Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: It's No Use
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* * *
"…Damn. That voice sounded a bit off."
She bit her thumbnail as she scanned her surroundings.
She had assumed that once a complaint was filed with the Civil Complaints Office, they'd verify the wage discrepancy and launch an investigation right away. She had no idea why they were calling her instead.
"Today, I'll just… say I was sick. And figure out what to say later…"
"Hello there."
The voice from behind made her jump in fright. She gripped the strap of her shoulder bag tightly and cautiously turned her head.
There had been no footsteps.
But the voice was all too familiar.
"Please calm down. I'm Hetional from the Civil Complaints Office—the one who just called you."
Hetional flashed his civil servant ID.
The sight of the ID made her yelp even louder.
As her four wings trembled, a faint smile crept onto Hetional's face.
"What a coincidence. I stepped out right after hanging up due to an urgent call, and luck brought us together like this."
"No… I mean, that's…"
"I don't think this is something to discuss inside. I'll keep it brief, so is here okay?"
"Ah, no. No, no."
She shook her head vigorously side to side, then waved both hands frantically.
Hetional glanced around briefly, and already, passersby were staring.
'My hair color does stand out a bit.'
What could he do about drawing eyes every time? It was a lingering effect from becoming Hetional in Rinell, and no dye would take.
"This way… if you'd like?"
Her face showed utter resignation as she timidly suggested it to Hetional.
"Yes. Lead the way."
Following behind her, Hetional smiled quietly.
Got her.
* * *
"…What brings you here? Has the complaint been resolved, by any chance?"
She asked with a faint hope.
"It has been concluded."
Hetional's gaze toward the fairy was a touch colder.
"Then…"
"The principle of complaints is truthfulness. Why did you state false information?"
"False information…?"
Her eyebrows twitched, her anxious expression turning indignant.
Hetional pulled out his tablet and brought up the report.
"According to the report I read, you claimed that your wages had been cut starting a couple of months ago solely because you're a fairy. Is that correct?"
He showed her the report she'd written and asked. She let out a short breath.
"Yes. So what?"
"I've reviewed the payroll records here."
"Then you saw it. The company cut my pay."
"You received warnings."
"That was the company's fault."
"What fault are you referring to?"
"What fault? Are you seriously asking?"
She stared straight at Hetional, incredulous yet seething with injustice.
"When other people take one step, I have to flap my wings four times or more because I'm so small—how am I supposed to work on those massive computers? And it's the same everywhere! All of them!"
Hetional could somewhat empathize with her outburst of anger.
Even Terisha had needed glitter dust constantly.
This was indeed a trait of the fairy species.
‣A faint force like electromagnetic waves emanates from their bodies.
Fairies were called a race of fantasy, and they truly wielded fantastical powers. This force flowed to easily influence others' senses, but now it held them back.
Devices scaled to their tiny bodies—half the size of their arms—were affected by the electromagnetism, causing minor glitches.
Even the cell phones they held would suddenly drop calls, shut off, or fail to send messages.
And if it happened during work, even occasionally?
'For example, entering 1,000 where it should be 100?'
Companies wouldn't absorb those losses.
They couldn't tolerate monitors turning off randomly or keyboards moving on their own, so they provided computers only up to the point unaffected by fairy powers.
"Staring at monitors way bigger than me is tough, typing on keyboards my size is tough, and using a mouse that takes two hands is hard!"
She vented her frustration boiling over.
Finally, she raised both hands and gripped her hair.
"You'd say use glitter dust, right? Yes. Glitter dust would work. It could. But it has limits. I get tired. Tiredness slows me down, slowness means I can't keep up with work, and I end up with warnings. Is this all my fault?"
"Did you ask the company for help?"
"Yes. Lots of times. They made the monitor as small as possible without my power affecting it, swapped the keyboard for a smaller one, tried again and again. But nothing changes. Then warnings. …Ha. And when I complain about the injustice, their responses are a joke."
A mocking smile tugged at her lips.
Her exhaustion showed plainly.
"They say there's no realistic solution. Even the Mage Association says it's hard to help. So I went to the Mage Association and asked. Know what they said?"
Hetional could predict it.
'They said no.'
"They said no. Unlike the Medusa species, research on fairies isn't complete. Using magic recklessly could be dangerous. What am I supposed to do about that?"
'…This damned Mage Association.'
Even though he'd expected it, Hetional bit the inside of his cheek against the surge of irritation.
How hard could it be?
Fairy-sized computers should exist, but that required advanced tech, making it impractical.
Hence, magic was needed.
Magic to block their emanating force and shrink sizes would work fine, but their failure showed the Mage Association's incompetence once more.
'Such issues among other races require the Mage Association's role…'
Hetional swallowed a rising sigh.
Whatever.
The Mage Association failing wasn't new.
'I'll get called in soon anyway. I'll sort it out then.'
Now was the time to focus on the case's essence.
She clearly felt something close to unfair treatment at the company.
The company hadn't provided a workable environment, after all.
Still, that didn't shake the case's core. Regardless of her grievance, the complaint contained falsehoods.
"But by what you've said, the company seems to have made sufficient efforts. They gave you a second chance, after all."
"A second chance?"
"I saw records of consecutive warnings, and with no improvement despite them, a final third warning."
"So you're saying I should be grateful they didn't fire me?"
Ha.
She scoffed.
"No. What I mean is, after dismissal, the company gave you a second chance, and I assume you agreed to it."
"So what? What did you expect me to do? Get fired and become unemployed?"
His constant defense of the company grated on her like nothing else.
"What you told the Civil Complaints Office was this: wages were cut solely because you're a fairy. But that complaint was false."
Hetional zoomed in on the tablet screen and tapped lightly.
There was the complainant's own words.
The above complaint content is true.
"Don't make me laugh! You come here today and call my complaint a lie? …Ha. Listen, Mr. Hetional."
"One trait of fairies is their small stature, which everyone knows, and efforts are being made to accommodate."
Hetional cut her off calmly, trying to persuade.
His unsmiling face was quite cold, making her clench her fists against her chest in fear beyond anger.
"But accommodation has limits. It must focus on consideration, not bend to every demand. The company already tried and showed ample consideration. Thus, your claim that wages were cut solely because you're a fairy is false."
"Mr. Hetional! The company doesn't even provide basic accommodations for fairies to begin with—"
Hetional held out the tablet.
He zoomed in on a scene with the sticky note still attached, showing fairies working.
Desks and chairs varied by species, capturing fairies at work.
"We confirmed the company accommodates various other races, as you just said, and from the ledgers, not all fairies received warnings."
If the company truly lacked accommodation as claimed, all fairies would have warnings—but they didn't.
Simply put, she failed to adapt, mistaking the company's sympathy for accommodation.
"Inter-Species Complaint Special Law specifies complaints must not be false. You violated this, so we issue a warning. Any objections?"
"This is ridiculous! Why me? I'm the one treated unfairly! Me!"
She pointed at herself, her hand shaking.
Her wings' sparkle intensified, brightening around her.
Light pillars formed one by one, cross-shaped, swelling as if ready to burst.
A sign of true rage.
But Hetional simply asked. The complaint was false, after all.
"Beyond warnings for failing to adapt and perform duties, what unfairness did you experience?"
"You think this would've happened if I were your size? We can't, but we accommodate full-grown hot springs people… This isn't unfair? It's unreasonable! Unreasonable!"
"You're calling your own words and actions unreasonable, complainant. The world can't tailor everything to you. No more objections, then…"
"Hetional. I'll remember you. I'm filing a complaint!"
Hetional smiled faintly and worked the tablet.
He could issue a warning directly via the complaint content, no personal info needed.
Of course, final approval was Edinal's, so it was provisional.
Putting the tablet away, Hetional replied cheerfully.
"Yes. Feel free to file one."
"…What?"
"Anyway, I've processed the warning. It stems from your falsehood, and as it's the first, it'll just be a simple warning—no issues at the community center. If another warning stacks…"
"I didn't lie! Civil Complaints Office, you said. Eradicating species discrimination, you said. You're on the side of the rich too? Yeah, tiny fairies like us don't register, huh? Fine, fine. Let's see if you can keep that brazen neck up."
The moment the fairy raised her phone, Hetional's finger moved.
Zap.
Static sparked between Hetional and the fairy.
"…Wh-what's wrong with this?"
Her phone stopped working.
Her eyes slowly turned to Hetional.
"If warnings accumulate further, community center access may be restricted. One more, and legal penalties become hard to avoid. Note this warning doesn't simply count to three—severity of falsehoods matters anytime."
Hetional stated the procedure to the complainant, then called calmly.
"Complainant."
"……"
Her gaze drifted to Hetional's ear.
He wore red earrings.
Only then did the tension in her shoulders ease.
A mage.
"I get you're angry enough for SNS."
Zap.
Hetional sparked static again and touched his body cam.
"But this is society. Are you, an adult complainant, still throwing a tantrum? Small stature merits consideration, not mandates. So tell me: whom have you considered?"
Her phone hand slowly lowered at the bone-chilling words.
Injustice mixed with shock, then dawning shame. Hetional understood her pent-up frustration.
"This is a society of diverse other races. Not one-sided consideration, but mutual from all."
Hetional reactivated his body cam, dispelling the mana pressing the fairy.
"So I'll help you adapt."
"…Help me?"
She stared at Hetional in disbelief.
Hadn't she just raged at this civil servant? Yelled, threatened complaints.
Yet help?
Was it a hallucination?
"Yes. Separate from the false complaint, resolving conflict causes is my job."
"But I…"
She bowed her head, clutching her hem tightly.
Not a hallucination.
Her outburst shamed her.
Her eyes shook, sweat beading on her clenched palms.
She swallowed surging words repeatedly before spitting them out.
"I'm sorry…"
"Shall we go, then?"
Hetional spoke with a smile. She looked up, startled.
At her 'really?' expression, Hetional walked ahead.
He wanted her to feel, in this lonely society, that someone had her back.
Even a stranger met today.
That's why the Civil Complaints Office existed.
* * *
Arriving at the complainant's workplace, Hetional spotted other fairy stations.
'Am I… insane? Yeah. Totally insane.'
Fatigue hit, his eyes growing heavy.
He exhaled slowly, glancing around.
No one there.
He'd told the president everything and offered help, so all staff were sent away.
No prying eyes, free to work—grateful, but he craved quitting time most.
Hetional scattered mana from his hand.
One.
Three.
Five.
Five stations glowed with sparkles like glitter dust.
He cast magic.
[Block the influencing force.]
Fairies' electromagnetic-like forces varied, so he tuned the spell to block only what affected computers.
[Shrink.]
Defying essence required strong incantation; computers twisted.
Like with Terisha, he shrank not just computers but needed items for efficiency.
Items crumpled like dented cans, then slowly reformed.
At proper size, Hetional ended the spell.
Sparkles stabbed into items like swords, wind dying down.
"…Ha."
Hetional adjusted his glasses wearily.
More work awaited.
Sad, but he stepped out.
The complainant waited apologetically.
"Check it."
Despite urging, she hesitated until repeated prods. Glancing, she saw computers fairy-sized—eyes widened.
"…Huh."
She gulped, mouth agape.
Unbelievable.
"Don't just look—test it."
"…It won't break?"
"No, unless inherent fault."
At his words, she powered it on.
Monitor small, keyboard small, mouse small. She covered her mouth anxiously, waiting.
Yet no rogue mouse or glitches.
'Good.'
Hetional was satisfied.
"Then, farewell."
Cause removed, he bowed slightly toward the president's office.
"Thank you!"
She shouted, forgetting it was an office.
"Really… thank you!"
Tearful voice followed.
But Hetional didn't turn, pressing forward.
He didn't imagine her feelings.
Just wanted her to know the world wasn't all discrimination.
'Wrap up, handle next complaint.'
He walked on.
* * *
Hello, this is Hwang Siu. Sorry for greeting you like this. I should have checked more carefully…. I'll work harder from now on. Thank you.