So, what were you talking about?　What were you talking about?

　When I returned to my seat, the person who spoke to me in a familiar manner was my demon colleague Arnolt, who was sitting at the desk next to me.
　He's three years younger than me, but he's a promising young talent who has already acquired a medium level of magic training using magicians.
　He also has a handsome face, is tall and has long legs for nothing.

　However, while he was certainly good and good-looking, he was also a person who looked down on others without hesitation.
　What's worse, he is the type of person who is completely unaware of it.

　I was tired of taking him seriously, so I gave him a safe answer.

"Oh, it's just some business. Don't worry about it.
Don't worry about it." "Look, you forgot your honorific again. You're forgetting the honorific again. You really have no way with words, do you?

　My motto is to be blunt, but for some reason I can't bring myself to be blunt with this guy at all.
　So I tell my colleague that he has no right to use honorifics, but every time I do, he looks at me strangely.
　He then pities me and says that I must not have been disciplined properly by my parents.

　In his mind, it is only natural for a superior person like himself to be respected by those around him.
　Therefore, it is his duty to correct those foolish people who cannot do so.
　It's really none of my business.

"And it's not for you to judge whether it's stupid or not. It's for me to decide.

　Arnauld, who was even more selfish, forcibly snatched the document out of my hands.
　Before I could stop him, he started looking through them.

"Hmmm... The analysis and extraction of the white root flower for the restorative medicine is 20. The removal of the poisonous glands of the bitter caterpillar for the active medicine is fifteen. ....... Hmm, you're still doing the same boring work.
"Leave me alone.

　The workshop manager's letter of resignation was already stowed in his inner pocket as he left the room.
　Instead, I held in my hand a piece of paper with a list of today's tasks (quotas).

　Arnold popped the work sheet back at him with a disinterested look, and gave an exaggerated shrug.
　Then he added casually.

"Well, that's too bad. I thought you'd been fired over the tavern thing.

　--Oh, it's him.
　I was about to make a fist, but stopped myself just in time. 　

　I'm not that stupid, so when I went around the bar, I wore a hood over my head and kept my face out as much as possible.
　I even took the trouble to use a voice change potion.
　If they didn't know me, they wouldn't have recognized me at all.

　And yet, the fact that the Order had been able to identify me so easily meant that someone who knew me well had likely tipped them off.
　I was able to resist raising my voice, but I couldn't help the way he looked at me.
　Arnauld noticed my gaze and lifted the edge of his lips lightly.



I don't blame you for being dissatisfied with the world. I just don't think it's right to play the rumor game.
"Well, what are you talking about?

　In response to my question, Arnold smiled lightly and lifted his shoulders deliberately again.
　You will find a lot of things that you can do to make your life easier.

　He had been watching me all along.
　He's been looking for an opportunity to eliminate people who don't agree with him.
　And I, who he had underestimated as arrogant, was successfully kicked out of here.

　And from the outside, there's nothing wrong with his behavior.
　It's obvious to anyone who looks at me that I'm the one who's been going around spreading sinister rumors in bars all night.
　He is just a righteous man who followed his conscience and accused a colleague who might have dangerous thoughts.

　Moreover, he has not said at this point whether he has reported the matter to the Order or not.
　He has been very careful not to take any false accusations, although he has been blatantly provocative.

　Arnold nodded happily, and looked into my eyes as if he could see right through me.

He nodded happily and looked me in the eye as if he could see right through me, "By the look on your face, I'm pretty sure you've been fired or close to it. Hmmm, the workshop manager has a soft spot for you. I guess the best thing to do would be to transfer you to the provinces.

　I couldn't do anything but keep silent as my junior colleague said it so smoothly.
　At the sight of this, Arnold lifted the edge of his lips further.

I can't help but feel sad when I have to say goodbye to an ordinary person. Oh, yes. As a parting gift, how about a little help with that smelting?　However, ......

　After a pause, the demon race youth says in a theatrical manner.

If you say please, Master Arnolt, I'll lend you a hand. Go ahead, say it, mere mortal.

　This guy is .......
　You're still obsessing over such a tiny thing in this situation.
　How many people are going to die because of that?

　I felt a boiling heat rising up from the bottom of my stomach, and my face began to contort, but I stopped myself just short again.
　But I held my ground again, for I felt far deeper pity than anger at being dragged down.
　And when I thought about it, I could say that thanks to this guy, I had a small glimmer of hope.

　The man in front of me, perhaps misunderstanding my swallowed words, folded his arms as if he were proud of his victory.

"Come on, come on, it'll take all day with that amount. Are you sure?　You can take your time.

　As he pointed out, it would have been very difficult for me, with my low magic power, to refine such a large amount.
　I'm sure it'll take me until tomorrow, if not today.
　If that happens, the possibility of running into the knights will go up significantly.

　In the first place, such a large amount of work is not usually turned in.


　Probably, this is also the work of this guy who is smiling so freshly in front of me.
　And I'm sure he knows that I can't let go of a job once I've taken it.

　I let out a sigh of relief and looked back into the eyes of my colleague, which were a mixture of scorn and joy.
　I stare at him for a moment and then open my mouth.

"No, I'm done.
What?

　During the conversation, I finished putting away all my personal belongings from my work desk and stood up, leaving my colleague with a dumbfounded look on his face.
　With a panicked look on his face, Arnold raised his voice.

"Hey, hey, where are you going?　Where are you going? It's not like you to abandon your work.
"Hey, how long you been messing around, Al? White root extract and bitter caterpillar are already on the way. Hurry up and start the purification. I've got more than thirty, so hurry up or I'll have to work late.

　The one who interrupted our conversation was the foreman of the blending department.
　When Arnold looked at the shared workbench, his eyes widened at the pile of materials laid out there.

　Then he turned around and glared at me with eyes filled with tremendous hatred.
　His previous expression of detachment has completely disappeared.
　Arnold opened his bloodless lips and asked me a question as if he were squeezing it out.

"............ How did you do that?　You.

　Instead of answering, I lifted my shoulders and tilted my head at an angle.
　I added one more thing.

"What's wrong with you?　What's wrong with your language?

　The next moment, as Arnold was about to stand up, a blinding light flooded from the corner of his forehead.
　This is the backflow of magic power that occurs when you can't control your emotions.
　It's something you can't help when you're a child, but it's quite embarrassing when you're an adult.

　Arnold, with a stunned look on his face and a pressure on his forehead, sank back into his chair.
　I turned on my heel and quickly walked away, leaving the nodding junior behind.
　The anger was still smoldering in my heart, but further provocation would only cause unnecessary waves.
　I took a deep breath and calmed myself down. That was a little out of character for me, wasn't it?

　I regained my composure and said a short goodbye to my close colleagues.
　We had known each other for a long time, but our goodbyes came easily.

　Thus, I left the workplace that I had been familiar with for ten years.

　I left the workshop and stretched out.
　In front of me was a scene of endless rows of magnificent buildings made of stone and brick.
　On the eaves of every building is a flag with a dragon with horns.
　They are preparing for the National Day in the spring.



　There were so many people, people, people, that you couldn't even see the cobblestones covering the ground.
　The sound of saddled horses' and donkeys' hoofs echoed in the air, followed by the shouting of artisans carrying tools for sale.
　A small boy in a store is trying desperately to attract a group of pilgrims with white cloths wrapped around their heads.
　A group of noisy footmen walked quickly by, followed by a group of mercenaries in heavy leather armor.
　At the back of the crowd, a flamboyantly dressed tsuji-geisha (street performer) is showing off his skills and asking for today's liquor money.

　The crowd was as noisy as ever today.
　Everywhere I go, there are so many people that I have never been able to relax.
　Prices are high and many people are unkind.
　The back alleys are full of garbage, and I often encounter pickpockets and muggers.

　I have lived in this city for more than twenty years, but I don't remember many good things about it.
　Nevertheless, I liked the city to a certain extent.

　I turned my gaze far beyond the hustle and bustle.
　Towering on a small hill was a huge chalk fortress.
　It was the castle of Her Majesty, the great triangular-crowned Valtrude, the queen who ruled the Holy Vilnian Kingdom.

　It has large gates and thick walls of solid masonry.
　A number of spires with red flags hanging from them stretch out as if piercing the sky.
　It is a view that can only be described as solid stone itself.

　I moved my gaze further up.
　Floating alongside the sun in the midday sky was a large, pure white moon.
　For some reason, there was a black curve running across its round surface.

　It's a very strange sight, but I'm the only one who stops to look up at it.

I wish I could have done something about it. ......

　More than tens of thousands of people live in this huge city, including the workshop manager Barnabas and the unsavory Arnolt.
　Three years from now, the moon will engulf this place in flames, and everyone will be reduced to ashes.

　And I was probably the only person in the world who knew that fact.