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Chapter 7
“So they came to verify that you really are a Crystal Whale Ecology Investigator officially dispatched from the Imperial Palace. The Magic Tower Lord himself came in person!”
For a moment, I just stood there blankly, wondering if I had heard correctly. Then my face heated up instantly.
“So you really are a government official. Sorry for doubting you.”
Kade, you bastard. So that’s why he suddenly said that. Even after seeing my identification card, my Communicator ability, and my badge, he still didn’t believe me and had to verify my identity? Personally?
The bad rumors about me had apparently spread all the way here already. Before I had even started work, I seemed to have been marked as a person of interest.
“We’ve never received a request like that from the Magic Tower before. Just how suspicious did you look? To be mistaken for an impostor even while wearing an official government uniform?”
“……”
I could feel everyone’s eyes in the office focused on me.
But nobody was actually waiting for my explanation.
They were simply enjoying the sight of an unwelcome outsider being put in her place.
At least nobody suspects that I know the Magic Tower Lord personally. I should just pretend to be remorseful.
I lowered my head and acted dejected.
Eventually, even the administrator seemed to tire of scolding me.
“The observatory’s work is directly connected to the safety of coastal residents and sailors. I understand you’ve come because of matters involving the Magic Tower, but if you neglect your duties here, I will immediately send a report to the Imperial Capital. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
I bowed obediently and sat at the desk he vaguely pointed toward.
It had belonged to the previous employee who had been transferred elsewhere.
As I arranged my belongings on the desk, I discreetly looked around the office.
The desks were smaller than those in the Imperial Capital, and the office itself was cramped, but it had everything necessary.
Except for the documents that were supposed to be on my desk.
The Director said he’d send the paperwork here. What happened to it?
The Director’s nickname was “While You’re At It.”
Since I would be staying in Melgot anyway to obtain the Magic Tower Lord’s seal, he had conveniently assigned me to the Marine Observatory and dumped all the magical-beast-related work on me as well.
Considering how eagerly he had pushed those documents onto me, there was no way they would arrive late.
I looked around, but there didn’t seem to be any place in the office where mail was stored.
Who should I ask?
After some hesitation, I quietly addressed the employee sitting beside me.
“Where do I collect documents sent from the Imperial Capital?”
“Check the handover documents.”
“Oh. Right.”
The answer came back sharp and immediate.
I searched every corner of my desk but found no such documents.
“I can’t find the handover documents.”
“They aren’t there? Maybe the previous employee didn’t leave any. Then I don’t know.”
“……”
The employee turned away as though making it clear that further conversation was unwelcome.
I decided to look for the Imperial Capital paperwork later and focus on learning the essentials first.
I should start by reviewing Melgot’s magical-beast distribution records.
But no matter how many drawers I searched, there wasn’t a single document related to magical beasts.
As far as I knew, the previous employee’s job had been recording magical-beast appearances according to marine climate conditions.
Yet the only things filed away were ocean climate analyses and weather charts.
Are those records stored somewhere else?
After another moment of hesitation, I spoke to the employee beside me again.
“There aren’t any materials here about magical beasts.”
Though visibly annoyed, they at least answered.
“The previous employee took all of them.”
That answer only created a new problem.
“What? Why?”
“I think they requested permission to remove them for a consortium presentation.”
“Then how am I supposed to—”
“Just do the job. You learn those things naturally while working, don’t you?”
How exactly was I supposed to learn anything without materials?
At this point, I couldn’t tell whether they were treating me coldly because of the rumors or if proper workplace handovers simply didn’t exist here.
“Then where are the older records kept?”
At my question, the employee slammed their pen onto the desk.
“Where do you think? The archives, obviously. Do they really explain every little thing to you in the Imperial Capital like you’re a child?”
“At least they conduct proper handovers.”
The retort slipped out before I could stop myself.
I regretted it immediately.
The employee glared at me furiously, and behind them I noticed the administrator shooting me an incredulous look.
Claiming I was going to search for the previous records, I quietly escaped the office.
The moment I got away from the suffocating partitions and judgmental stares, I could finally breathe.
This place has even worse territorial attitudes than the Imperial Capital.
The observatory was somehow more uncomfortable than the Magic Tower.
I hadn’t eaten anything, yet I felt as if I had indigestion.
The building wasn’t particularly large, but its layout was confusing.
After wandering around for quite some time, I finally located the archives.
I signed my name in the visitor log and entered the shelves containing external documents.
The paperwork was easy enough to find.
Oh, for heaven’s sake, Director…
The towering mountain of documents left me speechless.
There was far too much to carry by hand.
I fetched a trolley and began stacking them neatly inside.
How long does he think I’ll be staying in Melgot?
Apparently even the Director didn’t believe I’d obtain the Magic Tower Lord’s seal anytime soon.
Just then, several people in white lab coats entered the archive room.
Earlier, while wandering through the observatory, I had passed several laboratories.
They appeared to be researchers from those labs.
Their eyes widened when they saw the sheer volume of documents I was loading onto the trolley.
When our gazes met, they awkwardly smiled.
I smiled awkwardly in return and continued stacking files.
Then their conversation drifted over to me.
“Thinking about it now, that was way too close. The monsters seem to be multiplying faster and faster.”
“Who’d want to board a research vessel when things are like this?”
“We deserve hazard pay.”
The Marine Observatory apparently housed monster researchers as well.
Since monsters emerged from the sea, it made sense to gather them here.
“For the time being, I doubt any research ships will be sailing. Still, the Magic Tower has finally stepped in. Things should be cleared up within a few days.”
“They say the Magic Tower Lord is a lunatic, but at least he does his job.”
“Would the Imperial Palace let him get away with it otherwise? Still, seeing an entire group of mages moving together was pretty impressive.”
Magic Tower Lord? Mages?
The words immediately caught my attention.
My hands slowed.
Having apparently just returned from a research vessel, the researchers continued talking about the mages out at sea.
Absentmindedly, I touched the government badge pinned to my chest.
…I never thought he was lying, exactly. But it really was because of the monsters.
The current Kade was difficult to trust.
Only after hearing about his actions from other people did the information seem to settle properly in my mind.
Whatever the case, I hoped it wouldn’t take too long.
The Magic Tower Lord has to actually be in the Magic Tower before I can bring him official documents.
I had thought the observatory would be better than the Imperial Capital.
At this point, even the Magic Tower seemed more comfortable.
Pushing the increasingly heavy trolley, I muttered under my breath.
Come back soon, Kade. I want this temporary assignment to end before I even have time to finish all these documents.
***
The freezing sea wind whipped violently at the hems of their robes.
Without magically heated warming stones and temperature-maintenance spells, the weather would have been unbearable.
The mages flew above the stormy sea, hunting monsters.
“Magic Tower Lord! You’re moving too fast! The rear squad won’t be able to keep up!”
Ben hurried after Kade and shouted.
Kade, who had been flying ahead without even glancing back, finally came to a stop in midair.
His gaze remained fixed on the distant sea.
The appearance of monsters never ended.
No matter how many days they spent exterminating them, the creatures would swarm back within a month.
People called the sea the origin of magic.
As if proving that claim, monsters always emerged from the sea.
To prevent them from advancing toward the coast and attacking docks and villages, the Magic Tower constantly exchanged information with the Coastal Guard and the Marine Observatory.
The farther north they traveled, the greater the number of monsters became.
Yet no region of the sea was truly safe.
Anyone whose skin came into contact with land or objects corrupted by monsters often suffered from severe fever.
…If she’s a Crystal Whale Ecology Investigator, she’ll be going out to sea frequently.
Since their unexpected reunion, Kade found himself repeatedly replaying images of Vivian in his mind.
The way she had grabbed his robe when she sensed the magical beasts approaching.
The way she had stood in front of him to protect them.
The way she had communicated with magical beasts using a power that resembled the waves themselves.
Vivian was a magical-beast Communicator.
Before they broke up, he had believed he knew everything about her.
Yet within a single year, something had changed.
One year was not a short amount of time.
But neither was it long enough for a person to become someone entirely different.
Aside from becoming a Communicator, Vivian was exactly as he remembered.
From her green eyes that resembled a lush forest to her love of books—enough books to fill an entire carriage bound for Melgot.
She lived near the Imperial Capital, where she would rarely encounter the overwhelming magical power of magical beasts directly. So how did she become a Communicator?
The ability to communicate with magical beasts was extraordinary in itself.
But that wasn’t the only remarkable thing about Vivian.
