Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

"Such a terrifying man, just like a beast," Annelli muttered to herself, resolving to later suggest to Tilan to keep her distance from this guy. But since he was already in the fourth grade, he wouldn't be staying at the academy much longer.

"Hello, President Wulai," Tilan greeted with her usual politeness, bowing, and then the four of them continued the conversation. With Kolter's explanation, Wulai gradually understood why they had come to their venue today.

"Oh, so it's about getting familiar with the process, haha, no problem. I'll give Miss Tilan a tour and talk about the main purpose of our club's activities along the way."

The four of them slowly walked into the venue, while Wulai began to tell them about the club's origins and development.

"Actually, as you can tell from the name, our club isn't strongly related to swordsmanship. It originated back in Saint Ingo Academy, which had a formidable swordsmanship club named 'Rose Cross Sword'. The founding president of 'Hat and Short Sword' was a student who was turned down and not accepted by 'Rose Cross Sword'."

"Your swordsmanship is too vulgar," that was the comment given to him by 'Rose Cross Sword' at the time, haha."

"The first president preferred short swords and was the kind of person who liked surprises. He hid his sword in his sleeves and his boots; when he used it, it was swift and concealed, and he could deal a sudden strike in actual combat."

"But such swordsmanship, full of schemes and tricks, naturally wasn't liked by 'Rose Cross Sword', which had a strong nobility-style tradition. As you know, students from Saint Ingo Academy mostly come from prestigious families and care much about reputation and propriety, so they naturally disliked him and didn't accept the student."

"Later, he established his own club, our predecessor. However, in its early days, the club was always in a rather amateurish state, with the maximum number of members at one time being only four. This continued until the two academies split apart."

"'Rose Cross Sword' remained with Saint Ingo Academy, while 'Hat and Short Sword' split off to Edith Academy."

"Since Edith Academy had no other swordsmanship clubs at the time, the freshmen who practiced sword to save trouble simply joined 'Hat and Short Sword', and so the number of members gradually grew, and the club's original style of practicing only with short swords and daggers also got diluted."

"Nowadays, you can practice any swordsmanship here, knife practice is also acceptable, with no particular preference. For example, I prefer the mighty greatsword. Swinging it feels robust and awe-inspiring, very exhilarating." As he spoke, he picked up a greatsword from the weapon rack nearby and brandished it casually. The broad and heavy greatsword seemed particularly light in his hands, moving swiftly without much noise, eliciting admiration.

After Wulai finished, Kolter added on the side.

"'Hat and Short Sword' has represented our school in many competitions within the Four-leaf Crystal Star Domain, winning eleven trophies as well as placing top three in various small events. It is a powerful club, with three of the academy's teachers as permanent members. They provide guidance and sparring."

"Additionally, the resources and expenses consumed by 'Hat and Short Sword' are quite substantial, the annual cost is between 300 and 400 million Federation Coins." At this point, Kolter pushed up his glasses, his tone becoming cooler.

"Uh, ahaha, well, about that, cough cough, the high expenses are unavoidable," President Wulai said, somewhat embarrassed, rubbing his bald head, which shone even brighter.

"How could it possibly cost that much?" Annelli, whose family also ran a company, was puzzled.

"Firstly, there are the protective uniforms. These outfits are lightweight but sturdy, made with special Elan metal wire weaving. Even a Sequence 5 student won't easily damage them with a forceful slash. You should be aware of the hefty price, Miss Annelli," Kolter explained.

"Ah, true," Annelli nodded, knowing such uniforms, even without any transcendent effects, would cost at least 100,000 Federation Coins a piece.

"Each year, about 200 sets of uniforms are worn out and replaced, which costs around 20 million Federation Coins."

"Then there's the maintenance and upkeep of the venue. Even though the academy's venues don't charge rent, the replacement of various facilities inside and the repair of damage caused by transcendent swordsmanship use all cost money, amounting to about 3 million Federation Coins."

"Lastly, there's the purchase of swords and equipment. Practice swords don't have to be too fancy, but they should at least have the right weight and feel in the hand, and be able to withstand the infusion of magic power and the wear and tear of constant clashing. The club goes through roughly 600 swords a year, each sword costs about 2,000 Federation Coins, which sums up to 1.2 million Federation Coins each year."

"The total of 24 million Federation Coins is just a small fraction; the real major expense lies in the Phantom Crystal Beasts used for practice, as well as phantom opponents. The Crystal Cores that constitute the Phantom Crystal Beasts, with an annual consumption of about 3000 cores each priced at roughly 90,000 Federation Coins, amount to 270 million Federation Coins. Add to that the wear and tear of the equipment to create Phantom Crystal Beasts, and an estimated 300 million Federation Coins per year seems to be the correct figure."

"Besides these, the salaries and benefits for the permanent faculty advisors of the Academy's clubs aren't a trivial sum either. For the Sequence 6 elite of society, how could they be expected to teach wholeheartedly if the remuneration is too low? So adding it all up, we're nearing 400 million Federation Coins."

"It seems that the part involving the Phantom Crystal Beasts incurs tremendous expenses," Tilan adjusted her slightly uncomfortable glasses.

On further thought, it made sense. Phantom Crystal Beasts capable of briefly exhibiting the combat power of Sequence 4 or 5 couldn't be cheap to create. The cost of 80,000 Federation Coins was probably the result of long-term cooperation between the Academy and corporations; otherwise, the market price would be close to 200,000 Federation Coins.

No wonder there was little hesitation from Edith Academy in response to my application at that time—perhaps to them, 3 billion Federation Coins were also just a minor sum.

"There's no helping it. If we don't use Phantom Crystal Beasts for practical training and rely solely on sparring, it's very difficult to get that real combat experience," Wulai explained.

"Nowadays, the top Academies in the Four-leaf Crystal Star Domain train like this on regular bases. If we want to defeat our rivals, we can't cut our expenses."

"I'm not opposed to such training. After all, the purpose of the Academy's training is to enhance everyone's power rapidly," Kolter shook his head.

"But President Wulai, in November last year, when you led the club members to publicly battle against the 'Curtain of Rain' club from Crystal Lattice Academy under the Twin Serpent Bridge, we were defeated. That not only tarnished our Academy's image, it also disappointed the sponsors and cooperating enterprises that support our Academy."

"Such events undermine the confidence of potential enterprises looking to cooperate with our Academy and results in reduced sponsor contributions. On a higher level, it can even affect the political struggles between the groups behind our Academy and Saint Ingo Academy."

"That being so, do you understand?" Kolter's tone completely deflated Wulai.

"We'll win next time, that's a promise," he said, lifting his head.

The top Academies of the Four-leaf Crystal Star Domain concentrate the greatest power and interests, but they also face competition fiercer than other Academies can imagine. The proliferation of this competition is why they terribly crave 'genius', and why students like Valke and Tilan, with no background, can still receive full protection from the school.

"A promise is just words, President Wulai. You'll be graduating in half a year, right? Rather than pinning hopes on the nebulous promise of victory, the Academy would rather see you cultivate a strong successor for the presidency," Kolter gave a hinting reminder to the other.

"I understand. In fact, I already have a few candidates in mind," he responded after a moment's thought.

Kolter nodded slightly, then stepped back, bringing Tilan to the forefront.
Continue reading at empire

"This is Miss Tilan, a new member of our Student Council. Despite being just a freshman, she will be in charge of related Affairs in the Student Council for a long time to come. If President Wulai has any adjustments or arrangements regarding future activities, you can contact Miss Tilan. I believe she will provide you with the most suitable guidance and suggestions."

Although Wulai was not the sort who was quick-witted or smooth-talking, he was no fool either. The almost explicitly implied hint quickly made him understand the importance of the girl before him—a girl who might very well have a say on the approval of the club's funding, as well as dealings with the Student Council and the Academy.

What did 'the most suitable guidance and suggestions' mean? The young lady before him was only a freshman, with a quiet and gentle demeanor, clearly not someone who wielded a sword. How could she offer the most suitable advice? The answer was clear; whatever she said was meant to be 'the most appropriate suggestion.'

Sigh, if it were not for the defeat last year, why would I, Wulai, be willing to bow down to a young girl in such a situation? But for the sake of everyone in the club, let it be; I will endure it.

"I humbly request that Miss Tilan provide guidance and assistance to our 'Caps and Daggers' club in the future," he bowed with his fists clasped, showing respect.