Chapter : 130

Even with the Self-Heal skill, my whole body throbbed.

Would this happen to be covered by industrial accident insurance?

If that's difficult, I feel like reporting it as workplace harassment.

Can I really not do either?

seriously contemplated it before eventually changing into my uniform and heading to the general affairs office the butler had told me about yesterday.

There were two desks in the general affairs office; one was covered in dust as if it hadn't been used in a long time, and the other showed clear signs of use.

Where should I be?

As I stood there awkwardly, the door burst open and a person with hollow eyes entered.

“Are you the practicum student from the Academy?”

“I’m Theo Lisitoel.”

“I’m Yuno Taylor.

The sole administrator of the Viscounty of Loren.”

“What? The only one?”

“Yes.”

I thought I had misheard for a moment and asked again, but Yuno just nodded his head repeatedly as if to say I had heard correctly.

Soon after, even that seemed to have become bothersome as his eyes became dead.

“The other people…?”

“One was dismissed as a disciplinary action for corruption related to bidding on construction materials, another is on long-term childcare leave, and the last person who worked with me resigned a year ago due to overwork.”

What is that, it’s scary. With terrified eyes, I looked at Yuno, whose complexion was as bad as someone on their deathbed.

“What should I call you?”

“Yuno is fine. I’m not a noble anyway.”

Still, he’s the one who gives me my grade, so wouldn’t it be a bad idea to get on his bad side?

looked at him with a slightly concerned gaze, and Yuno asked with his hollow eyes.

“Do you think I have the luxury to be upset over a mere formality when I’m grateful for even one person right now?”

That, certainly, I can’t deny.

“Damn it, I shouldn’t have believed them when they said there wouldn’t be much work because it’s a small fief.”

I decided to pretend I didn’t hear the small mumble that followed. Yes, that seems better for my mental health.

“You can sit at that desk.”

“You can speak comfortably.”

At the half-invitation, Yuno accepted immediately without batting an eye.

“Alright.”

Yuno, who strode into the office familiarly, quickly looked over a few documents.

This is fine, this isn't… a small mumble echoed in the room.

Yuno, who had finally selected a few papers, placed them on my desk in order.

“This should be enough.”

…Isn’t this too much? I was at a loss for words for a moment before just sitting down at the desk.

Without even thinking of wiping off the dust, I just picked up a quill pen.

The first task at hand was to check the mercenary list.

It was a procedure of comparing the mercenary list submitted by the mercenary corps leader with the actual records to check for any falsified names or if any changes had been reported.

In other words, it was pure manual labor with no room for shortcuts.

“Take it easy.”

The words ‘take it easy’ strangely put pressure on me.

I could have taken it easy as instructed, but a stubborn streak kicked in.

I grabbed a handful of documents and began to focus on them in earnest.

‘I’m doomed.’

Tears welled up as I looked at the pile of work still left.

It seems it’ll be difficult to finish the work by closing time.

Overtime, even in a game! What’s the point of being a count’s only son!

There’s no room for optimism here.

Still, giving a practicum student this much work? Is it because it’s the Academy?

I tore at my hair before just getting up from my seat, trudging.

What on earth is the Korean spirit?

I chewed on my sorrow.

Just then, a knock was heard, and Yuno and I both looked at the door at the same time.

“Come in.”

At Yuno’s permission, the door opened, and the person who entered was the viscounty’s butler.

“What would you like for lunch?”

Silence fell in the office for a moment.

Huh? Was he asking me?

The butler looked at me and smiled serenely.

That smile seemed to answer in his stead, “Yes, I’m talking to you.”

“Dinner should be fine.”

It didn't seem urgent, but I thought it would be better to finish it quickly.

If possible, I wanted to finish it as fast as I could.

Even after the short answer, the butler didn’t leave.

What? Did I do something wrong?

“Could you get me a simple snack?”

Only after I said that, after a moment of reading the situation, did the butler smile brightly and leave.

Not long after, simple snacks like sandwiches came out quickly.

It was to the point where I thought they might have been prepared in advance.

“Would you like some?”

“Sure.”

Yuno readily agreed.

With food in front of me, a wave of hunger hit me.

Right, we do all this to live, so it’s no good to starve.

The ham and cheese sandwich was excellent.

I would have been a little upset if I had starved.

The portions were generous, as if they had considered that I would be eating with Yuno, and it felt like a proper meal rather than a simple snack.

“I’ll just finish this and go out for a bit, so you can finish your work at a reasonable time and leave.”

“Yes, I understand.”

I finished the last bite and started to clean up.

I should ask for some beef jerky for Albedo on my way back after finishing my overtime.

…I will be able to leave, right?

I was anxious, but for now, I started the manual labor once again.

* * *

“Cecil, I heard you attacked the practicum student who came this time.”

At Viscount Loren’s question, Cecilia just stood with her hands behind her back and avoided his gaze.

Even though she was his daughter, he really couldn’t fathom what was on her mind.

Her emotions rarely showed on her face, so it was impossible to know what she was thinking.

It was an ideal trait for a sword wielder, but for a father who had to face her, it was often inconvenient.

“Please, don’t do that.”

It has been well over 10 years since Evan became a professor at the Academy.

Because of that, people foolishly mistook Evan for a man of excellent character, second to none in the world.

In reality, there was no other personality trash like him in the world.

When Evan had just enrolled, Viscount Loren, who was in his final year at the Academy and had little contact with him, had heard of his notoriety.

Rumors like how he had broken the arm of a senior who had called him pretty, or how he had beaten up a professor who had blatantly ignored him with magic and, still not satisfied, had put a curse on him that made the words ‘I was defeated by my student’ appear above his head.

The most terrifying thing was that most of those rumors were truths with not a single lie mixed in.

Now, even if he pretended to be a man of character, there was no telling how he would react if it concerned his child.

That might be the day the mad dog of the Academy would once again reveal its hideous form to the world.

“I understand.”

Cecilia, who didn’t understand her father’s anxiety in the slightest, bowed her head and leisurely left.

…Please, daughter, what you’re touching might not just be a bomb, but a landmine.

Viscount Loren, unable to stop his daughter any further, let her go.

Freed from her father’s nagging, Cecilia quietly walked down the hallway.

Like the long hallway, her thoughts also stretched on.

Cecilia had no desire to bully her school junior.

‘But he manages to block it somehow.’

Theo was surprisingly good at blocking surprise attacks.

So, did she feel an overwhelming force, like when facing Professor Evan or any of the other professors?

No. In fact, he’s weak.

Weak but strong, and strong but weak.

Is such a thing possible? She was curious, but Theo had done it.

It was the first time for Cecilia, who was skilled at sensing an opponent's strength, to encounter such a case, so she found it strange.

“…I don’t know.”

Muttering softly, Cecilia looked at the sky beyond the window.

If she didn’t know, she could just confirm it with her own two eyes.

While she was at it, she could also train his weak body, which was rumored at the Academy.

She pondered on her own and came to a conclusion.

Cecilia de Loren was a person of a disposition who acted without hesitation once she made a conclusion.

Her diligent personality came to Theo in another form of disaster.

* * *

‘⋯Late.’

Isn’t he too late?

Cecilia, who was showing off her skills with a wooden sword in the training ground, immediately went to find Theo.

She had warned him that they would continue next time, but he hadn't come; it seemed her junior lacked some diligence.

Immediately putting away her wooden sword, Cecilia headed to the office.

The main job of Academy students who came to the fief for a practicum was to help the administrator with miscellaneous tasks.

Cecilia, who had also taken the ‘Understanding of Fief Management’ lecture, couldn’t possibly not know.

Cecilia, who headed to the office with light steps, habitually looked out the window.

The sky had already turned pitch black.

“Come to think of it, there’s no guarantee he’s still working.”

What if he finished his work and went back?

If there was one person Cecilia wanted to avoid the most, it was undoubtedly the young administrator of the Viscounty of Loren, Yuno Taylor.

It was because a year ago, when the number of administrators was reduced from two to one, Yuno’s madness, or something like it, had begun.

Viscount Loren was not an evil man who exploited people, so he naturally tried to hire a new person.

However, the situation always got strangely twisted.

The carriage the new administrator who was supposed to help Yuno was riding in would overturn, or a sudden family situation would arise that prevented them from working.

After various incidents, the new administrator who was finally hired ran away as soon as they saw the pile of work in the office, and in the end, Yuno, who seemed to have become too lazy to even hire a new person, started working alone.

Instead, he targeted the manpower named Cecilia.

“Ugh.”

Cecilia was a knight who trained with the sword, but at the same time, as the heir to the Viscounty of Loren, she had received education on administration at the Academy.

It would be nice if she could refuse Yuno’s offer to work together, but Cecilia had a conscience.

It was difficult in many ways to refuse the request of Yuno, who was working hard for the Loren fief with hollow eyes.

Besides, Cecilia would one day become the final decision-maker on all these matters, so there was nothing bad about learning the work, so she had no reason to refuse.

“Should I not go?”

I should have gone to the dormitory first.

Just as she was about to turn her steps towards the dormitory, she remembered that he was on outside duty today.

Even if I go to the office, I won’t run into Yuno!

As soon as she was sure, she immediately turned her steps.

Cecilia, who opened the office door without knocking, found Theo engrossed in his work, not even noticing that the door had opened.

Theo occasionally shoveled coffee into his mouth and diligently moved his quill pen.

He was working. In any case, it was part of the exam, so there was a reason to refuse if he asked for help, but it would be difficult to refuse.

Quietly, without making a sound, Cecilia closed the door and, leaving the office behind, headed for the training ground.

Since she had decided to teach another person—Theo—it was right for her to also strive forward.

As Cecilia hurried her steps towards the training ground, a question suddenly arose.

‘Do they usually give practicum students that much work?’

…As expected, Yuno must be out of his mind.

Cecilia once again pondered on her own and came to a conclusion.