Chapter 7
|Rikimaru Shinzo - The Chancellor of Kyoto University|
Many people think Kyoto University will change its chancellor every once in a while, but it is far from the truth. I have been in this position since its founding. I only change my face. Turtle youkai has its perks.
Sadly, many people think that turtle youkai means a slow opponent. I kill a lot of people with that kind of thinking. I'm lazy but not slow, thank you very much.
*Knock* *Knock*
"Excuse me, sir? Do you have a moment?"
I look at the door and say.
"Come in."
I put away the glass of sake and quickly created a magic circle to mask the smell of the sake.
I can see my assistant, a mundane woman in her mid-thirties, walk inside the room.
"Sir, a police officer wants to talk to you. He said that you will meet them if I show you this."
I take the paper and raise one eyebrow when I touch it. I know this magic signature. Every high-ranking youkai knows this signature. This signature is coming from the Youkai Police department. They are the ones taking care of Stray Devil, Rogue Youkai, and other magical criminals.
I give the paper back to my assistant and say.
"How many of them?"
"Just one, sir."
That means it was not an emergency.
"Let them in."
"Of course, sir."
A couple of minutes later, I see a familiar face. She is my former student. One of the highest-scoring students, in fact. Sadly, she is not very good at offensive magic and only can join the support crew in the police department.
"Sir, it's been a while."
"Kaya! Please take a seat."
I get up from my seat and take a teapot.
"Tea?"
"Ah, you don't need to do that, sir. It only takes a few seconds."
I nod and put it down. I get back to my seat and look at her.
"So, what can I do for you?"
"I came here to give a reward for one of your students."
"Oh? Someone got involved in a Stray hunt?"
"Yes."
"Huh. Who is it?"
"Ryan Hernandes."
"Oh? Tell me more."
Ryan Hernandes is a person of interest, and I want to create a connection with him. Someone with that much potential is someone I want to be my ally. Dragon-based magic is rare, and by the smell he releases, I know he can reach at least a mid-tier dragon with his magic alone.
I want to see him grow and become something powerful. However, I need to tie him to us before I give him my best. We can't have a rogue magician coming from this place, can't we?
That is why I ask Togashi to teach him when I see him using transformation magic. By the look of it, my plan is working. He has started to create a bond with Togashi, and Togashi decides to take the young man under his wing.
"Are you listening to me, sir?"
I smile at Kaya and say.
"Of course. You are talking about how he blasts two tons of flesh into the air so you can attack them."
"Yes! Not only that, his eyes are even more impressive. He can see something small in the dark that even I miss."
"Truly? I know that his sense of smell is stronger than humans but I never thought that his vision is also stronger than humans."
"Yes."
"Hmmm, interesting."
"Anyway, I came here to give him his reward for his contribution. If he did not help us, I would not be here."
"The enemy is that strong?"
"Ah, what I mean is that I will be still in the hospital, sir."
"Oh. That's good then."
If there is a Stray Devil that powerful roaming around the city, I need to take action and send one or two of the professors to take care of it. I don't want to do that. I'm too lazy to do the paperwork.
"I come here because the higher-up says that you pay him for his job as a healer?"
"Yes. His healing ability is something very useful for the sparring season."
"Then this will be easy."
He passes me a check.
"Seven hundred thousand yen? Rather low, don't you think?"
"You know how the treasurer, sir. They will find something to make any reward to outside personnel as little as possible. They search the entire book to make sure they pay the bare minimum."
"Yeah, I know. One of those people is my friend."
I take the check and say.
"Anyway, I will give it to him. Don't worry."
"Thank you, sir."
"If there is nothing else, you can go. I need to continue my paperwork."
"Of course, sir. Excuse me."
I nod and see her walk away from my office. I look at the check and smile a little. It looks like I need to accelerate my plan. I heard that he befriended two youkai, right? I think that should be enough to increase his training.
He will be ready to fight in the yearly tournament with the right push and training. It has been five years since Kyoto University won. Not because we lack a good fighter but because we lack good support.
The last great support is Kaya, but even then, she is not enough to support the other two fighters because of her low reserve. If we win, I can now gloat to that old witch.
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I blink for a few seconds and say.
"What is this, sir?"
"A check. Have you heard the name, Kaya?"
"A dog youkai?"
"Yup. That is your reward for contributing to the fight. Your healing spell lets the three youkai survive without injury. You can cash out in any bank."
And the reward for doing only that is seven hundred thousand yen? That is a lot. If I join every night for ten days, I will get seven million yen!
"Are you sure about the number, sir?"
"Hmmm? Is it too little? I can ask the police department to raise your reward."
"No! Too much. I mean is it not too much? I don't do much."
"What are you talking about? A healer is a valuable member of this society, Ryan. What you receive is the bare minimum. You can get at least a million if you ask for a raise."
Really?! A million yen is a lot, and they give it just like that?!
"By the look on your face, you did not know that. You must but never once open your account, huh?"
"Err, yes. I don't really need more money and never once see it."
"Haaaa. Open it and see for yourself. However, I will say this now. Don't come to me to reduce your salary. That is what you deserve, and even then, you are paid the amount of a newbie healer. Some of the healers want you to be recognized as a full pledge healer but you need to complete a test to get your license. Next year, the healer will ask you to be their apprentice and I suggest you accept it. Your healing talent will go to waste if you don't."
I slowly nod my head and say.
"I will think about it."
Truthfully, it was a great offer. I will think about it.
"Good. Anyway, you can go. I need to go to a meeting.
"Of course, sir. Excuse me."
I bow and walk out of his office with a check in my hand. I guess I can buy a new computer with this money. There are a lot of games I want to play.