"Then, the next student."
At Marta Inglebert's words, sighs and intrigued exclamations rose among the Imperial Patronage Association's interviewers.
"Number 101, Lloyd Schultz."
"Whatever are we to do with this student......"
The sighs came from the interviewers who had directly conducted his interview.
"I hear he mentioned the Nobles' Patronage Association during the interview?"
"Was he audacious, or merely arrogant?"
"Either way, he is certainly interesting."
The interested exclamations came from the interviewers who had not seen him in person because they had been conducting other interviews.
"Do we really need to agonize over this? Why not just mark him down as unsuccessful?"
One interviewer spoke lightly, as though he could not understand the fuss.
"By his own words, he intends to receive sponsorship from another patronage association. There is no reason for us to cling to him."
"No, I disagree."
An older interviewer countered with a pitying expression.
"Pardon?"
"We cannot dismiss him so readily, because there is a chance that he truly is a scholarship student of another patronage association."
Chapter 01 - Damn, Possessors Need Money
To the Imperial Patronage Association's interviewers, Lloyd was a double-edged sword.
Giving him a scholarship would indeed count as an achievement.
An especially exhilarating and satisfying one, at that.
It would be a thrilling counterattack from the Imperial Patronage Association, which had always had its talented people stolen by other patronage associations.
"He would also be the perfect case to write up as an achievement in a report."
Civil service began with reports and ended with reports.
And the thing that those receiving the reports valued most was numbers.
No matter how much they went on about the Empire's future talent or the Imperial Patronage Association's operating policies for the following year.
It would not be worth a single sentence: 'We poached N scholarship students from other patronage associations.'
Among Marta Inglebert and the interviewers gathered here, there was not a single civil servant who would turn down an achievement.
And yet.
There was only one reason they could not easily make a decision.
It was certainly not because they were exercising their exemplary civil-servant spirit and conserving tax-funded scholarships as though the money were their own.
"Can we trust the statement made by interviewee number 101, Lloyd Schultz?"
It was the possibility that Lloyd had lied.
Since civil service began and ended with reports, submitting a wrong report was worse than submitting no report at all.
Once a mistake made it into a report, it was immortalized forever.
"Which association exactly did he mention?"
"Unfortunately, he did not say."
"What if we shut our eyes and circulate an official request for cooperation, asking for their list of scholarship students......"
"That would be worse than doing nothing."
They could hardly ask another patronage association, 'Do you happen to know Lloyd Schultz?'
If Lloyd truly had ties to another patronage association and the Imperial Patronage Association showed interest in him as well.
The other association would immediately crush him under a pile of money.
There was also no guarantee that another patronage association, their competitor for talent, would provide honest information.
Conversely, even if they requested information from the Imperial Patronage Association, they would use a smokescreen.
"I believe we should reject him. Lloyd Schultz has submitted no proof whatsoever that he is a scholarship student of another patronage association."
More than anything, Lloyd had kept his identity tightly concealed behind a veil.
He had displayed rhetoric skillful enough to leave the interviewers reeling, while offering no evidence at all—enough to give them a headache.
"Could it be that he deliberately did not submit any?"
"Pardon?"
"He is telling us that if we want him, then we must bear a certain amount of risk as well. Only then will he choose the Imperial Patronage Association over another association."
"How can that make any sense? It would not be enough even if he submitted every piece of supporting documentation."
"If Lloyd Schultz truly is a scholarship student of another association, he may be confident precisely because he has nothing to regret."
"......Good grief."
"Either way, he is no ordinary person."
Finally, even setting aside whether a request for cooperation would work, this was a matter of the Imperial Patronage Association's dignity.
In the Imperial Capital, of all places, they would have to beg another patronage association because they could not properly uncover information about a mere prospective academy student?
"This has become quite a headache."
For civil servants whose only rewards for serving the Empire were the honor, meager salaries, and utterly ruined work-life balance, it would surely be a dreadful disgrace.
"What if we sponsor just one term's tuition first, then decide......"
"And if it is later revealed that it was a lie, will you take responsibility?"
"Why would I have to take responsibility for that?"
"It would be awkward to set a precedent of granting a scholarship to a student who has not even been properly verified."
"But we cannot simply stand by and watch talent slip away to another patronage association!"
"That is why we should first thoroughly confirm whether or not he is actually talented......"
"How? The academy opens in one week."
Only loud shouting and peevish criticisms filled the Imperial Patronage Association's conference room.
But none of them were truly angry or genuinely arguing back.
It was merely a civil-servant performance, staged in the hope that someone else would take the burden in their place.
"How about this?"
Only when Marta Inglebert finally spoke did the meaningless noise cease.
"Let us grant him a full scholarship for now, but have someone investigate him before the academy opens. Whether he really does contact another patronage association or not."
"Oh."
"That certainly would work."
In truth, her proposal was no more than an assembly of the fragmented opinions already floating around the room.
But the Imperial Patronage Association's interviewers agreed as though they had been waiting for it.
What mattered to them was not the opinion, but who would take responsibility.
For a civil servant, avoiding responsibility as much as possible was more important than an achievement.
That was how one lived a long life.
"Interview Team Two must have it nice and easy."
And in civil-servant society, there were always people who added unnecessary remarks only after a decision had been made.
"Give him a scholarship first and see whether it works out? If that is the plan, why conduct interviews at all?"
An interviewer with a goat beard spoke up.
"Are you saying that to me, Interviewer Berio?"
"I was not saying it for anyone in particular to hear, but I suppose you heard it that way?"
As the interviewer called Berio shrugged, several others joined in and let out mocking laughs.
"Some of us conduct interviews to the point of death, evaluating applicants, while others say we should give out scholarships first and think about it later. Ha! You could not possibly make the work any easier."
"Then again, perhaps interviewee number 101 and Interviewer Marta know each other."
"Looking at it that way, I can almost understand why she wants to cover it up and give him the scholarship first."
The ripple that had begun as small snickers gradually grew into open derision.
An incident of this size was truly rare in the closed world of civil servants.
Especially when it happened on another team.
As in the case of Interview Team One, to which Berio belonged, and Interview Team Two, to which Marta belonged.
When it was a fire in someone else's team, it was a fine spectacle.
"What do you think should be done, Interviewer Berio?"
"Why are you asking me? The one who interviewed that student, Lloyd Schultz or whatever his name was, was Interviewer Inglebert."
The moment Interviewer Berio drew the line as though he were genuinely dumbfounded.
Marta's blue eyes gleamed like those of a predator that had spotted its prey.
As though she had been waiting for him to say exactly that.
"Then I will mark him down as unsuccessful."
"Ah, well, that is for you to......"
"However."
When Marta lightly tapped her heel, the surroundings fell quiet.
"If Lloyd Schultz truly is a scholarship student of another patronage association."
"W-What?"
There was a touch of fatigue in her voice, but her bearing was razor-sharp.
Interviewer Berio took a step back without realizing it.
"And if, after graduating from the academy, he takes a job in another noble's territory and becomes someone who represents only the nobles' interests rather than those of the Empire."
"Accounting for every possible contingency like that......"
"Then I will have no choice but to submit a written explanation stating that Interviewer Berio argued for Lloyd Schultz's rejection."
"W-What is that supposed to mean?!"
"Or, Interviewer Berio may put my name on the written explanation instead. Since he will have to take responsibility for covering the matter up and granting the scholarship."
Marta's voice took one step closer.
Berio's silence took two steps back.
"Have I ever avoided responsibility even once?"
If you wanted to hold someone accountable, you had to be prepared to take responsibility yourself.
Without changing her expression, Marta merely waited for his answer.
Berio's goat beard quivered, and soon he turned on his heel with angry steps and shouted.
"Do whatever you want!"
Those who had sided with him left the conference room after him.
Only then did Marta let out a small sigh of relief.
"Ahem, but if we are to have someone follow him, we will need to request assistance from the Intelligence Department."
The older interviewer changed the atmosphere and returned the conversation to its original topic.
"I will speak to the association chairman about that."
"Oh, if Interviewer Inglebert will do that, it is a great relief!"
Ordinarily, Marta would not have stepped up this much.
As Interviewer Berio had said, she had connections of her own.
It was true that they gave her some latitude in selecting scholarship students, but connections could not solve every problem.
'Lloyd Schultz. He was quite confident......'
That was why this was closer to Marta Inglebert's personal interest.
Unlike the other scholarship candidates, who always made themselves into the subordinate party and grovelled no matter what she said as an interviewer.
Lloyd's attitude was shameless enough to make it seem as though he had come to collect money he had left on deposit.
"Do not mention it. Still, I believe this matter ought to be reported under my name. What do you think?"
"Oh, that is only natural."
"Of course. The person who takes the greatest responsibility also receives the greatest credit."
Even so, she did not forget to secure her own interests.
Connections were not the only reason Marta had been able to become an interviewer at such a young age.
Marta Inglebert's blue eyes, so much like her father's, curved sharply into crescents.
***
Imperial Patronage Association Sponsorship Decision Notice
Name: Lloyd Schultz (Interviewee No. 101)
Sponsorship Details: Full Academy Scholarship and four years of academic incentive payments
Please refer to the attached document for the sponsorship contract.
…
…
P.S. If you would like additional sponsorship, please contact Marta Inglebert of the Imperial Patronage Association.
"Mm, this is it."
Just as the most delicious ramen in the world was ramen cooked by someone else.
There was no money healthier than someone else's money.
And a messenger had just delivered word that the Imperial Patronage Association had decided to sponsor me.
That alone meant the fifty-gold-deletion bug I had been hit with the moment I possessed this body was fixed.
But I could not be satisfied with that.
'Money is always in short supply when you are in politics.'
"Welcome to the Sachsen Patronage Association."
"Hello. I am here to apply for a scholarship."
Therefore, the more money, the better. Even more so when it was someone else's money.
And if academy tuition was a fifty-gold-deletion bug, then the Imperial Patronage Association's notice in my hand was practically a button for a gold-duplication bug.
I changed only the subject of what I had said at the Imperial Patronage Association, then went to other patronage associations and repeated it like a parrot.
"Let us hear a brief introduction, shall we? Starting with the student on the far right?"
"It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Lloyd Schultz, who has been selected as a scholarship student by the Imperial Patronage Association."
"......What did you say?"
Starting with the Sachsen Patronage Association operated by the Duke of Sachsen.
"The scholarship application period for this term has already ended. Applications for the next term will not be accepted for another six months......"
"I am this sort of person."
"J-Just a moment, please."
I put on a successful touring performance as I made the rounds of the patronage associations of the Duke of Frank, the Margrave of Rheinland, the Red Tower, and the Blue Tower.
They were famous hereditary nobles and mage towers whose names you would hear at least once no matter which seed you played in <Jjam Academy>.
Naturally, they had each established a patronage association in the capital to snap up talented people.
'And when I, certified by the Imperial Patronage Association, wagged my tail enticingly?'
They had no choice but to take a shot at sponsoring me, whether it worked out or not.
'It is not their own money, so there is no need to economize.'
Fifty gold every term might feel like a huge amount to an individual student, but to them, whose territories were practically countries in their own right, it was too little even to call pocket change.
The patronage associations they operated likewise had the primary goal of acquiring even one more talented person somehow, rather than saving money.
The very existence of a patronage association was the product of extravagant money-flinging.
Their territories had to be prosperous enough that they did not even need to recruit outside talent before they could afford to maintain a patronage association in the distant capital.
Even so, there was only one reason they went out of their way to open a portal to the capital.
'They have to throw a check at the Emperor.'
Naturally, the one fostering talent in the capital was the Emperor.
And the more talent the Emperor acquired, the stronger imperial authority became; the stronger imperial authority became, the weaker the local powers inevitably grew.
In that sense, their poaching of talented people was a passive hostile takeover.
It was deeply offensive to the Emperor.
But when he considered the enormous academy tuition paid by the local powers, he could only cry, 'Hnggh…,' inwardly instead of immediately bringing down the hammer he had been about to raise.
Of course, my touring performance did not have a perfect batting average.
"Yes, we have confirmed your documents. The scholarship result will be sent to your home address."
Some questioned the authenticity of the Imperial Patronage Association notice I had presented.
"If you are receiving a full scholarship from the Imperial Patronage Association, there should be no problem with academy life. Is there a reason you are seeking an additional scholarship?"
At patronage associations operated by merchant guilds, which were sensitive about calculating money, some even rejected me by pointing out that I was raking in scholarships with a rake.
'About five places......'
The Duke of Sachsen, the Duke of Frank, the Margrave of Rheinland, the Red Tower, and the Blue Tower.
After spending all Friday night making the rounds of the capital's patronage associations, I had a total of five sponsorship decision notices in my hand.
A scholarship could be considered a down payment on the promise that I would work for that side once I graduated from the academy.
In that sense, including the Imperial Patronage Association, I had now entered overlapping contracts with a total of six places.
Therefore, it would certainly become a problem later.
But.
'Yeah, by then the Empire will already be fucked.'
Around the time I graduated from the academy—in other words, after about four years by <Jjam Academy>'s clock.
The question of whether a single graduate had run off with scholarship money would be very minor.
That was when <Jjam Academy>'s own unfair screwjobs, which were determined to ram the world into a bad ending by any means necessary, would begin in earnest.
Just off the top of my head, there was a nobles' war on the scale of a civil war, and a holy war in which a perfectly normal church suddenly went mad and attempted human sacrifice.
That did not mean I intended to simply run off with the money.
If I successfully built up a snowball through the Academy Job Quest and pulled off a Chancellor run.
I would be able to smoothly deliver benefits greater than the scholarships to the factions that had sponsored me.
'What if I fail the Chancellor run? I do not know either?'
No member of parliament set up a plan expecting to lose the election.
And patronage associations were not fools, either.
Even if a student was a scholarship recipient, they did not casually hand gold coins to a prospective student who had not even entered the academy yet.
Even a full scholarship could only be converted into cash after I brought them a receipt proving that I had paid the tuition.
That meant I did not have a great deal of money in hand right now.
'Then what should I do?'
The answer was simple.
"Welcome to the Imperial Bank. How may I help you?"
"Yes, I would like to take out a loan."
I would borrow it.
As I had said time and again, unless you were someone like Trump, you did not do politics with your own money.
Even Trump did not do all of it with his own money. The election funds Doge Daddy had poured into pro-Trump super PACs alone were enormous.
"Ho. A loan. I am a loan examiner at the Imperial Bank's Capital Head Office. Your name?"
"Lloyd Schultz."
"Occupation?"
"Prospective academy student."
"Hm. Family?"
"An orphan."
"Ha! There is no need to ask anything more, but my heart overflows with generosity just before I leave work, so I will ask. Collateral?"
"Patronage association sponsorship notices."
I elegantly presented documents that could not yet be converted into cash, but were as good as cash.
The fact that they could not be converted into cash immediately meant that future income was guaranteed.
And banks were institutions made up of people who loved that sort of concept.
From the bank's perspective, I would surely look like a living, breathing 'No Risk, Yes Interest.'
'It is like saying, Hurry up and lend me money too; interest will come out of it.'
"......What in the world is this?"
The employee who took my documents had pupils as large as gold coins.
"Six notices."
"Aaaaargh!"
Seizing that opening, I fanned out the documents that had been stacked together as one into six sheets.
'Who am I?'
Not merely someone endorsed by the Imperial Patronage Association, but a promising talent with a guaranteed future at Sachsen, Frank, Rheinland, the Red Tower, and the Blue Tower as well.
"Team leader! Bank president!"
This was why a person needed good connections and powerful backing.
Just seeing the employee, overwhelmed by those names, dash off in a panic made my pockets feel full already.
***
As I left the bank, feeling the security brought by full pockets.
"Mr. Lloyd Schultz?"
"Yes?"
"His Excellency Court Count Wegner, chairman of the Imperial Patronage Association, has invited you to dinner."
"Ah."
They had found my trail.
Attempted duplicate-scholarship recipient busted like a dog at the Imperial Bank's front doors!