Suspiciously Good at the Job (2)
Warm morning sunlight streamed through the towering stained-glass windows of the spire.
Sariya-noona, perched lightly on my shoulder, peered out the window and murmured.
"Never thought I'd be commuting to the Great Yokai Council headquarters with my little bro."
These were one of the few hours she was active each day.
She'd just woken up, insisting on seeing my first day at work.
She swung her legs as she added,
"And with all four limbs intact, no less."
The navy-blue badge pinned to her chest gleamed. It was about half her size, somehow looking comical.
"Noona, isn't that heavy?"
"Not one bit?"
She said it while holding her head high. She'd begged to wear it herself since last night, so I'd relented.
I wonder if it's okay to think this,
but honestly, it was a little cute.
"Why are you staring like that?"
"It's nothing."
As we stood before the inter-floor transporter, she slipped down from my shoulder.
She pressed the navy-blue badge against the pillar's sensor crystal.
Her small back, chest puffed out proudly—it felt somehow resolute and dignified.
Beep.
With a clear chime, the transporter hummed to life.
Like she'd completed her mission, she hopped back onto my shoulder.
We passed the first floor and stopped at the second.
As soon as we stepped out, massive letters etched into the corridor's marble floor caught my eye.
[Thousand Longevity Division]
The first floor's ceiling was so high that from the second-floor railing, the spire's grand interior sprawled out below in a single glance.
Is this the taste of promotion?
I felt good.
As we walked the corridor, a faint ink scent wafted through the air, mingled with soft murmurs and the scratch of pens.
At the corridor's end was a spacious room with floor-to-ceiling glass walls.
Inside, wooden partitions divided it into departmental sections crammed with desks. People sat in rows before them.
They moved their pens while their lips fluttered rapidly.
Lip-speaking.
Their mouths moved fast like casting spells, but the info exchanged was on another level.
And papers flew everywhere, seemingly propelled by magic.
It was fascinating.
I caught glimpses of the titles on the flying papers.
While I stood there blankly, an elderly man with a silver badge approached.
"Are you the outlander?"
Outlander?
I almost said no, but I remembered my ID had listed me as one when entering Hwangdo, so I nodded hesitantly.
"...Yes, that's me."
"Pfft!"
A stifled laugh came from my shoulder. My ears burned.
I'm gonna die of embarrassment.
The old man smiled kindly and introduced himself.
"I'm Henrik from the Strategy Division. Your probationary senior. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, sir."
I bowed politely.
"Follow me for now. I'll explain the Thousand Longevity Division's structure."
As I followed Henrik, he continued.
"Unlike the Martial Division handling combat, the Thousand Longevity Division consists of six divisions."
The Strategy Division for tactics and operations.
The Heart's Eye Squad for intelligence and surveillance.
The Purification Division for relief and medical aid.
The Shadow Division for infiltration and special ops.
The Rear Division for cleanup.
The Secret Division for research and experiments.
"Your assignment isn't set yet. After probation, you'll be placed based on aptitude."
"Ah...."
I'd assumed Strategy Division, but I was still temp staff.
Maybe desk-jockeying suited me.
"Since it's your first day, try some Strategy Division work."
"Yes, sir! But I don't know lip-speaking."
"No worries. You'll pick it up slowly."
Henrik smiled and led me to the Strategy Division section.
[Strategy Division]
We reached the section with the signboard and sat at my assigned desk.
No sooner had I sat than a sheet of paper floated down lightly from the air onto the desk.
It had two items.
First: Countermeasures for nationwide doppelganger outbreaks.
Second: Estimated location of the eastern yokai cluster.
1. Countermeasures for nationwide doppelganger outbreaks.
2. Estimated location of eastern yokai cluster.
"Tough topics, but write your opinions and reasoning as best you can."
I glanced at Henrik's face. He didn't seem to expect much from me.
"Ask if you're curious about anything."
He sat across from me after saying that.
I stared hard at the paper.
It was definitely tough.
But.
I know doppelgangers too well.
I've lived with them for 14 years.
The issue was the eastern yokai cluster.
I was from the west.
I didn't know the east well.
Among all these flying papers, is there info on that?
Or I could ask Henrik.
But that won't impress anyone.
This was a test.
To see if I could handle Strategy Division work.
To gauge my aptitude.
I have to do it on my own.
In this sea of information, there had to be a compiled source somewhere.
I just had to find it.
"Little bro."
"Yeah?"
Sariya-noona on my shoulder peered at the paper and whispered softly.
"Eastern cluster... I heard something about it before."
"Really?"
I almost shouted.
Right, she's a yokai.
I'd forgotten the most reliable source was right beside me.
I glanced around cautiously and pretended to focus on the paper.
Then the answers are basically solved.
I swallowed dryly.
The problem was sourcing the info.
If I nailed it too perfectly, I'd end up in an interrogation room sipping truth serum soup.
I whispered to noona,
"It might raise suspicions... What do I do?"
"Write stuff anyone could know, obviously...."
She was right.
With the answers set, I just needed to mix in my 14-year-old vocab and package it convincingly.
I picked up the pen and started writing.
Henrik watched the boy in front of him, staring intently at his paper.
His name was Outlander.
Just like that odd name, he'd made waves at headquarters yesterday.
The first applicant a doppelganger didn't attack in the first exam.
Heard he was a spirit mage, but not to that extent.
If not for that, he'd have been labeled a yokai.
The second exam was even wilder.
Face off against the rule yokai "Abandoned Teddy Bear."
Follow its tricky rules to dispel it; fail, and you're trapped in the room—moderate risk.
Confirmed safe enough for exams.
But yesterday, that assumption shattered.
Rule yokai live up to their name. Hiding that kind of power.
The room was drenched in blood, they said.
Anything could've happened.
But this boy...
In that chaos.
He hugged the teddy bear and even comforted it.
Then volunteered as its obsession target to end the exam.
No steel nerves could do that.
Like carrying a ticking bomb.
Yet the boy looked unfazed.
Strategy Division scrambled replacing the exam last-minute because of him—headache city.
And that wasn't all.
He locked the exam proctor in with a rule yokai and went to his interview alone.
Not your average madman.
Interview details were hazy, but the results were shocking.
The Council Lord, silent for ages, sent a direct message.
-Give him the gold badge too.
-But that's exclusive to division heads...?
-Today or later, it's the same.
The Lord's endorsement.
First in nearly 50 years.
Only two others got such treatment: Martial Division Head and Thousand Longevity Division Head.
-And when you give it... say it's from a friend.
-Pardon??
-......
She'd gone fully silent lately.
Her rare words were harder to parse.
Headquarters buzzed: freak, lunatic, monster. All saw him as incomprehensible.
So meeting him...
...Just an innocent kid clueless about the world.
His wide-eyed wonder at the flying papers stuck with me.
Strategy Division was for sharp minds. Hard to say it fit him.
He'd forced overtime yesterday too.
But I couldn't hate him.
Like a grandson.
Being around him, he was just cute.
No urge to tease.
Still, per prior talks with colleagues, I gave him the toughest ongoing issue.
No 14-year-old solves it day one.
Needed yokai habits knowledge, nationwide news savvy. Info gathering plus analysis.
Days to crack normally.
Told him to ask if curious—meaning, seek help if stuck.
"Um... I'm done."
"Already?"
Minutes later, he brought the paper. Zero expectations.
14-year-old level at best. Even noble early education wouldn't finish polished so fast.
Reading it...
......
My eyes widened.
Writing screamed 14-year-old: crude phrasing, shaky structure.
But the content—
...Expert level, no flaws.
Doppelgangers share vision via mirrors.
Best prevention: cover or shatter mirrors in homes with boys.
Western yokai cluster types, patterns. Even lead entity's estimated spot.
Not perfect, but actionable now.
Henrik alternated glances between paper and boy.
"Did you... really write this?"
"Yes."
The boy asked anxiously.
"...Is something wrong?"
"No, but...."
I reread it.
Reading my doubt, he added hastily,
"I've always been interested in yokai and local news."
"Where'd you see this?"
"Books... and newspapers?"
Lame excuse.
No way that's the source.
Mixed in yokai insider knowledge no human gets without living among them.
But.
The Lord approved him.
The one who sees through souls gave him the gold badge herself.
No villain here.
In other words.
...A promising rookie after ages.
Heh heh heh.
My expression softened.
"Outlander."
"Yes?"
"Lunch after work. What do you want?"
The boy blinked round-eyed, then shyly replied,
"I can only eat veggies... Is that okay?"
"Sure, sure. My treat."
I laughed.
I got why the Lord treated him so exceptionally.
Can't let other divisions steal this newbie.
Especially not the Heart's Eye Squad head, grinding her teeth right now. Never.