I'm a Civil Servant (1)

I was a civil servant in my previous life, and now in this one too. There's no steadier gig than public service. Even in a dark fantasy world far from the modern one, that much hadn't changed. The only issue was... the assholes were on a whole different level.

"Everyone, get down on the ground—now!"

A man with a massive greatsword slung over his shoulder bellowed the order. At his feet lay the mutilated corpse of a security guard.

"Hah! Fresh air at last—feels damn good!"

The guy was decked out in a prison jumpsuit. I'd just seen in the papers how escapees had gone on a killing spree, but who could've guessed they'd hit City Hall of all places? And with backup, no less.

"Mmm, now that's the taste of blood. Hey, you—you're fresh meat!"

Over on the other side, some psycho murderer was licking blood off his machete like it was fine wine. With more of his kind standing watch outside, no one here could put up a fight until the Imperial Knights showed up—if they even did.

Shiver, shiver.

My body trembled on its own. ...Just stay quiet.

I'd always been a huge coward, so I kept my eyes glued to the floor, too scared to even meet those killers' terrifying gazes. How the hell had it come to this?

Truth be told, it was obviously my own damn fault—no two ways about it. I'd let some punk college junior bait me into trying that hyped-up new dark fantasy game on a whim, and boom, here I was.

I hate scary stuff!

Just because he'd called me a chicken? I'd hit start after ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠slapping on a few "no big deal" modes to act ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tough. But who knew I'd get reborn into this crapsack world?

And in a body like this, no less...

Female. 145cm tall. Long pink hair. Size-wise, it was like they'd slapped a middle-schooler in here.

Even today's middle-schoolers are bigger than this, right?

It was so unfair. I'd just gone with what my little head downstairs wanted when creating the character.

Not that I have one anymore.

In a shitty dark fantasy like this, you couldn't go on a one-man rampage like some novel or comic protagonist without piling on the cheats. So I'd knuckled under early and become a civil servant... only to end up in a hostage situation. Screw my fate.

"Judka! We've got time to kill—let's have some fun."

Judka—that was the name of the guy standing bold as brass in the middle, greatsword on his shoulder.

"Why not? Let's see what we've got~"

They raked their eyes over us like we were toys, grinning ear to ear. What the hell were they planning with those creepy stares?

Please not me. Please not me. Please not me. Please not me. Please not me. Please not me. Please not me.

I prayed silently. God! Buddha! Dad! Mom!

"You there."

Judka's gaze locked on. He pointed right at one spot.

"Yeah, you—the tiny one."

His finger was aimed straight at me.

"Y-yes?"

I bit my tongue.

"Pffft—how is she this small?"

"She's actually an adult, right?"

"Dressed in a suit like that, she looks like a kid playing grown-up."

The criminals all burst out laughing at me. Each cackle made my trembling worse.

Goddammit... I gotta pee.

One wrong move, and I'd wet myself.

"Come up front."

"N-no..."

Whoosh—thunk!

A knife slammed into the thigh of the male coworker next to me.

"Guh! Gaaahhh!"

I jumped up in shock. My legs were still jelly, but if I stayed put, my colleagues would suffer.

Grinding my teeth, I shuffled forward step by step.

"Hahaha! Anyone'd think we were bullying you. Loosen up that face. Quit shaking already."

Judka bent at the waist, meeting my eyes.

"Damn, you really are tiny."

Then he brushed past ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me and yanked the knife from the guy's thigh.

"Hnnngh...! Hic... sob..."

"Fuck's sake, man up—quit whining like a bitch."

He shoved the blood-drenched knife into my hand.

"Wh-what's... this...?"

"Fight him with it."

Judka nodded toward the blood-licking psycho. The guy's head was shaved bald, reflecting the ceiling lights right into my eyes.

"F-fight... him?"

"Yeah. Win, and you're free. I don't hand out chances like this often, but you remind me of my little girl. Go on, make the most of it."

The psycho locked eyes with me and stuck out his tongue—long as a snake's.

"Heehee! Come on, stab away! Right here for humans—the heart's the spot!"

My knife hand shook. Back when I lived alone, even cooking scared me—I'd used plastic knives instead of real ones.

Do I really have to...?

No choice anyway. Fight or die. And it wouldn't just be me—my coworkers too...

That was as bad as dying myself.

"O-okay, I'll do it!"

Bit my tongue again.

"P-please... l-let everyone go... n-not just me."

I glanced timidly up at Judka.

I threw out the counteroffer, and he roared with laughter.

"Ahahaha! Fine! Kill baldy here, and we'll let you all walk. Happy?"

"Y-yes!"

I gulped. Tried to yell it confidently, but the criminals filled City Hall with mocking jeers, like it was the funniest thing ever.

K-kill him.

I'm really gonna kill him.

I gripped the knife two-handed, glaring at the psycho.

"Keeekee! Stay put, and I'll come to you~?"

One step. Another. He closed in.

With every step, my breath grew shorter.

I have to kill him...!

The tension made my head swim; I felt like I was losing myself.

"I just love tormenting weaklings like you~!"

The psycho raised his machete high and charged.

Kill him!

That resolve hit me in the instant—

──.

The world fell silent.

A grayscale realm drained of color. Everything frozen.

Tssst. My eyes stung.

Tssst! Like hot irons searing my pupils.

It hurt, but no groan escaped. I was frozen too.

Instinct told me exactly how to spot that "death."

The psycho right in front of me!

The moment that thought hit, a red line traced across the psycho's neck.

Staring at it, I knew how to move this knife along it. Despite never working out in this body, it felt like decades of muscle memory surging up from nowhere...

"Hup!"

I breathed—and color flooded back. The frozen world lurched into motion.

The psycho was inches away, machete swinging.

My eyes stayed locked on that red line.

Whoosh.

I twisted aside, dodging the blade, and let my arm swing naturally. No force needed—like it was pulled by a magnet.

Slash!

Even so...

Thud, roll roll.

It was enough. The psycho's head hit the floor.

"Huh...?"