Chapter 26

The professors and administrators of the academy were discussing how to handle the corpse of the sea dragon.

More precisely, they were debating how to process the sea dragon’s byproducts and who would claim the biggest share of the profits.

The corpse of a spirit beast as powerful as a sea dragon represented an enormous sum of money and valuable research material.

“I believe the majority should go to me.”

Professor Grad from the Knight Department raised his voice vehemently.

“I was the one who distracted the sea dragon from the front and inflicted the fatal wound. Thanks to that, we were able to bring it down relatively easily.”

No one could deny that he was the first to charge at the sea dragon, preventing casualties among the students, and that he had confronted it head-on to aid its defeat.

But in the face of greed, such facts became trivial.

“Hold on, Professor Grad. If not for my lightning magic, the sea dragon would’ve wreaked havoc for much longer.”

“I was the one who pierced its heart with my spear, Grad.”

“If we’re going to say the kill matters most, then it’s unfair to ignore that I evacuated the most students.”

The professors’ voices escalated one after another until the head of the Administration Department calmed them down.

“Rather than the distribution, isn’t it more important to decide to whom and how it will be sold, and for how much? The split can come after.”

“…Not a bad idea.”

“I agree.”

Since the value of a spirit beast’s corpse decreases over time, several professors nodded.

“And you’ll handle that?”

“Of course. If it’s going to be sold in the academy’s name, it’s only right that we manage it.”

“And in exchange?”

“We’re not asking much. Just a modest compensation for the effort…”

“Ridiculous!”

“Don’t be absurd!”

While the Administration Department usually handled the academy’s internal affairs, it had no rights over the byproducts of monsters that appeared during practical classes.

The attempt to quietly take a cut was rejected on the spot, and the department head crossed his arms in displeasure.

“But aren’t all of you busy? This isn’t a minor matter, and selling something like this takes effort.”

“Pff, if there’s anything the academy has plenty of, it’s rich people and nobles.”

Even the heir to the richest family on the continent was a student at that academy.

“No, wait a moment. I don’t want to sell anything. I’d rather receive the byproducts directly.”

“Same here. Especially the sea dragon’s mana core…”

“Then pay the market price.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

The professors split into two camps: those who wanted the byproducts directly, and those who preferred selling them and splitting the profits.

After much debate, they finally reached a conclusion.

“Then let’s sell to the highest bidder. And anyone who wants a specific byproduct must pay above that price. The money will be divided according to contribution.”

“So be it.”

The first to be contacted, of course, was Pellenberg.

***

The sun had already risen.

Hearing the chirping of sparrows, Fernan finally stretched and loosened his stiffened body.

Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

“You haven’t slept at all, have you?”

“I’ve always had it in my head, but when I try to put it on paper, I run into a thousand obstacles.”

Dozens of papers and empty ink bottles were scattered across Fernan’s room.

“Well, the object in question deserves it…”

A colossal 10-meter golem.

With much of its body made of mithril and adamantite. Nearly divine functions, difficult to integrate. And on top of that, autonomous consciousness.

Not something one could approach lightly.

“But come on, if we’re going to build a golem with adamantite and mithril, it needs to have those kinds of functions. Otherwise, it’d be a waste of minerals.”

“That’s true… but is it really possible to build a golem with ego…?”

An “ego golem” had never existed in the world. If it were possible, it would’ve already been invented. And if one emerged, it would be a magical revolution.

“Don’t doubt it. I’ve seen the potential.”

The proof was Gardner Alfenparsen’s legendary ego sword, left by the First Emperor. If a soul could dwell in a mithril sword, then it could inhabit a golem too.

“Certainly… I didn’t know mithril had that kind of potential.”

Magic dealing with souls was an extremely complex field.

“And if that were possible, what kind of soul do you plan to use?”

From Hyde’s perspective, that was the biggest concern. It was doubtful anyone would willingly become a golem, and if forced, it was unclear whether they’d obey Fernan.

“I’ll insert multiple obedience seals. There’s no scenario where something I create refuses to obey.”

“If you use a living human soul, you might be considered a demon in the magical community.”

Although there were madmen who ignored ethics, like in any organization, the magical community maintained a semblance of moral boundaries.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to use just any soul.”

“…I still want to live, young master.”

Hyde took a step back.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Then, who do you have in mind?”

“A spirit.”

Fernan didn’t know how to manipulate a living human soul, nor did his vast Pellenberg network include anyone capable of such a feat.

If it did, that person would be more of a disaster than a talent.

But spirits were different. They were spiritual beings from the start, and had a certain level of intelligence.

They were ideal candidates for an ego golem.

“Certainly, if it’s a spirit, there might be a chance but…”

Just then—

“Sir.”

A staff member from the Golden Turtle Company appeared.

“What is it?”

“A client has arrived at the company.”

“A client?”

“It’s just that…”

Fernan had the sudden feeling he could smell money in the air.

***

“I used a bit of influence, Fernan. Everyone was saying Pellenberg would try to lowball the price, but I insisted you wouldn’t do something like that.”

Fernan silently sipped his coffee.

Apparently, he had called this sudden meeting just to talk about that. But if it was on that subject, it was always welcome.

“They asked me if I’d accepted money from you, but I said of course not. The logical thing is to sell to the richest merchant.”

“Certainly, you’ve never accepted money from anyone.”

He had simply picked up a bag of coins that had fallen inside his house.

“Exactly. But some people don’t know anything and keep going on about whether I took money from you or not, bah.”

Grad nodded shamelessly.

In the end, if he didn’t have that level of brazenness, he never would’ve been able to keep profiting from Fernan.

“So in short, our family will go first.”

“That’s right. I came as a representative of the academy.”

“But is it proper to approach a student like this directly?”

At that question, Grad gave an incredulous look.

“You’re not exactly the one to talk, considering how you meet privately with the staff.”

“Who knows.”

“The academy already sent a formal letter to the Pellenberg family.”

Meaning this meeting with Fernan was just to further secure the deal.

“A sea dragon, huh? There are some parts I’m interested in.”

“It won’t be sold in pieces. If you’re going to buy it, it has to be the whole thing.”

“That changes things a bit.”

Not that it was a big problem.

As an assistant, Fernan had already inspected the sea dragon’s corpse.

Its teeth and bones were hard enough to make weapons. Its blood and eyes were packed with mana and served as alchemical ingredients. The scales were perfect for making armor or other defensive gear.

It was a spirit beast without a single part going to waste. Whether bought whole or in parts, it was all useful.

But that didn’t mean he had to give the impression of playing along.

“Let’s not play dumb. What do you really want?”

“What does a merchant want? A better product at a better price.”

“Even if it’s limited to the academy, this is technically an auction. I can’t give you a special price just like that.”

Fernan knew that too. And from the moment the sea dragon’s corpse went into the academy’s hands, he had expected this.

That body was a source of magical materials for mages and weapon components for knights.

From the beginning, he hadn’t planned on offering discounts. He knew that if he did, he’d lose the chance to get it.

“But… can’t I offer you something else in exchange?”

He couldn’t save money, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t gain some additional benefit.

“…What do you want?”

“Exclusive rights.”

“Exclusive rights?”

“If the academy is going to buy ships in the future, I want an exclusivity contract stating it will only buy from the Golden Turtle Company.”

“Ships? Now ships?”

Yes, it sounded sudden. But from Fernan’s perspective, who had already seen the future, it wasn’t sudden at all.

The monster ambush. The sunken yacht. The noble heirs adrift at sea.

After that incident, the academy would realize that limiting itself to teaching ground combat wasn’t enough and would open maritime combat classes.

And of course, those classes would require ships.

‘And it’s not like they’d buy one ship and be done.’

The course involved battling sea monsters as part of naval combat training.

Ships would be constantly damaged and require expensive repairs. And if one were completely destroyed, a new one would be needed. In short, it was a long-term business with massive profit margins.

“…But how many ships do you think the academy would even buy?”

The academy didn’t consume many ships on its own. Just a few ferries to cross the continent.

And those ferries were already escorted by the imperial navy, so they didn’t need replacing often.

“Leave that to me. You just sign the contract. If you do, I’ll buy the sea dragon corpse at a very reasonable price. And who knows, maybe a little pouch of coins might fall into your mansion, professor.”

It was an absurd proposal… but Grad’s eyes gleamed with greed.

“…I don’t have the authority for that, but I’ll at least present the proposal to the rector.”

“Thanks.”

‘Grad won’t be able to do it alone. I’ll have to use other contacts to back the request.’

Fernan bowed his head.

***

“……”

“……”

A heavy silence filled the air. Fernan waited quietly until she chose to speak.

“That was an action I can’t understand at all.”

“Not at all?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Skipping all your classes just for a temporary assistant post? There’s no better example of losing a lot for wanting too little.”

Fernan couldn’t agree with Luina’s words.

He hadn’t lost much for little; he had gained a lot by risking a lot. If he hadn’t gotten involved, he never would’ve obtained that much mithril and adamantite.

‘Though maybe I would’ve gotten the mithril even if I hadn’t gone.’

Maybe, even if the future had followed its original course, Aint might’ve sold him the mithril due to the butterfly effect triggered by the Saint Bird.

Whatever that future might’ve been, the present was undeniably a much better outcome.

“It was necessary. If I wanted to match your grades, I had to push myself to the limit.”

“Don’t try to weasel out with that. Skipping other classes just to raise your grades—is that the right thing? What if there had been practicals or tests that week? What would you have done?”

Fernan and Luina were partners in several classes.

From his perspective, they took classes like “Magical Survival Techniques,” “Combat, War, and Magic,” and “Study of Monsters and Magical Beasts” together.

From hers, it was “Field Survival Techniques,” “Real Combat and War,” and also “Study of Monsters and Magical Beasts.”

But for a whole week, Fernan had vanished, and Luina had lost her partner.

“By some miracle there were no practicals. But if there had been, what would you have done?”

“I had considered everything before accepting.”

“And what does that matter?”

“…I apologize for not consulting with you first.”

It was true, but Fernan couldn’t take a firm stance. It was the same reason as with Aint.

Aint Armian was the hero destined to save the world—and the one who would ruin it if he failed—so he had to be handled delicately. And Luina was the one who would ignite that fuse. So the same applied to her.

“Nothing serious happened, so I’ll let it go. But please, don’t let it happen again.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Luckily, Luina accepted the apology without issue.

“By the way, while you were a temporary assistant, nothing special happened?”

“No. Most of the classes focused on theory last week.”

It was normal that when one grade had practicals, professors and assistants from other grades helped out.

That’s why most second-year classes were limited to theory.

“Oh, though something interesting did happen.”

“Interesting?”

“There was a duel in third year. The top student from the Knight Department faced off against the top student from the Magic Department.”

“That must’ve been chaos.”

The academy officially promoted harmony and cooperation. But humans were naturally tribal creatures.

Even if they were all students from the same academy, differences between departments created rivalry.

And the rivalry between knights and mages ran deep even outside the academy.

“Yeah. And the top student from the Magic Department, Senior Liana, beat the top knight, Senior Barog.”

“Then Barog must’ve become a traitor.”

“That’s an exaggeration, of course, but they’re also accusing him of throwing the duel.”

“Throwing it? Was there betting involved?”

Fernan tilted his head at the absurdity of the accusation. What sense would it make to throw a simple inter-department duel?

‘Well, every time there’s a duel, betting tables do get set up…’

He had encouraged student betting, yes, but in a duel between top students, throwing the match didn’t make sense. At least, as far as he knew.

“…Does your mind always go there naturally?”

Even under Luina’s suggestive gaze, Fernan remained unfazed.

“Money is truth. And any method of earning it is valid.”

“I don’t care about your values. And no, it wasn’t about betting.”

“Then why do they say it was rigged?”

“They say the top knight and the top mage… are a couple. That’s why they suspect he lost on purpose.”

“…Now that’s an interesting story.”

There hadn’t been any updates in his information network about that relationship, so it must be recent.

‘The Hernim family is quite wealthy… and if it’s Barog Hernim, he’s known to be very devoted.’

If expensive jewelry or magical artifacts were recommended, he’d probably buy several without hesitation.

‘I’ll have to make him an offer soon.’

After all, selling to nobles was always a very profitable business.

“And now that I think of it, that wasn’t the main topic.”

“Go on.”

This time, it had been Luina who asked to meet first.

She’d requested this meeting with Fernan, and he didn’t think it was just to scold him about the assistant thing.

“I think I found traces of a demon.”

“…What did you say?”

Although he never imagined it would be that.