Outside, the stone moved.
One crack lit up, a pale blue line. Then another. Then another.
"Three lights!!" the apprentice shouted.
After a long silence, the plaza exploded into laughter and relief and gossip, because three lights was the most boring result a human could ever imagine after a red pillar.
"Hahaha.. Average mana!! See? The heavens are fair after all!"
"Red comprehension but three lights, what a waste.."
"It's better than my result, idiot.."
Layla let out her breath which she had been holding for a minute. 'Three.. Three is fine.. At least it is not zero.. Hmph, why am I so happy for him..'
The East Warrior Academy Headmaster put down his tea. 'Three lights.. After the trembling?' He narrowed his eyes. 'The kid is hiding something, or the stone is.. Either way, I need to keep an eye on this..'
Hans removed his hand from the stone slowly and said in his mind, 'Thank you, Grandfather. I will bring good stories. I promise.'
"Good boy.." the stone replied, now sounding like an old man who had just received a pension.
"Ahem.. Hans." said Magus Nemo, who had been practicing a serious face for the last five minutes. "After the test ends, come to my office. We need to talk about your tuition."
"Sir.. is it the 100 gold a year?" asked Hans with an extremely pitiful face. Of course, he already knew the answer. He just wanted Magus Nemo to say the number first, because in a negotiation the person who says the number first loses. That was Negotiation 101, thanks to Mr. Roland.
"Well.. it is the rule. Three lights is an average talent, and an average talent has to.."
"Sir, may I ask one question?" Hans interrupted politely. "How many people came to this event?"
"About two thousand."
"And how many of them came because of the academy's reputation?"
"..Maybe half."
"What if next year, the poster of the academy says: the school that produced the red pillar, the legendary perfect comprehension.." Hans paused for dramatic effect, "..with a very cute student on the poster, smiling?"
Magus Nemo's eyes widened.
'In Earth, this is called marketing, sir.. and it is the strongest weapon after nuclear..' thought Hans.
Slowly, a smile appeared on the face of the high elder magus, a smile that looked like a businessman who just found a gold mine under his house.
"Erick!!" shouted Magus Nemo. "Prepare the contract!! And call the painter!!"
"Y-yes, Magus Nemo!!"
Fifteen minutes later, in the office of Magus Nemo, which was bigger than Hans's whole house in Southern-Outer district. (Hans tried very hard not to think about that.)
Layla sat beside him as a witness, still wearing her too big apprentice uniform and a face that said she did not know whether to be proud or scared. On the desk lay a three-page contract in the neat handwriting of Erick, who was still sweating.
"Here is the offer." said Magus Nemo proudly. "Your tuition is waived for the whole academy period. In return, you will appear in.."
"Sir, I have read the contract." Hans interrupted politely and pointed at page two. "Article seven: the student shall appear smiling at every academy event, ceremony, banquet, and parent visit. Every? Even funerals?"
"..We will make an exception for funerals."
"Article nine: the student's red pillar may be used for advertisement without compensation." Hans looked up slowly. "Without compensation, sir?"
Magus Nemo coughed. Erick looked at the ceiling.
"I asked for no hidden clause, sir."
"They are not hidden!! They are on page two!!"
"In my.. in my hometown, we call that small print."
"..What a wise hometown."
Hans took the pen and, without mercy, crossed out both articles. Then he put the pen down and folded his hands like a merchant who had waited his whole life for this moment.
"Now, sir. If I am the face of the academy, the face needs a place to sleep. A single dorm room."
"..Fine."
"The face needs to eat. Three meals a day."
"Two meals."
"Three. A smiling face is a well-fed face."
"..Two and a half. Breakfast is porridge."
"Three, and the porridge has an egg."
Magus Nemo stared at him for a long time. "..Deal."
"Next, a small allowance. The face needs soap, and the face has to look good for the poster."
"One silver a month."
"Ten silver."
"Are you out of your mind?! Two!"
"Eight. Sir, the painter will charge you more than that just to make my nose look straight."
"Three!"
"Five, and the painter is free."
"Four, and the painter is paid from your allowance!"
"Four and a half."
"BOY!!"
"Four and a half, sir. Half a silver is only fifty bronze, I am making a big sacrifice here."
Magus Nemo clenched his teeth so hard that Erick was afraid he would break one. "..Four and a half."
"And last, a demon core."
The pen in Erick's hand fell to the floor.
"A DEMON CORE?! A single core costs five gold!" Magus Nemo stood up from his chair.
"Only a spawn core, sir. The lowest one. It increases mana replenishment by 10 per hour, so there is no risk of exploding.." Hans paused and thought for a moment. "..I think."
"You think?!"
"Sir, I am only a poor boy who has just started his journey. If the academy wants its face to shine, the face must start somewhere, right?"
"One core every three months!"
"Every month."
"Every two months, and this is my final offer, or I will throw you to the East Warrior Academy!"
"Deal." Hans stuck out his hand immediately, because he knew that was the true limit of the old magus, and also because he did not want to be thrown to the East Warrior Academy.
"Oh, one more thing, sir. Article twelve." Hans added casually. "A royalty fee."
"..A what?"
"Layla was accepted for free because of the answer she gave, right? And that answer was my answer." Hans looked at Layla. "So the academy saved five gold using my intellectual property. For such a service, I ask for a royalty fee of ten silver."
"WHAT?!" Layla jumped from her seat. "It was MY mouth!!"
"Yes, my words in your mouth. Also, ten silver is exactly the amount that you owe me for the entry permit. How coincidental."
"That is my debt!! You can not make the academy pay my debt!!"
"I am not making the academy pay your debt. I am making the academy pay my royalty, and then your debt belongs to the academy, and I will not charge interest. You are welcome."
Layla opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again, but no word came out.
"..Intellectual what?" murmured Magus Nemo, who was tired and wanted this child to leave his office as soon as possible. "Fine, fine! Ten silver! Erick, give him ten silver!! And please, no more articles!!"
When Hans walked out from the office with a signed contract, a promise of dorm and food, and ten silver in his hand, Layla followed behind him with a pale face.
"You.." she whispered. "You are not a stingy guy.. You are a scammer."
"I prefer the term negotiator." said Hans with a smile. Then he handed the ten silver to Layla.
"Eh? What is this?"
"I said the academy pays your debt, right? Take it." said Hans lightly, while walking toward the dormitory. "I never lie about contracts."
Layla stood still, holding ten silver in her hand, and for the first time since she met him, she did not know what to say.
'Mr. Roland, your Earth knowledge is truly the best weapon in this world..' thought Hans proudly. 'Even better than a magus..'
Meanwhile, 50 km east from the East Wall. (In Iul language)
"(Iul) Bro, it has been two hours." said the four-handed, four-meter-tall monster. "(Iul) That red light.. should we inform the captain?"
"(Iul) Are you still thinking about it? I told you, it is just a light." His partner was now lying on the ground with all four hands behind his head. "(Iul) What can a human do?"
"(Iul) But the light was there for an hour. And the captain just sent a message asking why nobody reported a red light visible from the whole border.."
"(Iul) ..."
"(Iul) ..."
"(Iul) Do you think we will be fired?"
"(Iul) Demons don't fire people. They eat them."
"(Iul) F**k. Run."
Two huge shadows scattered into the forest in two different directions, and for the first time in five hundred years, a border patrol of the demon army had an emergency meeting because of a dormitory-level incident.