16. The Worst Crisis
16. The Worst Crisis
"There it is, right over there."
"The sheer scale is staggering... To think all those buildings and lands belong to the academy—I'm astonished."
"It just shows they're serious about education."
"Are you seriously planning to audit an academy of this size all by yourself? No matter how I look at it, it's impossible."
"I'll just do what can be done."
Right at the edge of the enormous basin.
With Grandis Academy now in full view, Finance Officer Marcus and his escort knight let out exclamations of awe.
No matter how far they turned their heads, no matter how high they looked, the academy's boundaries remained out of sight. The saying that merely coming for the entrance exam broadens your perspective was spot on.
How many students must be inside such a colossal institution? And each of them would become a pillar supporting the kingdom.
"Those Grandis Academy graduates swagger around so much, I always thought it was just an academy—but they have good reason to."
"Does the Royal Knights have a Grandis Cartel too?"
"Well, of cour... Is there one on your end as well, Finance Officer?"
"Naturally. They're so tightly knit that there's talk of needing to keep them in check, but since most Grandis Academy graduates are outstanding, we can't just ban them outright. The noble children return to their territories, but commoners crossing over to the Empire are countless."
"I've heard it called a life reversal."
"Working as a Royal Finance Officer myself, it's clear the Empire is a land of opportunity. I've heard even the Empire treats Grandis Academy graduates on par with Imperial Academy graduates. A cunning ploy."
"Pardon? Cunning? Isn't it because their standing actually is comparable?"
"Of course it is, but there's a reason the Empire doesn't rate its own academy higher——"
"──I imagine that's because of me, isn't it?"
"......!!"
A voice that interjected with unnerving ease. What shocked the escort knight, however, was that he hadn't detected a single sign of its owner until the moment she spoke.
The knight wasn't merely high-Rank; he was also equipped with multiple protective artifacts. Most of them included enchantments designed to alert the wearer to anyone approaching.
On loan from the royal family, their performance was guaranteed. The knight himself had served on numerous escort missions and was thoroughly familiar with what the artifacts could do.
And yet, not one of them had sounded.
"Don't tell me...!!"
"Finance Officer Marcus, correct?"
"That is correct. I never expected you to come out personally to greet me, Madam Chairwoman."
"Only natural, since the Royal Finance Audit is here. That guard beside you... could he be one of Julius's men?"
"Ah, no! I am merely a lowly subordinate of a subordinate of a subordinate of Royal Knight Commander Sir Julius! It is an honor to meet you, Madam Chairwoman!"
"Thank you."
The young woman had casually spoken down about Sir Julius—a 7th Rank regarded as the closest to the 8th Rank, and the Royal Knight Commander trusted enough to guard royalty.
She wore a hat that looked like it belonged to some old-fashioned mage, but her gait was unmistakably that of a martial artist. Though seeing her for the first time, the escort knight immediately snapped to rigid attention.
The Chairwoman of Grandis Academy—one of three names guaranteed to come up when discussing the continent's strongest. An 8th Rank.
The greatest martial artist in the continent's history stood before the escort knight.
"First, allow me to extend our deepest condolences and regret regarding the recent heinous terror attack. Though you must have heard this already at the Charity Ball, His Highness and the Royal Family were genuinely concerned."
"Rest assured, I confirmed His Highness's sincerity through the First Prince. And ultimately, the attack inflicted no real lasting damage."
"Speaking of which, is that basin over there the one you created, Madam Chairwoman? I heard it is the mark left by your capture and destruction of the mastermind behind the attack."
"It is. I just slipped a little with my power control."
...A human did this?
The escort knight, who had been silently listening to the exchange between Finance Officer Marcus and the Chairwoman—not daring to interject or even raise his lowered head—felt his face momentarily go slack with shock.
Turning his head slightly revealed a basin so vast it looked as if an entire mountain had been carved away. He'd assumed it was a natural formation. Could one person really create something like this?
Beyond the awe and terror, a question surfaced. As a fairly high-Rank knight himself, skilled enough to join the Royal Knights, he simply couldn't believe it.
That destruction had been wrought by those slender, delicate-looking fists?
"It looks big enough to form a lake once it rains. As expected of the Chairwoman."
"How kind of you to say. It means I'm old but still active."
"To have you personally come out to greet us, Madam Chairwoman, fills me once again with gratitude and honor. In that case, so as not to waste your time—shall we head straight to the academy?"
".........Hm."
At Finance Officer Marcus's words, the Chairwoman's expression flickered with something ambiguous.
Then she turned her head toward the trembling escort knight.
"On second thought, I believe the audit itself is best discussed between working-level officials. Young knight, why don't you walk with me for a bit?"
"M-Me, Ma'am?!"
"You can tell me about Julius, and if you'd like, I can even assess your skills a little. Surely we wouldn't discuss escort and safety issues right in front of the academy?"
"Th-That's..."
She was obviously right. This was right in front of Grandis Academy, of all places. It was an area where students came and went without trouble; there was no risk of anything happening to Finance Officer Marcus.
Moreover, for the Chairwoman herself to assess his skills... an opportunity worth more than gold, one that would never come again in his lifetime. Even so, the knight—still mindful of his duty—looked at Finance Officer Marcus with an expression of utmost earnestness.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Marcus's lips as he gestured with his hand.
"From this point on, I have no need for an escort. Support the Chairwoman well."
"Ah, understood! Madam Chairwoman! Thank you!"
"Think nothing of it. Well then, Finance Officer Marcus."
"I shall go meet the working-level official you mentioned. Will that hut over there suffice?"
"...It will."
The place Finance Officer Marcus indicated with his eyes was some sort of hut.
A small hut that, by anyone's estimation, looked blatantly thrown together in a hurry.
He could simply meet the working-level official inside the academy, so why arrange the meeting outside in such a place?
That question vanished from the knight's mind, replaced by the thought that he was about to receive instruction from the Chairwoman. It wasn't as if they were planning to assassinate the Finance Officer inside the academy, after all. He simply figured there must be some circumstances.
"............."
Step. Step.
And so, the Chairwoman and the escort knight walked off elsewhere. Left alone, Finance Officer Marcus approached the hut.
Without a trace of hesitation, he opened the door and stepped inside.
"A pleasure to finally meet you, Finance Director Adam Caines."
"I see you know of me."
"Is that even a question? You are someone I will be deeply involved with in many ways throughout this audit."
Inside the hut sat a young man with white hair. An excessively young man who looked barely a year past his academy graduation.
He was the Head of Finance for this colossal institution. As a figure who could either cooperate with or obstruct the audit, Finance Officer Marcus had been paying more attention to Director Adam than even to the Chairwoman.
If the director helped, the work would be easy. If he opposed it, it would become extraordinarily difficult.
"And there's something else you know."
"What might that other thing be?"
"The fact that you intend to get me to leave without conducting the audit."
"............."
"Don't misunderstand. I only realized it just now myself. There is no way someone of the Chairwoman's stature would normally know the name of a lowly man like me."
Finance Officer Marcus's words were not self-deprecation; they were genuine. If the Chairwoman found the audit inconvenient, there was no need to investigate who was coming.
Yet the Chairwoman knew who Marcus 'was'. An individual of no particular note from the Chairwoman's perspective, despite his high-ranking post as Finance Officer.
"That means she investigated me. And then entrusted the matter to a 'working-level official' like you."
"Talk them into turning back, smoothly."
"Because if the Chairwoman refused directly, things would escalate. It means 'work it out amongst yourselves on the lower level.' Just as the Royal Family sent me."
Seated opposite the Finance Director, the Finance Officer's eyes gleamed. There wasn't enough sunlight spilling into the hut to account for how brightly his hair was shining as well.
An experienced and seasoned Finance Officer, he remained composed even in the presence of a fellow 1st Rank. Perhaps because his opponent was likewise a 1st Rank.
"Regarding the escort knight, and myself—I was told I could return if any issues arose at the Royal Court... But seeing as how they specifically chose me anyway, the story's a little different."
"I've heard you're a man of principle."
"Stubborn, in other words. That's why I'm still a mere Finance Officer at this age. If they'd wanted a good-enough audit, they could've sent another officer. But the moment they sent me, the intent became obvious."
If the Royal Family truly wanted a 'good-enough' audit, they'd have simply dispatched a different officer. There was no way the Royal Family sent Marcus without knowing his temperament.
Despite that, tacking 'you may return' onto the order was a vestige of lingering reluctance. A signal that said: 'You may come back if there's truly no other way, but if possible, I'd prefer you conduct the audit.'
Marcus, having perfectly read that utterly ambiguous command, was laying that fact bare here and now.
Because only then could he reach an amicable agreement with the Finance Director.
"I wish to conduct the audit. It is my job, and my duty."
"And on top of that, even if things go wrong, this way you can avoid blame for not having conducted it."
"Haha! Is it because you're a 1st Rank too? You're quick on the uptake. For someone like me, beaten down not only by status but by strength itself, this sort of approach is necessary for survival. However, the Chairwoman and you don't want that. Only I, caught in the middle, suffer."
"So you're saying you'll simply force the audit through?"
"Because that will leave the fewest problems in its wake. In the end, I only did as I was told. Is that not so? It should be the same for you."
"............."
The fact that someone of the same 1st Rank as Marcus had been entrusted with the post of Finance Director for this enormous academy—
Marcus understood the implications of that all too well. After all, there were things that only fellow 1st Ranks understood about one another. And at such a young age, at that.
Behind that naive-looking face and posture lay a commensurate ability and venom.
And because of that, an amicable agreement was impossible. Ultimately, Marcus wished to conduct the audit, and Adam wanted to stop him.
'Something feels off, too.'
There was an emotion in Director Adam's voice that he couldn't fully hide—something that couldn't be explained by merely carrying out the Chairwoman's orders. He was unmistakably desperate.
Was he worried about taking blame if he failed? It felt slightly different. The instincts Marcus had honed while keeping his post as a 1st Rank Finance Officer were screaming that something was off.
As Marcus pondered, Adam spoke first.
"I've heard there's a promotion review next month."
"There always is."
"I could help you out there. What do you think?"
"Oh...?"
He didn't bother asking how. The key thing was that a promotion had been offered.
It was an offer meant to provoke Marcus—the very man who had remained in the same Finance Officer post for well over a decade while his peers were promoted.
"I have no need for that. There was a 1st Rank senior who got promoted before me. Even after his promotion, he received no treatment befitting his title and ended up resigning of his own accord."
"............."
"You might not know, but there's an unspoken limit in the Royal Court for 1st Ranks: the position of Finance Officer is the ceiling. So to me, a promotion is poison."
"I have something else."
"It won't be worth more than a promotion. That's why you mentioned the promotion first, wasn't it? Negotiations end here."
Marcus's mind was made up anyway. He had listened to what the Finance Director had to offer, but nothing would change his mind.
If he hadn't been intent on auditing from the start, he would have turned back during that first landslide. Of course, Marcus did not suspect for a single instant that the landslide had been the Chairwoman's doing.
But even if the Chairwoman was on guard because there was room for royal interference, why did the Finance Director himself also seem so desperate?
The reason would come to light in the upcoming audit——
"...Officer Marcus?"
"Hm? That voice...?"
As Marcus had risen from his seat and was about to leave, he suddenly turned back.
Rus, still in her male disguise, stood at the door, calling Marcus's name.
And Marcus beamed brightly.
"Rus! Of all places, I had no idea you were attending the academy!"
"Ah, I was walking outside the academy and heard a familiar voice, so I came by. But that's not... um."
"What's the matter? Oh, and I'm still incredibly grateful for what you did back then!"
"...Um, Officer Marcus."
"Hm?"
"Could you... please not conduct the audit? I'm asking you... please."
"Alright."
"Huh?"
"What?"
"Hmm? It's a request from my lifesaver, so of course I'll grant it. Why didn't you mention it earlier? Haha!"
While Rus, who had made the request, stood flustered, and Marcus, who had cheerfully accepted, laughed out loud,
Adam, who had been drawing something sharp from under the table——
"Finance Officer Marcus! Thank you so very much!"
"Finance Director, know that you're lucky. I would have forced it through if it weren't for Rus."
"Yes!"
——naturally hid the sharp object as he bowed his head.
The fact that a dagger had been concealed behind his brightly smiling back
was now a matter of no consequence.