Because of the oracle that a hero would emerge from Elysium Academy, the continent's attention was fixed on Elysium Academy.
I had a fair number of entangled connections. Sadly, most of them were bad blood. If someone like me became a professor at Elysium Academy, no small number of problems were bound to break out. That was why I couldn't be a professor.
So what I'd chosen was the security corps. The only line of work that let you get involved in academy affairs without being a professor or a student was a security guard.
Still, even as security, I needed a thread connecting me to the students. Leon was that thread.
"What? You're telling me not to hire a teaching assistant?"
Leon asked back as if it were absurd. I nodded lightly.
"A teaching assistant is the last legal slave left in the Empire, you know. Telling me not to hire a TA, the very hands and feet of a professor — what on earth do you mean—"
Leon protested mildly. That was how important a TA was to a professor.
In the original game there was one professor character with a severe streak of suspicion. The professor refused to hire a TA, claiming a TA would try to steal his research. In response, Elysium Academy assigned the professor a security guard.
'If a professor fails to secure a TA, a security guard is automatically assigned.'
That was why I'd told Leon not to hire a TA. Of course, I could have explained these detailed circumstances and told him to keep quiet, but......
"Do you need an explanation?"
Leon's face went pale in an instant. He shook his head frantically.
"No, sir! Understood, sir!!"
Just then, the train began to slow. Through the window, splendid buildings came into view.
The capital.
"I'll see you next time, then."
I gathered my things and rose from my seat.
"Next—?"
Leaving Leon's uneasy voice behind.
***
The Empire's capital was quite splendid. Magic tools adorned the medieval Gothic buildings, giving it a feel that blended the medieval and the modern in just the right measure. I headed straight for Mage Tower Street, where the mage towers were clustered.
In this world's setting, a mage tower was less an ivory tower of knowledge than something close to a commercial enterprise. It was due to the nature of magic. Just as a knight needs a sword, casting magic required mana stones. The trouble was that mana stones were extremely expensive. Mages needed enormous sums of money. That was why mage towers bore names like 'Arcana Group' and 'Lumen Corporation,' as though they were pyramid-scheme companies.
The first thing to come into view as I entered Mage Tower Street was the enormous buildings. They were the mage-tower corporations, the big conglomerates among mage towers. True to the name 'corporation,' the buildings were all magnificent.
What stood out in particular were the twin towers standing side by side.
'Doing well, I see.'
I nodded with satisfaction.
Because of the error caused by setting every stat to S, I'd been possessed into the world twelve years before the game's intro. I'd been possessed a full twelve years early, but since the game's genre was an academy story, there wasn't much useful information to be had.
Even so, there were a few things worth salvaging, and those twin towers were one of them.
The twin towers were a rising mage tower that grew explosively in the game. In other words, a fledgling enterprise destined to balloon into a major corporation. I'd invested a fair amount of money in the twin towers in the early days of their founding.
But my destination right now wasn't the twin towers.
I passed the twin towers and went deeper. Then came buildings of a height too ambiguous to be called towers. Small and mid-sized mage towers. In front of them, people in robes were out touting for business.
"An elixir to grow your hair thick! It really works!"
"We at 'Magius Holdings' promise clean settlements! We will never run off with your money!"
I went deeper still. Then a street like a shantytown appeared.
My steps halted at the end of the shantytown. It was a house that looked ready to collapse at any moment. And yet it had a signboard, on which, in stylish lettering, was proudly written 'Constila Tower.'
'Found it.'
There was one reason I remembered Constila Tower. It was because Andy, the youngest Archmage, was here.
'The setting said he was dirt-poor, but I never thought it was this bad.'
I clicked my tongue at the shack that looked ready to crumble any second.
Still, for me it was good news. An opportunity to buy at the bottom.
A mage's growth rate varies with the amount invested in him. Andy was a prodigy who became an Archmage even without proper investment. Pour investment into that Andy, and?
'I have to buy Andy, no question.'
Saying you 'buy' a mage might sound strange, but in this world it was commonplace. The Mage Tower Guild even sold a standard mage employment contract. The contracts were the Mage Tower Guild's single largest source of revenue, so their management was extremely strict.
I pushed the door. No — I tried to. Before that, the door simply broke. Thud — the door fell with a heavy sound.
The shabby interior of the tower came into view. Amid magic tools that looked scavenged from somewhere stood a white-haired old man and a small boy. The two of them stared at me blankly.
"Ah, it was 'push,' was it."
The two exchanged a glance. Soon the boy cried out, on the verge of tears.
"Aigooo! The only inheritance Mother left behind!"
"Yooou scoundreeel! What do you think you're doing?! Do you know how precious that door is?!"
Andy wailed at the top of his lungs, and the old man followed by bellowing. It wasn't a routine they were running for the first time.
"It was a special, top-grade door Mother brought in herself from Shern Island, across the sea! Aigooo!!"
"To damage the treasure of our tower!! What are you going to do about it?! Your life wouldn't be enough to repay it!!"
"Let's settle this for around fifty silver coins, shall we—"
The laughable performance went on. I lightly raised a hand.
"You're Andy?"
"That's me. And who might you be?"
"I'd like to enter into an exclusive employment contract."
"......An exclusive contract?"
"Yooou scoundreeel! The treasure of our tower—!"
"Gramps, I think he's a customer?"
"What lunatic would come to our tower?! He's clearly a swindler!"
"It's not like we've got anything to swindle anyway."
"That's...... true."
"Let's hear him out, at least. Ah, sir, customer. Right this way, please!!"
Andy politely held out a chair. Instead of sitting, I said,
"I'd like to make an exclusive employment contract."
"Ahem, I'm rather expensive, though. How much were you thinking?"
"How much do you need?"
When I asked it back, Andy's eyes shook wildly. After exchanging a glance with the old man, Andy spread five fingers wide with great force.
"Five gold coins!"
......Five gold coins?
It wasn't a small sum, of course. On average it was enough for a commoner to live on for about four months. By Earth's standards, roughly ten million won. But mages came very dear. An especially skilled mage came dearer still.
A talent destined to become an Archmage, for a mere five gold coins—. I couldn't help letting out a snort. Misreading my reaction, Andy hastily added,
"I'm worth that much, I'll have you know! I got into Elysium Academy, too! If you insist...... four? No! Three! No lower than that!! It's a steal!"
Andy's fingers folded down one by one in quick succession.
I had come to buy at the bottom, of course, but I had no intention of beating down the price. This was, above all, an investment. I held up one finger.
"One? Even so, an exclusive contract for just one—"
"No — a hundred."
"A hundred silver coins? Come on! Even so! That's too much! You'd have to give at least five hundred—"
"In gold."
"......Eh?"
I turned my pouch over. Gold coins came pouring out. A crisp sound rang out as a small golden mountain formed.
Andy's mouth fell wide open. Suddenly his eyes turned grave.
"Don't tell me you're into men—?"
Andy asked cautiously. At the out-of-nowhere remark, I scrunched up my face.
"What the hell kind of nonsense is that?"
"I mean, rather than someone investing a hundred gold coins in me, a perverted noble with designs on a pretty boy is the more realistic read, isn't it? And 'exclusive contract' has a strange ring to it too—"
"Just write the contract."
I held out the Mage Tower Guild's standard contract. Andy, who'd been examining the contract with a serious face, let out a shrill scream.
"You want me to spend a hundred gold coins within half a semester?!"
"Yes. That's the condition."
Andy was a guaranteed lottery ticket. There was no need to spare money. If anything, I had to pour money in and accelerate his growth.
The problem was Andy's spending habits. Andy's timid ambition was a flaw in a mage. I needed to force him to spend.
"Spend the full hundred gold coins, and in half a year I'll invest two hundred gold coins."
"Insane."
Andy muttered the crude curse clumsily. His face had gone white as a sheet.
"No, why on earth are you doing this to me?"
Andy demanded, looking at me with a frightened face. I gazed quietly into those clear eyes.
There was much I could have said. That hell would soon descend upon the world, that the Outer Gods would burn and tear the continent apart. That to stop it, even pouring gold into you — a guaranteed Archmage — wouldn't be enough. Things like that. But it was all too long and tedious to explain.
So—
"Suit yourself, then."
I gently pulled the contract back. Andy hurriedly grabbed it. The old man, who'd kept quiet all along, called to Andy.
"Andy, an exclusive contract isn't something to do lightly. This is a lifelong leash—"
"Eh? Gramps, what?"
Andy had already signed. The old man eyed me with narrowed eyes. A chilling sensation tickled my neck. I tapped the hilt of my sword with my fingers.
Just then, Andy made a mischievous face.
"You really don't go for men, right? I need to brace myself, just in case—"
At the endless harping about men, my brow furrowed. He wasn't even a man underneath it all, so why the constant harping about being into men—. Still, since saying so aloud might set the old man in motion, I answered, feigning ignorance.
"One more word of that and I'll cancel the contract."
"Joke! Jooooke! Gwahaha! Joke! Please! Please! I'm sorry! Gramps, hurry and beg too!"
Andy clung to me, dropping to his knees. At Andy's bidding, the old man knelt down as well. A truly top-grade performance.
I tucked the contract away with satisfaction.
I'd bought the youngest, freshest Archmage among all Archmages. For a mere hundred gold coins. I swear, it was a giveaway.
"Let's get ready. There's somewhere I need to go for a moment."
"Yes? Where are we going?"
"I'm going to introduce you to a friend."
A friend? Andy tilted his head and threw up a sloppy salute.
"I'll get ready and head out in no time! Boss! Loyalty!!"
***
'Grave?'
The old man muttered the name written on the contract.
The fellow had appeared out of nowhere and invested a hundred gold coins in Andy. Andy's talent shouldn't be known to anyone yet—
'Did he find out who I am?'
No — if he knew the old man's identity, there was no way he could swagger like that. Above all, if even a sliver of the old man's identity had leaked, the corporations would have come crashing in first.
"I'm rich! Filthy rich! Gramps! Pull down the shutters! We're closed for the day! Today it's special-grade meat buns!"
Andy's laughter shattered the old man's thoughts. The old man fixed Andy with a serious gaze.
"Andy, never undo your transformation magic."
"I know. Whew — honestly, being pretty is such a hassle."
"If you don't put a fence around a flower, bugs are bound to swarm. Be careful, and careful again."
"Yes, I'll keep it in mind. Haa, really. Why did Mother go and birth me so needlessly pretty and make my life difficult?"
Andy grumbled in earnest. The old man smiled gently and stroked Andy's head.
"Can't be helped. Your mother was simply far too beautiful."
At the old man's words, Andy giggled.
"But what do you suppose he does? Just what kind of grand personage is he, to scatter a hundred gold coins like that—"
"Who knows."
"Could he be high nobility? He had a refined air about him."
"He's no noble."
"Why not?"
Because he reeks of blood. Thick enough to make you gag—.
The old man forced the words back down.
"Heh heh! Did you think I couldn't spend a measly hundred gold coins? You underestimated me! From today I'll eat three meat buns at a time! And two cakes each for dessert! Hee hee—"
Andy chuckled slyly, shaking the pouch of gold coins.
'Hmm, did I raise him too frugally—'
The old man began to worry about Andy in an altogether different sense.