Side Story 2. The Magic School and the Monster in the Basement (1)
Side Story 2. The Magic School and the Monster in the Basement (1)
Demuir put his hands behind his head and legs on the desk, feeling bored. "Ah! I'm bored. It’s unfair that only Flam and Dano went on a business trip. I want to go to a vacation spot, too!” He grumbled.
I grinned. "You know the reason they were sent was their strength. If you went, you would just whine about it being hard work."
Certainly, it was envious that the two were sent to a maritime city with a reputation as a resort in the empire. I volunteered because I could do the manual labor without difficulty, but the two who were usually known to be strong were selected because they said the work required a lot of strength.
Demuir pouted. "That's too unfair. It's true, but that's still unfair! It’s still a famous vacation spot. Wouldn't it be nice when they rest?”
"They probably don't even have time to rest. So why don’t you put down your legs?" Fiona opened the office door and came in, smiled scarily, and pointed out with a low voice.
Demuir flinched and straightened his posture.
"Okay, I'll introduce you. He's someone who was assigned to our headquarters this time."
The young man, who followed Fiona, bowed politely and gracefully.
"Nice to meet you. I am Hameln, assigned to work with the seniors this time."
Demuir clapped his hands, happy at the introduction. "Oh! I guess it's the new person they mentioned before going up to Asterium.”
"Yes. The Guild Director originally planned to hire two, but this time, the competition for new employees seems to have been fierce."
"I suppose. Last time, he received glares trying to bring on Den.” Demuir giggled and gently nudged me with his elbow.
I came out shamelessly looking at Demuir who was giggling in jest. "Well, isn't it because I'm competent?"
Unexpectedly, Fiona smiled playfully and nodded. "That's right. Den is really competent."
"Yes?" I looked at her in embarrassment.
Fiona shrugged and pointed at the wall. "I think I'm going to survive this summer thanks to Den."
On the wall she pointed at was a magic circle for a cooling magic circle I installed as soon as I returned from Asterium.
"No, it's not that big of a deal.”
The district office where I trained also had it, but the larger headquarters of the Adventurers’ Guild did not so I just installed it.
"Not a big deal! The cooling magic circle is a benefit that you can't enjoy unless you work at the palace! Even if there is one, the operating costs are so high that you can hardly turn it on except when it's the hottest and coldest days."
Demuir nodded and added to Fiona's words. "That's right. Aren’t I the accountant? Doing a cost calculation, the operational cost for this is very little."
"And I think it's cooler than the cooling magic circle in the imperial palace."
It was saddening to have mine compared with such a shoddy magic circle. Of course, there was a disadvantage that it was easily erased because it was made using only cheap magic materials, but it was not that difficult to repair.
The newbie Hameln grinned and spoke as Fiona and Demuir praised the cooling magic circle, "You're really incredible, Senior-nim.”
"No, it's really nothing. By the way, am I training Hameln?” I asked Fiona.
She nodded. "Yes. Because Flam is away on a business trip, I’ll leave it to you."
I agreed to her instructions. "Yes, I understand. I'm free anyway because most adventurers haven't come down from the Asteria Duchy yet."
Because rather than the capital with good security, the chaotic border area had much more work to do, there was not much to do here. The Adventurers' Guild was an organization in which there would be fewer jobs with fewer adventurers.
"Then, since this is how it turned out, I look forward to your kind cooperation in the future, Mr. Hameln," I greeted.
Hameln bowed politely and said, "Please exclude honorifics and just call me by my name comfortably, Senior Den-nim."
Well, he seemed like the type to be callus but keep the line.
"Yes, all right. Then let's take a look at organizing the documents."
I shared my work moderately and handed it over to the newbie. Looking at him organizing the documents, he seemed quite competent.
From now on, I should be able to slack off a little more.
-o-
I didn't have much work to do, so I played around as I taught the newbie. Then it was already time to get off work.
After about a week, the adventurers who had gone up to Asterium would come back down to the capital to deal with the demon and monster by-products, so it would become busy then. It was inevitable because it was financially beneficial to take care of it in the capital rather than selling it at Asterium. Then maybe we would have to stay up all night for three or four days.
So let's enjoy the freedom we have now.
"Then I'll go home now."
When I got up from my seat, Demuir and Hameln also got up from theirs.
"How about having a drink on your way home?" Demuir suggested.
Unfortunately, I shook my head. "I want to, but I have something to do.”
I had to treat the Holy Queen Arietta who was brought from the Alps. Even though it was temporary, her body was unstable because it was encroached on by the monster in the reverse world. Currently, she was constantly checking her vitals on the recovery magic circle in my workshop lab.
"Really? That's too bad."
Demuir smacked his lips and asked Hameln, the newbie.
"How about you? There’s nothing better than having a drink to get closer, right?”
"Unfortunately, I don't think I can do it either. I have to move my luggage from the training center dormitory to the boarding house today. Instead, would you like to help me?"
Usually, people move their luggage during the vacation time given after the training ends, but he seemed to have been delayed. Or it was a hasty rejection.
At Hameln's sly question, Demuir raised both hands up to his shoulders and said, "Ahaha, come to think of it, my mother asked me to come back quickly to help with the tax calculations! I guess I forgot."
"However, the self-employed comprehensive income tax is in May...”
"Aigoo! I'm busy. See you later!" Demuir cut him off and hurriedly packed up and left work.
It was June now, so it was too late to use an excuse of calculating taxes. Well, it’d be different if their real estate brokerage was going well and they were placed into the high-income category.
"Then let’s go home now. I taught you most of the work, so I'll teach you how to do night duty when it’s my shift in two days."
Perhaps Dane Walker or Rosellis would take him to the traditional welcoming place around New Year's Day during night duty. Let's pray that he won’t get scammed and go into debt like the pushover old man.
"Yes, I understand."
I waved and said bye at Hameln, who smiled and nodded. Then, I left the Adventurers' Guild headquarters and headed to my workshop. By the time I arrived, I saw a woman wandering in front of my workshop.
"What are you doing in front of my workshop?"
The woman hanging around in front of the workshop was Milpia.
"What do you mean? I've been waiting for you. I was going to wait inside but you’ve changed the security magic.”
Milpia stared at me with a grumpy look, dissatisfied. Looking at her darkened shoulders, it looked like she was about to enter using the key I gave her before, but encountered something unexpected.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you. I have a critical patient inside. You are prohibited from entering without permission for the time being. We've also multiplied our security."
"Don't forget things like that!" She sighed with anger and frowned. "Sigh, you should have just died instead."
"So what business do you have? Usually, you call me over to a café or something,” I said.
She crossed her arms and said, "That was before you got a workshop. Since there's a place like this that’s so secretive, there's no need to meet in a place like a café where it's not secure."
"That's true, too."
I took out a new access key from my pocket space and handed it over.
"It's an emergency key to get into the workshop by a shortcut. You can't go to the center of the workshop, but you can go to a separate building."
Milpia grabbed the emergency key with a grumpy face, complained, "I guess the patient inside is very important."
I nodded. "Well, it’s a person that would make any magician drool. Of course, it's more because the person’s in a critical state that contact is prohibited, more than the importance."
Milpia relaxed her grumpy face and asked, "A good healer… You probably don't need it. Shall I give you some good medicinal herbs?”
"That's great. I was going to go ask for it later, but I can ask for it now."
I took my notebook and pen out of my uniform inner pocket and wrote down what I needed. Then I tore the paper and handed it over.
Milpia looked at the list and frowned. "This much? I guess the person is really dying."
"I told you. The person’s in critical condition. So, what's going on?"
Milpia shrugged and said, "There are three items. One is to nag that you contacted Aries even though you were told not to contact him."
"It wasn't my intention."
She scoffed and said, "That's not my business, Mother... Big Mama said this. The other is to hear the information that you obtained from coming into contact with Aries."
"I'll give it to you in the form of a report later. You'll have to prepare platinum coins for the information."
The prime minister slowly moved to start the currency reform, but it probably needed another few months to begin in earnest.
"Oho, I'm looking forward to it. Just try and see what happens if you don’t meet our expectations."
I snorted at Milpia, who looked at me in provocation.
"Whatever you imagine, it'll be more than that."
She’d freak out if she found out that the identity was the Curse Specialist.
"That remains to be seen, and finally, the magic school will invite an instructor from the Adventurers' Guild headquarters soon. One from the adventurers, one from the civil servants."
"For the adventurer, it’s probably Dane Walker, who’s currently recuperating, right?”
"Of course, especially since he’s a madosa and isn’t very busy. For the civil servant, I think it's going to be you since they’ll ask for someone familiar with magic."
Usually, Roseland would go to a lecture like that, but I didn't know because he was promoted. I reckoned it would be either me or Fiona to go lecture as instructors. We were the only ones who could use magic in the Adventurers' Guild.
"Hmm, but it's annoying."
It felt like it’d be too much mental consumption to teach the new hatchlings.
"Don't worry. What the magic school wants from you is not magic, but adventure and administrative management."
"Then at least I don't think I'll get cancer.”
Unlike magic, adventure studies could be taught as long as one had reading comprehension.
Don't tell me someone would have dyslexia in a magician training institution.
"Cancer?" Milpia didn't understand and asked back.
I smiled lightly and said, "There's something like that. Then let's say I heard the nagging and move on. It's a waste of emotions."
"I agree with that, but since I’ve received my orders, let me just read what my mother said."
So Milpia began to read Aunt Talaria’s nagging for nearly an hour. Because she talked so much, her throat became dry and she drank water continuously.
"You're working hard."
"It's the same for you. Phew." Milpia sighed deeply and requested, "Don't pretend to know me if you come to the magic school later."
I grinned. "Those should be my words."
Actually, Yuria and Alice were more problematic than Milpia, but it would work out somehow.
"Let's just get along well with a business relationship."
Our interests matched, we grabbed each other’s hands. She and I hoped for a thorough business relationship.