漫画大王

Chapter 224

Unfortunately, it seemed the Duke of Saint-Ouen was very strict when it came to such matters.

Just when I thought he was a doting father, he showed that he wasn’t about to simply hand over tens or hundreds of billions for such a dubious cause.

I fully understood the perspective of those who refused to give us money.

Even the ones who were tasked with making the products doubted if they would be able to make it; it was a miracle that neither had been openly cursed at by others for asking them to part with their hard-earned money in support of this endeavor.

Now that both Riana and Harriet had been turned away by their immediate families, it was obvious what the result would be if we asked some external company to invest.

I was reminded of just how extraordinary it was that the Temple had given us a budget of five thousand gold in the first place.

Mr. Effenhauser and Ms. Mustang must have worked incredibly hard behind the scenes.

In the end, I wasn’t that disappointed about not getting the money.

Approaching it as a business and trying to generate capital was less orthodox, but that method also carried inherent risks.

The House of Granz and the Duke of Saint-Ouen.

If we had secured capital from them, those powerful houses would hold stakes in Moonshine and the Power Cartridge. We would have to share our research results with them, and they would be able to control production and sales as they pleased.

In essence, we would be making something that wouldn’t remain ours.

Both inventions were highly dangerous, and were power multipliers that could be used across the continent.

We could not afford to lose control over these items.

Even if the two great houses were open to cooperation, taking money from them would still expose us to risk.

Not receiving any capital investment—and avoiding the associated risks—was an acceptable outcome.

However, the truth remained: we needed more money. More money than we had at present.

Everyone in the club had many commitments academically and when it came to research. Because of this, we worked hard to catalog the items we already had on hand and those that needed to be purchased.

Naturally, certain auxiliary roles arose that were necessary for the running of the club.

The administrative workload was too much for the president alone, so Louis Ankton, the smartest among us, took on the role of treasurer.

He was like a human calculator, quick with numbers, and had extensive knowledge of magic, which helped a lot. As such, Louis played a critical role.

Since I did not know much about magic myself, I would have approved any budget requests based on what the kids said they needed.

However, Louis knew why certain items were necessary while which ones weren’t. Louis Ankton was like Harriet, possessing knowledge across almost all fields of magic, which meant that he could accurately assess and verify if the requested items were necessary or feasible.

He compiled the requested equipment, materials, and justifications from each member, evaluated their validity, discussed it with the members, and then brought the compiled list to me. I would then write up the budget proposal and request the procurement of materials from the Temple.

When it came to liaising with external entities, I took the lead, and Louis handled the specialized areas.

Critically, the kids were already burning through the available money at an alarming rate.

“While we don’t have enough data to establish a steady trend, at this rate, we’ll exhaust our budget within a week or two after our next group mission.”

“What, really? That soon?”

“Yeah. There are supplies we need to prepare and some new equipment to bring in. Not much, but definitely some. While expenses might decrease once things have been set up and prepared, for now, we are indeed running short.”

“... Oh boy.”

‘No way. Is the financial strain already hitting us this hard? But we have fifty billion! Wait, when did it become forty-five billion? This doesn’t make sense!’

“You told them to use whatever they needed and not to worry about the money... should I suggest cutting back?” Louis asked cautiously, but I shook my head.

“No. If they need the money, they should use it. I’ve given them some crazy orders, so I can’t tell them to skimp on the usage of research funds too.”

However, Louis clearly predicted that the research funds would quickly outstrip our available budget. While we still had some breathing room for now, it would soon be gone.

“We’ll have to manage somehow.”

‘Kids... Daddy will find a way to get the money for you guys! I’ll make it appear out of thin air if I have to!’

***

In the midst of these preparations and dealing with training-related matters, I was finally able to get rid of the crutches. Of course, I still couldn’t run or do strenuous exercises, but all this was only possible thanks to the Grand Yoga Master’s treatment regimen.?

The treatment sessions were considered my Mana Reinforcement lessons, though I didn’t quite grasp the technique yet.

In any case, my physical condition was slowly recovering.

The Orbis Class issue seemed to be dragging on. It was a problem I had created, but if the internal corruption within the Orbis Class managed to be resolved, perhaps the whole thing wouldn’t turn out to be a mess after all.

However, there was also a chance that things might worsen rather than improve, so I was feeling a bit uneasy about it.

However, the Orbis Class issue was already out of my hands. The matter at hand now was the problem plaguing the Magic Research Club.

Money...

If only I could generate money through Self-Deception.

Wouldn’t it be nice—money magically emerging just by thinking about it?

But of course, that was not going to work.

It was because of this that I found myself in the Head Student Council office.

“An absurdly large increase in the budget...”

In the Head Student Council President’s office, two people were present.

The president of the Temple’s Head Student Council, Raine Carly, a 5th-year student, and the vice president, Hermann von Rogarius, a 4th-year student.

It was rather interesting that the president was a commoner while the vice president was a noble. The vice president was apparently from a relatively high-ranking noble family in Kernstadt, and Raine Carly was a commoner from the territory directly governed by the empire.

All this information had been provided to me by Ceres Van Owenne.

Ceres was not there with me, as she believed her presence might be interpreted as the Royal Class trying to exert pressure.

Her recommendation was that I attend this meeting alone, and if things didn’t go well, we’d reconsider the approach.

President Raine Carly was a strikingly cold beauty.

The vice president, Hermann von Rogarius, also had a calm and composed demeanor.

Both of them had faces that seemed well-suited for student council executives.

They shared one common feature:

Dark circles under their eyes.

—The Head Student Council has over a hundred members. Comparable to the full roster of the Royal Class.

—And the reason for such a large number?

—They have an enormous workload.

—So the president and vice president can’t even attend classes due to the sheer amount of work. Performing their student council duties alone for a year counted as completing their academic year.

The Temple’s Head Student Council oversaw more than a hundred thousand students.

The president and vice president did not attend classes because they were swamped with student council responsibilities. To be exact, they couldn’t attend. Their council work counted towards the completion of their academic requirements for the year.

Despite that, they still had heavy dark circles under their eyes.

—In the second semester, they’re even busier. They’ll both be extremely sensitive right now.

—Why?

—Because of the festival.

The school festival...

The planning and execution of the festival was the primary task of the Head Student Council for the second semester. The two of them were undoubtedly drowning in work at that moment.

And, at that moment, I had appeared to make a rather difficult request for a significant increase in our club’s budget.

Raine Carly skimmed through the papers I handed over with a business-like expression.

“I’ve read through your statement. You need more funds for research and development... But despite being allocated about five thousand gold in the existing budget, which is most of the Royal Class’s club support budget, it’s insufficient...”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

She didn’t say anything dismissive like “Get lost, this is too bothersome.”

“Of course, even Royal Class clubs can receive support from the Head Student Council. However, there’s no precedent. Normally, each special class resolves these matters using their own internal budget.”

“So you’re saying it’s not possible?”

“I’m not saying it’s impossible, just that it’s unprecedented. If there are compelling reasons and justifiable grounds, there’s no reason we can’t offer additional support.”

She had a very businesslike appearance and had an open and flexible mind, and did not dismiss my request out of hand.

I stared at her silently, then something shocked me.

‘What the...?’

“President, your nose is bleeding.”

“Hmm.”

Out of nowhere, with her face still as impassive as a steel mask, a stream of blood flowed down from Raine Carly’s nose.

The vice president, who seemed accustomed to this, handed her a handkerchief, which the president used to wipe away the blood.

“Uh... are you okay?” I asked.

“It happens often.”

From the lack of surprise from either of them, this indeed seemed to be a common occurence.

‘What in the...?’

The situation was both amusing and pitiful. Wasn’t this a dangerous sign for her?

Nevertheless, Raine Carly continued to speak smoothly as she stanched the blood leaking out of her nose with the handkerchief.

“Your request is for fifteen thousand gold... No other club has ever been given such a large budget. I understand that large-scale research funding is necessary for magic research. However, even the largest magic research club in the Temple only receives five thousand gold.

“Perhaps you think that the Royal Class should get more than that, but that club has around two hundred magic major students. It’s not a small group like yours.

“Furthermore, that club receives such a large budget because they’ve achieved considerable results in various magic research projects. They did not receive this level of support from the start.

“No matter how much status the Royal Class enjoys, your club has only six members. It’s new, with no prior achievements. Nothing. No results. None at all. We can’t provide such large-scale funding just because you’re a Royal Class club.

“This level of budget is typically requested by specialized research labs in graduate schools., labs whose magical expertise has already been proven, spearheaded by professors. Such labs might even receive more than fifteen thousand gold. But you are not in that position.”

‘Of course. I knew it.’

She had basically explained in great detail how it was absolutely not possible.

In the end, we, as a new club with no notable achievements, could not receive such a large amount of support solely based on our grand vision.

“We need money for research, but we need achievements to get that research funding. Isn’t that putting the cart before the horse? We need research funds to generate results in the first place,” I said.

“You guys don’t lack research funds, you just think that you need more, despite already receiving such a large amount of support. I cannot understand why you would think of your current budget as insufficient.”

“If the vision for our research exceeds common sense, wouldn’t we naturally need a budget that exceeds common sense?” I asked again.

Both the president and vice president stared at me intently.

They both seemed ready to pepper me with a string of curses.

“The Temple operates with the substantial support of the imperial royal family and the tuition paid by students, but it doesn’t have unlimited capital.”

“Of course.”

“We can’t allocate money toward something on such weak grounds. The likelihood of you developing what you’re aiming towards is low. That’s a fact. And you also lack the credibility to make us believe that you have the capability to develop such things. That’s another fact.”

Raine Carly didn’t seem like she was chastising me.

She was one of the people who had protected the supposedly demonic cult suspicion-ridden middle-school syndrome club, Exodium, from further persecution.

From her expression, she seemed like she was a genuinely good-hearted person.

However, she was not a pushover.

“People bank on possibilities. The future is unknown, and the only basis on which we have to judge it is possibility. You’re claiming that a group with unclear experimental capabilities will create something that has a low probability of being developed, and you need a large-scale budget for this. The student council cannot allocate funds to such a cause.

“Of course, if you were a hobby club that was not based on producing results, we could provide you with a clubroom, meal funding, and necessary supplies for your activities. But such clubs usually only require small amounts of money. We’ll be able to provide that level of support with ease.

“However, if your grand vision is for magic research, then the required funding goes up significantly. My point is that we cannot support such a large budget without solid grounds. Do you understand?”

Her lengthy explanation had led to an expected conclusion.

They could not provide us with the funds. They did not have any other proof of our capabilities, aside from being members of the Royal Class.

No results meant no research funding. But we needed research funding to produce results.

“So you’re saying we need results? Or proof or our potential, to be precise.”

“We can at least review that, if that much is achieved.”

That meant that, as things stood, there was nothing for them to consider reviewing.

I took something out from my pocket and placed it on the president’s desk.

“... What is this?”

It was a bracelet that emitted a blue light.

“It’s a Protection Bracelet, made for one-time use.”

The final piece of advice from Ceres Van Owenne...

—Oh, and there’s something else you need to know about the student council president. Raine Carly majors in magic.

The Protection Bracelet...

Ellen had used hers, but I hadn’t used mine yet.

“What about it?” Raine Carly asked.

“It was created by a first-year student in our class.”

A hint of surprise crept into Raine Carly’s expression.

“In just two days,” I added.

That one sentence was enough to turn her surprise into overt shock.

***

Raine Carly stared wide-eyed at the Protection Bracelet on the desk.

“... They created magic-engraved items in just two days? First-year students?”

“Yes.”

I didn’t fully grasp how impressive the item was, but I had some idea of what the student council president might say.

We were told we had no achievements. I had anticipated that much.

So, I’d asked Harriet about the bracelet before coming.

“Hey, this thing. This Protection Bracelet.”

“Huh? Oh. Why? What about it?”

“Was creating this difficult?”.

“H-Huh? W-Well... Hmm...”

Harriet was proud of her abilities but wasn’t the type to boast. Instead, she hemmed and hawed and turned red.

“How long did it take you guys to make this?”

“About... Two days?”

“Normally, how long would it take? I mean, if first-year magic students were to make it?”

“Uh, w-well... Th-That’s... hmm...”

Harriet fidgeted with her fingers, looking embarrassed to say it herself.

“This is important, so spill it already. How long will it take for a student from the general classes to make it?”

“U-Umm, a-actually...”

“Come on, quick. How long would it take them?”

“Um, well...”

“Speak up already!” I yelled.

“Why are you shouting, you idiot! They wouldn’t be able to make it at all! There. Are you satisfied?” Harriet yelled back then stomped away, fuming.

In any case...

A Protection Bracelet fit for one-time use that had taken two days to create...

Regular students would not be able to make it in two days. In fact, they wouldn’t even come close to being able to make such a thing at all.

That was what had left Raine Carly currently speechless.

“We made two, to be exact. They were a collaborative effort by two magic students from Class A. One specializes in Magic Crafting, but the other is just a novice.”

Harriet and Adelia...

Adelia, who was often overshadowed by Harriet, was also a crazy genius. She had been the one to handle the basic design of the bracelet, with Harriet providing assistance.

A first-year specialist and a novice. Together, they had created this item.

“In just two days... they created something like this...?” Raine Carly murmured in disbelief.

“President, your nose is bleeding again.”

“Hmm.”

She was in such a daze that she hadn’t noticed her nose had started bleeding again. She wiped it with her handkerchief.

‘Goodness. Doesn’t she need to rest? She’s going to collapse at this rate.’

“An item that can only be used once, so we can’t activate it to verify its functionality. We can’t be certain if the Protection magic it’s supposed to have is fully intact. After all, two days is an exceptionally short manufacturing period.”

The president’s skepticism about the functionality of the magic etched into the bracelet was reasonable.

“You mentioned that they made two of them, didn’t you?”

“That’s correct,” I replied, grinning widely. “We’ve already used one. In the Dark Land.”

This item had already been tested in a real-world scenario.