The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success - Chapter 9

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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 9
“Namia! Are you listening? Huh? Are you ignoring me right now? Why aren’t you answering?”
In this situation, whether I answered or not made no difference. I’d be criticized either way.
I simply had to drag things out with vague responses.
“…I wasn’t accepted to the Magic Tower because my abilities were insufficient…”
“If your grades weren’t good enough, you shouldn’t have shown off in the first place!”
I lowered my head and arranged my expression into one of deep remorse.
“The Crown Prince is a prodigy! There were five members of the White Knight Order! He could have dodged those arrows perfectly fine without you stepping in!”
No… he wouldn’t have been able to dodge them.
But it seemed everyone else thought otherwise.
Not that Kiaros was foolish—he certainly wouldn’t reveal that he was in his second dark period in a situation like this.
‘He probably won’t reveal it in the future either.’
The Crown Prince wouldn’t expose that he’d grown weaker.
Besides, the dark periods of prodigies were typically classified information.
While I was lost in thought, Oson tilted his chin up and began to mock me.
“Thanks to Namia’s brilliance, everyone else knows about it now. Right?”
“Ah, yes…”
“Why do you show no signs of reflection? Are you saying you did well by answering so readily?”
Sigh… See? Whether I answer or not, I get criticized.
“If you’re so talented, why work as part of a team? Huh? Why are you even in an organization?”
For the money, obviously.
Of course, I could never say that in any situation.
“If you’re going to act independently without considering your colleagues, you shouldn’t have joined an organization in the first place! I’m absolutely exhausted!”
I wish I’d been tired enough to just skip work today…
When I fell silent, Oson slammed his desk and spoke.
“You’re going to handle this.”
Ah. We’d smoothly transitioned to the next phase, as expected.
This meant ‘Now I’ll announce my conclusion.’ It also meant I could finally see the end of this uncomfortable ordeal.
Sure enough, Oson declared solemnly.
“Write a statement of circumstances.”
“A statement of circumstances? What do you mean…?”
“There were 172 scrolls in inventory, but we mistakenly thought there were only six, and we gathered them all just before departure. Receive one light disciplinary measure and call it even.”
Wow, exactly as I’d predicted.
At that moment, the Minister of Education standing behind Oson glanced at me with a subtle wink.
His lips moved silently.
The shape of the Minister of Education’s mouth, moving soundlessly so only I could understand, spelled out exactly…
‘Imperial Palace commendation.’
As expected.
Since the situation unfolded exactly as I’d anticipated, there was no tension in it.
The commendation would arrive soon, so for now I should just let this slide without objection.
No matter how incompetent, a minister is still a minister. So he probably came here with relevant information.
‘Indeed, it seems the Crown Prince will be presenting me with a commendation. He truly is a man of honor.’
That much was satisfactory enough for me.
‘And as expected, the Minister of Education has no intention of reporting this matter to the Magic Tower.’
Well, that was fine too.
I’d never held great expectations for this organization from the start.
Simply because it technically belonged to the Magic Tower on the organizational chart, it was paradoxically the only department within the Imperial Palace that could evade the interference of superiors.
Perhaps that’s why this department was a place where everything just limped along day after day, where personal safety was all that mattered.
‘I’m no different from those people anyway.’
To feel disillusioned about such things, I had already adapted far too well to this place.
‘Though it seems like I wasn’t always this way when I first started.’
Honestly, at first… I had held quite high hopes about working in the Scroll Management Department.
I probably would have applied to the Scroll Management Department even if I’d ranked first on the entrance exam.
‘There was a time when I loved magic so much and found studying scrolls truly enjoyable…’
But after spending three years and seven months in this hopeless organization,
my ideals had been steadily shattered, and my initial passion had already grown dim.
Even now, since I’d anticipated this situation all along, I felt no particular disappointment.
“You don’t like it? You don’t like it?! Huh? Why aren’t you answering?”
Oson spoke with his eyes wide open in irritation.
“If you don’t like it, leave the Imperial Palace. Then you can just work alone!”
“I was just… you told me not to answer a moment ago…”
“This is exactly the problem! This is why! Why do you have such poor judgment? Huh? How are you even surviving in this organization like this?”
I was starting to grow tired of this situation too.
I put on an expression of reflection and glanced at the clock.
It was time for the first task to begin in any department.
‘By now, the Imperial Family commendation should be arriving from the Knight Order.’
That was when it happened.
Bang.
The door opened, and I even heard the sound of the doorknob striking the wall.
‘As expected! They’re here now!’
My, the sound of opening that door certainly had impact.
Probably a messenger from the White Knight Order would be bringing the commendation?
‘Now I can finally see the menu!’
It was when I turned around in anticipation.
“How amusing.”
A chilling voice struck my ears.
Eyes that gleamed with an eerie crimson hue. Golden hair as brilliant as captured sunlight. Tall stature and excellent proportions, firm musculature and a perfectly balanced frame.
A man whose every aspect was flawlessly perfect was smiling crookedly.
“Truly amusing.”
Above all, he possessed a unique aura that made people tremble with unease.
The entire Department froze—but this time, it was a different kind of silence than when Oson had screamed moments ago.
As if accustomed to such eerie quiet and submission, he spoke with elegant precision.
“Since when could a Team Leader discuss dismissals without Imperial Family approval?”
He hadn’t even raised his voice. Yet my legs began to tremble of their own accord. Oson looked ready to topple backward.
In that moment, the Minister of Education was the first to regain his composure, lurching to his feet.
“Y-Your Highness the Crown Prince!”
Wait, what is this?!
Why did Kiaros come instead of the certificate of commendation?!
I fell into a panic, my breathing becoming ragged.
‘This can’t be happening! Did he hear everything Oson said earlier?’
It was far too unexpected a situation.
I found myself helpless against the thundering of my own heart.
‘If there’s anything he didn’t hear, I need to tell him somehow!’
The atmosphere in the Department was truly no laughing matter. It felt as though ice water had been poured over us all.
Now Oson was trembling so pitifully that his entire body shook.
‘U-ugh….’
Kiaros hadn’t shouted. He hadn’t made any overtly threatening gestures.
Yet all of us were careful not to even breathe audibly.
‘The pressure he exudes… is truly overwhelming….’
I felt as though I would suffocate beneath the weight of his silence.
“So this is how the Department has been operating. You dare speak of disciplining someone for their personal achievements?”
Kiaros spoke slowly, his crimson eyes gleaming with sharp intensity.
Though I wore an expression of sheer terror, inwardly I felt a wave of relief wash over me.
‘I don’t need to tell him. He heard everything.’
In Kiaros’s voice that followed, clear anger resonated.
“I’ve been truly incompetent. How can I govern the Empire if I can’t even manage a single Imperial organization?”
This was his way of saying, ‘I will govern the Empire, and I will deal with all of you accordingly.’
Kiaros spoke coldly to the Minister of Education.
“Transfer your document access authority for the Scroll Management Department to me immediately. I will manage this organization directly for now.”
This was genuinely surprising. He was demanding access authority? So bluntly and directly?
“B-but the Magic Tower’s permission is required… Ah, no. I misspoke, Your Highness. I will prepare the documents at once.”
The Minister of Education hastily signed the documents transferring the access authority. Watching him, I shrugged inwardly.
‘The Magic Tower is going to have a fit.’
I shared the Minister’s concerns regarding the Magic Tower.
‘The Tower Master will surely clash with him over this… Did he really need to demand it so openly and directly?’
The Magic Tower had no intention of managing us, yet they wanted to maintain their pride against the Imperial Family.
‘If he coveted the access authority, couldn’t he have just used some underhanded loophole that no one would notice….’

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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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