Chapter 7
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Chapter 7 'But the fact that I'm a low-ranking official who can barely exchange words with Crown Prince Kiaros is too great an obstacle. Unless I become a minister or something....' In any case, I didn't think my competence would become known through this work. 'Of course, Luca Class, who works in a merit-based organization, wouldn't guess that.' In the original story, Luca Class rescues the protagonist Young Prince Jayden from the Imperial Palace thrown into chaos by war and escapes with him. And with remarkable medical skill, he heals all of Jayden's knights. 'Anyway, at least he's not someone involved with the forces behind the war. Even though he exits quickly, he's still a benevolent extra after all.' I, who couldn't even become that benevolent extra, blinked slowly and continued speaking indifferently.
"Who would even care about Scroll activation? Our department is where interns who came saying they were interested in the Scroll Management Department quit after just one day. What are you expecting?"
Then Luca Class furrowed his brow and asked.
"An intern came to your department?"
"Yeah."
I muttered, recalling the intern who boasted of her pretty face even while wearing glasses.
"But she was a real piece of work, only knowing how to assert her own rights."
"What?"
"The first task I gave her was to move two boxes fifteen minutes before quitting time, and she refused. Can you believe it? She was so full of herself when demanding document access permissions."
Luca Class responded to my words with an angry expression.
"She really was a piece of work. Someone like that needs to taste the bitterness of organizational life."
"Exactly. If she'd stayed under me longer, I would've rolled her around until she cultivated the proper attitude of a responsible member of society."
But now there was no point in thinking about it. Yesterday morning, I processed her resignation and revoked her access permissions. 'Just to revoke that one permission, I had to rush through documents on a busy morning when I had external business.' With everything already hectic, I was honestly a bit annoyed. But since it was security-related work, processing it first was only natural.
"Phew... I should get cleaned up now."
I stretched with better condition than ever before. I was about to head to work right away. * * * Crown Prince Kiaros had been receiving reports from the White Knight Commander since dawn.
"Your Highness, the Scroll Management Department is apparently preparing disciplinary action, saying that Namia Loapi made an error in inventory assessment."
"What?"
At the word "discipline," Crown Prince Kiaros furrowed his brow. Since he had been beside Namia Loapi when he infiltrated as an intern, he had heard the conversation she had with the Team Leader. [Team Leader, isn't six defensive Scrolls too few?] Crown Prince Kiaros had even gone to the Warehouse himself. There were definitely six defensive Scrolls. 'The fact that it suddenly became 172 sheets was probably....' Namia Loapi, who had requested parchment and ink for Scroll creation in large quantities just before quitting time. Namia Loapi, who had been standing there clearly having worked through the night yesterday morning. As Crown Prince Kiaros fell into thought, the White Knight Commander spoke carefully.
"In recent years, the Scrolls sent along for escort have been around five or fewer, so it seems the department thought six would be sufficient."
He tilted his head with a confused expression.
"To be honest, I thought six scrolls would suffice. I've never seen defensive scrolls in action before. But seeing it firsthand, six scrolls wouldn't nearly be enough."
Crown Prince Kiaros was equally unfamiliar with scrolls. 'There aren't many people who understand scrolls in detail anyway. Those who do know tend to be inside the Magic Tower.' Magic was the domain of the Magic Tower, and the Magic Tower was an extremely closed organization. Moreover, the Tower Master was notoriously difficult, temperamental, and petty—best left untouched. Crown Prince Kiaros spoke quietly.
"I suspect Namia Loapi spent that entire night creating 166 scrolls."
"Is it even possible for one person to create 166 scrolls in a single night?"
The White Knight Commander blinked with a bewildered expression before adding.
"Still, it's remarkable that 172 scrolls were activated in the first place. I've never witnessed such a sight."
"Hmm."
"Are scrolls normally activated so easily? But if Namia were truly such an exceptional talent, she would have already entered the Magic Tower..."
The White Knight Commander scratched his chin with a puzzled look. Crown Prince Kiaros furrowed his brow, staring only at the report.
"Hmm."
A brief silence fell. The White Knight Commander, thinking the discussion about scrolls had ended, subtly broached a new topic.
"Still, we ought to bestow a reward, shouldn't we? Of course, Your Highness likely avoided all danger yourself, but in any case, Namia was the only one who properly fulfilled her duty of protection."
He had no inkling whatsoever that Crown Prince Kiaros was in his dark period.
"Following precedent, wouldn't it be appropriate to grant her an Imperial Commendation?"
The White Knight Commander's suggestion was certainly reasonable. However, Crown Prince Kiaros ignored the White Knight Commander's words and issued a command.
"First, inform the Tower Master of this matter and bring back their opinion."
At that, the White Knight Commander furrowed his brow and questioned uncertainly.
"The Tower Master? Really? They probably won't care anyway..."
"If I can't grasp something clearly myself, I should at least seek an expert's opinion."
Even if she herself didn't understand it, Namia was his savior. So he wanted to face her directly and express his genuine gratitude.
"And when Namia regains consciousness, report to me immediately. I'll visit her myself."
He found himself recalling those sparkling eyes he'd seen that night, and wanted to see them once more.
"Since we've provided the Imperial Medical Ward, she'll likely rest there for about a day."
He swept his hair back and settled into his seat. The unexpected assassination attempt had kept him far too busy. He'd barely slept the previous night, but at least now he'd found some time. He intended to personally review the documents from the Scroll Management Department. It seemed likely that some nefarious force was hidden within that department. 'There's truly so much to do. Still, I should be able to review some of it before Namia Loapi regains consciousness.' However, the moment he placed his hand on the summoning circle atop his desk under the name Kibon Altes to summon documents. As if mocking him, a decisive message appeared on the document summoning circle. 【You lack authorization.】 '...Huh?' 【Kibon Altes, authority revoked due to resignation on October 20th.】 'What...?' October 20th was the day of the attack. He sat frozen, mouth agape, unable to form words. 【Processed by - Namia Loapi】 Since it was the final entry, Namia Loapi's name hadn't been erased. Crown Prince Kiaros stared intently at that name. 'This makes no sense.' So she'd crafted the Scroll throughout the night, then processed the resignation and revoked his authority the very next morning? That foolish woman—I thought she didn't even understand what authority I'd granted her! I'd even considered using this as leverage to dismantle the entire Scroll Management Department! 'What on earth is this woman?' Being generous, I'd anticipated she might handle the resignation processing herself. But I'd assumed there would be three days of leeway before the business trip the following day. Yet she'd done it immediately, deliberately processing it the very next day while severing his authority! 'How did such a meticulous talent spend three years and seven months as merely the newest member of the Scroll Management Department?' I'd thought her foolish, yet she recites legal clauses flawlessly. I'd thought her incompetent, yet she handles Scrolls brilliantly. I'd thought her irresponsible, yet she's meticulous about security. Crown Prince Kiaros sat frozen, his expression utterly bewildered. That was when it happened.
"Your Highness."
The Aide, who had stepped out briefly, returned with a report.
"It appears that Namia Loapi has regained consciousness."
"Is that so? Then I should head to the Medical Ward right away—" "Ah, no, Your Highness."
As Crown Prince Kiaros rose to his feet, the Aide hastily added, "The moment she regained consciousness, she went straight to the Scroll Management Department to report for duty!"
"What?"
Crown Prince Kiaros was so exasperated he pressed his forehead again. And on top of everything else, why must she be so diligent!
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