Academy’s Genius Mage

“The company owner?”

“I wanted to make a courtesy call while I’m here. After all, now that past issues have been settled, isn’t it time to try something new?”

Ian Oracle showed his determination to advance the contract.

Normally, Felix would have refused, but he hesitated to give a definitive answer.

The company owner of Hamel was someone who intensely disliked disruptions to his plans.

This included appointments, and no matter how important a visitor was, one could not meet him without prior arrangements.

It had become customary.

Yet, Felix did not wish to dampen the good atmosphere.

‘An opportunity like this won’t come around again.’

Ian had appeared without any notice and settled his debts completely.

Moreover, he had offered to ease the conditions himself.

If he let Ian go back as things stood, he might be disappointed, leading to the potential of Ian’s choices taking a negative turn.

‘I must get the contract signed somehow!’

Even if it meant breaking his skull and limbs, Felix resolved to at least bring it up to the Hamel Trading Company owner.

Fortunately, the situation was promising.

Hamel was currently facing several difficulties.

Funds were not circulating smoothly, and they were constantly being outdone in their competition with the Bahamut.

If they could seal a potion business contract with Ian this time, it could prove to be a turning point.

“As you know, our company owner does not meet guests without prior appointments.”

“Please try asking him, you never know.”

“Hmm, could you kindly wait a moment? I’ll inquire about it.”

“Very well. I’ll be waiting.”

As Felix stepped out, Ian pulled out a magic device.

It was a brooch about the size of a coin, equipped with a lens in the center capable of transmitting images.

It was much smaller than the device used to interrogate Dimon.

Furthermore, its brooch form meant it could be pinned anywhere on clothing without seeming out of place.

This was Ian’s secret weapon, created along with Gaus.

Previously, one had to rely on communication devices to transmit images.

However, even with communication devices, the image quality was usually poor.

While transmitting voice was not a problem, transmitting images was a challenging technology to perfect.

Thus, image transmission using communication devices faced significant limitations.

The dungeon surveillance system Ian experienced in the educational dungeon was more advanced than a communication device, but it still required additional time to become commercially viable.

It could only operate within the unique confines of a dungeon.

However, the eccentric mage Gaus succeeded in surpassing those limitations by developing a new device.

『To think that something this small could serve as a communication device. Indeed, humans are a fascinating race.』

“There’s still a lot of work to do. The transmission range is exceedingly short.”

『Too much greed leads to punishment. Humans have always been that way.』

“It’s that greed that changes the world.”

While they succeeded in reducing the size and increasing convenience, the transmission range significantly decreased.

It was somewhat limited in usage, but in this situation, it was perfectly usable.

Outside the company building, academy guards and special investigators were waiting.

At this distance, they should easily be able to receive the transmitted images.

Ian triggered his mana.

As the brooch emitted a resonating sound and began operating, the nearby cat sighed.

『Tsk, I don’t understand why you complicate things this way. Why not just ask that archmage to wipe it out entirely?』

“I’ve already received enough help. Anything more would be a burden. The rest I must handle myself.”

After confirming that the magic device was functioning correctly, Ian patiently awaited Felix’s return.

Moments later, Felix returned.

“You’ve waited long.”

His face, more precisely his cheek, was swollen and red.

It seemed he had been slapped, but Ian didn’t bother to point it out.

Hamel would have been quite angry.

It was because he hadn’t handled things properly, leading to such variables.

Felix, as though trying to erase the mark, flashed a broad smile.

“Good news! The head of the company agreed to grant you an audience!”

“That is indeed a good news.”

“I shall guide you. This way!”

Ian followed Felix as he walked.

Soon, they stood before a grand door on the top floor.

Befitting the status of the kingdom’s representative company, the entrance to the company owner’s office was adorned with the finest decorations.

As the door opened, a resplendent interior was revealed.

The place resembled a miniature royal museum, filled with treasures from around the world.

However, there was no time to be distracted by the decorations.

Ian immediately walked towards the desk where Hamel was seated.

Hamel gazed at Ian with stubborn eyes.

“I apologize for coming unannounced. I was curious about the person leading this magnificent company. I am pleased to meet you. I am Ian Oracle.”

“Oh, you’re younger than I expected.”

Hamel murmured while twisting his pointed beard.

It was a rude gesture, considering his visitor was a noble of the kingdom.

However, Ian smiled.

“Though young, I am of sufficient age to be responsible for my family’s affairs.”

“Well, that’s true. I heard the news. You’ve repaid your family’s debts?”

“There’s no remaining debt with your company.”

For a moment, Hamel’s sharp gaze turned to Felix.

It was a gaze reprimanding a failure.

Their goal wasn’t simply debt repayment. They intended to take over everything from the family if the debt wasn’t repaid, but they didn’t achieve that.

Yet, a repayment certificate had already been issued.

The reason Felix had been slapped was because of that. Hamel wasn’t satisfied with more than 1 billion shillings.

“No one has ever repaid such a large sum at once… You’re impressive.”

“I was fortunate.”

“One needs to be fortunate too, especially if there’s no background. Money attracts money, as they say. Just as you need seed money to trade, you need money to make more money.”

That was not the attitude one should have towards a guest.

His arrogant tone was the usual, thus somewhat permissible.

But Hamel neither offered Ian a seat nor showed him any courtesy, sitting at his desk with crossed legs, similar to listening to a subordinate’s report.

“The sofa looks nice.”

Ian stroked the leather of the sofa and took a seat. Such behavior was not allowed here, and Hamel’s eyebrows twitched.

Ian comfortably crossed his legs as he sat down.

Caught off guard by the sudden change in atmosphere, Felix coughed awkwardly a few times. However, Ian didn’t acknowledge his signals.

“Which noble family did you take this sofa from?”

“What… what trickery are you up to?”

Hamel snapped.

With his true colors revealed, Ian also dispensed with the honorifics.

“You’ve been swindling powerless families all this time, just like you tried with ours. I thought perhaps this came from some family’s drawing room.”

“You bastard! You didn’t meet me because of the potion business, did you?”

“You catch on quickly.”

“Listen! Baron Ian, what kind of rudeness is this? On what grounds do you speak such words? Stand up at once!”

Felix attempted to pull Ian out. However, Ian raised his hand, denying his approach.

“Do not touch me with those dirty hands, unless you wish to be dragged away by knights.”

Ian’s voice was cold and weighty.

Felix flinched and stepped back.

Hamel asked, “Knights? What do you mean by that?”

“It seems you don’t know. You should train your subordinates better, old man. Do you think I came here alone? Am I crazy to come alone? I’ve brought the academy’s guard knights and a special investigator.”

Hamel let out a sigh.

He then slowly stood up from his seat, glaring at Ian.

“What trick are you trying to pull? What have we done wrong to warrant bringing a special investigator? I’ve never faced such rudeness in my life, Ian Oracle!”

There was no issue with bringing knights. However, the presence of a special investigator was a different matter. These investigators only moved for truly special cases, indicating that some degree of evidence had already been established.

“Assassins infiltrated the Oracle household yesterday. I’ve heard that the Hamel Trading Company sent them.”

Felix felt his heart drop.

The fear he had desperately tried to suppress erupted violently.

“That’s nonsense! Why would the company send assassins? Besides, you owe us a debt! If you were assassinated, we wouldn’t be able to collect. Why would we harm you?”

“Dimon.”

An unexpected name escaped Ian’s lips, leaving Felix agape.

“You recognize the name, don’t you?”

A smile naturally emerged.

“I learned quite a lot from the interrogation yesterday. Of course, I found evidence proving he’s your subordinate, so you need not bother denying it.”

Ian waved a few letters he took from his pocket.

They were directives Felix had sent to Dimon, retrieved from the hidden stash Dimon had kept.

The method was simple.

Dimon had completely succumbed to Jessica’s magic. He revealed the location of the secret place, and the mercenary group investigated and secured the evidence.

“How did you get those documents!?”

“Admitting that these documents are yours, are you?”

“No, it’s a setup!”

“Whether it’s a setup or not, our investigators will figure that out for you, so don’t waste your energy yelling.”

Ian calmly returned the documents to his pocket.

Felix wanted to pounce on Ian and burn the papers at once. However, Ian was the mage who had captured Dimon and coaxed a confession out of him.

‘Was he hiding his strength all along?’

His mind went blank, unable to fathom what steps to take. His limbs trembled uncontrollably.

“Is there some misunderstanding here?”

Hamel sat on the sofa opposite Ian and burst into laughter.

“You said the assassin was Felix’s underling, right? Then why come to our company to complain? The fault lies with that scoundrel Felix.”

“If you’re planning to cut ties, you need to do it more thoroughly.”

“What?”

“I owe a debt to Hamel Trading Company, not to Felix personally. Therefore, issues regarding my safety cannot be seen solely as personal. Even with that alone, the investigation could cause massive damage to you. After all, it’s someone you’ve hired. Who would trust and trade with a company attempting to assassinate a debtor?”

Hamel could not retort.

However, Ian didn’t push him to his limits; that would not achieve the desired outcome.

“From the start, it seemed fishy. I’d never heard of a debt, but all of a sudden, a contract appeared. It had my father’s signature on it, too. Not to mention, Fredrick, who was my father’s assistant, was killed. Now, you tried to assassinate me. Success would have been fortunate for you, but failure is what you got.”

Ian looked at Felix.

Felix was resigned. The decisive evidence was too clear for him to deny his connection with Dimon. He only blamed himself for not taking his own life.

But Hamel hadn’t given up yet.

“I’ll say it again; it’s unrelated to our company. That fool must have acted on his own.”

“So, let’s investigate and see whether there’s really no connection. I have nothing to lose. If dirty rumors spread, your company is the only one that suffers.”

The conversation continued with room left for consideration.

It was only then that Hamel realized Ian had other intentions.

“… What do you want?”

“That’s a more agreeable tone. It’s regrettable how things turned out, but let’s have an honest discussion. After all, it’s just us here, isn’t it, old man?”

Ian flashed a friendly smile.