Career Counseling (2)
By afternoon the rain had cleared completely, as though last night’s storm had been nothing but a lie.
“Why does that uncle keep acting like that?”
“Hey, stop—don’t stare at him. Go outside and play.”
“Okaaaay!”
Despite the bright, clear weather, the new administrator remained huddled in the corner, radiating an aura of gloom that practically shouted, “I’m depressed!”
“He already made a contract…”
The village chief and several residents who had come after hearing the news took one look at him and began whispering among themselves.
“Is something wrong with that man?”
“How long are you going to keep sulking like that?”
“Do you have any idea how rare a nature spirit is?”
“If you’re just going to repeat the same thing, get out of my house!”
Patrick finally lost his temper and snapped.
“Excuse me, Teacher. So what the administrator is saying is that all the strange natural phenomena in our village were caused by the spirit our son contracted?”
Ben’s father asked, scratching the back of his head while Patrick racked his brain for a way to kick the man out.
“Ah, yes. But there’s no need to worry. From what I’ve heard, it’s not a bad thing—it’s just that the spirit is too good.”
“Pardon?”
“Hold on. Hey, come over here and explain.”
The administrator, still haunted by the memory of being threatened with a fireball the previous night, sniffled and turned toward them.
“Spirits that dwell in nature rather than the spirit realm are extremely rare…”
“Is that so, sir?”
“Yes… Spirits belonging to the spirit realm usually have clear attributes—fire is fire, water is water. But the spirit your son contracted is different. It can become anything and do anything.”
Patrick’s face twisted further with every word. His stomach hurt.
‘That spirit should’ve been mine…’
Spiritists were said to be far rarer than wizards. They didn’t even need to study or research like wizards did. And on top of that, the spirit was supposedly incredibly valuable?
“…Is there really no way to take it?”
The words slipped out before he could stop them. Ben, who had been watching from outside the window, shot his teacher a glare.
“I wish there were a way, but once a spirit forms a contract, it never seeks another contractor. That’s common knowledge. That’s why I’m so envious…”
“Wait, were you a spiritist?”
“Me? No?”
“Then why are you the one feeling envious?”
“Isn’t the lord a spiritist?”
“Huh?”
“You didn’t know?”
“Nope.”
“How would I know that? I’ve never even seen the lord’s face.”
Patrick grumbled to himself.
In short, the administrator’s point was this: judging by the scale of the unnatural phenomena on the island, the bamboo forest spirit’s power must be quite strong. If he had reported it to the spiritist lord, he would have been promoted repeatedly or showered with gold and jewels, becoming rich overnight.
“But it’s all ruined now. The contract’s already been made… My future! My promotion!”
“What are you talking about? Even if there was a reward, it would’ve gone to me! The spirit came from my backyard!”
“Then what do you want me to do? The contract is already complete…”
“Is there really no way?”
“There isn’t.”
“Tch.”
Ben, who had been watching the two bicker, snickered and summoned his spirit right in front of them, spinning around with it in a showy display.
“By the way, that spirit Ben contracted doesn’t seem all that strong.”
“That’s only because the boy hasn’t learned how to properly control it yet.”
“Is that it?”
“I studied spirits quite a bit in hopes of catching the lord’s eye, so I’ve picked up a few things.”
“Perfect.”
“Pardon?”
“I’ve been needing someone to teach the kid spirit arts anyway. Give him some private lessons before you go.”
“Me? But I’m leaving the island soon…”
“You came here for an inspection, didn’t you?”
“Well, yes, but…”
“Don’t you need documents?”
“What documents?”
“You disguised yourself as an herbalist just to get a promotion. If you go back with nothing but a few vague words saying ‘Doesn’t seem like fraud,’ your superior isn’t going to pat you on the back, is he?”
“……”
The new administrator’s face fell at Patrick’s words. He seemed to be thinking about his own situation again and growing depressed. Patrick had only known him for two days, but the man was surprisingly shallow and couldn’t hide his emotions at all.
“He reminds me of a teacher.”
“Yeah.”
“Shh!”
……Tsk.
“I could help you out a bit.”
“With what?”
“Writing the report. I’m a pro at that sort of thing.”
After all, he had once been a god of Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.
“Let’s do what we’re good at. I’ll handle the report, and you teach our kid spirit arts.”
“But the subject of an inspection writing the inspection report themselves is…”
“Probably not allowed. But if you fuss over every little detail like that, when are you ever going to get promoted? And if we both keep our mouths shut, no one will know, right?”
The new administrator decided to stop thinking altogether. As the saying went, the law was far away, but fists were close.
***
“Oh, a quill pen!”
Patrick snatched the quill from the administrator and marveled at how surprisingly good it felt to write with.
— Format? There isn’t a set one. I was told to just write the author’s name and the report content in as much detail as possible.
— What do you mean, “I was told”? Don’t tell me you’ve never written one before?
— This is my first time being assigned something on my own.
At the central government offices in the capital, things might be different, but in rural territories, administrators were essentially the lord’s personal employees. Just as the operations of a large franchise differed from those of a small local business, rural territories didn’t have a standardized reporting system. On top of that, this guy seemed to have only just shed his intern label.
“And with that kind of background, why were you trying to play secret inspector?”
Looking at the overzealous new employee reminded Patrick of someone from his past life, nearly triggering his PTSD.
“The key to a report is the table, the table.”
Patrick sat down with practiced ease and began organizing the children’s educational progress, including their arithmetic levels, writing improvements, and lists of books they had read as reference material.
“I taught Tommy drawing and Elina cooking…”
He made sure to record each child’s individual achievements separately as well.
“Almost forgot the most important part.”
That would be the village hall! One side of the hall was clearly being used as a classroom for the children, so how could he leave that out?
‘Hmm, good. Very good.’
In less than half a day, a respectable thirteen-page report was complete. Its contents were as follows:
— Basic educational training for developing writing skills (dictation practice).
— Practical training for developing local specialties using regional produce and individual students’ cooking abilities (making strawberry jam from wild berries).
— Hands-on exercises to strengthen teamwork and spatial arrangement skills (decorating the classroom in the village hall).
— Participatory construction activities to foster community spirit and acquire practical building techniques (building a sandbox together in a corner of the village hall).
Wasn’t dressing up even the smallest tasks in impressive language an essential virtue for any working adult? In that sense, Patrick felt genuinely useful for the first time in a while.
“Oh?”
The new administrator, having received the report, stared at Patrick with wide eyes.
“All of this is really…”
“Told you.”
He seemed to have developed a bit of respect. Patrick thought the look suited him quite well.
“This is the kind of person I am.”
“……A con artist.”
“Shut it.”
Ben, who had peeked at the report, chimed in, but Patrick decided to ignore him lightly.
“Um, Teacher. Do they teach this kind of thing in the capital?”
“Huh? Something like that, yeah.”
Well, the capital in question was Seoul in another world, not the imperial capital, but it wasn’t a lie.
The administrator’s expression suggested he had come to some kind of decision, but since Patrick wouldn’t be seeing him again, he simply ignored it.
“Make sure you deliver it properly. And don’t forget to add this to your superior: the wizard here has an excellent character, takes the initiative, and teaches the children with love.”
“Yes, Wizard!”
“Also, about the business I’m running—there’s no chance the lord dislikes it or anything, right?”
“Business? Ah! You mean the cosmetics?”
“Yeah. I was wondering if any high-ranking person might find it objectionable.”
“I did hear that he found the portrait a bit absurd, but other than that…”
“Ah, then it’s fine.”
The lord seemed to have a broader tolerance than expected. Even if a criminal on his land was making money through business, he didn’t seem inclined to punish him for it. If all he wanted was to confirm that the charitable project for the children was running properly…
‘As long as I don’t do anything outright illegal, he might not care what I do.’
Patrick smirked. The image of himself leisurely enjoying his hobbies flashed through his mind like a movie scene.
***
“There was a spirit on that island? My word!”
The new employee stood trembling before the lord, who was reading the report he had written—or rather, the one Patrick had written—while desperately trying to suppress his hiccups.
It was his first time standing directly before the lord while working at the lord’s castle, and the tension was overwhelming.
“It’s a shame that the spirit was from the natural realm, but since a contract has already been made, there’s nothing to be done.”
“If you had been the one to contract it, it would have been ideal, but at least it wasn’t discovered first by a spiritist from another territory.”
“True enough.”
“Shall we bring the child who became the contractor to the castle?”
While the retainers each offered their opinions, the new administrator still couldn’t bring himself to speak.
“Well, what do you think?”
“P-pardon?”
The lord addressed him directly.
“I asked what you thought of the child. Did he seem content? Or stifled?”
“That is…”
When the administrator had taught him the basics of spirit arts, the boy’s eyes had sparkled as he hung onto every word.
‘He seemed to have a strong thirst for learning.’
But that didn’t mean he seemed stifled…
— You call yourself a teacher and you don’t even know this?
— Our teacher doesn’t know much about spirit arts.
— This is basic stuff…
— Still, it’s thanks to our teacher that I was able to form the contract! He even tried to send a letter to some wizard exiled in the mountains just to learn!
……He was busy, so he just hadn’t studied yet. It wasn’t that he hadn’t wanted to. And besides spirit arts, how much else had the teacher taught them?
The boy seemed to genuinely like the eccentric, bad-tempered wizard. In fact, it wasn’t just Ben. The island children refused to leave the wizard’s side, chattering away all day even when he responded indifferently to everything they said.
So the new administrator was able to choose his words carefully when answering the lord.
“The child does not wish to leave his hometown, my lord.”
He managed to reply in a trembling voice.
“I see.”
The lord’s response carried a note of having expected as much.
“That aside, about this report.”
“Yes.”
“There’s quite a bit of wordplay here.”
“T-that is…!”
“It’s rather shameless how it inflates small matters, but since there doesn’t seem to have been any embezzlement, I’ll let it slide this time.”
The Lord of Eltron thought to himself.
Just what kind of person is this, anyway?