39 — Demotion And Promotion, Once Again

Time rewound a little—to last night.

Late at night in the principal’s office, the evil duo growled like untrained dogs.

“Grrr…! That trash’s base reached Level 2, zansu…!”

“Grrr…! And our residential area hasn’t even finished clearing the rubble…!”

“And we still haven’t awarded a single prize, zansu! The sponsors’ patience is already at its limit, zansu!”

“We must think of something! Dealing with that trash’s base, restoring the residential area, and awarding prizes! If we don’t manage at least one of those, we’ll be ranked down again!”

The two of them snarled like dogs trapped in a cage.

After a moment, the principal clapped his hands.

“That’s it! You should just set that trash’s base on fire! That solves one problem!”

Casually recommending arson to a subordinate—what a terrifying bald old man.

“I already tried that, zansu! But there were traps set around the house, and I went through hell, zansu!”

The mustached old man bit down on his handkerchief as anger over his ruined tuxedo resurfaced.

At that moment, a devil whispered inside his mind.

“Hah!? That’s it, zansu! Principal, we should unlock the Slave Tickets, zansu! If we do that, all our problems will be solved at once, zansu!”

“What!? Is that true?”

“Principal, allow me to whisper into those pig-like ears of yours, zansu… whisper whisper…”

“Oh! That is a brilliant idea!”

“And that’s not all, zansu! With Slave Tickets, we can control the students however we like, zansu! We’ll open a school store and siphon tickets straight from the students, zansu!”

“Tickets are originally meant to be exchanged between students…

You’re saying we would take them for ourselves?”

“Exactly, zansu! With tickets in our hands, the students are practically our slaves, zansu! Orders we couldn’t give before because of appearances—we’ll be able to issue them freely, zansu!”

Up to now, the principal and vice principal had wielded their authority over the students however they pleased.

But even that had its limits.

After all, they were educators, and they needed the justification of “educational guidance.”

However, with Slave Tickets, they could issue orders that went beyond the teacher–student relationship.

They could claim it was “teaching the importance of keeping promises” and have a plausible excuse.

“I see! I understand your target now! You’re not aiming for small fry students, but for the big ones, aren’t you!?”

“Zansu! If we can just obtain Monaka-san’s and Kotone-san’s tickets…! We can order them to ‘stay away from that trash,’ zansu! After graduation, the face value of Slave Tickets directly reflects social credibility, zansu! Even those two wouldn’t be able to refuse!”

“Oho! If we take Monaka-kun and Kotone-kun away from that trash, he’ll truly be all alone… And his base will fall into ruin as well!”

“Zansu! And there’s more, zansu! If we reduce that trash’s ticket value to zero, we can completely shut him out of circulation, zansu!”

“Indeed, that is correct! Then by preparing prizes related to the tickets, that trash will be completely helpless!”

“Zansu! Truly a two-birds-with-one-stone plan, zansu!”

The principal and vice principal exchanged grins.

““This time for sure… this time for sure… that trash is finished… heeheehee…!””

However, the fact that this scheme ended in utter failure was practically a foregone conclusion.

After the infamous morning assembly where Leopin alone became absurdly wealthy, the vice principal slumped back to the principal’s office.

What awaited him there was a follow-up notice, like a finishing blow.

“…Vice Principal Yesman, a notice has just arrived from the Board of Education. You are being demoted by two ranks.”

The vice principal was so shocked it felt like his heart might leap out of his mouth.

“T-Two ranks!? W-Why, zansu!?”

“It seems His Majesty the King happened to be watching the broadcast of the morning assembly.

Not only did you disgrace yourself before the King, you also failed to award the prizes you announced in front of the students.”

“B-But! There was no way I could give prizes to that trash, zansu! That’s why I desperately tried to cover it up, zansu!”

Originally, Leopin was supposed to receive both the “First Ticket Prize” and the “First Gold Ticket Prize.”

When Monaka and Kotone pointed this out, Yesman let out his trademark shriek and chewed up the prize catalog.

As a result, the students were completely put off by him.

And after going that far to protect the prizes, to think the King had been watching…

“Furthermore, you attempted to destroy the magical board borrowed from the court. His Majesty is furious. The fact that you’re only being demoted two ranks is a miracle.”

“K-Kyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!?!?”

“You’re too loud. Acting Vice Principal Yesman.”

“A-Acting… Vice Principal!?”

“It can’t be helped. Only A-rank instructors may serve as vice principal. Since you’ve fallen to B-rank, you are now acting vice principal.”

“N-No way!? If I become acting vice principal, my salary will drop even further, zansu! And my family has held the vice principal position for generations, zansu! To be ‘acting’ vice principal—I can’t face my ancestors, zansu! Please, do something!”

“Enough, be quiet! If I don’t make an example of you, I’ll be dragged down too— Ah, no, never mind. This decision is final.”

“Waaah! Principal! Principal! Please, zansu, I beg you! Forgive me, zansu! Please forgive meeeeeee!”

While the vice principal was being demoted two ranks and crying his eyes out…

I, having returned to the forest house, ranked up by one.

No—scratch that. I leveled up.

“C-Celestial Carpenter!?

That’s the highest-tier production job there is!”