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Time rewound a little.
Inside the Royal Pioneer Academy, the principal clutched his head in despair.
“The first Educational Outcomes Presentation in the royal capital will be soon, de aru! As for the state of development, I can fake that as much as I like, so that part is fine…!”
An exploration-style academy’s development progress was not made public to outsiders for a certain period after opening.
Only those listed as sponsors were allowed to know the development status.
The reason for that was that it served as an “early-access perk,” letting sponsors identify promising students quickly and invest in them.
At the presentation, the development status was only explained with documents, so it could be fabricated however one pleased.
But there was one problem that could not be dealt with that way.
“At the presentation, I must reveal the Magic Board for the Asset Rankings, de aru…! Because our academy is the first to introduce it, the gathered reporters will surely ask about it, de aru…!”
In theory, he could simply reveal it as-is, but there was a reason he absolutely could not.
“First place on the Asset Rankings is, by a landslide, the Special Training Class, de aru…! If the outside world learns that such a remedial class is number one, it will be disastrous, de aru…!”
The students at the Royal Pioneer Academy were almost all sons and daughters of the powerful—thoroughbred heirs destined to carry the nation in the future.
If it became known that these supposedly elite youths had fewer assets than a remedial class, it could even call the principal’s leadership into question.
“At the very least, at the very least… I must knock them off first place, de aru! If even one other class can take first place, then I can somehow cover up the rest, de aru!”
But even that was a difficult challenge.
After all, the number one Special Training Class possessed an enormous fortune of forty million Ender.
“How, exactly, am I supposed to make another class earn more than forty million before the presentation, de aru…!?”
First, the principal considered forcing a justification so he could award prize money to a single class five times.
But because prizes came from specific sponsors, handing them out for overly flimsy reasons could invite backlash.
Suddenly, someone knocked roughly on the principal’s office door.
Already irritated, the principal shouted back, “Be quiet, de aru! I am thinking, de aru!”
From beyond the door came a muffled yet still obnoxious voice.
“Niku—pardon me! But a major accident has occurred that must be reported at once, de arimasu!”
“A major accident, de aru!? Good grief…! Do not increase my problems any further, de aru! What happened, de aru!?”
“Sir! Just now, Vice Principal Yesman was struck by the Lightning of Judgment and carried to the infirmary! It seems he tried to destroy the shrine built for Class 1-19, and divine punishment came down upon him!”
“…A shrine, de aru…!?”
The instant he heard that word, the principal’s head lit up as if struck by revelation.
“That’s it—yes, that is it, de aru…! With this, I can surely make them earn forty million Ender, de aru…!”
The principal immediately ordered Nickbacca to arrange something.
It was, unbelievably, an offering box…!
“In the Eastern lands, I have heard that donations are placed into this box, de aru. Earning forty million through business is difficult, but donations are easy, de aru. And with charisma like Kotone-kun’s, it will be even easier, de aru…!”
Buoyed by excitement, the principal had the offering box carried into Kotone’s shrine.
But Kotone’s reaction was cold.
“I must decline, de gozaimasu.”
“Why, de aru!? This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to rake it in even while sleeping, de aru!”
“This may indeed be a shrine, but there is not yet an object of worship.”
“Then just make one up, de aru!”
“That will not do. This shrine has, unintentionally, become my first shrine. The object of worship placed in one’s first shrine is, to a Miko, more precious than one’s own child… To choose it carelessly would be beyond unacceptable. And besides…”
Kotone had maintained a dignified demeanor until now, but here her cheeks suddenly flushed.
Still seated properly, she averted her eyes and shyly traced a little spiral on the floor with her finger.
“I wish to receive my first object of worship from my master…”
But the principal trampled both the girl’s pure devotion to the divine and her innocent feelings toward her master.
He slickly lured the girls of Class 1-19 out with sweet words, then—while they were away—installed the offering box inside the shrine without permission.
Then he called in students from other residential districts.
“Now then! This is called an offering box, and it is a box through which you can give gifts to Kotone-kun, de aru! And Kotone-kun said it, de aru—she cannot wait to receive Slave Tickets! She even said she would fall for you if you put in lots of tickets, de aru!”
The boys stirred with excitement.
They had wanted to give Kotone Slave Tickets as a token of gratitude, but she had refused to accept them.
So to them, the offering box became a long-awaited “tribute box.”
The boys swarmed around it and flung Slave Tickets into it one after another, as if offering up everything they had.
Watching that scene, the principal couldn’t stop laughing.
“Bahahahahaha! At this rate, it is only a matter of time before Class 1-19 takes the top of the Asset Rankings, de aru! Bahahahaha… ha.”
But then his laughter abruptly stopped.
—If Kotone-kun refuses to accept them, everything will turn to foam on the water.
It would be safest to retrieve the offering box before Kotone-kun and the others returned.
That way, the rankings would be secure.
Until Kotone-kun and the others understood the true value of the tickets, I would keep the offering box in my care, de aru.
The principal hurriedly added something for the swarming boys.
“Everyone! You must not tell anyone you donated, de aru! Especially not the students of Class 1-19! Kotone-kun likes modest boys, de aru! Your feelings will be conveyed sufficiently by the portrait on the ticket alone, de aru!”
He had attached wheels to the offering box, so carrying it off was easy.
In the end, Class 1-19 was pushed into first place in the Asset Rankings without even knowing it.
When the principal checked the ranking board, laughter bubbled up again across his face.
“Bahahahahaha! I did it—I finally did it, de aru! I surpassed that trash, de aru! No matter how much of trash he is, he cannot overturn a gap of more than five million, de aru! Now the presentation is secure, de aru! Baaahahahahahahahahahaーーーー!!”
That smile on the principal’s face should have remained unbroken until the presentation ended…
But it went without saying how it vanished along with a fit.
The moment the ranking board updated at the presentation venue, the principal grabbed a nearby chair with brute force.
Ignoring the people trying to stop him, he smashed the ranking board again and again.
“Nigya! Nigya! Nigya! Nigyaaaaーーーー!!”
“P-Principal Nekodran is going on a rampage!?”
“What in the world happened!?”
“I don’t know! But this is the best scandal ever—keep filming!”
The flashes fired even more fiercely.
Principal Nekodran’s disgrace was destined to dominate the front page of the next morning’s paper.
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