On Official Duty with My Tower Master Ex-Boyfriend - Chapter 7

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 7
“He actually verified whether you were a Crystal Whale Ecology Inspector properly dispatched by the Imperial Government itself. The Tower Master did it personally!”
I stood there dazed, wondering if I’d heard correctly, then my face burned hot in an instant.
“You really are a civil servant. I apologize for doubting you.”
‘Cade, you bastard. Why did he suddenly say that? He saw my identification card, my Attunement Ability, the badge—and still couldn’t believe it? So he had to verify my identity himself?’
Rumors about me had apparently already spread here, and before I could even make a first impression, I’d been marked as a person of concern before my first day.
“This is the first time the Magic Tower has made such a request. How bad must I have looked for them to suspect me of impersonating a civil servant despite my uniform?”
……
I felt every eye in the office fixed on me, yet no one was waiting for my response. They were simply watching an unwelcome outsider get dressed down.
‘At least I completely avoided suspicion that I knew the Tower Master. I’ll just pretend to reflect a little.’
As I hung my head dejectedly, even the bureaucrat who’d been raining cold reproaches seemed to tire of it.
“The observatory’s work directly affects the safety of people living along the coast and sailors. I know you came on Magic Tower business, but if you neglect this place’s duties, I’ll send a letter straight to the Imperial Capital. Understand?”
“Yes.”
I bowed my head and sat at the desk the bureaucrat had vaguely pointed to with a gesture. It was the desk of my predecessor who’d transferred elsewhere.
I arranged my belongings on the desk and glanced around the office.
The desk was smaller than those in the Imperial Capital office, and the office itself was cramped, but everything necessary was there.
The only thing missing was the paperwork that should have been on the desk.
‘The Director said he’d have the documents sent here. What happened?’
The Director earned his nickname “two birds with one stone.”
He had me dispatched to the Marine Observatory under the pretense of staying in Melgote to receive the Tower Master’s Seal while handling Monster Beast-related matters here.
These were documents he’d foisted onto me, so there was no way they’d arrive late.
I looked around, but there was nowhere in the office to store incoming mail.
‘Who should I ask?’
After hesitating, I quietly called over the employee sitting next to me.
“Where do we pick up documents sent from the Imperial Capital?”
“Check the handover paperwork.”
“Ah, yes.”
The crisp answer came immediately, so I searched around the desk, but found no handover documents.
“I can’t find the handover paperwork.”
“It’s not there? Maybe they didn’t leave it. Then I don’t know either.”
……
The employee turned their head away sharply, as if to say don’t talk to me anymore.
I decided to look for the Imperial Capital documents later and focus on learning what I needed immediately.
‘I should look at the Monster Beast distribution map of Melgote first.’
But no matter how much I searched through the filing cabinet, there wasn’t a single document about Monster Beasts.
I knew my predecessor was definitely an office worker who recorded Monster Beast appearances based on maritime climate.
All that was filed there were maritime climate analysis charts and weather maps.
‘Is that stored somewhere else?’
After hesitating, I approached the neighboring employee once more.
“There’s no material about Monster Beasts here.”
The annoyance was plain to see, but fortunately they answered.
“Your predecessor took all of it.”
But that was the problem with such an answer.
“What? Why?”
“They requested it removed as material for a Consortium Presentation.”
“Then how am I supposed to…?”
“Just do it. You pick up that kind of thing as you work.”
How was I supposed to learn without materials?
At this point, I couldn’t tell if they were being cold because of bad rumors about me or if handovers simply didn’t happen properly here.
“Where are the previous documents stored?”
At my question, the employee set down their pen with a sharp click.
“Where else? Obviously the Records Storage Room. Do they teach you everything step by step in the Imperial Capital like you’re a child?”
“That’s a place where at least handovers actually happen.”
My pride finally stung, I snapped back—then immediately regretted it.
Before I could finish speaking, the employee glared at me with wide eyes, and behind them, the bureaucrat looked at me with exasperation.
I slipped out of the office, saying I’d look for the previous documents.
Away from the suffocating cubicles and people’s stares, I could finally breathe.
‘The territorial attitude here seems worse than in the Imperial Capital.’
I felt bloated without having eaten anything, and this place was more uncomfortable than even the Magic Tower.
The building wasn’t large, but the structure was complicated, and I wandered in circles for a while before finding the Records Storage Room.
After writing my name in the visitor log and entering the external documents section, I found the files quickly.
‘Good heavens. The Director…’
I was overwhelmed by the towering stack of documents. Since I couldn’t carry it all by hand, I brought a trolley and began transferring them carefully.
‘Just how long does he think I’m staying in Melgote?’
Clearly, the Director also hadn’t expected me to obtain the Tower Master’s Seal quickly.
Just then, people in white coats entered the Records Storage Room.
I’d passed by several research laboratories while wandering the observatory, and these seemed to be researchers from one of them.
They gasped in surprise at the volume of documents I was transferring onto the trolley, then smiled sheepishly when our eyes met.
I returned an awkward smile and continued stacking documents when I overheard their conversation.
“Thinking back on it, that was risky. The Monster Beasts seem to be multiplying faster.”
“Are you scared to board the research vessel?”
“We should be getting hazard pay for this.”
The Marine Observatory had Monster Beast researchers too. Since Monster Beasts appeared from the sea, they must have been gathered here.
“We probably can’t launch the research vessel for a while. Still, now that the Magic Tower has moved, it should be resolved within days.”
“They say the Tower Master is reckless, but he seems to do his job.”
“If he didn’t, the Imperial Government wouldn’t let it go. Well, when wizards move in groups like that, it’s impressive.”
Tower Master? Wizards? Words that stuck in my ears slowed my hands.
They’d apparently just returned from the sea, and the researchers continued talking about the wizards above the water.
I found myself touching the Government Official Badge hanging from my chest.
‘…I didn’t exactly think he was lying. So it really was because of the Monster Beasts.’
Cade was someone hard to trust right now. It felt like his actions only properly registered in my mind when I heard about them through others.
Whatever the case, I hoped it wouldn’t take long.
‘The Magic Tower needs the Tower Master there so I can go find him with an official document or not.’
I’d thought the observatory would be better than the Imperial Capital, but the Magic Tower was actually more convenient.
I pushed the now-heavy trolley and mumbled vaguely.
‘Come quickly, Cade. I want to finish this temporary assignment without even having time to process these documents.’
***
The hem of the robe fluttered harshly in the biting sea wind.
Without the Heated Stone Magic and the Warmth Enveloping Magic, the weather would have killed me long ago.
Wizards flew across the windswept sea, subjugating Monster Beasts.
“Tower Master! You’re going too fast. The rear guard won’t be able to keep up.”
Ben called out urgently, struggling to keep pace with Cade.
Cade, who hadn’t looked back once, finally stopped in midair. His gaze remained fixed on the distant sea.
The emergence of Monster Beasts had no end.
Even after days of patrolling and subjugating them, within a month they’d multiply again.
People say the sea is the origin of Magical Power. As if to prove it, Monster Beasts too always emerged from the sea.
He had to coordinate with the Coast Guard and the Marine Observatory to prevent them from pushing toward shore and attacking docks and homes.
The further north they went, the more Monster Beasts there were, but other directions of sea couldn’t be considered safe either.
People who touched land or objects corrupted by Monster Beasts sometimes suffered from Fever Sickness.
‘…If she’s a Crystal Whale Ecology Inspector, she’d be on the sea often.’
After their unexpected reunion, Cade kept turning over the image of Vivian Solling in his mind.
How she’d grasped her robe hem when she sensed the Monster Beasts approaching.
How she’d stood in front of him to protect the Monster Beasts.
How she’d attuned to the Monster Beasts with a power that resembled waves.
Vivian Solling was a Monster Empath.
Until they parted, he’d known everything about her. Something new had appeared in the past year.
A year wasn’t a short time, but it wasn’t long enough for a person to change fundamentally either.
Except for becoming an Attuner, Vivian was exactly as he remembered her.
From her eyes that resembled green leaves to how she loved books enough to load them onto carriages coming to Melgote.
‘She lived near the Imperial Capital, so she would never have directly confronted the strong Magical Power of a Monster Beast. How did she become an Attuner?’
Monster Beast attunement itself was a rare ability, but Vivian’s remarkable qualities didn’t end there.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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