Before becoming Minister of Education, Aura had absolutely no concept of money.
In her mind, gold coins were simply shiny yellow rocks—pretty enough to chew on, fun to throw at Zanze, entirely useless beyond that.
But the moment she stepped into office and the entire ledger of the Ministry's expenditures was slammed onto her desk with a resounding thud, a revelation struck her like a divine lightning bolt.
Money…
was terrifying.
Not in the way demons usually found things terrifying—like holy swords, heroes, or Serie's smile when she peeled an apple with surgical precision.
No.
This was worse.
Gold coins were no longer harmless rocks. They were now directly tied to:
—how many magic academies could be built
—how many young mages could be raised
—how many magical experiments wouldn't explode due to insufficient funding
—and how many nights Aura herself could go to sleep without worrying about being strangled by financial reports.
After seeing the numbers, Aura's worldview shifted instantly.
Gold coins were… life.
"So these rocks… can turn into buildings?! Into humans?! Into magic?!"
Aura whispered in awe, as if she had just discovered the secret to true magic.
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The Ministry of Education was short on funds in every imaginable aspect.
On the very first day Aura took office, Sheila timidly presented a budget sheet soaked in such deep red it resembled a battlefield drenched in fresh blood.
Magic education?
A long-term investment—
A long-term losing investment—
A long-term losing investment that also consumed money as if demons fed on despair.
The department had always relied on other departments just to stay alive like a dying plant being drip-fed water.
Aura skimmed through the report with growing horror.
Nearly half of the Association's external branches had failed to establish academies.
Why?
No. Money.
Countless brilliant young talents spent their entire youth buried in textbooks, never once casting a proper spell.
Why?
No. Money.
Some existing academies were so worn down that during storms, the roof collapsed and squashed a teacher or a student.
Why?
Still—
No.
Money.
"Aaaaaaah…!! All of them need so many of these rocks!!" Aura clawed at her head in despair.
Gold coins—those shiny rocks—were the future of magic.
They were the foundation for her to run for Association President—
And eventually, the foundation for her to clear her mission.
But reality crushed her dreams immediately.
The Finance Department treated the Ministry of Education like a beggar.
Not the poorest department, technically—
But the one with the largest gap between "what it desperately needed" and "what it actually received."
The Finance Department prioritized border defense, branch salaries, and examination rewards. Future mages? They could wait.
It wasn't that they didn't understand education was important.
It was that the previous Ministry of Education had been so corrupt that the Finance Department still reflexively clenched their purses the moment they heard the word "education."
Even with Aura's reforms, old habits refused to die.
Stealing money from other departments was impossible.
So she could only make money herself.
Aura felt that making money on her own was difficult, since she didn't have many skills, and most of them were related to violence and destruction. The method of controlling resources by fighting and killing worked among the demons, but it didn't work among humans.
In this Kribi, even if you pick on the easiest target, Zanze, and demand money by holding an axe to her neck, the price Aura would have to pay is unimaginable.
At best, she'd be starved for three days. At worst, Serie would summon her and threaten to thread silk wires into her horns to scramble her brain.
And although Aura felt starving for three days was worse than brain damage, she still didn't want to experience either.
So she had no choice but to throw the axe away.
—Thus, Aura had no way to make money.
But… that was yesterday's Aura.
After her last heated clash with Flamme, Aura had actually gained the upper hand!
Not only did she defeat Flamme, she had even gotten Flamme to willingly hand over a large sum of money.
Can you understand the feeling of waking up early in the morning and discovering your entire body covered in gold coins— Lying in a heap of gold like a dream come true?!! Just one night.
Flamme had needed only one night—to let Aura taste the sweetness of profit.
That's the most ruthless demon killer! If Aura can get money out of her, then who can resist Aura's money-grubbing hands!
Now, Aura's head was bursting with ideas on how to earn money!
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"We understand the Ministry of Education is short on funds, and we truly sympathize with Minister Aura's desire to improve its… catastrophic situation. But even so—you can't just reach into Human Resource's budget."
The Minister of Human Resource spoke with a professional smile that twitched at the edges. Her voice was steady, but the hand gripping her document tray trembled ever so slightly.
"Why can't I? What do you mean 'reach into your budget'? Does this funding have your department's name engraved on it? Why can't the Minister of Education claim it? Am I not a department head too?!"
"Of course it has our name! We applied for this first! The Finance Department already approved it—look at this! Black and white! The seal is stamped!!"
"When was it stamped?"
"Just now!"
"And this is the only copy?"
"Right now, yes!"
"I just arrived and didn't witness the stamping process. Can I verify the authenticity of this seal?"
"Of course. Please do."
The Minister of Human Resource was a woman in her thirties. Her mana wasn't strong, but her administrative abilities were outstanding.
To be honest, if she could, she wouldn't want to get into a conflict with Aura
Aura's feats had already spread among the upper ranks of the Association:
Destroying a Second-class mage's magical shield in a single blow in Hohenburg, Piercing through a magically forged artifact crafted by a First-class mage, shattering half a fortress—
Later, she single-handedly killed all the rogue mages surrounding Hohenburg—Individuals who had previously escaped even the Association's First-class mage-led extermination squads.
Then there was the last time, when the court mages caused trouble at the association. Aura once again displayed an unknown skill that could casually crush defensive magic without even sensing any mana. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Aura is the natural enemy of all mages.
Although Aura has not yet been rated in the association for her magical abilities, everyone knows that her minimum level is still among the best of the first-class mages, and her maximum level is probably comparable to those Great Mage who specialize in combat.
As the minister of the HR, she knew that she was only at the level of a second-class mage and was afraid of offending Aura and being forced to do something against her will.
The Magic Association was half a military institution. Power and intellect both determined influence. No one wanted a physical fight.
Thankfully, Aura didn't seem eager to burn bridges. The Minister of HR sighed in relief as the tense atmosphere loosened—
RIP—
Aura took the stamped application the woman handed her—
and tore it in half.
"Minister Aura, you—!"
"I'm sorry." Aura nodded obediently.
"You didn't mean it?"
"I meant it." Aura nodded again, fully unrepentant.
"YOU—!!"
The HR Minister felt like she might explode.
She turned to look at the Finance Minister—who quickly averted his eyes, unwilling to get involved.
In principle, the Ministry of Education should have been eligible to compete for this funding from the beginning, but everyone was used to ignoring the Ministry of Education, so the funding was decided before the Ministry of Education even received a notification.
As long as Aura didn't complain, it was fine. Everyone could pretend nothing happened.
But now that Minister Aura's attitude is so firm, and the only stamped application has been torn up, they might as well redo the entire approval process—
Better than letting this escalate all the way up to the Association President.