Even in Another World, Office Life Must Go On
The artificial floating island hovering above a vast lake was the very embodiment of the Western continent’s magical engineering—a pinnacle of arrogant pride. Morning sunlight reflected off the water’s surface, dazzling the academy’s white marble walls. Airships laden with cargo drifted lazily across the sky, while magic-powered streetlamps glowing with soft blue mana cast a gentle light even in broad daylight.
It was the kind of breathtaking, peaceful scene that belonged in a fairy tale.
“Haa…”
Yet Kang Yeomyeong stared down at that brilliant view from his dormitory window and let out a deep, heavy sigh.
“I want a mix coffee.”
That was the most honest thought he had uttered since waking up in this alien world a week ago.
Yeomyeong stepped away from the mirror and loosened the cravat of his suffocating Western-style academy uniform, only to tighten it again with crisp precision. The sharply tailored uniform, ornate gold trim, and the Valtern crest embroidered on his chest made him look every bit the perfect Western noble student on the outside. Inside, however, he was still Manager Kang—the K-corporate drone who used to wrestle with Excel spreadsheets in the heart of Seoul.
Of all the web novels my little sister read, I had to end up as an extra escort warrior sent from the East as a political hostage.
Yeomyeong clicked his tongue bitterly. He didn’t know the story’s fine details. Only a few major plot points he’d overheard remained in his mind like scattered fragments.
Western magic and Eastern martial arts. The Hundred Years’ Border War that ended ten years ago. And the so-called “International Student Dispatch” system—where the highest-ranking children of each side were exchanged as hostages under the pretty name of a peace treaty.
Yeomyeong stared at his own black hair and obsidian-like eyes in the mirror. They were distinctly Eastern features, sharply different from the Westerners’ golden or silver hair and vividly colored eyes.
“Well, if they tell me to do it, I’ll do it. It’s not like office life is something you only do for a day or two.”
He lightly patted both cheeks with his palms. His goal was simple: survive this minefield of an academy, graduate safely, and fully protect the “VIP” he was supposed to serve.
Yeomyeong opened the door and stepped into the hallway.
The embassy assigned to Eastern international students—commonly called the Eastern Pavilion—felt far removed from the Western opulence. Heavy wood, the faint scent of ink, and powerful formations that repelled external mana detection filled the space. In the center of the first-floor lobby stood a girl.
“You’re late.”
A cold, crystalline voice like clashing ice. The girl with long black hair carrying a subtle blue tint was Shin Seol-ah. The cherished daughter of the Prime Minister who led the Hwanggyeong Empire’s cabinet, and the person Yeomyeong had to risk his life to protect in this academy.
“My apologies, Lady Seol-ah. The Western uniform has far too many buttons, so it took me a little longer to get used to it.”
Yeomyeong bent at a perfect forty-five-degree angle in a flawless bow.
Seol-ah’s brow furrowed slightly. Her rigid shoulders and defensively clasped hands clearly revealed just how extreme her current tension was.
“Within the academy, regardless of status, we are all equal students. How many times must I tell you to drop that escort-warrior attitude, Kang Yeomyeong?”
“I will keep that in mind, my lady.”
When Yeomyeong answered without a second’s hesitation and flashed a bright smile, Seol-ah let out a small sigh of pure exasperation.
“I’m not asking for wordplay. The more you bow and scrape, the more those Western nobles will look down on the entire East. We are not hostages dragged here—we stand here as proud exchange students.”
Seol-ah’s voice was sharp. But Yeomyeong could sense the terrible isolation and fear hidden beneath that edge. A seventeen-year-old girl essentially abandoned by her country and father, thrown into the heart of enemy territory. On the surface she cried out for her family’s honor and Eastern pride, but inside she was so fragile she could collapse at any moment.
She’s like a new hire who gets put in charge of a major project on her very first day and ends up surrounded on all sides. Urgent mental care required.
Yeomyeong clicked his tongue inwardly while keeping a kindly smile on his face.
“Don’t worry. Just because someone looks down on you doesn’t mean you actually become lesser. It’s actually much easier to strike the back of their head when they let their guard down.”
“……You sometimes say things that sound less like a martial artist and more like a street thug.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment. Now, shall we go? There’s no need to be late for the first practical class and give them something to criticize, is there?”
When Yeomyeong took a step back to clear the way, Seol-ah shot him a displeased glance before walking ahead. He followed exactly one and a half meters behind her at a diagonal, maintaining perfect distance.
As soon as they opened the heavy door of the Eastern Pavilion, the noisy atmosphere of the Western academy rushed in. On the wide promenade leading to the main building, numerous students were already walking in small groups. Noble children in splendid cloaks, magic department students playfully floating small spheres of power in the air.
But the moment Yeomyeong and Seol-ah stepped onto the path, the surrounding air subtly sank.
“……”
“……”
No one pointed fingers or hurled insults outright. Western nobles weren’t that crude. Instead, they avoided eye contact, adjusted their pace, and naturally kept a two-meter invisible radius around the pair—like drawing a perfect circle of exclusion. They behaved as if no one existed in that space at all. It was a thorough, elegant ostracism—the true face of the West hidden behind the mask of a peace agreement.
Yeomyeong didn’t miss the way Seol-ah’s steps stiffened slightly. A faint frost formed on the tips of her white fingers before vanishing. It was a precursor symptom of her ice magic leaking out whenever her emotions wavered.
This kind of subtle bullying is the most effective way to wear someone down. What sly bastards.
Yeomyeong snorted inwardly. Compared to the office politics and faction wars he’d experienced in his previous life, this level of power struggle was a familiar pattern.
That was when it happened.
A group of students walking from the opposite direction spotted them and stopped, deliberately stepping aside to one side of the path with exaggerated courtesy. At the front was a blond boy wearing a cloak embroidered with a red lion crest—Julius, the second son of a powerful count’s family in the Valtern Kingdom. The followers behind him also bowed slightly in perfect unison, as if on cue.
“Oh, Lady Shin Seol-ah. And Student Kang Yeomyeong. Good morning to you both.”
Julius greeted them with a gentle smile. His manners were flawlessly aristocratic.
Seol-ah also stopped and returned a light nod.
“Good morning, Young Master Julius. Thank you for yielding the path.”
“It is only natural courtesy. How could we possibly block the way for such esteemed guests from the distant East? Please, pass comfortably.”
Julius gestured forward with his hand. Yet the smile lingering at the corner of his mouth was somehow strangely twisted.
“By the way, I heard today is your first practical class. As a fellow classmate, I am deeply concerned, so I hope you will forgive this presumptuous remark.”
“Concerned?”
“Western magical beasts are extremely sensitive to the flow of mana in the air. From what I understand, Eastern martial arts do not form a mana hall and only manipulate internal energy, correct? I worry that if you enter the practical evaluation unable to sense the mana in the atmosphere, you might suffer an unfortunate accident.”
Julius’s voice dripped with honeyed kindness, but the content was clear condescension. He subtly dismissed the East’s internal energy system—which did not utilize mana—as half-baked, while flaunting Western superiority. It was classic Western rhetoric.
“If the practical does not go well or you sense any danger, please do not hesitate to ask us Western students for help. Protecting those unfamiliar with mana is also a noble duty that those who wield magic must uphold, is it not?”
The followers behind Julius nodded, wearing sympathetic smiles. On the surface it was endless kindness, but the true meaning was mockery: People like you from the East should just hide behind us and accept our protection.
Seol-ah’s eyes grew icy cold. The temperature around her plummeted, and white frost began to form on the grass at her feet.
“I appreciate your warm consideration, Young Master Julius. However, Eastern qi is simply different from Western mana—it is by no means inferior. We will take care of our own safety, so please focus on your own evaluation.”
Seol-ah’s voice carried a sharp chill. Julius’s eyes flashed for a moment, but he kept his relaxed smile intact.
“Ah, it seems I have overstepped. I had no intention of wounding Eastern pride. I merely……”
Just as Julius was about to continue his cunning words—
“Aigoo! Young Master Julius! To be so sincerely worried about the safety of us Eastern international students from the crack of dawn— this Kang Yeomyeong is deeply moved!”
Suddenly, Yeomyeong stepped forward to Seol-ah’s side and bowed deeply toward Julius. On his face shone the perfect business smile he used to wear when dealing with difficult clients in his previous life as a salesman—the so-called “K-social-life smile.”