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Chapter 03
“That we’ll talk again in a month.”
The words rang in my ears like a death sentence.
“I never agreed to any damn contract like that!”
I wanted to deny it, but unfortunately, Serpiene’s memories were crystal clear—she had signed it.
She was even worried Roakin might cancel it first.
After graduating from the academy, Serpiene had no mana and struggled to find work. The only place that accepted her was the Magic Tower, so her desperation was understandable.
Still, you don’t sign a slave contract like that!
And now I was the one suffering for it.
I flung my pen irritably onto a ledger I had been organizing.
“Seriously, why is there so much work that it never ends?”
Thanks to Serpiene’s memories and skills flowing into me, adapting to this world wasn’t too hard.
But in just one week after possessing her body, I had experienced pure hell.
Because the workload was insane.
I had expected something dangerous like monster extermination as the Tower Master’s secretary, but that wasn’t the case at all.
While the Magic Tower did handle monster subjugation, I was exempt due to Serpiene’s near-nonexistent magical ability.
My job was instead to stay behind whenever the Tower Master was away and handle all administrative work and miscellaneous tasks.
I should’ve known the moment I woke up under a pile of documents.
In this world, there was no such thing as labor law or regulated working hours.
Serpiene had been buried under endless paperwork every day, surviving on stolen naps.
And now that I was her, all of it naturally fell onto me.
Even I—someone hardened by years of overtime in my previous life—was starting to break.
Was she really killed? Or did she just die of overwork…?
Maybe Serpiene didn’t die because of the imperial consort at all. Maybe it was simply burnout.
Suddenly, I remembered a note she had left on the first page of her planner:
[—Let’s definitely renew the contract this year!]
I ripped that page out.
“I don’t intend to die from overwork twice.”
At this point, I should be reporting them to a labor office, not renewing contracts like a fool.
Even without the consort, I had no intention of staying.
Right. I’ve just been working like an idiot.
Losing a worker like me would be a huge loss for the Magic Tower.
That must be why Roakin was trying to keep me.
We barely even spoke outside of work reports—there was no way this was personal.
It had to be about the job.
Fine. Then I’ll make them fire me.
I wrote down a plan in my notebook.
“Fufu. Good.”
I hung a sign that read [STRIKE] on my door and clapped my hands in satisfaction.
Step one of my plan to get fired.
Refuse to work until they can’t stand it anymore!
Strikes are a worker’s right.
Even if this concept was unfamiliar in this world, I wasn’t about to hesitate.
Smiling at the sign, I stepped back into the office—
And immediately, the door burst open.
“Eliser! Eliser!”
“Serpiene-nim! Serpiene-nim!”
“What is it? What happened?”
“Lucifer is missing!”
I stared at Eliser blankly.
Eliser Hilbris.
A talented mage from the prestigious Hilbris family, head of the Artifact Department in the Magic Tower.
And he was here panicking… because a cat was missing.
That spoiled cat is always causing trouble anyway.
How many times had Eliser dragged me around looking for Lucifer already?
The pink hair was already starting to feel more exhausting than unfamiliar.
“It’s probably in the Tower Master’s room.”
“I already checked! It’s really gone this time!”
“Did you try the tracking collar?”
“He hates wearing it! What if he’s lost outside in this cold weather?!”
Eliser trembled dramatically.
Lucifer often disappeared, but he was usually found somewhere inside the tower.
Still, Eliser looked genuinely panicked this time.
I sighed and stood up.
“…Fine. Wait here.”
“Thank you!”
He cheered like I’d saved the kingdom.
I went to the storage room and pulled out dried Cataria leaves.
This should work… probably.
I had once seen the heroine use these leaves to lure Lucifer into acting strangely.
I suspected they worked like catnip.
“Go get one of Lucifer’s toys.”
“Yes!”
While Eliser ran off, I prepared a potion using the leaf extract and enhancer materials.
Soon after, he returned carrying a pile of toys.
“I didn’t know which one, so I brought everything!”
There were so many enchanted toys it was overwhelming.
I picked a simple feather toy.
“This one.”
I soaked it in the potion and handed it back.
“Take this outside. Wave it around while searching—it should help find him.”
“Understood! But you’re not coming, Serpiene-nim?”
“Of course not. I’m on strike.”
“…Huh?”
Before he could question it further, I pushed him out and shut the door.
Just as I sat back down, the communication orb lit up.
“Right… I forgot to turn this off.”
A golden glow meant it was a call from the imperial palace.
Even on strike, ignoring the palace wasn’t an option.
“…This is the secretary’s office.”
A sharp voice came through.
[Has the Tower Master suddenly become a coward?]
Karas Rill.
Captain of the Imperial Golden Knights and the Crown Prince’s right hand.
I frowned.
“What do you mean by that?”
[Skipping minor missions is one thing. But refusing the inspection? Are you trying to pick a fight?]
“…Did Roakin say that himself?”
[…You didn’t know?]
Karas then explained.
The Magic Tower was obligated by treaty to assist the empire in monster subjugation.
Two days ago, Roakin had skipped deployment to the Liu Gorge.
And now he was refusing the next scheduled mission as well.
At that moment, someone else entered the room.
“Serpiene-nim! A notice from the Council came in and I need help processing it—oh, you’re on a call.”
I waved him away silently.
Get out.
The last visitor was Sila, head of the Potion Department.
She stormed in, visibly angry.
“Serpiene-nim, how could you do this to me?”
“…What did I do?”
“Unauthorized absence? I didn’t know you were this irresponsible!”
“Sila, you seem to forget—I’m not actually part of the Potion Department.”
“…!”
She looked genuinely shocked.
Serpiene had indeed been loosely involved in potion work.
Despite lacking mana qualification, she had dreamed of joining the department and often helped after hours.
So Sila misunderstood.
“But… we’re basically family!”
Family at work? Please.
I didn’t fall for that kind of line.
“Sorry, but you should hire someone else.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m quitting.”
“…That’s impossible!”
Sila looked like she’d been struck by lightning.
“You can’t just leave when things are this busy! Orders are piling up like crazy! I can’t do this alone, Serpiene-nim!”
Her eyes pleaded for help.
That’s your job, not mine.
That’s what “I can’t do it” really meant in office language.
She just wanted me to do it for her.
“I’m sure you’ll manage without me.”
“…Are you really abandoning us?”
I nodded firmly.
After finally sending her away, exhausted, I collapsed onto the sofa.
The tower had always been this chaotic because everyone dumped work on Serpiene.
They picked the easiest target.
These people called me for everything.
Even for a single missing cat.
How many had come today despite the strike?
Do they not see the sign?
Maybe someone cast a stealth spell on it.
I rushed out and checked.
On the door:
[STRIKE]
Still there.
And not a single one of them noticed it before knocking.
Wizards were all the same.
Selfish to the core.
Completely fed up, I ripped the sign off and threw it into the trash.
