Good News and Bad News
Good news and bad news —Thud! As I flung open the lounge door and stepped outside, a massive carriage stood waiting. —Neigh! Neigh! The two-headed carriage horses snorted restlessly. They looked as though they had galloped a long distance in a hurry. True to its enormous size, the attached cargo cart at the rear was equally huge. Inside, crude wooden crates were stacked in neat rows. There seemed to be twice as much as the first time I received supplies. These were probably the ingredients and kitchen tools I had ordered. It was truly a moment of overwhelming emotion.
“Waaah! As expected……!” Scribbles on a blank check turning into reality—what else could this be but real magic? It felt more thrilling than receiving any ordinary delivery. The heart-pounding excitement made my chest swell and sent waves of exhilaration through me.
It was while I stood there, unable to tear my eyes away from the carriage, that a voice interrupted.
“Ahem! Hey, Breeder? Planning to just stare at the cart while a dwarf’s standing right here?”
“Ah, sorry.”
Johnson, who had driven the carriage, raised his thick eyebrows and made no effort to hide his displeasure.
“Huhu, don’t be so hard on him, Johnson. I would’ve reacted the same way.”
“Huh? Manager Erdin came along too?”
An elf chuckled beside Johnson. Administration Manager Erdin waved at me.
“Long time no see, Breeder.”
“Ah, yes. Have you been well? By the way, what brings you here, Manager Erdin……?”
Only then did I notice the two different races standing beside the cart. A dwarf and an elf, side by side. It was rare to see both managers together in one place.
“We came to help you, Breeder. I also have a few things to review.”
“Ah, I see.”
Johnson was probably here to verify the ordered goods, while Erdin had come to inspect the facilities slated for replacement. If I had to compare, it was like an on-site installation technician. Though that role suited a dwarf far better……
“Let’s move the supplies first. We don’t have time. Understood?”
“Yes! Of course! What should I unload first?”
“Heh… So humans do know how to smile after all.”
“What do you mean all of a sudden?”
“What do you mean? Your smiling face—I’m seeing it for the first time.”
“Me? Smiling?”
“Yeah! Every time I saw you before, you looked like you were dying. I figured all humans were like that, but apparently not.”
Johnson kept chuckling, clearly finding my lively expression odd, and tossed out one joke after another. He thought I hadn’t smiled because I couldn’t. Don’t make me laugh. I’m a cheerful person by nature. But why had I always worn that dying expression? Try working here yourselves—you’d be crying, not laughing.
“Who frowns in front of a delivery? Anyway, let’s just unload the cargo already!”
“Huh? Delivery? What’s that?”
“Ah, never mind. I’ll climb up and start unloading first!”
—Hop! I scrambled onto the carriage cart, shaking off the last traces of sleep as I moved.
“Heh, seeing you this happy makes me feel unnecessarily guilty……”
*
It took less than an hour to move all the ingredients into the warehouse. That was thanks to Johnson and Erdin helping out personally, even though they were managers. They said they couldn’t bring other staff because everyone else was busy with their own work. The security department, which usually provided extra hands for labor, was apparently swamped as well. After finishing the supply organization, we sat inside to rest. Both Johnson and Erdin looked quite tired.
“Breeder? I already checked the items while unloading, but since you’re the one in charge, sign the order form one last time.”
—Rustle! Johnson, catching his breath, pulled a long slip of paper resembling a receipt from his pocket. No matter how many times he reached into his inner pocket, more kept coming out—like some kind of magic trick.
“Yes, just a moment. You two worked hard, so first, quench your thirst.”
—Clink…! For Johnson, his usual special coffee. For Erdin, the anti-aging green tea (unverified). And because I worried they might complain about drinking something hot after sweating, I also brought cool water. How could I not do at least this much for the people helping me set up this new place? Feeling good, I took extra care in preparing everything.
—Rustle, rustle! I also brought out some of the hardtack I had baked yesterday so they could try it. After arranging several pieces neatly on a small plate, it looked quite presentable.
“There’s quite a lot today.”
“You’re as meticulous as ever, Breeder. I was just getting thirsty, so I’ll enjoy this.”
“Don’t mention it. I’m the one who should be grateful for your help.”
After finishing the table setup, I immediately turned my attention to the order form. There were so many items that I was tempted to just sign it, but signing always required caution. I slowly read through each line one by one. I was genuinely curious about what new things had arrived. It felt like unboxing a brand-new gadget.
The order form listed countless items. The usual coffee and tea were there, of course, along with various supplementary ingredients—eggs, milk, butter, soda, and the like.
“Oh, there are cacao beans too?”
“Ah, right. Instead of processed chocolate, I brought those.”
“Didn’t you say they were expensive last time? There’s quite a lot.”
“Apparently cacao prices on the continent crashed recently or something. Thanks to that, I managed to get quite a bit.”
Perfect. Later, I could try making homemade chocolate following the dessert recipe.
“…Hmm? But something feels off.”
While staring at the order form, I sensed something strange. I had almost signed it without thinking. Good thing I checked carefully.
“Haa, so you finally noticed?”
“Huh? What do you mean? And more importantly, why…… why aren’t there any kitchen tools listed? It’s all just ingredients.”
Exactly as I said. There were no kitchen tools. Not even a simple wooden cutting board. I hadn’t expected anything grand, but nothing at all?
“Hmm, hmm…! I was planning to tell you from the start, but you were so excited that I couldn’t bring it up easily.”
Erdin let out a cough and set down his teacup at my reaction. His tone suggested there was more to the story.
“Huh? Was there some kind of problem?”
“Hey, Breeder? Sorry to say this now, but there’s good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?”
This time it was Johnson who spoke, carefully twirling his beard. It was unlike his usual self. Normally he would have gulped down my special coffee in one go, but for some reason he hadn’t even touched it.
—Gulp! A dry swallow went down amid unnecessary anxiety. A suffocating pressure sent a chill down my spine. Whatever it was, the certainty that bad news existed bothered me.
“Then… I’ll hear the good news first.”
I might as well savor the good mood to the very end before facing the bad news. I didn’t want to hear it if I could help it.
“Alright. First, the good news… From now on, we should be able to bring quality ingredients like today every month. Well, for the time being, at least……. Ah, and I switched the coffee beans too, so check them later.”
Johnson recited the good news with a lukewarm expression. It felt rather underwhelming for good news. Still, quality ingredients were always welcome.
“That’s great. Then the bad news must be related to the kitchen tools?”
“You catch on quick as always.”
“What exactly happened? Please tell me in detail.”
“Well, the ingredients were easy to get additional budget for because the cafeteria and such have been complaining about them for a while. But the high-end kitchen equipment you requested and the lounge remodeling cost too much, so unfortunately they got rejected.”
“Ah……”
Honestly, my expectations dropped sharply. But it was something I had somewhat anticipated. I never really believed everything I asked for would be granted. Still, was this really such a bad thing? Why did both of them look so stiff? Shouldn’t I be the one disappointed? Johnson and Erdin sighed softly, their faces clouded with worry. It was a sight I couldn’t easily understand. Watching them made me uneasy. It felt like there was still more to come.
“By the way, why was it rejected? No matter how expensive, couldn’t we have brought one or two items?”
“That’s true. But as I said earlier, my approval got rejected.”
“Ah? Come to think of it, who on earth rejected the manager’s decision……?”
I didn’t really want to hear the details, but the atmosphere made it feel necessary. Probably that was why Erdin had come along as well.
“Exceptionally, the Academic Administration Department raised an objection. They suddenly asked whether we weren’t allocating too much budget to the lounge.”
“Huh? What does the Academic Administration Department have to do with rejecting it? Isn’t that a department completely unrelated to budget planning?”
No, that damned Academic Administration Department had never been helpful to me even once. They were famous for being slow and clueless, so why were they nitpicking now?
“That’s right. It has nothing to do with the tree people.”
Erdin continued as if reading my inner thoughts.
“Then why……?”
“Strictly speaking, it wasn’t the Academic Administration Department that rejected it. The professor happened to object.”
“Huh? A professor?”
“Yes. Unfortunately, it caught Vice Principal Benetric’s eye during the approval stage.”
“Ah……?”
“Students’ classes are what they should be concerned about, so why allocate so much budget to a lounge?”
Now I understood a little. The academy’s professors were all dragons too. If students were ordinary soldiers, professors were officers. The professors were assigned to the Academic Administration Department in the administrative structure. As far as I knew, professors didn’t participate in school administration and had little interest in it. But this time, it had unluckily caught their attention. Well, I had asked for too much at once. Even if it had luckily passed this time, it was a problem that would have been nitpicked eventually.
“Vice Principal Benetric is quite a rational and reasonable person. That’s why she can’t understand spending so much budget on the lounge.”
A miser wrapped in rationality and reason. If she actually came to the lounge, her mind would change. She was really going too far. This was about student welfare……
“…If we’re really unlucky, the budget for ingredients might go back to how it was before.”
“Huh? That would be a bit troublesome.”
So that was why Johnson had added “Well, for the time being, at least……” earlier. Taking back what was given? Those vicious lizards. How was I supposed to satisfy the young ladies in this poor environment?
“We’re also quite worried in many ways. Because of this incident, our management department is under suspicion along with the general affairs department.”
“Huh? Suspicion?”
“Vice Principal Benetric suspects that we colluded to issue a false order form and embezzle the academy’s budget by that amount.”
“I didn’t know it could be suspected to that extent.”
Well, I had written far too many things on the order form. So that was why? I thought Johnson would naturally trim it down appropriately, but apparently not. Issuing the order form exactly as written had caused this mess.
“……”
That was why he was sitting there like a criminal, unable to say a word.
“Huhu, but don’t worry too much. Today I’ll look around the lounge and suggest any equipment or facilities that need reasonable changes.”
“Ah, I’d be grateful if you do that.”
“No need to thank me. Please consider it an apology for dumping the stable work on you all this time.”
Erdin gave a bitter smile and lowered his head. Perhaps because of the order form I wrote, what happened at the stable had also come to light. That was probably why Erdin had also received an earful from the vice principal.
“…Huu, but how do I persuade the vice principal’s stubborn personality?”
—Rustle…! Erdin let out a short sigh and fiddled with the hardtack. Then he popped one into his mouth in a single bite……
—Nyam……!
“Haaaaaaah—?!”
“Manager Erdin……?”
Erdin, who had tasted the hardtack, trembled violently as if he had been electrocuted. It was a reaction completely unlike his usual calm demeanor.
“I-It’s delicious—?!”
“Huh? Manager Erdin, are you okay—”
“Breeder?! Th-There is!”
“There is what? Suddenly what?”
“There’s a way! A way to convince Vice Principal Benetric……!”