I was so tired from the mission that I fell asleep as soon as I reached my bed. The next morning, Anne struggled to wake me up just in time to go to the Ministry. She said she’d tried several times already, but that I just wouldn’t wake up.

I prepared in a hurry and made for the Ministry, where I would finally find out which department I was going to be assigned to.

I wonder where I’ll end up... I hope it’s the same department as Maria.

Once I arrived, still excited, I was told to wait for the announcement in the auditorium from the other day. On my way there, I heard someone call out to me from behind.

“Good morning, Lady Katarina!” Sophia said gently. She was carrying some stuff around.

“Good morning! Are you helping out today too?”

Sophia had also been helping out at the Ministry yesterday as she waited for me to return. I’d heard that she wouldn’t be coming here every day, but I was happy that I could see my friend two days in a row.

“Yes. I came along with my brother, who had some business to take care of here. I am very glad to be able to see you for two consecutive days, Lady Katarina!”

“Me too. Back at the academy we’d see each other every day, but now that we can’t, it’s kind of lonely!” I said, and Sophia nodded in agreement.

“I was thinking the very same thing! Please come to my home to visit when you are not working. I will give you the most wonderful novel recommendations!”

“Thank you!”

That sounded like a great idea. I wanted to borrow a new romance novel from her... Hm... Sophia... Romance novels... I think I’m forgetting about something... That’s right! The note about the game! The one in the book!

Right after finding something so unbelievable, I had been planning to ask Sophia, who was the owner of the book, about it. I was so busy that I’d forgotten to, but now was the perfect chance! Thankfully, I had the note with me. I rummaged through my bag and took it out.

“Sophia, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

“What could that be?”

“I found a note between the pages of the book you lent me. Do you know anything about it?” I asked, showing her the note. She stared at it for a while, confused.

“Excuse me, but... are these letters?”

“Huh?”

“Is it a foreign language?” she asked, tilting her head to one side and looking puzzled.

I took another look at the note and realized that it wasn’t written in this world’s language, but in the same Japanese I used to read and write in my previous life. I was only able to read it because I had the memories of that world with me...

What a twist. The fact that the note was written in Japanese meant that it was written by someone else who came from Japan... Did anyone else other than me reincarnate into the game?! Where were they?!

“Lady Katarina...?” Sophia asked me, with a concerned look on her face.

“S-Sorry, I was just confused about something. Anyway, you don’t know anything about this note?”

“Yes, this is the first time I have ever seen it.”

So, Sophia knew nothing about the note, but that didn’t tell me who had put it in the book. I had lost it and then found it later, which made everything even more complicated.

Was it the person who found the book in the castle? Was it the one who was holding onto it? But it had been held in a place where everyone could see it, so that meant that it could have been anyone. I decided that my next course of action would be asking Jeord, who had brought the book back to me.

“Lady Katarina, everybody is already here,” Maria, who was with Sora, called out to me from the auditorium.

After being almost late to begin with, my little detour to talk with Sophia had made me completely late. I needed to know more about the note, but I also had to go to the auditorium as soon as possible!

“Sophia, I’ll come to visit as soon as I have a free day!”

“Yes, please do.”

I hurried towards Sora and Maria. I’ll ask Jeord and the servants at the castle about the note later.

All the newcomers were neatly arranged inside the auditorium, so I joined them right before the announcement started. Representatives from the different departments started reading everyone’s names out loud.

“Magic and Magical Powers Research Department: Maria Campbell, Dewey Percy...”

Maria and Dewey will be in the same department, working under Cyrus...

After a while, my name was read too.

“Magic Tool Laboratory: Katarina Claes, Sora Smith...”

For some reason, all the people around me seemed to hold their breath for a second after hearing that. I wonder why.

Unfortunately I didn’t end up in the same department as Maria, but at least I was together with Sora, which made me feel a bit more confident.

After all the names had been read, the department directors came to greet the newcomers, and I saw Cyrus approach Maria.

Meanwhile, I was approached by Larna Smith.

“Hey, Miss Katarina. Welcome to my department,” she greeted me.

She had plain brown hair and blue eyes, but, as a master of disguise, that was but one of her many looks. Ahh, so Larna is the director of the Magic Tool Laboratory.

“You didn’t realize even though she lent you those magic tools?” Sora asked under his breath, noticing my surprise.

He had a point. I followed him and Larna into the Magical Tool Laboratory office, which was located near the warehouse I’d visited a few days earlier.

“Please, please, come in,” she said, and I excitedly stepped into what would be my new workplace.

“Oh, Katarina, sweetie, is that you?”

“So you ended up here.”

“You’re that girl from the first day!”

“Welcome.”

I was welcomed by a crossdressing macho, a man who always managed to get lost, a flamboyant narcissist, and a woman who only talked through a puppet. As if those four weirdos weren’t enough, there was a mad-scientist looking person holding a smoking beaker while smiling creepily, and another one who seemed to be curling a dumbbell up and down while working. That moving arm was all I could see peeking out from behind a pile of stacked-up documents. Is that person going to be okay under all those papers?

I stood there, frozen, and Sora whispered to me again.

“Miss Larna just goes around gathering all the weirdest people. That’s why we ended up like this. This is the department that newcomers want to go to the least.”

Oh, I remember the Biomagic Department being the second on that ranking... to think I’ve come to the one in first place...

“Sora’s already joined us as an apprentice, so he knows the place. Katarina, these are going to be your new teammates. Everyone, this is Katarina Claes. Be nice to her!” Larna said, sounding like a teacher who was introducing a transfer student to her new grade school class.

Everyone responded with a “Welcome,” but if I was going to be surrounded by people like these while trying to avoid doom... Honestly, I was a bit scared.

“I wonder if I’ll be able to fit in with these... unique people,” I muttered to myself, and Sora heard me.

“You won’t have any problem... if anything, you’re even more unique,” he whispered back, but unfortunately I didn’t hear him.

And so I started my new life, ready to face the many adversities that would come with it.