16. The Worst Crisis
16. The Worst Crisis
Dawn broke. The charity ball, which had been going on all night, was slowly starting to wind down in step with the sunrise.
Some left with regret, some with satisfaction, some with new connections, and some with a fatter donations purse at a charity ball that had served its purpose.
Rus stood there from the beginning to the end with a blank look on her face.
"............."
Many had approached her. A 6th Rank with no powerful backers was a talent anyone would covet. If they buttered her up now, she might end up in their territory or trading company after graduation.
Plenty of people approached with that calculation, but all they got from Rus were a string of soulless answers that showed just how uninterested she was in conversation.
A handful of nobles found her arrogance offensive.
"Well, she's allowed to be."
"We'll just have to try again later."
"6th Rank at her age... if things go well, she could even reach 8th Rank."
Most of them let it slide. Not just status alone—raw power guaranteed a place in the world, too. Especially when someone like Rus hit 6th Rank at such a young age; that was the kind of potential that could one day aim for 8th Rank.
Considering how 8th Ranks were treated in the Kingdom right now—no, across the entire continent—a few soulless answers were hardly much arrogance at all. If anything, if she had been too accommodating, they might have gotten suspicious of her.
So the nobles were content just to have shown their faces to her. This way, the next time they approached, they could do so based on 'the connection we made at the charity ball.' A polished, seasoned technique.
Of course, the nobles' thoughts were one thing, and Rus was quite another.
'That one... ghost.'
All she could think about was the conversation she'd had with Adam a week ago.
——Huh? A ghost? Wait, are you saying there's a monster at the academy...?
——That was, um, a figure of speech. A figure of speech. Anyway, that very ghost goes by several names. Deteriorating finances, reckless spending, enormous costs.
——Pardon?
——The academy is currently mired in a severe financial crisis.
At that moment, Adam had not lied. With the Chairwoman standing beside him wearing an expression that said she had no choice, he had explained everything, piece by piece.
That Grandis Academy, contrary to its appearance, was being operated in a highly unstable manner.
That just a few months ago, it hadn't had the funds to survive even a single month.
That they were somehow managing to stabilize the situation now, but it remained difficult.
And that, on top of all that, they had even staged a false-flag terrorist attack with the Wish Order for the purpose of receiving their backing and donations.
Each and every revelation was utterly staggering.
'The academy's financial crisis... I had no idea.'
From the outside, Grandis Academy looked entirely untroubled. It seemed so prosperous—as if everything was the same as yesterday and would be again tomorrow—that she almost wondered if the financial crisis Adam described was a lie.
But she couldn't bring herself to doubt Adam's sincerity.
From the day a week ago when she had heard those words to this very night, Rus had turned many thoughts over in her head.
'Was there a financial crisis before, too?'
If so, the academy's collapse made a lot more sense. This was an academy whose Chairwoman had taken down a kraken with a single punch and, even while incomplete, had casually killed a 7th Rank opponent. Arguing that the problem started from an internal weakness fit the picture better than an external one.
And if the problem was a financial one, it was only believable that even the Chairwoman couldn't solve it. The fact that she'd run the academy well until now suggested she had some sense for money, but in the end, she just hadn't been able to hold on.
Yet even Rus, who had zero knowledge in this area, could think of solutions—like receiving support from the royal family. There was no way Adam wouldn't know that, so was there a further hidden story?
'...I'll help Adam.'
In truth, all of this could be a lie—a scam just to swindle Rus out of her money. She was still, in some small measure, suspicious of Adam.
But not helping had never been an option. She would help first. If it turned out she'd been deceived, then she'd just die alongside him. The order of events would only be different.
If she was going to help, how should she do it? Should she go to the Imperial Bank and withdraw her money? Should she look for the trading company chief she'd met at the time of the rock salt mine? Or should she convert the assets into artifacts beforehand to make them easier to liquidate?
'I don't know.'
Rus was completely ignorant in these areas, so she couldn't decide anything without first consulting Adam. She could seek advice from the trading company chief who was still managing her vault even now, but if she abruptly said she was pulling all the money from the bank, he'd obviously ask her why.
Because they had forged a connection 'before' as well, she knew very well that the company chief was a thoroughly good man. So good, in fact, that he was somewhat inflexible; if Rus didn't come clean honestly, he'd probably be stubborn about it.
Part of why it had taken her a whole week was that she'd been weighing all these considerations. If anything, a week had felt almost short for a decision that would so sharply divide her future path.
And so, even now, having reached her decision, Rus had been unable to focus on the charity ball.
When Risha had come over to pick a fight, when the nobles had approached her—during all of it, she had simply stared vacantly at the sky.
However.
"Your expression looks awfully good."
"......Chloe Pisti."
"Why? Are you mulling over some terribly serious problem?"
This was one visitor she couldn't ignore.
As the person of interest walked up with a friendly smile, Rus found herself reflexively glaring at her.
Chloe Pisti. The witch who had, in the previous cycle, followed Adam to the very end.
She had been a target for extermination in every nation because of the massacres and arson she'd committed, and in the end, she was the person Rus had killed directly with the Dark Sword.
And she was also the very person who had taught Rus, who'd judged her prematurely, a lesson that still stung.
'...Showing up in disguise was too rash. Even if it was related to Kirke, I should have calmed down first.'
At least it hadn't been an irreversible mistake, so she just had to be more careful going forward. Within this regression, Rus was growing, however slowly.
But that didn't explain why Chloe was being so friendly to her now.
"I'm pretty sure this is practically our first time meeting."
"What does that matter? We're the same age, and it seems like we'll end up seeing each other a lot after graduation anyway."
"......See each other a lot?"
"Whether you stay in the Kingdom or go to the Empire, you'll be famous as the youngest 6th Rank. Isn't it obvious? In the future, we'll both rise to high Ranks and important positions, so we'll be hearing about each other constantly, right? So isn't it a good idea to get to know each other now?"
"................"
Regrettably, for anyone other than Adam, it was hard to tell truth from falsehood. But it was a fact that this version of Chloe was reacting differently from the Chloe she'd known before.
The reason was simple. Because Rus was a 6th Rank.
'Not the eternal last-place student, but the youngest 6th Rank.'
That fact alone made Chloe treat her with a measure of goodwill. It made her the center of attention among students and nobles alike. At first, she had simply thought that entering the academy in a strong state would make things easier. But the changes were happening in places Rus hadn't anticipated.
...But wait, hadn't Chloe been quite hostile toward her the last time they'd met, in front of the dormitory?
"The last time I saw you, I don't recall you being quite this friendly."
"Back then, well, that was when I still knew absolutely nothing about you. It's different now. I've taken quite an interest in you."
Don't tell her—that 'interest' wasn't the sort of awkwardly problematic kind, was it?
Ordinarily, she might not have even realized it, but right now, Rus was cross-dressing. Meaning she appeared to be a male student.
So, if the interest Chloe was showing wasn't simple curiosity, but the romantic kind...?
The question occurred to her because of something Adam had said not long ago. If it turned out to be true, that was a serious problem.
But since Rus had absolutely no experience from her own life in resolving this kind of delicate issue—
"You don't happen to like me, do you?"
"Which would mean... what?"
"Because if it's that, it's a problem."
—she just completely blurted it out.
Chloe, who had stared blankly for a moment.
"Are you insane?"
"I wondered if this 'interest' you're talking about might be romantic interest."
"You crazy son of a bitch. I don't like people like you, you know!? I couldn't even if I wanted to, so what the hell."
"............."
"I'm just saying, let's try to get along while keeping each other's social positions in mind. Please... for the love of god, don't get the wrong idea."
"......Fine."
Even she couldn't remain completely stone-faced at that, and a flush of embarrassment colored Rus's cheeks just a bit—right before a familiar voice reached her ears.
"Chloe Pisti... and Rus? That's an unusual combination."
"Oh, the princess has arrived. Are you sure you shouldn't be off looking for your brother?"
"I've already met with him, so kindly keep your nose out. More importantly, Rus, I have something to discuss with you. Do you have a moment?"
"Look at her, all acting innocent."
"I cannot afford to comport myself as crassly with her as I do with you. And if you are a disciple of the Archmage as well, do try to maintain some dignity."
"............."
"...? In any case, Rus, I have something to say to you."
Rus, Chloe, Beatrice.
The three of them—each hiding something—had gathered in one place for the first time.
Right in the middle of sizing each other up.
"......Huh? The Finance Director?"
"Excuse me?"
"What?"
Beatrice, who had appeared to have business with Rus, found herself murmuring at a familiar face she spotted outside the window.
Chloe, who had fallen into an odd silence, and Rus, who had been watching Beatrice with suspicion, both immediately turned their heads toward the window.
And without a word, all three immediately made their way toward the Finance Director, each by her own means.
"Finance Director!"
"Finance Director!"
"A-Adam... Finance Director!"
"W-wait a moment? All of you, what's this so suddenly—?"
One used the teleportation magic she had recently learned. One opened a window and jumped straight down from the second floor. Another used the teleportation magic she was still clumsy with despite having learned it earlier.
Regardless of method, they all succeeded in blocking the path of the Finance Director, who had been sprinting somewhere outside the window, breath ragged.
'Adam...!!'
Rus needed to talk about the ghost matter from before. Beatrice needed to talk about Crown Prince Zeke. Chloe needed to talk about the Archmage. Each had her own business.
Once all three realized that everyone else had business with the Finance Director, they each spent a brief moment eyeing the others warily.
But the first to step forward was Chloe, who seemed to have been spurred on by something.
"Finance Director! I was actually just about to come find you because of my master——"
"We'll talk later. I'm busy right now."
"......Huh?"
He had definitely said he would rely on her. He had said he trusted her.
Chloe stopped dead, looking twice as shocked, as the Finance Director passed her right by.
The next was Beatrice.
"Fi-Finance Director? Regarding that basket I mentioned to you last time——"
"My apologies, but I'm occupied with another matter right now."
"Excuse me?"
We were getting along so well. We had a relationship that involved exchanging bribes.
The Finance Director walked past Beatrice, who froze up just as stiffly as Chloe had.
Finally, Rus blocked his way.
'I'm fine.'
Unlike the two before her, Rus had been told Adam's most important secret. Never mind whatever Archmage or basket or anything else; the financial crisis was surely the reason Adam was in such a hurry right now.
He must have been running around at this hour looking for Rus.
'But I can't say that outright.'
Adam had asked her to keep the secret strictly confidential. This wasn't the kind of thing she could openly discuss in front of Beatrice and Chloe.
...The two who had come before her seemed like they wouldn't be able to hear anything right now anyway, but still.
After a brief moment of deliberation, Rus looked at Adam's deeply serious face.
"That talk about the ghost."
".........."
"I wanted to continue it."
With this, Adam would understand immediately as well.
So thought Rus.
"Student Rus."
"Yes, Finance Director."
"I can tell what it is you're trying to say, but please step aside for a moment. This is urgent."
"......Pardon?"
"Well then, if you'll excuse me!"
Tap-tap.
Watching Adam leave her behind too and rush off somewhere in a hurry—
The three female students, crossdressing girl included, were left frozen stiff, one right after another.
Immediately after that.
"Ah, Student Risha!"
"Huh? Oh, Finance Director? What's the matter all of a sudden...?"
"I have something urgent to tell you. Let's move somewhere else for a moment!"
"What? W-wait just a second!"
At the sight of Adam, who had just ignored all three of them, now seizing Risha Claudia by the hand—
The three female students silently turned their heads.
Was it just their imagination?
To their eyes, Risha's awkward, flustered discomfort looked like nothing but pure smug gloating...