Elias hummed as he replaced the newspaper in his private filter. It was the paper issued back in January when the first barrier installation was being discussed.
The photo moved, and the recorded voices within it played out clearly.
Another figure began to harshly criticize the preceding councilor.
[Henning Berend has been pushing for the establishment of a specialized defense production zone for years. Where? His own territory, of course! I'd like a textile industrial zone too. At least that would produce something, unlike a demon beast barrier.]
Elias snickered.
"That's some sharp sarcasm."
"Just like you."
"I'll take that as a compliment. So, who's next?"
At Leo's words, Elias shrugged. Then he pulled out another newspaper that came to hand and fitted it into the filter.
[—Councilor Werner Strauch, do you have an opinion?]
[I merely stand on the side of the citizens.]
"Councilor Werner Strauch has a reason for being absent from the plenary session."
"Non-attendance."
"Same difference."
Elias pulled the newspaper from the filter and looked around.
"What about the mosquitoes?"
"Finished classifying their traits. They're all separated and contained, so now we just need to send them to the lab."
Breeding them and writing a report would have been too labor-intensive, so we had booked an experiment with a firm.
When I mentioned this, I witnessed Melvin's complexion brighten dramatically within thirty seconds.
As I filled out the request form to send to the firm, I asked Leo.
"How long did they say?"
"At least three weeks for growth, apparently. For the report to come back, we need to budget at least five weeks even at the fastest."
That's far too long.
Getting the barrier costs and internal cleaning fees budgeted and passed would easily take two to three months.
Add another month for the research report.
If during that time the Pleroma side utilized the insects, or if naturally stronger mosquitoes appeared over several generations, the damage would be immense.
Elias, also seemingly displeased, grimaced sharply.
"What? People will be dead by then. We already spent 100,000 phel on the commission fee, right?"
"Yeah."
"Hmm..."
Elias groaned, leaning back heavily in his chair.
He furrowed his brow for a moment, then quickly stood up with a bright expression.
"Let's double it."
"...You want to invest 200,000 phel in a middle school-level experiment?"
"They can make them grow faster but they're not doing it. Give me the telegram. I'll negotiate."
Leo handed the telegram he was holding to Elias.
Elias skimmed the contents, then muttered something as he wrote on a telegram application form placed here.
"I'll give you 20,000 phel more if you finish the report within three days."
"..."
He just said 'double it' and it's only 20,000?
Leo looked down at Elias with an astonished face.
"What's wrong? When negotiating, you have to start tight. You're supposed to lowball them thinking you'll give more later. They also deliberately quoted a period without using magic."
"...What are you talking about?! Not everyone in the world is like you. Lucas."
Leo turned to look at me as if asking for help.
"Why, it's fine."
"..."
I don't necessarily agree with Elias, but it's true that growth acceleration magic is usually used during experiments.
Ultimately, the other firm's meaning was that for 100,000 phel—equivalent to ten million won—they couldn't use growth acceleration magic. Since they didn't specify an additional cost, they were saying they'd listen to our offer and adjust.
Originally, growth acceleration magic for experiments is also just a few official lines, so an extra two million won isn't that bad a proposal. It's just that Elias had to say it out loud.
"...Sigh."
Leo snatched the telegram application form Elias handed over and wrote in a phrase emphasizing the seriousness of why quick results were needed. Since it was a technology combined with magic, he could write a bit longer than a regular telegram.
Leo, who had gone to the post office, returned a while later with a new telegram. He waved the paper.
"40,000 phel."
"Good, I was thinking of paying double, but thankfully we didn't even use half."
Elias grinned, tore up the new telegram application form, and wrote and sent a telegram telling them to start the experiment immediately.
And so, three days passed.
The firm kept their promise to the day and warped the report to the school post office.
We also immediately sent warp mail to the Imperial Security Headquarters, but they didn't accept it, so it was immediately returned and arrived before us.
Elias laughed, tapping the yellow envelope brought by students who had stopped by the post office.
"I knew these bastards would do this."
"Elias, come on..."
Leo sighed and glared at Elias.
Then, a student quickly flipped through the thick report and exclaimed.
"What, didn't we give them three days? They bred up to the third generation in this short time?"
"Worth 140,000 phel."
"Yeah. I didn't know we'd have to spend 140,000 on an experiment topic from the third academy textbook, but money sure is good."
Elias added with a laugh.
The student who had been continuing to flip through the report frowned.
"Did you read all this? It says half of the surviving third generation shows five times the potency of the first generation."
"Creepy."
"It says they can survive below freezing due to mana, so that means those mosquitoes will be roaming around in two or three months."
"Right."
"This is serious... Are there experimental result photos?"
Other students crowded around the report.
The student opened the last page and showed the photo.
The skin color of the lab mouse contaminated by the mosquito had turned completely black.
Elias added a comment.
"But look at the mentality of sending this back without even accepting it."
"Exactly."
Another student chimed in.
Anyway, the Security Headquarters' behavior isn't surprising.
It was like that in the novel too.
To submit a supplementary budget review to the parliament, the Security Headquarters, the competent department, needs to know the situation and first plan the additional budget. But in the novel, the Security Headquarters blocked all contact from anyone not a government official, citing security reasons.
Of course, it doesn't matter.
This is all just activity for the sake of the 'we did everything we could' justification.
As the mood grew heavy, I brought up the topic to the students.
"We talked about this before. Now we need to target the Federal Committee councilors."
"Are we talking to the parliament now?"
"Yes. But that doesn't mean this bill will pass in parliament."
The students looked at me with puzzled eyes.
* * *
"Did you send the letters?"
"Yeah."
A few students waved the receipts they got from the post office.
We sent the same letter and report to the Federal Committee chairman and all sixty-some councilors.
Sure enough, that evening we received telegrams from a few councilors.
The replies said they took the problem seriously but due to fact-checking, budget shortages, and other issues, it was difficult to bring up the matter immediately.
However, they also briefly wrote that if they urgently discussed the budget with the Security Headquarters, they could submit it to a Federal Committee department meeting within half a year.
"Half a year...? At this rate, everyone in Mephen will be dead. Isn't this just saying they won't do it?"
"...Lucas, you were right. And it's not even a plenary session, just a Federal Committee meeting."
Not surprising.
It's the same situation as when Elias sent letters to the parliament in the novel.
Back then too, just like now, they had no intention of doing anything but sent formal replies anyway.
Elias kept threatening and managed to push it up to a month ahead, but it ultimately fell through.
'So he resorted to threatening the media as a last resort.'
We obviously can't wait half a year.
Personally, and for safety reasons too.
Three weeks to a month is already enough for a generation to change. The insects in that area will only get stronger, and they want us to wait half a year?
No way.
* * *
'Should I check my status window after so long?'
The next day, during class, I listed the things I would need going forward in my notebook.
It seemed like a good time to level up the Charm trait. I had a use for it.
The last time I checked my status was the day before midterms, so it had been a little over two weeks now.
Lucas René Ascanien
Title: Sir Nicolaos
Stamina: +1.1 (+0.2) [+4.1]
Willpower: -2.6 (+0.6)
Mana: ?
Skill: +2.45 (+0.3) [+5.45]
Impression: -9.9 (+0.1) [+2.0]
Luck: +0.05 (+0.95)
Traits: Dawn 777, Divine Power, Charm (Lv.1)
The title changed.
The scores also increased decently over two weeks.
But...
'What the.'
The Impression stat went up by 0.1 points.
Originally, when it's negative, the increase is large, so this might seem like it didn't increase much, but that's for other stats. For Impression, this is surprising.
And what's that [+2.0] next to Impression?
Could my Impression score become positive?
'No...'
It's not impossible, but it's quite surprising.
I unintentionally pressed down the corners of my mouth that had lifted, calming my expression.
It's too early to get excited. I have my suspicions, but since there's no explanation written, I can't be sure.
First, let's think about how to level up.
Charm Lv.1
—'I want to be friends!' Target affinity +2
—'If you say so.' Persuasion +20%
—2.0 points to next level
* Available Points: 4.0 points
* Next point acquisition: Luck 0.95 points
'Wait.'
Available Points?
I'm sure this category didn't exist before.
I read the line below and went back.
Now I see the Luck value had risen to positive.
'+0.05 points.'
Did I gain points to use on traits by escaping the negative? Finally found a use for that mysterious category.
I closed the window for a moment and looked at the guy next to me.
The same guy who punched me in the face back then. He was diligently filling his notebook as if his arm would fall off, then flinched under my gaze.
"...What?"
I waved my hand, telling him to stop messing around and write quickly.
Philip Göring [Affinity -5*]
This bastard, did he develop some grudging affection or something, why is it only -5? With the trait applied, it should be -8.
For some reason, intense displeasure washed over me.
Anyway, seeing that asterisk, it seems the -5 already reflects my trait...
I need to compare before and after.
I opened the trait window again.
Charm Lv.1
—'I want to be friends!' Target affinity +2
—'If you say so.' Persuasion +20%
—2.0 points to next level
* Available Points: 4.0 points
* Next point acquisition: Luck 0.95 points
'How do I use these points?'
Do I just think about it?
Then, a light flashed and the window changed.
Charm Lv.2
—'I want to be friends!' Target affinity +3
—'If you say so.' Persuasion +30%
—3.0 points to next level
* Available Points: 2.0 points
* Next point acquisition: Luck 0.95 points
Philip Göring [Affinity -4*]
'...!'
It really went up.
Well, it was written that it would, but seeing the difference directly is surprising.
Anyway, as I kept looking at him with a pitiful gaze, Philip glanced at me warily, alternating between his notebook and me.
"What, what...?"
"Nothing. Just do your thing."
"Uh, class is over."
"Then stretch your arm, man."
"Lucas."
I almost showed I was startled.
The person who said that wasn't Philip.
Leo, standing in front of the desk, looked down at me expressionlessly.
Thankfully, he wasn't showing we were close, but Leo almost never openly called me by name in front of other students.
The other friends from the group in our class also stopped with surprised faces, then went back to normal as if nothing happened.
"The professor asked me to tell you. Someone is looking for you at the main gate right now."
"For me?"
Looking for me?
Who?
No matter how much I thought, there was no one outside school who would look for me.
"Who."
"Sorry, I didn't hear that part."
Thankfully, Leo was faithful to his role as class president.
If we were alone, he would have just answered 'dunno.'
I nodded at Leo's class president persona, which felt oddly dissonant, and got up from my seat.
"Thanks. I'll head out now, so please tell the professor."
"Okay."
Looking for me?
An ominous sensation wrapped around my body.
I walked slowly to buy some thinking time.
After walking for a while, the main gate finally came into view.
An old man wearing a uniform with a familiar insignia stood holding a black box with a handle.
Someone I knew well.
When he spotted me, he smiled and greeted.
"Have you been well, young master?"
—-----------
T/N:
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