Big Capitalist

Merlin stood confidently on the podium, his eyes sharp as a torch, scanning the teachers present. "Please open the financial statements in your hands." His voice was loud and firm, as if setting the tone for the upcoming reforms.

"To complete the initial reforms, I calculated that it would take about 20 million gold coins!"

When he mentioned the number "20 million gold coins", the entire venue fell silent instantly. The teachers looked at each other with shock and suspicion in their eyes.

Twenty million gold coins, this is not just a number, but also a bold statement. Merlin continued: "The twenty million gold coins are just a conservative estimate. As the reform progresses, the actual demand may far exceed this number."

Vice Principal Jenny frowned and interrupted Merlin's speech: "Merlin, do you know how much gold coins the Arcane Academy can mobilize now? The compensation from the Royal Chamber of Commerce this time is only 15 million gold coins. Even if all of this compensation is invested, it is still not enough to support the reforms you proposed."

Merlin was shocked. He didn't expect the compensation from the Royal Chamber of Commerce to be so little. He thought this compensation would be a good start, but it turned out to be so shabby.

He thought to himself that if he were the one to negotiate, he could definitely double the compensation. As for taking care of Yuna, the helmsman's feelings...

So what? To be honest, Merlin believed that he would eventually swallow up the Royal Chamber of Commerce. Now he and Yuna were just sharing a common interest. Merlin needed Yuna's Chamber of Commerce resources to pave the way for his future plans. As for what Yuna thought, he didn't care.

"Merlin, such a large sum of gold coins is not something a student like you can manage." Agatha Morton, the dean of the Faculty of Arts, couldn't help but interrupt, her tone revealing dissatisfaction and disdain.

Merlin waved his hand, not caring at all: "This gold coin belongs to the college and has nothing to do with me. Everything I do is for the college, without any selfish motives. Finance-related affairs are supervised by Vice President Jenny, and every account must be paid in public accounts. All teachers in the six colleges should know this. I demand that everything be open, fair, and transparent! Every expense must be spent wisely!"

His words were like thunder, shocking everyone present. Merlin continued, "Is twenty million gold coins a lot? In my opinion, it's nothing! Do you think the Arcane Academy is poor? In fact, in my opinion, it's not poor at all. I can squeeze out a lot of gold coins right now! Now, I propose again to cancel... no, reform it! Thoroughly reform the funding system for the Arcane Academy to allocate funds for teachers' research!"

The teachers looked at each other, seemingly at a loss as to what to do with Merlin's bold proposal.

"Merlin, what do you mean by reform?"

"Research funding reform? This..." Many teachers looked at each other in confusion. Weren't they discussing something related to the credit system? Why was there such a sudden big jump?

Aren't reforms aimed at students? Why are they targeting teachers? The teachers of the six colleges all showed displeasure, but when they thought of Merlin's previous remarks, they were too embarrassed to say anything.

What's more, the deans of the six major colleges haven't spoken yet, so how can it be the turn of these little Karamis?

Seeing this, Merlin continued, "If you want research funding, you can apply! But for the specific procedures and requirements, please look at the back of the document." His voice was full of confidence and his eyes were firm, as if he had already seen the blueprint for the future.

The teachers present began to look through the documents, and Merlin's plan gradually unfolded before their eyes. The document detailed the specific plan for reform, including how to evaluate the value of research projects, how to allocate funds, and how to ensure the reasonable use of each fund. Each measure was carefully considered and aimed at making the college's magic research environment more fair and transparent.

Research Grant Application Process

(1) Applicant Qualifications

Depending on the faculty's title and research experience, the college sets different standards for the eligibility and amount of research funding applications.

Assistant Teachers (Junior Researchers): The total amount of research funding that can be applied for each year shall not exceed 10,000 gold coins.

Lecturer (Intermediate Researcher): The total amount of research funding that can be applied for each year shall not exceed 30,000 gold coins.

Associate Professor (Senior Researcher): The total amount of research funding that can be applied for each year shall not exceed 50,000 gold coins.

Professor (Senior Researcher): The total amount of research funding that can be applied for each year shall not exceed 100,000 gold coins.

The deputy deans and deans of branches consult with Vice President Jenny on research funding applications each year.

Many teachers were furious when they saw this. They thought that the research funding had been cut too much. What could they do with this little gold? It was not enough for research!

Noisy voices rang out in the conference hall, and many teachers shouted that the research funds were not enough. With such a small amount of gold coins in funding, they had no motivation to study magic at all.

Merlin slammed the table hard and snorted, "Not enough research funds? Ha! I have carefully calculated this based on the research funds distributed over the years. How could it be insufficient?"

"The research funds allocated by the school are for you to use in the field of magic research and to allow you to achieve results, not for you to eat, drink, defecate and enjoy life!" Merlin said, taking out a stack of documents and placing them on the table and continued.

"This is the application and feedback expenses for research funds over the years. A large part of it was actually spent on food, clothing, housing and transportation. They had to eat the best food, live in the best housing, and even buy alchemical research clothes. They had to use a teleportation array when going out to collect samples. Those who couldn't use the teleportation array actually hired the Imperial Griffin Group or even a large adventure group to escort them! These are totally unnecessary expenses! And this kind of money actually accounts for 70% of the research funds!"

Merlin sneered, "Is this what you call magic research? No wonder those magicians are trying so hard to become teachers at the Arcane Academy. With such good benefits, I would be willing to do it too!"

Vice Principal Jenny looked at the report handed over by Merlin, and her face instantly became very gloomy. She glanced at the seats of the professors in the management and found that those people did not dare to look her in the eyes, which made her face flushed with anger, but she still suppressed the anger in her heart. At the same time, she began to reflect on how she managed the academy. She had not discovered these things for so many years, which made her doubt, is she really capable of managing the Arcane Academy?

This... The teachers present looked at the "evidence" on the documents in front of them and lowered their heads in embarrassment, not daring to speak for a moment. Basically, no teacher was innocent. They all used the research funds to eat and drink lavishly, and their travel and accommodation had to be of the highest quality. Anyway, these gold coins were not theirs, but belonged to the Arcane Academy. It didn't matter if they had spent them all, they could just apply again.