Chapter 224

Chapter 224

Riana was rebuked by the Duke of Granz when she requested for him to invest money into the idea, and Harriet had gotten into an argument with her father.

I had seen Harriet acting like a raving mad dog while with her father in the past. This time, the Duke of Saint-Ouen had probably responded to her request with something like, “My dear, that’s nonsense!” and Harriet likely threw a tantrum in response, insisting, “I don’t care! Give me the money! I can make it!”

Unfortunately, it seemed the Duke of Saint-Ouen was very strict when it came to such matters.

Just when I thought he was a doting father, he showed that he wasn’t about to simply hand over tens or hundreds of billions for such a dubious cause.

I fully understood the perspective of those who refused to give us money.

Even the ones who were tasked with making the products doubted if they would be able to make it; it was a miracle that neither had been openly cursed at by others for asking them to part with their hard-earned money in support of this endeavor.

Now that both Riana and Harriet had been turned away by their immediate families, it was obvious what the result would be if we asked some external company to invest.

I was reminded of just how extraordinary it was that the Temple had given us a budget of five thousand gold in the first place.

Mr. Effenhauser and Ms. Mustang must have worked incredibly hard behind the scenes.

In the end, I wasn’t that disappointed about not getting the money.

Approaching it as a business and trying to generate capital was less orthodox, but that method also carried inherent risks.

The House of Granz and the Duke of Saint-Ouen.

If we had secured capital from them, those powerful houses would hold stakes in Moonshine and the Power Cartridge. We would have to share our research results with them, and they would be able to control production and sales as they pleased.

In essence, we would be making something that wouldn’t remain ours.

Both inventions were highly dangerous, and were power multipliers that could be used across the continent.

We could not afford to lose control over these items.

Even if the two great houses were open to cooperation, taking money from them would still expose us to risk.

Not receiving any capital investment—and avoiding the associated risks—was an acceptable outcome.

However, the truth remained: we needed more money. More money than we had at present.

Everyone in the club had many commitments academically and when it came to research. Because of this, we worked hard to catalog the items we already had on hand and those that needed to be purchased.

Naturally, certain auxiliary roles arose that were necessary for the running of the club.

The administrative workload was too much for the president alone, so Louis Ankton, the smartest among us, took on the role of treasurer.

He was like a human calculator, quick with numbers, and had extensive knowledge of magic, which helped a lot. As such, Louis played a critical role.

Since I did not know much about magic myself, I would have approved any budget requests based on what the kids said they needed.

However, Louis knew why certain items were necessary while which ones weren’t. Louis Ankton was like Harriet, possessing knowledge across almost all fields of magic, which meant that he could accurately assess and verify if the requested items were necessary or feasible.

He compiled the requested equipment, materials, and justifications from each member, evaluated their validity, discussed it with the members, and then brought the compiled list to me. I would then write up the budget proposal and request the procurement of materials from the Temple.

When it came to liaising with external entities, I took the lead, and Louis handled the specialized areas.

Critically, the kids were already burning through the available money at an alarming rate.

“While we don’t have enough data to establish a steady trend, at this rate, we’ll exhaust our budget within a week or two after our next group mission.”

“What, really? That soon?”

“Yeah. There are supplies we need to prepare and some new equipment to bring in. Not much, but definitely some. While expenses might decrease once things have been set up and prepared, for now, we are indeed running short.”

“... Oh boy.”

‘No way. Is the financial strain already hitting us this hard? But we have fifty billion! Wait, when did it become forty-five billion? This doesn’t make sense!’

“You told them to use whatever they needed and not to worry about the money... should I suggest cutting back?” Louis asked cautiously, but I shook my head.

“No. If they need the money, they should use it. I’ve given them some crazy orders, so I can’t tell them to skimp on the usage of research funds too.”

However, Louis clearly predicted that the research funds would quickly outstrip our available budget. While we still had some breathing room for now, it would soon be gone.

“We’ll have to manage somehow.”

‘Kids... Daddy will find a way to get the money for you guys! I’ll make it appear out of thin air if I have to!’

***

In the midst of these preparations and dealing with training-related matters, I was finally able to get rid of the crutches. Of course, I still couldn’t run or do strenuous exercises, but all this was only possible thanks to the Grand Yoga Master’s treatment regimen.?

The treatment sessions were considered my Mana Reinforcement lessons, though I didn’t quite grasp the technique yet.

In any case, my physical condition was slowly recovering.

The Orbis Class issue seemed to be dragging on. It was a problem I had created, but if the internal corruption within the Orbis Class managed to be resolved, perhaps the whole thing wouldn’t turn out to be a mess after all.

However, there was also a chance that things might worsen rather than improve, so I was feeling a bit uneasy about it.

However, the Orbis Class issue was already out of my hands. The matter at hand now was the problem plaguing the Magic Research Club.

Money...

If only I could generate money through Self-Deception.

Wouldn’t it be nice—money magically emerging just by thinking about it?

But of course, that was not going to work.

It was because of this that I found myself in the Head Student Council office.

“An absurdly large increase in the budget...”

In the Head Student Council President’s office, two people were present.

The president of the Temple’s Head Student Council, Raine Carly, a 5th-year student, and the vice president, Hermann von Rogarius, a 4th-year student.

It was rather interesting that the president was a commoner while the vice president was a noble. The vice president was apparently from a relatively high-ranking noble family in Kernstadt, and Raine Carly was a commoner from the territory directly governed by the empire.

All this information had been provided to me by Ceres Van Owenne.

Ceres was not there with me, as she believed her presence might be interpreted as the Royal Class trying to exert pressure.

Her recommendation was that I attend this meeting alone, and if things didn’t go well, we’d reconsider the approach.

President Raine Carly was a strikingly cold beauty.

The vice president, Hermann von Rogarius, also had a calm and composed demeanor.

They could not provide us with the funds. They did not have any other proof of our capabilities, aside from being members of the Royal Class.

No results meant no research funding. But we needed research funding to produce results.

“So you’re saying we need results? Or proof or our potential, to be precise.”

“We can at least review that, if that much is achieved.”

That meant that, as things stood, there was nothing for them to consider reviewing.

I took something out from my pocket and placed it on the president’s desk.

“... What is this?”

It was a bracelet that emitted a blue light.

“It’s a Protection Bracelet, made for one-time use.”

The final piece of advice from Ceres Van Owenne...

—Oh, and there’s something else you need to know about the student council president. Raine Carly majors in magic.

The Protection Bracelet...

Ellen had used hers, but I hadn’t used mine yet.

“What about it?” Raine Carly asked.

“It was created by a first-year student in our class.”

A hint of surprise crept into Raine Carly’s expression.

“In just two days,” I added.

That one sentence was enough to turn her surprise into overt shock.

***

Raine Carly stared wide-eyed at the Protection Bracelet on the desk.

“... They created magic-engraved items in just two days? First-year students?”

“Yes.”

I didn’t fully grasp how impressive the item was, but I had some idea of what the student council president might say.

We were told we had no achievements. I had anticipated that much.

So, I’d asked Harriet about the bracelet before coming.

“Hey, this thing. This Protection Bracelet.”

“Huh? Oh. Why? What about it?”

“Was creating this difficult?”.

“H-Huh? W-Well... Hmm...”

Harriet was proud of her abilities but wasn’t the type to boast. Instead, she hemmed and hawed and turned red.

“How long did it take you guys to make this?”

“About... Two days?”

“Normally, how long would it take? I mean, if first-year magic students were to make it?”

“Uh, w-well... Th-That’s... hmm...”

Harriet fidgeted with her fingers, looking embarrassed to say it herself.

“This is important, so spill it already. How long will it take for a student from the general classes to make it?”

“U-Umm, a-actually...”

“Come on, quick. How long would it take them?”

“Um, well...”

“Speak up already!” I yelled.

“Why are you shouting, you idiot! They wouldn’t be able to make it at all! There. Are you satisfied?” Harriet yelled back then stomped away, fuming.

In any case...

A Protection Bracelet fit for one-time use that had taken two days to create...

Regular students would not be able to make it in two days. In fact, they wouldn’t even come close to being able to make such a thing at all.

That was what had left Raine Carly currently speechless.

“We made two, to be exact. They were a collaborative effort by two magic students from Class A. One specializes in Magic Crafting, but the other is just a novice.”

Harriet and Adelia...

Adelia, who was often overshadowed by Harriet, was also a crazy genius. She had been the one to handle the basic design of the bracelet, with Harriet providing assistance.

A first-year specialist and a novice. Together, they had created this item.

“In just two days... they created something like this...?” Raine Carly murmured in disbelief.

“President, your nose is bleeding again.”

“Hmm.”

She was in such a daze that she hadn’t noticed her nose had started bleeding again. She wiped it with her handkerchief.

‘Goodness. Doesn’t she need to rest? She’s going to collapse at this rate.’

“An item that can only be used once, so we can’t activate it to verify its functionality. We can’t be certain if the Protection magic it’s supposed to have is fully intact. After all, two days is an exceptionally short manufacturing period.”

The president’s skepticism about the functionality of the magic etched into the bracelet was reasonable.

“You mentioned that they made two of them, didn’t you?”

“That’s correct,” I replied, grinning widely. “We’ve already used one. In the Dark Land.”

This item had already been tested in a real-world scenario.