Extra Chapter 2 – The Crown Prince Bothers the Civil Servant (2)
The guest who came to visit was a man who I had helped a while ago. He was almost pickpocketed at a cafe where I went to play hooky when I was still a probationary civil servant.
"Ahahaha! I'm glad you still remember me. I said I was going to repay the favor, but since I came so late, I thought you might have forgotten."
Looking at his smiling face, I felt strange, as if I knew his face from somewhere else too. He looked like someone I knew. I replied with a light smile, "No, actually, I had forgotten it, since it was only a moment."
I didn't have much worldly knowledge, but I think I've had a good family education, so I figured it would be fine as long as I wasn't too rude.
"Ahahaha. So you did? I was a bit busy after the New Year's Festival. Well, you knew that already. There was an emergency, the saintess was sneak attacked by black magicians at the Martial Arts Competition."
"That's true."
It hadn't been that hectic for me because I had just finished my probation, but the inner palace must have been bustling.
"A few months later, after the situation calmed down, I tried to find you. But things got chaotic again because of the flood of demons from the Demon's Territory."
I was taken away too, during that time.
"After that I kept trying, but everything was a dead end. It didn't help that there were photos missing from the documents too."
My aunt did that. She seemed to be doing well, as per the contract.
"Besides, isn't your first name and last name a little common? It was hard to find you because there were sixteen civil servants with the same name in just the capital."
'Denburg' was not a common name, but 'Den' was. The 'Mark' I used as a surname was even more common. If you picked thirty passersby at random, at least one of them would have the surname "Mark." I suddenly had a question for the young man in front of me.
"I just picked up the wallet and showed you the way, so it would have been okay if you just moved on. Is there a reason why you've been so dedicated to looking for me?"
He laughed heartily at my question.
"There's no big reason. I just wanted to keep my word. Of course, it's not that I don't have a plan at all."
It's not that I don't have a plan, he says.
For some reason, I felt disturbed and hesitant to hear about what his plan was. It definitely seemed like it was going to be annoying.
"If you don't mind, can I hear about your plan?"
With a bright smile, he said "Even though I say 'plan', it's not anything shady or bad. In short, I need a guide to inspect the people's livelihood, so I'm going to follow you for a while."
My prediction was right on the mark. This man was trying to annoy me.
"I'm sorry, but if that's the case, I'll have to refuse. Although I am a minor civil servant, I cannot work with outsiders due to issues of confidentiality. I ask for your understanding."
He smiled slyly as if he had expected my refusal.
"Don't worry about that. I've received permission from your immediate supervisor in advance."
"… What?"
"I'm not a person without a case, either. I am a man who knows the manners and rules for using people. I have Sir Asilante's permission, so your responsibility to uphold confidentiality doesn't apply to me. So what do you say?"
I frowned. "I'm sorry, but do you mind if I go meet my immediate supervisor for a moment?"
"Ahahaha! Of course. I think I just caught you off guard before the order was given. I'm sorry."
* * *
I knocked on the door of the guild director's office with annoyance.
"It's Den. May I come in?"
"Oh, come on in."
With the guild director's permission, I opened the door without hesitation and entered. He had two guests already.
"Huh?? You!"
The guest who spoke up looked pleasantly surprised to see me. I smiled when I realized who it was.Get faster updates on novelping dot com.
"Long time no see. How long has it been, almost a year?"
He was the man who was responsible for the security of the capital, the vice-captain of the White Deer Knights. His name was... Burden. I would guess that his first name was 'Bur' and his last name was 'Den'. Honestly though, it was none of my business. After our quick reunion, Guild Director Glont looked at us in surprise.
"Ohoho. Do you two know each other?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "No, I wouldn't go as far as to say we know each other. As you know, when I was on probation, I was caught up in an incident and was briefly indebted."
It was a small incident where, unfortunately, the director of the department I entered was almost poisoned. Burden had come to the scene, but ultimately he was insignificant in my life, just a passerby. Guild Director Glont nodded as if he had guessed what the incident was.
"Aha, I see. Indeed, that case did fall under the jurisdiction of the White Deer Knights. Ohohoho, you worked hard on that one."
The leader of the White Deer Knights bowed.
"No, we just did what we had to do."
"Ohohoho, doing what you have to do deserves praise. As I said when you were my subordinate, you'll be more loved if you're more flexible."
It seemed that Burden had been Guild Director Glont's army subordinate in the past. It wasn't that strange, since they were in a closed-off hierarchical organization like the military. The higher the rank, the easier it was to connect. Guild Director Glont had been at the peak of the military in the past.
"… I'll keep that in mind. But I don't think we can claim we solved that case, we just finished up what my colleague started. I'd be ashamed to accept praise for it."
"Sure, it's also necessary as a leader to acknowledge the achievements of others."
Guild Director Glont looked nice and yet smiled like a pervert. He turned towards me and asked me, "It's already time to be off work, so what are you here for?"
"Oh... I was about to leave work, but a blonde guest who seemed to be a high-ranking noble of some kind suddenly came to me and told me that he will follow me, and that you allowed it."
Guild Director Glont sarcastically pretended to be surprised, dramatically bringing his hand to his mouth.
"Oh my, did he?"
Judging from his reaction, it seemed true that Guild Director Glont allowed it.
"I don't know who he is and for what purpose he wants to follow me, and I don't want to know. I have to do what the boss tells me to do. However, I will begin temporarily working outside starting tomorrow, so I would like someone else to be the guide."
"Working outside? What kind of work?"
It seemed the report hadn't been posted yet. Well, a decision made an hour ago couldn't have already been reported.
"You know. Selecting protective magic equipment for the curriculum linked to the magic school and the knights school."
"Oh! That? Den, you decided to do that?"
"Yes, I'm in charge because the others said they don't know how to assess magic tools."
In response, Guild Director Glont nodded.
"You're a talented person who Dane Walker recognizes, so I can leave it to you with confidence. I heard you were recently offered a special scholarship at the magic school."
"I turned it down. If I leave, Demuir will cry and grab onto my pant legs."
In truth, Demuir's tears weren't what was holding me back. I didn't go because I just didn't want to.
Guild Director Glont laughed cheerfully.
"That's right. Hey, good thing you refused, I'm glad I'm not losing someone like you. Oh, do you want some cookies?"
I took a cookie. "Thank you. So the primary screening is over, and in addition to the selected samples, I think I'll have to take a look at the production around the magic towers before I make my selection."
"That's true, it's common for samples to look polished, but then the actual product turns out to be trash. Okay. I'll talk to him and let you know tomorrow."
Him? Guild Director Glont refers to someone as 'him', except the emperor and the duke?
"I understand. Then I will leave work now."
"Okay, good job. See you tomorrow."
For some reason, I did not have a good feeling about this at all.
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My gut feeling was generally right. No, it was almost always right. Even though I did not have nearly as much foresight as my father, I was good enough to feel like I was looking at the answer sheet for a questionnaire. As I contemplated this, I didn't even know that my future had already been decided before I left work. I let out a loud sigh.
"Oh, what is that? Sighing as soon as you see a person's face."
Milpia frowned as if she didn't like my sigh. But I couldn't help but sigh, seeing my cousin who I didn't get along with right after getting off work.
"If you have any documents for me, please hand them over quickly and go." I said.
The reason she showed up that day was probably due to the noble young man who had visited me. She likely saw him and came to hand over information about the crown prince. Of course, I figured she would say that she just came here to play with her friends, Alice and Yuria. Milpia, who was making tea for them in the kitchen as a game penalty, looked at me sulkily.
"What documents? If you're going to request information, please send it through the official route. Don't ask for the results as soon as you see me all of a sudden." she said.
Huh? Am I wrong?
"Since the crown prince is sticking to me for a people inspection, weren't you here to tell me to be careful or something?" I asked.
Milpia pondered for a moment and looked at me as if I was crazy. Then she looked surprised, as if something came to mind suddenly.
"… Oh! Were you the one chosen as the guide for the crown prince's people inspection?"
"Didn't you know?"
When I looked at her unexpectedly, Milpia seemed offended. "What, do you think I'm some kind of pervert spying on other people's private lives all day?"
Isn't she? Whatever. Besides that, did she really just come to play today?
Milpia's crumpled her face and clicked her tongue at my surprised face.
"That's unpleasant." she huffed.
"Ahaha, I'm sorry. It's the best information organization in the world, so I just thought you'd definitely know."
Hearing my excuse, Milpia swallowed her anger and sighed.
"It's very hard to get information through the security of the imperial family. There is a delay of at least a week for less important information."
"But considering you frowned, I'm thinking you must have known without any delay?"
"It's because... I have a person next to me who keeps leaking information that I don't even want to know."
Milpia smiled bitterly and looked at the Third Princess playing card games in the living room.
"To be precise, she leaks information, and I make educated guesses based on what she tells me."
She seemed to be leaking information about her family in ignorance, thinking she was perfectly hiding her identity. Indeed, it didn't matter if she leaked information because it was far from confidential. The Third Princess was laughing and playing without knowing anything. Hillis, who was mingling with the magic school students, saw Milpia and me with tea and beckoned to us with her hand, asking to play together.
"So, is there anything to be careful about?"
Milpia gave me a strange look, followed by a grumpy smile.
"You have to pay for that information purchase, customer."
I laughed.
"Take it from the sales of the aphrodisiacs. Please give me the receipt with the account statements."
It had been a while since I sold aphrodisiacs in the shadows, and now the practice was quite profitable. Milpia had suffered quite a lot for the first month, but she seemed to have since established her own sales route.
"Tch! There's nothing to be careful about. If I had to say something, there are a few anti-imperial forces that have recently gathered in the shadow of the capital, but they are not even a threat. After all, they're a group of losers who lack solidarity."
"Is that all? You take money for such things?"
Milpia grumbled. "That's why I told you to request it through the official route. I don't have all the information in my head at all times. If you're dissatisfied, I'll organize it all for you, so you can pick it up after work tomorrow."
No, it certainly wasn't worth me worrying and going after the information. I decided I would just give him a proper tour of the capital.