The Slacker Wizard Wants to Slack Off (1)

Dorothy Gale was a wizard who wanted to slack off.

"Aaaah~ I don't wanna work~"

Her hazy emerald eyes wandered aimlessly, completely lost. Dorothy Gale, the Student Council's Disciplinary Committee Chair, had just entered her second year. She was still fresh... well, maybe a bit wilted at this point. When she first enrolled, she had shattered records: shortest time to clear the entrance exam, maximum mana capacity, top scores across every subject. People called her a genius destined to become the next Archmage. There was no shortage of praise and sky-high expectations poured onto her.

At least until she started slacking off.

"She's really saying she doesn't want to work?"

"Y-yes... but to open a disciplinary hearing for Vermillion Vermon, we absolutely need Dorothy's signature."

Isn't this system way too rigid? Fine, let's think as broadly as possible. Dorothy's the final decision-maker, and nothing moves without her approval. But if the person holding all the authority is busy playing hooky, shouldn't the higher-ups just drag her back to work or something?

Unable to solve my own question, I turned to Amy and asked her directly.

"W-well... the President gave strict orders: 'No matter what happens, bring Dorothy Gale back to work...'"

"Ah~ So that's the real problem?"

It was the Student Council President's stubbornness. Since Dorothy was both insanely talented and brilliant, he probably wanted to keep her around no matter what. The more competent students in the Council, the stronger its authority and influence. So this was some kind of strategic decision... Was there a faction keeping the Council in check? Or was it simply about enjoying power? As a mere freshman, I didn't particularly care to know. Still, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it was pretty damn annoying that this girl was slacking off and couldn't punish the bastards who deserved it.

No, it was really fucking annoying.

"Hmm... Then would it be okay if I try talking to her?"

"We've tried many times already... She just keeps repeating 'I don't wanna work~' over and over."

"How did you try to persuade her before?"

"W-well... we used delicious food and snacks..."

Is she a dog? I was genuinely speechless at the absurd method. Amy must have felt guilty under my pitiful stare because she avoided my eyes and mumbled in a tiny voice.

"I-it used to work before..."

"..."

Apparently it really had worked in the past.

"Ha... Alright, I'll try to handle this myself."

Of course I knew exactly how to snap Dorothy out of her laziness. All I had to do was raise her favorability and get close to her. Actually, I hadn't expected her to be slacking off at all. Around this time, the protagonist Alex should have gotten caught up in an incident that brought him to the Student Council, where he would meet Dorothy. The main part of that event was Alex clashing with her over an unfair judgment, after which she joined his party. That's how I remembered it.

But at this rate, the event couldn't even trigger, let alone proceed. Why the hell has the game turned out like this? What the fuck is going on?

"First... is there a shop inside the school that sells dolls or anything like that?"

"Ah... You should probably check the souvenir shop."

This was exactly like the game. Feeling relieved, I hurried on my way. There was nothing good about delaying things. I had no idea what variables might appear if the protagonist Alex couldn't advance the story. The world could freeze. In the worst case, the entire world might disappear. I was trying my best to follow the storyline, but I couldn't tolerate variables like this anymore.

"Eve Abraham, Panzy Vlad, Dorothy Gale..."

These three could fall to the God's side and fight against humanity depending on certain choices during the story. Eve Abraham, the Vessel of God, could abandon everything and surrender completely to the divine. Panzy Vlad would struggle between honor and her own feelings. And Dorothy Gale would fall into despair at the God's omnipotence and become corrupted.

Meeting all three of them was completely unexpected for an extra NPC like me, but in a way, it was also fate. Since things had come to this, let's all aim for a happy ending together. Alex might handle it somehow, but I couldn't trust that guy. He was far too upright.

With that thought, I entered the souvenir shop and looked for a dog plushie.

"Mister. Do you have a Toto dog doll here?"

"Toto...? A Toto doll... If you mean a dog plushie, it's right here."

I remembered it being called a Toto doll... but the shopkeeper was clearly looking at me like I was weird.

"Thank you! Uh... Ah..."

Oh fuuuuuck. I had no money. That damn Silph! I could somehow get away with wearing the uniform, but money was a completely separate issue. Fuck. Fuck. Just when I thought things were finally going smoothly.

I made a despairing face and handed the doll back. Showing the shopkeeper my completely empty pockets, I trudged back outside.

"You want that doll?"

A familiar voice. And it wasn't one I'd heard since possessing this body. It was a voice I'd heard many times before—the most ideal human form, the character I could empathize with the least, and the one I had admired the most.

Alex.

"Uh... Excuse me?"

"Ah. Aah... The doll... I wanted to buy the doll but I don't have any money right now. Hahaha..."

"You're the guy who took down that magic weapon back then, right?"

"Hm?"

He must be talking about that rampaging magic weapon. So he was nearby after all. As I stared at him with wide eyes, Alex chuckled and held out his fist.

"I couldn't see it clearly from far away, but I definitely saw you fighting desperately. It left quite an impression."

He opened his fist, revealing what was in his palm.

"That will, that persistence, that tenacity. I'd like to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠get to know you a bit. Your name was... Cain, right?"

"..."

"I'm Alex. Nice to meet you."

I'm so fucking glad to meet you. In my head I wanted to kneel and shout thank you about ten times, but I can't do that. Doing a handstand would be hard enough with this body, haha.

Without hesitation, I took the money from his palm, bought the doll from the shopkeeper, and returned to Alex.

I never dreamed we'd meet like this. There was the worry that a variable like me encountering the game's protagonist might cause unnecessary complications and negatively affect the story. But the fact that we'd met anyway... Did that mean the protagonist and I were fated to meet no matter what?

"Thanks, Alex. I'm Cain. I'll definitely pay you back for the money."

I should speak as kindly as possible. I don't treat people who show me kindness coldly. Isn't the person who helps you when you're struggling your true benefactor? There are too many scumbags these days who try to take advantage when you're down, but a friend who stands by you in hard times is a real friend. And Alex was undeniably a character with a strong sense ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of justice. There wouldn't be any falsehood in his intentions.

"Just buy me a meal next time. Oh, and I'd like to have a proper fight with you someday. That should be enough, right?"

Then shouldn't I be the one paying? Has his conscience died? Alex grinned shamelessly, flashing his teeth with a bright laugh. I really, really wanted to punch him right then and there. But first I had to put out the urgent fire.

Forcing myself to keep smiling, I thanked him.

"Of course. I'll treat you to something really good next time."

"Haha! I'll look forward to it."

The typical hot-blooded protagonist's way of speaking. Leaving his cheerful figure behind, I hurried toward Acropolis. Getting on friendly terms with Alex was important. Only by understanding his every move could I predict how the story would progress. Plus, I could quickly identify problems he couldn't solve and handle them myself.

"Senior Amy! I've brought a solution!"

"That's... a doll...?"

Amy looked at me like she was asking what the hell I was doing. I nodded with a confident expression. This Toto dog plushie would definitely catch Dorothy's attention. At least enough to have a conversation. After all, this doll looked exactly like Toto, the dog her family had raised back when they were still alive.

Full of confidence, I held up the doll and knocked on the door to Dorothy's office. Then, familiarly twisting my body to dodge her wind magic, I strode in confidently and waved the dog plushie.

"..."

"Senior Dorothy. It's a dog doll."

"Toto... Toto doll..."

One of Dorothy Gale's favorability items—the Toto doll. For someone who refused to leave her office or dormitory because of the deep scars engraved in her heart, a doll resembling her lost family would surely shake her greatly.

"Where did you... get this...?"

She asked. I cheered internally and gave her a faint smile as I handed over the doll.

"They were selling it by chance at the souvenir shop. I thought Senior Dorothy would like it, so I bought it."

"Mmm... Toto..."

For a brief moment, life returned to her eyes. Dorothy Gale stared silently at the doll, then looked at me. She suddenly stood up, closed the office door with magic, and strode straight toward me. I could hear Amy knocking and shouting from outside, but Dorothy paid no attention. She came so close that I could feel her breath.

When I looked at her with the eyes of a startled rabbit, she stared back with her own emerald eyes wide open. She continued observing me as if trying to figure something out, then nodded as though she'd realized something ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and carefully opened her mouth.

"You. You have a strange power, don't you?"

"???!!!"

I took several startled steps back. Dorothy tilted her head with an expressionless face.

"No need to be surprised. I can sense it."

"Ahaha... Um, could you tell me what that has to do with anything right now?"

Yeah. What the fuck does me being able to handle spirits have to do with this? Fortunately, Dorothy seemed to only perceive it as some strange power and hadn't realized it was spirit power. She tilted her head again.

"Can't use magic but... can use magic... Strange power... Hmm..."

"Excuse me?"

Once Dorothy fell into thought, it was hard to pull her back out. It was partly due to her unique curiosity, but her closed-off personality made it even worse. She muttered to herself for several minutes before looking at me again with unnatural movements.

"You. You want me to handle the work right now, don't you?"

"O-of course. I'm in the position of a... victim who wants those bastards punished."

"Then help me a bit."

Saying that, Dorothy picked up her staff and opened the office door. Amy, who had been leaning against it, let out a small scream as she fell over. Dorothy ignored her completely and gestured for me to follow.

"We need to catch monsters from the Otherworld. I've been waiting for someone with a unique power like yours. Let's go."

"Huh? Wait, then all this time you've been slacking off because..."

As expected of Dorothy. She wasn't slacking for no reason!

"That was because I didn't want to. There was too much work."

"Ah..."

I see. So Dorothy Gale was just too lazy to work after all~