The Money Duplication Club (3)
The Money Duplication Club (3)
Getting to the academy was always a struggle.
Right after I was possessed, it was the looks everyone gave me—like they were staring at Pongpongi. Then for a stretch, I was too busy with training and the scenario to even notice.
Now I'd more or less adapted to both.
"...I'm dying. Seriously."
This time it was just the icebox weighing me down.
Couldn't I just reinforce my body with mana? Sure. But all of my mana was locked up in a nonstop extraction-transformation combo to keep the icebox cold. In other words, I was a human outdoor unit, personally pumping out the chill.
A few students passed by in carriages or magitech cars.
— Vwooom!
"...Maybe I should've bought a car."
A weak thought flashed through my mind—maybe I should've cut back on my investments in Sylvia a little—but I shook it off.
My current capital-management plan was flawless.
Sweat dripped down in beads.
Trudging onward, the Magic Faculty building eventually came into view.
"Aaaagh! Stop piling on the assignments, Professor Violet!"
"Tell her that yourself."
"Would you go question that witch of a professor if you were me?!"
The first-floor lobby buzzed with noise. Afternoon classes seemed to be in full swing.
'Come to think of it, my attendance record is getting risky.'
A week off for the Feast of Saint Gregory's Nativity. Then another week of personal leave after that. My schedule up north had been tight, so it couldn't be helped, but from now on, I needed to focus more on the academy.
And not because I'm some obedient model student.
——
【 Announcement 】
— Aether Promotion Guidelines
> A comprehensive evaluation for promotion to the Aether course is underway for students across all faculties.
> Based on this evaluation, additional assessments may be conducted...
——
The single biggest academic event wrapping up the semester at Lichten Academy—the Aether Class Promotion Battle—was about to begin.
The Aether Class was, for all practical purposes, the face of the academy. Composed of the most outstanding talents selected from each faculty, membership alone guaranteed you respect the moment you stepped into society.
In the original story, this promotion battle was where all four heroines—including Emilia, who'd been in the Aether Class from the start—were supposed to gather together.
'Sharon's basically impossible, and Rina's slightly at risk, isn't she?'
Thanks to all the events that had played out, that canon outcome looked increasingly likely to go off-script.
Well... it was a battle royale-style unified exam, so variables existed.
'The odds of running into both Aria and Emilia are pretty high.'
I'd have to start drawing up my own plans soon.
For now, though, focus on the Snow Blossom Fruit. Money was always the best plan.
I cut straight through the Magic Faculty building and reached the rear courtyard. A structure resembling a shipping container sat there, shrouded in vines and looking more eco-friendly than anything had a right to be. It was the classroom for Spirit Studies.
I wasn't enrolled in Spirit Studies, so I was here for another reason.
That reason came running out to me.
"I-Ian! You came to see me? What's the occasion?"
Rina dashed out, then turned around to fix her hair. She stopped about three steps in front of me, her green eyes starting to glimmer. She looked exactly like a puppy spotting its owner coming home after a long absence. We'd gotten back from the north together just a day ago.
No wonder she had so many close friends.
"I have a favor to ask."
"Really? Okay! Just say the word!"
Rina answered with a bright smile, one hand fiddling with the black handkerchief around her neck.
'...Now that I think about it, she wiped my sweat with that.'
At the time, I'd been too rattled after meeting the Blood Maiden to register it, but looking back, she definitely did.
"I should've washed that for you."
"Huh? Ah...! I-it's fine! I washed it! I mean, not washed—I mean, hand-washed! Y-yeah! Besides, you gave it to me anyway, so it's fine!"
Rina suddenly stammered, her face going red.
Hm.
Rina sometimes said baffling things like that. I'd recently learned that the cleanest move in those moments was to just pretend nothing happened and move on.
"More importantly, try this."
I pulled a Snow Blossom Fruit out of the icebox and held it out to her.
She took a bite, and her eyes grew wider and wider.
"D-delicious! This isn't just good because I skipped breakfast—it's actually delicious! Better than any fruit I ever picked in the forest!"
That was high praise coming from Rina, who'd survived on wild fruit when she had no money.
'Credible.'
But there was another reason I'd come to find her.
"I want to know if this dessert will land with the other students. Especially the female students."
Catching on immediately, Rina's eyes lit up.
"Should I let some of the other girls try it and see what they say?"
"Yeah. But I'd like to keep it quiet that I'm the one who made it."
"Why?"
Because if people heard Pongpongi made it, even I would suspect something shady got slipped in.
I gave Rina a softened version of the explanation and handed her two packs of ten Snow Blossom Fruit skewers.
"Got it! I'll go ask around and come back! Schlurp!"
She snatched the fruit up. The gulp of swallowed drool came free of charge.
Hm. Why did this feel so ominous? Like handing a fish to a cat that skipped breakfast.
I spent a moment on that pointless worry.
— Waaaah!
— What is this?!
Excited squeals rang out from inside.
A short while later.
"The reaction was insane. Some of them even tried to lick their fingers clean..."
Rina came back out looking slightly worn down, holding the empty wooden skewers.
"Anyway, everyone seriously loved it! They were all freaking out, asking where they could buy it. They said they'd pay ten silver a piece. Rich kids... I'm jealous."
A glimpse of Rina's inner depths slipped out with that last sentence.
Anyway.
'Good call on doing the free samples.'
It was like handing out free coffee in a country that'd never tasted it before—I got to test the market reaction while I was at it. This was technically a replica of the super-premium Ice Grape, but how many students had actually eaten the real thing?
Introduce them to a brand-new flavor, then let withdrawal symptoms set in while I finished setting up supply chains, staff, and everything else needed for the actual sale.
'We'll sell out from day one.'
People who see a long line can't help but get curious, no matter who they are.
A grin slipped out at the perfection of my plan.
"So what are you gonna do with this? Selling stuff on campus is crazy complicated... Getting a business registration from the administrative office is hard, and it takes forever. I know because I looked into it when I was broke."
Even though I hadn't explained anything, Rina had clearly caught on to my plan. Was it all that time she'd spent scraping by without food? Her survival instincts were something else.
"I-if you do it illegally, the Student Council will catch you... and even selling food at a stall, you need a food vending permit."
Rina shuddered like the thought alone was painful. No idea when she'd ever considered selling food herself, but her warning came from experience—sharp and well-aimed. I'd already wrestled with the same issues myself.
Which meant I knew a solution.
"I'll make a club."
"...A club?"
◆
There were two ways to run a business inside the academy.
One was to get approval from the administrative office and enter as a registered business operator.
The other was to get approval through the Student Council and operate a club as a student.
The latter was obviously easier in terms of procedure and cost compared to the former.
'A little shady, but still a workaround.'
I planned to exploit the fact that club activity outcomes could be shared with students. From performance clubs like the theater troupe and choir to crafting-focused ones like alchemy and magitech, there were already clubs that generated revenue. This wouldn't be a problem.
Plus, starting a club came with side benefits, like a club room.
The catch was that creating a club required members.
"Rina, what do you think about the food at Lichten Academy?"
She blinked at the sudden topic shift, then answered.
"It's decent?"
"And the desserts?"
"You have to go off campus and really commit just to get one. It's a pain."
"So what if we sold something you could easily eat right here? And the weather's warming up, too."
"...I think it'd sell like crazy."
Rina's eyes lit up.
"That's why I need you, Rina."
"...Eh?"
Rina stared at me blankly, then dropped her gaze. She pressed the handkerchief around her neck with a wistful little kneading motion, then tapped the ground with her shoe.
Sensing she'd misunderstood, I added quickly.
"I need an employee like you."
"...Employee?"
"Yeah."
This was exactly why I'd come to find Rina.
Striking looks and a massive social network. She was the best sales-clerk part-timer I could possibly hire. She was already strapped for cash and working odd jobs all over the place anyway.
'...Come to think of it, how exactly did she follow me to the north?'
The question barely had time to land before Rina, who'd been standing there dazed, opened her mouth.
"Aha... O-of course that's what you meant! What was I even thinking? Conversations have flow. Right? Ehehe."
She scratched her head, then clapped her hands together.
"A-and this is perfect actually, since I just got fired from my other job for poor conduct. Not because I wasn't working hard! I just, um, didn't show up for a few days...!"
...So she really had just blindly chased after me to the north.
"Anyway, I can do it! Totally!"
"Good. Thanks."
"No, I'm the one who should be thanking you!"
Rina grinned a goofy grin.
Watching her, I felt a strange, new sort of emotion.
'Using a heroine as a part-timer.'
Back in my old life, I'd fed the girls on the screen with money I'd earned working. The feeling was... complicated.
Anyway, Rina was the best part-timer I could get. Better keep her close.
"Rina, you're getting double minimum wage."
"Woof!"
"...?"
"Hehe! Means I'll be loyal as a pet, right? Danya's the cat, and since that overlaps, I call being the dog!"
"...What?"
After saying something that threw the other person completely off, Rina stepped closer as if she'd planned it, a single, confident stride. She glanced around, then whispered softly.
"Hey, Master."
"That'd be 'boss,' not 'master.'"
"Ah. Slip of the tongue."
Ehehe. A small laugh, like an exhaled breath, laced her voice.
"If things sell well, you'll give me a bonus, right?"
"Of course."
"But back in the north, you said you'd praise me and then you never did it once."
Had I? I'd been so overwhelmed I'd completely forgotten.
"You've gotta give me one this time, okay?"
Still twisting the handkerchief, she took another step closer. Rina's laughter, mixed with her breath, was strangely warm.
...I had a feeling I'd just hired a slightly dangerous part-timer.