The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success - Chapter 39
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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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Chapter 39
The Tower Master swung his staff with a forceful flourish.
“Oof!”
“Aaaagh!”
The Crown Prince’s Aide and the Minister of Justice, caught off guard, tumbled to the ground.
Standing alone with unshakeable confidence, the Tower Master let out another sharp cry.
“I heard Namia Loapi is here! Where is she?”
The Emperor, who had been droning on about Imperial Family audiences, furrowed his brow in bewilderment.
In the end, I found myself trembling as I stepped forward.
“I… I am Namia Loapi.”
“What? This scrawny thing?”
The Tower Master stared at me in surprise.
Then he folded his arms and muttered to himself.
“Using scrolls requires muscle development… and you have to move scroll boxes every single day.”
Now I understood why the Tower Master had such developed physique.
In the silence, the Tower Master planted his staff down with a thud.
“I’ll ask you directly.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Is it true you created one hundred sixty-six defense scrolls in a single day and activated one hundred seventy-two the next?”
“Yes, sir.”
After my response, a brief silence fell.
I thought the information would never reach the Magic Tower…
‘Who on earth reported this to the Magic Tower? The Tower is so isolated from the outside world—there’s no way they would have heard rumors.’
Even our department’s Minister of Education seemed completely uninterested.
While I stood there dumbfounded, the Tower Master approached with gleaming eyes.
He then grabbed my shoulders and spoke.
“You’re from the Academy, aren’t you? You hid your abilities there?”
“Yes? Yes.”
“You didn’t want to enter the Magic Tower—you had some personal circumstances?”
“Yes? Yes.”
“You kept it hidden well, but when a situation arose where you couldn’t hide anymore, you used your abilities?”
“Yes? Yes.”
“I see. Everything checks out.”
The Tower Master grinned. The old man’s laughter was so bright and cheerful it was almost startling.
“Then let’s go to the Magic Tower now.”
“Yes. Yes?”
The Tower Master flipped me over and hoisted me onto his shoulder in one swift motion.
The world spun in an instant. The Tower Master declared triumphantly.
“Normally we only accept those under twenty to keep them innocent, but a genius like this can absolutely never be let go!”
“Yes. Yes?”
“Twenty-three years old, you say? Then you’ll stay until you’re forty.”
The Tower Master hoisted me onto his shoulder and turned his gaze toward Kiaros. Then he spoke in one breath.
“Ah, regarding the opinion document His Majesty requested—I’ll answer it like this: Namia Loapi is a magical genius and must be brought to the Magic Tower. There is no room for agreement or negotiation. That’s final.”
I fell into a panic in that instant.
It felt like a demon was whispering in my ear, “Just go!”
Because in the original story, the Magic Tower remained safe even during the war.
‘If I’m dragged away like this, I can safely spend my time researching magic I enjoy at the Magic Tower! I’m confident about ignoring worldly affairs!’
The Magic Tower, indifferent to worldly matters, never involved itself in the war whatsoever.
And the forces behind the war never dared touch the Magic Tower.
That’s why the protagonist later suspected, “Isn’t the Magic Tower behind this?” Of course, it wasn’t.
But I had to come to my senses.
‘Get it together, Namia! I need to meet Father! He said he’d find me soon!’
I barely regained my composure and, still clinging to the Tower Master’s shoulder, spoke.
“Um, um… Tower Master. I don’t want to go…”
After saying it, I felt a bit foolish.
I’d hidden my abilities from the Academy precisely because I didn’t want to go to the Magic Tower, so surely he should have known I wouldn’t want to go?
But the Tower Master chuckled and laughed.
“Of course you don’t!”
“Yes. Yes?”
“But you’re going anyway!”
He was absolutely unreasonable. That’s when it happened.
The world, which had been upside down, flipped right-side up again.
Surprisingly, it was Kiaros who snatched me from the Tower Master and held me.
“It seems Namia Loapi doesn’t wish to go.”
Kiaros held me like a princess as he spoke.
“Loapi is a civil servant of the Imperial Family. The Imperial Family has a duty to protect her.”
He held me firmly, as if he would never let me be taken away.
The Tower Master swung his staff and shouted.
“Nonsense!”
A staff wasn’t necessary to activate scrolls.
The Tower Master’s gait was also impeccably perfect.
From that perspective, the staff was simply a weapon.
“A genius must always be in their proper place!”
Then the Empress tore a club from the wall and stepped forward.
“Is that so? Then Namia should remain as a civil servant!”
The Empress swung the club and blocked the staff.
Meanwhile, Kiaros, still holding me, leaped backward with a bound.
The Empress laughed with a snort and bellowed loudly.
“Our Namia is an incredibly brilliant genius civil servant, you know? She memorizes all the legal clauses and examines documents meticulously, you know? She does her work exceptionally well and writes excellent reports, you know? She even creates these bizarre scrolls we’ve never heard of before, and she helps the Imperial Family in the most amazing ways, you know?”
“Are you insane? Are you really comparing a civil servant to a mage right now?”
“Did you just make a discriminatory remark about my profession? Really? In an age where a mercenary can become Empress?”
The Tower Master and the Empress clashed repeatedly, their power levels perfectly matched.
The Empress blocked my path and shouted.
“I will never let anyone take my Namia Loapi away!”
In an instant, the chamber descended into chaos.
However, since it was the Empress’s Chamber, no one dared to protest.
Throughout it all, the Emperor remained silent.
“Your Majesty, shouldn’t we try to stop them?”
The Minister of Justice, standing right beside the Emperor, spoke cautiously.
Yet the Emperor merely smiled with satisfaction.
“No, no.”
The Emperor patted the Minister of Justice on the back and spoke.
“I’m a selfish parent—I don’t want to interrupt my son’s precious moment.”
At those words, Kiaros released a heavy sigh and whispered softly.
“Well, that’s… Your Majesty is under a misunderstanding.”
“I see.”
“…Don’t people usually ask what the misunderstanding is?”
Even as he spoke, the Empress and Tower Master’s physical combat continued, destroying furniture throughout the chamber.
Kiaros leaped backward once more, shielding me from the Empress’s cudgel, then continued awkwardly.
“It’s… the misunderstanding that I’ve liked you for a long time.”
“I see.”
“…Don’t people usually ask why or at least show some surprise?”
That was when it happened.
Realizing he couldn’t overpower the Empress, the Tower Master threw down his staff.
Then he suddenly sat at the table and raised his chin.
“Fine, let’s discuss something else for now.”
It was a remarkable shift in approach.
“I heard the Crown Prince requested viewing rights to the Scroll Creation Department.”
At that, the Minister of Justice, who had released a heavy sigh, trudged over and sat beside the Tower Master.
And he spoke as if offering a correction.
“It’s the Scroll Magic Department, Tower Master.”
“Ah, is that so? Anyway, that place.”
Kiaros released a heavy sigh and set me down as he spoke.
“It’s the Scroll Management Department.”
As expected, only Kiaros knew the correct name of my department.
Kiaros even pulled over a chair and guided me to sit.
‘Am I really allowed to sit here?’
And so, six people found themselves seated at the table.
The Aide busily swept away fragments of the cudgel and staff.
‘I’m in an even lower position than that Aide, aren’t I?’
Sitting at a table with six people felt like sitting on pins and needles.
The Emperor, the Empress, the Crown Prince, the Tower Master, the Minister of Justice, and a lowly civil servant.
If Kiaros hadn’t personally guided me to my seat, I would have naturally assisted the Aide with his duties.
“The Magic Tower expresses profound regret regarding this matter.”
The Tower Master spoke solemnly, his expression rigid and unyielding.
I’d anticipated trouble, but this was far more serious than expected.
‘As I thought. The Minister of Education’s petition seems to have borne fruit.’
Though I’d heard rumors of dismissals…
Still, if word spread that I’d used my viewing authority to mass-terminate Scroll Management Department staff, it would create enormous friction.
I was nervously gauging the situation when it happened.
“As a means of resolving this regret, we demand that Namia Loapi be sent to the Magic Tower.”
…What?
Wasn’t that matter already settled?
The Empress then slammed the table with a bang and spoke.
“What does regret matter now? Don’t you know spies keep emerging from that Scroll Department or whatever?”
“I don’t know!”
“You’re telling me you don’t know those department people slandered me and participated in an assassination attempt on the Crown Prince?”
“I don’t know!”
The Empress and the Tower Master continued their exchange, their voices ringing out sharply.
In a way, they seemed to be on the same level.
“We need to dismantle that entire department right now!”
No, this can’t happen!
Just as I desperately looked toward the Tower Master, hoping he might stop this…
“Is that so?”
A gleam of delight spread across the Tower Master’s face like madness.
“Then all the staff will be dismissed. Namia Loapi, no longer a civil servant, will be taken by the Magic Tower.”
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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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