17. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Black Consumer

"I'm not sure what you mean by that.........."

"If you wish to keep up the act, I don't mind. The Eye gazes upon all equally, after all. Even so, this is impressive. It took me a fair while to notice as well."

"............."

"You're not a higher mental construct like my disciple, but your mental body shows no wavering. That's only possible with extreme self-conviction and an unshakable ego."

".........."

"I'm curious what the world looks like through those eyes, but I suspect if I went that far the Mad Dragon would come for my head. So let's just take a little peek───"

"Archmage."

"Do keep still. It won't hurt."

"There's something I'd like to tell you. You might find it hard to believe, but it concerns the future."

"Hm?"

"And......a proposal, as well."

*

A matter was resolved.

A matter arose.

'What is this? Why do these things keep happening as if they're perfectly normal?'

Am I Sisyphus from Greek mythology or something? What sin did I commit to deserve this?

I indulged in a brief bout of self-pity. Admittedly, this issue wasn't on the scale of staging a false-flag terror attack or a financial audit, but it left me feeling oddly drained.

"Haah."

"............."

"Haah."

"Um, Finance Director......?"

"None of this is your fault, Chairwoman. Haah. It's all the dwarf's fault. Haah."

"Ngh......."

Hm, did I lay it on too thick? But she is the root of all evil here, isn't she? Might as well keep going.

I pushed past the students dashing about cheerfully, utterly oblivious to the academy's financial audits and dwarven missives, and headed for the office.

The protagonist had already been sent back.

──Do you happen to have any acquaintance with the dwarves as well?

──No, I'm afraid that's......

──Then return to the dormitory and get some proper rest this time. You accomplished something major, so you've earned the break.

──But I want to help too.

──Who said I wouldn't call on you? If things go south, I'll drag you over even if you'd rather not come, so don't worry.

──............

Under normal circumstances, I would have called her. Just having a 6th Rank hanging around in the background would make negotiations easier, the same way I used a dagger to put on my little performance during the dwarf deal.

But don't I have a 6th Rank's direct superior right beside me? An 8th Rank's here, so who'd dare act up?

"Let me say this upfront: you are not to destroy the Chairwoman's office like last time."

"Don't worry. Even back then, I was just pissed off. I had no intention of actually hurting the dwarf."

"No, that's not my concern. The Chairwoman's office contains a great deal of expensive materials, so repairs cost a fortune. Just attack the dwarf directly."

"............."

I guarantee a dwarf's lifetime medical bills will be cheaper than restoring the Chairwoman's office. Killing him would be a problem, but surely you can throttle your strength enough to avoid that.

There had been an occasion when negotiations with the dwarf had nearly collapsed even with the Chairwoman present. That was when the Chairwoman got riled up and was about to demolish her own office.

Back then, she'd adopted an air of detachment, as if it didn't concern her — which made the dwarf run wild. The truth was, I was the only one who'd heard the snide remarks, and the Chairwoman, who'd been seated apart from us, suddenly just went off.

In the end, that show of force did help the negotiations along. But if we lead with violence every single time, we might lose any future opportunity to trade with the dwarves......or so I'd thought.

Now the situation is different.

"Chairwoman, remember."

"Re-remember what?"

"If things get messy, just cut loose. And if you truly can't stand it anymore, attack the dwarf instead of the building."

"......Won't the dwarves genuinely cut off trade if I do that?"

"I might've fretted over that in the past, but now it's a different story. Donations are locked in, so we don't need to earn money through trade with them anymore."

"Fret...ted? Understood, for now."

Dwarven goods are abundant, sure, but the people who deal directly with the dwarves are vanishingly few. The reason, obviously, is their insufferable temperament.

We only deal directly because we have to squeeze out the maximum profit. If money weren't an issue, we'd just buy dwarven products from someone else. Other academies, when their rank-measuring devices break, simply replace them — they don't summon the dwarves.

'The official missive said tearing it at a designated time would instantly trigger a teleportation spell.'

Is this some kind of dwarven artifact? Wasn't super-long-distance teleportation magic supposed to be exclusive to the Elf Archmage? You can do it with a scrap of paper like this?

First things first, I need to resolve this quickly, so I headed straight into the office......?

"Archmage? Student Milia?"

"Ah, Director......sir."

"You're here. I grew weary of waiting and was chatting a while. The Mad Dragon looks......well, not happy. Is something the matter?"

"You crazy Pisti fetishist. What are you doing here?"

"Why, I came to hear an answer from the Finance Director. I waited an entire week and received no reply. So, Finance Director, what will you do?"

"I've decided to decline. There, done."

"Hmm?"

"My sincere apologies, but I'm very busy at the moment."

Not much time left until the deadline written on that missive.

The Chairwoman spat out words that were openly hostile to the Elf Archmage. Good job, Chairwoman.

The Archmage already had the experience of getting beaten up alongside Margrave at the Charity Ball, so he just chuckled softly and rose from his seat.

More importantly, what is up with that eye? Scary as hell.

"A pity that you're declining, but don't forget our transaction."

"Worry not."

"In that case, Milia? May I borrow the student for just a moment? I'd like to finish the conversation we were having earlier."

And now suddenly Milia?

He won't damage my Finance Department lackey, will he? If so, I'll have to classify her as equipment.

......Well, with the Chairwoman parked right here, the Elf Archmage wouldn't dare try anything genuinely shady.

Besides, I'd been planning to keep Milia separate during the dwarf negotiations anyway, just in case.

"I'll be back after speaking with the Archmage as well."

"You may clock out right after."

"My deepest thanks to the Finance Director! Truly, thank you!!"

Her being that happy about it kind of pisses me off. I mean, is it okay for a subordinate to get that excited just because their boss said they can leave work early?

Lucky for her I'm not the type to hold grudges. Any other black-hearted superior would've already marked her.

Quietly, I jotted Milia's name into the ledger in my heart and smiled.

Just let it happen four more times.

A soft click.

After the Elf Archmage and Milia had left, the Chairwoman looked at me immediately.

"Finance Director, what's this about a transaction with that Pisti fetishist?"

"I submitted it in a report last time. Didn't you read it?"

"......I've been busy lately."

"It concerns Chloe Pisti. You're aware of the deal with Crown Prince Zeke, I assume?"

"............."

"Haha."

"I'm, I'm sorry."

"That one's about Beatrice. I was planning to re-explain it anyway so......it's fine. Aside from that, the Elf Archmage offered to grant me power by transplanting an eye. I declined."

"......What? Wait, what did you say?"

"It's time. Let's resolve the dwarf issue first."

Fzzt.

Leaving the Chairwoman to her fuss, I tore the dwarven missive at once. Why is this thing so tough? No consideration for a 1st Rank?

I managed to tear it using my knees and whole body, and right afterward, even I could sense the flow of mana.

It really is super-long-distance teleportation magic?

'Why didn't those dwarves sell this?'

Couldn't selling this alone shift the balance of wars between nations? Is it some kind of dwarven state secret? And they stick it in a refund request of all things?

......No, more to the point.

Why isn't anyone showing up?

"Um......Finance Director."

"Chairwoman. Is this thing possibly defective?"

"No. It's not that, but I think we need to infuse mana from this side."

"What? We do?"

"Rigid energy should be a viable substitute, so I'll do it.........Mmm, it's draining quite a lot."

So this is collect-on-delivery? The receiver has to expend the mana or ki, not the sender?

Worse, the Chairwoman, who'd been breathing rigid energy into the missive, soon staggered. A collect-fee so steep it taxed even the woman considered the continent's strongest.

I grabbed the Chairwoman at once, but her staggering pulled me along instead. Damned 1st Rank body.

'No wonder they didn't bother selling this.'

The Empire could just ask the Archmage. And in nations without an 8th Rank, using this thing would be nearly impossible to begin with.

Given that it's collect-on-delivery from the get-go, there are probably a host of other problems as well. Must be why they only use it for stuff like this.

And I still find this distasteful. You're filing a refund request and making us pay the delivery fee?

Hwoom!

Some minutes passed. The missive, which had been continuously draining the Chairwoman's ki, finally shone and warped space, opening a door.

A door barely the size of a human head.

"It's open? I'll go through, ngh!"

"................"

"............."

"Damned artifact. I resolved to never use it again since it's a failed product, but......hff."

Watching the dwarf squeeze himself through that head-sized door was, well.

Honestly, kind of a mood-killer.

"I've shown a somewhat unsightly side, but allow me to introduce myself. I am ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Tir, Acting Mayor of the Dwarf City."

"......Acting Mayor? Truly?"

"Of course, VVIP. The former mayor has been missing for over a decade, so I, the deputy mayor, have assumed the role of acting mayor."

"That insolent dwarf is missing?"

"I won't object to the adjective 'insolent,' as it's quite apt, but he has nonetheless not been formally removed from office. Hence, 'Acting'."

What is this, a private history lesson?

I shot her a look, and the Chairwoman promptly linked me with her rigid energy. I don't know how it works — it's something akin to voice transmission, roughly.

<To put it simply, the king is missing, so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the crown prince has ascended the throne.>

<......Is this dwarf of that stature? Didn't he just say he's the acting mayor?>

<The dwarves used to be a monarchy before they shifted to a republic. I wouldn't have known that history either if I hadn't visited the Dwarf City. Anyway, all dwarves live gathered in a single city, so the mayor of that city is effectively a king.>

They've supposedly been rebuilding for 50 years. If the entire race lives there, that city must be absurdly huge.

So right now, while the king — the mayor — is missing, the highest-ranking figure among the dwarven race has come here?

Over a refund request??

"I too am busy, so let's get straight to the point. My business is as stated in the official missive. We are requesting a refund for the artifact purchased from the VVIP."

"Acting Mayor. Do you truly believe that's a feasible request? As a dwarf, you should know better than anyone — any artifact you purchase would be smelted down entirely by now."

"......Are you the VVIP's proxy? This 1st Rank?"

"If you insult the Finance Director, you won't leave here alive."

"A pleasure to meet you. Please, feel free to call me Tir."

Breaking out in a sudden cold sweat, the Acting Mayor smiled brightly. Seeing a dwarf use polite speech was another first for me, so it felt a bit off.

Anyway, more importantly.

"I heard from the Chairwoman that you melt all artifacts into a particular artifact for the sake of city reconstruction. We have no intention of accepting melted slag back as a refund."

"A truly reasonable opinion. However, there are a few points to correct."

"Yes?"

"First, we do not melt all artifacts. Low-quality artifacts suffer a loss when smelted, so we extract only the mana and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠discard them. Naturally, all artifacts purchased from the VVIP were of the highest quality and do not fall into that category."

"Then isn't that just saying you smelted them?"

"Which brings me to the second point.........they did not melt."

"......Excuse me?"

"Seven years since we purchased the artifacts from the VVIP. For seven years we have heated them ceaselessly, attempting to melt them. They did not melt one bit. It raises questions as to how something can be so durable without being a heat-resistance artifact, but the contract is what the contract is."

The Acting Mayor reached into the small door and soon withdrew an old-fashioned sheet of paper, placing it on the table.

Numerous clauses written in the continental common tongue, and beneath them, signature lines.

The name of the Acting Mayor who'd introduced himself as Tir......and the Chairwoman's name were written there.

"According to the terms of the contract at the time, if the heat resistance is too great or the item too durable to be melted, the dwarven side may request a refund of the artifact in question. That said, in consideration of your VVIP status, we exerted every effort for seven years but were ultimately unsuccessful."

"............."

"In exchange for including this clause, we purchased the artifacts at the time for more than 20% above market price. We are requesting a refund as stipulated in the contract."

"Let me ask first: how large a sum are we talking about?"

"Other artifacts were bought at the same time, but this single artifact accounted for the vast majority of the price. Therefore, it comes to this amount."

"......Mm."

It's goddamn enormous. A sum that, just a few months ago, would've broken the academy's back.

Part of me is exasperated that just one artifact could cost this much, but more than that, I now understand. Selling off artifacts like these was how the academy managed to hang on for a few more years.

Still, with the donations we've received now, it's an amount the academy can comfortably afford.

"But just what kind of artifact is it? This was before my tenure, so I'm not familiar."

"The name of the artifact in question is on the reverse side of the contract. It's not quite on the level of a Sacred Relic of the Holy Kingdom, but it's an artifact of considerable value───"

Flutter.

At the Acting Mayor's words, I flipped the contract over.

Along with the names of a few other artifacts, its name was written there.

"......<The Scabbard of the Dark Sword>?"

No, this is... Isn't this the sacred object of the Wish Order...?

Why the hell are you here?