I forced out laughed as headmaster handed down me her magzine.
Noticing my laugh and thinking that I might be laughing from happiness she also chuckled happily.
'Im not happy, you fool!'
"Come on open up and read it!"
Under her intense eyes, I opened the magzine and flip through pages and pictures, unable to understand the Elvish language.
"Look, this is the winning slime from 10 years ago! Silkslime."
It was picture a giant Slime standing up high as he could.
There was also hint of pride in expression.
Must be because he won the race.
"Isn't she's great? You can really see how silk she's is, and not only that she's also three times champion on giant Slime raceing."
"..."
No words left from my mouth at her enthusiasm, I just sighed and pointed out to the corner of magzine.
"So this section on right have runner Slimes and on the left sides are odds numbers?"
Headmaster -Alara nodded her head and pointed out two Slimes pictures on magzine.
"Yeah, you are right and here are Jawslime and Steel Slime, this time odds of winning one of them are high, so now you can probably guess why I have my eyes on them.
I have no idea...What she even talking about?
'First of all the only things I understood in this magzine are odds of winning at each Slimes. I didn't even understand the word's that's written in here because of Elvish language.'
I took one more look at Slimes that were on magzine and one slime caught my eyes.
"I think I'll take this one."
The principal looked at the slime in question and cocked her head.
"What do you like?"
"Let's give this one a try."
"...Yes? What are you betting on?"
The principal repeated, but there was a glint of anticipation in her eyes.
"Let's bet on this guy, win a share, and take back the future of the academy."
"Aaaah!"
The headmaster's ears were flapping so hard that they looked like they might fall off.
"At last, someone who understands my deepest intentions!"
'Not at all.'
"I understand what you mean, Mr. Hadean, but!"
The headmaster, who pointed to the slime I had named, shook her head.
"Not FleetSlime, he's the weakest in this race!"
The stern-looking headmaster continued with a look of conviction.
"So trust my judgment as the experienced one. Rumor has it that Jawslime and Steel Slime have spent the last nine years working on their skills, and it's about time they paid off. Fifty to one, not bad odds."
"...."
"But the odds for FleetSlime are a whopping 500 to one, and even the organizers don't think they have any chance of winning, so let's stick to the plan and bet on Steel Slime!"
I, who had been silently listening to the headmaster's imposing speech, finally spoke up.
"That's why I'm betting on FleetSlime."
"It's...?"
"Because he's the weakest."
"...!"
The headmaster's jaw dropped as if I had just declared war on her entire philosophy of slime racing. Her ears twitched in disbelief, and for a moment, I thought she might throw me out of her office.
"Mr. Hadeon," she began slowly, her voice a mix of incredulity and exasperation, "do you even understand the basics of betting? You don't bet on the weakest slime! That's not strategy—that's lunacy!"
I crossed my arms, leaning back slightly with a smug grin.
"Precisely. It's the perfect gamble."
Alara slapped her palm against her forehead, muttering something in Elvish that I didn't need to understand to know it was likely an insult. Then, she straightened up and locked eyes with me.
"Alright, humor me," she said, folding her arms. "Why would you bet on FleetSlime, the absolute weakest slime on the circuit?"
"Simple," I said, pointing to the magazine.
"The odds are astronomical. If FleetSlime wins, we'll get enough money to fund this academy for years. And if it loses, well… nothing changes because the academy is already sinking, isn't it?"
The headmaster froze, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. For a moment, I thought I might have actually broken her. Then, she narrowed her eyes at me, her voice low and suspicious.
"You're not trying to sabotage the academy, are you?"
I feigned offense, placing a hand over my heart.
"Me? Sabotage? Headmaster, I'm offended you'd even think that. I'm simply trying to turn this academy's fortunes around. Besides, isn't this the kind of bold, innovative thinking you admire?"
Her ears twitched again, but this time, she seemed genuinely conflicted. On one hand, everything I said probably sounded insane. On the other hand, I had appealed to her vanity, and that was clearly working its magic.
"Fine," she said finally, throwing her hands up in exasperation.
"We'll bet on FleetSlime. But when this inevitably fails, don't you dare blame me!"
"Wouldn't dream of it," I said smoothly, already picturing the chaos that would ensue.
Alara sighed deeply and began filling out the betting forms. Meanwhile, I leaned back in my chair, considering the possibilities. I didn't actually believe FleetSlime would win, but the point wasn't victory—it was creating enough chaos to accelerate the academy's collapse.
And if, by some miracle, FleetSlime did win? Well, that would be a story for the ages.