read it.

[Shrimp banana cultivation business]

[Profit expectations mediocre]

“Hmm…….”

It’s a farm again. Of course, investing in a farm is not a bad idea.

However, shrimp bananas are a crop with an ordinary harvest period.

“Shouldn’t we have a modest harvest ritual this time? If we have a good harvest, the dividends will be generous.”

“We’ll definitely make a profit, but the amount of money we’ll be investing this time is smaller than before, so we won’t be able to receive as generous a dividend as before.”

“Ah…….”

“On top of that, the King of Mangoes plantation owner will be watching us like a hawk, so leaving a trail for him to catch onto is a bit… risky.”

Anar’el imagined the sight of the King of Mango farm owner glaring at her with his eyes lit up while she was dancing a traditional dance to pray for a good harvest at the Shrimp Banana Farm!

Anar’el nodded, blushing.

“Well, yeah, that’s true, and it’s not like there’s a groundbreaking way to get them to grow.”

“Right.”

Her ears perked up in satisfaction, and she held out a new manual.

“How about this one, then?”

[Investigating a mysterious new substance]

[Low return expectation]

Although I initially gave it a huge negative review score for the low expected profit potential, I read the prospectus just in case.

And here’s what it says

I was right!

“Why are you doing this?”

“What?”

“Back when we funded the Mythic Continent Expedition, I could understand, but why waste money on something with such low expectations?”

Amon tapped his fingers on the manual.

“Why go so far as to investigate? What’s the big deal about the black oil that came out when digging?”

“Ugh, ugh…….”

“And look at this, a hefty dividend on all related businesses and products when they’re properly valued in the future? Ha! That’s not even funny, they know this is all bullshit, that’s why they’re offering these ridiculous terms.”

“…….”

“Moreover, the person running the business is all style with no substance, and they’ve gone and slapped some ridiculous name on that worthless black oil. What’s oil, really? What’s oil?”

Amon crumpled up the manual.

There is a swindler who tries to prey on foolish beings like Anar’el!

What a vile world this is!

“Tsk, I don’t see anything that looks like a good investment this time.”

“Mm-hmm…… That’s true.”

“Well, what do we do now…….?”

Clearly, investing in King of Mango Farms was a combination of good timing, good circumstances, and a lot of luck.

The owner had the technology to significantly accelerate the harvest, and there were no other investors.

‘Honestly, it would be shameless to hope for another investment like that.’

Scratching his head, Amon suddenly frowned.

‘…… Wait.’

Maybe he’d been thinking about the solution in the wrong way all along.

‘What is an academy?’

An educational institution.

And the Empire greatly encourages the education of its up-and-comers.

That’s why they give each academy a subsidy every year, as well as support to help them improve the quality of their education.

‘But now we have no subsidies and no support because of the shutdown recommendation. That’s why we’re in this mess.’

Yes, we need to eliminate the root of the problem, but we’ve been looking for solutions in all the wrong places!

Rather than focusing on dirty business and investments, wouldn’t it be better to find a way to change the Emperor’s mind?

‘But there’s a big problem.’

Given the bad blood between the Drakes and the Emperor’s family, it’s highly unlikely that the Emperor will rescind his recommendation to shut down operations.

‘……But there is a way to change that.’

Yes, just one.

The only way.

Taking a deep breath to calm his racing heart, Amon spoke.

“Headmaster Anar’el.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“I need you to gather information.”

“Information? About what?”

Amon said in a commanding tone.

“The Emperor’s favorite foods, things, everything!”

Anar’el’s face paled.

“You don’t mean…….”

“Yes.”

Amon nodded, his face filled with determination.

The only way to rescind the shutdown recommendation!

“Let’s bribe the Emperor.”