City ​​of Witches 950

Chapter 950 – #205 Let’S Create An Academy

#944

1.
“I’ve gone mad….”

My big mother-in-law covered her face and bowed her head, looking like a noblewoman on the verge of having all her assets seized due to a failed business venture.

Seeing her like that, I couldn’t bring myself to ask, “Why did you suddenly think of that?”

The transfer of the stigma through Siwoo, in any case, meant sexual intercourse.
Moreover, it required a master and apprentice witch to engage in repeated, two-way vaginal insemination in the same bed dozens of times.

As she said, it was a schedule befitting a lecherous male, and it wasn’t as if I didn’t feel a stirring of desire just imagining it.
But if I had acted on my desires, Siwoo would have already succumbed to the temptations of all sorts of witches and had his body stolen by a black knight.

Even so, I’m a man who knows restraint and moderation.
…Probably.

“Okay, let’s talk about this later. No, let’s pretend we didn’t hear it. I’ve been a bit confused lately, so I misspoke.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Understand what…! I should just…!”
“I-I’m sorry!”

Albiereo, who had been making an indescribably strange expression, was quick to recover.
Her eyebrows calmed down as if she had never said anything embarrassing.

“Alright, you said you wanted help creating an academy, right? I trust you didn’t make this appointment without any prior planning.”
“Of course not.”

I didn’t arrange this meeting to ask her to spoon-feed me everything from start to finish.

While dealing with the ‘Flood’ and listening to various stories during the three weeks or so before the gates of Gehenna reopened, I had developed my own plans and organized my thoughts.

“Tell me about it.”

I took out the documents I had prepared and gave a brief presentation on the preparations.

It was a rough blueprint that included purchasing a mansion and academy grounds, drafting academy regulations, recruiting members, hiring staff, planning the academy schedule, and managing academy funds.

“Hmm.”

But my mother-in-law’s expression didn’t brighten at all.
I had put a lot of effort into preparing it.

“Is it not good?”
“It’s not a matter of good or bad… it feels like I’m looking at a startup proposal from a college freshman.”
“……”

Other couples had said it seemed fine.
It was a bluntly painful assessment.

Well, she was the de facto head of a leading international conglomerate that she had built in just a century.

Back then, Duke Keter was watching the world with fiery eyes, so she had done it purely with a businesswoman’s insight, without any tricks, and even while conducting magical research.

No matter how much Siwoo racked his brain, it wouldn’t be up to her standards, as he didn’t even have proper work experience.

“And change the name too.”
“The name too? The Secret Forest Magic Academy. Isn’t it cool?”
“It already exists.”
“Oops.”

I was even rejected because the name was already taken.

“It’s too vague and idealistic. Plans that assume everything will go smoothly will crumble if even one button is out of place.”
“……”
“Don’t be too discouraged. Who’s good at everything from the start? Now, shall we look at it one by one?”

Perhaps she wanted to do anything she could for her son-in-law who was trying so hard?
My big mother-in-law smiled elegantly and began to speak.

“First, can you explain the areas for recruiting academy members?”

Recruiting academy members.

It was the most important sub-quest item of the quest: 〈Establish a magic academy and build a faction 0/1〉.

In Gehenna, the size of the academy proves its influence.

It was difficult, practically impossible, to make all academy members ‘on Shin Siwoo’s side,’ but it meant that the story couldn’t even begin without first filling the ranks.

“Yes, first, I plan to accept the witches who came to the present world as academy members.”

These were already planned personnel.

In exchange for cooperating in stopping the monster invasion, Siwoo had promised magic lectures that would efficiently digest the Gnosis eggs and a regular membership in the academy.

“That alone is not enough. The witches in the Red Roof Salon are all wealthy and have solid positions. It’s highly likely that they won’t be very interested in the ‘academy’ itself that Siwoo-gun creates.”

She hit the nail on the head.
A regular membership in an academy that doesn’t even have a name or substance yet?

Probably no one would care.
Some witches might have already forgotten about it.

Moreover, it was hard to say that there were many of them.

“Yes, so I was thinking of recruiting members from among the exiles, as the citizenship restoration project is active, and they are not yet affiliated with other academies.”

That was the path I had thought of, but…
My big mother-in-law still didn’t look like she had heard a satisfactory answer.

“To be honest, the path Siwoo-gun is trying to take is very, very difficult. Think about it. There are already two giant academies in Gehenna, right?”
“The Emerald Tablet and the Truth and True Name Society, right?”

“That’s right. The Emerald Tablet, where most alchemist witches belong.
The Truth and True Name Society, where 30% of all witches in Gehenna, the majority of orthodox witches, belong. Both are academies with a long tradition that goes back to the history of Gehenna.”

My big mother-in-law continued, emphasizing her words.

“Did you hear that? Giant academies with a long tradition.”

“……”

“For exiles, Gehenna is a homeland they couldn’t return to, or a cradle of witches they only heard about in their dreams. Would such witches really? Join a startup academy created by a rookie witch?”

Each point was a scathing criticism.
Even Siwoo himself, when going to a new travel destination, would look for a famous restaurant, not a newly opened one.

“I’m not necessarily trying to compete with those two.”

“Even if you’re not, regular members of the Truth and True Name Society cannot join other academies. It’s not a place that accepts just anyone in the first place, but the moment you join Siwoo-gun’s academy, it means you have to give up being a regular member of the Society.”

Furthermore, if you could only eat one meal at one of the two places, it’s natural to go to the ‘600-year-old magic house that makes delicious magic.’

“Is that all? There are plenty of promising academies besides those two. Trinity Academy, Forget-Me-Not Garden, Moonlight Witch Society, Blue Pillar Corridor, Blue Moon Royal Society, Golden Flame Pilgrimage, etc….
They are all strong academies that have shown outstanding research results and prominence in specific fields. Siwoo-gun has to compete with those academies as well.”

“That’s… true.”
“I’ll be blunt. How about just giving up?”

Albiereo said flatly.

“Siwoo-gun gives the lectures as promised, and the academy remains small.
Since it’s just a plan at the moment, there’s no loss. But the moment you buy land, buy a mansion, and set up the infrastructure, it becomes irreversible. You’ve already incurred sunk costs.”

It wasn’t a tycoon game, and if real money was involved, it wouldn’t be easy to back out.
It was a realistic suggestion that it would be better to live as he was now than to take such a risk.

“I want to proceed. I have things I need to do.”

In the past, I would have hesitated.
But even now, Siwoo could still see the moment his teacher closed her eyes.
He wouldn’t see such a scene again until the dirt was in his eyes.

He had made that vow.

“…Okay. Siwoo-gun is still young.”
“Thank you.”
“You can pay back the debt slowly, right?”
“Ugh….”

My big mother-in-law, who had surprisingly backed down so easily after trying to dissuade me and even made a light joke, rustled through a document bag next to her and took out some papers.

In fact, she was giving such a harsh evaluation because she genuinely wanted to help.
If Siwoo’s academy establishment was something she didn’t care about, my big mother-in-law would have just said, ‘Hmm, that’s good. Go for it.’

“Siwoo-gun probably doesn’t know much about the internal affairs of Gehenna, so I prepared this in advance. It’s a list of land and buildings that can be used as the academy’s main building. I’ve picked out the ones that seem good among the properties currently on the market.”

Along with the documents, Polaroid photos showed a rough view of the properties.

“Rosewind Mansion, Amarena Mansion, Vivian Villa…. Take a look and tell me if you’re interested.”

The buildings were located in the outskirts of Lenormand or Tarot Town.
As expected of buildings in Gehenna, each one boasted a beauty that resembled a work of art.

However, the scale wasn’t very large.
The land area was small, and the buildings themselves weren’t very tall.

Also, even considering that, the price range was low.

For example, the Amarena Mansion, located at the eastern end of Lenormand Town.

It was a grand three-story mansion decorated in the Baroque style, with a decent garden, and it was as luxurious as a wealthy nobleman’s country house, yet its price was around 12 billion won.

In the past, it would have been an amount I wouldn’t have dared to dream of, but the money I received from the last home visit and thesis review compensation was over 40 billion won.

Even after deducting the money spent on gifts and paying off debts, Siwoo currently had close to 40 billion won in his possession.

“It’s cheaper than I thought?”
“It’s also a bit on the outskirts, and Gehenna is preventing land speculation.”

According to her explanation, all land in Gehenna was owned by the central city hall, and the central city hall permanently transferred the lease rights for the land.

Furthermore, as it was a city for witches, anyone who engaged in speculative business to make money would receive a lot of criticism.

“But you shouldn’t just think about the building price. There’s an annual maintenance and management cost of 5% of the building price, about 10% for renovations since it’s an old building, and another 5% for property tax to be paid to the city hall.”
“That’s true. I’ll also need to acquire some works of art.”

You might wonder why art all of a sudden, but it was a major issue for witches who valued aesthetic value and dignity.
If the mansion was a dragon, the artwork that made the mansion like an art museum was the dragon’s eye that completed the final piece.

Even Takasho’s host bar had various works of art, so how much more would it be for an academy?

In fact, the building was a concern, but this point was also a concern.

“I’ll lend them to you for a rental fee.”
“Really?”
“I have a lot of artwork just sitting in the warehouse anyway.”
“Albiereo-nim….”
“Don’t look at me with those creepy eyes.”

I guess this is how much my mother-in-law loves her son-in-law.

“So, are you interested in the Amarena Mansion? When looking at buildings, it’s important to see them in person. I’ve cleared my schedule, so let’s go together.”

In fact, I had expected to be treated as somewhat absurd.
Even Siwoo himself was half-doubtful.
Nevertheless, I was truly grateful that she was supporting me so sincerely.

The real estate list she had prepared was also very reasonable and good from a general point of view.

“You’ve prepared this so carefully. I’m sorry.”
“Siwoo-gun?”

But if I approached it from a general and reasonable point of view, I would inevitably reach a general and reasonable conclusion.
That meant that no matter how hard Siwoo tried, he would end up creating a small, nameless academy.

“Actually…. I already have a place in mind.”

To reach a different conclusion, there were times when I had to take bold and risky steps.
Siwoo spread out another set of documents in front of Albiereo.