"You damn cowgirl! It's all your fault for having them blast that announcement all of a sudden! I might've just missed the most enviable moment of my life! How are you going to compensate me for my loss?!"
Inside the Headmistress's office, where the count of expensive wine bottles around seemed to have quietly multiplied yet again, Greg leaned forward with both hands pressed against the broad mahogany desk, growling low at the figure sitting in the high-backed chair with her back to him.
Wearing her signature wide-brimmed cowboy hat, Headmistress Olivia—her wavy wine-red hair cascading down—slowly rotated her chair around while casually sliding a monitoring magic crystal into her drawer.
She raised her head, eyes glinting with unhidden banter and mischief beneath the brim of her hat.
"Are you referring to... that ambiguous moment in the classroom just now, where our esteemed Princess hesitated to speak?"
She scoffed, propping her foot clad in a Martin boot over her other knee.
"Heh, don't make your respected Headmistress laugh, kid."
Greg: "...I honestly have no idea where you see any respect from me. I probably have more respect for a drunk throwing a fit on the side of the road than I do for you."
Olivia's expression froze for a split second, but her smile remained unchanged.
"Alright, considering your achievements, I won't hold it against you. Let's get straight to business."
She straightened up slightly, her tone acquiring a touch of formality despite her relaxed posture.
"Greg Sass, I have some good news for you."
Greg maintained his cold expression, merely raising an eyebrow at her words as he bluntly retorted, "Oh? And what is the cost?"
"The cost?"
Olivia blinked her beautiful eyes, putting on an innocent expression.
"What cost? Greg, could you have some kind of misunderstanding about your beloved Headmistress?"
Greg: "Don't think I don't know what kind of person you are, you damn cowgirl! There's no way I'm getting good news from you without paying some kind of price!"
"My, my, Greg, those words of yours really hurt my feelings."
Olivia clutched her chest melodramatically, then spread her hands with a look of innocent sincerity.
"Is this really the prejudiced and malicious lens through which you view me—the righteous, selfless head of this academy who devotes her life to seeking benefits for her students?"
Greg replied flatly, "Yes."
Olivia: "Then you truly have misunderstood me! Because right now, purely out of reward and encouragement, I am going to tell you a monumental piece of good news—and it doesn't require you to pay any price at all!"
This time it was Greg's turn to be surprised. "Really?"
Olivia nodded.
Greg hesitated for a moment. "Since you put it that way... fine. What is this good news?"
Olivia answered, "The good news is: considering that during yesterday's incident, you single-handedly completed the subjugation of the core threat, the Undead Knight, bringing honor to the academy and eliminating a major hazard to the city, the academy's management held an emergency meeting and decided—"
She intentionally paused before continuing:
"You, Greg Sass, have been officially nominated as one of the Second-year Representatives to represent Glory Cael Magic Academy at this year's Hundred Academy Exchange."
Greg's eyes brightened slightly. "Does this mean... I won't have to attend those boring theory classes in the future?"
"In your dreams."
Olivia ruthlessly shattered his fantasy. "If you don't attend class, how can we showcase the greatness of the academy's education?"
She shifted her tone, offering a carrot:
"However, you no longer need to find ways to earn extra credit. That is to say, you can officially step down from your temporary title as a Disciplinary Committee member. Of course, as for the specific procedures, you'll need to go to Student Council President Vivian to handle them yourself."
Hearing this, Greg initially felt a bit disappointed, but on second thought, getting rid of the Student Council's tedious chores didn't seem too bad.
This way, he would have more free time after class to rest, and... conquer dungeons.
"That's fine."
Greg nodded, accepting the arrangement. He then looked at Olivia and pressed, "And then?"
"What do you mean, 'and then'?" Olivia tilted her head.
A vein throbbed on Greg's temple:
"Stop playing dumb, damn cowgirl! My mission reward, of course! The commission fee for subjugating the Undead Knight! I remember that the joint commission posted by the City Management Office and the academy explicitly stated a reward of 120 gold coins for the primary contribution! Where's my money?!"
"Huh?"
Olivia put on an utterly bewildered expression, picking at her ear:
"What commission fee? What 120 gold coins? Greg, have you been so tired lately that you're having auditory hallucinations? Did the academy ever issue such a commission? Why don't I know about it?"
Greg nearly choked on his breath.
He slammed both hands onto the desk, leaning forward until he was almost grabbing Olivia's collar across the table, gritting his teeth:
"You bastard... did you secretly embezzle my reward money behind my back?!"
Olivia shot back with absolute seriousness: "Embezzle? What do you mean embezzle? As the Headmistress, I have every right to use student rewards to satisfy my personal desires!"
Greg stared fixedly at Olivia with eyes filled with ultimate contempt, squeezing words through gritted teeth:
"You really are... a thoroughly terrible scumbag."
He finally understood why the cowgirl had so confidently declared earlier, "Right now, purely out of reward and encouragement, I am going to tell you a monumental piece of good news—and it doesn't require you to pay any price at all!"
Because the price—he had already paid it in advance!
"Hehe, thank you for the praise~"
Far from being annoyed, Olivia acted as if she had received a compliment, even giving a surprisingly graceful, mismatched bow:
"After all, my goal is to become the woman of the Cowboy King! Besides..."
A sharp, sly glint flashed in her eyes as she leaned forward slightly and lowered her voice:
"You currently have dirt in my hands, after all. How could I not make good use of it to secure a tiny, reasonable benefit for myself? This is called a win-win: I win twice."
"..."
Greg's face quickly returned to calm:
"Fortunately, I'm no good person either. So it doesn't matter."
"?"
Olivia raised an eyebrow, seemingly failing to understand his words.
Greg unhurriedly pulled out a palm-sized recording stone from his inner pocket.
Infusing a faint trace of mana, a clear magical projection immediately floated onto the surface of the recording stone, beginning to silently play a looping video—
In the footage was the exact scene of Olivia sitting in her chair just moments ago, declaring with an utterly serious expression:
【As the Headmistress, I have every right to use student rewards to satisfy my personal desires!】
Rate on N.U.
