Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Indefinite Contractors Stir Up Trouble in the Magic Tower
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"So, how's Daniel doing?"
"He's the best. The Ancient Document Analysis Division even wants to make him a permanent fixture there."
"Sorry, but that's not happening. Handle it appropriately."
"I'll turn them down with a suitable excuse."
Titania crossed her arms.
Her eyes weren't on Elena—they were fixed on something else.
"How's that matter coming along?"
"It's going smoothly. We'll have results by tomorrow."
"Good news."
Titania smiled.
It was enough to solve that nagging headache once and for all. A grin came naturally.
"I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight. Feels like the night before a picnic."
"Heh heh. Same here."
"I can't wait to see it. Their comeuppance, those lazy slobs."
"Ahhh."
The sun was high in the midday sky.
Mura yawned as she climbed out of bed.
"Ugh. My head's killing me."
She must have gone too hard with her friends last night.
'Damn that tasty booze.'
She glanced at the clock. Noon.
Work hours had long passed, but she was unfazed.
"Let's see. Wash up, do my makeup, head to work... Should get there around 3."
She casually voiced the kind of thought that made one wonder if she was a Magic Tower mage or just some office drone.
Mura didn't care.
Deep down, she was convinced she was the type who could get away with this.
She shuffled lazily toward the bathroom.
Mura had a special talent.
She could decipher ancient languages and runes simultaneously.
Ancient tomes were mostly written by old-school mages.
Naturally, they used runes—the dominant magical language back then—as the main text, with annotations in ancient tongue.
To interpret these, one needed mastery of two dead languages from antiquity.
Mages devote endless years to the boundless study of magic, chasing mastery in even a single spell. That's what makes a mage.
Do you think many have time for such a rare skill amid all that?
The answer's obvious.
And Mura was one of those rare few.
"Mura, you have to succeed."
"Hang in there. Just study hard for now. It's all for your own good."
Mura came from a mage family with tradition but no money.
Her parents drilled her relentlessly from childhood in the family's secret arts: deciphering ancient languages and runes.
Luckily, she had the talent. What usually takes 20 years, she mastered in 12.
Her youthful perseverance bore sweet fruit.
A 2nd Circle mage who knew barely ten spells—and had never set foot near the Imperial Academy—made it into the Magic Tower.
Sure, just as an Indefinite Contractor. But that alone was cause for family celebration.
Her parents were thrilled for real.
So was Mura.
Looking back, that was the peak of her life.
Yeah. It had been.
Until she stumbled into a "bad realization" she never should have—one that ushered in her own dark age.
Early in her tenure, Mura worked harder than anyone.
Pulling all-nighters on ancient tomes, reports always on time.
Everyone praised her diligence.
Then seniority kicked in.
The daily grind killed her sense of duty and passion, replaced by boredom and annoyance.
One day, it hit her.
'Isn't there a way to slack off and still get paid?'
A thought every worker has once or twice.
Most dismiss it as fantasy.
Not her.
'Huh?'
Mura realized it.
The perfect epiphany for her, a nightmare for everyone else.
'The work grinds to a halt without me?'
It started by chance.
Winter flu. A week off sick.
She returned to a scene she'd never imagined.
Regular mages begging Indefinite Contractors for urgent help—like something out of a dream.
"Mura, I'm desperate here. Please? Do mine first. Here's a little something for your trouble."
"Uh, sure."
Regulars bribing and pleading.
Watching that, Mura got it.
She was one of the Magic Tower's precious few talents.
The moment she realized it, her life changed.
"What? So I can just half-ass it?"
First, she slashed her translation workload by more than half.
No one complained.
If anything, they tiptoed around her, making requests.
Corruption was swift.
Late arrivals, bare-minimum effort, clocking out on the dot. The holy trinity of dreams.
"Late because I was translating." "Gotta run, swamped." Everyone bought it.
She was delighted.
Living the slacker dream she'd always wanted.
She didn't want it to end.
So she recruited.
Fellow Indefinite Contractors doing the same job but still busting their asses diligently.
"What's the point of working hard? No raise, no guarantee of going regular. Diligence is a loss, a straight loss. Just do the minimum—no problems. Look at me. I do whatever, no one touches me. We're that valuable. So slack off a bit. It's fine, I swear?"
Her pitch was devilishly sweet.
Many Indefinite Contractors followed.
Even hesitant friends tried clocking out early and late arrivals a few times—then joined right up.
The Laid-Back Crew
Mura's band of Indefinite Contractors formed just like that.
Normally, they'd get warnings, heavy discipline.
But it never happened.
As Mura said, translators were rare even in the Magic Tower.
Dump them, and the regulars couldn't keep the Ancient Document Analysis Division running. The whole thing would stall.
In the end, the division mages gritted their teeth and dealt with the utterly shameless Laid-Back Crew.
The Laid-Back Crew was happy.
This dream job hit two years.
Paychecks rolled in, free time overflowed.
They believed this bliss would last forever.
'Alright. Translate a page or two today, kill time otherwise?'
Mura hummed as she opened the Ancient Document Analysis Division door.
"Sorry. Worked till dawn, overslept. Running a bit late."
"You're here."
"Huh?"
Mura tilted her head.
Her desk was gone.
Deep clean this morning?
She eyed the regular waiting for her.
"They must've moved my spot. Where to?"
"Go home."
"Pardon?"
Mura blanked for a second.
What the hell?
"Go home, Mura. No need to come in tomorrow."
"...What?"
The hangover vanished like mist.
Mura spaced out briefly.
Too much last night? Hallucinating?
"Your stuff's boxed up. Take it and go."
"Huh?"
Not a hallucination.
She stared in panic at the regular shoving a box at her.
Just three days ago, he'd clasped hands begging for deadline help.
Not anymore.
His eyes were ice, tone all business.
"Wait, hold on. What are you saying? Sounds like you don't need me anymore."
"Correct."
"What? For real?"
"What else?"
The regular crossed his arms.
A smirk curled his lips.
"You're not needed. Found someone better."
"What?"
Mura's eyes shook.
"What do you mean? Who?"
"Figure it out yourself."
"Huh?"
"You investigate. I'm not family or a friend—no duty to tell you. Right?"
The regular hurled more confusion at Mura, who was reeling from the cold shoulder.
"The new one's a lifesaver. Super diligent. Knocked out in one night what takes you lot ten days."
"...!"
"No more seeing your annoying face. I'd love to drop the courtesy and curse you out... but that'd sink me to your level. Don't want that, so half-polite it is. Got it?"
The regular's final notice.
"Bye. Was nice knowing you—kinda. Don't come back."
With that, he shut the door.
Frozen, Mura stood dazed in the hall, unable even to move.
"What... the hell is this?"
'Did we get a traitor?!'
First thought that flashed.
Someone gone back to diligent work, ratting us out. Nothing else explained it.
She whipped out her communication orb right away.
[Mura! You too? I got fired!]
[Just heading in now, got the call. Don't come tomorrow!]
"Wh-what?"
No traitor.
The whole Laid-Back Crew got the same boot.
"N-no way, for real?"
Her hands trembled, chills racing down her spine.
They knew their rarity better than anyone.
Specialized experts even regulars couldn't touch.
And all of them canned.
Impossible unless a genius replacement popped up overnight for the entire group.
But... if it really happened?
"Everyone, to headquarters now!"
Mura near-screamed into the orb.
"Tell the division chief! He'll fix this!"
[Y-yeah!]
[Got it!]
Call done, Mura bolted for Foreign Legion HQ.
Her high heels—meant for post-clockout fun—cursed her now like never before.
'Something's wrong. This shouldn't happen!'
The Indefinite Contractor still in denial hurried anxiously.
Utterly unprepared for the next truth awaiting her there.