The air grew a little tense as Cæ simply asked her point-blank what she wanted from him. Perhaps it was the unwillingness to be strung along for a roundabout conversation. Perhaps it was because the memory of Lilia evoked a lot of now bittersweet memories that melted his patience.
Regardless, he inquired about her intentions rather straightforwardly.
The elderly woman smiled as she twirled her brown hair. "Your brash sincerity is refreshing, but I would caution you with who you show this sincerity. Regardless, I will answer your straightforward question with a straightforward answer. What I seek from you is rather straightforward…"
She leaned forward and steepled her fingers. "…I seek for you to aid us in advocating for reform on an institutional level within the domain of magicademics. Specifically, I seek for you to become such an overwhelming, irrefutable example of hidden potential within the slums of our nation that it will give us the political capital to bring about great change in our attitude towards them in our policies towards harnessing the potential of people within the slums."
As promised, she gave him a rather direct answer without obfuscating her intentions.
"Specifically, I'm concerned about talent acquisition," she continued. "You see, a small but substantial proportion of our population is shackled in the slums, essentially cut off from modern society in their day-to-day lives due to socioeconomic reasons. They're even entirely cut off the maginet and the magigrid, which deprives them of access to information and energy, the two founding cornerstones of the modern world."
Cæ stirred at her words as his expression grew pensive.
He recalled the first time he saw a screen significantly later in his life than most people.
The moving pictures shocked him where he stood.
Having access to an ocean of information at his fingertips was truly world-shattering. The same was true when he learned that the government maintained and supplied magical energy to structures that were connected to the grid.
It had taken him years to fully get used to them.
"And because they are so disconnected from the fundamental cornerstones of modern society, as well as their alleged and actual propensity for criminal activities and other incompatibilities, the board of directors of the Elendir Institute of Magic has voted against all strategies and policies targeted towards talent acquisition surrounding the slums," she informed him.
Cæ's eyebrows furrowed at those words.
The board of directors was the collector of the various stakeholders and shareholders that invested in the development of the magicademy in some way or another.
Naturally, they were among the most powerful or authoritative people in the nation.
The Ministry of Magical Affairs, the Ministry of Education, and the Elendir Magical Corps from the government as a whole.
The Thirteen Great Families of Elendir.
The Mage Association.
The ten mega-corporations of the nation.
There were also several other independent small investors who had a smaller stay.
But these people essentially comprised the owners of partial owners over the Elendir Institute of Magic, while the Headmistress was closer to the CEO of the entire enterprise. She did not get to dictate the ultimate vision and objective but merely fulfilled it.
"…You wish to use me as an argument to make to these powerful stakeholders to change the institution's approach to the slums?" Cæ raised an eyebrow.
"Precisely," she smirked. "On a purely statistical level, it is known that excluding the slums from active talent acquisition will naturally reduce the acquisition of talent, but I'm afraid this rationale has been insufficient in compelling the board of directors about the merit of talent acquisition. On a broader political level, it is difficult to gain much momentum for the human capital development of the people of the slums within this nation."
"I see…" Cæ frowned as he fell into thought.
He would be lying that this didn't matter to him. This was one of the reasons he sought to destroy the world order and build a better one, after all.
"However," his expression grew cautious. "I'm not sure why you're telling me, a mere apprentice student, of such lofty matters. I do not have the power to affect any of this."
At least, not yet.
"Ah, but you do," she smiled. "At least, you have the power to open up this institute to giving people with your background a chance with having their talents recognized, doesn't that appeal to you?"
It certainly did.
Yet, he needed to be careful.
He understood that she was trying to manipulate him on multiple levels, firstly by leveraging his experience from his background and the sentiments he had surrounding it to get him to agree to her deal and a second, more subtle one by trying to drag him into her movement over in the long-term.
Even if he resonated with some of the things she had told him, it would be foolish to take everything she said at face value.
In the first place, he had nothing to gain from agreeing to request or her 'hope' as she subtly put it. He hadn't let the talk about the plight of the slums distract from the fact that he gained nothing personally from the agreement.
Sure, it might help other people, but he wasn't very concerned with other people at this point in his career. He was far too powerless to help anybody, and he was more concerned with gaining the power he needed before he could even begin to consider leveraging it.
The headmistress understood that he wasn't being bought over by a sweet sentiment, so she cleverly changed gears. "Of course, I'm not asking you to do this for free. I am certainly willing to make it worth your time."
Cæ's eyes lit up with interest as he waited for her to continue.
"I am of the understanding that you are seeking to commence a business venture, correct?" she raised an eyebrow.
Cæ's gaze sharpened at those words.
He didn't recall telling anybody about that.
Nobody aside from Mr. Norton, but it was unlikely that they had opted for something as overt as resorting to squeezing him of information with interrogation. Thus, it meant that they were able to gain the information that they sought remotely.
Either they bugged the table that he had sat at with Mr. Norton or some other kind of divination.
Regardless, she didn't just mention that innocently, either.
It was a subtle message.
We're watching you.
He had already assumed that they were spying on all students at essentially all times, but this confirmed that assumption.
"…Yes, I do indeed have the intention of starting a business," he confirmed with a calm tone.
"It is rather fascinating that a freshmen program would be interested in starting a business," she commented with an intrigued tone. "Regardless, if you are willing to cooperate with me and aid me in my goal, I am willing to put you at the top of a list of candidates eligible for our extra-curricular sponsorship program."
Cæ's eyes lit up at her words. "I do recall hearing that such a thing existed, although I don't know much about it."
"It is one of our more niche programs, after all," the headmistress replied. "But essentially, it was created for scholarship students like yourself who don't have the magicapita for extra-curricular ventures. We fund a variety of enterprises that we believe will aid a student's development. I am the head of the panel of judges, and rest assured, I can ensure that the Institute will sponsor all your venture capital needs."
Cæ stirred at her words, clearly moved by her offer this time.
This would prevent him from incurring even more debt than he already had. Although he hadn't lied when he told Mr. Norton that his identity as a student of the highly esteemed Elendir Institute would indeed allow him to undertake more debt, he was not thrilled by the idea of it.
He already had his medical debt, his business debt, and his scholarship debt. He really did not want to undertake any more. This offer came at a good time when he genuinely needed an accessible and non-burdening line of credit and magicapita.
Unfortunately, it was not free of cost.
The headmistress smiled slyly. "Interested in hearing my offer?"
Cæ's expression grew mixed as he heaved a sigh. "Please go ahead. You mentioned excelling in a manner that serves as political capital for you. But I'm afraid I don't quite understand what that entails. Do you simply require me to be an excellent student in my academics and results?"
"Hah," she broke her facade of perfunctory as a snort of amusement escaped her. "That is the bare minimum. Nothing else will matter if your results are poor. You will need to be the best student that this institute has ever seen."
Cæ's eyebrow rose. "…Alright."
He was confident that he could achieve something to that effect. It wasn't too far from his goal since he didn't intend to remain in the apprentice program for very long at all.
"That isn't all," she continued. "I will have you become a figure who people look up to. The heavier your presence on this campus, the more you will be able to contribute to my goal of expanding talent acquisition to the slums."
"Well," he shrugged lightly. "I am hated by half the freshmen and looked up to by the other half."
"Only because of your background," she pointed out. "I am asking you to become someone who would gain immense prominence regardless. I especially wish for you to become a leader of sorts, if you will."
Cæ narrowed his eyes. "A leader…?"
"A leader," she affirmed. "There is no better way to drive home my point and garner the maximal political capital from your existence than you becoming a leader within this magicademy among the students."
"…Excellence and prominence is one thing," Cæ's tone was apprehensive. "Leadership is another. It exists between a person and people, and that is a commitment that I'm not enthusiastic about undertaking."
She simply smiled silently, waiting for his response.
She understood how much he sought the sponsorship offer that she had made to him, reading him very well.
Cæ heaved a tired sigh. "What does leadership even mean in the context of this institute? We are all students studying and training for magic, are we not?"
"Yes, but this magicademy works a little differently," she replied with a knowing tone. "After all, we are the only magicademy with a student council that oversees the executive wing of the magicademy."
Cæ stiffened at her words.
"The student council was an initiative created to breed leaders," she continued as though she hadn't noticed his reaction with her perfunctory smile. "To create powerful leaders of magic for tomorrow, we impart significant and heavy leadership roles and responsibilities to our student council when it comes to the executive wing of our magicademy. Naturally, they are given extra academic time and other leeways to ensure that their academics are not restricted. Additionally…"
She smiled at him knowingly. "It serves as an extremely reputable leadership credit on your resume. You will be able to start businesses with fewer impediments and there will be less skepticism directed towards you in any venture that you commence and lead. If you're interested in becoming a successful businessman, this will be of great value to you."
She got him.
Cæ fell into thought as he considered the merits of her proposal. He recalled how Mr. Norton had expressed skepticism over Cæ's qualifications to lead such a businessman. The Selvigs' were also very skeptical of his ability to save their business and ultimately trusted him more because of his personal bond with them.
It was very likely that he would be doubted as he strove to achieve his lofty goal of destroying the world order. And frankly, he could use the experience to build a foundation of competence in leadership, especially since he was genuinely serious about leading business ventures into a blooming success.
That, and he would get free money from the school while he was there.
His gaze returned to the smiling headmistress as he made a choice.