Reviving a Bankrupt Academy: My Financial Battle

Grandis Private Academy.

Although its history is very short compared to other academies in the kingdom, it boasts the best environment and educational level as one of the very few private academies.

It is also famous for having the Headmistress, one of only four Rank 8 individuals in the kingdom and a seasoned martial artist who has experienced countless wars, personally establish and grow the academy with her lifelong fortune.

Top-tier faculty, a deluge of scholarships, state-of-the-art research equipment that is hard to find even in the hegemonic empire, and welfare facilities such as swimming pools and gyms.

Moreover, the Headmistress herself, born into poverty and unable to attend a proper academy, made the tuition fees remarkably low so that even poor students could attend.

It's a place where students can't help but flock to, especially for commoners, it's no different from a chance to turn their lives around.

However, in a certain conference room at Grandis Academy, an atmosphere akin to war hung heavy in the air.

"..."

"...Hmm."

"Sigh....."

Grandis Academy is broadly divided into three fields: Magic, Martial Arts, and Administration.

Within each, there are various majors and schools of thought, but in the grand scheme of things, that's the basic structure.

Usually, even within the same field, professors would bicker and growl at each other depending on their interests.

But this time, they were united, dividing the air of the massive conference room into three distinct factions.

The representatives of each field sat in the three prepared chairs, and behind them, almost all the professors of that field were lined up.

"Well, well, it's been a year. Professor Rooster."

"Professor Elfinviser? You're the representative again this year after last year. I guess not all martial artists have muscles for brains."

"How dare you bookworms who lurk in the shadows, researching magic, say that."

"Don't you two get tired of this every year? I don't think we chose you as representatives so that the martial arts and magic professors could grab each other by the collar and fight here."

"Acting all high and mighty when you're the noisiest ones every time this season comes around."

"Professor Ariel, wasn't the administration representative replaced after just one day last year? We're not going to have another change before the meeting even starts, are we?"

"…Tsk."

The banter was too childish for individuals capable enough to be professors at Grandis Academy.

But from their perspective, it was a necessary process. Breaking the spirit of other fields before the upcoming 'meeting' was quite effective.

Even if it was somewhat childish and shameless, they couldn't afford to lose momentum. The loudest person doesn't always win in a meeting, but if your voice is too small, you won't even have a chance to win.

Therefore, these individuals were closer to fighting cocks than true leaders or representatives of their fields.

They were chosen because they had the loudest voices, were the most shameless, and were the best at arguing.

And the reason why the professors of the three fields went to such lengths was—

Creak.

"Is everyone here? As the Headmistress is unavoidably absent, we'll skip the opening remarks and proceed directly to the meeting."

"She's unavoidably absent?"

"She had to go to the eastern coast for a bit."

"Is she on vacation?"

"Well, it's not a big deal, so…"

The professors, who had been murmuring at the sudden news of the Headmistress's vacation(?) to the eastern coast, quickly fell silent.

This meeting was a very important one, held only once a year. The Headmistress's absence from such a meeting could be problematic, but the professors only looked at the one man standing in the center of the conference room.

The youngest, least experienced, and lowest-ranked person in the room.

Yet, just like last year's meeting, he was the one the Headmistress had entrusted with full authority.

The Finance Director of Grandis Academy, Adam Keynes.

Until last year, Adam was seen as nothing more than an arrogant jerk who had gotten lucky and caught the Headmistress's eye.

But in this conference room, he stood clearly in a position of power.

Even the fighting cocks of the three fields, who were usually wary of each other, watched Adam with tense expressions.

And so, Adam Keynes, who had the attention of all the professors at Grandis Academy,

"Then, from now on,"

"We will begin this year's budget allocation meeting for each field."

He declared war.

******

Rooster of Magic, Elfinviser of Martial Arts, and Ariel of Administration.

The fighting cocks chosen this year immediately lunged at each other with beaks and claws bared.

"Last year, the magic department took over 50% of the budget! You should concede this year!"

"What nonsense! That's because Professor Circe of the Life Magic major published a paper on improving healing potions! It was such a significant achievement that even the royal family awarded her. We deserve a budget that reflects that!"

"If we go by that logic, it seems like we should only allocate the budget to the Life Magic major. It was Professor Circe's accomplishment, not the entire magic field's."

"Elfinviser! Don't try to muddy the waters! Professor Circe is part of the magic field!"

"The youngest daughter of the Northern Margrave is scheduled to enroll this year. The Margrave is a renowned martial family, so naturally, we should increase the budget, shouldn't we?"

"Are you using a student as an excuse to get more budget!?"

"Professor Ariel, you seem a bit too sensitive. Why, do you think the administration field, where most of the incoming students are commoners, won't get any budget in discussions like this?"

"How can a professor say such a thing!"

"Anyone would think you're discriminating against commoners! The Margrave's youngest daughter isn't enrolling alone! Several escorts will also enroll with her, and her family's retainers will report on her educational progress! Don't you understand that each of these things contributes to the academy's prestige!"

"The prestige of the Martial Arts Department, you mean!"

Ah, this coffee tastes good.

Watching the fighting cocks' cockfight from the head seat in the center of the conference room, even the bitter coffee goes down smoothly.

Anyway, the early stages of the budget allocation meeting are always filled with such unproductive shouting. From last year's experience, it was best to just quietly watch for now.

Apart from the representative professors of each field, the other professors were bound by the rule of silence. There were easily over a hundred professors gathered here, and if each one voiced their opinion, it would turn into a brawl rather than a meeting.

Of course, that didn't mean they would stay quiet forever. When it came to this year's budget allocation, every professor wanted to make their case.

The more research funding and grants, the better. The only professors who would be okay with their research funding being cut were traitors about to leave.

Even the usually timid or new professors, unaccustomed to this atmosphere, were clutching the materials they had prepared, waiting for their turn.

Once the customary cockfight was over.

That's when the real action would begin.

"Considering that most of the Martial Arts Department's budget is spent on purchasing training weapons and medical expenses, it should be considered a grant rather than a budget allocation—"

"—Enough. I've heard enough from all three fields."

Even though my voice wasn't that loud, the representatives, who had been shouting themselves hoarse, fell silent.

They knew. That budget allocation wasn't decided through such bickering. But there was a reason why they still volunteered to be the fighting cocks.

I thought for a moment.

"This time, we'll hear from the Administration, Martial Arts, and Magic fields in that order."

"Yes…!!"

"Tsk, that's a shame."

"…No way."

What the fighting cocks decided was the order in which they would be heard. It was simply based on who had the loudest voice and the most guts.

It might seem like the order didn't matter since I would hear from everyone anyway, but that's an amateur's perspective. Remember, everyone gathered here are professors from the kingdom's top academy.

And they would explain their research and plans to get more budget allocated.

I'm not joking when I say that I have to listen to and judge all the specialized fields of magic, martial arts, and administration by myself.

Physics, chemistry, genetic engineering, algebra, statistics, business administration, pedagogy, and so on.

Let's say you have to go to a science conference, listen to all the papers and research presentations, and rank them. Naturally, presenting early is advantageous.

Especially for the magic field, with its abundance of technical terms, securing the first spot was crucial. Having me, exhausted from listening to over a hundred professors' self-promotion, grapple with jargon and specialized knowledge was practically budgetary suicide.

Anyway, with the fighting cock, or rather, the representative, failing to fulfill their role, Professor Rooster was quietly dragged away for reprimanding by the magic field. Meanwhile, Professor Ariel, with a bright smile, began the presentation for the administration field.

"My research this time is on the basic structure and construction plan of a floating city. Given the recent royal interest in expanding the eastern coastal city, this has considerable practical applications—"

"—A paper on improved road construction methods. As you can see on page 124—"

"—A proposal for a new document format that can be applied kingdom-wide—"

"Yes, I understand."

The administration field's research presentations were relatively easy to follow. It wasn't because their research areas were simple.

It was because most administration professors came from practical backgrounds. They knew how to convey information to superiors who lacked specialized knowledge and had no intention of acquiring it.

The know-how born from experience was truly easy to listen to. Moreover, while I couldn't compare to these professors, I had studied for the civil service exam. I had some knowledge.

Above all, the administration field generally didn't require a large budget. At least compared to the martial arts and magic fields, they were angels. I really liked them.

Truly satisfied, I listened to all their presentations and then turned my head towards the martial arts field.

"The recently developed training sword is very useful. It can detect the mana layer that forms around the body of those at level 3 and above, automatically dulling its blade. We request a bulk purchase of these—"

"—Construction of a new training hall for developing new training methods and sword techniques—"

"—To ensure smooth education for the Northern Margrave's youngest daughter, as mentioned earlier, we request the provision of specialized equipment—"

"Yes… I understand."

The martial arts field didn't really have much research to speak of. They were the type who would rather spar one more time than sit at a desk pondering new sword techniques.

Therefore, the budget allocated to the martial arts field was mostly focused on purchasing new weapons, expanding training halls, and securing healing potions for quick recovery.

Honestly, it wasn't a field I particularly liked. They were always fighting, so the cost of repairing the training grounds was a recurring monthly expense. I wish they would develop a sword technique that generates gold coins from thin air when swung.

…Well, even if I complain inwardly, that's about it. The martial arts field's budget was within the expected range. I just grumbled because they consumed more money than the administration field.

After roughly listening to the martial arts field's presentations, I turned to the last field.

To put it bluntly, these money-guzzling hippopotamus babies.

"To develop new magic reagents, we request the purchase of the latest magic equipment developed in the Empire—"

"To conduct comparative experiments on artificial mana stones capable of engraving magic circles, we need to purchase mana stone samples—"

"For basic magic research, we require Etherium ore—"

"…"

If I were the Headmistress, I would have flipped the table and yelled, "You damn bastards!"

What? Latest magic equipment? Mana stone samples? Etherium ore?

I guarantee that just those three things they mentioned would cost enough to support an average family for 30 years.

And they're so sensitive to the latest trends that they demand too much. Didn't the professor who just requested the latest magic equipment also ask for research equipment for magic reagent development last year? Did they trade that one for candy?

Perhaps sensing my displeasure, they tried to explain the technical terms and knowledge in simpler ways, but the required budget didn't decrease.

No matter how much the magic field contributed to Grandis Academy becoming the best in the kingdom, wasn't this a bit too much?

They seemed addicted to the Headmistress's free spending from before I became the Finance Director.

Even back then, the threat of bankruptcy must have been looming, but the Headmistress, pretending there were no problems, just kept throwing money around. She's impressive in a way.

"Is that all?"

Naturally, my tone was curt. Some professors bristled, but if I granted all their wishes, we'd go bankrupt this year, not in three years, you future unemployed bunch.

Ultimately, the decision on budget allocation rested with me, and getting angry here would only harm the professors. As long as the Headmistress fully supported me, there was no chance of me being removed from the Finance Director position.

As no further comments were made, I was about to finalize the budget allocation when one professor raised their hand.

"Yes, please speak."

"…This is Professor Circe. I would like to present my research project to the Finance Director."

"Go ahead."

Professor Circe, wasn't she the one from the Life Magic major who did something about improving healing potions?

Even though she was a remarkable scholar, she was also a devout believer who donated her entire research to the church, so people weren't exactly singing her praises.

The only reason Circe could still keep her professorship was that the news hadn't been officially announced yet, and the Headmistress, after much deliberation, had decided to be lenient.

Of course, that was the Headmistress's decision, and mine was different. The Headmistress showed mercy because, aside from that one foolish act, she was an excellent educator and scholar.

But even if the church produced the healing potion, if the academy had received just 10% of the profits, bankruptcy could have been postponed from three years to six years.

That's why I was waiting for an opportunity. A chance to firmly put a leash on this budget-stealing professor.

Anyway, she was a recognized professor in the magic field despite her young age, so I looked at her as if to say, "If you have something to say, say it."

"I'm conducting research on a magic reagent that can restore damaged hair and promote hair regrowth in scalp tissue where hair loss is permanent—"

"Approved."

Magic field.

60% of the total budget allocation confirmed.