18. Your Voice

"......Four days already? Doesn't feel like it."

"It's true. I'm the one who can't believe the Finance Director slept at his desk for four days straight......."

"You got through all the paperwork, though. I'll admit I'm a little baffled myself."

The duty staffer checks the Chairwoman's office and the Finance Director's office late at night, or deep into the night. Or Laura would have noticed. But leaving that aside—Milia comes by the Finance Department every day. Had I really been asleep the whole time? And Milia just left without waking me up?

I had plenty of questions, honestly. But well.

'I got a rare stretch of decent sleep, the paperwork all got done, and nothing happened while the Chairwoman was away.'

When everything's fine, isn't that a good thing?

Sure, I've got the mentality of some shabby little company, but the academy's finances are worse than any shabby little company—what can you do?

Of course, I wasn't planning to just let it slide. At minimum, I'd confirm that I really was just asleep and check whether anything happened while I was out.

Ah, but more importantly.

"So how did the dwarf-city job turn out?"

"......Wasn't too difficult. I handled one side of the Furnace, you could say."

"Isn't the Furnace crucial to the dwarves' city reconstruction right now? They trusted you with it, then."

They were calling her a VVIP, sure, but with treatment like this I might be able to squeeze a few more concessions out of the dwarves. While I was working that angle, the Chairwoman gave a wry smile.

"No, literally, I handled one leg of the Furnace. One of the support legs snapped, so I held it up while they repaired it."

"......You're saying you physically lifted the Furnace."

"Yes. It wasn't that big, so it was fine. About the size of this building, I'd say?"

This building has ten floors, you know.

With those slender, lovely arms, what kind of rough work did you...... wait......?

'What? Have I lost my mind?'

Why had I suddenly thought the Chairwoman's arms were slender and lovely? Even if I concede the slender part—and that's a stretch—where on earth did 'lovely' come from?

Just to be sure, I glanced at her arms—forearms without the faintest trace of muscle.

......Not lovely, though? Seriously, what was wrong with me?

While I worried that oversleeping had fried my brain, the Chairwoman produced something.

"Anyway, here! A present for my Finance Director!"

"A present?"

"Got it from the dwarves with pure goodwill! Not—I mean—without any coercion! It seemed absolutely perfect for you!"

Was that a ring?

She held it out with a little ta-da: a ring gleaming silver. Except the way mana flowed around it was anything but ordinary.

Weren't we supposed to go there for a refund, not to help them? Why had she come back with more stuff?

"Is it an artifact?"

"It's not enchanted with defensive magic or anything, but it carries a fairly useful spell. Here, watch."

She slipped one of the two rings onto her ring finger and slowly channeled Rigid Energy into it.

A normal ring would have burst under that force, but the artifact withstood it all, barely even vibrating—as if to say, 'I'm an artifact.'

And as the ring on the Chairwoman's finger trembled—

Wooong.

"Oh."

"Like that! An artifact that lets us check on each other!"

The ring I hadn't put on gave a faint quiver too. Nothing special, as she'd said, but it seemed like a convenient way to confirm each other's safety.

I swallowed the urge to point out that we were both inside the academy and our offices were right next door—why would we need to check? A gift from your boss, you accept with a smile, no matter what.

Honestly, anything else I would've sold, but this one was hard to justify. The Chairwoman was so excited about it; suggesting I might sell it felt a little off.

At this point, simply accepting it wouldn't be—

──Finance Director, I'm bringing you back a souvenir from the dwarf city!

──A souvenir?

──Yes, you can look forward to— Finance Director?

──......I hadn't meant to give it to you now, but I do have a worrisome nature, you see.

──Th-this is?

──Because that souvenir can't be a ring. Your hand, please?

──......Yes.

──It's not an artifact, just a plain silver band without a single gem. But still.

──Don't worry, Finance Director.

──Chairwoman.

──To me, it's the greatest gift. I'll treasure it.

"──Finance Director? Finance Director?"

"Ah, uh......."

"Finance Director? You've been acting strange—did you sleep too long?"

"Probably."

Something like this had happened once before, when I met Kirke. But back then I'd had the sense that a memory was missing. This was different. I couldn't recall most of the conversation, but one scene stayed crystal clear.

'I gave the Chairwoman a ring......?'

What? Given the academy's finances right now, a gift like a precious-metal ring was out of the question.

Was that a prophetic dream? So I'm going to embezzle academy funds later and buy a ring?

Me, the very embodiment of incorruptibility?

While I stood there trembling from the shock, the Chairwoman studied me with a worried look, glanced around, and asked.

"First, get some more rest. Also, Finance Director? Where did the Dark Sword's scabbard go?"

"Ah...... It wasn't there when I woke up. Didn't you bring it with you?"

"No? I wanted to get it to you as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fast as possible ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so you could sell it off or whatever—so I twisted open the closing spatial rift and shoved it through......."

"A staffer bringing documents, or the duty officer, might have mistaken it for one of your artifacts and tidied it away. It'll turn up if we look."

A scabbard that valuable wasn't about to simply vanish. We'd find it.

The Chairwoman seemed to accept that, nodded, and handed me the remaining ring.

"Now you have to put yours on, don't you, Finance Director? I need to check that it works both ways!"

"Understood. But I can't use mana or ki—how do I do that?"

"They said it can sense the other person's life signs just by wearing it. And besides, it's pretty! Come on, hurry!"

Why was she so pushy? Did the ring have some other purpose?

The obvious one, surely not.

Wait—she did say it confirmed the other person's safety.

'Is this so she can spy on whether I'm studying properly after work?'

Nah, couldn't be. The Chairwoman might be perceptive, but she wasn't the type to micromanage her subordinates all day. If anything, she was a lovely person...... the hell, was I seriously losing my mind?

In any case, wearing it wouldn't hurt, so I slipped ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it onto my index finger. A little large, but it fit well enough.

"Tch."

The Chairwoman's mood seemed to have abruptly soured, but whatever.

It was a gift from my boss, so of course I ought to thank her.

So.

"I love you."

"......Huh?"

"Huh?"

Oh, fuck—wait.

What did I just say?

"F-F-Finance Director? Wh-what did you just say?"

"Wait, Chairwoman! I'm still half-asleep, I misspoke—"

"Uh, um, uh. I wasn't expecting to hear that all of a sudden. I'm honestly flustered. This is a first for me. So."

"Chairwoman, please just listen to me."

"I—I'll go wash up! Wait right there!"

Bang!

"Ah."

......Ah.

*

I ran.

The moment the Chairwoman vanished into the bathroom inside her office, I fled as fast as I could. Staying put would have been catastrophic in every conceivable way.

More than that, I didn't understand.

'Why am I like this?'

Had four straight days of sleep actually broken my brain? Not only had I thought the Chairwoman was lovely—I'd gone and said it out loud.

A wave of pointless self-loathing crept in. A subordinate confessing his love to his superior—wasn't that just the absolute worst?

'I have to salvage this somehow.'

Whether she accepted or rejected it, things were going to get awkward. The academy hadn't even fully escaped bankruptcy yet. If relations between us turned weird in this situation, it'd be a disaster.

And on top of everything, there were already rumors floating around that I was her secret lover. This was driving me crazy.

I sighed and walked down a quiet street, my head spinning.

Students had different lecture times, but at two in the afternoon most of them would be in class.

I figured I'd walk for a bit and then head back. That was the plan.

"Oh, Finan—Adam! What a coincidence!"

"......Student Chloe?"

"There's no one around here, right? Just call me Chloe."

Given the time and the secluded path, I'd expected to run into no one. Chloe emerged from an alleyway, assuring me it was purely coincidence as she approached with a smile.

But it was painfully obvious she was putting on an air of composure.

'Why is she...... ah.'

Was this about the Charity Ball? When I'd walked straight past Beatrice, Chloe, and our protagonist without stopping?

I hadn't had a choice, but it might have stung for them. If someone I thought I was getting close to brushed me off like that, I'd probably feel a little hurt too.

So I'd worried her for nothing.

'Come to think of it, there was something I needed to talk about, courtesy of the Archmage.'

What? That Chloe had feelings for me? That old Archmage, so utterly lacking in perception.

People don't fall in love that easily. If they did, my complete lack of relationship experience would be inexplicable. Anyway, that was that.

She wasn't even my age—there was no way she'd like a staff member.

Thinking that, I called her by name to put her at ease.

"Chloe."

"Yes!"

"Chloe."

"......Yes?"

"Chloe."

"Ah, Adam......?"

Somehow her name rolled off the tongue surprisingly smoothly. It felt much more familiar than constantly calling her Student Chloe.

How should I put it—it was like.

"I missed you."

"............."

"......Chloe? Student Chloe? Wait, right now I—"

"R-really? You missed me? Really? You mean it?"

"Well."

"Is it a lie?"

"......It's the truth."

I couldn't bring myself to lie, not with the atmosphere like this. Look at Chloe's eyes sparkling. Compared to my slip of the tongue earlier, anyway, this was nothing. My capacity for self-rationalization is truly impressive, but whatever. Saying I missed her—that was something I could manage, wasn't it? Let's just go with that.

"I—I really missed you, my competent student Chloe."

"Oh, that kind of thing?"

"What other intention could I possibly have."

<Ask him about the ring!>

"Then that ring on your hand has no other intention either, right?"

"......? No, that's right. It's just an artifact."

"Good."

What was that? I just heard something. Well, I'd managed to glide past it. Chloe was giggling now, so she seemed to be in better spirits. In this mood, it would be fine.

"Also, your master came to me and expressed some concerns."

"My master...... came? He went to see you?"

"He did. He seemed worried about you."

"Worried how?"

"Forgive me for saying this, but the Archmage seems to believe you have romantic feelings for me."

"Hk."

What the.

Hadn't I just heard a weird noise? And why had Chloe stopped breathing all of a sudden?

"S-so? What did he say?"

"The Archmage informed me that the families bearing the Pisti name must only intermarry among themselves."

"............."

"So he suggested that I personally reject your feelings. I accepted."

"......You accepted?"

"It's not as if you actually like me."

"................"

"Chloe?"

Why had she gone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all sullen again? Chloe, who'd fallen silent, lifted her head after a moment.

"If."

"Chloe?"

"If, really...... I."

<He? He's leaving? Seriously!?>

"......?"

"Master's words......!!"

<Oh no! I can't watch! No, should I!? Better than letting Adam fall into that dried-up old hag's clutches......!!>

"Wait, Chloe. Be quiet for a moment."

"......Adam?"

<Adam?>

Above Chloe's head? Or right next to her? There was clearly nothing there, and when I waved my hand, I felt nothing. To Chloe, who was dumbstruck by the interruption, I whispered.

"I think there's someone right beside us. Could you use magic to check?"

"Are you sure? Just a moment...... no, there's no one."

So only I could hear it? If only Chloe could hear it, I'd understand, but there was no way a 1st Rank like me could make out something no one else could. What was this—some kind of ultrasound?

"I'm serious. I heard a strange voice."

"A voice?"

Chloe's mana swept the area as if she'd cast a detection spell, but her expression remained perplexed.

This wasn't something to take lightly. Knowing 'Dark Kingdom,' it could be a sign of something that might hit our finances.

"It was a woman's voice, oddly similar to yours. Are you absolutely sure there's no one there?"

"......Uh."

<Hm? Not really?>

"I just heard it again! It said, 'Hm? Not really?' I'm sorry, but I'm only 1st Rank—please protect me!"

"............."