Chapter 75: Joaquin Graduate School (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 75: Joaquin Graduate School (4)
In this world, graduate school is an unfamiliar concept. Heroes leap straight onto the front lines after graduating from the academy, so they rarely even go to university, let alone graduate school.
Because of this, the thing Ryozo worried about most before laying out her grand plan to establish a graduate school was the quota. Not a garden, but a quota—in other words, the headcount.
'What if we open the doors and only cold wind blows through?'
...The outcry would be immense.
'They might even stage a protest, shouting about what the hell we did with all that expensive tuition...'
That was a realm where I could hardly be of help. My blade strikes only at injustice; I would have to stand by and watch such legitimate protests.
'It's not like I'm a dictator, anyway.'
Anyhow.
To cut to the chase, the problem that almost tormented my wife missed the mark entirely, much to our relief.
Recruiting new students went smoothly.
As a prime example:
"The recruitment period was set for a full month, but we filled the quota in just two days."
Ryozo pushed her glasses up onto her forehead. Sitting in her chair, she spun around a few times to cool off.
"Of course, there might be inflated numbers mixed in, but even accounting for that, I don't think we'll be suffering from a lack of applicants."
"What was the quota again?"
"We initially set it low at two hundred fifty, but the number of applicants hit ten thousand."
A competition ratio of 400 to 1?
"Ah, checking now, it's actually over twelve thousand. Two thousand more joined just now."
I stand corrected twice over.
It was 600 to 1. If Yoo Se-in were here, she would have said, "Modern-day slaves are duplicating themselves!"
Episode. Joaquin Graduate School
"...That vastly exceeded expectations."
"Right? Even though we practically did no advertising."
It was just as Ryozo said.
We didn't host any separate promotional events.
Ryozo had argued that it would be better to reinvest those funds into internal substance instead.
"Advertising might attract interest, but that's all. An educational institution shouldn't degenerate into mere gossip."
We had to win through results. If the output was good, people would naturally gather.
'Joaquin Academy is a prime example.'
As far as I knew, Seoul National University didn't bother with flashy admissions promotions. Everyone already wanted to go there.
Besides.
"There's also a cost issue."
Creating teaching materials ate up way more money than expected.
'Even the money I've been leeching from the Imperial Family is running low.'
The Standard Text of Magic, which began under Choi Seol-ah, entered a massive revision process as new faculty joined. Said faculty consisted of the Dragon Clan's executives, led by Valerion.
Once the Lord stepped forward, the dragons who had maintained a conservative stance began reaching out en masse.
"Tell the Dragon Lord I'm grateful, Geomma. Honestly... I still can't quite believe it, but what's appreciated is appreciated."
Ryozo had doubted my initial report. She only believed it when Valerion released his transformation, just like back with Weapon.
"Since it fits the vision of establishing a graduate school, we shouldn't skimp on funds for top-tier talent like them."
Words of wisdom.
But there was a limit to everything.
'Who could have guessed the dragons would accept THAT as their monthly salary?'
To dragons, "money" was nothing more and nothing less than paper.
In Gehenna's ecosystem, if you wanted something, you simply plundered it. Even when Ryozo explained the concept of "trade," they couldn't grasp it at all.
* * *
"Are you saying that when I want something, I must purchase it with these musty-smelling yellow papers?"
"Originally, I was going to give you a debit card, but I thought that might be too high a difficulty level."
"Hmm... I don't quite understand."
"What do you mean you don't understand?"
"Can't I just take it?"
"……?"
"In Gehenna, what belongs to the weak naturally belongs to the strong."
"Then……."
"Indeed. Geomma-nim, if you wish, you may take anything of mine as well. You are unmistakably stronger than I, the Dragon Lord. If you desire it, I shall even yield my Demon Eye to you."
"Ah, no..."
"There is no need to be surprised. The First Dragon Lord was likely in a similar situation when he handed over the 'Evil Eye of the Loop' to the Hero of the Origin."
Boss.
You really were a gangster, weren't you?
This disciple learns a valuable lesson today.
* * *
...Thus, Ryozo had quite a headache over the wage payment issue.
'Unpaid labor has its limits.'
Furthermore, proper compensation must be paid so no complaints arise down the road.
For nearly a week, Ryozo, Abel, and I racked our brains over the issue.
Leaving them unpaid felt uncomfortable.
Yet they claimed money was useless to them...
Just as our worries were deepening day by day...
A troubleshooter appeared.
Valerion's granddaughter, Hontail, belatedly crossed over from the Demon Realm to the Human Realm.
"Long time no see!"
She played a decisive role in resolving the problem.
"I think you just need to give them that."
"Huh?"
I slapped my forehead at that crystal-clear answer! However, I was also somewhat worried.
"You might think so because your brain is so simple, but will fully grown adult dragons really fall for such a shallow trick?"
"Oh, they'll fall for it."
"Hmm……."
I groaned inwardly.
What if I gave it to them blindly and they got furious, thinking I was mocking them?
'Cleaning up that mess would be a nightmare.'
However, unlike my worried self, Ryozo was a decisive woman. Truly fitting for an Academy Principal in her twenties.
"Let's just give it a try."
And so we did.
That was today.
The graduate school opens the day after tomorrow. We needed to win the dragons' hearts before then. That way, we could hold onto them for the long haul.
I walked with Hontail to the academy's Special Pavilion. The Dragon Clan was staying in the Special Pavilion, which was tailored to an environment similar to the Demon Realm.
'Will this really work?'
My steps were heavy with anxiety.
But even that worry proved entirely unnecessary.
For it—the destructive power of "1++ Korean Beef"—was truly formidable...
—O-Ooooooooooh...!
The Dragon Clan's eyes flared wide open in unison. They couldn't tear their gazes away from the flower-patterned marbling.
It was nice to see them surprised. It meant it worked.
'Isn't transforming a bit much, though?'
Far from just snorting steam, they transformed into their full dragon forms en masse.
A group of dragons huddling their heads around a grill with a human in the middle. To an outsider, this picture would look exceedingly bizarre. But if you care, you lose, so I proceeded with the grand operation.
"Let's begin."
Since it was a rare occasion, I personally placed the meat onto the grill.
Sizzle.
The exquisite sound and aroma stimulated all five senses. The dragons' scales twitched as if struck by static electricity. Their jawbones, lined with salivary glands, quivered with anticipation.
'Working at the raw fish restaurant, I used to serve beef tartare occasionally too.'
Among the drunk asshole customers, some would get furious and ask why the meat was served raw.
So in my early days in society, I would often grill it for them.
'Though after gaining some experience, that never happened anymore.'
Not because those asshole customers disappeared, but because my own survival skills developed.
—Do you want to become raw meat? Or are you just going to shut up and eat?
'I-I'll eat.'
Heh.
Ah, memories.
Siiiiizzle...
The dragons were laser-focused on the exact moment meat fat dripped onto the charcoal. A sudden wave of reality hit me. What am I—no, what are we doing right now?
I brushed away the mental exhaustion. Just as I was neatly piling the cooked meat along the edge of the grill—
"I'll show you how to eat it!"
Hontail snapped her wooden chopsticks in half. She rubbed them together smartly and picked up a piece.
The tips of the chopsticks dripped. With fat.
The jaws of the Dragon Clan also dripped. With drool.
Nom!
"Hnnnnng...!"
Hontail let out a strange, sensual noise—half exclamation, half groan. Utterly lost in bliss, she kept devouring it.
'That's not a tasting, that's a whole meal.'
Refusing to be outdone, the Dragon Clan raised their chopsticks. They held them clumsily, their chopsticks constantly crossing over.
"Dammit!"
In his urgency, a young dragon cursed out loud. Abandoning all dignity, he stabbed the meat with a chopstick like a fork and shoved it into his mouth.
"Ah."
His vertical pupils gleamed translucent.
Then, the scales around his eyes sparkled.
'Tears?'
The young dragon stared wistfully into the distance. With moist corneas, he muttered:
"This is... magic."
I felt like the value of the magic to be taught at the graduate school just plummeted.
The next instant, the dragons wagged their tails and charged at the grill. I backed away.
Clouds of dust billowed up.
Amidst it all, the Dragon Clan engaged in sword fights with their chopsticks.
And me, watching.
'Joaquin Graduate School... is this really going to be okay?'
I needed to have a serious discussion about this topic with Ryozo and Abel.
Anyway.
'The wage issue for our key personnel is solved with this.'
I wiped my forehead.
Taking advantage of the dragons' distraction, I exited the Special Pavilion.
Looking up at the sky, I headed toward the Principal's office.
Not a few people voiced complaints regarding the establishment of Joaquin Graduate School.
To clarify one thing, surprisingly, the noble factions that used to stand in sharp opposition to me were quiet. You could call it a cooldown period. Those bastards don't pick at me constantly. They only show up when forgotten, cause a scene, and get thoroughly re-educated.
The group raising a stink this time was the "Special Students Fellowship." I was in the same boat as them once, so I could understand their reasons to some extent.
'Jealousy, plain and simple.'
Because they never had the option in the first place. Crushed by their backgrounds, many of Joaquin's special students had bitten the bullet and joined the Association.
But now, out of nowhere, a graduate school pops up.
I thought it was understandable for them to feel wronged by their circumstances.
Contemplating this, I returned to Ryozo. I told her that the dragons were satisfied.
"Good job, Geomma."
"Haha... haha."
I omitted the details.
I didn't want to crush Ryozo's expectations.
So I voiced the concerns I had been pondering on my way to the Principal's office.
"You saw the statement issued by the Special Students Fellowship yesterday, right? What are you going to do about that?"
"What else? Just leave it be."
"The opening is tomorrow, won't it negatively affect public opinion?"
Ryozo moved from her head seat to sit right beside me on the sofa.
"Having negative opinion is better than having none at all. The fact that there are dissatisfied people means that, conversely, there are also people voting in our favor."
Ah.
"It's just that their voices are quieter. While completely ignoring negative opinion isn't good, accommodating it too much prevents us from doing what needs to be done. When doing something new, you have to carry a certain amount of growing pains."
"……."
Ryozo glanced up at me.
Her sky-blue eyes shone brightly.
"You know what I'm trying to say, right?"
Of course I know.
I know.
That online sentiment guarding against and fearing me had been building recently. That it was snowballing little by little, becoming impossible to ignore.
Yet, there were those who supported me. Even among those who were once hostile toward me.
Ryozo had comforted me in a roundabout way. Knowing that if she revealed her intention directly, I would just brush it off awkwardly.
'Seriously.'
You really are a blessed man.
Once again, I'm glad to be Kang Geomma.
* * *
Soon, the following day arrived.
Amid the expectations of the entire world, Joaquin Graduate School opened its doors.