Chapter 105
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Day Off (2)
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"Phew... vacation?"
A completely unfamiliar word made me blink.
What was that again?
Oh, a day off from work.
I'd gone so long without hearing it that I'd forgotten for a second.
- There won't be any penalties or hits to your performance review, so take a break.
"W-Wait a moment, please. Vacation? If I do that, the southern border's done for!"
I shouted urgently at the Minister, who was trying to make a clean decision.
The only examiners left at the Immigration Control Office right now were me and the Sensory Officers.
We were barely holding on with five people, and now he was telling me to go on vacation?
"I've already rested for three days. If I don't get back out there, the Sensory Officers will drop dead!"
It was vivid in my mind.
My subordinates, melting away in real time under the weight of work and entrants.
"Thanks to Erzena, I'm fine now. I'll return to duty immediately."
If I rested any longer, it wouldn't be overwork—it'd be death from exhaustion for them.
But the Minister shook his head and gave a completely unexpected response.
- The northern supervisor volunteered, so don't worry.
"Northern... You mean Senior Drin Asqurin?"
Drin Asqurin.
The first Dragonkin I'd met, and the most composed and decisive immigration examiner I knew.
- Yeah. While you're gone, she'll handle the south with her three subordinates. She sensed the Dragon Declaration from the south.
"Uh..."
Thinking about it, of course the Intelligence Division would have reported it to the Minister.
He saw my momentarily flustered expression and spat it out like he was utterly fed up.
- The Intelligence Director turned pale as a ghost when she reported it, you know?
"Pardon?"
- She went into a total panic, saying you were dying. I haven't seen that woman lose it like that in ages.
"...Melanie?"
- She's been controlling information through her agents there and cleaning up the situation without going home for three days straight.
"..."
This was news to me.
'Back then, all you did was casually drop that hint about Mnatsil.'
Agent deployments,
Suddenly, I recalled something she'd said before.
[Nothing's free, honey.]
She said that, but she'd stepped up first to help after all.
Lately, I'd been in her debt more than usual.
I couldn't help but smile faintly.
'Guess I should pay her a thank-you visit soon.'
I'd promised to drop by after the Iije incident last time anyway.
Besides her, I should probably thank the Reyes Margrave separately too.
But that could wait.
I wiped the smile from my face and spoke.
"Even so, I still think the Sensory Officers should go on vacation first."
- Why?
"They've worked harder than I have. Plus, you promised them accident-free service before."
It felt like ancient history now, but the Minister and I had definitely made some kind of deal.
Three paid days off. It was finally time to pass them on to my subordinates.
I couldn't just keep grinding them endlessly.
- Ha. Accident-free.
The Minister laughed coldly.
- Pilgrim group entry denial, unauthorized visit to the royal palace and defying the Queen's orders, unlicensed artifact bomb terrorism attempt, dragon hunter takedown, volcano lord rescue and protection, Dragon Declaration.
Recent incidents spilled out in an instant.
- You call that accident-free, you damn brat? Super incidents one after another in a single month, and you want accident-free?
"..."
I had nothing to say, so I subtly averted my gaze.
But the Minister's rage-filled tirade wasn't over yet.
- Not satisfied with the princess? A dragon? The lord of the volcano? Why does something like that come to you? And not content with that, now you've used a Dragon Declaration? If it was possible, why didn't you say so!?
"No, that wasn't intentional on my part, it was unavoidable—"
- Why not just ask for near-accident privileges too? I praised you for denying the pilgrims, so now you've pivoted from accident-free to near-accident? Want me to die of overwork before I keel over from illness?
"N-No... that's not..."
- Before worrying about your subordinates, aren't you grateful your boss is cleaning up your messes? Ungrateful bastard.
Ow, my ears hurt.
"...Sorry."
- Good, you get it.
Seeing me deflate in real time, the Minister finally softened his expression.
- This is an incident big enough to upend the entire international situation, got it?
"Is the Dragon Declaration that big a deal?"
- What a question. You won't feel it right now. But the one you declared will affect the world soon. Especially the Dragonkin—they'll have felt it vividly.
That's why Senior Drin Asqurin volunteered for the south.
Now it made sense.
- You need vacation for two reasons.
He held up fingers.
- One. It's not right to put a guy who came back from the brink of death straight back to work.
Was our Immigration Control Office always this generous?
A brief doubt crossed my mind.
Thinking about it, the south was hell, but maybe the other borders weren't so bad.
- I don't know how bad the Dragon Declaration backlash is, but seeing you now, I get that you really did nearly die. Even if you miraculously survived, who knows when or how it'll blow up again.
"But—"
- Absolute rest. That's what you need most. Not duty return. If you collapse, I can't handle the fallout with the people there.
He cut off my objection decisively, then raised another finger.
- Two. We need to hide you from His Majesty and the world for a bit.
The second reason was more serious than I'd expected.
"H-His Majesty?"
- Soonest today, latest tomorrow, we'll report this to His Majesty. Then you'll be summoned to the palace for sure.
"..."
- What happens if you show up before him covered in holy power?
He made a quick throat-slitting gesture.
No need to spell out what that meant.
We all knew how King Rio felt about holy power and gods.
- Even this delay is thanks to the King's proxy holding off the report till today or tomorrow. Otherwise, it would've gone up already.
- Lucky for us you were at death's door this time. We can buy time by saying you're on medical leave.
- Plus, now Dragonkin might flock to the south. Volcano crumbles less than a month ago, dragon goes missing, and now another Dragon Declaration—they'll all come check it out.
All the justification in the world.
He concluded sharply.
- I'll give you a week. Don't set foot near the Immigration Control Office. Recover fully and come back. If even a hair of yours is spotted, it's insubordination. Got it?
His expression was coldly calculated yet concerned for me. I had no choice but to reply.
"...Yes, sir."
- Call ended.
And that was it.
A vacation after years.
What now?
7 days.
168 hours without work duties.
The countdown began.
"Might as well make the most of it."
Make the most of it, my ass.
Vacation day two, afternoon.
I sat at the table, staring blankly at the clock, muttering.
"115 hours, 28 minutes, 31 seconds left... 30... 29..."
48 hours, 31 minutes, 31 seconds without work.
Every moment felt painfully vivid.
Tick, tock.
The second hand's echo in the silence matched my bloodshot stare.
I'm going insane.
Time's crawling.
Why am I home at this hour?
Why am I just sitting here doing nothing?
Who even am I?
Normally, I'd be greeting the 108th entrant by now, processing papers from the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
But this was my house.
And I wasn't even in my examiner uniform—just comfy shirt and pants.
"..."
It felt awkward.
The air, the clothes, the place, the time, even my own appearance.
Awkward enough to drive me mad.
Like my purpose in this world had vanished.
Then someone across from me called out.
"Uh... Nathan?"
"Entrant?"
Erzena laughed awkwardly at my reflexive response. "Ahaha."
"C-Could you pass the salt shaker?"
"Salt shaker? What's that... Oh."
I snapped to and realized I was stamping the plate with the salt shaker like an entry seal.
Only then did it hit me.
This was lunchtime.
Everyone else at the table eating together, while I spaced out staring at the clock.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Three women looking at me pityingly.
I quickly explained.
"Just checking if the clock's right. I'm fine."
"No, you're not. You've been staring at that clock for two days straight."
"Ugh."
"It seems the Dragon Declaration's aftereffects reach the human mind as well."
One comment, triple denial.
What could I do?
'I've got nothing to do.'
I'd just learned how much of life is tied to one's routine.
Stopping four years of habit cold turkey, and my brain flat-out refused to function.
Even looking at blank paper made me itch to fill it with name, origin, purpose of entry.
That was when it happened.
Bang bang bang bang bang bang!
Someone pounded on the front door like they were trying to break it.
Strange.
Thanks to the reinforced protection magic, only someone who'd been here before could even approach.
But a voice instantly dispelled my suspicion.
"Oppa!!!! Open the door!!!!"
Noah's voice.
"Noah? Mmph."
The moment I opened the door, she grabbed my cheeks and twisted my face around.
"You okay!? Limbs intact? Eyes, nose, mouth all there!?"
What a rough greeting.
I pried her hands off with effort.
"What about your business? Didn't you head west for the Gold Rush boom?"
"Sold out and pulled back already!"
She wasn't lying—her outfit was flashier than last time.
But instead of bragging about her merchant savvy, she grabbed my cheeks again with a worried face.
"I heard you nearly died! Saint... Erzena sent a letter! You have no idea how shocked I was!"
This was totally unexpected.
I turned to look at Erzena.
"...Erzena, you sent a letter?"
"She's family. You were between life and death—she should know."
I hurried over and asked quietly.
"What exactly did you tell her?"
"Just that you got badly hurt by some terrorist and you're recovering."
Good, not the full story.
No problem then. To my sister, I was just seriously injured right now.
I relaxed and shrugged nonchalantly.
"No big deal. Happens sometimes on entry duty. I'll be back at work soon."
And I'd rested long enough already.
Couldn't she see my left hand missing the hourglass, my right the entry stamp?
But Noah wasn't naive enough to buy it outright.
"Really?"
"Really."
"For real?"
"For real."
She narrowed her eyes and circled me.
And then,
"Even like this?"
Poke.
Right in my internal injury spot.
"Gaaah!"
Intense pain shot up my spine.
She grinned down at me sprawled on the floor.
"See? You think I don't know you're a wimp, oppa? I can tell you're just pretending to be fine."
"You... little... bitch..."
She helped me up as I glared resentfully.
She lightly greeted Elaine and Mnatsil, then suddenly asked.
"So, vacation—going anywhere?"
"Where would I go? It's awkward to travel anyway."
Noah jumped in like she'd been waiting.
"Oppa, let's go home!"
"...Home?"
I tilted my head.
"You mean spend vacation here? Already doing that."
"No, not that. For recovery, nothing beats home."
She frowned like what are you talking about, pointed outside, and said.
"Back to our family home."
The last thing I wanted to hear.
"Time to see Mom and Dad after so long."
Something even worse.
"No way. Have I lost my mind—"
But Noah wasn't done.
"My sisters too!"
She reached out to Erzena, Elaine, and Mnatsil.
"Sis...ters?"
"...Huh?"
"Oh?"
The three women’s eyes sparkled.