Chapter 06: “The Money-Grubbing Witch’s Income Report and the Curse That Won’t Fade” ②
When we returned from the special bathhouse‚ the tense‚ chaotic atmosphere that had filled the underground laboratory of the Third Research Building earlier had eased just a little.
Beyond the broken window‚ the crimson of dusk was quietly shifting into the stillness of night. The spires and rooftops of the royal capital that had been dyed red were now slowly sinking into the depths of a pale purple darkness.
In the room next to the laboratory‚ the rescued party members who had narrowly escaped death were lying down. The critically injured female cleric had her fatal wounds sealed for the time being by Charlotte’s healing magic and was now in a deep‚ peaceful sleep. The remaining mage and archer wiped away tears of relief at her side and quietly watched over her condition.
It would be a little while longer until the professional medical team arrived. Until then‚ they would spend the remaining time in the supremely safe sanctuary of the academy.
And as for us‚ who were physically unharmed (※though our underwear and uniforms were all lost)…
“…Well then.”
I once again pulled the familiar oversized plain T-shirt (men’s size) that had been sitting on the shelf in the laboratory’s changing room over my head.
The size was completely oversized and baggy. The sleeves hung awkwardly past my elbows‚ and the hem just barely reached my thighs. Yet for me in my current state‚ with my defensive lines completely gone‚ this fabric was the most welcome thing imaginable.
“Haa…!”
Charlotte‚ too‚ accepted a matching men’s T-shirt with a look of utter humiliation and a deep sigh of despair. Beside her‚ her two attendants silently slipped their arms into the crude sleeves as well.
“…This is‚ how should I put it…”
One of them looked down bashfully at her own body‚ swimming in the excess fabric.
“It’s an extremely open‚ barbaric‚ and shameless outfit‚ isn’t it…”
“It was beyond our control. Please give up.”
I answered coldly and immediately.
“In Professor Ellight’s eccentric laboratory‚ there has never existed even a single spare change of clothes for young female students in all of history.”
“How can you‚ Louise-san‚ stand there so proudly with your chest out in such a miserable‚ completely unprotected outfit!?”
“I’m completely used to it. It’s an everyday occurrence.”
“We have no desire to get used to such an unsettling daily life for even a single second…!”
Charlotte gazed into the distance while exposing her bare legs in the matching outfit.
Paying not the slightest bit of mental resources to their young-lady-like psychological struggles‚ I walked straight toward the large ebony desk in the center of the laboratory.
There‚ the glittering spoils of war that I had brought back earlier from the depths of the Abyss via the hacking system were lined up in a row.
The ominous equipment left behind by the fourth-layer boss “Goblin Lord.” High-purity polyhedral magic stones. Several rare ancient magical metal materials. And‚ drawing the most attention‚ a large treasure chest radiating residual traces of enormous space-time magic power.
—The unopened drop box of the fifth-layer boss “Guardian of the Earth‚” with extremely high market value.
Furthermore‚ the strange polyhedral-designed “Space-Time Gold Coin Box” that I had forcibly ripped out of the Goblin Lord’s hidden room.
I examined each of these materials one by one with the serious gaze of an appraiser.
“Yes‚ perfect.”
“What’s so ‘yes‚ perfect’ about it?”
Toto‚ who had returned to my shoulder‚ peered suspiciously at the treasure chest in my hands.
“Everything exists as data with no missing parts‚ just as calculated.”
“Well‚ anyone can see that just by looking‚ Louise.”
“No. What’s academically important is the point of ‘how much can these be sold for cash on the market while ignoring the guild’s intermediate margins.’”
“……”
Toto made a terribly disgusted face‚ as if witnessing the end of the world.
“You… don’t tell me…”
“Yes‚ exactly.”
I solemnly placed a well-used waterproof research notebook and a single pencil on the desk.
“From this point‚ I will conduct a ‘strict final income-and-expenditure calculation’ for this labyrinth disaster.”
“I knew ittttttt!!!”
Toto clutched his round head fiercely with his short forelegs.
“After barely scraping through a life-or-death situation and surviving‚ and after taking a bath with the young ladies‚ the very first job is proper money counting!?”
“It’s the natural conclusion.”
I firmly picked up my favorite pencil.
“Precisely because it was a life-risking‚ grueling exploration‚ it is necessary to accurately grasp the profits (returns) obtained there‚ properly record them as assets‚ and allocate them to the budget for the next experimental ammunition (underwear).”
“If you only listen to the logic and formulas you’re spouting‚ you sound like a fine economist‚ but the depths of those eyes are completely those of a terminal miser!!”
“That’s rude‚ Toto.”
I puffed out my cheeks a little in dissatisfaction.
“I am by no means a base miser.”
“Then what are you?”
“An extremely rational ‘asset manager’ in modern magic.”
“You’re just skillfully rephrasing things to justify your own money-grubbing!”
Charlotte‚ her bare legs peeking out from the baggy men’s T-shirt‚ watched our lively comedy routine back and forth and then slightly curved her lips into a small smile.
“But…”
She quietly lowered her gaze to the various spoils of war solemnly lined up on the desk.
“These are all rare items that one hardly ever sees even in the highest-class markets of the royal capital. Indeed‚ as a single mage‚ I am purely curious about how much property value each of them holds.”
“Right?”
I showed the brightest possible reaction‚ as if my point had been validated.
“And so…”
I smoothly channeled a tiny amount of bio-magic power into the silver modulation ring on the middle finger of my left hand.
—Kiin.
A clear metallic driving sound echoed through the underground laboratory space. At the same time‚ a pale blue magical light spread across the desk like geometric ripples. Intricate translucent holograms. Flickering data characters. And complex automatic appraisal formulas that unraveled the structure of the target objects at the molecular level were arrogantly deployed in the space before our eyes in an instant.
“Whoa…”
This time Toto squeezed out a thoroughly exasperated voice.
“You really are raining a storm of unauthorized modifications on the professor’s masterpiece‚ aren’t you.”
“I plan to compile the change history (logs) of the source code used for the modifications into a perfect post-report later and leave it on the professor’s desk without permission‚ so there is no problem from a systems management standpoint!”
“In the end it’s just complete post-approval (hacking) that ignores all legal procedures!”
“Putting that aside. Inside the core of this ring‚ I have been gradually adding ‘convenient expansion patches’ with my own hands since enrollment.”
I proudly thrust out my invisible dress chest beneath the men’s T-shirt.
“……”
Toto’s round expression froze as he sensed a certain terrifying possibility.
“…Wait a second‚ Louise.”
“Yes‚ what is it‚ Toto?”
“I don’t want to believe it‚ but… there aren’t any more evil hidden commands in this cursed ring‚ right?”
“Well‚ it’s a confidential matter on my internal hard disk‚ so who knows?”
“…No good. That deliberate poker face means there are definitely still some outrageous undressing functions or inhumane systems sleeping in there…”
In the twilight laboratory‚ Toto’s deep‚ soul-felt lament echoed.
I tilted my head curiously.
“Superior technology should be used thoroughly‚ efficiently‚ and practically‚ right?”
“Well‚ that thoroughly utilitarian parameter of yours is at least partially correct for survival.”
“Not partially—in my calculation formulas‚ it’s entirely correct.”
“There’s no way it’s entirely correct! Your ethical limiter as a scientist has come off way too far!”
“Eeh. This is progress in magical technology and a tremendous contribution to the academy’s budget cuts!”
“When you casually spout such grand justifications as ‘progress’ and ‘contribution‚’ even I have no words left!”
Coldly ignoring Toto’s reasonable complaints‚ I elegantly swiped the data screen of the magical hologram before me.
“The mechanism is extremely simple.”
I slid my fingertip. One of the spoils—a faintly glowing high-purity magic stone—was precisely enclosed by a blue selection frame.
“I have overwritten the ring’s computation core with a multidimensional sensing system that instantly acquires the ‘proof of existence of the space-time structure’ of the target object.”
Next. A precise translucent diagram of the magic stone’s internal structure. The percentage of magical purity. The rarity of the elements. Assumed estimated uses. Current market circulation volume in the royal capital. Furthermore‚ the guild’s transaction history over the past hundred years. Those vast economic data unfolded fluidly one after another onto the hologram screen.
“I analyze these instantly with my hacking magic and encrypt-transmit the data directly to the official auction system of the Royal Capital Adventurers’ Guild.”
“……”
“If automatic approval (clear) is granted by the guild-side server there…”
I floated a full-faced smile that was more evil and beautiful than anyone else’s in the world.
“Before having to go to the trouble of carrying these large quantities of spoils all the way to the guild window‚ we can determine a reliable buyer and the ‘guideline for the highest bid price’ while remaining comfortably in this laboratory!”
Toto fell silent after his fierce retort. So did Charlotte. So did her two attendants.
All of them‚ without even the leisure to worry about the collars of their baggy T-shirts‚ stared intently at the enormous numbers floating in the pale blue holograms in the air.
“…Louise-san.”
“Yes‚ what is it‚ Charlotte-san?”
“You…”
Charlotte opened her mouth timidly with a complex expression mixed with awe.
“You truly are a once-in-a-century worst genius when it comes to illegal hacking (modification) of existing magical tools.”
“No. From the geometric perspective of magic‚ I still haven’t done any particularly major initial processing.”
“And you insist that this is ‘nothing major’!?”
“Yes.”
I was truly‚ thoroughly humble in that conviction.
“The actual conversion to cash itself still requires taking the physical items directly to the guild window later‚ undergoing authenticity appraisal procedures‚ and properly receiving the coins.”
“Ah‚ so there you unexpectedly still follow the ordinary‚ muddy physical procedures…”
“However.”
I smoothly raised my white‚ slender index finger‚ still warm from the bath.
“Just being able to determine the buyers’ trends and estimated sale prices in advance with high precision is already an extremely large advantage as a risk hedge in asset management.”
“……”
“In other words…”
I gazed affectionately over the spoils of war (assets) neatly arranged on the desk.
“With the current multidimensional computation‚ we can roughly calculate our ‘total sales amount.’”
“…H-how much is it in total…?”
Charlotte’s refined voice as a prestigious young lady rose a little with vulgar expectation.
“Well then‚ let’s look at the pre-appraisal results (data) of the auction in order.”
I pointed my slender fingertip at the first dull-glowing mysterious small box.
■ Unopened Drop Box of the Underground Fifth-Layer Boss “Guardian of the Earth”
A electronic beep sounded‚ and a huge number appeared on the hologram console screen.
『 Guild Predicted Bid Price: 1‚000‚000 Krona 』
“…………”
“…………”
“…………”
The three girls froze simultaneously like Greek statues before the sheer astronomical shock (bug).
Only Toto.
“…Huh?”
let out a blank voice with his daifuku-mochi face twitching.
“One… million…?”
“Yes‚ one million krona‚ just as calculated.”
“No no no no‚ wait a second!”
Toto opened his tiny red eyes as wide as possible and looked at the screen over and over‚ two times‚ three times.
“One‚ ten‚ hundred‚ thousand…”
He folded the fingers of his short forelegs one by one‚ trembling.
“Ten thousand… hundred thousand… hy-hyaku…”
His brain refused the sheer number of digits midway and gave up counting.
“Hy-one million kronaaaaaa!? (You could build a house with that!)”
“Yes‚ the exact theoretical value.”
“For one box that fits in the palm of you young ladies’ hands!?”
“What are you talking about? It is the unique relic (drop) left by the ‘Floor Master (Boss)’ of the underground fifth layer.”
I answered extremely matter-of-factly‚ as if it were the natural conclusion.
“Moreover‚ the key point is that it is ‘unopened.’ Maintaining this state is probabilistically the most important.”
“Is the fact that you stubbornly refuse to open the box and keep it unopened such an important factor that drives up the price so much?”
Charlotte asked curiously while rubbing her bare legs together.
“It is extremely important‚ Charlotte-san.”
I nodded deeply‚ tapping the desk with the tip of my graphite pencil.
“The uncertain ‘possibility (romance)’ itself that some unknown ultra-rare mythic-class item might be contained inside—that is what the wealthy pay an enormous added value (premium) for.”
“In other words… what does that mean?”
“Rather than us taking the risk of opening it and drawing a mediocre probability dud (garbage)‚ selling it off to them as a convenient ‘dream (gacha)’ in its completely unopened‚ clean state yields a far higher and more stable profit rate in terms of expected value calculation.”
“……”
“The creatures known as the nobles and wealthy of the royal capital truly have money to spare and lead irrational lifestyles.”
I made a slightly distant expression as if pitying their foolishness.
“Just for the entertainment of buying a mere wooden box (gacha) whose contents might be complete emptiness‚ they happily throw away a million krona into the gutter with a single toss.”
Toto muttered as if his soul had left him.
“The internal computations of the rich are truly bottomlessly incomprehensible to ordinary citizens…”
“Incidentally‚ the data is like this.”
I elegantly flicked the hologram at hand.
『 STATUS: EXPECTED BIDDERS / Upper-class wealthy of the royal capital‚ severe magical tool collectors‚ special-grade members of the Adventurers’ Guild‚ aristocratic dilettantes 』
“The competition rate appears quite high even from the probabilistic view of space-time. One million krona is a solid minimum line.”
“One… million…”
Charlotte muttered blankly as if seeing a dream.
“Did we really return from the Abyss carrying such an unimaginable asset…?”
“Yes. It is an unshakable physical fact.”
■ Fourth-Layer Goblin Lord Forces · Rare Drops + High-Purity Magic Stones
Next. I tapped and opened the next console data item.
『 Guild Predicted Bid Price: 150‚000 Krona 』
“Fi-fifteen thousand…”
“From the actual market rates‚ this is an extremely reasonable market price.”
“Your standard for ‘reasonable’ has been far too crazy from earlier!”
Charlotte immediately overwrote with a sharp retort.
“No‚ please look at the breakdown. The various heavy equipment made of rare metals exclusive to the Goblin Lord.”
I explained their property value matter-of-factly.
“And the high-purity magic stone groups that were unintentionally artificially refined through the environmental destruction process by the heat of my consecutive four-element composite magic—that ultra-high temperature and ultra-high pressure.”
“I see. They are extremely excellent assets (assets) for which there is always a certain demand from the laboratories of the Royal Magic University and the cutting-edge magical tool workshops of the royal capital.”
“In other words… they can definitely be sold?”
“Yes.”
“And at a high price.”
“Yes.”
“……”
Charlotte exhaled a small but deep breath as if staring at something beyond the capacity of her common sense.
“Throwing oneself into the depths of the labyrinth… is something that makes krona gush forth this abnormally?”
“In exchange for that equivalent exchange‚ we left behind our social dignity as women and all of our favorite high-class clothes in the Abyss‚ though.”
I answered administratively and immediately.
“I will dive again right away to secure the next research funds‚ but would you and the others also join me and bet your panties to dive again?”
“That… I will consider very positivelyyyyyyy!!!”
“You‚ as a maiden‚ aren’t rejecting it on the spot! Your brains are completely poisoned by the golden magic power!”
Toto looked up at the young lady whose bare legs peeked from the baggy T-shirt with an utterly exasperated face.
■ “Space-Time Gold Coin Box”
And finally. I stretched my slender fingertip toward the box with golden geometric patterns that the Goblin Lord had obstinately kept hidden.
“This is…”
I checked the historical character strings displayed on the hologram screen.
“Quite rare. Magical archaeological added value (premium) is attached.”
『 Guild Predicted Bid Price: 500‚000 Krona 』
“…………”
Charlotte became a completely silent statue this time.
“Fi-fifty…”
One of the attendant female students muttered while nearly fainting.
“Five hundred thousand krona…”
The other also rounded her eyes to the limit as if unable to believe it.
Toto. After letting a heavy silence fall over the basement for a while…
“Hey‚ Louise.”
He stared fixedly at my profile.
“This.”
“Yes‚ what is it‚ Toto?”
“If you add up all the crazy amounts displayed here now…”
“Yes.”
I operated the magical hologram console screen vividly with flowing finger movements.
The respective numbers floating in the void converged according to the formulas of convergence into one enormous number (total).
『 STATUS: TOTAL REVENUE (Total Estimated Sale Price) 』
『 1‚650‚000 Krona 』
The damp atmosphere of the underground Third Research Building completely‚ physically stopped with mass.
“……”
“……”
“……”
Toto slowly opened his mouth like a broken screw.
“…One hundred sixty-five… ten thousand… krona…?”
“Yes‚ simple addition that doesn’t even require mental arithmetic.”
“This.”
Toto stared at the dazzling mountain of treasure seated on the desk.
“All of it is stuff we picked up while walking around the bottom of the labyrinth?”
“If we use academically accurate words‚ they are the glorious spoils of war (assets) that we recovered by staking our precious life-maintenance resources and the absolute social dignity of maidens as collateral in the equivalent exchange.”
“No matter how exaggeratedly you rephrase it‚ in the end it’s just stuff we force-robbed and picked up on the roadside!”
I floated a slightly devilish smile at the corner of my mouth toward that correct argument.
But— I quietly‚ deeply gazed again at the coldly flickering pale blue rows of numbers.
One‚ six‚ five.
I recalculated the arrangement of those digits over and over without error on my internal hard disk.
No mistake. Net assets of 1‚650‚000 gold krona.
From the standard of that extreme poverty research life where I had been gnawing on dried black bread crusts every day while shedding tears over budget difficulties…
It was an amount that was far‚ far too enormous and violent.
The next-generation highest-class magical research equipment I had always wanted. An ultra-high-speed space-time computation machine that wouldn’t burn out my brain. Rare special-grade magical catalysts that rarely appeared on the market. Abundant experimental materials.
And—someday‚ independence from that stomach-aching uncle (professor)‚ and the absolute foundational funds to establish my own complete “private space-time laboratory” in the royal capital.
Deep in my chest. Something small quietly‚ yet hotly like magma‚ lit up.
“…Fufu‚ not bad at all.”
“Not just ‘not bad’—this is an absurd fortune that would let us ordinary students play around for the rest of our lives!”
Charlotte leaned forward excitedly without caring about the hem of her baggy T-shirt and shouted with her amber eyes sparkling.
“How on earth‚ with what equivalent formula‚ are we going to split this among ourselves!?”
—At that fateful moment when everyone’s hearts danced at the distribution of wealth.
I. As if saying “I have been blocking the way‚” floated a full sales smile and flung open the well-used notebook with a flap.
“Well then‚ everyone‚ my friends.”
I discarded all conscience and smiled elegantly like a devil.
“From this point‚ I will begin the strict ‘income report (hellish settlement)’ for this labyrinth disaster.”
Seeing that fearless smile‚ the color drained from Toto’s face.
“…No good. I only have the worst bad premonition of my entire life…”
“First.”
I wrote the cold initial numerical value in the most beautiful ornamental characters on the first line of the notebook.
『 Total Sales (Gross): 1‚650‚000 Krona 』
Next‚ on the second line of the notebook‚
『 Joint Development · System Maintenance Expenses (Deduction Portion) 』
I coldly added.
“In the process of safely recording this enormous revenue this time…”
I appended the explanation with extreme administrative flatness‚ excluding all emotion.
“The illegal modification fee for adding shared network functions to the Ellight Ring.”
“……”
“The maintenance management and fuel costs of the space-time techniques that enabled safe bulk teleport to the surface.”
“……”
“The future account freeze risk fee accompanying unauthorized intrusion (backdoor connection) into the guild’s official auction server.”
“……”
“And—above all‚ my ‘genius magical computation technology · usage license fee’ that rewrote the causality of space-time naturally occurs.”
Toto narrowed his tiny red eyes with his daifuku-mochi face twitching.
“Hey‚ you.”
“Yes‚ what is it? An asset management question?”
“I don’t want to believe it‚ but…”
I declared matter-of-factly as if it were a scientist’s natural right.
“—Thirty percent of the total sales amount.”
“—Thirty percentttttttttttttttt!?”
Toto’s soul-felt scream violently rattled the thick glass windows of the Third Research Building.
“One hundred sixty-five ten thousand krona‚ thirty percent of that‚ you!?”
“Yes. Mental arithmetic in 0.1 seconds—a deduction of 495‚000 krona.”
“About five hundred thousand krona!! You could build another house!”
“Considering the convenience of the ultra-cheat functions I provided‚ it is an extremely conscientious fair price (subscription).”
“It’s more outrageous than the skimming system of loan sharks in the back alleys‚ you!”
“That’s rude‚ Toto.”
I protested with puffed cheeks in dissatisfaction.
“The ultra-high-speed mental arithmetic with my supreme brain cells fully operating is by no means free charity volunteer work.”
“I’ve never heard of anyone in any dark guild of any fantasy world who charges a usage fee (license) on their own brain and rips it from the party!”
“It is an extremely rational‚ unprecedented patent technology license fee (0.1 seconds of internal computation).”
“You’ve finally started attaching copyright and patent fees to your own brain…”
Toto clutched his head with his short forelegs and gazed into the distance in despair.
Paying not a single micron of attention to the outsiders’ complaints‚ I coldly continued the subtraction on the notebook.
“However.”
I further added another item to the notebook.
『 Medical Compensation to the Rescued (Settlement Money): 15‚000 Krona 』
Charlotte‚ who had been rubbing her bare legs together from the baggy T-shirt‚ blinked curiously.
“What on earth is this?”
“Condolence money (compensation) for the three female adventurers we rescued in the nick of time in the Abyss this time.”
“……”
“When I projected Kamekichi-san as a hard physical warhead (decoy) onto the battlefield‚ the aftershock of my consecutive four-element composite magic involved their cells by a mere few decimal percent and inflicted minor lacerations. If legal risks of negligence claims from the guild or the Royal Capital Knight Order later can be completely offset (settled) for a mere fifteen thousand krona‚ it is an extremely cheap investment for the future.”
“There you’re thoroughly calculating and worldly…”
Toto muttered a little with a shudder.
“Of course‚ Toto.”
I nodded deeply.
“I am not so irrational a psychopath as to forcibly record even life-related negligence losses as profits and conceal them.”
Then. After subtracting all those various expenses‚ I vividly lit up the remaining pure “net profit” distribution total amount onto the magical hologram screen.
『 STATUS: DISTRIBUTABLE INCOME (Distributable Net Profit) 』
『 1‚140‚000 Krona 』
“—This remaining profit…”
With my wet slender fingertip‚ I vividly separated the hologram numerical values into four regions.
“I will strictly distribute it to the four legitimate investors (party members) who actually provided their precious clothing assets as the ‘catalyst (cost)’ of the equivalent exchange on that extreme battlefield.”
Charlotte. Attendant A. Attendant B. And me.
Four names were coldly lined up on the hologram data screen.
“Note that the percentage (ratio) of wealth distribution is set to a specification that responds completely proportional to the ‘purchase price of the clothes that actually vanished’ in the depths of the labyrinth.”
“……”
Charlotte‚ holding the collar of her baggy T-shirt‚ stared at the formula of causality poured onto her own name.
“In other words… what does that mean?”
“Yes.”
I nodded beautifully as a matter of natural truth.
“The more high-class and expensive the clothes and equipment that were offered by risking one’s body on the battlefield and made to vanish‚ the more the dividend money (return) for this risk-taking will overwhelmingly jump to astronomical numbers.”
Charlotte’s amber eyes. Slowly narrowed eerily as if struck by golden magic power.
“……”
“……”
“……”
Toto on my shoulder. Looked straight at me with eyes of shudder as if witnessing the true devil dwelling in the abyss of this world.
“Hey‚ you.”
“Yes‚ what is it‚ Toto?”
“That.”
“Yes.”
“Could it be that you…”
Toto’s fingertip of his short foreleg trembled as he arrived at the terrifying truth.
“Have you set it up as a crazy alchemy system with completely destroyed ethical limiters where ‘the side that is forcibly stripped and left naked (half-naked) can legally make the biggest profit’…?”
“—Yes‚ exactly.”
I answered the truth of the world with a full-faced smile more pure and beautiful than anyone else’s in the world.
“This is the causality of the natural world‚ and the essence of healthy ‘equivalent exchange (capitalism).’”
“The worst bug monster born of capitalism‚ you…”
After a few seconds of recomputation‚ the final distribution results vividly popped up on the hologram.
『 Charlotte-dono : 560‚000 Krona 』
『 Attendant Student A : 230‚500 Krona 』
『 Attendant Student B : 230‚500 Krona 』
『 Louise (Top Student) : 119‚000 Krona 』
“……”
No one spoke even a single character.
In the quiet basement after the bath‚ the first to open her beautiful lips that trembled minutely was—as expected‚ the prestigious young lady Charlotte.
“…Fi-fifty… six ten thousand…?”
“Yes. Your legitimate right‚ excluding intermediate margins.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Can I really receive such… national-budget-level krona?”
“Yes‚ of course.”
I nodded quietly as an administrative asset manager.
“In this operation‚ the total purchase amount of the high-class equipment assets you provided (limited-edition magical hat · high-class staff · pure-gold embroidered mantle · outer blouse · tight skirt · highest-class silk underwear set) was the largest within the party‚ so it is a mathematically natural dividend.”
Charlotte quietly gazed at her own white‚ slender palm. Then—she lowered her gaze to the pitifully baggy men’s T-shirt she was currently wearing‚ which reduced a young lady’s dignity to dust. And while rubbing her matching bare legs together‚ she made a slightly distant expression.
“…My absolute social dignity as a prestigious noble young lady…”
“Yes‚ we lost it cleanly and completely on the fifth layer of the Abyss.”
“My favorite limited-edition high-class hat that cost fifty thousand krona…”
“We rocket-purged it beyond causality and lost it.”
“The traditional magical staff handed down in my family for generations…”
“It vanished as a catalyst of equivalent exchange‚ and we lost it.”
“The custom cold-protection mantle tailored by craftsmen…”
“It vanished without a trace‚ and we lost it.”
“…And our proud attire‚ down to the final underwear…”
“Yes. Just as in my formulas‚ we lost them perfectly and splendidly.”
“……”
Charlotte maintained a long‚ long silence like the Abyss while feeling the cold air creeping up from the gaps in her clothes.
“—But.”
She stared at the astronomical gold coin numerical value (data) addressed to her displayed on the magical hologram.
“Five hundred sixty thousand krona of net profit…”
Her noble voice. Trembled a little unsteadily with the heat of gold.
“…If this much enormous amount (cash) comes into my hands‚ even if I buy back all the lost equipment with the latest highest-class models…”
“Yes‚ according to calculation‚ plenty of change will remain in your wallet.”
“……”
The depths of Charlotte’s amber eyes. Were slightly invaded by the parameters of vulgar desire and glittered with a dangerous color.
“Noblesse oblige (the duty of the nobility)…”
She muttered enraptured as if enlightened to an absurd truth (bug) that humanity must not reach.
“…To think it was such a wonderful social structure system accompanied by this overwhelming practical benefit (return)…”
“Young lady.”
Toto‚ on my shoulder‚ slowly twisted his face in terror.
“Just now.”
“Yes‚ what is it‚ little spirit-san?”
“You have crossed the Sanzu River of social dignity into some irreversible evil capitalist values.”
“What are you talking about? This is legitimate reward for risk-taking.”
“No good…”
Toto shook his head in despair.
“…It’s already too late no matter what I say…”
I next looked at the data of the two attendants.
“You two also each have a legitimate dividend of 230‚500 krona recorded in the withdrawal account (inventory).”
“T-twenty-three ten thousand krona…”
“Purging clothes and underwear worth over one hundred five thousand krona per person as the ammunition (cost) of equivalent exchange…”
“Yet as the balance of net profit‚ over one hundred twenty-five thousand krona remains in hand…”
The two elite students stamped their bare feet and exchanged looks of astonishment. And then—they tightly gripped each other’s trembling slender hands.
“…Louise-sama.”
“Yes‚ what is it? Are you dissatisfied with the asset distribution?”
“We will follow you and your ring’s withdrawal account (inventory) for the rest of our lives…!”
“Eh?”
I tilted my head curiously.
“Why? You should have experienced a probabilistically disadvantageous absurd shame play (purge).”
“Why‚ you…!”
The eyes of the two elites were completely coated in golden magic power and shone with sparkling radiance.
“Even though we lost our most favorite high-class clothes and felt such a breezy‚ shameless‚ and embarrassing experience!”
“In just an instant‚ years’ worth of allowance from home was transferred to our accounts! Next time we go on a labyrinth exploration‚ we will participate wearing even higher-class brand clothes and competition underwear (ultra-high-value fuel) with better equivalent exchange efficiency!!”
“……”
On my shoulder‚ Toto pressed his own forehead deeply and pitifully with his short forelegs.
“No good! This is genuinely no good!”
“What is‚ Toto?”
“It’s a bottomless swamp! Those young ladies are completely brain-infected by your money-grubbing ideology as the root cause!”
“What are you talking about? It is legitimate dividend for risk-taking.”
“This is the dark economics of enlightenment beyond a maiden’s social dignity (purge money).”
I calculated a little with my white‚ slender fingertip on my chin.
“—I see. I think it is a very beautiful and rational magical economic theory‚ but…”
“With what mouth is the root-cause devil yourself saying that!!”
In the underground laboratory‚ the bright‚ somewhat crazed laughter of the girls who had shed one skin and solved social dignity with money money money (cash) crackled and echoed.
Aside from that capitalist frenzy.
I‚ unnoticed by anyone‚ coldly turned my eyes to my own final “net profit (return)” recorded in the research notebook.
『 Louise (Chief Asset Manager) 』
『 Joint Expenses · Computation License Usage Fee Deduction Portion : 495‚000 Krona 』
『 Four-Way Split Net Profit Dividend Portion : 119‚000 Krona 』
『 Subtotal (Gross) : 614‚000 Krona 』
From there.
『 Damage Amount to Own Clothes from Disaster (Depreciation Cost of Bargain Skirt etc.) : 54‚233 Krona 』
I coldly subtracted this fractional amount.
『 Final Confirmed Net Profit (Net) 』
『 559‚767 Krona 』
“……”
I quietly gazed at the sacred numerical value engraved in the notebook at hand.
Five hundred fifty-nine thousand seven hundred sixty-seven. Approximately five hundred sixty thousand krona of enormous surplus funds.
The astronomical amount that I‚ today‚ in just one day‚ earned by withdrawing from others’ accounts without purging (vanishing) even a single micron of my own clothes.
“……”
Deep in my chest. A little‚ hotly‚ hotly lit up.
With this abundant core asset. I could immediately buy the special-grade magical research materials I had always wanted. New high-purity space-time catalysts too. Unexplained magical books sleeping on the forbidden shelf too. The latest ultra-high-speed computation machine too.
And someday. Someday‚ building my own complete “private multidimensional laboratory” in the royal capital that even that weak-stomached professor couldn’t interfere with was no longer a dream formula—.
“……”
I. Tightly clenched my white‚ slender fist with a small but certain ambition.
“Fufu‚ fufufu…”
“What is it‚ you. Holding the collar of that men’s T-shirt and laughing with a face like you’re plotting some scheme to blow up a national budget again.”
Toto asked suspiciously.
“No‚ it’s nothing‚ Toto.”
I smiled a little‚ from the bottom of my heart with joy.
“It’s just that the parameters of my next research funds have been increased more abundantly than ever.”
“With that dirty money-laundering money of yours‚ please first buy ordinary spare clothes and‚ above all‚ adult panties (to avoid going pantsless).”
“……”
I quietly gazed at the hem of the large baggy men’s T-shirt I was currently wearing.
“That is—”
After simulating the cost-effectiveness graph in my brain for just a few decimal seconds.
“I will precisely calculate the cold-protection efficiency for the coming winter and the cost-effectiveness‚ and consider the priority later.”
“That face says you’re fully intending to go through life pantsless without spending even a single krona!!”
In the middle of that fruitless stingy argument. From the shadow of the large desk at our feet.
“Kyui… (I can’t stop sweating cold… )”
Kamekichi cried small with a disgusted half-lidded stare of awe.
(—This Louise-han is a terrifying woman. The asset calculation formulas on the notebook are correct‚ but… the fundamental premise parameters are completely crazy from the start. In the first place‚ that unopened drop box of the underground fifth-layer boss “Guardian of the Earth” should be “personal ownership assets” that Louise-han erased alone with internal mental arithmetic.)
(—Yet she deliberately recorded it as “joint profit” on the overall scale this time‚ and by making these worldly-ignorant young ladies grasp an astronomical high dividend of five hundred sixty thousand krona… she is perfectly brainwashing (advance investment) them so that they can never escape the “mud swamp of voluntarily stripping for purge (offerings)” for her sake for the rest of their lives… Truly‚ a worst devil wearing the skin of capitalism with no blood or tears‚ this woman…)
“Oh‚ Kamekichi-san at our feet is telling me of his deep respect: ‘Louise-han is a great saint (scientist) who won’t spend even a single krona of that fortune on personal desires and will put it all toward the construction funds of the future laboratory.’”
I‚ with a perfect poker face‚ extremely conveniently and deliberately mistranslated the terrifying inner voice of Kamekichi that had accurately pierced the core.
“How can you multidimensionaly distort such a detailed and convenient long sentence from just a turtle’s short cry (kyui)…!”
Toto furrowed his daifuku-mochi brow and turned a tremendous gaze of suspicion.
I raised my gaze from the paper and once more affectionately gazed at the numerical values of the pale blue magical hologram floating in the space.
Five hundred fifty-nine thousand seven hundred sixty-seven krona.
From the perspective of ordinary citizens‚ it was an unimaginable fortune that would allow a lifetime of luxurious living.
—Yet. For me as a magical researcher. This was still only…
The mere minute dream entrance (prologue) of the equation leading to the ultimate truth of the world.
My own dedicated laboratory. My own‚ perfectly customized space-time computation environment. Uninterrupted by any vulgar person. Unmanaged by anyone of the academy. Just purely‚ thoroughly.
The absolute magical sanctuary (place) of my own where I can continue pursuing the formulas of the world.
The commemorative‚ first certain core funds for realizing that unprecedented ambition.
“…Alright‚ just as calculated.”
I closed the research notebook with a satisfying‚ crisp sound.
“With this‚ the first stage of fund procurement (crowdfunding) in Chapter 6 is a probabilistically complete great success!”
“Th-the first stage… do you intend to continue this inhumane undressing business!?”
Charlotte raised a voice of shudder while holding the collar of her baggy T-shirt.
“Yes‚ of course.”
I answered perfectly calmly with a poker face.
“In my final mathematical simulation‚ I plan to secretly and covertly construct my dedicated ‘Multidimensional Magical Computation Room’ within the grounds of this Royal Magic University.”
“……”
“Incidentally‚ regarding the planned construction site…”
I put my white‚ slender fingertip to my chin and considered cost efficiency a little.
“To completely eliminate the public bath fees (bathing charges) each time‚ the space-time coordinates right next to Professor Ellight’s private bathroom are the most ideal.”
“—Wait.”
As if to interrupt my far-too-shameless and absurd mental calculation. Suddenly‚ from the darkness behind‚ a low uncle’s voice crawling along the ground sounded.
Surprised‚ we all turned around at once.
There—standing with an ominous ghost-like demeanor in the shadow right beside the research desk‚ before we knew it‚ was the figure of Professor Ellight in a tattered white coat.
“……”
The living myth of modern magic. Was staring‚ without uttering a single word‚ at the enormous and inhumane “illegal hacking income statement” data hologram still flickering pale blue in the void before our eyes‚ with eyes like a dead fish whose light had vanished.
“…Louise-kun.”
“Yes‚ what is it? Sorry for interrupting during work‚ Professor.”
“You‚ you see…”
The eyes behind the professor’s white eyebrows. Quietly‚ coldly narrowed like threads.
“What on earth do you intend to illegally construct right next to my sacred private laboratory‚ and moreover right next to the private bathroom that I cherish more than my life?”
I. Floated a full-faced smile with not a single cloud or hesitation mixed in‚ the purest smile in the world‚ and answered briskly.
“—My dedicated‚ secret multidimensional withdrawal laboratory!”
“…………”
Professor Ellight. No longer raised even a shout of anger‚ a voice of exasperation‚ or a single character of rebuttal.
Just. A little. He strongly‚ strongly‚ and pitifully pressed from above his clothes on the area around his stomach‚ which had completely exceeded the limit numerical values and caused a bug due to this national-budget-level absurdity this time.
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