#1291 Idle Talk – The Next-Generation Con Man 

My name is Chipposhi. 

A humble philanthropist of the Demon Kingdom. 
What kind of philanthropy, you ask? 
Why, giving people dreams, of course! That’s my job! 

People get drunk on the dreams I sell them. 
And in return, I receive my payment. 

Ain’t that a lovely win-win relationship? 

But lately, I’ve been getting complaints from some nasty customers. 

They call me names like “con artist.” 
Others go further—“liar,” “swindler,” “profit leech,” “social parasite.” 
All these outrageous slanders with not a grain of truth! 

I’m just selling people dreams! 
Dreams disappear when you wake up; that’s natural. 
If you’re paying for that dream, then you’ve got no right to complain! 

That’s what I think, but the idiots in the Demon Kingdom don’t see it that way. 
They even went and reported me to the Demon King’s army. Now, I’m a wanted man. 

“Chipposhi the Swindler,” they call me, a name plastered all over wanted posters with a bounty on my head. 

Well, faces are easy to change anyway. 

But it’s gotten too risky to keep doing business in the Demon Kingdom. 
It’s time to move on. 

After some deliberation, I found the perfect new market. 

The Human Kingdom. 

They used to be at war decades ago, but it’s all peace and open borders now. 
I considered other places, but the Mermaid Kingdom is too deep underwater. The effort ain’t worth the gain. 
The Farm Kingdom? Forget it. It’s a fledgling country with no money to spend. And I’m in this for money, after all. 

So, I slipped into the Human Kingdom without a hitch. 
Forging an identity is child’s play! 

Now then, what kind of dreams should I sell to the humans? 
After all, no one here knows the name Chipposhi. That means I’ve got a blank slate. 
And with all my experience and know-how from the Demon Kingdom, I can pull off something way bigger than ever before. 

This is my fresh start, a golden opportunity to build an empire!!! 

*** 

A few years later... 
My business...no, my empire, is thriving beyond measure. 

I am no longer Chipposhi, the small-time trickster. 

I am Modrov Sugetaaya. 
Headmaster of the Royal Capital Magic Academy! 
Dufufufufufu!!! 

My research into the Human Kingdom’s market led me to a guaranteed hit. 
Magic. 

Apparently, humans can’t use magic. 

Perfect! I’ll open a magic school, gather a bunch of eager students, rake in their tuition fees, and lo, easy money! 

What a genius system!!! 

I immediately sought sponsors to make the idea real. 
There’s no point being honest and slow about it. 
You gotta exaggerate a bit and make it sound grand! That’s how you reel in profit! 

And my efforts paid off. I landed some powerful backers. 

Old-timers who once thrived before the war, leeching off power and privilege. 
Even after all these years, the parasites still live! What a persistent bunch. 

But under the new regime, they’re cornered, barely scraping by. 
So, when I dangled my “profitable venture,” they bit instantly. 

With their help, my academy received official government approval. 

Behold, the Royal Capital Magic Academy opens its gatesssssssssssssssss!!! 

Dufufufufu! 
Applicants are flooding in! 

Who knew humans yearned for magic this badly? 
Let them yearn more! My academy will sell them their dream, the dream of becoming the world’s greatest mageeeeeee! 

Now, the Magic Academy stands as a true symbol of authority. 
With countless supporters and patrons, it has risen into a major power. 

And once you’ve climbed that high, a real man aims higher still. 
To become the unseen ruler pulling the strings of the Human Kingdom. 
If magic spreads throughout the nation, if everyone learns to wield it, if life itself becomes impossible without it... 

Then institutions that teach magic become indispensable. 
And I, standing atop those institutions, will hold power beyond compare! 

Dufufufufu! 
Magnificent! The petty swindler Chipposhi is no more. 
Now I am Sugetaaya, the mastermind ruling the Human Kingdom from the shadows, the great Headmaster of the Royal Capital Magic Academy! 

To achieve that, my next step is clear. I must bring the Adventurer’s Guild under my control. 
The Guild now governs adventurers all across the world. 
If I can place it under my thumb, the academy’s influence will reach every corner of the globe. A simple rule like “magic proficiency is required for all adventurers” will do nicely. 
All I have to do is topple the current Guildmaster and install my own puppet in their place, then both the Guild’s authority and profits will be mine!!! 

Dufufufufu! 
The seat of world domination is finally within reach! 

But just as everything is going perfectly...  
A certain report arrives. 

A powerful magic user has appeared at the Adventurer’s Guild. 
They supposedly obliterated a giant beast outside the city in a single blast. No doubt about it, that can only be magic! 

Grrrrrr...! 
So the Guild’s getting nervous about us, huh? 
Did they call in outside help? 

No, wait. This could be a blessing in disguise. 
If they’ve got a powerful mage, then all I need to do is recruit them myself. 
It’s perfectly reasonable, after all, a true magic user belongs in a magic academy. 
With that logic, I’ll bring the powerful mage into my fold and use them to tighten the noose around the Guild’s neck. 

Send a messenger to the Guild immediately! 

...Back already? 
So, how did it go? 

What? The person wants to enroll?! 
Excellent work! 
Oh? Just a trial enrollment? 
It doesn’t matter. What matters is that this rising star will soon be my pawn. 

Once they see the splendor of my academy, they’ll abandon that shabby Guild in an instant. 

And then, at last, the promising newcomer arrives. 
His power surpasses every expectation. 
With a single spell, he blew apart the academy’s entire training ground! 
I nearly collapsed from the sheer force of it...! 

But he’s even more incredible than I imagined! 
That rising star is far more capable than I thought! 

That kind of flashy magic is perfect for publicity. If I spread the word, “Study at the Royal Capital Magic Academy, and you too can do this!” enrollment will skyrocket! 

I must have him. 
Whatever it takes, I’ll make that prodigy mine! 

To do that, I’ll use my greatest weapon… my gift of persuasion. 
I’ll separate him from the others and pour my knowledge into him. 
...Yes, that’s it. 
Once he hears my brilliant lectures, he’ll come to respect me deeply. 

Ah, my prodigy! My precious disciple! I’ll cherish you forever! 
Dufufufufu! 

Or so I thought, as I began earnestly lecturing him on the grand history of magic. 
But then... what’s this? 
Interruptions? Again and again? What’s he babbling about?! 

“There are already schools that teach magic. Magical pharmacology stands alongside alchemy and thaumaturgy as one of the three great magical disciplines of the world. The Mermaid Witch Academia has taught it for centuries, so it’s a deeply traditional institution.” 

What?! 
No, I just said my academy was the first ever because it sounds more impressive that way…! 

“There’s the magic pharmacology of the merfolk and the thaumaturgy of humans. At the very least, a proper magic institution should cover all three, otherwise, does it really have the right to call itself “Magic Academy?” 

What nonsense! Magic is demon magic...what else could it be?! 

“The old church-style thaumaturgy, which harmed the world’s mana, is gone, yes. But it’s been reborn as a new, improved version: Neo Thaumaturgy. Behold! Haaaaaaaah!!!” 

CRAAAASHHHH! 

Eek! He just threw a punch, and the wall on the far side exploded?! 
And it wasn’t just brute strength?! 

What is this kid?! 
He’s spouting knowledge I’ve never even heard of! 

Don’t tell me...! 
He’s not only powerful, he’s smart, too?! 

Damn it, this one’s trouble. 
The worst kind: the smug little know-it-all who thinks he can win any argument just by saying, “That’s just your opinion, isn’t it?”