Chapter 6

005. Those Who Made the Wrong Choice (1)

After that, I was able to get various pieces of information from Aila.

Although she was wary of me, this girl was rather easy to handle; if I gently scratched her with a bit of middle school syndrome, she would readily give me the information.

"Hmph. Aila. How much of this school's flow have you read?"

"Ha, are you ignoring me?"

"Go on, speak. Hehe. Can you do it?"

"Hmph. I'll tell you. First, Jefrin is... "

"Ho. Not bad, but still lacking. Next, the market prices of items in this school. Good items come with a fitting price. So why is the price of this item so low?"

"That's too easy, I'm yawning. You see... "

In this way, I began to gradually narrow the gap between the 'realized Jefrin' and the 'game Jefrin'.

And the biggest thing I noticed was the difference in the distribution network. This was a completely different flow from the game Jefrin.

Think about it. Store A is in the snowfield, and Store B is in the desert. Yet both stores sell basic equipment and potions.

Isn't that strange? How is that possible? Is there a railway laid out across the entire world? Can identical items be supplied so easily?

Has the standardization of products and the stabilization of logistics been achieved to the point where a giant manufacturing company monopolizes retail? Then why is it a medieval steampunk world? Let them take over the world.

I asked Aila the final question.

"Can you show me the metrics for items that sell well and those that don't?"

"That's our guild's secret, so I can't. Especially for free."

"Huh. Would a candy do the trick?"

"...Candy. Maybe. If you can get it."

With that, Aila smiled and left.

And from her words, I got the biggest hint.

"Candy is expensive. ...Of course it is."

Candy requires a lot of effort, whether it's cultivating sugarcane or boiling down fruit.

Even in agriculture, the basics are cultivating wheat or barley, not fruit, which you have to pick, boil, and mold.

What about the monsters that appear in between? What about the animals and beasts that target the fruit?

Fruit is expensive, and candy is even more so.

"Right. I see."

I smiled and started writing the order form.

The first item to sell was decided.

***

And four days after taking over.

"Is this for real?"

The number of customers in the store was zero.

"Is this for real?"

I covered my face with both hands and bowed deeply.

I couldn't help but cover my mouth and chuckle.

"Honestly, how did anyone open a convenience store here?"

Phil, you really shouldn't be in business.

But it's not all fun and games.

"If this continues for a few more days, Aila will come and say she's disappointed in you, and then she'll stab you with a knife."

Like Wolfram, who is a royal villain full of arrogance. His fiancée, Aila, is an 'ambitious villainess'.

Her ambition is so over the top that it seems to have replaced her brain, and her eyes light up whenever she hears an ambitious story.

The last time I survived was all thanks to my 'ambition acting'.

With her, if I falter, she'll be disappointed and stab me without hesitation.

Even without mentioning Aila, I need to establish myself from now on.

And it doesn't matter whether customers come or not.

"The order should arrive today."

As if on cue, I felt a presence outside the door.

It can't be a customer, so it's probably someone who came in response to my order.

"The items you ordered have arrived."

"Thanks for your hard work."

"......"

The short-statured girl narrowed her eyes at me, sighed, and handed me a document.

"35,248,000 rin for all the items. Please check the items and sign here after confirming."

"Sure."

I checked the items I ordered one by one.

"All correct."

"......Hot water bottle. Handcart. ...And a set of dining tools that can be used at home...? Why do you need these?"

"Is it part of your job to be curious about what someone is buying?"

"......No. The Maestro delivery person only delivers. Thank you for your order."

As I took the items and signed, she nodded stiffly and left, and I shrugged.

I am, after all, her customer, and while her attitude is a zero in customer service, it doesn't really matter. She is an employee of Maestro, the organization of the gold dwarves, and the fact that Maestro is selling me items is important.

This is both a weakness and an advantage of Jefrin.

Maestro does not buy or sell items from 'individual Wolfram'.

However, based on the anti-monopoly and fair trade laws of Jefrin, they must accept the orders from 'convenience store owner Wolfram'.

There was an incident in the past where the magic department monopolized magic, the knight department monopolized mercenaries, Maestro monopolized all tools and equipment, and Yggdrasil monopolized magic costumes, causing each other to be frustrated. The student council lived in a state of constant conflict.

It was a real mess.

In any case, the academy was on the brink of collapse, and the emperor, who rarely intervenes, punished the relevant parties and established the rules.

At the very least, maintain etiquette between organizations.

So, as a grocery store owner by academy regulations, I can place orders with Maestro.

And Yggdrasil and the Five-Colored Tower cannot reject my orders either.

"......Delivery from Yggdrasil."

"......Delivery from the Five-Colored Tower."

I smiled and greeted them, and they brought the items with a sour expression. They also brought pamphlets and recommended order items for their respective products.

Naturally, the prices were listed.

"Of course. It's quite twisted. Or rather, completely different."

I glanced and shrugged. A basic healing potion costs 10,000 rin. In the game, it was 100 rin.

Even a fool like me can start to understand why these prices are so high.

In any case, this can be used to my advantage.

"Boiling fruit juice, adding edible slimes, and letting it solidify makes traditional Jefrin candy."

This is the basic formula for candy.

However, adding a few game-like elements can drastically improve the cost-effectiveness.

For example.

"Mixing healing potions with water can make fruit grow at an overwhelming rate. And... dried fish jerky and vegetables are left over. These can be used too."

Phil left me a hundred bottles of healing potions when he handed over the store, and there were leftover dried fish and vegetables in stock.

I plan to try my hand at alchemy with these.

***

In the Loengrin Empire, magic is a great field of study.

A hundred geniuses lead ten thousand ordinary people, and it is a profession where innate talent determines everything.

In the past, nobles monopolized magic, but when the first emperor overthrew the empire, those with magical talent could aspire to noble titles, making it a field of study for geniuses.

Even commoner parents with some money send their children to the academy for magical talent education from a young age, where they are sorted and sent to Jefrin, and the gems that shine in Jefrin are polished.

Theoretically, the most certain path for a commoner to become a noble. It's as rare as a red dragon appearing in the backyard, but it's not entirely impossible, so countless talents pour themselves into Jefrin's research labs every day.

Magic is a long and arduous field of study.

Magic students complete four years of basic education. By that time, they usually learn up to 7th tier out of the total 9 tiers of magic.

Starting from the most basic 9th tier Light, they learn the four elemental starter spells—Stone, Fire, Water, and Wind Ball—over four years, which are considered sufficient for graduation.

Ordinary nobles and commoners usually graduate here, using their knowledge to become a mage for a baron or count in a provincial area.

But those with talent knock on the door of academia again.

They either commit to a lifelong study of magic or, with outstanding talent, are lured by professors to assist in their research, and they live in the magic department beyond the undergraduate level.

Those who do not give up on their studies from 5th year until they achieve their goals, those who stay up all night assisting professors in experiments or writing new magic papers, are called this.

Great - with a greater purpose

Student - striving to learn

Academy - making the place of learning their home

Student - dedicating their life.

Magic graduate students.

Those who graduate are at least appointed as a central baron of a principality, or join the royal direct magic corps, or are hired as an assistant professor at Jefrin, and they continue to hone their magic day and night in the magic building.

"Ugh... ..."

"Gr... ... Gr... ..."

Every day, without fail.

They hone themselves.

***

Birds start chirping as the dawn breaks.

But graduate students start chirping before the dawn.

"Gr... ..."

"Professor... ... Name... ..."

The cries of graduate students rising from the depths of hell brought a smile to my lips.

In a world where the 'class system' coexists with 'academic achievement as a legitimate opportunity for social advancement,' the official settings describe how great this academy, Jefrin, is, and within it, Jefrin sets the undergraduate education for four years and the graduate education for three years.

In reality, the three years are often extended to five or seven years, but in any case, most of those who come to Jefrin at this time are 'magic graduate students.'

They can't sleep on time, can't wake up on time, are one with their labs, and risk their lives for a single research project brought by their professors, and they submit papers filled with academic significance. The future pillars of the Loengrin Empire walk as darkly as the dawn.

"You all work hard."

"......Huh?"

"......Huh?"

Two graduate students met my gaze.

Their eyes, which had been unfocused a moment ago, moved aimlessly.

Oh, what a sight. The eyes of a mackerel left out in the summer sun for a week would be more lively.

"It's chilly in the morning. Are you heading to work?"

"......Yeah."

"You are... ...?"

"Wolfram. Wolfram von Loengrin."

"......Yes, I know."

"But why are you here... ...?"

The graduate students' faces showed confusion. Seeing this, I couldn't help but smile.

Undergraduate students, especially the younger ones, would have been wary and rejected me, but the older students, who have been in the academy long enough, are more curious than rejecting.

I'm not sure if this curiosity is a characteristic of graduate students who are determined to pursue their studies to the end, but the fact that they don't reject me outright means my plan is working.

In reality, even if something happens among the undergraduates, the graduate students are too busy to care. They are like reserve soldiers who have already served their time.

"Why don't you have a bowl of soup before heading in?"

"......Huh?"

"Soup... ...?"

Soup.

It's called soup, but it's actually a puffer fish stew.

I boiled the leftover vegetables and fish jerky from the stock in hot water from the hot water bottle I ordered last night, seasoned it with salt, and made it taste like puffer fish stew.

Early morning. After a night of mental labor, a warm broth is what you crave, whether you're coming from the lab or heading to the dormitory.

A bowl of warm puffer fish stew for such people.

I can't stand it. This is it.

"I made it myself for those who work hard for the empire from the early morning. It's not too hot, but it's warm."

"Gr... ... Gr... ... Gr... ... Gr... ..."

"One cup for 10,000 rin."

"That... ... That's a bit expensive... ..."

"There's a refill."

"......Huh?"

"Up to three times. Essentially, one bowl for 30,000 rin."

We communicated with our eyes at that moment.

They took out ten 1,000 rin bills from their pockets, and I handed them paper cups and spoons.

"Gr... ... It's melting... ..."

"Gr... ... Gr... ... Gr... ... Good. I like it."

At first, they thought it would be too hot and blew on it, but I had set it to the perfect 'one sip temperature.'

The two graduate students repeatedly poured Wolfram's special puffer fish stew into paper cups and drank it, and with each cup, their energy returned.

"Phew. I drank it well."

"......Wow. I feel alive. Really."

"It's good to see the future pillars of this country enjoying it. Study hard."

"Yes, yes... ..."

"Really delicious. Did you add anything special... ...?"

"Hmm?"

After drinking, they looked at me with a bit of suspicion.

I'm the villain student council president, so they might think I put something bad in it.

"Why? Do you think I put something in it? The ingredients are all safe, and I can swear on the royal family."

"Ah, I see. Yes."

When I swore on the royal family, they nodded.

"Then we'll be on our way... ..."

"Really delicious. Thank you."

"Good to go."

"Excuse me? Is there anything else... ...?"

"No, don't you spend a lot of energy in your lab research?"

"That... ... That's true."

"Look at this."

"Huh? ... ... Oh."

I glanced at the stand next to the hot water bottle.

It contained a large number of candies that had been rotting in the convenience store and a paper cup.

And a sign with luxurious handwriting.

[One cup of candy for 50,000 rin. No matter how much you put in, one cup is always 50,000 rin. Fill it to your limit! One cup per person per day!]

"Will you try it?"

"......Ha."

"This is... ...!"

With that, the graduate students fell for my provocation and began carefully filling the cup with individually wrapped candies.

Their enthusiasm and effort, which seemed to be the driving force behind Loengrin, were evident as they used their magical engineering skills to fill the cup with candies and handed me a large amount of bills.

"Prince, I'll take the candy."

"Hehe. You see me as water, don't you?"

With that, they stuffed their pockets with candy and looked at me, and I shrugged as if conceding defeat.

They headed to their labs with a sense of accomplishment, and I clicked my tongue at their backs.

But they are happy, so it's all good.

I shrugged and calculated the profit from the candy and puffer fish stew just now.

Good.

There's a profit.

No, a huge profit.

"Hehe."

I couldn't help but smile, and at the same time, the birds started chirping.

Chirp. Chirp.

After dealing with those two, it seems dawn has broken.

Soon, one by one, graduate students began walking towards the magic building, looking like zombies with their unfocused eyes.

I smiled at them.

"You all work hard for the country day and night. Here, there's warm soup and unlimited candy to take!"

At the sound of my loud voice, the graduate students stopped in unison and slowly approached.

Oh, it's not a zombie movie, but it really looks like one...

An hour later.

"......Gr... ... Gr... ... Thank you. Thank you... ... Such warm broth... ... First time since coming to the academy... ... Gr... ... Gr... ..."

"Gr... ... Thank you... ... Really... ... Thank you... ..."

"Be careful on your way in."

The last graduate student entered the lab, and I looked at the empty hot water bottle and candy stand and realized a truth.

"Even if I commit to my studies, I will never become a graduate student."

I meant it.