Academy Villain's Economics (1)
"What class are you?"
"I told you, I'm from the 56th class."
"What class are you?"
"The, 56th class…."
"What CLASS are you!!!?"
"Philemon Academy, 56th class, Pension Department, Magical Engineering, Liana Aishinkiore—!!!"
"I'm Yujin Feltro, Philemon Academy 54th class, Magic Department, Transformation Magic! You little punk, who the hell do you think your senior is?!"
"Eek, eeeek!"
True to our barbaric medieval fantasy world, Philemon Academy had a time-honored tradition.
Hazing.
The academy's ethos was "from royals to commoners, all equal."
Of course, that ethos flexed infinitely depending on the situation and target, but among noble kids, there was at least some basic courtesy.
I was the black sheep of my family, sure, but still the youngest son of the Feltro house—hot potato of the empire.
To me, even the Golden Duke's precious daughter, two classes my junior, was just a frail underclassman.
I wouldn't forgive some bug trying to slander her senior!!
…In reality, back on Earth, pulling this shit would've gotten me fucked.
It's been years since I graduated, after all.
"Kidding. Whoa~ I had no idea the famous Golden Duke's daughter was my junior."
I quickly dropped the act, softening my expression and voice.
Liana's face twisted oddly as she realized it had all been a performance.
Like, "What the hell is this guy?"
"Anyway, yeah, I'm a total flunk-out… but the other rumors are all exaggerated."
"Even the one where you brutally toyed with the student council president? From what I heard, they were so shocked they skipped academy for four days straight…."
"You all know that's total BS, right! I was hounded by all sorts of slander!"
"Hmmm…."
"There were extenuating circumstances, and it got blown way out of proportion. That guy had no friends and wandered alone for four years anyway."
Liana still eyed me suspiciously, but she let out a sigh and got back to business.
"Anyway… that doesn't change the fact that you developed this game, Librarian Yujin."
"Just Yujin is fine, Lady Liana."
"I'll gladly take the familiarity. Yes, Sir Yujin. Anyway, Path of Gold isn't really selling a product—it's selling an activity… So even if it's a high-end item, once it catches on, knockoffs will pop up no matter what."
"Spot on."
"Hold on, wait. Then we need to rethink the revenue model? Like you said, if we slash production costs to the bone and flood the market…."
She tapped the desk with her fingers—tap tap tap.
"At 3 silver coins retail?"
"Hmm… Factoring in my production costs, that'd net about 2 silver profit each."
Per the last census, the capital had around 498,000 residents.
Even if only a third bought in, the profits would dwarf what her guild made on spices, silk, or porcelain.
Of course, 3 silver wasn't chump change for commoners scraping by day-to-day.
But this was a four-player game. Word of mouth spreads, and families could pool for bulk buys. Four households splitting one? Drops to 90 coppers per family.
Especially with the empire's exploding demand for culture lately—a game from the library librarian would cause a massive stir.
Liana's face showed she'd clocked it too.
"Perfect. That works. Let's start rolling it out to the nobles, then. Same terms?"
"Deal. Any advance?"
"Unexpectedly materialistic for your looks. It's one of my strong suits, so… how about 20 gold?"
The deal closed clean.
I shook her hand with a grin.
Now I could cover the public funds I'd "borrowed" before payday.
Our beautiful, venerable, great, and sexy mentor was a ghost—god knows when she'd pop back.
If she found out about the embezzlement, I'd be locked in the space-time room for three days straight.
Imperial capital Romanium.
The empire was the continent's top dog.
1300 years of ironclad rule.
Even elves, who supposedly live through layered eons, hadn't seen its fall.
Territory waxed and waned by era, but the imperial capital—where all legends began—held 1300 years intact.
The millennium city every traveler dreamed of: cradle of nobles, knights' holy ground, launchpad for legendary adventurers.
Lately, a massive cultural storm had hit.
"Rollin'!"
"Nice! Tauren Islands! Perfect timing—I had to skip a turn anyway."
"Star of Fate activated! Subtly Great. That means I skip tolls—"
"Haha! Knew you'd pull that, buddy! My Star of Fate: Rebellion. Nullifies all active Stars!"
"What?!"
"Aww, that? I gobbled up your city already~?"
"You bastard!!"
Crash!!
The tavern saw its daily brawl, right on cue.
Patrons chuckled it off as routine, digging into their meals.
The so-called Path of Gold.
Rumor was, Liana Merchant Guild—continent's number two megacorp—had birthed the next chess craze: a game.
Started with rich mages and nobles whispering it around, then curious merchants and adventurers jumped in.
In under a month, Path of Gold blanketed the capital.
Four folks huddled over it in taverns or coffeehouses? Everyday sight.
Public carriages had an unspoken rule: someone pulls out Path of Gold, play with strangers.
Simple rules, stupid fun—sold across classes, ages, genders.
"New record! New record!!"
"Highest monthly sales ever—even wartime booms didn't touch this. First time, Guildmaster!!"
Liana Merchant Guild shattered sales records.
The Golden Daughter lived up to the hype—sniffed money like a bloodhound.
She was swimming in gold coins, but couldn't relax.
Her biggest worry: rival guilds dumping copycats.
Liana's guild still dominated market share.
But knockoffs were dirt cheap.
1 silver 30 coppers? That's raw materials cost! They're slashing prices to kill our monopoly?!
Strategy worked.
They couldn't match her profits, but snatching her revenue stream? Same damage.
Liana Aishinkiore didn't waste a single copper, so rivals irked her deep.
And another issue.
—Ah, Lady Liana. Path of Gold's fun, but… got any other games?
—Path of Gold? Loved it a few weeks back! But it's getting stale. Back to chess.
High society buzz—the first adopters—was fading.
Unsurprisingly, class snobbery played in.
—A game for every Tom, Dick, and Harry? Bit déclassé….
Once a premium noble toy, now pleb culture. Some nobles soured.
Sure, explosive sales and fat margins had everyone popping champagne now.
But a sales dip? Backlash would be brutal.
Especially since it wasn't consumable—sales would tank over time.
After agonizing, Liana decided to consult the creator.
Time to pay his cut anyway.
At the library, Yujin was playing alone, as usual.
He claimed it was with some knowledge spirit, but it looked like solo levitation magic on the board and dice.
No wonder he was one of the Central Imperial Magic Library's Seven Mysteries.
"Sir Yujin?"
"Wah! You scared me!"
He jolted, looking up at her.
"Long time no see, milady. Figured you were swamped."
"Insanely so. Got time? I can wait if you're mid-game."
"Nah, no worries."
"Huh…? With that spirit?"
"Just levitation magic solo right now. It got super pissed yesterday—won't even talk to me."
"……????"
What? So he was playing alone.
Like last time—was this guy all there?
Academy rumors flashed, but business first.
"This way."
She followed him into the office.
Shape Memory Branches and junk strewn everywhere—like a mage's workshop.
"So, what's the visit for?"
"This month's royalty as promised, plus a question."
Liana handed over an imperial check stamped with her house and guild seal.
Yujin went "Ooh," pocketed it casually.
What? Hundreds of gold, easy—and that blasé reaction?
Wasn't he money-hungry?
Her fleeting doubt vanished with his next words.
"As you predicted, copycats are out. Crude, but way cheaper than ours."
"Yeah, so countermeasures…."
"Knew it'd happen—got you covered. Ta-da~."
He rummaged the desk, stacked two boards matching Path of Gold's width.
Dots protruded underneath.
"Remember I said drill holes in the game board? Tiny, dense, for inserting stuff."
"R-Right…?"
Click.
He slotted it onto a Path of Gold board—symmetrical diamond around the Romanium capital.
"Expansion pack. Path of the Conqueror. Can't use on rival junk."
"!!!!!!"
"Oh, and feedback from nobles feeling iffy? Premium version too: Path of the Cleric. Same rules as Conqueror, but different Star of Fate cards. New buildings added."
Liana's eyes went saucer-wide.
She'd never know.
In Yujin's past life—21st-century Earth—selling DLC was gaming's sacred tradition….