Reviving a Bankrupt Academy: My Financial Battle

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After parting ways with Princess Beatrice, I changed my course towards my office instead of meeting the other bribery candidates as originally planned.

There was no particular reason, other than the fact that the bribery box was ridiculously heavy.

'That maid carried this thing like it was nothing!?'

It seemed the box contained gems like gravity stones and condensation stones, which were incredibly heavy for their size. The palm-sized box must have weighed well over 20kg.

Am I supposed to walk around with this to meet other candidates? The bribery plan only needs to be completed before the entrance ceremony anyway. I decided to visit them tomorrow and focused on moving the box first.

Damn this body. If I were at least Rank 2, I could have easily carried this.

It was impossible not to stand out, sweating profusely while struggling to carry a small box in a place crowded with students. Trying my best to appear casual, I somehow managed to reach my office.

This is ridiculously heavy.

Thud!

Finally arriving at my office next to the Headmistress's, I placed the box on the table with a thud that echoed its weight.

Wiping away the sweat and shaking my hands, I gazed at the jewels inside the box.

How do I handle this?

This was different from Lisha's bribe. Since Lisha was from the same kingdom, I could use various channels to secretly transport gold.

But Beatrice, being from another country, only had the jewels she brought when she was taken hostage.

And of course, I couldn't use these jewels directly in the budget. To use them for research expenses, labor costs, repair costs, maintenance costs, and so on, I had to exchange them for gold somehow.

Should I use the Headmistress's connections?

My gaze drifted towards the Headmistress's office, imagining her buried under a mountain of paperwork next door, but I quickly dismissed the idea.

That would be an easy solution, but it would be inefficient to go through the Headmistress every time I received jewels from Beatrice.

It wasn't a matter of conscience about constantly asking for help. It was purely a matter of efficiency.

It would be much faster to visit a jeweler in the next town than to rely on the Headmistress's connections.

However, using the Headmistress's connections might allow me to sell the jewels for a higher price than an ordinary jeweler would offer. But then, it would take time to exchange them.

What should I do? I pondered. Is there any way to use these as they are, without converting them to gold?

Knock knock.

"Come in."

"…Adam."

"Ah, Laura?"

I wondered who was knocking so suddenly.

What's she doing here all of a sudden?

"It's a summons. That guy is here."

"Huh?"

A summons? That guy?

I didn't understand what she meant for a moment.

"The dwarf, I mean. He came just after a day."

"Ah!"

"Adam…good luck. Dwarves are famous for being rude and picky."

Dwarf. Right, I called for a dwarf because the measuring device broke.

Thinking about the repair cost for the measuring device made my stomach churn, and murderous intent towards the culprit boiled up, but I held it back.

Because a good idea came to mind.

"Right, those ground dwellers were here?"

"…Don't say that in front of the dwarf."

Why? They call me a human, human, so this level of racial slur should be fine, right?

Anyway, the thought that came to mind was something else.

'A place where I can use the jewels as they are.'

And it just so happened to appear.

Now all that's left is…

…to brace myself.

***

"Bring me alcohol, alcohol!"

"…I apologize, but drinking is prohibited in the reception room."

"That's not my concern, just bring the alcohol! Is it okay to treat a valuable guest like this!?"

"In the first place, the alcohol provided at the academy itself…"

"Oh! I'm just going to leave then? If you act like this, you're the ones who will lose out!"

'I want to kill him.'

That thought must have crossed the academy staff member's mind dozens of times while in charge of entertaining the 'VIP' until the person in charge arrived.

Even though they tried their best to smile and feign kindness, the other party was so unreasonable that it only resulted in an awkward smile. And it was clear that this VIP bastard in front of them was deliberately acting worse knowing this.

About half the height of an adult man, with rugged muscles and a bushy beard.

The VIP, a dwarf, scratched his belly and shouted for alcohol at the top of his lungs.

Blaming their bad luck in the lottery, the staff member still did their best to calm the dwarf down.

"Grandis Academy is a good friend and client of the dwarves, isn't it? Please wait just a little longer."

"Friends? Clients? Watch your words! It's only by our dwarves' grace that we're putting up with your nonsense, how dare a human like you!"

Can I really not kill him? Even if I can't kill him, wouldn't it be okay to hit him just once?

Just as the staff member, enduring the dwarf's shouting and spittle with their mouth wide open, glanced at a nearby chair…

The reception room door opened and a man and a woman entered.

"Thank you for waiting. I'm Adam Keynes, the Finance Director."

"Finance Director…!!"

Although they usually badmouthed the Finance Director for being a young and arrogant kid, at this moment, he was like a savior.

Vowing never to speak ill of the Finance Director again, the staff member bowed their head repeatedly in gratitude to Adam and left the reception room without delay.

And so, Finance Director Adam Keynes sat down opposite the dwarf, with Laura Edelvine standing behind him.

Immediately after.

"It's that young lad I saw last year, isn't it?"

"Indeed it is."

"Humans truly lack talent. To think they'd send out a mere child who hasn't even grown hair down there. Why? Are you planning to hide behind that Headmistress again and wag your tail like last year?"

"…!! How dare you───"

Laura scowled and glared at the giggling dwarf, but…

Before the dwarf could reply, she faltered at Adam's gesture and then fell silent again.

At that, the dwarf just snorted. He crossed his legs and leaned back with one arm behind him, looking at Adam with an arrogant posture.

"I see you've developed some patience since last year, haven't you, kid?"

"As I saw last time, dwarves truly are a race of honesty."

"…What?"

"Just like when the city was destroyed by the monster wave, you're acting recklessly now, knowing that the Headmistress isn't around."

"...…."

"Submitting before the strong, whether it's monsters or the Headmistress, and acting arrogantly before the weak, truly the epitome of honesty."

"You little…"

"Ah, are you perhaps offended by the words of a child who hasn't grown hair down there? You, who have so much hair growing under your mouth?"

Pfft.

While Laura let out a small laugh at Adam's words, the dwarf's face was horribly distorted.

For dwarves, the destruction of their city by the monster wave and insults about their beards were taboo.

Just as the dwarf looked as if he would rush at Adam with a torrent of curses…

"…Haa."

A few deep breaths later, he shifted his gaze and changed his posture.

From his unbelievably arrogant pose, to one with his chin resting on his hand.

And with a dumbfounded tone, he spoke.

"That monstrous woman isn't even beside you, what are you relying on to act so boldly?"

"Although you all behave rather rudely, this is still Grandis Academy. Even if you were to crack my skull open, you would also be tortured and killed, so wouldn't your life be guaranteed?"

"Tsk. You're quite the crazy human."

"Thank you for not calling me a ground dweller."

"Didn't I just call you a crazy human? Anyway, aren't you being a bit too aggressive?"

"I was getting angry thinking about what our staff member had to endure earlier. Now that I've calmed down, let's get down to business."

"...."

Seeing Adam shamelessly pull out the contract as if the sharp exchange just now was nothing…

Both Laura, who was standing behind him, and the dwarf across from him, gave him a puzzled look for a moment before turning to the document Adam had produced.

"The repair details are for one Rank measuring device. Currently, it's completely destroyed down to the core. You've already been to see it, right?"

"Yes, I don't know which bastard did it, but they completely wrecked it. It seems like someone Rank 6 or higher swung their sword. Did they think we wanted to see that so badly that they just stood by and watched?"

"Fuck."

"What?"

"I was just agreeing with you. Fuck, my measuring device."

"...…."

There was a reason why I agreed when the protagonist asked for double the tuition fee, no, five times the tuition fee. According to the regulations, a tuition fee of that amount requires a new contract.

I was thinking of secretly adding the repair costs for the collapsed entrance exam site and the measuring device to the renewed contract in installments. If I spread it out among other expenses, they wouldn't notice.

Of course, even then, it wouldn't be restored immediately, so a curse naturally slipped out.

The blame was about 70% on the protagonist and 30% on the dwarf.

"A-anyway, I've checked it. To get straight to the point, the repair is, of course, possible."

"How long will it take?"

"It won't take even three days if you bring the materials. Now, shall we get to the real business?"

As the dwarf said, what happened until now was just a prelude.

The real deal was, after all, the repair estimate.

"Although the type is significantly different from last year, the cost hasn't changed much. Roughly this much?"

"Are you insane? And you want us to prepare the materials on top of that?"

"Well, we can prepare them. But there will be an additional charge."

And the amount the dwarf proposed was beyond that of a swindler, reaching the level of a thief.

Rank measuring devices were useful in many ways. Used in entrance exams, midterm evaluations, final evaluations before graduation, and so on, they were practically essential.

Even though there were only ten of them, each one was precious.

The dwarf had clearly grasped the academy's situation and proposed an unreasonable price.

It was the same mentality as, "You have to fix it anyway, right? Then you have to accept it, right?"

However, Adam only frowned slightly.

"Then I'll consider this matter closed."

"What?"

"While it's true that the measuring device is a necessary item for the academy, it's not worth bearing such a high repair cost. Ten or nine, there wouldn't be much difference."

"Human, are you serious?"

"Frankly, I'm not the one who uses the measuring device. It's enough for me to tell the students that the waiting time for using the measuring device will increase a bit."

Adam's words were the height of shamelessness, but they weren't entirely unreasonable.

It would be a different story if there was only one measuring device, but in other words, there were still nine left. And whether there were ten or nine, the absolute number was still insufficient.

Originally, if a student wanted to use the measuring device, they had to apply and wait for a few days.

Now, even if it increased by a day or two, the students wouldn't start a riot. It wouldn't cause a huge disruption to the academy's operation.

Unlike the Headmistress, as the Finance Director, he could say that he would rather endure a little inconvenience than pay such a large sum.

"...."

"...…."

However, Adam didn't try to leave the room to pressure his opponent like he did in the previous negotiation with Raven Trading Company.

He knew that such a bluff wouldn't work on this opponent, and although he said that, fixing the measuring device was ultimately the best course of action.

At the same time, the situation wasn't much different for the dwarf. The dwarves' city was half-destroyed by the monster wave, and even though more than 20 years had passed, it was still under reconstruction.

With an astronomical amount of money being spent on the city's reconstruction, there was no way that the distribution or monthly wages for all dwarves could be smooth. Therefore, the dwarves operated on a performance-based system.

Simply put, if they signed a contract, they would receive money and rations according to their performance. Therefore, from the dwarf's perspective, he couldn't give up on this measuring device repair deal.

If he succeeded in this one deal, the money he would receive was beyond imagination.

In the end, it was like a game of chicken. Both sides had a reason to make the deal happen, and they tested each other by throwing insults and making unreasonable demands, but they never left the table.

The silence that seemed like it would last forever…

"Well, take a look at this first."

"Hmm?"

Thud.

The silence was broken as Adam suddenly placed a small box on the table.

Inside the box, which boasted a considerable weight judging from the sound alone…

"Oh, oh, ohhh...!?"

"What do you think?"

The box was filled with jewels and gold, enough to cover the amount the dwarf had just proposed with plenty to spare.

Exquisitely crafted gold ornaments, high-purity gravity stones, condensation stones where objects weighing at least 10kg were condensed into a size smaller than a fingernail.

Each and every one of them was highly valuable in the dwarven world.

"So, you're not paying in gold like last year?"

"Don't dwarves exchange gold for jewels and precious metals anyway? It would be more convenient to prepare them from the start."

"Well, that's true. My goodness, how much is all this…?"

"Do you think this is enough for the repair cost?"

"Of course! Absolutely! More than enough!!"

No matter how infamous dwarves were for being shameless, none of them would try to play hard to get with such precious metals in front of them and say something like, "Oh, it's a little short."

If they did, and Adam took the box back, they'd be left with nothing. The dwarf's eyes were glued to the various jewels and gravity stones.

And so…

"Ah, is that so?"

"…Huh?"

The dwarf didn't notice.

That the Finance Director, a mere Rank 1, whom he could easily defeat with one hand…

Shing!

Had drawn a dagger…

Crack!!!!

And plunged it right next to the dwarf's face.

"Wh-what!?"

"You ground dweller bastard, do you think I'm an idiot? What do you mean this is enough? Don't be ridiculous."

"You crazy human!! What do you think you're doing!!"

"That's my line. If the repair cost for the measuring device is this much, the dwarf city would have been fully restored long ago. Even if it was a small amount, you're trying to pocket all of this?"

"Are you trying to pick a fight with me?"

Crack.

As the dwarf grabbed Adam's wrist with his thick hand, a somewhat ominous cracking sound echoed.

After all, Adam was only Rank 1. Even if the dwarf wasn't that high-ranking, he was still over Rank 4. The difference in power was too great.

Despite that…

Adam only smiled brazenly.

"Going to the afterlife with a shameless bastard who claims that an amount twice the actual cost is enough for the repair fee wouldn't be so bad."

"...."

Could this really be called a negotiation? It wasn't much different from a squabble between street thugs.

But Laura, standing behind Adam, knew.

If the opponent wasn't a fellow human, but a 'dwarf'…

All of this was close to a standard negotiation procedure. As Adam had sneered earlier, dwarves didn't engage in proper negotiations or conversations with the 'weak'.

By employing such harsh measures and firmly establishing their presence to the dwarf, gaining recognition as an equal…

Only then would the dwarves drop their arrogance and engage in a proper negotiation. This was also the reason why all the academy staff were reluctant to deal with dwarves.

Not only was it difficult to endure their unreasonable demands, but they also had to gain recognition through such methods just for a single negotiation.

The dagger touching the dwarf's neck, and the dwarf glaring at Adam.

Only after exchanging fierce glances for who knows how many times…

"…Half."

"Normally, half would be right. But I'm feeling petty, so no. One-third."

"Do you think I'll accept that?"

"It just went down to one-fourth."

"I'll say it again, half."

"One-fifth."

"I don't mean half the repair cost. If you give me half of that box, I'll repair the measuring device… and give you one more. How about it? In exchange…"

"You'll write down in the contract that you only received one-third, and pocket the difference?"

"I like your quick wit."

"Good, not bad."

And so…

The negotiation that started with unreasonable demands, exchanged insults, repeated probing, attempted fraud with the repair fee, and even escalated to threats with a dagger…

Ended with just a brief conversation.

Seeing the dwarf and Adam exchanging handshakes with truly satisfied smiles, as if the threatening atmosphere from just moments ago had vanished…

"…As expected, Adam, you're more suited to be a graduate student than the Finance Director."

Laura…

Muttered the most terrifying words in this situation.