Chapter : 131

Caffeine is always the right answer.

After slamming a fourth shot of strong espresso into my stomach, the work was finally finished only after the clock struck three.

Looking at the neatly organized documents, I felt a sense of pride nonetheless.

Kuh! To think I did all this in one day! Time to go home!

Time to go home!! Swallowing a cheer, I gave a light stretch and headed for my quarters.

I asked a maid on duty to prepare a simple late-night snack and a few pieces of beef jerky to take back to my room.

《You have returned?》

“Peep peep!”

Unlike when I left for work today, the blanket on my bed was a mess.

“Did you two fight?”

《Do you think I would fight with such a fledgling!》

“Peep peep~”

Unlike Albedo who denied it, Lou flapped its wings teasingly towards him.

Isn't that a bit too much like a human sneer for a bird?

You lost, Albedo.

A demon, of all things. And after bragging so much about being an ancient demon.

Feeling a sudden pity, I stroked his head, but Albedo swatted my hand away with his tail.

《Do not pity me.》

Hearing the gritted-out words, I chuckled and handed him a few pieces of the beef jerky I’d brought.

Albedo, who quietly accepted the jerky, tore into it diligently as if to say he wouldn't have let it go if it weren't for the jerky.

“Peep, peee!”

“What’s it saying?”

《It is asking if there are any snacks for it.》

Perhaps in a better mood thanks to the jerky, Albedo obediently interpreted Lou’s words. Hurray for beef jerky!

Do light spirits even consume things?

I could understand a demon, but a spirit eating something didn't quite fit the image.

So I hadn't thought to prepare any food for Lou.

《In any case, that thing also has a physical body, so it can only exist by sustaining that body through food.》

True, for a light spirit, it looked no different from an ordinary bird. So it naturally had to eat like a bird, I supposed.

“I see. But why didn't I know that before?”

Did it go catch some bugs somewhere?

That didn't seem to fit its image either.

As I stroked its fluffy feathers, Lou subtly avoided my gaze.

Did it steal some of Albedo's jerky?

There was no way Albedo, who was surprisingly fond of jerky, would have let that slide.

If anything, he would have complained to me that this damned light spirit stole his jerky and demanded more immediately.

《It must have rummaged through the Academy's kitchen and stolen something to eat.》

“Ah.”

To think the noble light spirit would raid the Academy kitchen.

An unexpected laugh burst out of me at the unforeseen fact.

However, perhaps not wanting that fact to be revealed, Lou and Albedo’s scuffle started up again on the bed.

Lou tried to pin Albedo down with its size, while Albedo tried to discipline Lou with its tail in a truly dynamic battle.

The fight between the two small creatures ended with the enraged Lou’s victory.

Lou climbed on top of Albedo and chirped, peep peep, ever so sorrowfully.

I didn't steal it because I wanted to, I was just so hungry!

As if shouting just that, I stroked its chin to comfort it.

“It’s okay. I’ll make sure to feed you well from now on, so don’t worry too much.”

“Peep peep!”

As if its feelings were finally soothed, Lou got off, and Albedo let out a choking sound.

With Albedo’s grumbling at Lou as background music, I started to rummage through the snacks the maid had packed for me.

“Lou, I’ll give you a little of each, so let me know if there’s anything you like.”

“Peeep~”

The first thing I offered was the salt and pepper beef jerky Albedo liked, but Lou dropped it without hesitation with a sharp peck that made a ‘tak!’ sound.

It must really hate it, huh?

Ignoring Albedo wailing over the fallen jerky, I slowly offered the snacks one by one.

It would either discard it with its beak as soon as it smelled it, or put it in its mouth and then spit it out with a ‘Ptooey!’

After several attempts, Lou finally accepted a salted cracker and some dried sweet potato.

Seemingly pleased, it danced around happily.

I stroked its head for a moment, then plopped down onto the bed.

“I’m hungry but sleepy.”

I was somehow still chewing on food, but sleepiness poured over my whole body like a waterfall.

Fatigue was stronger than hunger.

After mumbling on the food for a long while, I fell into a deep sleep right there on the bed.

* * *

Yuno wasn't one to enjoy using his own body, but he welcomed outside duties because it meant he could go home right after.

For just that reason?

To Yuno, whose every day was a series of overtimes, having a justification to leave work on time was a welcome event.

Even so, it just meant his leaving time, which was usually 1 AM, was moved up three hours to 10 PM, but he was grateful for even that.

“I want to go home.”

Having finished his outside duty yesterday, Yuno, who was heading to work the next morning, muttered with a half-dazed face.

Wanting to go home while on the way to work was nonsense, but to Yuno, it was his utmost sincere feeling.

“I want to retire….”

If a decent successor comes… yes, if a really decent successor comes, I'll retire immediately. Without a single look back.

I never had time to spend money from working all the time anyway, so I'd saved up quite a bit.

Honestly, Viscount Loren was a pretty good boss.

Even for a viscounty, the amount of work was too much for a single administrator to handle, and if Yuno had been even slightly incompetent, problems would have erupted everywhere.

Viscount Loren knew that well, and so he took care of Yuno accordingly.

As much as he suffered, or perhaps even more.

To the point that sometimes, when he was drinking with administrators from nearby fiefs and the topic of his salary came up, he would let out a gasp without realizing it.

That would make them say, “If they pay that much, maybe I should give it a try?” but when he added the objective facts about the amount of work he handled, they would naturally say, “Working like that is a bit…”

Really, if the salary had been just a little lower, I would’ve bolted immediately.

Yuno, who arrived at work today while singing his resignation song, let out a sigh at the sight of Theo, who was nowhere to be seen, unlike yesterday.

Did he run away?

Since the last new administrator had a record of running away, it wasn't particularly surprising.

That said, I couldn't just hide the work and pretend there was none for a trainee who would leave after just one month.

…Was it better to hide it?

As he trudged toward his desk with hollow eyes, he belatedly realized the source of the strange sense of unease.

“Why… is the desk clean?”

It wasn't as bad as Yuno's desk, but Theo's desk had also had quite a few documents on it.

I gave him a month's worth of work, so shouldn't it be piled so high with documents that it looked like it would spill over any second?

Blinking blankly, Yuno examined the documents that had moved from Theo's desk to his side.

The messy, unorganized documents he had entrusted to Theo yesterday were now systematically and neatly arranged, easy to understand at a glance.

“Huh?”

It wasn't a job I'd given him expecting it to be done in a day.

I was serious when I told him to take it easy.

That was the level of work intensity expected of a trainee, anyway.

But he finished a month's worth of work in one day?

“He must have worked overtime.”

This was a quantity of work that even Yuno would have had to work until at least 1 AM for.

Yuno, who muttered quietly, even felt sorry looking at the well-organized documents.

Should I have told him beforehand that it was a month's worth of work?

I just assumed he would know, so I didn't say anything.

“……”

It seemed I would have to turn a blind eye even if he was a bit late.

“No, but still, being late is a bit much, isn't it?”

Contrary to his grumbling mouth, Yuno slowly started to organize the documents just as he had yesterday.

In any case, he did finish a whole month's worth of work, so it wasn't like I was unwilling to cut him some slack.

Yuno blinked for a moment, then picked out a few more documents that hadn't been organized yet.

If he was that good at his job, wasn't it the duty of a superior to give him a bit more?

“Hmm.”

Yuno barely managed to suppress the twitching corners of his mouth and began the final review of the documents Theo had organized.

It seemed it would be a very fulfilling month in many ways.

* * *

You know that feeling?

When you wake up tired, but feel strangely refreshed and clean.

The moment you realize the sunlight couldn't possibly be this bright at the time you're supposed to wake up, your eyes fly open.

The moment you pray desperately that it isn't too late, even though you know you're late without even checking the clock.

And the moment you check the clock and your 'no way' turns into an 'of course.'

“Oh, f*cking hell.”

I had to be at work by 9, but the time was already 10:30.

I shouldn't have taken care of Lou and Albedo yesterday!

If only I hadn't eaten that late-night snack.

With no time for regrets, I just changed my clothes and headed straight for the office.

“I’m sorry, I’m late.”

By the time I arrived at the office, the clock was already pointing to 10:45.

Late on the second day. I couldn't even fathom how bad I must look in Yuno’s eyes.

To be on my boss's bad side already for the whole month, my final exam grade…!

“What time did you work until yesterday?”

“I finished at 3 and went home.”

I thought that since I left at 3, I could just sleep for five hours, wake up at 8, get ready, and go to work.

To think that I, who once went 36 hours without leaving work, had become this lax!

“Still, from now on, leave work by 1 AM. If it gets later than that, it’ll affect your work.”

Yuno’s voice was more monotonous than I'd expected.

What's this? Is he not going to scold me? He didn't look that angry either.

“I’ve sorted ‘today’s’ work and left it on your desk.”

“Yes, I understand.”

On the desk was a pile of documents that was a little smaller than yesterday's, but still, the sheer volume left me momentarily speechless.

No matter how I thought about it, wasn't this too much work?

But, if he tells me to do it, I have to do it.

It wasn't like he was paying me, but it was right to do what my superior ordered.

Damn it. I hate this side of me.

Even as tears welled up, I managed to sit at my desk and start concentrating.

Occasionally twirling the quill pen on my finger, I was focused for a long time when Yuno called me.

“Theo.”

“Yes, Yuno.”

I shot up from my seat out of natural instinct.

At this rate, I'll be shouting my name in response.

Ugh, swallowing a groan, I looked at Yuno.

Yuno took out two documents I had processed yesterday and held them out to me.

“How about you go and check on this one at the campsite yourself?

”

“Understood.”

It was a part I had also thought would be better to handle directly while processing it.

As I organized the related documents one more time, a surge of indignation welled up.

Seriously, don't make a busy administrator go out for something this trivial…!

I silently crumpled the documents in my fist, then smoothed them out again.

Fortunately, as if this was a familiar sight, Yuno looked at me with an empathetic gaze instead.

For some reason, Yuno's gaze brought certain words to mind.

Hey, you too?

Yeah… hey, me too.

I really didn't want to feel a sense of kinship over something like this.