'That should net me a considerable chunk…' Theo fell deep into his thoughts as he walked down the corridor, oblivious to the crowds upon crowds of students moving by him.
Out in the crowd, he was just another bearer of the teacher's robe — an anonymous yet respectable figure that students generally avoided.
Even in such a hierarchy- and challenge-oriented academy, no one was brazen enough to stir up trouble in busy corridors. Or rather, no one was insane enough to do so, knowing better than to put themselves as a villain in front of the hurried masses.
The few times someone dared to break this taboo, the crowd of busy, already anxious and stressed people usually quickly convinced the perpetrator that a busy artery for people to move through was among the worst spots to pick trouble at.
Ever since then, when one moved through traffic, their identity couldn't be of lesser importance.
This, in turn, made such walks one of the few rare pleasures Theo of the past had, retreating to the impersonality of just a member of the crowd whenever the burden of his infamy grew too large.
Still, every path had its destination, and so did Theo's, forcing him back into reality halfway through scheming a far-fetched plan for taking over this whole world.
'Yeah, it would be way too much bother for too naive of a reward,' Theo thought, dismissing the whole line of thought and only picking the few good fragments of the plan that held some value.
One of which was about setting up a company.
A concept that existed within the academy, just not to a high degree.
Most of the trade that happened within the walls of the academy's compound was propelled by the students and even the teachers, all of whom either looted their wares during adventuring runs or processed their resources into desirable products.
For most intents and purposes, however, when it came to dealings of any sort on the academy grounds, either joining or establishing one's own guild was a go-to tactic.
It allowed the organization to deal not only in money but also in academic credit, the unofficial currency of the academy.
After all, rather than letting their students and lower teachers touch the real money, the elite cadre opted to use all of the actual money from the academy's wealth and sponsorships to expand its operation while creating a whole new, enclosed economy within its walls.
In this way, a single gold coin donated by a generous noble, a patron of one of the students, or maybe the crown itself would not only find its use in the projects that required hard, official currency… but also lead to the creation of two academy credits.
One of those credits would go to the designated person, be it a student, teacher, research group, or guild, while the other would remain within the student council's coffers, allowing them to stabilize and control this inner economy on their own.
While risky, this method was commonly used in other big academia as well, for how else were they to prove they were educating youth to an acceptable level if they weren't willing to put their literal money where their mouths were?
That's why, while still allowed on the academy grounds, companies weren't all that popular, mostly limited in their use in some very specific scenarios.
After a quick search through his past self's memory, however, Theo found one absolute benefit that instantly led to his decision.
Contrary to a guild that had to be properly established, follow a lot of annoying customs and obligations, have proper representatives in various institutions, and so on…
Companies, as they couldn't interact with the credit-based economy, were free from all of those needless time sinks, while becoming an entity tied to but separate from its owner.
Which, in Theo's case, allowed him to transfer whatever rights Frank would offer him for the idea, allowing his company to rake in the dividends — all for Theo to come back once the company's purse would be ripe for picking!
'That certainly sounds doable,' Theo thought as he finally shook himself off his daze before stepping inside one of the few buildings within the academy that he had an absolute interest in. A place that he had a lot of old memories of, but still wanted to visit in person.
The vast collection of books, guides, and treaties on every topic imaginable — every class ever taught in the academy, every research project submitted through the innovation guild, and so on.
Save for a select few restricted pieces, it was all for Theo or any other teacher to enjoy as long as they followed some very basic library rules.
One could not take the books outside or even too far away from where they were picked.
Once with a book, one would be free to copy any part of it on one of the many copying desks or tables scattered all over the whole library.
Finally, any damage to the books had to be instantly reported and compensated for, either by the perpetrator rewriting the damaged parts themselves or at a fair price offered by one of the qualified students. Only in some really expensive cases would the library staff get involved themselves, always charging hefty fees for their specialized services.
What mattered to Theo, however, was the nigh unlimited access to the knowledge contained within this place — knowledge that gave the whole academy the right to boast of its high standing on the whole continent!
'Now, there's only one thing that I need to make absolutely sure of,' Theo thought as he quickly picked a handful of books, stacking them on a hook of his left arm while adding more and more tomes and scrolls to the pile, selecting only the titles that his instincts suggested.
There was no rhythm or rule to Theo's picking method.
With such a vast selection, doing this sort of random scour of the library could often prove to offer greater benefits than trying to systematically devour every book there was to be read.
A full stack of books in his hold, Theo finally brought it all over to one of the twin-station copying desks before arranging the books on its surface in several neat rows and then picking up one of the free pages offered by the library while opening the first of the books.
'Even if I can add a whole book to the library in a matter of seconds, if I do it over several minutes or so, the nanite cost of doing so will be much more affordable,' Theo thought to himself as but a sand-grain-sized drop of nanites oozed out of his skin before sinking into the book as the nanites rushed to scan through the whole piece.
Not to appear too busy reading, Theo also picked up a pen, dipped its tip into the flask with ink before drawing the first few lines on the page, slowly working out some more of his plans while he pretended to study the writings in the book.
'And in this way, I won't be going all around the library, flipping through books like some idiot and drawing even more attention to myself,' Theo thought, perfectly content within the small bubble of focused silence around him with hardly a soul paying him any mind.
'All that I have to do now is scan through those and then some more books, and I should be golden! That is, assuming my precautions will pay off and no one will burst here to pick a fight with me for some stupid and completely made-up reason!'