I Never Said That

Rhea's eyes looked a little sad, somehow. I'm in no position to be worrying about someone else right now. I'd been fired from a perfectly good job, and now I'd been summoned to save a tower that was already circling the drain. At least I'd confirmed I wouldn't die from a single hit. Sure, it cost me points—but so what? Why would I be scared? She didn't even know Operation Points existed.

"Rhea."

"I don't believe we've exchanged names. How do you know mine?"

A haze of red smoke rose behind her back.

"None of the previous administrators even knew my name."

She was right. The reports had never recorded it. Just a perfunctory designation—Vampire-Type Boss—and nothing more.

"You can't kill me anyway. Go ahead and try again if you want."

Don't. Those points are expensive.

I forced myself to look tough. If an administrator looked weak, every floor in this place would start taking shots at him.

Rhea glanced down at my legs, then sat back in her place.

"That much does seem certain."

I looked away for no particular reason and scanned the surroundings.

Rhea caught the direction of my gaze and spoke.

"They've withered quite a lot, haven't they?"

She brushed a fingertip against a dying rose.

"There isn't enough. Mana, I mean."

"These roses aren't watered?"

I wasn't sure when I'd started talking down to her, but I was sticking with the act. I was here on legitimate business.

Rhea stared at me as if I'd said something absurd.

"Life in this place cannot be sustained by anything so ordinary."

She began dripping something red onto the withered rose. Slowly, the flower lifted its head and came back to life.

"They are grown with mana. But I am withering too, little by little."

The moment the rose revived, her lips went pale—just for a second—before flushing red again. It was so brief I nearly missed it.

I looked at the rose that had just come back.

"That just now—you used your own mana to save it?"

"…And if I did?"

"You said you didn't have enough."

"Which is why I'll wither soon enough myself."

A flicker of loneliness crossed her face. A minute ago she'd been terrifying enough to raise the hair on my arms. Strip that away, and she just looked like a fragile girl.

"Sierra."

"Yes."

I'd almost forgotten she was even here. Her own boss had been under attack and she'd just stood there watching. I saw the whole thing. Is there no such thing as a performance review around here?

"Is there equipment here that supplies mana?"

"Yes. There is. It is not currently operational, however."

"Is there anything in this place that actually works? Let's go."

Rhea watched us and smiled.

"You switched to talking down to me so quickly, yet you're so polite with your secretary."

I paused.

She's sharp.

"You're a different rank."

"Am I not the one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who's higher?"

"And Sierra didn't try to kill me."

"Ah."

Rhea nodded, as if that settled it.

"That is a fair point."

"Shall we go, then."

I started to follow Sierra out of the garden when a soft footstep sounded behind me. I turned. Rhea was coming after us.

"Why are you following us?"

"You're going to look at the mana problem, aren't you?"

"Well, yes, but—"

"Do you know anything about mana?"

…I did not. I could sort of see it, maybe.

I glanced carefully at Sierra. Her eyes began sliding, little by little, toward the right.

"Don't tell me…?"

"I am not well-versed in the subject. It is outside my field of expertise…"

I've only just met you, but I'm starting to wonder if there's anything you actually know how to do.

"Haaah… Want to come with us?"

"Of course. I was getting bored, so this works out nicely."

And so the three of us came to a stop in front of the Magic Supply Device.

…This thing had just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been left to rot.

I looked the Magic Supply Device over from every angle. It doesn't look like anything I'm used to. Where do I even start?

A status window popped up at exactly the right moment, looking suspiciously useful.

"…A thousand points?"

I glanced at Rhea.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"No reason. Just thinking about the points I spent earlier. Kind of hurts."

Rhea tilted her head, but explaining it sounded like a hassle. Just level up. Pull the trigger.

In that instant, the Magic Supply Device in front of me began to look completely different.

Yes!

The first time I'd looked at this thing, I'd had no idea where to start. Now the problems were laid out in plain sight. I stuck out a hand without even turning around.

"Sierra, you have a mana crystal, right? Hand it over."

"There is none."

"Right. Of course you don't."

Fuck. I would really like to stop hearing there is none for a while. This was a tower, for crying out loud.

"So if you had a mana crystal, you could fix it?"

Rhea asked.

"For now. Having one would raise the odds."

Then something dropped into my open palm.

Rhea… you really are something else.

Was this the same girl whose eyes had gone feral trying to kill me?

"Heheh. Don't worry."

Rhea smiled.

"If you can't fix it, I'll just start looking for a new way to kill you."

I took the mana crystal and shook my head. Not a single normal person in this entire tower.

I held the crystal up to the Magic Supply Device.

Having a game system for this was actually pretty convenient.

I gestured at the empty air, and a blue light began seeping from the Magic Supply Device. A whir. A clank. A long metallic screech. A wet gurgle.

Is this thing okay? Those do not sound like healthy noises.

It started rattling hard. This isn't about to explode, is it?

"Sierra, is this supposed to—"

I turned around. Sierra and Rhea were already watching me from behind the door.

"Can't you see from back there?? You can come over here, you know."

"That will not be necessary! Visibility is perfectly adequate from here!"

"Oh? I thought you couldn't die anyway?"

Lunatics. Both of them.

A creak, a hiss, a rising whir. The rattling machine finally found its proper voice.

The Operation Points I'd spent ten years earning kept draining away. I can earn these back, right?

I'll take it. And it looked like I was earning more points than before, too.

"Did it work?"

"I had every confidence, Administrator!"

Only then did the duo behind me come over to assess the situation.

"Yeah. Looks like it's fixed."

I checked the Magic Supply Device.

Not fully restored, but it was something. If I kept raising the skill level, a complete repair might be possible down the line.

"You're more capable than I expected."

"Than you expected? So what did I look like?"

"If you press me on it, I'll have to say you didn't look like much~"

Rhea covered her mouth and laughed, elegant as you please. Looking cool in front of you was never the goal.

She turned on her heel without a shred of mercy.

"I'll be going, then. It seems our business here is finished."

"Ah—come with us. We should at least check."

"I shall accompany you as well. A report must be filed."

I looked at Sierra.

"You're not just coming because you're curious, right?"

Her expression did not change in the slightest.

"No. It is. Strictly. For the report."

Right. Of course it is. I was going to have to set aside some time later to figure Sierra out on her own. What even was her field of expertise?

The three of us opened the door. A chill wind swept over us the moment it swung wide. Rhea took in the garden slowly.

"This is…"

It was still nothing but red, same as before.

"The garden… it's come back to life."

Earlier, the withered roses had far outnumbered the living ones. Now every last flower had lifted its head wide open.

Watching Rhea look over the garden with something like ease, I felt a little proud, despite myself.

"Hmm. One repair, and it has become rather presentable."

Sierra, still scribbling away beside me, spoke up.

"Why are you even writing a report? I'm looking at the same thing you are."

"Ah. It must be submitted to the Management Bureau. Please do not concern yourself, Administrator. I shall handle everything."

So there was a Management Bureau. Another thing learned.

"Administrator?"

Rhea was standing in front of me before I noticed. Damn. She really was beautiful. If this were Korea, she'd probably be a top-tier idol, and I'd be the career guy drinking beer and staring at the screen.

"You'll keep doing this from now on, won't you?"

This time she didn't cover her mouth when she smiled. The fangs again. That was the second time I'd seen them—once when she'd tried to kill me, and once right now.

I asked, wary without meaning to be.

"Do what?"

"Keep protecting me, I mean."

I needed to be clear about this. If I didn't protect them, I was finished too. Done. Over.

"Of course I will. Anything in this tower."

A crimson status window rose into the air.

This was a thing too? Turning it down felt like it would become a headache.

I looked at Rhea. She was watching me with eyes that seemed to see the window itself, waiting for me to choose.

Whatever. How much worse could it get?

I pressed YES.

Ninety-nine plus? That's an error, right?

No, no. I never said that.

"I'll be in your care from now on…"

Rhea's crimson eyes flared bright.

"Has an administrator been assigned to Tower No. 72?"

A man in sunglasses sat at a desk.

"Yes. One was assigned this time."

"Haaah…"

Tower No. 72. The place had a notorious reputation as a gathering ground for complete psychopaths, for reasons no one could quite explain.

"That place is scheduled for erasure soon, isn't it? Think this one will work out?"

"It's over, for all intents and purposes. Who could possibly handle those things?"

"That's true enough…"

Considering the previous administrator of Tower No. 72 had died on day one, there was no telling how long this one would last. This is the last time. If it doesn't work this time, we cut our losses and walk away.

The man pulled up Tower No. 72's final report.

This was a report? He must have been desperate if he was writing curses…

"You assigned a secretary this time too, right?"

"Yes. We put Sierra on it."

"…Her?"

"Yes. Is that a problem?"

"Haaah…"

Just thinking about Tower No. 72 made him sigh. Fine. Just go ahead and vanish.