The Self-Proclaimed Victim
"Hello, my name is Garrick Krona. It's a pleasure to meet you all…."
The next day, when the man bowed politely, Susanna and Cedric gave him a perfunctory round of applause.
"Now, Mr. Garrick has prior experience, so he'll be joining us as a senior associate."
At my words, Cedric's expression dimmed with what looked like disappointment. Hm, apparently he'd been hoping for an assistant of his own.
"Cedric, could you show Mr. Garrick around?"
"Yes, of course."
Cedric rose from his seat and led Garrick off.
"This is where you'll be working. And would you look at that—a partition."
"Excuse me? Oh… um…."
"We even have tea bags and coffee mix here. And, would you look at that, a clean restroom."
"Um…."
Fufu. So Cedric takes pride in our company benefits too, does he?
After Cedric had finished the rough tour of the guild, it was finally time for Garrick to actually work.
"What should I do, I wonder…."
Transferring guild leadership was no simple matter, so lately I'd been buried in the related paperwork. Fortunately, Cedric was well versed in these kinds of forms and had been a tremendous help. Susanna, meanwhile, was handling the budget issues.
"Garrick, we haven't had any requests come in today, so there's nothing major for you to do just yet. As I'm sure you know, information guilds get slammed when they're busy and sit idle when they're not."
"Yes, I understand…."
"If Cedric asks you for anything, please take care of it together with him."
"Of course…."
As it happened, Cedric seemed to have a task ready, and he handed some documents over to Garrick.
"Could you take these to a print shop nearby and make copies?"
"Khh…!"
At those words, Garrick burst into tears all over again. Apparently, being given actual work instead of being shut out filled him with pride.
"As I thought, I'm useless after all!"
"……?"
"I'm so sorry—I can't even handle a single document!"
"No, no, it's just that there's nothing for you to do yet…."
I said it to soothe him, but his tears wouldn't stop.
"It must be because I'm completely incompetent! I apologize! I'll go wipe my face and come back!"
And with that, he vanished into the restroom.
Once he was gone, I exchanged a look of utter bewilderment with Susanna. Cedric still wore the expression of a man who hadn't the faintest idea what had just happened.
"What on earth just occurred?"
"Your guess is as good as mine…."
For the first time in my life, I found myself grateful for Cedric, who had weathered even the tyranny of the former guild master. Strange—this new fellow seemed a bit… unusual. Was it some old emotional wound?
"I knew it. I so called it."
Meanwhile, Susanna had gone rather cynical.
"He smells like a villain, he does."
"Let's just observe him for a day. In exchange, Susanna, I need you to do a little something…."
I was in the middle of giving her instructions when Garrick returned, the rims of his eyes still red.
Well, he might have trauma around being excluded from work, after all. Straining to rationalize as much as I could, I decided to assign him a new task.
"Garrick, could you analyze our clients from last quarter? For guild promotion purposes—break down which channels they came through when they brought us their requests."
"Yes, understood. Thank you for entrusting this to me."
Thankfully, this time Garrick quietly set to work. Peace returned to the guild once more.
I was nearly finished with the paperwork I had to submit to the guild management office when lunchtime arrived, so I got up from my desk.
"All right, time for lunch. Since we have a new guild member, I'm treating everyone at a restaurant—corporate budget, of course."
"Yay, Guild Master, you're the best!"
Susanna perked up instantly and cheered, and Cedric quietly rose from his seat as well. But Garrick didn't move a muscle—he was still buried in paperwork.
"Oh, Garrick. You can come to lunch now."
"Yes, yes! I just finished the documents, as it happens…!"
"Great, let me take a look…."
The paperwork Garrick had produced was better than I'd expected. Maybe the rumors about him being skilled at document work weren't wrong after all.
"Have Cedric look over it later, would you?"
"Yes, understood."
Thankfully, lunch passed without incident. Garrick focused on his food, and the rest of us made pleasant small talk and had a rather nice time.
If this atmosphere eased his heart, maybe he'd start showing us what he could actually do.
When we got back from lunch, Cedric reviewed the documents Garrick had organized earlier. Then, as if something had occurred to him, he added a comment.
"I'd suggest one more page. If you made a graph of the inflow by channel, it would be far easier to grasp at a glance."
A sharp analysis, as expected of him. Aside from judgment so poor it bordered on tragic—poor enough to join this guild, after all—Cedric really was competent in every respect.
At his remark, Garrick immediately set about producing the extra page. Susanna seemed a touch wary, but since Cedric was treating him well, surely Garrick would settle in soon enough?
I was working along those lines when Garrick, having finished his documents, came up to me.
"Guild Master, might I have a moment? A private word?"
"Hm? Yes, of course."
"Perhaps in another room—"
"Ah, shall we use the parlor?"
Was he planning to negotiate a salary bump or a promotion already? I was thinking nothing of it when suddenly Garrick froze mid-step, his eyes welling up with red.
"Khh… I'm so sorry."
"Yes? Yes? Wh-what is it?"
"The truth is… I believe I'm being disliked in this guild."
"In this guild?"
You've been here for all of five hours. What are you even talking about?
As I stood there dumbfounded, Garrick kept going.
"Senior Associate Cedric doesn't seem to like me very much."
"I'm sorry—what makes you say that?"
Naturally, Cedric had heard every word of this exchange. He looked up and turned toward us. Suddenly put on the spot, he wore an expression much like mine. Neither of us had the faintest clue what was happening.
"In the feedback Senior Associate Cedric gave me, I sensed sharp, cutting emotion. I'm very good at reading people's feelings, you see… so I know he dislikes me…."
Oh. Understood. It all makes sense now.
I turned my head ever so slightly and made eye contact with Susanna, who wore a face that said she'd called it. Sharp as ever, that one. I would never doubt her instincts again.
"Guild Master?"
Finally, Cedric cut into the conversation.
"I don't particularly dislike you, Garrick. I feel nothing at all."
"I know… I know that feeling nothing at all means you have no goodwill toward me either… which means, in the end, you dislike me…."
"Guild Master, will you please hear my side as well?"
As I listened to Cedric's plea, I smiled sweetly. Then I opened my mouth.
"No need, Cedric. I don't have to hear your side at all."
"Excuse me?"
"Mr. Garrick, I'm sorry, but I don't think you're a good fit for this company. Feel free to work here until the end of the day."
"What?"
Garrick's face went pale with confusion—he clearly hadn't anticipated that answer. Cedric, on the other hand, lit up like a royal concubine who'd just won the king's favor.
"As expected of you, Guild Master…!"
"Of course, Cedric. We've worked together this long—do you really think I'd misunderstand you?"
"Ha… so even this place runs on cliques and hazing…."
"That's not it. Assistant Manager Susanna, did the results come in?"
"Yes, they did!"
Susanna rose from her seat and came over to me, holding some papers in her hand.
Let's just observe him for a day. In exchange, Susanna, I need you to do a little something….
It was the results of the task I'd assigned her earlier.
I spread the documents Susanna handed over and read them through carefully. Then I turned to Garrick.
"Mr. Garrick, I'd advise you to stop playing the victim."
"Playing? I would never—"
"You behaved exactly like this at your previous company too, until you were reported for workplace harassment. Right here are the victim's statements."
As it turned out, workplace harassment was recognized to at least some degree in this world as well. The office culture here, of all things, was remarkably similar to the one I'd left behind.
Garrick had made a habit of this—repeating his little victim cosplay to make everyone around him miserable. In fact, at his former workplace, he had been the one creating genuine victims.
When I fluttered the papers in front of him, Garrick's face transformed in an instant. He packed his things right away, but not before leaving behind one last self-justification.
"I am a victim of wrongful dismissal! I'm going to report this!"
"This is a workplace with fewer than 5 employees, so no such law applies here~."
With those magic words, shock washed over Garrick's face. Since he didn't seem inclined to actually leave, I gestured to Cedric. Cedric shoved him out the door with ease and shut it behind him.
"Thanks to you, Guild Master, I was reminded that justice still lives."
"Oh? So you didn't trust me before, then?"
Listening to our exchange, Susanna planted one hand on her hip and muttered sourly,
"It's like Senior Associate Cedric is being brainwashed, little by little…."