The funding problem

The next day, on the eighth floor of the Orvisto Wizard Tower.

Roland and his two companions arrived at the area where magical materials were stored. Froya was already waiting for them.

In the bright, spotless corridor, Froya wore a dress adorned with purple crystal chips. Under the magical lights, her fair skin gleamed like jade, making her look just like an exquisite doll.

"Over here."

Their senior, a little-girl-looking auntie with twin ponytails, adjusted her glasses and called out to get their attention.

"Hello, senior." The three Apprentice Mages stepped forward to greet her, as meek as three quails.

"You want to submit a research proposal to turn Oracle into a magical script?"

Froya looked at these three fearless freshmen, who simply went ahead with whatever they decided to do, with a complicated expression.

"I really don't understand you three anymore!"

"Don't put it like that. We're just following up on the earlier paper with a tiny little experiment."

Roland gestured with his fingers to show just how tiny.

"Never mind. I'll teach you how to apply for funding and set up a research project.

"I know the Grand Mage must have already put in a word for you, but we still need to go through the motions."

Froya shook her head helplessly and led them down one side of the corridor.

On the way, she told the three Apprentice Mages that approving research projects was a major part of the Mage Tower's administration.

Under normal circumstances, the tower's many mages were all conducting arcane research in different fields and directions, with countless research projects crying out for funding.

Whether they could secure resources depended on their own abilities.

Roland nodded to himself.

It's just a matter of allocating funds.

With this sort of thing, someone always gets favored over someone else.

As for funding my own research...

Self-funding? Not a chance. Not in this lifetime.

I don't know how to apply for projects, either. All I can do is latch onto other people's projects to keep writing papers.

At the administration office, Froya introduced Roland and his companions to the person in charge and walked them through the procedure step by step. That way, these freshmen could apply on their own in the future without always troubling her.

"Freshmen generally aren't qualified to run their own projects. At most, they help their seniors with research and pick up some experience. But Roland, you've even published in Arcana, so I imagine you'll be fine..."

Froya had thought she was already giving Roland more credit than he deserved, but after logging into the internal network through a dedicated magic array and checking his funding allowance, she still could not help being startled.

"O-one thousand gold coins?"

A full thousand gold coins-equivalent to ten thousand silver coins, a hundred thousand copper coins, or a million copper pennies.

"And it's an unconditional grant with the highest priority!"

An unconditional grant meant that whatever subject or project he wanted to pursue, whoever he wanted to recruit, and whatever he wanted to spend it on, the funds would be released immediately upon application.

This was a special funding category subject to the most lenient auditing. As long as he did not do anything as blatantly stupid as pocketing the money outright, he could essentially spend it as he pleased.

She checked the authorization seal. Sure enough, Archmage Ovesto's personal arcane sigil was right there.

"This is really... wonderful!"

Froya gazed at the sum with such envy that she looked ready to drool.

"What's with that expression, senior? Is it really worth getting so worked up over?"

Roland could not help sighing.

"What do you know? This is funding! Research funding!"

Froya shook her twin ponytails, her voice rising.

It was not as though she had never seen money before. As a senior mage in the tower, she had seen sums many times greater than this.

But those had all been major research projects, with crowds of people sharing the same pot. How could that compare to the luxury of having a special fund all to yourself?

"Why don't you join our research team, then?" Seeing her reaction, Roland could not help offering.

Froya could tell that Roland wanted to do her a favor. She gave him an appreciative look, but said helplessly, "That's thoughtful of you, junior, but these are your resources. How could I impose?

"Besides, the people on the Arcane Committee are no pushovers.

"Remember to do your research diligently, write your papers, and be good, law-abiding citizens-at least follow the explicit rules in public.

"You'll have plenty of chances to look after me. It doesn't have to be this time."

Wherever there were people, there were politics, and the arcane world was no exception.

Still, Atrelin seemed to manage this much more strictly than Blue Star had in his previous life. After all, this was a nation founded on magic, with arcane scholarship at its core.

Once Froya had helped Roland submit his application and had him enter his personal arcane sigil, Skord piped up, "Senior, check my funding allowance too!"

"Sure. Since we're here anyway, we might as well."

Froya did not mind the trouble and continued teaching them how to use the system.

As it turned out, comparison really did hurt.

He had only ten gold coins.

"That's all?" Skord looked stunned. He leaned forward in disbelief to check again, then his eyes suddenly widened. Clutching his chest, he staggered back as though he had taken a devastating blow.

"That's not all. Yours is ordinary funding that needs to go through an approval process. Even if it's approved without a hitch, it'll take a while to arrive.

"Do you know what everyone calls this money?"

"What?"

"Pocket money!" Froya said teasingly. "It's 'pocket money' for you Apprentice Mages!"

"That makes no sense! Isn't this way too much favoritism?"

Watching Skord wave his arms about in disbelief, Froya laughed. "Did you think funding was that easy to get? You probably only got these ten gold coins because you won awards at the academy. Normally, it would be three to five!

"You're Apprentice Mages, after all. A few thousand copper pennies a year is enough to tide you over.

"Every grant they hand out means less money left in the pot."

At last, Skord understood. Roland's enormous allowance was a benefit of publishing in Arcana. It was even possible that his actual allowance had not yet been adjusted, and Archmage Ovesto had transferred the money from the special funds under his own name.

Comparing people could drive you to despair, just as comparing goods could make you want to throw yours away.

Having gone this far, they naturally had to check Yvonne's allowance too.

As Froya looked it up, she said, "Now let's see Yvonne's... Huh? Eight hundred gold coins? Funding source: special allowance from the Arcane Committee, specially appointed translation expert..."

Both Roland and Froya were rather shocked. They looked at Yvonne, who lowered her head and turned away shyly, unable to meet their eyes, and remained speechless for a long while.

This classmate they had dragged in just to make up the numbers had quietly turned out to be a force to be reckoned with.

Skord was utterly dumbfounded. Only after a long while did he realize that his place at the bottom of the pecking order was settled.

The discovery left him looking dejected, like a rain-soaked quail.