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EP.94 The Winner and Enhancement (2)

“Here are the products to be evaluated in advance. No one knows whose products they are, and department heads, please evaluate the products honestly and strictly.”

The department heads, each with their own biases in mind.

They all began evaluating the products together.

Some were knowledgeable about consumables, while others only had rudimentary knowledge as it wasn’t their area of expertise.

The test was conducted strictly as a blind evaluation, so it was impossible to easily guess the results.

“Overall, both products are of very high quality.”

The department heads were impressed, not realizing that the consumables used by students were of such high quality.

“Isn’t Ash General Store originally sourcing products supplied to the military? So this level of quality is to be expected. What surprises me is that one of these is a product brought by Teacher Rebecca.”

“Both products are excellent. That is, if my standards for products haven’t suddenly changed.”

“For products of this quality, I’d be willing to pay three times the price.”

The department heads smiled contentedly, noting that both products performed equally well.

“It seems we can’t gauge which is better just by looking at them. We’ll have to actually use them.”

“To be honest, I’ve already made my decision, but if that’s what everyone wants, I’ll go along with it.”

The department head who was an expert in consumables spoke as if they had already made their decision.

“You’ve already made a decision?”

“At first glance, both products might seem similar. But when you get to the essence, inevitable flaws will appear. After all, aren’t they handmade products?”

“Well… you’re certainly right about that.”

“However, one of these two products has a perfection that’s hard to believe was made by human hands. You’ll probably be able to tell more clearly if you actually use it.”

“Perfection, you say?”

The other department heads showed curiosity at the meaningful words of their colleague.

“I’m already curious about who it could be. It’s amazing that someone has such products in large quantities and is willing to sell them.”

“”????””

As the department head spoke, question marks multiplied on the faces of the other department heads.

In the end, to confirm the two consumables, they had no choice but to start using them hastily.

Using the product wasn’t anything special; they just had to use the scroll to check its effect.

As they were checking the most basic products, it wasn’t a difficult task.

“Both products are very stable. However, while this one has differences in buff power, this product seems to have no changes at its peak every time. I’ve never seen such a high-quality item before.”

“The performance of this one is much better. The activation time is incredibly fast. I wonder where they got such a product from.”

“The attack scroll effect is also satisfactory.”

Differences that couldn’t be seen without using the products began to gradually reveal themselves.

It took longer than expected to complete the evaluation as they meticulously compared the items.

“Well, the results are in.”

The anxious parties waiting for the results and the students bored with the wait.

At the words that the results were finally in, everyone’s eyes sparkled.

Apart from when the department heads used their abilities a few times to check the scroll effects, there wasn’t much to see, so it was bound to be boring.

“Who’s going to win?”

“I hope the teacher wins.”

“I don’t know who’ll win, but I don’t like Ash General Store after this. I’m not buying from there anymore.”

“If not there, where else are you going to buy from? We’re in this mess because there’s nowhere else to get supplies in the first place.”

The students were still in a situation where they supported Rebecca more.

Finally, the dean stepped forward and opened his mouth to address everyone.

“I deeply regret that such an unfortunate incident has occurred at our academy.”

The dean had been sitting with a gloomy expression ever since he arrived.

He seemed to have a lot on his mind about the Ash store owner, who had been given preferential treatment, doing such a thing.

“However, given that both products were of excellent quality, I have no doubt that this incident will turn out to be a positive thing for our students.”

Students need to be given the opportunity to purchase better products.

“It has been confirmed that both products pose no problems when used by our academy students for their exams. The performance difference between the two products was not significant.”

Murmur murmur —!

The students whispered at the dean’s words.

“What? Then it’s much better to buy from Teacher Rebecca, right? The other side did something shady, while the teacher said she’d sell at the regular price.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying. The teacher should win, right?”

The students’ expressions brightened, and Rebecca, as if she had expected this, crossed her arms and raised her chin to glare at the Ash store owner.

It wouldn’t be a problem if similarly priced items performed similarly, but aren’t Ash General Store’s items being sold at three times their original price?

The Ash store owner, frozen at the unbelievable result, suddenly slammed the table with a thud and jumped to his feet.

“Similar quality?! That’s nonsense!”

From his perspective, it felt like he was being stabbed in the back.

What he had prepared and submitted was a product far superior in performance to what he was selling to students.

And now they’re saying that Teacher Rebecca’s product is the same as what he prepared?

‘This doesn’t make sense!!! Something stinks here. Are these bastards just siding with her because she’s a teacher and a woman?’

So the evaluation saying that the teacher’s prepared product was similar to his own product made no sense.

How could a scroll made by a master craftsman be the same as a mass-produced product?

“Are you sure the evaluation was done properly? How can it make sense that that woman’s product is similar to our Ash General Store items?”

The department heads’ expressions hardened at the suggestion of corruption, made with a reddened face.

Even with the dean backing him, such rude behavior couldn’t be overlooked.

The dean, with an even sterner expression, glared at the Ash store owner and asked,

“Mr. Ash, I’ll ask you again. Please think carefully before you speak. Are you certain there was something unfair about the evaluation our department heads conducted? I remind you, the results haven’t even been announced yet. As you can see, it was a blind evaluation.”

It was very unpleasant to see him getting angry without even hearing the results of which product was better.

Moreover, he didn’t just get angry, he went as far as to suggest corruption among the department heads.

Sensing that the reactions of those around him were not favorable, the Ash store owner, though still huffing, sat back down in his chair.

“Ahem, I never said that. You misunderstood. I was just saying it’s a shame there isn’t a more definitive evaluation method.”

“Our evaluation is as accurate and definitive as it can be. So please refrain from any forceful or inappropriate behavior.”

The Ash store owner was about to say something more but then kept his mouth shut.

After all, the results hadn’t come out yet, had they?

If he wanted to protest, it would be procedurally correct to do so at that time.

“Do you have anything else to say?”

“…No.”

Yet he couldn’t stop complaining and muttered in a low voice.

“Don’t they understand that it doesn’t make sense for them to be similar? I didn’t expect such blatant favoritism. I was wrong. If I had known it would be like this, I should have…”

The Ash store owner’s grumbling voice gradually became quieter.

As the voice disrupting the proceedings disappeared, the staff member resumed the interrupted process.

“Then I will announce the results. Between Product A and Product B, the one that showed better performance was…”

Gulp-!

“Product B. And the person who submitted Product B is…”

They peeled off the sticker attached to the box labeled Product B.

Swoosh!

“It’s Teacher Rebecca.”

“!!!”

The name written on the peeled-off sticker was clearly [Rebecca].

“Wow~!!”

“Teacher, you’re amazing!”

“That’s awesome. It’s cheaper and performs better?”

“I should have applied too.”

“You got ripped off by the Ash General Store. Just use that.”

“I didn’t know it would be cheaper and perform better!!”

People are really something.

It’s because they can’t see even an inch ahead.

When preparing for this competition, the Ash store owner had only thought about scenarios where he would win unconditionally.

The thought that he might lose?

He had never once considered it.

‘What should I do?’

As a result, the Ash store owner, whose mental state had completely collapsed, blinked his eyes.

Teacher Rebecca was receiving congratulations from her acquaintances around her.

Praises could be heard from here and there, saying they had believed in her.

On the other hand, no one was even acknowledging him.

In fact, even if someone had approached him, he wouldn’t have been in the right state of mind to respond.

The Ash store owner could only open and close his mouth without saying a word.

“Uh…uh.”

With the intuition that he was screwed, the Ash store owner naturally moved his gaze to find someone who could save him from this crisis.

It was the dean.

The connection between the dean and the Ash store owner wasn’t as grand as rumors suggested.

They had just lived in the same neighborhood during the dean’s childhood.

Given the significant age difference between the Ash store owner and the dean, it was a trivial connection – they had briefly met when the store owner hadn’t even been potty-trained.

‘Help me, brother!’

The dean had been quite famous in the neighborhood.

After all, he had left for the city when it was revealed that he was the illegitimate child of a noble.

The Ash store owner had completely forgotten about his connection with the dean until he opened his general store in the academy city after struggling and investing all his money.

‘You can do it, brother. Think about how well I’ve treated you all this time.’

To live well while running a general store in the academy city, it was necessary to establish a connection with the dean.

So he investigated the dean and, surprisingly, found out that they had grown up in the same village when they were young.

And when the dean learned about his background, he became very fond of him and provided many conveniences.

He used his influence to help him get good merchandise and even turned a blind eye when he promoted excessively to students.

‘He’ll help me this time too. Yeah, don’t think too anxiously. Act calm! Or should I act pitiful?’

He racked his brain trying to figure out what action would make the situation flow more favorably for him.

“The winner is Teacher Rebecca. Fortunately, it seems that the concerns raised by the Ash General Store owner won’t come to pass.”

Clap clap clap clap clap!

A round of applause erupted for the winner.

The Ash store owner bit his lip hard and clenched his fists.

His gaze was still fixed on the dean.

And finally, the eyes of the dean and the Ash store owner met.

‘brother!! Help me!’

The department heads must have colluded and cheated.

While he was off guard, that woman must have lobbied the department heads.

He shouldn’t have naively trusted only his ‘brother’!

His ‘brother’, who had become the dean, was also responsible for this incident for not properly controlling his subordinates.

Thus, the Ash store owner, engulfed in self-pity, was rationalizing his defeat by shifting the blame onto others.