Mia and I walked down the Academy’s corridor in the middle of summer break. We were on our way back from the library director’s office, or rather, the laboratory adjacent to said office.
We’d just finished passing on the idea of a parabolic antenna using a mana reflective catalyst to the old man. The basic gist of it is to reflect mana over a wide curved surface and accumulate it into a sensor, allowing us to increase the sensitivity and precision of observed measurements.
“The parabolic shape we need will rely on your calculations, Mia.”
“Even if it’s perfected in terms of numerical formulas, there are limits to the physical shape that can actually be made.”
With absolutely zero disposition to mana, my business was done once I passed the concept over to him. Mia’s calculations would play a far greater role than anything I could do going forward.
“The efficiency of the catalyst painted on the surface is still too poor as well. And just creating the trial version is going to cost us a pretty penny...”
As for the realization of the idea itself, I could do nothing else but leave it to the old man, who was acting like a grade school student on a research project over the summer break. His ability to gather research funds had gone up because of his recent accomplishments, but it was still somewhat insufficient.
“There’s a whole mountain of problems, huh...? Anyway, there’s more students around here than I thought there’d be.”
We got closer to where the classrooms were, and found several students gathered in the hallways moving about busily. Every last one of them was a commoner, too. In probability terms, this level of one-sidedness was quite literally impossible.
“They’re likely preparing for the Academy Festival.”
“Oh yeah, your friend... uhh, what was her name again? She mentioned something like that, didn’t she?”
“Lilka. Sir, refer to her as Torito if you ever see her.”
Torito, was it? I recalled the tea party we had before the summer break. She was the girl with orange hair tied up to the side. She seemed really pumped up about the festival, if I recall correctly.
Last year we concluded it was out of the question to participate, not only because we didn’t want to provoke the Dreyfans, but also because of the cost to do so.
This year we can probably afford it, but we don’t have any time because of our investment negotiations. I just finished assigning homework to Fulsig, too. It’s not like it’d be entirely impossible, but we really just lack the spare time to get involved. But really...
“Sir?”
I kind of want Mia to have a more student-like experience here, too. Unlike me, this is her first time being one.
“Oh yeah, Mia. It seems like that Torito invited you to—”
“Please wait a moment! Are you saying that this is also the Carlests’ space?!”
And just as I was about to ask what Mia’s hopes regarding the festival were, a familiar voice resounded from further down the hallway.
“Do you not see this certificate? This classroom is to be used by one of our child companies as the result of an official bid. More specifically, it’s to become a storehouse,” a haughty boy replied.
“That’s right. There’s no space for a small company like yours to participate this year,” another girl added.
Three students were having a dispute right in front of the classroom we left our bags in. On one side of the argument was a boy and a girl who seemed to be upperclassmen. The boy was slicking back his hair, and the girl was standing there with an air of composure and a hand at her waist. Facing them was a girl with orange hair. I could see her tied up hair quivering in frustration from behind.
“Isn’t this supposed to be the calm and relaxing summer break of a refined Academy? What’s going on over there?”
“It’s probably something about the acquisition of space for shops.”
Mia looked at her best friend as she answered me.
“But, I mean... aren’t they being a little too rough about it?”
It almost sounded like a conversation with a land shark. I heard that their companies’ reputations were on the line, but this is still a school festival, right? I suppose it really isn’t something for us to butt in on, considering we’re not participating. We can just enter the classroom using the other door.
“Let’s just get our stuff and go home.”
“Okay...”
Mia was being evasive. Our classmate was desperately hanging on, but the upperclassmen weren’t giving her the light of day.
“Do you know who those two upperclassmen are?”
“I think they’re the Carlest siblings. The brother is a senior, and the little sister is a third year.”
“Carlest... They’re a gold company with the Culinary Guild, right?”
“They’re in a dispute with the Kendalls over the seat of the next guild representative.”
I see now. If I remember right, Lilka’s family deals in dairy products under the Kendall umbrella. The Kendalls and the Carlests... a confrontation between gold companies. Just that alone gets a big ‘no thank you’ from me.
“You Carlests are using your capital to buy up all the rooms you don’t even need, right? No matter how you put it, it’s far too tyrannical to not even let us participate!”
“We simply made use of the rules. You could have participated if you fairly won during the bidding, right? The Kendalls’ main office is splitting the auditorium with us, aren’t they? As ones who call themselves a deputy guild representative, should they not take care of those under their umbrella?”
“That’s... We planned to... But this is all because the rules changed without warning...”
Bidding, capital, rights... Well, I’m beginning to see the picture here. Anyway, she can’t even participate? The image of this girl firing herself up for the Academy Festival came to mind.
“Sir... Could you talk to Lilka a bit later...?”
Mia looked up at me with a tormented expression.
“Now that I think of it, how did you end up getting along with her?”
“That’s... Um, back when I wasn’t used to this place yet... Lilka helped me out.”
Mia is from a copper company, and not only that, she’s just an employee. By the standards of the Academy, her position is rather low. I see. I thought she ended up fitting in at school far better than I did, but there’s no way it was that simple for her. I guess I’ve got a big debt to pay that girl as Mia’s boss, then.
“A wonderful sample of the Carlest versus Kendall fight has just rolled out in front of us, waiting to be analyzed. We can’t let this pass.”
“Sir?!”
I walked down the hallway, and upon noticing this, the older brother turned towards me. He had black hair and a sturdy looking physique. His clothes were about as high quality as it gets among commoners, too.
“What? You here to complain too?”
“Far from it. I simply left my bag in this classroom. Could you perhaps allow me to enter?”
I took on the perfect attitude towards an upperclassman.
“There’s a door back there, isn’t there? Let yourself in.” The little sister told me in ill humor. She had the same black hair as her brother in a bob cut. She had a harsh beauty to her.