Chapter 80

Chapter 80

This is the Finance Department – Despair Edition – Part 7

While the Finance Director was busy with a very secretive and befitting task for his position,

The staff in the central building where the Headmistress’s office was located felt an inexplicable chill.

“Isn’t it a bit cold? It’s not cold enough for this yet, is it?”

“Indeed. Oh? There goes the Head of Academic Affairs and the Head of Planning.”

“But why do they have such serious expressions?”

“Isn’t it because of the terrorist attack?”

“Is that so…?”

Since almost all the students went to the Druid’s forest for the final exams, most of the staff followed them. They needed all the manpower they could get to handle unexpected situations, preparations, and responses in the forest.

Therefore, only a handful of staff remained at the academy during the terrorist attack. Moreover, since they were all in the central building, they hadn’t even witnessed the terrorists, as the attack occurred mostly on the outskirts.

So even though the academy was attacked, they were just bewildered. But that was only the perspective of the ordinary staff members.

The department heads, who had to take responsibility in some way, felt differently.

“Is everyone here?”

“The Head of Student Affairs, the Head of Planning, the Head of Food Services… the Head of Medical Services. And myself, the Chief Examiner.”

“Chief Examiner Ciel, what are the reasons for the absent members?”

“The Captain of the 1st Security Unit is currently gathering statements from the 3rd Security Unit and its captain. And the Finance Director…”

“Well, he must be handling the Headmistress’s matters. Then I, the Head of Academic Affairs, will lead this department head meeting. The issue is, of course, the recent terrorist attack.”

“Hmm…”

“…Hmm.”

“Huh.”

“………”

At the mention of the terrorist attack, the department heads all groaned. It was a matter that gave them headaches just by thinking about it.

Of course, none of the department heads gathered here were present at the academy during the attack. They were all dispatched to the forest with the students for the final exams.

But just because they weren’t present didn’t mean they could just sit back and do nothing. As heads of their respective departments, they had to resolve this issue somehow.

The only fortunate thing was…

“Thankfully, the scale of the damage isn’t that large. According to the report submitted by the Finance Director, there isn’t much damage besides the collapsed buildings and some property loss.”

“That’s what I don’t understand. Head of Planning, are you sure those terrorists didn’t steal anything from the academy?”

“According to the report, no. I also investigated as soon as I arrived, and there was really nothing missing. What about the other department heads?”

“As the Chief Examiner, I remained in the forest and focused on managing the aftermath of the final exam suspension. That’s why I just returned to the academy.”

“I-I was busy handling student inquiries…”

“I investigated the lost materials, but nothing was stolen. Most of them were either buried under the building debris or accidentally damaged.”

The Chief Examiner, extremely nervous as it had been a while since she last conversed with so many people, answered coldly, and the balding Head of Student Affairs trailed off awkwardly, embarrassed. Only the Head of Food Services, who had investigated the situation with the Head of Planning, gave a proper answer.

With this, the only one left was the Head of Medical Services, but strangely, no one, including the Head of Planning who had asked the question, looked at her.

She wasn’t even supposed to attend the department head meeting in the first place; she was only called in because of the special circumstances of the terrorist attack, and no one wanted to interact with her.

But the woman in white clothes raised her hand and spoke without being prompted.

“It’s sad.”

“…Head of Medical Services, what’s sad?”

“I don’t understand why this academy focuses so much on safety. If they were negligent with safety, there would be patients, and I could gain experience and improve my skills by treating them. All of that is a noble sacrifice for the advancement of medical arts.”

“Head of Academic Affairs, that’s why I told you… we shouldn’t have called that crazy bitch!”

“I know. But even if there were no casualties, we can’t disobey the Headmistress’s orders. She said to gather ‘all’ the department heads for a meeting. Are you doubting her orders?”

“N-no. But…”

“Then let’s continue. Anyway, regarding the motives of those wicked terrorists—”

Crack.

A sudden, alarming sound came from upstairs, but…

The middle-aged Head of Academic Affairs continued speaking with an unwavering posture.

Of course, he was the only one so calm, being a fanatic follower of the Headmistress.

“Head of Food Services, was that just now…?”

“I think you’re right, Head of Student Affairs. It seems the Headmistress is quite angry.”

The Head of Student Affairs, whose self-esteem was extremely low from constantly dealing with student complaints and inquiries, trembled, and the Head of Food Services, one of the more normal ones, looked up at the ceiling with a worried expression.

How furious must their superior, who had just killed the Rank 7 leader of the terrorists like an insect, be?

The department heads prayed that her anger wouldn’t be directed at them.

“I hope the Finance Director comes soon…”

The only one who could calm and appease the Headmistress. The youngest department head, sometimes called the Headmistress’s handler instead of the Finance Director.

The department heads desperately hoped for the Finance Director’s swift arrival.

***

The department heads’ prediction was correct. While they were having a meeting downstairs, the Headmistress was in a state of extreme fury.

However, it wasn’t because of the terrorist attack.

It was because of a female student.

“So… Student Ruth Spero?”

“…Yes.”

“This is the first time we’ve met like this, isn’t it?”

“We met at the entrance ceremony.”

“Haha, we weren’t alone like this then, were we?”

“No.”

“………”

Why was she so impudent? These youngsters these days.

The Headmistress clicked her tongue inwardly and scanned Ruth with a disapproving gaze.

Since her disguise as a male student had already been revealed during the terrorist attack, Ruth was comfortably dressed as a woman. White hair, unnecessarily long limbs, and truly unnecessarily large breasts.

Everything about her was displeasing.

‘Why is she so tall? How can she properly protect the Finance Director like that?’

Ruth was a little taller than the Headmistress. If they stood face to face, all the Headmistress would see were those large, unsteady breasts. The Headmistress smirked inwardly.

Of course, as a martial artist, she knew how important height was in combat, but right now, all she could see were Ruth’s shortcomings.

Those lumps of fat would definitely hinder her in battle. The Headmistress briefly glanced down at her own chest and gritted her teeth.

Anyway, the Headmistress, maintaining a smile with great effort, deliberately continued speaking while sitting on her chair. She felt that if she stood up, the height difference would be even more apparent.

“And you helped the Finance Director during this terrorist attack? I wanted to thank you for that.”

“I simply did what was natural.”

“Of course. It was a natural thing to do, but…”

“The Finance Director is Rank 1, so naturally, someone has to protect him. Naturally.”

“………”

Was it just her imagination? To the Headmistress, Ruth’s words sounded different.

As if she was saying, “I protected Adam, what were you doing? Shouldn’t you be the one protecting him?”

Of course, for the Headmistress, who had provided Adam with a communication magic tool, bought him a trump card, and protected him with her aura, it was infuriating, but…

She couldn’t snap at a young student who hadn’t even lived half as long as her. The Headmistress, feigning composure, forced a smile.

“Th-that’s right. That’s why I wanted to thank you. And I have something to discuss with you as well.”

“Discuss?”

“Student Ruth, you disguised yourself as a male for some reason when you first enrolled, right?”

“…Yes.”

The reason why Ruth disguised herself as a male didn’t matter to the Headmistress. According to the school regulations, falsifying enrollment documents was grounds for disciplinary action, but considering what the Finance Director said, she could overlook the cross-dressing.

However, there was one thing she couldn’t overlook.

“I’m not going to pry into that. You must have your reasons. But…”

“………”

“Even if you’re the same sex, it’s prohibited for a student and a faculty member to live together. And it’s even more unacceptable if you’re of the opposite sex.”

Absolute opposition.

When Adam told her that he knew Ruth was a woman but would continue living with her, the Headmistress had a rare, heated argument with him.

Adam was frail, a mere Rank 1. To the Headmistress, he was someone who could die with a single light blow. And he was living with a Rank 6 female student?

That meant if Ruth Spero tried to do something to Adam, he wouldn’t be able to resist.

The Headmistress tried to persuade Adam, but…

──But you’re here, Headmistress.

‘…Ugh.’

She was speechless at Adam’s innocent reply. It was a short sentence, but it was filled with trust in her.

She was unbearably happy about that, but she was also angry that he said that to live with that vulgar female student.

So she acted out. Even though them living together was already a done deal, she expressed her opposition when she called Ruth in.

She planned to tease him to her heart’s content and then reluctantly give her permission, but…

“…I saw the Finance Director’s dormitory.”

“Excuse me?”

“It wasn’t a place where a high-ranking member of the academy, no, a person, could live. It seems the academy’s welfare is worse than I thought.”

The Headmistress was momentarily speechless. It wasn’t that she couldn’t answer, but the reason was… well, even she thought it was a bit much.

She did have a proper answer. Adam himself had refused the dormitory repairs. It was because he wanted to save that money.

‘Come to think of it, this impudent brat is repairing the dormitory with her own money.’

There was nothing that happened within the academy that the Headmistress didn’t know. She already knew that Ruth was repairing and cleaning Adam’s dormitory.

It was ironic. He refused to use the Headmistress’s money for repairs but didn’t refuse to use Ruth’s. Naturally, it was because the Headmistress’s money was the academy’s funds.

She hadn’t exactly refused the repairs, considering that Ruth had unilaterally done them while Adam was away. The Headmistress was grateful to Ruth for that.

And more importantly…

‘The worse the dormitory is…’

…the more likely Adam would choose to eat and sleep at the office. She had prepared a top-notch sleeping room in the office for that purpose.

The sound of Adam working, the sound of Adam eating, the sound of Adam washing up, the sound of Adam sleeping.

It was only natural for her to secretly peek in to check on her subordinate as his superior.

But she couldn’t reveal all of that, so…

“I was about to have it repaired, but Student Ruth already took care of it. However, it seems you’re not familiar with civil engineering, so I took measures regarding the strange parts.”

“…Strange parts?”

“Yes. Unnecessary passages and holes.”

“………”

The Headmistress was referring to the holes and secret passages that Ruth had created while repairing the dormitory. Now it was Ruth’s turn to be speechless.

She had made them to secretly observe Adam, but the Headmistress had already figured it out. And she had blocked them before Ruth could notice.

After exchanging jabs disguised as straights.

“I’ll be blunt.”

“…Go ahead.”

“I’ll allow you to live together since the Finance Director asked, but that’s it. If you try to cross the line… Student Ruth, you fought the leader of the terrorists, so you know what I mean, right?”

The Headmistress, rising from her seat to appear more intimidating, stood in front of Ruth with a smile.

It was a threat that she could be crushed to death by a wave of aura like Malton if she tried anything funny.

It was something the Headmistress said with a hint of her old power and killing intent, words that would terrify an ordinary student, but…

“I’ll keep that in mind. I hope you’ll also be more considerate of the Finance Director.”

“………”

That was only for ‘ordinary’ students. It wasn’t much of a threat to a regressor who had witnessed the end of the world.

The Headmistress and Ruth’s eyes met.

The Headmistress, who had been keeping her eyes closed, opened one of them.

“These youngsters these days, talking back to their elders… their height and chests are unnecessarily large… In my time, we couldn’t even eat properly… That’s why, except for the Finance Director…”

“D-did you say something just now?”

“It was nothing.”

Muttering at a speed that only a Rank 8 could hear, the Headmistress pouted and glanced at Ruth’s chest, then closed her eyes again as if nothing had happened.

Ruth, quietly observing the Headmistress, said,

“Headmistress.”

“Yes, Student Ruth.”

“You don’t like me, do you?”

“…Excuse me?”

“………”

“………”

“I’ve arrived… Headmistress? Student Ruth?”

“Finance Director!”

“Finance Director!”

The previous atmosphere vanished as if it were a dream, and all eyes focused on Adam, who had just entered the Headmistress’s office.

Adam seemed to sense that something was amiss and tilted his head, but he soon sat down nearby as if he had more important matters to attend to.

“Why are you two standing? Please have a seat.”

“Yes!”

“…Yes.”

The Headmistress sat right next to Adam as if to show off, and Ruth, as a guest, had no choice but to sit on the opposite side.

The Headmistress smirked from an angle that Adam couldn’t see but Ruth could, and then…

Adam, who seemed to have been lost in thought for a moment, opened his mouth.

“I was originally planning to tell you at the dormitory, but since Headmistress called you here Student Ruth, I’ll tell you now.”

“…Tell me, then.”

“The reason why I instigated the terrorist attack. It’s something Headmistress already knows. And It’s something only the three of us in this entire academy know.”

“Is there… another reason?”

Ruth, who had already jumped to conclusions about the reason, looked back and forth between the Headmistress and Adam with a flustered expression.

As the Headmistress also looked at Adam anxiously.

“I can trust Student Ruth and tell her, right?”

“………”

“A ghost.”

“Excuse me?”

“A ghost is haunting the academy.”

Adam…

…smiled brightly.

As if this was a good opportunity.

—————

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