Chapter 131
Principal Dwener's hands moved tirelessly.
He skipped meals, forgoing rest and sleep altogether.
Aywin and Rodelin, along with the other student council members, hesitated for a moment but decided to leave him be.
After all, there was nothing urgent he needed to attend to right away.
It was late in the evening, after Rodelin had hung a simple meal on the door handle and left for home, worried about Dwener.
Yet, Dwener's hands did not stop moving until the next morning.
He was engrossed like a madman, obsessed with the proposal.
It had been 32 hours since he started working on the proposal.
Tweet tweet.
"Hm? What's this? Is it morning already?"
Dwener stretched his arms upward, doing some stretches.
'Huhu, to think I managed to write two proposals in just 8 hours. I really am amazing.'
...Though in reality, it wasn't 8 hours but 32 hours, it was still an incredible feat.
The focus he maintained for 32 hours and the nearly academic-level proposal he completed were extraordinary achievements, especially considering Dwener's usual behavior.
Of course, this was assuming the content was solid.
"Today's agenda is..."
"That will need to be discussed with the facility team..."
Murmur murmur.
At 8 AM, the sound of the student council members gathering could be heard.
"...is coming."
Dwener tensed up.
The sound of the wind and the chilly voices of the students struck the principal's office door.
The calm before the storm.
Whether the student council was lackluster or the proposal was, the outcome would tell.
'Am I getting too nervous? My body feels odd.'
It was strange to feel so stiff after only working for 8 hours.
But he couldn't back down over something like this.
He naturally interlocked his fingers, elbows on the desk, and filled his eyes with strength.
'This is a posture that truly demonstrates the principal's dignity.'
Perhaps startled by his immense dignity, the student council members who entered the door flinched.
'What? Am I seeing a ghost? Did he come to work earlier than us?'
'Tomorrow the sun will rise from the west.'
'And what's with those strange eyes? He's been odd since yesterday. Did we do something wrong?'
When the students were at a loss for what to do.
"Are you all just going to stand there and not come in?"
"Have you lost interest in serving the students? Neglecting your duties is grounds for demerits."
"Ah... That, that's..."
Aywin and Rodelin made their way through the crowd and into the room.
But they too couldn't help but flinch.
It wasn't just Dwener's gaze that was startling but also his disheveled appearance.
The odd posture, the shaky body, the sunken eyelids, the unfocused eyes.
And the sweat dripping down from his partially uncovered head.
It was no wonder the students were taken aback.
"...Let's start our duties. We'll take care of the principal."
Prompted by Aywin, the student council members dispersed to their respective tasks.
"...It seems he hasn't come out since yesterday."
Rodelin had left some snacks on the door handle before leaving the night before.
They were still hanging there.
"Let's go. The principal must have something he wants to say to us."
The massive glass door separating the student council and the principal's office.
Aywin and Rodelin opened the door and went inside.
Principal Dwener was still in an indescribable pose.
"Principal, have you been here this whole time?"
"I had some urgent business."
"...Business?"
Aywin and Rodelin sensed that the situation was not normal.
They didn't know what it was, but it was clear something urgent had come up.
'Otherwise... that Dwener wouldn't be working.'
Dwener, as lazy as he was incompetent.
For him to have worked through the night? For over 30 hours?
'Even when the fourth grade demon attacked, he was all about work-life balance. Then this means...!'
It must have been an attack by at least a third grade demon or an event of similar magnitude.
When Aywin and Rodelin's faces turned stern, a thick stack of papers was placed before them.
"Ahem..."
Dwener coughed and turned the chair around, avoiding their gaze.
All they could see was the back of the chair.
His attitude seemed to be one of embarrassment.
Was it a first-class confidential document requesting cooperation from the empire?
If so, it was serious. If the academy needed to lend a hand for something the empire was involved in.
'There's only war...!'
And a war so dire that they would need to enlist student soldiers.
Even the unflappable Aywin and Rodelin were caught off guard.
"What is this?"
"Don't you see? It's a proposal."
"...A proposal?"
"Ahem, a proposal I've put together personally. Take a look and give me your assessment. Though... you probably won't need to look too closely. It was written more as a jest."
After about 5 seconds of silence.
Realizing the situation, Aywin and Rodelin sighed in relief.
They understood it was a proposal for operational funding.
'He was embarrassed it might get rejected after all the hard work. That's why he was behaving like that.'
'Thankfully, it's not a war...'
'But why a proposal all of a sudden? Last year, even when we begged him to write one, he pushed it onto us and ran away. Did he get some backdoor funding?'
'Or perhaps he was showing off in front of someone and ended up with a request?'
Before even seeing the proposal, Aywin and Rodelin were already skeptical.
"You didn't use a typewriter? My, my..."
"The tables, drawings, and graphs, you drew them all by hand. And yet the spacing is so consistent. Impressive..."
Behind the chair, Dwener flinched.
The typewriter, developed over twenty years ago.
To administrative officials, it was hailed as a divine invention for its ability to speed up work.
However, Dwener did not use a typewriter. Or rather, he couldn't.
'When I was in my prime, there was no such thing!'
Handwriting is also a form of self-improvement.
It's a process of refining one's body and mind.
'To rely on such a machine!'
He wanted to lecture them about the old days but restrained himself.
He didn't want to provoke unnecessary rivalry.
The most critical matter now was whether the proposal would be approved or not.
Flap flap.
The evaluation began amidst negative looks and thoughts.
Suddenly, the principal's office fell silent, with only the sound of Aywin and Rodelin flipping through pages.
The more they read, the more Principal Dwener felt like he was drying up.
-'Are you in your right mind?'
-'To think of spending money on such a thing!'
He was sure to be scolded.
Perhaps he would be punished for wasting paper, forced to sign documents all day long in the principal's office.
But.
'Even if the investment is rejected, the magic gun class must be established.'
Dwener had created two proposals.
The 'Establishment and Operation of the Magic Gun Division' and an 'Investment Proposal for the Magic Engineering Association.'
Although the proposal mentioned the establishment of a 'magic gun division', he actually planned to conduct classes related to magic engineering.
'Since Zero has taken an interest in magic engineering... I must help in this way.'
It was essentially a magic engineering class.
Honestly, even though he had created the proposal, Dwener thought the investment part was overstepping.
'So even if that gets rejected, the magic engineering class must be established.'
Dwener anxiously awaited the outcome.
Rustle rustle.
After flipping through the pages several times, Aywin spoke up.
"...This is good."
"That, that's right. I knew the investment was too much... Huh? What did you just say?"
"I said it's good."
It was Aywin's honest opinion.
Good. Much better than expected.
And Rodelin agreed.
"We've felt the need for a magic gun class. It takes a long time for commoners and peasants to become aware of their mana."
"While the investment in the Magic Engineering Association needs to be cautious... establishing a relationship in advance wouldn't hurt. After all, we've received a lot from them."
The magic engineering samples provided for free.
Though intended for promotional purposes, they had been useful in various situations.
'Of course, there were also many utterly useless items.'
Automatic toothbrushes, exercise machines, lullaby machines, etc.
Looking at such samples, one might wonder what engineers were thinking.
With their brilliant minds, why create such things?
'But, it's undeniable that magic engineering technology has recently come to the forefront.'
Aywin and Rodelin turned their attention to the first proposal.
The establishment and operation of a 'Magic Gun Division.'
A 'magic gun' that anyone with mana could use.
It's not about personal skill. It's inefficient.
There was much debate. Recently, it had been a controversial item.
But.
'Lots of negative talk means, conversely...'
'It's a threatening technology.'
Especially the Archery Association and noble archery families were strongly opposed.
They argued that relying on artifact power, without developing one's skills, would weaken the empire's strength.
Aywin and Rodelin somewhat agreed.
If they depended only on technology, they would eventually face disaster.
'But these two proposals boldly address that.'
One might not develop their abilities. However.
Not developing one's abilities and augmenting one's skills with technology are different.
Enhancing one's skills while receiving technological assistance.
That was the clear intent behind establishing the magic gun class.
'We'll need to look more closely, but... the investment shouldn't be a problem.'
As mentioned, given the rise of magic engineering.
Even if not a large amount, it was worth investing to some degree.
After all, operational funds were meant for such purposes.
Introducing new classes during the semester was not unusual.
If the students needed a class, it would be promptly established.
That was one of the ideals of the empire's premier academy, Annwood Academy.
"We'll review it and include it in this week's agenda."
"Uh, um! To think a proposal made in jest would be submitted. Ahem! This is serious."
Dwener murmured as if troubled.
Aywin and Rodelin lightly dismissed his words.
They could feel his joy even from behind the chair.
As Aywin revisited the proposal, he pondered.
'But to write this... in just 32 hours?'
Moreover, the proposal, including text, tables, drawings, and graphs, was all handcrafted.
He must have spent at least half the time on it.
'That means he spent only 16 hours on planning and writing the proposal...'
If he had used a typewriter and had a few assistants, it might have been finished much faster.
At this thought, a question arose.
'Could it be... Dwener was competent all along? Has he been deceiving us until now?'
The proposal was too perfect to be the work of an incompetent person.
He must have been hiding his abilities.
'Has the academy principal been concealing his power!?' Something like that.
Was Rodelin coming to the same conclusion? She suddenly shouted.
"Why haven't you worked like this before! You could do so well!"
Thud!
The chair shook violently.
It was unclear if Dwener was caught pretending to be incompetent or startled by Rodelin's voice.
"Huhu, don't you understand yet? It was for your growth. If I had stepped in, you wouldn't have grown."
The chair turned around, facing Aywin and Rodelin.
A winner's smile played on Dwener's lips. But.
"...Is delaying signatures for a week also for our benefit?"
"No, that was just... laziness..."
"..."
Sigh.
Aywin and Rodelin simultaneously sighed.
Well, at least they were satisfied to learn Dwener wasn't incompetent.
"By the way, since we're on the topic of the Magic Engineering Association... it seems there's been a theft."
"Theft?"
"Yes, a magic gun scheduled for release in the third quarter by the Magic Association has disappeared. It seems we need to start an investigation."
"Investigation!?"
Dwener was surprisingly shocked.
Seeing his reaction, Aywin and Rodelin narrowed their eyes.
"What, an investigation over such a thing? Maybe, maybe the kids were playing with it and it got, got broken."
"..."
"What are you staring at! Hurry up and go do some work!"
Bang!
With that, the two were driven out of the principal's office.
"President, what should we do? Should we request an investigation?"
"It seems the principal might be involved... It's better to let it slide quietly."
"But..."
"Let's be flexible. It's highly likely it was accidentally damaged during personal research."
Rodelin was not pleased but eventually nodded.
Although the magic gun is a premium item, that's only from the perspective of ordinary people.
It wasn't something worth embezzling for the principal.
"Whether he's competent or incompetent... it's hard to tell."
"Don't worry too much about it. It must have been a fluke. Luck is just like that."
Now in his second year as principal, Dwener had finally done something resembling work.
'Or should I count the Luterus incident as well... making it twice?'
That would make it once a year.
From 'completely incompetent' to 'competent about once a year,' was how Aywin and Rodelin revised their assessment of Dwener.
* * *
"Sigh... I'm exhausted."
Back at the dormitory after strenuous training.
I wanted to collapse on the bed immediately, but I had to resist.
'Because there's one thing I must do today.'
I quickly got to work. The faster I finished, the sooner I could go to bed.
I stuck sheets of paper I had prepared in advance all over the windows.
I also meticulously sealed the gaps in the door.
With that, all preparations were complete.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out two items from the [Pocket Dimension].
A friend's feather, and a broken sword hilt.
Then.
[The Sacred Sword Artana responds to the call of a friend.]
Whoosh!
The Sacred Sword Artana burst into flames in my hand.
--TL Notes--
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