Chapter 5: Starting Life at the Ministry

“...and this is how we completed the mission, Miss Larna.”

After hearing the report of my subordinate Guy Handerson through the new, improved version of the magic communication tool, it took a good amount of effort on my part not to laugh.

“This was no joke. It was a serious, dire situation,” she told me angrily, realizing how much fun I was having.

“I mean... she tried to fend off a gigantic creature with rocks and sticks... That’s just too funny...” I said. Unable to resist any longer, finally burst out laughing. I had heard the rumors about Katarina Claes being a unique noblewoman for a long time, but she just never stopped being entertaining.

“Well,” Laura said, irritated that I was still laughing, “the report is over. I will give you more details once we are back at the Ministry. And I expect some explanations about these newcomers.” She switched off the communication tool.

Laura (and Nathan Hart, who was also on that mission) ended up seeing Katarina use her Dark Familiar. I’d have to explain her involvement with Dark Magic once they came back.

Laura was one of the most physically and magically skilled employees in the whole Ministry, and Nathan was one of the smartest. They had been chosen as examiners for that group for this very reason: the Ministry couldn’t risk anything bad happening to a precious Light Magic user and a duke’s daughter.

However, they had come to know about Dark Magic, so I owed them an explanation. I looked at the transcript of Laura’s report that I’d written down.

“I’ll have to investigate this as soon as possible...”

I immediately went to ask for the help of someone close to me who was very good at this kind of thing.

A few days later, while I was organizing some documents in my room in the Ministry, I heard someone knock on the door.

“Come in.”

The man who walked in normally had silver hair, but today his hair was dyed a darker color and he was wearing unusually plain clothes as a disguise.

He was Jeffrey Stuart, first born of the king and fiancé of Susanna Randall, which was my public identity.

“Hi Larna. I’ve come to give you some news about the investigation you asked me to conduct,” Jeffrey told me with his usual giddy smile.

“Thank you, but why come all the way here yourself? Couldn’t you just send me the report?”

“My lovely little brothers are going to be at the Ministry today, so I thought I’d come here to see them, and that just made it faster to bring you the report myself. That’s all,” he said, grinning.

He was affectionate towards his brothers to the point of perversion. Coming to the Ministry just to look at them was part of it, but he also had their portraits hung up in his room, and even asked me to create magical tools that he could use to spy on them.

“...Oh.”

“My brothers, really, you know, they just...”

Oh no, he’s going to start one of his speeches about how wonderful his brothers are!

“Can you tell me about the investigation first?”

Jeffrey looked a bit disappointed, but he took out something that looked like a report and started reading it.

“Let’s see... the creature that attacked your subordinates seems to be a ‘dragon.’ I went to the Biomagic Department to confirm it with Delius, and he treated me to an hour-long explanation.”

If someone as knowledgeable about animals as Delius said that it was a dragon, then it had to be true.

“A dragon, huh? I’ve seen them in books, but I didn’t think they really existed... My subordinates told me that it disappeared into smoke. Do you know anything about that?”

None of the books I knew talked about dragons disappearing like that.

“Well, about that... This is just my theory, but I believe that this ‘dragon’ creature was very similar to the Dark Familiar belonging to Miss Katarina Claes.”

“A Dark Familiar? But it was huge.”

“Miss Katarina’s familiar also became huge at one point, so maybe they can change size at will.”

He had a point — that was possible.

“And then there’s the unconscious man that your people brought back... His debilitated condition was very similar to that of Thomas, the boy who kidnapped his stepbrother, Keith Claes.”

“He was the one whose vitality had been sucked out to power Dark Magic, right?”

“Right. He has no wounds, no discernible illness, and we’re giving him food and medicine, but he just keeps getting weaker. The doctor has no idea what’s going on. And also, a woman resembling Sara, the Dark Magic user involved in Keith’s kidnapping, has been witnessed around the forest. I think it’s safe to assume that the dragon creature was created through Dark Magic. The forest was probably disturbed in the process, making the animals run away.”

Jeffrey’s theory seemed sound.

“Yes, but we have no proof,” I said. “If only that man would wake up, then he could help.”

“That could be difficult. We couldn’t save Thomas, either.”

Despite our best efforts, Thomas had lost his life after being captured.

“So much for Sara’s Dark Familiar, though, as it was defeated by Katarina’s,” Jeffrey said, giggling.

Katarina had called out her Dark Familiar dog and defeated the dragon. According to my subordinates, who had seen the beast’s last moment, it had stopped breathing shortly after its neck was bitten.

“That Miss Katarina’s really incredible,” Jeffrey commented. “Not only did she tame a Dark Familiar, but she also made it turn giant and used it to fight...”

I agreed wholeheartedly. “She said that her puppy had just gotten bigger, but all the others said that it was more like a huge, terrifying wolf.” Hart and Handerson had been taken aback at seeing how Katarina had petted that giant monster.

“A huge wolf? I’d like to see that. But when did it gain that ability? This is the first time, isn’t it?”

All that Katarina’s familiar had been able to do so far was play fetch in the garden, and we didn’t know if he had any powers, or how to use them.

“I think it’s because of Katarina’s magical tool.”

“What magical tool?”

“I let all the examinees borrow some tools from the warehouse before going on the mission. I had built a tool to act like the one that Katarina accidentally bought some time ago, the one that can influence Dark Magic. And, by coincidence, she took that one with her. I only built that on a whim, but I think it really worked.”

Katarina had even said that she could feel it warm up inside her pocket before hearing the familiar’s voice, so it was very likely that the tool had something to do with the dog’s newfound power.

“Oh, that’s incredible. I also heard that Miss Maria Campbell had a tool with her which amplifies Light Magic...”

“Yes, and her powers were all the stronger for it.”

“The coincidences never end. And what happened to that tool?”

“I let those two have them. There aren’t many people who can use them anyway.”

“So their powers will stay as strong as they were during that mission. That’s wonderful. But to think that they’d both just so happen to choose the one tool that amplifies their own powers...” he said, and then thought to himself for a moment before speaking again. “Was it really a coincidence?” he asked with a serious expression which, for him, was really rare.

I didn’t know how to reply, because I, too, had thought that it had all played out too well to be sheer coincidence. I felt like we were being involved in a very eerie incident.

★★★★★

After passing an incredibly difficult test, I, Dewey Percy, started working at the Magical Ministry in the spring.

I left the house that I had lived in since I was born to go and live in the Ministry’s dormitory. While I intended to send part of my (presumably lofty) salary back to my home, I had no plan to go back there. That place held no good memories for me.

It was a poor household, probably the poorest in town. My terrible parents gave birth to child after child, sending them to work while they enjoyed themselves. My siblings were the only breadwinners, and since they were so busy working, they couldn’t even go to the cheapest of schools and never even learned to read or write. In turn, this limited their career prospects, cursing them to a life of low-income occupations.

And what little they did earn, my parents would take to use for their own entertainment. We worked hard, but we could only afford to cover ourselves in rags and were constantly made fools of.

My siblings had come to accept that this reality was inescapable, but I had not. I remembered hearing the rumors about Maria Campbell, a girl from this town who, in addition to being smart, wielded Light Magic. Her talents had basically already secured her a future at the Magical Ministry.

I had heard about the “Magical Ministry” before, but I wasn’t so sure about what it actually was, so I did some research and found out that it was the country’s most prestigious organization. I imagined that it would offer pay to match. If I could work there, I would be able to escape my life of poverty.

However, the only way to be hired there would be to either be a talented magic user or to pass a difficult examination. Since I could not use magic, I was left with only the latter.

I asked my siblings to let me go to school, promising that I would keep working as normal. Between working and studying, I barely had any time left to sleep.

My clothes were little more than dirty rags, and my books were old and battered used copies that I had had to beg for. At school I was insulted and bullied for this, but I did not give up and kept applying myself.

One day, the girl I had heard so much about — Maria Campbell — came to talk to me.

“Hi! You’re a really diligent boy, aren’t you?”

She said something to that effect.

A Light Magic user, gifted from birth... The two of us were nothing alike. She had probably approached me out of pity, but I coldly sent her away.

“What would a chosen one, a Light Magic user, want to do with me? Leave me alone,” I said.

I did not want the fleeting sympathy of the privileged, because I would feel hurt and betrayed after expecting more and receiving none. I was the only one looking out for myself.

All my efforts bore fruit, and I was able to graduate school and take (and pass) the Ministry’s examination earlier than planned.

And then my life changed.

I had prepared thoroughly for the entrance ceremony, studying how to properly speak and behave around superiors. However, on my way there I met a group of people who, resenting me for having entered the Ministry at such a young age, picked a fight with me. As a result I did not make it in time for the ceremony, and only reached the Ministry during the tour of the premises.

In any case, I was now in the Ministry, and my new life there had started. I could barely contain my excitement as I passed through the building’s gate.

My excitement was, however, quickly spoiled by seeing the very girl I had so coldly rejected years prior — Maria. She reminded me of the old life which I had left behind, making me extremely uncomfortable. I wanted nothing to do with her, but she looked at me as if she wanted to say something.

I ignored her, because there was nothing that I wanted to talk about with her, neither now nor later. Unfortunately, when we were sorted for the examination, we ended up being in the same group. The way she looked at me, obviously wanting to start a conversation, was very annoying. And there was someone else even more annoying in the group.

Katarina Claes, daughter of Duke Claes. When I heard about her rank I started wondering why she would want to work at the Ministry, since I had been taught that noble women, once they were of age, would get married and stay in the house without working.

Surely there would be some important reason — for example, she maybe had incredible magic powers. But she did not. The rumors said that she was just here to pass the time until marriage.

I had spent so much time and effort to come here, but she had entered the Ministry on a whim, owing her success only to her rank. That was infuriating, and I could not help but hate her.

I never thought that I would have to travel in a group with those two people. With Katarina around, Maria’s stare was even more difficult to stand.

During the mission, I was expecting her to bother everyone by acting like an arrogant, spoiled aristocrat.

Before reaching our objective, we had to stop for lunch in a small “mom and pop” restaurant. The place was not dirty and the food was not bad, but it was not exactly fit for a duchess.

I imagined that Katarina would complain about the down-to-earth cuisine we were served, but she ate it with delight while praising it profusely. I stared at her, shocked, and for some unfathomable reason, she offered me some of her bread from her plate.

I refused, and voiced my surprise at how she was enjoying the food. However, she just said that she loved this kind of cuisine. Maybe she was not the kind of noble I thought she would be...

After cleaning her plate, she had to be stopped by Maria and Sora from ordering seconds, and the restaurant’s owner even gave her some more food to take with her.

The more time we spent together, the less she seemed like what I imagined her to be.

So what if she isn’t that arrogant and is kind to commoners? She is the kind of person to work at the Magical Ministry just to kill time! I told myself this every time the image I had of her in my mind started to falter.

Later, when we happened to be alone, she asked me what I had against her, and I unwittingly spoke the — offensive — truth. Even if she was friendly with commoners, that was no tone to use with a noble. Only after I was finished speaking did I realize that I had risked being severely punished for what I had said, but it was too late.

I waited for Katarina’s response like a prisoner waiting for judgment... but Katarina did not reply, and just looked at me with a troubled face, making me feel very awkward.

After reaching the location for our mission, I proposed the most efficient solution, but nobody agreed with me. Katarina’s carefree suggestion angered me, and I ended up voicing my complaints once again. And, like before, she replied only with an unsatisfactory silence.

We went to check the fields, and they were full of animals, many more than we had expected. Their eyes were full with fear... This fact lingered with me. I had trouble sleeping that night, and I woke up very early the following morning.

I went for a stroll to clear my mind, but I ran into the person that I least wanted to see — Maria Campbell.

She greeted me, and my face immediately betrayed how annoyed I was. I asked her what she was doing there, doing my best to convey that I wanted to be left alone, but she was unfazed.

“I was just strolling, taking in this beautiful morning, and then I saw you. I was wondering what you were doing,” she said.

She admitted to having followed me, and then said that she wanted to talk. I could not stand the way she looked at me anymore. I wanted her to state her business and leave as soon as possible.

“Well, you know, we grew up in the same town, but we’ve never talked much. I thought it would be fun to get to know each other,” she proposed.

That was absurd and unnecessary. I had to fight on my own, and nobody would ever lend me their help.

“I think that maybe, if one is feeling down, or stressed about something, it can help to have someone to talk about it with,” she said.

“I have no such problem. Please leave me alone. If that was what you wanted to talk about, there is no need for further discussion,” I replied.

Stop looking at me like that.

“But lately you’ve been looking so much more tired than you used to...”

Shut up! What do you care?!

I made to leave, and she tried to stop me by grabbing my sleeve. I shook her hand off without a second thought.

“What would you know about that? You barely even know me! Leave me alone!”

She knows nothing! I always struggled, and nobody ever helped me. Everyone only insulted and bullied me, and I was left on my own. Ever since I was a child, I would have to hug myself and cry alone. That was how lonely I was. Life has taught me that I am alone. Nobody will help me. As if someone who was born with the gift of Light Magic could understand that! Leave me alone!

I rebuffed all she said... but she grabbed my hand again.

“...I was just like you...” she mumbled.

A Light Magic user? Just like me? That cannot be right, I thought, but her stare was so intense that I realized that she could not be lying.

“I thought that I had to do everything on my own... I can’t leave you alone, Dewey,” she said, holding onto my hand. Her hand felt so warm... It was the first time someone had touched me so kindly.

“You don’t have to do this alone. You can rely on us,” she told me with a gentle smile.

For all my life, no matter how much I was struggling, nobody had ever helped me. My parents only thought of me as a tool, my brothers were too busy staying alive, and everyone else, far from lending me a hand, would just make fun of me. Even when I could not stand that lonely, tough life anymore and tried to rely on people, they would turn their backs on me. That was why I had sworn to live alone, without relying on anybody.

“Leave me alone” is what I’d said... but I did not want to be left alone. I wanted someone to be kind to me. And it was only then, in that moment, that I realized that.

The warmth from Maria’s hand ran through my body, melting away the layer of ice that had kept me apart from the rest of the world.

It was so simple. A warm touch, a few kind words, a gentle smile. This was enough to open what I had kept closed for so long, and it felt so pleasant, so good.

I cannot let anyone think less of me. Everyone is an enemy. I am alone...

All these words, one after the other, melted away.

I looked at Maria’s eyes, and being stared at did not feel unpleasant or annoying anymore. It felt good. We then went back to the house together, but there was something I had wanted to ask her.

“Say, Campbell...”

“Just call me Maria. You don’t need to be formal with me.”

“Y-Yes... So, Maria...” I said, blushing, and she giggled with a gentle smile.

“Why are you friends with Lady Claes?”

The two of them had looked friendly with each other during the trip, and I did not understand why a commoner, and a powerful Light Magic user at that, would befriend a girl like Katarina Claes.

“You mean Lady Katarina?”

“Yes. This may be rude to say, but you two have very different ranks, and I heard that she is not that powerful of a magic user. I do not even know why she is in the Ministry to begin with.”

I could not outright say that she “came to the Ministry as a pastime” to someone who seemed to be her friend.

“She’s amazing. Just talk to her and you’ll realize it,” she said with a mysterious smile.

“...Really?”

That was not a very satisfying answer, but I could not argue with that smile... and it did not take long for me to understand what she meant.

I put myself in harm’s way to protect Maria from a beast the likes of which I had never seen before.

I was close to losing consciousness after hitting my head, and I saw Maria come running towards me. She took me in her arms, despite the monster threatening to attack her.

I had tried to protect her, but ended up endangering her all the more... I was ashamed of myself. I told her to leave me there and run away, but she did not listen.

I prayed inside my heart that someone would save her, and it was then that I heard a voice.

“Hey you! Over here!” shouted Katarina while throwing rocks at the beast.

She was trying to lure it towards herself to save us. I was shocked that she would put herself in such danger for us, a couple of lowly commoners... I could not lie to myself anymore. She was not that bad of a person.

Maybe I had known that for much longer, realizing that she treated everyone as her equal, and that she was not arrogant in the least — if anything, she was extremely kind. My envy for her privileged lifestyle had clouded my vision.

She’s amazing... Maria’s words from earlier that day resonated in my mind just as I lost consciousness.

I woke up only to find myself (much to my dismay) in Handerson’s arms. I was told that the fight was over, and that Katarina had slain the beast.

The story about her joining the Ministry to kill time until marriage was nothing but a rumor. She had just been hiding her true skills... After all, Maria would never compliment her like that if that was not the case.

Katarina was not only kind, but tremendously powerful as well.

And so, I made peace with the fact that I would have to rethink my prejudices towards her.

★★★★★★★

The problem at the village had been solved, all necessary clean-up had been done, and we were ready to go back to the Ministry.

“I regret misunderstanding you. Please forgive my insolent behavior so far,” said Dewey bowing deeply.

After avoiding so much as looking me in the eye for so long, Dewey now approached me with a preoccupied expression, telling me about the “wonderful personality he’d refused to acknowledge” and the “incredible powers he’d failed to recognize.”

...I didn’t even know who he was talking about. Not really sure what was going on, I just nodded and agreed with him, and his expression became more relaxed.

However, that only lasted for a second, and now he looked embarrassed. “I-If you have forgiven me, I would like to ask you to... teach me your ways,” he said, bowing again.

I had no idea what he was going on about, but I could guess that he didn’t hate me anymore and wanted to make peace, which made me very happy.

“Of course! Let’s be friends,” I said briskly.

“Thank you! I will do my best,” he said with a really cute smile, made even more powerful by the fact that, so far, I’d only seen his annoyed expression.

Just as charming as you’d expect an otome game’s love interest to be. I wasn’t into younger boys, but I felt like I was in danger of falling for him.

Anyway, I was really glad we were on friendlier terms now, as that could help me find new solutions to avoid doom. Doing as my grandmother in my previous life had told me was the right decision.

Now I can focus my energy on fighting the Catastrophic Bad Ends!

The trip home was really pleasant, since I was able to speak to a nice, smiling Dewey.

We reached the Magical Ministry in the evening, and I was surprised to find all of my friends there. They said that they knew we would be coming back today, and had all come here to welcome us back. The fact that they had come both to see me off and welcome me back made me really happy.

Our examination group then went to give our greetings and a simple report to our supervisor, which turned out to be Larna.

Laura and Hart remained there to give a more detailed report, and Sora said he had to go back to his own department. Dewey, who had been told to rest by the doctor, went back home. Maria and I went into an empty room to talk with the friends who had been waiting for us. The sun was almost set, but I wanted to catch up with them after being apart for so long.

“Are you hurt anywhere?” said Sophia.

“I have brought some medicine, just in case,” added Mary.

“Don’t worry, I don’t have a single scratch,” I said, rolling up my sleeves to show my arms and rolling up my skirt to show my legs.

“Big Sister! What are you doing?! Stop!”

“That’s not something a chick should do!”

Keith, troubled, and Alan, embarrassed, scolded me.

I just wanted to show my shins, it’s not like I’d roll my skirt up so much that they could see my underwear, I thought, but I decided that actually saying that would just make them even madder at me, so I just apologized.

“I am relieved that you are not wounded, but it surprises me that your first mission would involve staying the night in such a faraway place. What kind of mission was it?” Jeord asked me.

“At first we had to get rid of tanuki, and then we had to get rid of a dragon,” I replied proudly with my chest puffed out, waiting to be praised about how incredible that was... but nobody said anything.

Huh? Why?

“...I get the tanuki, but by dragon... do you mean the giant winged beast which looks like a lizard?” asked Nicol after a while. His face showed the usual emotionless expression, but his voice sounded confused.

“Hm? Yes. It was like a huge lizard with wings.”

I wonder if they don’t know about dragons. After all, even the other people in my group were surprised to see one.

“Are they rare beasts?” I asked.

“Rare...? I’m surprised they even really exist...” Alan said in disbelief.

“I have seen them in books,” said Nicol, “but I also thought that they were fictional creatures.” I’d thought that dragons would be normal in this magic world, but apparently I was wrong.

“Unbelievable as it is, the worst part is that I can believe something like that happening to you... So, how did you defeat that dragon?” asked Keith, looking appalled.

“Oh, Pochi got huge and fought it. He went all groarrr and defeated the dragon.” I tried my best to explain how incredible Pochi’s fight had been... but again, I received no answer.

“Katarina... Pochi is the Dark Familiar that lives inside your shadow, correct? What do you mean ‘got huge’?” asked Jeord, with a slightly concerned undertone to his smile.

“Apparently it was because of the magic tool I borrowed... He just became as big as the dragon all of a sudden.”

It turned out that the tool I had borrowed was a Dark Magic tool, and Pochi had somehow reacted to it. I was told that I could keep it, since almost no one else could use it anyway, but I thought that I wouldn’t be using it for the time being. I didn’t want Mother to scold me about bringing a huge dog into the garden.

In the same way, Maria had borrowed a Light Magic tool, which was why she could sense Dark Magic so well, and she also kept it after the mission. My tool was a clumsy-looking magnifying glass that could only be used to turn Pochi bigger, while Maria’s was a cute golden ring that increased magical powers, which felt kind of unfair. Maybe that was the difference between the protagonist and the villainess... I wished that at least my tool had been an accessory too.

“I think I understand. I think,” said Jeord, looking resigned.

“If Pochi was the one to fight the dragon, that means that you weren’t in danger, right?” asked Keith.

“Of course,” I said.

“Of course not,” Maria said at the exact same time.

“In order to protect me, Lady Katarina tried to lure the beast her way by throwing rocks at it. She was lucky that Pochi happened to save her, but she was in extreme danger the whole time. I know that she did it for me, but...” Maria explained, on the verge of tears.

Everyone’s expression changed as they heard this. They asked Maria for more details, and she obliged, including the parts where I tried to fend off the dragon with a stick and when I went against it a second time to save Pochi. The more she talked, the darker everyone’s faces became.

“Y-You see, Maria was in danger, so I just acted without thinking. But in the end we were all safe, so it’s fine! Right?”

“Big Sister... how many times have I told you to stay safe?” said Keith, and everyone else followed with their own complaints.

I knew that I’d done something dangerous, so they were right in scolding me... I promised myself to be more careful going forward.

It was now night time, and I went back home with Keith for the first time in two days.