Reviving a Bankrupt Academy: My Financial Battle

There were many companions in .

The academy arc had various elements like character growth, defeating enemies, and farming items, but the most important aspect was recruiting companions.

'There weren't many, but they had their own unique personalities.'

Among the characters who could be recruited as companions, one was the princess of the Delphia Kingdom and the second-ranked genius in the magic field.

However, she appeared as one of the mid-bosses, and although recruiting her required a somewhat troublesome method of clearing her stage… her performance was poor, making her a companion who was often discarded.

Despite that, due to her beautiful appearance and ample bosom, she was the most popular character for fan creations in the community.

I remembered her quite vividly because when I went to the community to find walkthroughs, I ended up seeing tons of Beatrice's fan art.

And that Beatrice was now alive and breathing in front of me.

Meeting a heroine from the game like this,

'How troublesome.'

I didn't really have any particular thoughts.

Sure, she was pretty, but after seeing the Headmistress every day, my threshold for that sort of thing had risen quite a bit. And did I empathize with her character's story?

A princess from a neighboring country? A hostage? A half-baked mage who can't control her magic?

She seemed way happier than me, the Finance Director of an academy going bankrupt in three years. She seemed way more relaxed than me, who often pulled all-nighters for days on end, buried in paperwork. Wouldn't being a half-baked mage be better than being a Rank 1 incompetent like me?

People usually sympathize with and support characters with unfortunate backstories. But my reality was even more unfortunate, so I felt no sympathy or anything.

This hostage princess was comfortably resting in the dormitory while mentally struggling, while I was struggling both physically and mentally? Thinking about it made me a bit angry.

'Calm down, calm down.'

Was it because of the Headmistress's futures trading incident last week that had me working overtime for over five days? Even after getting plenty of rest afterward, I still found myself getting worked up and snapping at times.

It was a good thing I only thought these things inwardly. Let's keep the outbursts limited to when I'm with the Headmistress.

I took a few deep breaths to calm myself, and Beatrice, sitting across from me, smiled and offered me tea.

"You look tired. Have a cup, Finance Director."

"Thank you."

I lifted the teacup the maid behind the princess brought me and took a sip.

The warm tea seemed to calm me down a bit.

I felt like the maid was staring at me, but it was understandable, considering her duty was to protect the princess.

"This is delicious tea. Thank you for your consideration."

"…Of course. I've been wanting to meet you, Finance Director Adam Keynes."

"I'm not sure why, but Your Highness seems to overestimate me. You didn't need to disguise yourself and seek me out. If you had just called for me, I would have come running."

"Your words alone are appreciated."

If she had actually called for me? I wouldn't have gone. It was just a polite gesture, and Beatrice knew that, so she gave a wry smile and moved on.

Meeting the building destroyer, who could potentially cause significant financial damage to the academy in the future, was necessary, but her status was the problem.

Amatriuss Delphia Beatrice.

She was a princess of a kingdom. Even if the Delphia Kingdom was a small one, her status as a princess meant that even the Headmistress had to address her with respect.

While it wasn't uncommon for nobles from other kingdoms or empires to study abroad at Grandis Academy, it was extremely rare, almost unheard of, for royalty to do so.

Naturally. She wasn't here for study abroad; she was a 'hostage.'

Of course, since the official reason was studying abroad, there was no problem with ordinary students or professors interacting with Beatrice.

However, me meeting Beatrice could be problematic. It wasn't a matter of political implications.

I was the Finance Director of Grandis Academy, and more importantly, the Headmistress's closest aide.

"How is the Headmistress doing?"

"She's doing well. She's always so engrossed in academy affairs that I worry about her."

"…I see."

The reason Beatrice was sent as a hostage? I believe it was due to a border dispute. The Delphia Kingdom, being weaker, ended up sending Beatrice as a hostage to resolve the matter.

It was just presented as her going abroad for studies to save face for the Delphia Kingdom.

Then, what were Beatrice's thoughts, having become an unwilling hostage?

She couldn't step outside Grandis Academy. She didn't know when her hostage situation, disguised as studying abroad, would end. In the worst case, she might remain confined even after graduating in three years.

In , Beatrice came up with a plan in this situation.

Negotiating with the Headmistress.

'This is when there's no surveillance on Beatrice yet.'

She couldn't leave the academy anyway, and honestly, Beatrice wasn't an important enough hostage to warrant constant surveillance. She was the fourth princess, far down the line of succession in the Delphia Kingdom.

Moreover, sending surveillance personnel into the academy could risk upsetting the Headmistress. So the kingdom simply left Beatrice alone within the academy.

Every three days, an official would visit and receive a report on her well-being, but that was the extent of it.

Of course, that was only temporary.

"I haven't even been at Grandis Academy for a full day, but I can already see how much the Headmistress loves this place. It's amazing that a mere academy is on par with a small city."

"I deeply agree."

"What kind of person is the Headmistress? Finance Director, could you tell me a little about her?"

"I apologize, but I've only been her aide for two years…"

"Even so, I'd like to hear about her. Please."

"As a subordinate, I'm hesitant to speak about my superior behind her back. Please forgive my rudeness."

In the first year of the academy arc, Beatrice meets the Headmistress during the year-end awards ceremony by achieving the top rank in the magic field. Even though she was a princess, that was the only time a student could have a private audience with the Headmistress.

There, she secretly proposes to the Headmistress.

'If you send me back to the Delphia Kingdom,'

—in exchange, she would allow the establishment of a Grandis Academy branch in the Delphia Kingdom.

It was a gamble, exploiting the Headmistress's attachment to the academy and her altruistic desire to spread educational opportunities to more people.

Leaving aside the question of how a fourth princess could achieve that, it was undoubtedly an attractive proposal for the Headmistress.

However, the Headmistress refused for some unknown reason, and upon learning this, the kingdom sought the Headmistress's understanding and placed Beatrice under surveillance.

The Headmistress's refusal was portrayed quite meaningfully at the time, so I thought it might be a foreshadowing, but 'The main academy is on the verge of bankruptcy, what branch school are you talking about?'

It was Beatrice's mistake not to grasp the dire financial state of Grandis Academy. And it was natural for her not to know.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, the reason Beatrice, currently unsupervised, sought me out for a conversation was obvious.

To meet the Headmistress.

"I've heard that the Headmistress wants to spread educational opportunities to as many students as possible. She's truly remarkable."

"I think so too. She's always envisioning grand ideals."

"As a student studying abroad, I want to express my gratitude to the Headmistress."

"Don't worry. The Headmistress only wishes for Your Highness to study diligently at Grandis Academy."

"…Hmm."

Originally, she would have been able to meet the Headmistress by hiding her true intentions and focusing on her studies for a year, aiming to become the top student in the magic field.

But unlike in the game, I existed now. A close aide whom the Headmistress favored strangely, someone who wasn't originally present.

From Beatrice's perspective, the sooner she met the Headmistress, the better, so she must have contacted me immediately after the entrance exam.

"..."

"..."

An awkward silence lingered.

She had been trying to steer the conversation towards the Headmistress by mentioning her repeatedly, but I had been cutting off any talk related to the Headmistress.

Just as I had figured out Beatrice's purpose, she must have also sensed my thoughts.

I had no intention of letting Beatrice meet the Headmistress.

To be precise, I was against them meeting right now.

'Let's leave it as it is for now.'

That didn't mean I would just leave this building destroyer alone. I needed to find a way to cure her chronic problem of not being able to control her own magic, just like in the original game.

Originally, the protagonist would 'save' her and make Beatrice his companion, but who cares? The repair costs for the buildings she would destroy until then wouldn't come out of thin air.

The cure mentioned in the game was a bit extreme, so for now, let's deliberately refuse and make her anxious. Until she's eager enough to follow my lead.

When I cure her chronic problem then…

"Finance Director Adam Keynes."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"I understand your intentions, Finance Director. You're truly loyal to the Headmistress."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"It seems I can't persuade you with words. In that case… I'll have to use a different approach."

"Pardon?"

Huh?

A different approach?

"Suzanne, bring it."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The maid named Suzanne, who had been standing behind Beatrice, took out a small box from a nearby cabinet.

Why a box all of a sudden—

Click.

"…This is."

"Since ancient times, the way to persuade a loyal subject has never been through justification or logic… but through profit."

Inside the small box were various jewels and gold.

Unlike the imperial gold coins commonly used on the continent, these were smaller in size but much greater in value.

They were often used as bribes in various places.

Beatrice, looking relaxed as I was left speechless, continued,

"Of course, you must have received many of these, Finance Director. This is just a down payment, a token of my goodwill."

"..."

Right, she was from another country, wasn't she?

People in our kingdom knew that the Headmistress abhorred bribes, but how much could the princess of the Delphia Kingdom, a completely different country, know about the Headmistress and the academy?

In the game, she tried to negotiate with the Headmistress after understanding her personality, but that was only because she had access to various information after studying at the academy for a year.

She was suddenly decided as a hostage and sent to an academy in a neighboring country under the guise of studying abroad. It hadn't even been a full day since she arrived at the academy.

It would be strange if she knew a lot about the Headmistress already.

'She must have requested an audience with the Headmistress based on some basic information.'

At best, she would know that the Headmistress was a Rank 8, someone even the kingdom had to be cautious of, and a benevolent person who spent her entire fortune to establish the academy.

And that was truly all that was publicly known about her. Since founding the academy, she had remained within its walls and rarely engaged in external activities.

That's why Beatrice, currently ignorant about the Headmistress and the academy, resorted to bribery.

"You say this is a down payment."

"You know my purpose, right? I want a private audience with the Headmistress."

"Are you speaking as a student? Or as Princess Beatrice?"

"As expected of someone holding the position of Finance Director at such a young age. How many more of these boxes would it take to silence you and make you nod?"

From Princess Beatrice's perspective, this was probably a normal approach. Only the academy was resistant to bribes; in both our kingdom and the Delphia Kingdom, bribery was commonplace.

Her actions were reasonable, but the problem was that Beatrice had come to Grandis Academy.

And the problem was that she was trying to bribe me.

"Hmm, well…"

"Unfortunately, I couldn't bring much since I came here to study abroad. But I believe it's enough to persuade the Finance Director. Am I being arrogant?"

"Of course not."

Bribes, bribes.

Those were good. Very good.

After a moment of contemplation, I changed my expression and smiled brightly at Beatrice.

"However, you cannot meet the Headmistress right away."

"I'm aware of that. How long will it take?"

"I believe a month should be enough."

"Is that so?"

One month. It was quite a long time just to meet one person.

But Beatrice seemed to think it was fine as long as she could eventually meet the Headmistress.

Well, according to her original plan, it would have taken a year of dedicated studying, not just a month.

I took the box Beatrice handed me and stood up with a bright smile.

"It was a truly fruitful meeting, Your Highness."

"I'm also glad to have met the capable Finance Director."

As she said it was a down payment, I would probably meet Beatrice secretly a few more times to receive bribes. In return, I would have to tell her how things were progressing.

Of course, there was no problem with that. I could just make up the Headmistress's situation.

The reason I said a month, even though I could have arranged a meeting today if she wanted, I deliberately mentioned a month later because 'I'll accept all the bribes Beatrice gives me.'

I'll take everything I can, using the bribes to supplement the budget, and then, 'A month later, when that incident happens and things are chaotic, I'll send her back home for real.'

Mid-boss? Curing her chronic illness? Salvation? Becoming the protagonist's companion?

Screw all that.

I'll just send her back before she becomes a heroine.

That was the best choice for me.