kscans

Chapter 22 - Chapter 4, Part 1. The Academy's Real Estate Bubble

"You can't just assume a hundred years of decay will follow a straight line."

"It can't be helped. The concept of a half life is dependent on probability."

Mia and I were walking down the academy hallway for the first time in a week, on our way back from the Sage's room, which had tripled in size. It was now equipped with what looked like a simple cooking area, as if he planned to live there. Of course, there was alcohol and snacks too. It was only a matter of time before the brand new walls and desks were stained.

"Still, there are more students left here than I thought."

In the hallway, students were gathered in small groups, bustling about. Every single one of them was a commoner. The statistical imbalance was impossible.

"It's probably the Shoken..."

"Wait a minute. I'm telling you this is Calest's space too!"

A familiar voice echoed down the hall, cutting Mia off.

"Can't you see this deed? This classroom is our tenant space, won through a formal bid."

"That's right. There's no place for small houses like yours this year."

Although many of our lectures were electives, we still had our own designated classroom. We had left our bags on a shelf there before heading to the head librarian's hobby room. And now, the three arguing students were standing right at its entrance.

They appeared to be upperclassmen, a boy and a girl. The boy was thrusting a piece of paper forward, while the other stood confidently with a hand on her hip. Facing them was a short girl from my own year, her shoulders trembling with frustration.

Even so, a deed? A bid? The words I'm hearing feel completely out of place.

"Isn't this supposed to be a graceful academy's idyllic summer vacation? What's all this?"

"Rilka..."

Mia was looking at the shorter girl.

I thought the voice sounded familiar. It was one of Mia's friends. Come to think of it, she was at that tea party just before summer break.

"So, what are they doing?"

"They're probably claiming a spot for a mock shop."

"No way, the language they're using is a bit too intense for that."

They sound like real estate sharks. I'd heard the family's honor was on the line, but at the end of the day, wasn't this just a school festival?

Well, it's none of our business since we aren't participating. We can just use the back door to the classroom.

"Let's just grab our stuff and go."

"Yes..."

But Mia's response lacked conviction. Her eyes were fixed on her friend. Rilka was desperately trying to argue her case, but the two upperclassmen weren't giving her the time of day.

"Do you know who the upperclassmen are?"

"I believe they're the siblings from the main Calest family. The brother is a final year student, and the sister is a third year."

"Calest, huh."

"They're competing with Kenwell over who will be the next head of the Food Guild."

I see. Rilka's family dealt with dairy products under the Kenwell umbrella, if I remember correctly. Kenwell and Calest. A conflict between two major merchant houses. That was perfectly fine by me and my goal of self preservation.

"You're the ones using your money to buy up all the classrooms you don't even need. To not even let us participate, that's just tyrannical, it is."

"Calest is merely following the rules. You had a fair chance to participate in the bidding, didn't you? Besides, the main Kenwell store secured a spot, didn't they? A prime location right next to ours."

Can't even participate? I remembered Rilka's face, full of enthusiasm for the mock shops.

And with words like bidding, capital, and rights, the picture was starting to become clearer.

"Um, senpai... could I just talk with Rilka for a moment..."

"This is perfect. We've got a live sample of the Calest versus Kenwell conflict right here."

"Senpai..."

I strode down the hallway. The male upperclassman noticed my approach. He had black hair and a medium build. His clothes were indeed top tier for a commoner. The ornamentation was subdued, but the fabric looked more expensive than that of some noble students.

"Can I help you?"

"Excuse me, I left my bag in that classroom. Could you let me through, senpai?"

My attitude towards an upperclassman was flawless.

"There's an entrance at the back, isn't there? You could have just gone in that way, you know."

The female student said, sounding displeased. She also had black hair. A sharp featured beauty.

"I just overheard you saying that this classroom can't be used without your permission. So I thought I should ask first."

I said this without dropping my deferential tone. It was a textbook example of a self preserving attitude that respected my seniors. I wanted to praise myself for it. And yet, for some reason, the two of them frowned in unison.

"That's only once preparations have started. What's your name?"

"My name is Ricardo Vinder."

"Vinder? I've never heard of you."

"Hey, what do you think you're doing, Vinder. And Mia too..."

"Oh my, are you an acquaintance of Rilka-san?"

"Not an acquaintance, really. We just shared a tea party with her once."

Mia seemed quite close to her, but that was the extent of my connection.

"Hmph, could it be the tea party Rilka-san was talking about before the summer break? Hehe, how nice of you nameless companies to stick together. Let me be clear, even if we're both called Vice Guild Masters, there's a distinct difference between Kenwell and Calest. A small house like yours should really be more careful about who you associate with."

Her ridicule was obvious. I know, I know. That's exactly why I ended up having to crush Dorefano.

"Wait, the one who invited him was... No, never mind. You're not participating in the Shoken Festival, are you, Vinder? Just get your things and go. This is our business."

Rilka stopped herself mid sentence. Huh, I was sure she was going to drop Alfina's or Luiza's name.

"So you're not a participant. A wise choice. A shop ranked lower than Rilka-san's probably couldn't have participated even if it wanted to."

"Indeed. The weak won't survive if they don't value a quick retreat."

The Calest siblings laughed together. It's a fact, and I agree with their sentiment. But the strong shouldn't make needless enemies either. Don't come crying to me if you get tripped up from below. You know of a store that went down just like that, don't you?

"Couldn't even participate? That sounds interesting. For the sake of my own future learning, could you please explain it to me, Calest-senpai?"

I asked for his guidance, essentially asking for a sample of the Calest way of doing things.

"I am Theodore Calest. Very well, I shall instruct a slow witted underclassman."

...

"I see."

In short, the rules for the Shoken Festival had changed, and the funding limits for participating companies were eliminated. Limited space, plus excessive funds. It was the exact mechanism of a real estate bubble. What's more, it seemed they had bought up all the classrooms that served as stages for the mock shops, like buying up condos for investment without any intention of living in them.

Unlike actual real estate, they couldn't profit from reselling. So their goal must have been to shut out the mid-tier companies with less capital. Why would they go that far?

"Do you understand now? We are acting strictly in accordance with fair rules."

"Those rules, they were suddenly changed this year, weren't they? You pulled some strings, didn't you?"

"Oh my, are you objecting to a decision approved by Hilda-sama and Leonardo-sama?"

"Ugh, that's not it, but..."

Rilka looked down, frustrated.

"Who are they?"

"The eldest daughter of the Grand Duke of Kurtheite, and the fiancée of the Second Prince. Leonardo is the prime minister's second son. They are both fourth years and serve as the student council president and vice president."

It seems more complicated people are involved. Only names that are useless for my self preservation keep popping up. And they're multiplying in pairs. I'm terrible at remembering names. That name, Hilda, is the same as the upperclassman Alfina mentioned yesterday.

"So, with that, there are twenty days until the Shoken Festival. In other words, starting next week, this place is reserved for preparations."

"That's right. You can do as you please today. You have no complaints now, do you?"

No, wait a minute, I still don't understand the reason for the detrimental rule change. What's the point of injecting such naked capitalism into a school festival? Are they some kind of Chicago school zealots who believe in an all powerful market?

"Umm."

"Ricardo-kun and Mia-san. I knew I'd find you."

A bright voice, oblivious to the tense atmosphere, called out. From the other end of the hall, a beautiful girl who was likely to complicate matters further was walking towards us. To top it off, Claudia was by her side. Come to think of it, she was reinstated as her attendant, wasn't she? Apparently, she got quite an earful of sarcasm from the Grand Duchess.

Well, a female guard who can enter the academy is a rare asset. So why isn't she stopping Alfina from approaching me? Wasn't that the whole point of her existence?

"Your Highness. Are you, um, acquainted with people like this?"

The Calest sister, Zeldia was her name I think, started to panic.

"Yes. I am greatly indebted to Ricardo-kun and Mia-san."

Alfina said it as if she were boasting about her friends. The two upperclassmen's faces were painted with astonishment. They would probably faint if they knew the 'debt' was for teaching her how to use a dust rag. My self preservation would faint too.

"And you must be Rilka-san. We were at the same tea party before."

"What did you say?"

The Calest brother flinched. Even the heir of a major merchant house is scared of royalty, I see.

"I was just invited as a plus one for those two."

"So, what has happened here?"

Alfina looked at Rilka with concern. I was reminded of my first conversation with Alfina. Back then, she tried to defend me when Dorefano was picking on me, even though we had never spoken before. The current Rilka was clearly in a worse position than I was back then...

This is bad. Things are about to blow up before I have all the information.

"It's nothing serious..." "That's right. It is not something Your Highness needs to concern herself with."

The Calests were also trying to de-escalate, but that was just going to backfire. This naive princess, despite her gentle nature, is surprisingly easy to ignite, not just inspire. On top of that, she's quite stubborn and tends to charge ahead once she's made up her mind.

My head started to ache as the situation became exponentially more tangled. All I did was walk down a hallway during summer break, how did it come to this?

"What's with the crowd in the hallway?"

Just then, another voice called out from the direction we had come from.

"Hilda-sama."

Zeldia's voice was pleading.

When I turned around, a man and a woman who were clearly not ordinary people were approaching.

The buttons on their ties, the embroidery peeking out from their cuffs. Their attire was top class even for this academy. The woman was a busty blonde. The man was a slender, handsome type with glasses. Both were fourth years. That must mean the other one is Leonardo.

"Leonardo-sama, too. You've arrived at just the right time."

Theodore confirmed my guess. Good, the number of people increased, but the number of names didn't.

"And Alfina is here as well. What on earth is going on?"

The upperclassman called Hilda shot a cold glare at Alfina. A Grand Duke's daughter addressing royalty, albeit an adopted one, by her first name. She was the Second Prince's fiancée, wasn't she? So she's not just a villainess, she's already acting like she's royalty.

But if that's the case, then this situation is the worst possible. Two small nations caught between two great powers. This is looking exactly like a proxy war waiting to happen.