I Got a Fake Job at the Academy
Chapter 73

The room was filled with a heavy silence.

“What the hell did you say just now…?”

Violeta's tone of voice quivered as if she could not believe what I said.

The rest showed a similar response.

They didn’t say anything, but they were clearly showing signs of discomfort.

No. There was a murderous intent beyond their gazes.

Pinion's lips were twitching, and he was about ready to spit out swears and curses if someone irritated him.

‘What are you going to do now?’

Hans, who was standing behind me, urgently gave me a signal while asking me so.

He also seemed to be quite taken aback by what I had said.

Of course. Did he think I was there to discuss things peacefully?

It was time to correct his illusion.

"I think you heard me wrong, so I'll tell you one more time. Everyone, be my underlings."

It was an extremely arrogant remark.

It was Violeta, the leader of the Black Rose Women, who showed blatant resistance to it.

"Disgusting."

She shot back at me like an arrow without hiding her feelings.

"I thought you would be different because you wanted to have a conversation after getting rid of the Crimson Society. You and the Crimson Society are the same.”

“The same?”

"Doesn't it mean that you're going to control us with your strength and swing things to your liking?"

"Does it look like that?"

“What?”

I knew what they were worried about.

Of course, I was not asking them for unconditional obedience.

"You're all doing business, right?"

They all maintained their own businesses.

Money was essential because they were organizations, and of course, they had to earn money according to their abilities.

However, the Crimson Society had the biggest cash cow in its grip.

All the money that the other three organizations could earn had just been the dregs of the capital.

So…

"Don't you want to earn more money?"

I made a suggestion that was bound to entice them.

“More money, you said?”

"What are you saying all of a sudden?"

Naturally, their responses were full of questions.

Yes. I understood. They must have been confused since I brought up a topic related to business all of a sudden.

I decided to explain kindly.

"I have eliminated the Crimson Society and gotten a grip on the various businesses they occupied, but frankly, there is a real limit for me in running them all. I have a small number of people."

Flinch.

Hans reacted with astonishment when I spoke openly about our organization's weakness.

He must have been desperately hiding it from other organizations—the fact that the number of people in our organization was still so small.

However, in times like that, it was comfortable for me to just play that card coolly.

—Because they couldn't refuse it anyway.

“Our organization is not big yet. As a result, there will inevitably be areas that cannot be reached, so I'm going to hand over the place of business to you."

Handing over the place of business…

I said I would just hand over what the Crimson Society had desperately protected.

They would be cautious before being surprised and marveling.

Their reaction was like that as well.

"What are you up to?" Mastella asked with a suspicious stare.

I shrugged my shoulders.

“I’m not up to anything. Didn’t I already tell you? You guys just have to be my underlings."

"You mean we're going to take over part of the business as a reward for being your underlings?"

"If you don't want to be my underlings, you don't have to. I'll still hand over the place of business, though. Those are things that I don't need anyway. It's all up to you on how you want to make use of it."

“…I don’t understand. What on earth do you want?”

By then, they would have noticed that I had a purpose.

I was telling them to be my underlings, and even if they didn't become my underlings, I would still hand over the business.

At that point, they had no choice but to feel something beyond a mere doubt.

"You know, I'm in a difficult position currently."

If I tried to be active as James Moriarty, maybe the Empire's security department would move directly and try to catch me.

—Like a novice detective too stubborn to let the troublesome fly get away.

All I wanted was to build my own solid force.

However, I did not want to do so while making meaningless enemies.

“I don't want a useless dispute.”

“Hoo. Is that what the one who got rid of the Crimson Society says?”

“It was necessary to get rid of them. If I let them be, they would have caused trouble in some way. I've got to at least get rid of the unclean sprouts."

"…I don't believe those words when you tried to start a war in the Kingdom of Delica," Violeta said sarcastically.

I shrugged my shoulders lightly.

“If you don't want to believe it, you don't have to, but I'd like to hear your answer here. Will you hold hands with me or just go in separate ways? Of course, there is no coercion."

Even if they didn't join hands with me, they would still receive the business. They had nothing to lose in particular.

The leaders exchanged their glances.

They must have been considering whether I was telling the truth and whether they would really like to hold hands with me.

“Ahem. Can you tell me exactly what the business is?" Pinion asked while coughing.

“Pinion. What are you doing now?”

"Don't interfere, Violeta. Kirchus is cash-strapped in the first place. If we can earn money, we have to do anything."

"This materialistic person…!”

“Hey. Speak properly. This is what matters in this world in the end."

Pinion made a gesture of showing money with his hand and shook it from side to side.

"At the end of the day, we're nothing without money. Don't you think people who are treated with contempt can live like any other people in this world if they have money? I won't try to make you, who is so high up in terms of acknowledgment and sisterhood, understand."

“You…!”

"Anyway, did you say your name was Moriarty? If it's a topic about a business that makes money, we'll welcome it with open arms."

Even though he spoke like that, Pinion didn't fully trust me.

"Of course, I want to hear what the business is in advance. Well, if it's a dangerous business, it's a bit too much, right? Don't be offended."

* * *

* * *

“I understand.”

I nodded.

I could understand Pinion's attitude. He had a disorder called dwarfism.

And the organization that he led was a circus that consisted of people with similar disabilities.

There was a term of ‘freak show’.

—A show that brought together people with freak natures to make an attraction and earn money through a circus.

In fact, the freak show was popular in Europe around the 18th century, when human rights did not properly exist.

'In Europe, until the 20th century, there was a history of people putting different kinds of animals in zoos and watching them.’

The Kirchus that was run by Pinion was also based on the freak show.

'However, the difference is that the leader himself has a disability.’

Pinion was not simply trying to take advantage of disabled people in a similar position to himself.

They had only made that choice because they couldn't survive without doing a freak show.

“I promise that I won't do anything that puts you in danger."

“…Hoo, really? I don’t know if it's just words or real.”

Pinion opened his eyes wide as if it was unexpected for me to say thay.

"So can you tell me exactly what kind of business it is?"

“Of course, Leader Pinion. Do you know what kind of entertainment aristocrats enjoy?"

“Well, about that… They enjoy opera stages or music."

Often referred to as opera, it was the main culture of the aristocracy of the present time. Not just aristocrats, but many rich billionaires also enjoyed it.

The magnificent story of gods and heroes…

The boring and corny stories that were started from the tragedy of the ancient kingdom.

“But why are you asking me that? No way, you're not telling Kirchus to do it, right?"

“No way. Don’t the nobles currently enjoy corny stories the most?"

“Oh. I think we've been on the same page since the first time."

"My recommendation is higher than that."

“Higher than that, you said?”

“And more spectacular… More enjoyable.”

Pinion didn't seem to understand what I was saying.

That was obvious.

To the people of this age, what I was still trying to introduce was a very unfamiliar term.

“Do you know about musical shows?”

“Musi… cal?”

A spectacular performance that combined singing, dancing, and theater.

It was lighter, more sparkly, and more free than opera, so it was the best way for them.

"It's something that performs a story and mixes theater and songs suitably and shows it joyfully with fancy lights and dances on a spectacular stage."

"What's the difference between what the aristocrats enjoy?"

“It’s more free. You don't have to sing all the time. The important thing is harmony, and you can dance as well.”

"…You're telling us to do that?"

“Yeah.”

I remembered the first time I went to Leathevelk and walked around the city.

There were people who sang and danced on the streets and often did busking.

There was music and dance in this world as well, and there were also stages and musical plays.

Therefore, I seriously considered the existence of musical shows.

It was a new genre of culture and art for them.

"Do you think it's going to work?"

“Yes.”

And I was sure of it because history told me that.

Given the development of the culture of this era, the emergence of musical shows would come one day anyway.

It didn't exist then, but it was likely to appear in at least 10 years.

In other words, what I did wasn’t create something in the land that consisted of nothing.

The only thing I did was make sure that the seeds that had already been planted sprouted earlier

"Are you getting interested?"

“Hmm. I don't know yet."

“Don’t worry about that. I'll show you the data I've prepared."

Obviously, there would be a backlash at first. There would be people who looked down on it, saying it was a cheap show.

However, along with the flow of history, the occurrence of popular culture was not something that a small number of people with vested interests could prevent.

I took out the script book that I had prepared in advance and handed it to Pinion.

Pinion took the script book immediately and scoured the contents quickly.

As the sound of the page-turning was ending, Pinion spoke.

"It seems certain that you have a definite vision. Let's do our best."

His words were practically a declaration of joining hands with me.

“It’s unexpected…”

Old Kids leaders Mastella and Deon stared at me with slightly disbelieving stares.

Did they think that I would suppress them with my strength and charisma?

It was expected that I would be treated as such when I blatantly smashed the Crimson Society.

"What on earth does Professor Moriarty want here?"

“Change.”

I answered without hesitation.

The perception of industrial areas and Poages Street where most common people lived was not very good.

It was an isolated and abandoned area in the city. Obviously, the only place for those who stayed there was the smoke-filled factory in the industrial complex.

More than 18 hours of hard labor a day… It was a dull, gray world without pleasure—a place with a bleak future.

I wanted to change that.

"I want a change."

If I did so, that Poages Street, where ordinary people lived together, would be Leathevelk's Broadway.

And the pioneers were, of course, the people who were gathered in that room.

The first performance was... yes.

Leathevelk's would be great.

"There are no more old back alleys. This place changes now. It's no longer a muddy, dark, and humid place, but a place where people can live."

It was not possible to divide the standard classes for so long.

What they needed to see was not dirty and rotten mud.

People had to live while looking up at the sky.

“I’ll help you.”

What I gave them was not just simple money or business…

I decided to give them hope.

—And it would seem like the sweetest fruit to those who gathered in that room.

"Of course, I can also advise other organizations except for Kirchus on business ideas that suit them."

Violeta and Mastella's gazes contained a strange desire.

"Are you going to listen to me seriously now?"