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Chapter 8
The level of her communication ability was on an entirely different scale.
Even now, thinking back on how quickly the bat-like magical beasts had calmed down felt astonishing.
Was a communication ability really something a person could master as naturally as a part of their own body within just a year?
Among all the Communicators Kade had met, there had never been anyone like that.
A rumor surfaced in his memory.
The stronger the magical power a person was exposed to from magical beasts, the stronger their communication ability would become.
Could she have encountered a crystal whale?
The moment the thought crossed his mind, Kade let out a helpless laugh.
No way. She hates even putting her feet in the ocean.
Ben, standing beside him, looked puzzled.
“Why are you suddenly laughing?”
“…It’s nothing.”
Just then, the rear squad finally arrived.
However, there was someone among them who absolutely shouldn’t have been there.
Ben stared in disbelief.
“Lana?! What are you doing here?”
Still inexperienced with teleportation and flight magic, Lana was being carried by another mage as she stepped forward before Kade.
Kade frowned at the young mage he had specifically excluded from the monster-subjugation mission.
Then he turned toward the mage who had brought her here.
The mage flinched and began stammering.
“W-Well… she kept insisting she had to see you immediately, Magic Tower Lord. She made such a scene that I had no choice but to bring her.”
“Even so, you brought a child all the way to a monster extermination site—!”
While scolding the mage, Ben glanced at Lana.
Something felt off.
Although Lana was young, she had never thrown such an obvious tantrum before.
While everyone stood there confused, Lana pulled something from her pocket.
“Magic Tower Lord! Please take this!”
“……”
The moment he saw it, Kade immediately recognized what it was.
An invitation.
One of the countless invitations the Imperial Family had been sending him.
One of the invitations he had intentionally never touched.
The surrounding mages gasped and nervously watched Kade’s reaction.
“Y-You must be crazy! Why did you bring that here?”
“Someone claiming to be Her Imperial Highness the Princess’s maid came to the school today and gave it to me.”
“What?”
Kade’s eyes instantly sharpened.
“She said that if I didn’t deliver it to you today, they’d shut down the school…”
“…Unbelievable.”
The fact that they were threatening a child and using her as a tool made him laugh in disbelief.
“So, I suppose you still want to keep attending school?”
“Yes.”
Lana answered without the slightest hesitation.
Kade snatched the invitation from her hand.
Ben looked even more shocked than when he had first spotted Lana among the squad.
Despite her brave answer, Lana nervously watched Kade’s expression.
Then she began fidgeting.
“I delivered it, so… maybe you don’t have to open it?”
“Is that so?”
Now that they knew a way to deliver invitations to him existed, it was obvious they would continue threatening Lana until he accepted.
And Lana would be dragged into it whether she wanted to be or not.
“Persistent, aren’t they? I’ve already made it clear I have no intention of leaving Melgot except for monster extermination missions.”
Kade opened the envelope on the spot.
After reading the location written on the invitation, he let out a weary smile.
The expression plainly conveyed how predictable and tiresome he found the whole thing.
“What happened to the Princess’s dignity?”
He crumpled the invitation and stuffed it into his robe.
“You. Take Lana back to shore immediately.”
Then he looked at her.
“And you, Lana. Prepare to be punished.”
“Yes!”
Lana responded energetically, as if she hadn’t been gloomy at all moments ago.
Kade sighed and waved his hand dismissively, telling them to leave.
Then, after giving the other mages a brief signal, he resumed the extermination mission.
Pulling far ahead of the group, he began slaughtering the monsters on the ocean’s surface.
His magic was always astonishingly powerful.
But today, for some reason, he seemed impatient.
Ben hurried after him.
“Magic Tower Lord, why are you in such a rush today?”
“Someone’s waiting.”
“Huh? Who could possibly— Ah, the invitation.”
Without confirming or denying it, Kade unleashed another barrage of magical attacks onto the sea.
It looked as though a storm itself had descended upon the ocean.
***
Second day at the Marine Observatory.
“Enough! Stop asking so many questions!”
Administrator Yukel finally exploded.
Miscellaneous work.
Paperwork.
More miscellaneous work.
More paperwork.
And somehow, tasks that didn’t even seem like they belonged to me.
Caught in the middle of all that, I had two choices.
Either struggle through the work without knowing what I was doing because nobody had properly handed anything over…
Or ask questions every time I didn’t know something.
I chose the second option.
And I had a lot of questions.
“How long are you planning to keep working like this? Do I look like your private tutor?”
Administrator Yukel pounded his chest in frustration.
Not that he’s actually teaching me like one.
At first, he’d completely ignored me.
But after I kept asking, he eventually started answering.
Though most of his explanations felt like they were missing the important parts.
The only things he explained clearly were procedures that required approval at every step.
I hid my irritation and simply nodded along.
Then suddenly, someone’s arm wrapped around my shoulders.
I couldn’t think of anyone who would be familiar enough with me to do that.
Confused, I looked up.
A blonde woman I had never seen before was smiling brightly at me.
“Yukel, why are you yelling again?”
“Go away, Simona. You think I can stay calm? Just because she’s from the Imperial Capital, am I supposed to spoon-feed her every little thing?”
“Oh, stop getting worked up and go cool your head. I’ll talk to the prickly girl from the Capital.”
The administrator glared at the woman draped over my shoulder.
“You’re far too soft-hearted.”
Then, clutching his chest dramatically, he stormed out of the office.
Only after he left did the woman remove her arm and offer her hand.
“You’re Vivian, right? Nice to meet you. I’m Simona Hart, a senior researcher at the observatory.”
“Ah, yes. It’s nice to meet you too.”
As we shook hands, she shook her head.
“If you’re from the Imperial Palace, people should be trying to make a good impression on you. Why is everyone so eager to bully you instead?”
I briefly wondered if this was some new form of sarcasm.
Then she continued.
“Don’t worry about what Yukel said. I heard he chewed you out yesterday too. He’s not a bad person. Just a nag with a terrible personality.”
“…?”
“Impostors pretending to be government officials aren’t uncommon. The identity verification isn’t unusual. The fact that the Magic Tower Lord requested it personally is unusual, though.”
Now that she mentioned it, she had a point.
I still felt annoyed, but Kade was the Magic Tower Lord.
Technically, he did have the authority to verify my identity.
“Come with me. I heard you’ll be working here for a while. At least learn the layout of the observatory.”
“Thank you.”
Still somewhat dazed, I followed Researcher Simona.
She introduced me to the staff, showed me important locations, and even taught me shortcuts throughout the facility.
I had no idea there were so many hidden pathways inside the complicated building.
After more than a year as a government official, it felt like I had finally met a proper senior colleague.
Feeling unexpectedly excited, I absorbed everything she taught me and asked all the questions that had been piling up since yesterday.
“When a research vessel departs, do they coordinate schedules with the fishing captains beforehand?”
“Are the researchers considered part of the same department as the administrative staff?”
“I noticed an open area at the end of the northern corridor. Is that related to marine weather observation?”
At first, Simona answered every question cheerfully.
But as the questions accumulated, her expression gradually turned puzzled.
“How strange.”
“Hm?”
“Nothing. Come to think of it, you don’t know anyone in Melgot, do you?”
“Not really.”
A look of excitement appeared on her face.
“I’ve been invited to a birthday party tomorrow evening. Come with me. And stop calling me Researcher Simona. Just call me Senior.”
***
Despite enthusiastically promising Simona that I’d go with her…
The next day, I was suddenly sent out on an assignment.
It was an urgent order from Administrator Yukel.
It looked like I wouldn’t return until evening, so I had already told Simona I wouldn’t be able to keep our plans.
She even told me to call her Senior…
To be fair, Yukel hadn’t invented the assignment just to get rid of me.
Several small magical beasts had become stranded on a flooded coastline and were in danger.
The travel alone took a considerable amount of time.
By the time I returned to the observatory, I was completely exhausted.
I’m so tired. I just want to go home and rest.
The moment I made that decision, Administrator Yukel called out to me.
“Investigator Vivian. Write the report on the flooded coastline and leave it on my desk by tomorrow.”
“…What?”
I stared at him in disbelief.
“I literally just got back from the flooded coastline.”
