2. The Protagonist Doesn't Hide His Power

"...That concludes my report, Director."

"Miss Laura. What is your own assessment?"

"Pardon?"

"Regarding the matter the Finance Director handled this time. Do you believe it was brought to a satisfactory close?"

"I... do. I believe it was handled well."

"No, that's incorrect."

"Sir? How so."

"It wasn't merely handled well. He wrung the most rapacious outcome the academy could possibly have obtained."

"......"

"Had you been in his place, Nana, you would have simply switched the trading partner to Albatross and left it at that. In that scenario, Albatross, as their rival, would have offered terms below the original price. We would have profited from that, certainly."

"But instead, he turned back and negotiated with Raven Trading Company..."

"Half the original cost. Calling it 'half' hardly does it justice — he effectively eliminated the need to budget for food supplies at all next year. To put it in extreme terms, he single-handedly erased our department's workload for the coming year."

"..."

"Frankly speaking, it was not a good method. Raven Trading Company could easily bear a grudge over this. Yet even accounting for that, he wrung every possible advantage out of the situation... acting as though there is no tomorrow."

"No tomorrow?"

"A figure of speech, purely a figure of speech. What I mean is, he is a money-demon more than qualified to occupy the Finance Director's seat. I now understand why the Chairwoman entrusted the Finance Department to a newcomer fresh through the door. Miss Laura, you said you were academy classmates? Was he that sort of man even as an undergraduate?"

"Having grown up an orphan, he had a pronounced tendency to fixate on money. That said..."

"That said?"

"I paid it no particular mind, since everything would be resolved once he entered graduate school."

"...Cough, ahem! I am aware that all manner of unsavory rumors about the Finance Director circulate among the academy staff. I had my own doubts, but this affair has made clear they are baseless slander. The Finance Director is an excellent talent. Not because he is particularly brilliant, nor so wise as to foresee the future, but there can be no one better suited to the role of Finance Director."

"I see."

"It was customary for the Chairwoman to single-handedly manage the academy's finances, yet he was worthy enough to break that custom. I can only marvel at the Chairwoman's discernment."

"...As I thought."

"Miss Laura?"

"As I thought, I must drag him into the graduate program at all costs..."

"Er, hem."

Hurriedly averting his gaze from Laura, who was muttering about graduate school with an unsettling glint in her eyes, the Food Supplies Management Head turned to look out the window.

At the sprawling grounds of the academy — his own alma mater.

"...In any case, if it's that man, we can entrust the academy to him with confidence."

Resolving to speak again with the department heads he knew about the Finance Director,

the department head dreamed of the academy's bright future, excellent benefits, and a lifelong career with an even more excellent salary.

*

"This academy is finished."

"Fi-Finance Director! We haven't seen each other in a week and that's the first thing you say...!"

"My apologies, Chairwoman. The reality is simply too grim."

"Ugh... forget that, just knead harder. A solid week on a fishing boat, and my shoulders are completely locked up."

If an 8th Rank martial artist's shoulders could get stiff, wouldn't that mean every other sailor ought to be dead?

Debating whether to smack the back of the Chairwoman's head as she spouted such shameless lies, I worked her shoulders with my left hand. My other hand processed reports.

It wasn't that my respect for the Chairwoman had ever been particularly low, but ever since that futures trading mess, her standing with me had been in steady freefall.

Call it bankruptcy in five years turned into bankruptcy in three — the two-year budget of this enormous academy was still an astronomical sum.

And she'd blown it on a single futures trade.

Unconsciously, my hands put more force into kneading her shoulders, but the Chairwoman merely hummed a little tune.

"Hm? That's a bit better now. Put some real muscle into it."

"......"

Well, I suppose no matter how hard a mere 1st Rank like me tries, an 8th Rank like the Chairwoman would feel nothing at all. Though that does raise the question of why she's asking for a massage in the first place.

At any rate, she had diligently gone out on that deep-sea fishing boat, so I decided to play along quietly.

"While you were away on your business trip, Chairwoman, the research budget allocation meeting concluded without incident, and I was able to reduce the food supply procurement budget by half. The details are in the report, so please take a look."

"Good heavens... cutting it in half must mean the bankruptcy is definitely...!!"

"Correct. The bankruptcy in three years has now been pushed back to three years and two months."

"That's... good, right? And what about the money I earned this time?"

"The sum you brought back certainly exceeded projections."

"I knew it!"

As one of only four 8th Ranks in the Kingdom, the Chairwoman of Grandis Academy could hardly board a deep-sea fishing boat openly, so she had disguised herself thoroughly and restricted her strength to roughly 6th Rank levels.

Even so, the amount of money she'd earned in just one week was considerable.

It was called a deep-sea fishing boat, but the Chairwoman's work rate defied imagination — she'd apparently been sending two boats back to port daily, holds full to bursting.

And the money the Chairwoman had earned with all that?

"It has now been pushed back to three years, two months, and one day."

"One... day?"

"One day is tremendous, Chairwoman."

"I do know that, but..."

Did she have any idea how much money this academy burned through in a single day? The dormitory water rates, the mana tax to keep the lights on, wages for day laborers, the cost of procuring materials for the environment and for research — even one day was enormous.

A woman who had managed the academy's finances for decades, however lacking in business sense, could not possibly be ignorant of this.

She just felt a little hollow about it, that was all.

"I couldn't even sleep a wink for a whole week, went through all that hardship..."

I keep ragging on the Chairwoman, but set aside the financial issues and she's truly a good person.

'She poured her entire life's savings into the academy and improving the quality of education, after all.'

From what I knew, she didn't even have a separate house — she slept right in the academy dormitory.

You could call her a true teacher and a true Chairwoman who put the students and education first.

The problem was that as an administrator, she was a complete failure.

"Was it very difficult?"

"The one who sent me out there is asking that? I really didn't sleep for a single minute, I tell you. Good thing I'm 8th Rank, or else———"

"If you can go a full week without sleep and remain perfectly fine, how about the next job? We do have a salt farm and a mine available."

"......"

"A joke. Just a joke."

Truthfully, if only there'd been time, I would have sent her off for real — joke be damned. But the Chairwoman could no longer casually leave the academy empty.

The entrance exams for this year were about to begin.

"Still, I always feel good when this season comes around. Students hungry to learn seek out the academy, and we at Grandis Academy extend the hand of learning to them."

"The students who learn that way might be enjoying their last such season. If bankruptcy really does come in three years, this entering class will be our last graduates. Any students admitted after them won't even be able to finish."

"...Finance Director."

"I'm saying this precisely because I am also an academy alumnus, even if it ruins the mood. For the sake of the education you love, Chairwoman, we must do something within the next three years."

"Fine, I understand. Still, it's you and me, Finance Director! We'll manage somehow, won't we?"

"That is remarkably reassuring."

It was blindly optimistic, but not exactly wrong. The way we'd squeezed costs with the Raven Trading Company business — if we kept finding ways to cut expenses, a path might eventually come into view.

More than anything, the Chairwoman was a full-blown 8th Rank. That didn't just mean raw fighting strength; it meant she also possessed a certain level of social connections.

And, though I couldn't say this to the Chairwoman,

'In the worst-case scenario, as long as we graduate the protagonist, it'll work out somehow.'

I'd only cleared the first of Dark Kingdom's three parts, but in the academy part, the protagonist focused on growing stronger and recruiting companions.

The high difficulty was just a game element. Once he graduated from the academy, he'd go save the world just fine on his own.

There was the staggering personal risk that I'd lose my lifelong career, but that was still preferable to the world being destroyed, wasn't it?

I had no intention of interfering with the protagonist, nor of getting close to him.

My job as Finance Director was simply to keep the academy itself afloat.

So.

"Chairwoman, may I see the list of applicants for this year's entrance exams?"

"Hm? Why the sudden...?"

"Is that not permitted?"

"Oh please, is there any document our Finance Director isn't allowed to see? Wait just a moment."

The Chairwoman chuckled to herself, rummaged briefly through a stack of paperwork, then pulled out a thick file and handed it to me.

So many people, just for the exam applicants alone.

"Could it be that someone the Finance Director knows applied this year? Th-this would violate the fairness of education, of course, but if it's an acquaintance of the Finance Director, I could close my eyes and pass them...!!"

"What are you saying? You know I grew up an orphan. Academy classmates aside, I have no acquaintances."

"...I-I'm sorry, Finance Director."

"There's no need to apologize. Though I am grateful that the Chairwoman seems to think more highly of me than I expected."

"That's right! I hold the Finance Director in such high regard, so in my bosom..."

"Pardon?"

"...It's nothing."

Was she about to tell me to tear up the resignation letter in her bosom? How did she know I had it on me right now?

An odd unease settled over me, as if my final line of defense had been seen through, but regardless, I opened the list of entrance exam applicants.

'Naturally, there are no ID photos, and plenty of applicants haven't filled in all their personal information.'

But at the very least, they had to write their names clearly.

And more importantly, the protagonist of Dark Kingdom didn't have a name you created yourself — it was always fixed.

'There it is.'

Rus Spero.

According to trivia from game reviews, the name meant light and hope in Latin.

A fitting name, you could say, for the protagonist of a game titled Dark Kingdom.

And this year was the exact year the protagonist enrolled in the academy.

'The protagonist, who scored dead last on the entrance exam, will undergo astonishing growth over three years at the academy.'

Thinking that the timeline from the game I'd played had finally arrived should have filled my chest with grandeur... but it didn't.

I'd have no reason to see the protagonist anyway. Still, I might be able to use my position as Finance Director to help him grow a little more smoothly.

Work hard, protagonist. I'll handle my own business.

"Finance Director, what's the matter? Did a particular applicant catch your eye?"

"It's nothing. Let's return to our paperwork. We'll need your help, Chairwoman, to schedule a meeting with Professor Kirke as soon as possible."

"Professor Kirke..."

"If she truly manages to develop and distribute a hair-loss treatment before the academy goes bankrupt, we can extend the grace period before bankruptcy considerably."

"If I simply speak to this Professor Kirke myself—"

"The Chairwoman going to a mere professor in person and asking her to share the profits from her research results is nothing short of coercion. Were the situation truly desperate, we might have to resort to that, but we still have time."

"We have barely three years left, you know...?"

"We cannot erode the academy's prestige over research that may or may not succeed within three years. Above all, if we do something like that, people might start suspecting the academy is short on funds."

"Fine, I understand."

We might not be in a position to pick and choose our methods, but we couldn't surrender one of this academy's few remaining advantages.

The Chairwoman's authority, and its reputation as the finest in the Kingdom.

Those things didn't earn a single coin in themselves, but for the plan I'd laid out, they were immensely useful.

If the Chairwoman personally stepped in for something I could handle, pulling what amounted to coercion, it might give rise to unnecessary gossip.

'...Though if it looks like we won't meet in time, we'll send the Chairwoman.'

We at least had to secure this before Professor Kirke began her research. Interfering mid-study would complicate everything.

And I'd need to keep a tight rein on her so she absolutely couldn't pull any donation-seeking nonsense — which would also be a breach of contract. You had better be prepared to be drained absolutely dry.

As I mulled over the upcoming ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠schedule and Professor Kirke,

"......"

the Chairwoman looked back and forth, eyes unreadable, between me and the list.

Do your job, woman.

*

"Chairwoman? It's not even the entrance ceremony — you hardly need to personally observe the entrance exams..."

"Is there some problem you cannot show me?"

"Absolutely not! It is only that the students might grow more nervous than necessary."

"That is unfortunate, but that is precisely why we have re-tests. On the contrary, with me watching, some applicants may bring out their full strength."

"A foolish thought on my part! Please, observe at your leisure!"

The entrance exam officer bowed several times and withdrew.

From a hastily arranged private room above the examination hall, the Chairwoman looked down upon the testing ground.

'That applicant list the Finance Director was looking at. He was focusing especially hard on a few specific applicants.'

A 1st Rank, practically no different from an ordinary civilian — the Finance Director wouldn't have known, of course.

But the senses of an 8th Rank martial artist had reached a realm where they grasped every action in their vicinity in real time.

Even without watching him directly, her superhuman senses could easily tell which names on the list the Finance Director had lingered on, which names he had scrutinized with particular interest.

So she had slipped away to the examination hall while the Finance Director was working. To see for herself the applicants he had marked.

'The Margrave's youngest daughter, a princess from the neighboring kingdom, the boy who received his knighthood at the youngest age on record, a rising star of the Magic Tower... Well, fine talents, I suppose.'

To the world at large they were renowned prodigies, but to the Chairwoman, who had reached the 8th Rank, they were little more than fledglings.

Was this all the Finance Director had been so focused on?

The Chairwoman had been idly watching the talented examinees rack up high scores on the entrance exam.

"Next! Rus Spero!"

"...Ah."

The name the Finance Director had stared at the longest was called, and the Chairwoman unconsciously leaned further forward.

Rus Spero. Compared to the other talents, he had no fame, no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠known accomplishments, nothing.

He carried a surname, but he wasn't of noble birth — merely a descendant of some house fallen long ago, that was all.

What was it about this applicant that had drawn the Finance Director's attention?

Trudging footsteps.

Rus Spero stepped forward: a handsome boy with white hair.

His features were delicate, almost feminine — a figure with an androgynous charm.

To the Chairwoman, of course, this was thoroughly unimpressive.

"Rus Spero, by what means will you take the exam?"

"...By the sword."

"Good. Draw the sword you brought and strike the measuring device before you."

"At full power, shall I?"

"Worried, are you? This measuring device is capable of gauging up to the 5th Rank. Even if whelps like you strike it with all your might, it will not take so much as a scratch. Put your mind at ease and proceed."

"...Understood."

With a slight nod, Rus Spero drew what was plainly an old, worn sword.

Something like that — he would have been far better off using one of the training swords provided. Why insist on that particular blade? An old, cherished weapon, perhaps?

At any rate, this applicant was the last one the Finance Director had focused on, and so the Chairwoman watched Rus.

"...Wh-what? Hold on—"

A low, continuous rumble.

In ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the next instant, a colossal radiance erupted from Rus's body. The Chairwoman shot to her feet in alarm.

Having channeled all that light into the sword, Rus Spero brought it crashing down upon the measuring device.

KWA-BOOOOOM!!!!

The sword strike did not merely destroy the measuring device — it tore through to the wall behind it.

The wall, split through in an instant, collapsed.

"Wh-what in the world!?"

"Stop the collapse, quickly!"

Even as the panicked examiners scrambled into action,

the eyes watching Rus were changing — the Margrave's youngest daughter, the princess from the neighboring kingdom, the Magic Tower prodigy, the youngest knight.

"Fascinating."

"Good heavens, who in the world is that applicant...?"

"How insolent."

"A magnificent ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sword."

Thus, several applicants took careful note of Rus Spero.

And the Chairwoman, who had leaped to her feet at the display of power easily reaching the 6th Rank—

—stared at the utterly ruined measuring device and the crumbling wall, trembling quietly.

Because she could already picture a certain Finance Director, bolting this way in a panic from his office far across the grounds.

Rus Spero had vanished entirely from her sight.