Chapter 149
The Engineering Department’s dark clubroom.
Only the two of us remained here.
Titania, the vice leader of the Engineering Department, and Villed of the Dedenkman family.
They had sent all the club members out, saying they wanted to talk alone.
Under a small lamp, Titania looked into the light as she pieced her thoughts together like a puzzle.
……Putting sand in the material box had been bait.
Bait to lure a student belonging to the booth into the clubroom, just like now.
Before carrying out the plan in earnest, Titania had sent a member to scout the booth the sponsor had pointed out—<Little Friends Café>.
The reconnaissance showed that the booth was nothing more than a shabby stand run by one faculty member and two first-years.
Its representative was a first-year named ‘Lapin’.
Judging by the fact that she didn’t belong to any noble family and didn’t even have a proper surname, she didn’t seem to be a citizen of the Empire. She was likely a foreign commoner studying at Yggdrasil with financial support.
The reason she opened a booth for this festival might have been nothing more than a simple desire to earn some pocket money with her friends.
But why did the sponsor want to interfere with them, even spending such a large sum? Titania had found that suspicious.
Then, the member who went scouting sent an urgent message. One of our members was being lured in.
……Right.
There weren’t just three people tied to the booth—there were four.
The person they hadn’t accounted for was a tall male student.
But since he wore a mask, they couldn’t see his face.
Even so, anyone who walked around wearing such a ridiculous mask had to be a commoner. A noble would never wear something so undignified.
Titania had planned to drag him in and arrange a kidnapping……
But the moment she saw the man remove his mask, the poker face she’d maintained shattered instantly.
If he was a student of Yggdrasil, most people would know his face.
Even if they didn’t, the noble deep-blue hair and the pale, immaculate skin made it obvious that the man was a noble.
……Right.
The man before her was from one of the Empire’s Four Great Families—the Dedenkman family.
A family so enormous it held 20% of the Empire’s wealth.
Its standing was second only to the highest of the Four Great Families, the Finjer Duke Family.
And yet the son of such a great house…… was running a food stall at the academy festival?
It made no sense.
There was no reason for it.
Even if the booth earned high sales, the money gained through such activities wouldn’t be worth pocket change to a high noble.
‘Even if you hit record-breaking sales at a booth, the margin would barely reach a thousand gold. Yet he says he’ll sponsor ten thousand gold?’
It was completely unprofitable behavior.
“……Why.”
Only after a moment did I open my mouth.
“Why would someone like you open a booth……?”
“I wanted to do it, so I’m doing it. You’re curious about that?”
Villed scratched his head and added,
“There’s no deep meaning. I’ve never won an award at the academy. I really wanted to win at least once.”
He smiled.
“They said they’d give out a trophy, so I poured in money if that’s what it took to win one. What, weird?”
‘Weird……!’
I answered inwardly.
It was a reckless and absurd statement.
Of course, the booth with the highest sales during the festival received a trophy.
But opening a booth just for that?
A high noble wearing a mask to run a food stall while taking a loss, all for that?
‘Completely ridiculous…….’
There was no denying his mind worked in a peculiar way.
“And just so you don’t get the wrong idea. I don’t intend to be anyone’s fool.”
After saying that, Villed walked over and casually sat next to me, beside the crate I sat on.
“What I want in exchange for this ten thousand gold donation isn’t limited to this festival.”
I could see his eyes up close.
Caught in the lamplight, his eyes shone like the midday sun.
“I’ve actually gotten a bit interested in engineering. Especially your Mechanical Engineering Department. I saw some potential in you all.”
“……”
My eyes widened, then immediately sharpened.
A defensive reaction.
I didn’t believe his words at face value.
A high noble interested in engineering? Valuing our Mechanical Engineering Department?
Of course I thought it was a blatant lie.
Among all Yggdrasil’s clubs, the weakest was the Mechanical Engineering Department.
‘He probably doesn’t even know what we make.’
Furthermore, nobles had the greatest access to magitech.
The fuel of magitech—mana crystals—was monopolized by noble families.
If he was Villed Dedenkman, the second son of Dedenkman, he would obviously choose magitech.
Yet he claimed he was interested in mechanical engineering?
I judged that he was mocking our department.
“So? What will you do? Will you answer now?”
Villed asked again.
I ground my teeth. Even if Villed intended to mock us, I couldn’t refuse.
Ten thousand gold…… was an amount our department could never gather, even if I kept receiving sponsorship until graduation.
I still couldn’t trust him.
So I would use him thoroughly.
With that thought, I was about to open my mouth—
Creak―!
The clubroom door opened. A new figure entered the dark room.
None other than the head of the Engineering Department—
The bright, smiling girl who always tried to keep her cheerful expression—Esdal.
“Guys, I’m back. Nothing happened, right? ……Huh?”
Esdal widened her eyes.
Unlike usual, there were no members in the clubroom, and only one unusually tall person sat next to me.
Seeing that, Esdal’s eyes sparkled.
“You are……! Nice to meet you! Sir Sponsor’s representative!”
Hearing her words, I blinked.
“Esdal, what are you talking about……? Ah, so that means!”
There had only been one person who donated a modest amount to the Mechanical Engineering Department and claimed a camera.
Because of that, Esdal had held a small hope.
I’d thought it was pointless hope.
But that sole donor……
‘Was Villed Dedenkman?’
Just as I looked at Villed and opened my mouth—
Villed quietly placed a finger on his lips, staring at me with a cold gaze.
He lowered his finger and moved his lips silently.
‘Shut up.’
When he answered only with the shape of his mouth, cold sweat ran down my back. I immediately shut my mouth and lowered my head.
Then I recalled what Villed had just said.
“I saw some potential in you.”
Maybe—
That wasn’t mockery. Maybe he’d been telling the truth.
My eyes trembled faintly.
Not noticing my confusion, Esdal approached Villed cheerfully.
“Were you satisfied with my camera, Sir Sponsor?”
“Yes. I heard it was put to very good use.”
“Hehehe…… That’s a relief! Did you come to give feedback on the camera?”
“That too, but the sponsor said they wanted to donate a larger amount, so I came.”
“Oh! Really?”
Esdal’s face brightened even more.
Villed took the receipt I had given him, wrote new numbers on it, and handed it to Esdal.
She accepted it and read it.
“‘One, two, three zeros……. A thousand Gold……? Wow, to think they sponsored us with a whole thousand Gold! I don’t even know how to thank them…….’”
“‘……Esdal.’”
Titania lifted her head and opened her mouth with a displeased look.
“‘It’s not a thousand. It’s ten thousand.’”
“‘……Huh?’”
Esdal looked bewildered.
Then she counted the zeros again.
Not three, but four.
Ten thousand Gold.
“…….”
Shocked, Esdal ended up dropping the paper.
She couldn’t say anything for a while.
“‘I—I can’t accept such a huge amount…….’”
Esdal finally answered with a trembling voice.
Since an enormous sponsorship she could never have imagined had arrived, she was frightened.
But.
“‘……No, please accept it.’”
Villed picked up the paper and held it out to Esdal.
“‘The sponsor says they truly need you. They hope you’ll continue your engineering work.’”
Hearing Villed’s continued words, Titania’s eyes widened.
From the way he spoke, she thought—maybe he was actually sincere.
A noble heir from a high-ranking family using such a great sum to become their dependable sponsor.
Yeah. If this man helped them, wouldn’t they make it through somehow?
For the future of mechanical engineering…… perhaps even a tiny bit of hope could be born?
Titania looked at Villed.
Now she began to see him differently.
“‘Please accept it, Department Head Esdal. If you don’t, who knows what the sponsor will say to me. Strictly speaking, that would be you causing trouble for me.’”
“‘Ah! I mustn’t trouble the representative!’”
Startled, Esdal quickly accepted the paper Villed offered.
“‘I-I was a little scared, but I’m only grateful that the sponsor truly cares about the Engineering Department. I don’t know how I should repay this kindness. But I’ll do my best to repay it someday.’”
To Esdal’s reply, Villed nodded with a smile.
“‘Good. Then let’s get to work right away.’”
“‘Today? Sure. Just give the word. I’ll make anything…….’”
“‘No, not making anything. There’s something else we need to do first.’”
“‘……?’”
When Villed stood up and spoke, Titania and Esdal blinked, confused.
Before long, Esdal had changed into a maid outfit.
It was the same type Karin had worn when she served tables.
“‘Ehehe…… it’s pretty.’”
After saying that, Esdal looked to her side and spoke again.
“‘Titania, you’re pretty too.’”
“‘……Please stop saying things like that, Esdal.’”
Titania fidgeted with a bright-red face.
She too was dressed in the same maid outfit.
The Engineering Department members, dressed up in clown costumes, let out gasps of admiration and cheers.
“‘Sis, you’re the best!’”
“‘I love seeing you embarrassed!’”
“‘……I’ll deal with you all later.’”
When Titania ground her teeth, the members flinched and avoided her gaze.
Then they whispered in small voices.
“‘Brother Dedenkman…… he seems like a good guy, unlike the rumors?’”
“‘Yeah. If he put Titania-sis and Esdal-sis in maid outfits…… he must be a good person.’”
“‘Damn, to think I almost caused trouble for Brother Dedenkman……. I hate myself.’”
“‘I’ll support Brother Dedenkman for life.’”
Hearing their whispers, I was dumbfounded.
‘So he becomes your “brother” just because he gave you money.’
……Well, whatever.
I let out a light smile.
I had neatly cleared all external problems of the booth, and by turning enemies into allies, I had solved the manpower shortage too.
If there was just one thing left to regret—
‘Though I still can’t find out who the sponsor who gave the Engineering Department five thousand Gold actually is.’
On second thought, the person they wanted to trouble might not even be me.
It could be Lapin, Karin, or Rupina.
……There was no guarantee that these schemes would stop in the future.
But the longer the tail, the easier it is to catch.
Someday, I would find the culprit.
‘Anyway, even though I used ten thousand Gold…… it’s not that disappointing.’
The Engineering Department could be useful in countless ways.
‘Especially because Lunatic is expected next year.’
Lunatic could appear at any time.
To prepare for that, I decided to have the Engineering Department produce a new weapon for me.
The most representative one…… was a handgun.
In this world, there were some mages who used guns instead of swords or staves.
The device they mostly used was a ‘magitech gun.’
‘But I couldn’t use a magitech gun.’
The mana inside my body was so pathetic that I needed to rule out magitech guns entirely.
That meant I needed a gun made purely on engineering principles.
Of course, ordinary firearms were easy enough to obtain…… but because of the ‘special bullets,’ it had to be custom-made.
‘Yeah, I need a gun different from standard ones.’
……Fortunately, the leftover Crovanium from crafting the Buckler was still lying around in my storage.
I wanted to turn that into ‘bullets.’
Crovanium bullets.
They would become absolute spears capable of piercing magic.
Since the number of bullets was limited, I couldn’t use them often—more like a finishing move.
They were meant for emergencies like a ‘Lunatic’ situation.
‘Yeah, recruiting the Engineering Department will bring long-term benefits.’
Just as I was thinking that, I noticed Titania—still in her maid outfit—stealing glances at me, hesitant.
I purposely approached her quietly.
Since Titania was the only one in the Engineering Department who knew I was not a representative but the sponsor myself, I intended to warn her to keep silent.
“‘Everything you’ve figured out stays a secret. If you leak it anywhere, I’ll cancel the sponsorship.’”
“‘I understand…… sir.’”
I blinked with a dull expression.
“‘You’re the older student here. Why the sudden honorifics?’”
“‘At the very least, I know the relationship between employer and employee…… sir.’”
Hearing Titania’s answer, I belatedly smiled.
“‘Good. You quickly understand the position you’re in. Not bad. Then let’s begin.’”
***
I led them toward <Little Friends Café>.
The tables weren’t completely filled yet, but Karin was visible, working busily all by herself.
As we stepped into the booth, my eyes met hers.
“‘Ah, where were you—huh?’”
Next to me, Karin saw Titania and Esdal wearing maid outfits identical to hers and blinked in confusion.