Chapter 7
Chapter 7
So I got fired on the very first day!
I asked with excitement, but for some reason Toma Harens only frowned more deeply and turned away.
“Wasn’t I fired?”
I asked again, but no answer came back.
The team leader glanced sideways at me, picked up a rolled bundle of documents, and walked out of the office again.
What? So I wasn’t fired.
He had just told me to get out of his sight.
Since I didn’t understand, he must have lost his temper and left himself.
His mental resilience is weaker than he looks.
At this rate, it seemed like I could get the answer I wanted if I provoked him a little more.
Although I had failed to get fired on the first day, I seemed to have succeeded in making everyone hate me.
If I repeated this a few more times, wouldn’t I eventually get fired?
The hope that had collapsed began swelling again.
Hoping that day would come as soon as possible, I looked around.
Since I had come to work, I needed to sit somewhere—but I couldn’t see any empty seat.
“Excuse me, where is my desk?”
I asked the nearest employee, but he pretended not to hear.
The others did the same. None of them even looked at me. They ignored me completely.
Well, then it can’t be helped.
Unable to find a seat, I sat down on the sofa again.
When I took off my shoes and half-lay down, the employees finally looked at me.
Every single one of them wore expressions of disbelief.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
A man whose face was gaunt enough for his cheeks to look hollow—but whose body was fairly muscular—jumped up and demanded.
“Since no one told me where my seat is, I thought I’d wait here and take a short nap until someone tells me.”
“W-what?”
The man gaped as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
Even I thought it sounded ridiculous after saying it out loud, so I understood their reaction.
“Ha! Are you a child that someone has to personally show you your seat?”
“If you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine. I’ll just keep sitting here.”
“W-wait!”
When I pretended to lie down on the sofa again, the man shouted in horror.
“The desk and chair you’ll use are in the basement storage! Go get them yourself!”
Wow.
No matter how much they disliked a rookie, they usually prepared at least a place to sit.
But they were telling me to fetch my own desk and chair?
[Q. Bring a chair and desk from the storage room.]
[Reward: 500p]
I had planned to refuse like the useless rookie I was supposed to be, but a new Sub Quest appeared.
Seriously, what a nuisance.
Well, if I kept pushing too hard it would become obvious I was trying to get fired.
Better to control the pace a little.
“Understood.”
Since there was a reward, I obediently headed down to the basement.
“…It’s locked.”
I regretted it as soon as I arrived.
The storage door was locked.
They must have known that, yet they didn’t mention it.
Clearly they wanted to mess with me.
“Honestly, how childish.”
Whether here or in my old world, everyone looked like adults but behaved like children.
Although, considering what I had done, I could understand their reaction.
Clicking my tongue, I asked a passerby where to get the storage key.
The passerby kindly told me I could receive it from the Administration Department on the first floor.
So I went there immediately.
“Hello! My name is Aileen, the new recruit in the Urban Development Department!”
The moment I finished speaking, the office buzzed.
“A woman joined the Urban Development Department?”
“That stubborn team leader allowed it?”
Judging by their reactions, the team leader of the Urban Development Department didn’t seem to have a very good reputation.
Well, he certainly had quite the personality.
Thinking of Toma Harens with his thick, messy mustache made their reactions even more understandable.
“Wait, isn’t she the girl everyone’s talking about?”
At that moment, one employee pointed at me and shouted.
Instantly the atmosphere in the office turned cold.
“That’s her. The one the lord…”
“Wow, I didn’t expect her to be that young.”
They whispered while glancing at me, and some even shook their heads.
What kind of rumor had spread for them to react like that?
I was curious, but it didn’t seem like anyone would answer even if I asked.
For now, getting the chair and desk was more important.
After receiving the storage key, I returned to the basement.
When I opened the lock and entered the storage room, I saw desks and chairs among piles of messy supplies.
I could carry the chair by myself.
But the desk was impossible.
No matter how hard I pushed, it didn’t move.
“I’ll have to ask someone for help… but who?”
The Urban Development Department staff were obviously out of the question.
They had probably anticipated this when they told me to fetch the furniture myself.
They certainly wouldn’t help.
“And judging from their reaction earlier, the Administration Department staff probably won’t help either…”
The only person I could think of was the guard standing in front of the annex.
He looked strong.
“Let’s move the chair first.”
Then I could casually ask the Urban Development Department staff about the desk.
I carried the chair up the stairs.
Walking along the flat corridor was fine, but my arms quickly began to ache.
“Huff… huff… I’m dying.”
When I finally reached the first floor, I collapsed into the chair and gasped for breath.
“What kind of stone did they make this chair out of? Why is it so heavy?”
While catching my breath and complaining, I suddenly noticed my reflection in the window.
Reddish-brown hair.
Blue eyes reminiscent of the sea.
Freckles scattered across the bridge of my nose.
“…I’m still not used to it.”
It had been almost two months since I entered this woman’s body, but it still felt unfamiliar.
Sometimes when I woke up and saw myself in the mirror half-asleep, I startled myself.
When would I finally get used to it?
“Miss Aileen?”
While staring at my reflection, I heard a familiar voice.
“Assistant, hello.”
It was the lord’s aide, Noah Roheim.
When I stood up and bowed politely, he smiled gently.
“There’s no need to be so formal. But what is that chair?”
He walked up and pointed at it.
“It’s the chair I’ll be using from now on.”
“Pardon? From where?”
“The Urban Development Department. They told me to fetch my desk and chair myself from the storage room.”
For a moment, Noah Roheim’s face hardened.
Seeing someone who was always smiling make such an expression sent chills down my spine even though I hadn’t done anything wrong.
“Ah… I’m sorry.”
Noah Roheim ran a hand across his face and smiled again.
The way his expression flipped instantly was even creepier.
“Miss Aileen, you’re young so you might not know this, but the staff of the Urban Development Department are giving you a hard time.”
Of course I knew.
Too well, in fact.
“So I’ll go to the office and say a word…”
“Wait!”
When Noah Roheim looked like he was about to head straight to the department, I hurriedly grabbed him.
“No! Please don’t!”
If the lord’s aide intervened, my plan to get fired as soon as possible would be ruined.
I had to stop him.
“I’m really fine, so please don’t do anything.”
“But…”
“I’m truly fine. And if this is hazing, then maybe they’ll acknowledge me someday if I do well.”
When I spoke firmly, Noah Roheim let out a short sigh.
“It won’t be easy.”
“I know. But I still want to try. In a way, this is part of working life. I want to solve it myself first.”
“Miss Aileen…”
Noah Roheim looked at me as if he were moved.
In reality, I was just struggling to get fired, so his expression made my conscience sting a little.
“Well then, I’ll be going.”
“That chair looks heavy. I’ll carry it to the office for you.”
“No, it’s okay. I can handle this much.”
As I lifted the chair, I remembered the desk still in the storage room.
Actually, I needed someone to help with it.
Perfect.
“Could you help move the desk? I can’t lift it alone…”
“Of course. Should I bring the one from the storage room?”
“Yes. But it’s heavy, so you might need help. Let’s go together.”
“That won’t be necessary. I can handle it alone. Please wait here a moment.”
Noah Roheim answered confidently and headed down to the basement.
“There’s no way he can carry it alone.”
That desk was incredibly heavy.
With a slender build like Noah Roheim’s, there was no way he could—
“Is this the desk?”
…He carried it.
And not only that—he looked completely relaxed.
I stared at him in shock.
Noah Roheim tilted his head.
“Is this not the correct one?”
“No, that’s the right one. Isn’t it heavy?”
“Not at all. If one wishes to serve the lord well, this much strength is only basic.”
I had no idea what physical strength had to do with serving the lord well.
“Right…”
But since Noah Roheim said it with such an innocent smile, I ended up agreeing automatically.