It wasn’t that third-year student Balpatan was lazy or had a terrible spending problem that led to this.
Magic, at its core, was an incredibly expensive pursuit.
No matter how much the Emperor funded them, no matter how the Headmaster Einlogard pushed money into their coffers or occasionally emptied his own purse for them, this limit was structurally impossible to overcome.
They couldn’t simply ask the Empire for more budget either.
Even now, whenever officials under the imperial treasurer heard the name Einlogard, they clutched at their chests and complained of shortness of breath.
- You want us to give more gold coins to those lunatics? Step on me and go past! If you have that gold, at least use it to build the poorhouse we’ve been postponing for lack of funds!
- Do you not remember just how much those Einlogard rascals have taken from the Empire’s treasury? We donated the golden pillars in the plaza on the Emperor’s orders—then they burned the gold experimenting with flames.
I will never forgive that waste!
- Every time those shameless mages cause a scandal outside, we fine them and bill them for the repairs and it still isn’t enough! Whenever I hear Einlogard’s name my teeth grind and my blood boils!