“Hmm-hmm-hmm~”
When I returned to the dormitory after a rewarding day, a tune slipped out of me naturally.
My lovely Seniors. To grin so foolishly just because they had each received a gift.
“People here have no idea how valuable personal information is.”
Laying out choices was partly intended to narrow the range of choices so they could not ask for anything ridiculous, but its greater purpose was to figure out what they were interested in.
If I targeted their interests, I could get the seniors moving even at little cost.
I had memorized in my head every gift the seniors had chosen.
My heart was already pounding at the thought of letting fantasy-world residents experience personalized advertising, the very pinnacle of modern marketing.
“That aside....... I didn't expect there to be such a big fish among them.”
Once their wariness of the gifts had melted away, the seniors had let other information slip out as well. Thanks to that, all I had to do was lap it up.
Without asking a single question, I could identify the seniors' backgrounds.
Not one of them had weak backing.
Well, their enrollment at Beaumont Academy said it all.
It meant they had an environment good enough to discover and hone their talents.
At the very least, they were wealthy, and at worst, they were nobles. Among them, there was one particularly important senior.
“Media Jun, was it?”
The eldest daughter of Marquis Jun, who commanded the eastern part of the kingdom.
If I established a connection with her, it would surely be useful for a long time.
Fortunately, the opening to win her over was wide open.
Media had a clear goal.
To prove her ability at the Academy and gain the upper hand in the succession struggle.
Because she could not gain the support of the vassals just for being a woman, she seemed intent on competing through ability.
Enrolling at Beaumont Academy alone meant she was fairly capable, but enrollment alone was somewhat insufficient to earn recognition from a marquis's house.
At the very least, she would have to graduate for it to mean anything.
“If she could obtain a graduation certificate, she would sell even her soul.”
If I gave her graduation as a gift, she would surely become a lifelong ally.
That alone would make entering the Academy worthwhile.
Of course, it would not be easy.
If the goal was to improve grades, private tutoring came to mind first, but this was already the kingdom's finest Academy.
Finding a teacher better than the teachers here was no different from plucking stars from the sky.
That did not mean there was no method at all.
“I hope the seniors use the gifts I gave them soon.”
My Shop did not sell Academy graduation certificates either, but it had plenty of items that would help with the process leading to graduation.
I had already slipped several of them into the seniors' pockets.
All I had to do was wait for a reaction.
“The prince....... I'm not sure about him.”
There was one more person. He might be even more important than Media.
Radeos Predeter. Seventh in the line of succession to the throne.
An oddball who was among the Snakes despite having no problem with his grades.
Regardless of his rank in the succession, getting close to someone with the title of prince would be greatly beneficial, but unlike Media, no clear way to win him over had presented itself.
For the moment, he did seem to like me quite a bit.
I had to get closer to him.
Somehow.
***
For the few days before the term began in earnest, I devoted myself to walking through every nook and cranny of the Academy.
The geography was not important. I would be staying here for years, so I could learn it in time.
Getting lost a few times within the Academy would not cause a major problem either.
People were important.
The first were the seniors, and my second targets were the faculty, including the teachers and other staff.
People were naturally more drawn to someone whose face they at least remembered.
Even more so if they had received a gift.
As a result of handing out small gifts whenever I met someone new, things had reached a very desirable point where anyone would approach me first as though they knew me.
“The preparations for the new term are roughly done.”
I organized the situation again.
The money I had put into the Shop had fallen to around seven hundred gold coins.
There was still plenty left, but that meant I had spent roughly three hundred gold coins in a short time.
Having never spent money so freely before, I couldn't settle down easily.
“Still, it is an investment for the future.”
Everyone probably thought I was a sucker.
An idiot who did not know the value of money and handed out gifts to anyone.
Someone who was profitable to keep nearby.
The more they lowered their guard against me, the more I could take from them.
“This is an investment too.......”
I slowly made my way to the training ground.
On the way, I saw two students from the Department of Martial Arts engaged in a spar.
“Raaah!!”
“Gaaah!”
Beaumont Academy's school culture encouraged competition.
Perhaps because of that, spars never ceased throughout the grounds.
This was a world where any injury, however severe, could be perfectly healed as long as no one died, so they fought with the intent to truly kill one another.
The teachers did not stop the spars.
Rather, they even stepped aside to let them spar to their hearts' content.
Apparently, those who actively sparred also received bonus points for their drive to improve.
Having to brawl in order to receive good grades was utterly ignorant.
Well, the person I was going to meet now was even more ignorant.......
“Junior!! You're here!!”
Radeos waved to me happily.
BULGE. BULGE.
He was a fifth-year student, yet it was impossible to believe he was only fourteen from the size of his body.
When I asked Radeos, he said all members of the royal family were similarly well built.
Was the king of this country decided by strength?
I seriously had such a thought.
“How long have you been here?”
His face was drenched in sweat, and his hair was tousled by the wind.
A prince of a nation was in quite a state.
“Hm? Not long. About ten minutes?”
Ten minutes? No way. He looked as though he had spent at least two intense hours here.
Even while we had a brief conversation, his muscles, still excited, twitched creepily.
“I see. Then please continue your training. I will warm up.”
I subtly widened the distance between Radeos and me.
“No, I don't think I have warmed up enough either. Let's start by warming up together.”
Radeos came closer by exactly as much as I had stepped back.
“Shall we?”
“Do you know that there is a proper sequence even for warming up your muscles?”
Radeos spoke kindly as he grabbed my shoulder.
I flinched reflexively, but Radeos paid no attention and began kneading me.
“I like you. Mages often neglect physical training. Magic is great too, but the way people move their bodies is a wondrous thing in itself. I think you are admirable for learning swordsmanship even though you are a student in the Department of Magic.”
“Ah, um. Yes.”
Over the past few days of spending time together, I had come to understand Radeos as a person, at least a little.
Of course, I understood only with my head. Empathizing was impossible.
Even on Earth, there were people who became obsessed with training their bodies beyond the level of a simple hobby.
It was the same here. Only the sport had changed to swordsmanship.
“Actually, even in the Department of Martial Arts, there aren't many people who train as hard as you. It's vacation, so everyone is letting themselves go.”
Even the fact that he was always looking for people to exercise with was the same.
When I heard that he had not returned to the royal palace during vacation because the Academy's training facilities suited him better, I had to spend a long time wondering what expression I should make.
By the time sweat formed from warm-ups alone, other seniors from the Department of Martial Arts began appearing at the training ground as well.
“Come in early. It won't do to arrive later than a first-year. Senior, you're going to graduate soon, so wouldn't it be a shame if you were expelled? How can you be so relaxed?”
As he split my legs apart, Radeos scolded the other seniors.
Even when dealing with lower-ranking students marked with Snakes, Radeos treated them like ordinary seniors and juniors.
He had royal blood and his grades were not bad, so he could have looked down on others.
Yet in the matter of practicing swordsmanship, he associated with people without discriminating against them. That was impressive in its own way.
Thanks to that, Radeos was unusual among Beaumont Academy students in having broad friendships across different years.
“Why are you bringing up grades first thing in the morning? You're ruining my mood.”
“I'm not even that late, and you're being too harsh.”
Everyone laughed off Radeos's words, which could have been sensitive.
“Once we finish warming up, let us have a spar.”
“I'll have a round with the first-year.”
Had being beside such a simple person made their thinking simple as well?
At least when Radeos was at the training ground, the Snakes' gloomy atmosphere faded.
“Today, we will do different training.”
Before I knew it—
Radeos lightly lifted me and held me out before the other seniors.
“Right?”
“Uh....... I thought only you were training, Senior Radeos.”
Yesterday, I had suggested a new training method to Radeos.
A method that would provide new stimulation for Radeos and make money for me.
“I can't enjoy something good all by myself!”
Radeos laughed heartily.
I had no particular reason to refuse.
The more people participated, the fuller my pockets would become.
“What are we doing?”
The boy who looked like the oldest senior asked with disinterest.
“Do you know that this one sparred with another reincarnator during the entrance examination? Have you heard how he fought?”
Radeos shook me back and forth as he spoke enthusiastically.
Urgh. I'm getting motion sick.......
“Hmm. I only know that he won.”
The senior tilted his head.
“He used magic, swordsmanship, and his Privilege to buy and use various items.”
Radeos's eyes gleamed.
“The important thing is that one of the items he bought was a Monster Summoning Scroll. If he wants, he can summon as many monsters as he wishes. That means he can choose the monsters he wants and gain combat experience.”
The enemy in wartime was clear. The enemy when there was no war was clear as well.
The fight against monsters, humanity's common enemy in this world, never ceased.
Relatively weak monsters could be dealt with by mercenaries, but powerful monsters, or an excessive number of monsters, sometimes required the deployment of knight orders or mage corps.
In other words, Academy students who would graduate into important posts in knight orders and mage corps also needed to learn how to fight monsters.
The Academy had structured its curriculum to provide opportunities to fight monsters somehow.
However, opportunities to encounter monsters were limited in reality.
“It's difficult to experience this in regular classes. It is something only Lawrence can do.”
Radeos praised me to the fullest.
Not only figuratively, but physically as well.
“Th-that....... It is not unlimited. We have to ‘buy’ the Monster Summoning Scrolls. And the stronger the monster, the more the price rises exponentially, so if everyone here trains, the cost.......”
Hanging from Radeos's outstretched arm, I made the most important point.
There had to be money to buy them, and someone had to sell them.
The process of capturing a monster and sealing it in a scroll took considerable effort.
For that reason, even black mages who specialized in making Monster Summoning Scrolls normally made scrolls sealed with high-grade monsters only for their own use.
Even if they ever sold one, they put an absurd price on it.
Wing Frogs were low-grade monsters, but a scroll that summoned monsters powerful enough to provide combat experience cost at least several gold coins each.
“Who am I?”
Radeos suddenly asked with a serious expression.
“You are Prince Radeos Predeter, one of the royal family that forms the pillar of the kingdom.”
I answered with a light show of respect.
“Is the royal family so poor that it can't even buy that much?”
“Absolutely not.”
Nodding at that would amount to insulting the royal family. It was no different from a threat.
No, was he using the royal family to train?
Was the royal family's education really all right like this?
“Then, three Wing Frogs for one gold coin, one Goblin for three gold coins, and one One-Eyed Wolf for five gold coins.......”
Well, if he was going that far, selling him as much as he wanted was only right.
I scanned the Shop and recited prices with a small fee added.
“......Let us begin! Ten Goblins first!”
The price I quoted seemed to be slightly more than Radeos had expected, and he froze for a moment.
However, after invoking the royal family, he couldn't back down.
“Thank you!”
The customer was satisfied, and I was satisfied. It was a beautiful world.