The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success - Chapter 191

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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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Special Side Story Episode 4
Namia offered no response. Luca cried out in exasperation.
“Hey! Shouldn’t you at least jump back indignantly or blush? One or the other, right?”
“I don’t have the energy for that.”
“Ugh, seriously!”
Of course, even without Namia’s reaction, Victor continued to gaze at her with an unrelenting smile. While Agnes muttered something about “the Marquis Household’s adopted son… assets… succession…” Namia stood there with utter indifference.
“You, listen—Huan told you not to even acknowledge him, yet you couldn’t say a word. Come on, honestly you…”
“Luca, my ears hurt.”
Huan’s words were particularly unbearable today, so I swayed and covered my ears. Luca furrowed his brow and shouted.
“What? What kind of symptoms?”
I’d made a poor excuse. Of all people, I had to complain about ear pain to a Healthcare Ministry official.
“Or is it your head that hurts?”
“What? A migraine? Explain in detail. What’s wrong with your ear and head?”
“Well… I mean… it’s…”
“Exactly where does it hurt?”
Namia rolled her eyes for a moment before answering.
“…My heart hurts.”
Luca’s mouth fell open.
“My heart… it seems to hurt.”
“That’s just malingering.”
The Minister of Finance, who had stopped by briefly, began his congratulatory address, so Luca was forced to hold his tongue. Namia simply lowered her gaze.
The ear and head pain were lies, but the heartache was real.
Because today was Namia’s birthday. Yet she could not hear a single word of birthday wishes from anyone.
Huan and Namia were twins on paper. Ever since coming to the Capital, Namia’s birthday had simply become Huan’s birthday.
Naturally, her uncle and aunt had never bothered to wish her a happy birthday on that day…
‘Still, it’s my twentieth birthday… and Father still hasn’t returned.’
It was painful not to be able to tell others that today was my birthday, but I never expected Father to miss it even now that I’d come of age.
Meanwhile, Agnes was fussing beside me again, saying “That Minister of Finance is the adoptive father of that senior from the Scroll Magic Department? Really?”
“Now then, let us spend some time with our seniors. Please gather in the designated lecture halls by department.”
With that announcement, everyone dispersed. Agnes whispered with gleaming eyes.
“Just the two of you! Do well, Namia. If he’s the Minister of Finance’s son, he must have plenty of money. A devoted man with those credentials is rare.”
“…Devoted?”
“He’s been smitten with you since the Academy! Ah, never mind, that’s just how he looks!”
Agnes, who knew nothing of Victor from his Academy days, had judged him as devoted based solely on his appearance.
In any case, Agnes disappeared with the new Ministry of Foreign Affairs recruits, and before I knew it, Victor had come to stand beside me.
“Junior, it’s like this. You’re my junior now, but I can’t even bring myself to congratulate you…”
Victor laughed heartily and tapped Namia’s shoulder.
“But just hold on a little longer. Once I make Team Leader, I’ll bring you under me right away. After all, this is something to celebrate for me—having such a wonderful junior in the same department.”
Namia said nothing and simply smiled faintly.
Victor was, objectively speaking, an excellent senior. Just as he was a good junior, good sibling, good friend, and good connection to everyone else.
“Come on, shall we go? I brought some snacks anyway—let’s share them and take it easy. Phew, honestly, I almost couldn’t make it today. The Department Chief suddenly dumped work on me.”
“Really? You had work to do?”
“Not originally, but he manufactured something out of thin air. Got suddenly obsessed with something pointless… You’ll figure it out soon enough when you join our department. The way he suddenly panics over trivial matters and demands immediate solutions is something else.”
“But… still, this is an official event. Is it really okay for the department representative not to show up?”
“I already submitted the names on the official documents. I just said we’d be running a bit late, and as long as nothing goes wrong, not showing my face shouldn’t be a problem… though I suppose it shouldn’t be this way.”
Victor laughed awkwardly, then tilted his chin up and added playfully.
“Anyway, from my perspective, it’s not really that important, so I just said I’d handle it later and came anyway. Your senior did well, didn’t he? Reliable, right? At this rate, you can trust me enough to bury your bones in our department, don’t you think?”
Namia hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
If no one from the Scroll Management Department had come, she would have had to stay alone in her room while everyone else learned practical skills from their seniors.
No matter how much she enjoyed solitude, today was a day she truly didn’t want to be alone.
No one knew that today was her birthday… but she knew it herself.
‘It’s unfortunate that I’m stuck at the Training Institute and can’t go out to enjoy some good food as a change of pace.’
So Namia offered a careful smile.
“Yes… I’m glad I’m not alone. Thank you, Senior.”
* * *
‘Sigh…’
In the mountains near the Training Institute.
Kiaros, who had rushed here urgently, swept back his hair. There was a reason he had come all this way.
‘The Scroll Management Department only submitted names and didn’t send anyone to the Training Institute.’
Kiaros had received a report that yesterday, at the Scroll Management Department’s after-work gathering, the Scroll Management Minister had said, “A representative? The Training Institute? Do we really need to send anyone?”
Worse, he had apparently said, “Ah, just have some random local go. Say they left their civil servant ID behind. We did that last time too, didn’t we?” —even casually mentioning identity fraud.
But handling this matter was quite ambiguous.
If he called in the Minister and confronted him, the Minister would likely just say, “Oh, that was just a joke.” It would also be perfect fodder for rumors that the Imperial Family was controlling other departments’ social gatherings.
On the other hand, if he tried to seize on the phrase “we did that last time” and conduct a thorough audit, the Scroll Management Department was ultimately affiliated with the Magic Tower, so Kiaros had limits to what he could do.
‘If I catch them red-handed at the scene, that’s all that matters.’
From the start, Kiaros had been deeply dissatisfied with the Scroll Management Department.
So he decided that this time, he would catch the Scroll Management Department in the act of submitting only names without sending people, leaving them no room for excuses.
Then he could formally lodge a complaint with the Magic Tower, and if things went well, he might even be able to bring them back under direct Imperial control.
‘Then I should just disband them immediately.’
But he was reluctant to suddenly appear in his Crown Prince form for this. If the Scroll Management Department had actually sent someone properly, it would just be a hassle for the Training Institute staff.
Besides, it felt awkward to tell the new civil servants, “Nothing special, I just came to look around.” They would surely make him stand on the podium and have him give some sort of congratulatory address, which he didn’t particularly enjoy.
‘I need to verify everything with my own eyes. Especially since they said it doesn’t matter if you just send anyone, right?’
Strictly speaking, the people working at the Training Institute weren’t civil servants. Therefore, they couldn’t possibly be stiff and demanding with those high-nosed Imperial civil servants, saying, “Let me verify your credentials properly.” That’s why Kiaros had decided to go himself.
‘Well, if nothing’s wrong, I can just slip out quietly.’
Without hesitation, Kiaros changed his appearance to that of a young man with jet-black hair and jet-black eyes.
He had never formally named this form, but it was perfect for concealing his identity.
‘The problem is just that I’d be an outsider.’
The Training Institute had tight security. Not just anyone could enter.
Of course, Kiaros possessed a magical circle that allowed him to enter any public institution. So it wasn’t particularly difficult for him to come and go from the Training Institute like it was his own home. The problem would only arise if someone asked, “Who are you?”
‘I suppose I should carry something like a broom around.’
I decided to move as stealthily as possible, keeping to the shadows, and if anyone spotted me, I would simply pose as a janitor.
I knew exactly where the brooms were kept. I had already memorized the entire layout of the Training Institute.
‘I believe the cleaning supplies were stored in the warehouse next to Building B.’
Kiaros determined his destination first, then began descending the mountain.

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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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