19. A Lucrative Outing
19. A Lucrative Outing
Truthfully, Professor Alon's proposal was not strange in itself. It wasn't complete nonsense, I mean.
Investing in a rock salt mine ahead of time to secure physical goods or a right of first refusal—that was entirely plausible.
So what was the problem?
"Professor Alon. No, I'll call you Alon Beryl from now on. Alon Beryl, speak honestly."
"Honestly? I haven't told a single—"
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Pardon?"
"If this information is so good, why not invest personally? Why come to the Finance Director of the academy where you work and talk about it?"
Does anyone with common sense pitch investments to their boss? Not even to a fellow professor or a department head, but to the Finance Director?
And it's not even about currying favor with a genuinely good investment tip—he's outright telling me to invest public academy funds.
Why would I?
"Well, because I truly love this academy...!!"
"Don't lie. Weren't you the one who complained it was killing you to donate forty percent of the investment money that came in after the entrance ceremony?"
"... ... ... ... ."
"Your silence doesn't make it disappear."
How do I know? Nothing special. When the Illusion Magic Department got rich from its investment money, they threw a massive banquet, and the tavern owner simply overheard Professor Alon grumbling in his cups.
I sometimes cut the monthly rent for academy establishments when they bring me good information or rumors. That's how I accumulate leverage on professors and students of interest, to use at times like this.
Anyway, a man who begrudges even a pre-arranged donation is telling me what, exactly? That he loves the academy?
It's as obvious as a lit torch.
"Did Count Beryl put you up to this?"
"Wh-what are you—!"
"It's transparent, so drop the pathetic act."
I didn't even need to read Professor Alon's expression or catch a slip of the tongue.
A few facts I already know are more than enough.
"Then I'll ask you. As I understand it, House Beryl is a family in considerable decline—where exactly did it find the money to rebuild a mine?"
"In decline! No matter that you are the Finance Director, your words are out of line!"
"What's out of line is the shamelessness of the person standing in front of me."
House Beryl may carry the title of County, but its actual circumstances are threadbare. Decades ago, it boasted a prestige worthy of the name, but its standing has long since collapsed.
Why? They backed the wrong side in the kingdom's civil war. Yes, the very civil war that made the Chairwoman a war hero. The family was allowed to survive, but I've heard their territory was cut by half, and then half again.
If the title itself had been stripped away entirely, that would've been one thing; humiliatingly, the county was left intact, saddling House Beryl with the disgrace of being a count's house worse off than a baron's.
King Aken Delminos let House Beryl live, but in effect annihilated its standing and pride as a noble house.
"I'll ask something else. Earlier you said Count Beryl is your older brother. Full brother?"
"He is!"
"You are presumably not the second or third son. Which son would you be?"
"...The seventh."
"I heard the current Count Beryl is the eldest, so that does make him your full brother."
No matter how far a house falls into disgrace, nobles are still nobles. If Professor Alon had been proud of the surname 'Beryl,' I would have remembered his full name in some form.
But Professor Alon deliberately avoided mentioning his surname. He even wrote simply 'Alon' instead of 'Alon Beryl' on the contract at the entrance ceremony. That says everything.
In short, this gentleman does not particularly like his own family. Given the county's situation and a seventh son's practically nonexistent standing, that's only natural.
"One last question."
"... ... ... ... ."
"When is the reconstruction work scheduled to begin?"
"...Once conditions permit, they'll begin at any time."
"If those 'conditions' mean the academy's investment, I expect I'll be deeply disappointed."
That Professor Alon harbors no goodwill toward the academy because of the forty-percent donation from his investment money.
That House Beryl's situation is dire.
That Professor Alon does not particularly like his own family.
And yet he came to recommend an investment in a rock salt mine—more precisely, in House Beryl—calling it a great opportunity?
This doesn't even require deduction. Anyone who reads those four lines of facts knows the whole story.
"How much were you promised?"
"...What?"
"If the Grandis Academy decided to invest under that wonderful proposal of yours, how much was your cut? You said you're the seventh son, so Count Beryl must've made the same request to your elder brothers, too. Each of you to scout out some investment."
Why?
"Because there's no money."
"... ... ... ... ."
"However bankrupt Viscount Dabis was, purchasing a territory that included a mine could not have been cheap. That drained the county's assets, and now the idea was to secure reconstruction costs by bringing in outside investment? Deliberately hiding that fact?"
The county's thinking? Obvious. As I've mentioned before, most rock salt mines are concentrated in the north, so the newly discovered southern one holds comparatively great value.
They must have thought that if they could only rebuild the mine, they could reclaim past glory. And they weren't wrong. If it were truly feasible, that would have happened.
If it were feasible.
'The intention behind hiding the lack of money and seeking investors is obvious, too.'
Investing when you have money, versus when you don't, are two entirely different negotiations. In the latter case, wouldn't you be able to extract far greater returns than in the former?
Count Beryl found that distinction wasteful. In practice, it's wordplay—he wasn't actually claiming they had ample funds; he simply avoided mentioning whether money existed at all, so technically he never lied.
The problem is, his seventh younger brother happens to be disastrous at this sort of acting and negotiation.
"To summarize: this is not good information. An investment does not guarantee reconstruction. And even after investing, all you'd be bringing back is a mere right of first refusal. That is the proposal you came to make to the Chairwoman and me—using the academy's public funds, no less."
"... ... ... ... ."
I pity Count Beryl. Taking the risk to buy the mine and then soliciting investment like this suggests he's a genuinely ambitious man who longs for his house's revival. But he was forced to ask even his seventh son, who was practically written off by the family.
Professor Alon is, at best, a skilled illusionist. He's no proper noble or merchant. That was already proven during the transaction at the entrance ceremony.
The confidence that had brimmed in Professor Alon moments before had entirely vanished.
"Th-that is. Finance Director."
"Leave. I'll summon you regarding disciplinary measures at a later date."
Besides, the academy has found itself a measure of breathing room these days, so there's no reason to lean on such uncertain investments.
Better to pursue solid revenue streams rather than—
"Ten times!"
"...What did you just say?"
"The, the Count instructed me! If the scheme was exposed, I was to make this counteroffer!"
"So, you're saying he'll return ten times the invested sum?"
"Yes!"
The fact that the condition is 'after the scheme has been exposed' is truly galling.
...But to anyone who works with money, even gall like that becomes awfully easy to swallow.
'Ten times? Ten times?'
It looks paltry compared to the fifty-times-rent figure the protagonist mentioned, but these are different things. That was still only monthly rent. This is invested capital going into a rock salt mine.
The sheer orders of magnitude in the sums alone are completely different—and he's offering ten times.
I had the strangest feeling I finally understood how the Chairwoman felt when she dabbled in futures trading.
Because sometimes, more than grinding away at endless effort, you feel the urge to stake everything on one chance that solves all problems at once.
"That does change the conversation somewhat."
"I-I knew it! The Chairwoman's secret lover—I mean, her closest confidant, the Finance Director—I knew you'd recognize it at once! Then, the Chairwoman is...?"
Don't tell me he expects me to invest the Chairwoman's money, too.
Well, to be fair, Alon still thinks the Chairwoman is the wealthiest individual in the kingdom, so his reaction is only natural.
And yet, I drew a clear line all the same.
"Don't proceed as though the investment has already been decided. I'm only saying I'll hear more."
"Oh, then."
"First, let's assess the basics. The existing mine's cost estimate, structural diagrams, an excavation plan, projected expenditures, an itemized account of costs paid to date, and a future reconstruction report—those, roughly, should suffice for now."
"...That will be enough, you say?"
"Enough? Naturally we'll need to negotiate the investment amount. Then discuss a minimum guaranteed payment in the event the ten-times return can't be met. Then whether it's an installment plan or a lump sum, or whether substitutes in kind such as salt are acceptable—there is a mountain of things to discuss."
The reason I'd been furious about the Chairwoman's futures deal was partly because it was a unilateral decision, but also because she'd barely looked at any of these details. That was unavoidable, I suppose; it was her first futures transaction. Still, it would've been nice if she'd at least mentioned it to me beforehand.
Incidentally, the merchant chief and the trading company that had advised her on futures trading went completely bankrupt. Not because they'd recklessly tried to swindle the Chairwoman—the chief himself had genuinely believed in the trade. Had wanted to repay a favor the Chairwoman had done him in his youth, I hear? The favor came back as a mortal enemy, but anyway.
Professor Alon looked rather flustered by my perfectly reasonable demands.
"D-documents I can manage, but I'm not authorized to hold such discussions...."
"Which is only natural. Contact House Beryl."
"Shall I send for the person with actual authority?"
"No. I'll go in person."
"Pardon?"
My position is such that I have almost no reason to leave the academy under normal circumstances, but this affair falls well outside the definition of 'normal circumstances.'
If we're investing in the reconstruction of a rock salt mine, I obviously need to see the site myself. Frankly put, if I rely on paperwork and someone with actual authority decides to deceive me, I'd have no recourse.
This is, from the start, the work of a Finance Director.
"F-Finance Director...?"
"Chairwoman, are you awake?"
"You're going? To that demon-infested mine?"
"I won't be long. The academy isn't far from there, and since the mine already collapsed, a detailed on-site inspection is impossible anyway."
I'm no mining expert. Obviously I wouldn't understand much no matter how closely I looked.
But I still need to hear the explanation and negotiate while standing on-site, to avoid being swindled.
This was my first field assignment since becoming Finance Director.
"Seeing how you rushed here using illusion magic to fool even the Head of Academic Affairs, is this a time-sensitive matter?"
"Y-yes, it is. I don't know why, but Count Beryl insisted I speak with you as quickly as possible."
"Then there's no reason to delay. Let's depart immediately."
"I-immediately, you say?"
"I am a VIP with an interest in investing in your mine. How should a VIP be treated?"
"...I will make the arrangements right now! I'll have a carriage prepared, so please wait just a moment!"
Patter!
Good. He's not entirely without sense.
As Professor Alon dashed off somewhere, I turned to face the Chairwoman, who had at some point gotten up.
I could tell just from her expression. She was about to tell me not to go.
"Finance Director... why do you insist on going to that mine...?"
"You heard as well, Chairwoman. Ten times is a figure well worth investigating, personal feelings aside."
"B-but."
"... ... ... And."
Ah, hell.
I don't know.
"I don't like the way you keep trembling over a mine like that. That's why."
"Finance Director...?"
"Wait for me. I'll wrap this up cleanly and come back. Let's continue the conversation we were having in the room, when I return."
The Chairwoman was in the wrong. That's true. But even so, watching her shake and tremble like that... I don't want to see it. That's all. I've brought up the mine often enough myself, but I hadn't realized it made her this fragile.
If I settle this once and for all, she won't have to suffer a trauma every time the mine gets mentioned.
And I need a little time to think about the confession. I wanted to get some fresh air on this field trip.
"At the very least, let me accompany—"
"If both you and I leave, who handles the financial processing? Trust me and wait."
"...Then at least take someone else as an escort. It's not that I distrust you, Finance Director, but a 1st Rank is too vulnerable."
"Understood."
Times like this, being a 1st Rank is truly inconvenient. I should've known Finance Officer Marcus didn't have a knight escort purely out of eccentricity.
But then, who should I bring...
"... ... ... ... ."
"...Mm."
"You don't want to see me?"
"... ... ... Fine."
Right.
Chloe should suffice as an escort. Final exams are over, so leaving campus won't affect her grades. I can handle the attendance record myself.
The Chairwoman looked subtly unsatisfied, but Chloe honestly is more comfortable to have along than some other staff member or professor. She and I managed the hair-loss inducer incident together at the lab, so there's precedent.
Anyway, I'm only going to confirm the site and discuss terms.
Nothing will go wrong.
*
"Rus Spero, do people ever tell you you've got no tact?"
"...Not particularly."
"Really? Then your friends must be exceptionally considerate. Who was it again? Mina Glichen? Even just looking at her, that's the case."
"Aren't you the one people tell is insufferable? Rumors about Chloe Pisti's temper have reached even the Martial Arts Field."
"Not really? No one's dared say that sort of thing to my face."
"Then I'll be your first."
"... ... ... ... ."
"... ... ... ... ...."
"Ladies, don't look at me. Faculty members do not meddle in disputes between students."
Why.
Why has this happened...?