Reviving a Bankrupt Academy: My Financial Battle

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Final exams.

As the time approached, a sense of tension gradually filled the air among the students. Unlike the midterms, a solemn atmosphere enveloped everyone, regardless of whether they were in the Martial Arts, Magic, or Administration Departments.

Reservations for training grounds and practice rooms were unusually full, the number of students running increased, and everyone seemed to be intensifying their training.

All of this was due to the traditionally set content of the final exams.

'Outdoor Practicals'

Such a simple phrase… yet one that held so much meaning.

That's why the freshmen, experiencing the final exams for the first time, asked the serious-faced second and third-year students what exactly the final exams entailed.

And the seniors' answers were always the same.

"You don't need to know. You'll find out eventually."

These words were accompanied by bright smiles, but few failed to notice the hidden ominousness. It was as if everyone was trying to deceive them.

The peculiar thing was that, whether they were deceived or not, as students, they had to endure it. And…

"Welcome, juniors."

"Huh?"

"It's your initiation…!!"

…the content of the final exams was beyond imagination.

Lisha Claudia, a female student with blonde hair tied in a ponytail, looked blankly at the back of the senior who had just passed by.

He was the son of a great noble family like the Claudia, and he was quite close to Lisha, both politically and personally. So Lisha asked him about the content of the final exams, but the answer she received was the same.

That she didn't need to know. That she would find out eventually.

She considered approaching the Finance Director and asking for a favor, but it seemed like a waste to use him for something like this. The bribe for the Finance Director could be used for something more useful.

Thinking so, Lisha trusted in her own abilities. She had reached the peak of Rank 4, and she had trained repeatedly, feeling as if she could advance to Rank 5 soon.

The top spot would undoubtedly go to that Rank 6 guy, but she was determined to surpass the youngest knight and claim second place, no matter what the outdoor practicals entailed. But then…

[Kyaaaak!!!]

"…A basilisk? Seriously?"

"Claudia junior! What are you doing! Run!"

"W-wait a minute!? Senior, what is this!!!"

"You're saying the exact same thing I said last year!"

"Whoa!?"

A Rank 5 monster, a basilisk.

Compared to the manticore she saw at the entrance ceremony, it was an infinitely weaker monster, but that was just an illusion. It wasn't real.

But this was different.

If it were an illusion, it wouldn't be leaving footprints in the dirt and drooling as it charged towards them!

Dash!

"Wh-what is that! Don't tell me the outdoor practical is…!?"

"It's to get through this damn forest! While avoiding those monsters!"

Lisha had already heard about getting through the forest.

The final exam was simple. All students started at the starting point and had to reach the destination by getting through the forest. That was it.

The examiners only added that there would be 'a very small threat' along the way.

'This is crazy!'

How could a basilisk be considered a small threat? That crazy monster was vicious enough to destroy an entire pioneering village on its own!

If she went all out, Lisha could certainly handle it, but that would consume a lot of stamina and make it much harder to get through the forest. It was better to run away from monsters than fight them, unless it was unavoidable.

But that was beside the point. In this situation where she was forced to flee, she couldn't help but glare at the senior who had abandoned her and run off first.

"Senior! Are you serious!? Don't you know about noblesse oblige?"

"You're from a great noble family too! No, the Claudias are slightly higher than us, so shouldn't you be the one practicing noblesse oblige? Block it for me! What am I supposed to do, being only Rank 3!?"

"What kind of—"

Just as Lisha, dumbfounded, was thinking about stabbing the back of her senior's head with her spear,

A blinding light flashed.

Crack!!!

[Kyaaaak!!]

"What's this…?"

"Sw-Sword Qi? No way?"

"Haha!"

No, wait.

For a moment, she thought of that Rank 6 guy, but that obnoxious laugh she just heard wasn't his. Besides, Ruth Spero was nowhere to be seen at the starting line for some reason.

However, instead of being relieved that it wasn't Ruth Spero, Lisha's face hardened.

"Kaern Deste."

"Young lady Claudia, I don't know if I've stolen your prey. Ah, was running away so desperately until now all part of your hunting strategy? It wasn't very knightly."

"Don't be ridiculous. The goal of this final exam is to get through the forest, not to hunt monsters…"

"You seem scared? That's understandable. It's only natural if you saw my Sword Qi just now! I get it!"

Ah, annoying.

That full plate armor that was annoying just to look at, and that refreshed laugh. The youngest knight was getting on Lisha's nerves.

And that thing he just showed, presumably Sword Qi…

'Rank 6? Is he really Rank 6?'

If Kaern Deste had truly become Rank 6, there would be no competition. Lisha was momentarily terrified. If she lost both first and second place, the name Lisha Claudia wouldn't even be mentioned in social circles.

However, she kept her fear hidden and acted confident.

"Sword Qi? You mean that crude thing just now? How laughable."

"Well, it might seem that way to a Rank 4. To a Rank 4, that is."

"I've already seen real Sword Qi. You too, right? Compared to what Ruth Spero showed at the entrance ceremony, that thing you just showed is far from being Sword Qi."

"…Tsk, as expected, you have good eyes. A knightly observation."

Yes. There was no way he had already reached Rank 6.

She was worried because of the irregular that was Ruth Spero, but Kaern Deste was clearly still Rank 5. How could he have Sword Qi and be Rank 6 when he had just become Rank 5?

Feeling greatly relieved inwardly, Lisha put on a mocking expression. It seemed like she could gloss over her earlier fleeing figure, but…

"Well then, young lady, keep running like you were before."

"What… did you say?"

"A knight prioritizes actual combat over winning or losing a mere exam! What do you think is the reason for this format of the final exam? It must be the will of the legendary knight, the Headmistress!"

"The Headmistress isn't a knight, is she?"

"A martial artist or a knight, it's all the same!"

If the Headmistress had heard that, his head would have exploded, but Kaern nonchalantly defined the Headmistress as a knight. It was a case of ignorance being strength.

But then he briefly shuddered.

"Well, maybe not."

"Huh?"

"I just remembered a respectable follower."

"…??"

Lisha didn't understand, but it was something Kaern heard when he was summoned by Sir Julius after causing trouble during the midterm exams.

About the Headmistress's anger and reprimand, and how Sir Julius would bear the full cost of compensation.

Kaern had knelt and insisted that it was all his fault and that he would take responsibility for the compensation, but…

──Forget it. Be grateful to the Finance Director instead.

──Excuse me? The Finance Director…?

──It was the Finance Director who calmed down the enraged Headmistress. Honestly, I feel a bit sorry for him, but anyway, it's thanks to that young man that it ended with just compensation, so keep that in mind.

The Finance Director. He had seen him during the midterms, but since the Headmistress arrived right after, he wasn't a particularly memorable person.

But he was said to be the closest aide to the great knight Headmistress, and he was the one who helped Kaern.

A great follower assisting a great knight. Even though he was a knight himself, Kaern felt deep gratitude towards that follower.

"Anyway, as a knight, I intend to follow the Headmistress's will."

"...…"

"You'd better run, young lady!"

Actually, the reason the final exams were fixed as outdoor practicals was a decision made by the Headmistress without much thought back in the early days of the academy when she was an extreme combat enthusiast.

But such things tend to be embellished over time. With the dwarven city collapsing due to monsters, the outdoor practicals had become a kind of foresight in a way.

Letting students experience the enemy of mankind, monsters, beforehand. Unlike the illusions at the entrance ceremony, this was a tradition that had continued since the early days of Grandis Academy, so there was little opposition.

If there had been casualties, it might have been different, but that was impossible in this forest.

This was a place created by the Headmistress with the help of her Rank 8 friend.

"…The basilisk…"

"Well, strictly speaking, it's not real."

Within this forest created by the power of one of the four Rank 8s in the kingdom, the 'Druid,' all sorts of monsters roamed. But in reality, they were just lumps of soil.

They were given the false life of monsters and roamed around attacking, but even if you were bitten, you would only be buried in dirt.

Unlike illusions, they had physical bodies, so they left footprints. What she thought was drool was just an effect created using the moisture in the soil for realism.

There were probably hundreds of these earthen monsters roaming around, yet they moved with such precision.

Lisha, who had heard about 'Druids' from her grandfather, the margrave, couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

'Even though they're just physical forms, they're incomparable to illusions.'

Perhaps they were different from real basilisks, but the feeling must be similar. It was a truly valuable experience.

Seeing Kaern's back as he split the basilisk in half and went to find other earthen monsters, Lisha…

Tightly gripped her spear.

"…Senior, please go ahead."

"What? But Lisha!"

"I'll catch up after I put that damn bastard in his place!"

There was no option to back down. More than her grades, she was pissed off because of that youngest knight bastard.

Actually, this was only possible because Kaern had messed up the midterms, so no matter what grade he got on this final, he would be ranked higher than her.

But it was also true that he chose to kill the earthen monsters, which had no benefit other than getting through the forest.

"Hey, stop right there!"

"I knew you'd do this! As expected, the title of knight suits you better than 'young lady'!"

"You damn baronet bastard!"

"What was that? I can't hear you, Rank 4! Hahaha!"

Furious, Lisha gritted her teeth and threw her spear.

The spear's trajectory flew past the annoyingly laughing Kaern Deste—

And pierced the forehead of the monster that was trying to pounce from below.

Lisha, pulling her spear from the monster's body that instantly turned back into dirt, glared at Kaern with menacing eyes.

"I won't lose to you."

"How coincidental, I feel the same way."

Lisha Claudia and Kaern Deste. The two who were called the rising stars of the Martial Arts Department even before entering Grandis Academy.

Although they hadn't met often, they had always considered each other rivals, so their animosity was evident. This was especially true since they had to surpass each other to make a name for themselves in social circles after graduation.

Just as Kaern's greatsword and Lisha's spear were about to clash.

Boooom!!!!

"!?"

"What…?"

A tremor and explosion that shook the entire forest reverberated.

Smoke and a mushroom cloud could be seen rising in the distance. A long chain stretching out further than the trees caught her eye.

Since they had entered different sections of the forest based on their abilities in the Martial Arts, Magic, and Administration Departments, she could immediately tell where it was.

And who was responsible for that tremendous noise.

"Chloe Piste… Amatriuss Delphia Beatrice."

"…Truly impressive."

The section that the Magic Department had to get through. Only those two could unleash magic of that scale there. There were no Rank 5 mages among the current second and third-year students, and Cassandra, the student council president, was absent from the final exams for some reason.

Staring blankly at the magic that must have roasted dozens of earthen monsters, Lisha looked at the earthen monster she had killed.

There were only two here, including Kaern and Lisha, while there were at least dozens on that side.

'Should I have learned magic…?'

For a moment, that's what she thought. Perhaps Kaern felt the same way, as their eyes met, then quickly turned away.

But the animosity that had filled the air just moments ago had faded somewhat, and even if it was just a little…

…a sense of camaraderie formed between the two.

***

And at the same time, at Grandis Academy.

With the students away for outdoor practicals, the empty academy…

Boooom!!!!

An explosion very similar to the one in the forest occurred.

"Catch them!"

"Uh… huh?"

"Kyaaa! I've been hit!"

As the bewildered cult members destroyed the designated building, the 3rd Security Unit members chasing them collapsed with theatrically exaggerated acting.

"This way! After them!"

"Th-this—"

"Ugh! It can't be helped because of the collapsed building! According to the 3rd Security Unit regulations! Rescue the injured first!"

"…?"

Seeing the security guards acting in an overly dramatic manner, following regulations as if someone was watching, with awkward acting…

The cult members finally stopped thinking.