It featured high ceilings, ornate furnishings, and gleaming marble floors.
This was the Scroll Management Department of the Imperial Palace.
A small section belonging to the Magic Tower.
“Namiya, Namiya?”
“….”
“Namiya!”
My name is Namia Rawabi.
An official at the Imperial Palace has been working here for exactly three years and seven months.
I belonged to the manuscript team, the junior position in the scroll management department.
“Namyaaa!”
...huh?
Who's calling my name now?
I snapped out of my thoughts and jumped.
“Ah yes.”
“Namiya, what’s wrong?
You’ve always had dead, fish-like eyes, but they’re especially bad today?”
Osun, my direct supervisor and leader of the manuscript team, spoke in a harsh tone.
“We have to go to the conference room.
The minister invited all members of the administration to attend.”
“Ah yes.”
She hurriedly followed Osun to the conference room.
The scroll management department was small, with about 20 people in total.
After a short yawn, the minister spoke.
“Now, pay attention.”
Next to the minister stood a person whom I had never seen before.
He was a handsome young man with black hair and glasses.
“This is the person who will be working in our department starting today, and he is in… training?”
The training was a system for foreigners interested in imperial civil service jobs.
They will work for up to three months, mainly receiving training or assisting with the work.
'Hmm?
Is this the first time an intern has come to our department?'
The scroll management section was the least popular section.
There was no hope in this department.
The minister also seemed to have no idea what exactly the intern would do.
'After seeing the chaos in our department today, he probably won't come tomorrow.'
That was when I was thinking about something else.
“First of all, the seat next to you, Namiya, is empty right?”
“….”
“...Namiya?”
It was only after Osun stabbed my side that I realized the situation and responded.
“Ah yes.”
“I will assign him a seat next to you, so take care of him from now on.”
“Ah yes.”
Osun gave me a look that said, “What’s up with you today?” .
I sighed deeply, tears welling up inside me.
The trainee at the front began introducing himself.
Naturally, his introduction of himself didn't even reach my ears.
'Reincarnation, you have been reincarnated!'
Last night I realized that I had been reincarnated into a fantasy novel I had read in my previous life.
According to the original work, this empire I live in will soon become a battlefield.
Dragon Blessing, a peaceful, beautiful and livable Polaroid Empire…
'The entire continent will become such a state of chaos, that there will be nowhere to escape.'
The original story had a happy ending where the young protagonist caught up in the war won and made peace again.
The problem is that the war lasted 30 years.
'I'm just one of the components of this world that doesn't even appear as a supporting character in the original work...'
When war broke out, people like me were usually the first to die.
So it was understandable that I wasn't able to focus today.
Meanwhile, the trainee's introduction was completed, and another topic was discussed.
“And Countess Torres has died.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is scheduled to attend her funeral tomorrow morning.”
The minister looked at us and asked sincerely.
“Scroll Team, how many defensive scrolls do you have now?”
Naturally, our team leader Osun also decided not to work.
Osun nudged me in the side and I quickly responded.
“There are six in total.”
“It should be enough.
Then submit the report this way.
Tomorrow, Namiya will accompany the knights with some defense scrolls.”
I swallowed my dry saliva.
According to the original story, the Crown Prince will die tomorrow because of this negligence.
‘Six… I wouldn’t be able to protect even his left arm if that was the case.’
The Polaroid Imperial Family were “Dragon Descendants” with dragon blood.
Their physical abilities surpassed those of humans, and they could even appear in the form of dragons when they were over 25 years old.
'Besides, they are also born with special abilities, but let's put that aside.'
Under the rule of the Dragon People, the empire was peaceful for a long time.
Among them, Crown Prince Kiaros was particularly distinguished.
To the extent that saying that Chiaros was the one protecting the accompanying knights and not him, this is of course something ridiculous, but it is true.
As a result, there was no special need to use Defense Scrolls yet.
‘But tomorrow, there is an unexpected situation coming for that great prince!’
‘And there are only six defense scrolls?!’
Before I knew it, the meeting was over.
The members of the department began to return to their seats.
Someone talked to me.
"Where is my seat?"
He was the new trainee with a soft face.
'True.'
I sighed deeply.
When the minister said, “I will assign him a seat next to you, and you will take care of him from now on,” he actually meant, “I will not pay attention to him anymore, so you will have to take care of it yourself.”
“Ah yes.
Follow me.”
The seat next to me remained empty.
Because there was no newcomer after me.
Once the intern sat next to me, he pulled out a document and spoke confidently.
“I want you to sign this first.”
I glanced at it and saw that it was a magic scroll related to permission to view scroll management section documents.
It had a magical effect that naturally granted power once it was signed.
“Ah yes.
But what is your name?”
“Kibun Altis.”
He was a trainee, but he was strangely bold.
Maybe because he was a foreigner?
'Well, if you're a trainee coming to work here, you should have permission to offer…'
Of course, I didn't care about the trainees now.
After handing the signed document to the intern, my mind continued to race.
‘If the Crown Prince died tomorrow, it would be like riding on a bullet train headed to war, so I must at least stop it!’
War broke out as members of the imperial family died one by one, starting with the Crown Prince.
So I had to do what I could right away.
I saw an opportunity and asked Osun cautiously.
“Team Captain, wouldn’t six defensive passes be too few?”
Then Osun asked, putting his hand to his ear.
"Namiya?
Did you just express your opinion?"
“Oh yes...”
“The minister said that's enough.
How dare the junior in rank question that?”
Ha, I knew it would be like this, but it's actually worse.
Originally, this department was a place where only useless people were gathered…
I lowered my head soullessly.
“...sorry.”
“Be careful.
When you work in a public place, you have to think a little before you speak.”
Osun soon began to fall asleep, and I buried my face in my hands in frustration.
'That's why there's war!
Do you have any intention of accompanying the Crown Prince properly?”
For me, the youngest, this was the end of my right to speak.
'But I can't let the war break out.'
I had no choice.
'Well, now I have to save him myself…'
Even among the gravel-like officials in the palace, I was at the bottom.
However, she is determined to save the Crown Prince, a distant president.
✧✧✧✧✧✧
Apprentice Kebun, or rather Kiaros, who had achieved his goal, was just waiting for the end of the working hours.
Kiaros' special ability was to appear as someone else.
Thus, Kibune became the current apprentice.
No one could guess that he was the Crown Prince because the common people knew nothing about this special ability.
There was only one reason why the Crown Prince used his abilities to infiltrate this place.
While pursuing the evil forces within the Imperial Palace, he became suspicious of the Scroll Management Department.
But.
“The Scroll Management Department is located under the Imperial Palace and is connected to the Magic Tower at the same time, so the Imperial Family’s access rights are limited.”
I had to be a member of the section so that I could read the documents in that section normally.
'I knew the place was a mess, but it's a complete disaster when I see it in person.'
And at the same time.
He wanted to see what the department he couldn't reach looked like.
'If it weren't for the magic tower, it would have disintegrated a long time ago.'
The Scroll Management Department was where those with the lowest scores in the Civil Service Entrance Examination were appointed.
They could use magic scrolls, but they didn't have enough talent to go to the magic tower.
A department where people who are incompetent in many ways come together and get paid.
'I should take this opportunity to grab something and blow it all up.'
And so came the end of working hours.
People who were doing other things jumped in and started quitting.
Then Namiya, who was sitting like a corpse the whole time, spoke to him.
“Mr.
Kebun, can you bring me two boxes of paper and ink for making the scrolls… Well, maybe I need two boxes… Can you bring them to me?”
His impression of Namiya, the woman sitting in the next office, was not positive.
Although she introduced herself, she was distracted and asked his name again.
Big eyes were unfocused, and a mouth that could not pronounce a sentence correctly, only repeated “Oh yes”…
‘She is clearly one of the incompetent employees spread throughout this department.’
Without realizing it, Kiaros replied with a hint of disgust.
“Oh, I'm getting off work now too.”
Then I looked at him sleeping.
For a moment, those dead eyes were alive.
The words flowed from her mouth carelessly.
"According to Article 34 of the Imperial Palace Civil Servants Law, civil servants are required to obey orders regarding their duties from their superiors.
Naturally, according to Article 28 of the same law, trainees must carry out the duties of a civil servant as long as they are given authority.
Mr.
Kebun, as an apprentice with access to the documents of the Scroll Management Department, you are obligated to obey my orders.
Also, according to Article 4 of the Imperial Palace Civil Servants Law, the hours are Regular work is from 9am to 6pm, and it is currently exactly 5:45:22pm.
Asking you to bring scroll making paper is a legitimate matter of duty, and since this is work time, even if you bring it now, you can still leave on time.
So, I ask you to do it now, please.”
...huh?