Epilogue 1
“Ooh, Awayuki ! Ootomo…! How should I make that brat pay!”
A rough yell echoed in the Principal’s office at Teiou Academy.
“Damn it…do you know how much money and time went into that special medicine from Brain Seeker!”
Kongouji’s eyes were bloodshot with rage as he clutched his head, throwing his body back.
“Kuhaha, why are you so angry, Head Teacher? The CEO of Beach Co. said he’d give it to us for free, didn’t he?”
Laughing blithely with her legs up on the desk was Principal Ougami Ai. Kongouji’s anger was also directed at her.
“That was because making Tera Awayuki regain her emotions with that special medicine was expected to be good PR for Brain Seeker! But in the end that brat made her laugh instead, ruining it all! The sponsor said they’d continue but the surcharge clause is now void! ”
“In other words, the cost is the same whether Awayuki took that capsule and cried or what happened, right?”
“Too naive! That’s just hindsight. Our relationship with Brain Seeker was on the verge of being completely severed! Not to mention someone knocked me out with some strange stinking gas…just remembering makes me furious! And…the problem isn’t only the immediate money…no, you could even say this is far more important.”
“Ah, you mean the talk about Awayuki’s talent and whatnot.”
“Exactly. When Tera displays her superhuman performances, her brain is extremely active. But the one area that was abnormally silent was the limbic system – the part that controls emotions.”
“I see. In other words, as compensation for being born an all-around genius, she lost her emotions. And conversely, now that she has regained them–”
“Yes! Her genius will gradually fade away! Do you understand how enormous a loss that is for mankind…That’s why I poured my heart and soul into preparing that special medicine that would restore only her emotions while retaining her superhuman performances…yet that brat went and ruined it all!”
His anger was directed at Awayuki Ota once more.
“Personally, I think there was less than a 10% chance that medicine would’ve made Tera cry.”
“What are you saying? It was the crystallization of the world-famous technology of Brain Seeker. She would certainly have shed tears!”
“Kuhaha, it may have made her eyes water but…well, in any case Awayuki’s genius doesn’t matter.”
“What…? Are…are you serious, Principal? Have you lost your mind?”
Kongouji’s eyes widened in shock at Ougami’s words.
“Hey GenGen, do you know why I scouted Awayuki in the first place?”
With a mischievous grin, she returned his question with one of her own.
“That hardly needs saying at this point. Because she is a new human who can make astonishing advancements in brain science!”
“I thought she’d be cute if she smiled, that’s why.”
“…………Huh?”
“Well, I heard there was this incredible person so I went to meet them, but they were so boring and just did everything perfectly that I got bored too…I’d lost interest in scouting them but then I wondered, what kind of face do they make when smiling? Wouldn’t they be cute? I became obsessed with wanting to see them smile.”
“W-What…so those were your reasons for recruiting Tera Awayuki?”
“Yup. And it was great in reality right? No, as expected of me. My talent for discovering people, even dragging in Daikyou– Ootomo who made her smile, it’s genius isn’t it? Hm? Why the open-mouthed stare, so impressed by my keen insight?”
“I’m appalled! To think you scouted the esteemed Tera Awayuki for such reasons…I doubt anyone else in Japan would…And about that detestable Ootomo Youta! Are you saying you transferred him in solely to make Tera smile!?”
“No no, I had planned to deal with him through other channels. Him clearing that was a welcome miscalculation. His talent lies elsewhere. Want me to tell you about it GenGen?”
“No thank you! And please refrain from calling me that nickname I’ve asked you not to many times!”
After yelling hoarsely in indignation, Kongouji pressed his hand to his forehead with a look as if he’d just chomped down on a bitter bug.
“Well, the money we used for Brain Seeker was within the range of one year’s [Ten Sai budget] per person so it’s not like we’re operating at a loss…but the potential loss from Tera losing her talents is immeasurable. Some of our Japanese sponsors may withdraw from the academy…and most of all, she was the absolute [face] of our academy. It will greatly impact next year’s applicants and the school’s image itself.”
“Ahh, you’re so worried about stuff like that GenGen.”
“You’re not worried enough, Principal! This Teiou Academy is a private school corporation. We are educators but also managers!”
“Calm down. Because I figured you’d say that, I had this prepared as soon as the event ended earlier–here.”
Ougami picked up a suitcase placed next to her desk and held it out to Kongouji.
“What might this be?”
“Go on, open it and see.”
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Though puzzled, Kongouji followed her instruction and reached for the suitcase latch.
“Wha!? T-This is…”
The contents were packed full of cash bundles.
“139 million yen.”
“One hundr…”
“Use it however you want GenGen. To supplement the [Ten Sai budget] or implement an image rehabilitation strategy, feel free.”
“F-Free use…where did you get such a large amount of cash?”
“It’s from my pocket money.”
“Wha…”
Kongouji was struck speechless, eyes wide.
“N-No, I knew you were wealthy Principal but…this is just too much…”
“What’s wrong? Don’t hesitate to accept it, it’s a fair price.”
“Fair? What do you mean by that? Is there some reason behind this specific amount?”
“The exchange rate today is about 139 yen.”
“What you’re saying is…”
“Don’t understand? The answer is Tera’s expression on stage earlier.”
“You say the answer but I’m completely lost…please explain a bit more concretely–”
“It was precisely a million dollar smile, wasn’t it?”
Saying that, Ougami Ai herself smiled broadly.
“Huh…w-wait, a smile? Are you saying that based on Tera’s smile earlier you took one million dollars, converted it to Japanese yen, and are providing 139 million from your personal assets to the academy!?”
“Does that seem strange?”
“It’s exceedingly strange! But…sigh…I feel I may never best you in my lifetime.”
“Hey hey, don’t make that dejected face. If a student is smiling but the educators are depressed, it sets a poor example. Come on, smile GenGen.”
“W-Well you have a point…like this?”
Strained smile
“Ahh too stiff, too stiff. Lift up the corners of your mouth more.”
“Hmm…how about this?”
Nicer smile
“One more time! Show me an expression to match Awayuki!”
“If you insist…take this!”
Big smile
“An old man’s fake smile is supremely creepy.”
“I’ll kill you, you little wench!”
“139 yen.”
“That’s too low when you’re the one who made me do it!
It should be the opposite, the opposite! You showed me something weird so pay me compensation! Hand it over!”
“Gwahahaha! Behold and marvel, you scoundrel! I swear one day I’ll drag you down from your position!”
Any more of this and my blood vessels might burst. Kongouji somehow steadied his breathing and directed the conversation to more practical matters.
“Haaa…that aside, how do you plan to handle this situation?”
Now that the victory conditions were fulfilled, it was unavoidable that Tera Awayuki would lose her position.
Certainly the principal’s shockingly huge compensation was appreciated but even 10 or 20 million yen likely didn’t match the future value of her remaining one of the [Ten Sai]. Looking at it from a business perspective, we needed to swiftly select a new [face] of the academy.
Should we choose someone from the remaining nine? …It’s true that in terms of focused talent they all surpassed Tera, but they were all also too extreme.
Could any replace her, who was the embodiment of community service and beloved by all…?
Kongouji naturally made a face as if he’d just bitten into a bitter bug, while Ougami looked positively delighted as she raised the corners of her mouth.
“Ah, about that I have a little idea–“
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