I Became a Civil Servant Who Can Use Magic

To put it simply, the reason Ead came on dispatch alone with Loen was to evaluate the rookie as a team leader.

Of course, it’s true that Loen caught Ead’s eye. But that was merely a secondary factor.
To begin with, is the Inspection Corps an ordinary organization?
It’s an agency directly under the Emperor, no less.

Naturally, there are procedures to go through even after passing.
That is to receive evaluations from team members while performing inspection duties together.

Only when you receive the consent of everyone, including the assigned senior, chief, team leader, etc., can you finally become a true member of the Inspection Corps.

It’s the so-called final gateway.
Although the rookie herself might not know.

Thus, the evaluation of Loen had already begun from the moment they boarded the train bound for the grand duchy.

But this new rookie who just joined.

“It’s ambiguous.”

To Ead, she was an existence impossible to grasp.

She had a deadpan expression when boarding the train in the capital,
Then she showed an excited look saying ‘Adventure!’ when told they’d ride a carriage.

Her expression gradually darkened while climbing mountains saying adventure my ass,
Then suddenly she became excited and chattered away when surprised by the flight magic.

While she actively searches for Partisan bases showing initiative, at times she just quietly watches from behind.
Due to this lack of consistency, it’s ambiguous to make a judgment.

‘I need to test her.’

Around the time Ead was thinking this,
Loen was also deep in thought.

In fact, Ead’s evaluation of Loen was quite accurate.
Because Loen herself was also wavering in her heart.

Wasn’t I planning to work half-heartedly in the Inspection Corps and retire?
When I first joined, I clearly had such a mindset..

With the incident at the viscount’s territory, and now flying through the sky and crushing Partisans like rats…
Is it just my imagination that I feel like I’m getting further and further away from retirement?

“Hmm..”

Come to think of it, I had this kind of personality in my past life too.

A person who always shouts about quitting with their mouth, but when work actually comes, tries to finish it on time somehow.
That was me.

And above all, I realized after experiencing it this time.
The adventure I’ve longed for so much.

The fact that adventure isn’t just fun.

Of course, since the immediate goal was to eradicate Partisans, it was mostly about rummaging through mountains and forests,
But in the process, I did everything I could, like chatting with adventurers riding in the carriage, cooking meals over a campfire, and even sleeping outdoors.

It wasn’t bad to actually experience things I only imagined in my mind. But that’s it.
That was really all there was to it.
Maybe.

‘I might have needed an excuse to leave.’

The crises in the novel that will come someday.
Now it’s not a novel but reality.

I might have unconsciously obsessed over adventure because I didn’t have confidence to handle such things.
Because my essence was nothing more than an ordinary citizen living under the pressure of office life.

Ah..
Loen ruffled her hair with both hands.

Let’s stop these idle thoughts.

Loen, who stopped thinking, increased her flight speed.

After moving for a while, the walls surrounding the city gradually began to reveal themselves beyond the horizon.

Around that time, Ead suggested they walk.
Saying it would be troublesome to stand out too much.

Loen gladly agreed.

Tap.

While stretching her legs after landing on the ground, Ead spoke to her from the side.

“Loen.”
“Yes.”

Loen turned her body towards Ead.

“Do you know this? Even during the probation period, if you achieve results that everyone can acknowledge, you can be promoted to senior investigator immediately.”
“Ah, was I on probation? I thought there was no such thing here.”
“Ria didn’t tell you?”
“No.”

More precisely, it’s right to say there was no time to tell.
She was dragged to the viscount’s territory right after joining, and as soon as she returned from vacation, she was dragged to the grand duchy…

“But what’s good about becoming a senior? Isn’t it just a change in position?”

That’s how it was at the company I worked for in my past life.
They say assistant manager, manager, but… the work is no different from that of an ordinary employee..

“It’s different. When you become a senior, you can choose missions on your own and go on dispatch. Not being dragged around like now. And since you’re assigned an aide, it’ll be much easier to handle office work too.”

Oh, better than I thought?

The part about being able to choose missions directly appealed to Loen’s heart.

“So Loen. I’ll leave it entirely to you from when we arrive in the city.”
“You’re leaving it to me?”

Loen’s eyes widened.
I’m still a rookie though?

“Yes. Do as you please. If I think it’s dangerous, I’ll intervene.”

Ead, who finished speaking, took something out from her bosom.

“A ring?”
“It’s an artifact that changes eye color. It would be good to use this just in case.”
“I understand.”

When she put on the ring, Loen’s eyes changed from red to black.
Loen, who blinked her eyes a few times. Soon, as if she had decided something, she opened her mouth.

“Team Leader. Can I really do as I please?”
“…”

Ead hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded.

“The Emperor.. son of a bitch.”

The moment Loen uttered those words.
Ead thought she had heard wrong.

From the mouth of none other than the Imperial Inspection Corps’ Inspection Department.
From the mouth of a high-ranking lady of the Franz ducal family, not a commoner.

What.. what? Is His Majesty the Emperor your friend?
Those words rose to the tip of Ead’s tongue.

The reason Ead didn’t end up saying those words was because the sharp atmosphere lingering in the tavern instantly disappeared due to Loen’s words.

The tavern instantly became noisy.

“Haha, that’s right.”
“He is a son of a bitch indeed.”
“This young lady knows something.”

Indeed, there’s nothing better than this for ideological verification.
Loen laughed inwardly.

The Team Leader said our goal is to find the connection between the Partisans and the Grand Duke’s second son.

So Loen decided to disguise her identity and mingle with the Partisan group.
After all, to catch a tiger, one must enter the tiger’s den.

This was the background for Loen cursing the Emperor.
And the result was a great success.
By uttering a combination of words that no one could deny, that only the Allied Forces would use, she completely dispelled the suspicions around her and gained their goodwill.

At that time, someone approached Loen with a glass of alcohol and spoke to her.

Thud!

“What happened to you that makes you curse the Emperor in such a shabby tavern? And a neat-looking young lady at that.”
“Me?”

A large man with blonde hair, who must be about 2m tall, grinned and sat next to Loen.
Then he held out a mug of beer.

“Why don’t you speak comfortably over a drink?”
“Ah, I can’t drink alcohol.”
“Oh my.”

Sighs flowed from around.

A young lady bold enough to curse the Emperor can’t even touch alcohol!
What hardships must she have gone through!
Tsk tsk, this is why the empire is no good.

Strange misunderstandings also accumulated.

“I seem to have been rude.”
“It’s not that much..”

The large man, scratching his head, suddenly introduced himself.

“My name is Yorhan. And, I’m the leader of a small mercenary group.”
“I see. I’m…”

Loen, glancing slightly at Ead, met Yorhan’s eyes and said.

“En.. My name is En. And the child sitting across from me is my younger sister Irche.”
“Aha~ En. En, that’s a nice name. By the way, you were sisters indeed. I thought you looked alike, haha.”

You don’t look alike at all though?
Loen was flustered.
Ead also frowned.

Yorhan continued speaking.

“The conversation seems to have gone off track. Would you mind telling us how you ended up in such a shabby place? Ah, don’t misunderstand. I’m asking in case we might be able to help you.”
“Well, it’s like this.”

After that, Loen’s life story spilling began.
Of course, it’s not her real life story.
It was the life story of a forged identity.

A member of a… minor count family located in the frontier.
They went completely bankrupt because the marquis of the adjacent territory challenged them to a territory war.
Before suffering a harsh fate as a count’s daughter, she made a desperate escape. Wandered here and there and ended up here.

It was an obvious lie.
Oh my~ How could that be.
No wonder she had a noble air about her!
Tsk tsk, this is why the empire is no good.

Sighs leaked out from around once again.

At this point, Loen added one more spoonful.

“But well, the current life isn’t bad either. I’ve found noble life stifling since I was young. Rather than that kind of life, I wanted a free life where I could do as I pleased.”

When the word ‘freedom’ was mentioned, the surrounding men flinched.

Right after Loen finished speaking, they chattered among themselves saying ‘Indeed, rather than living stuffily like nobles, it’s better to live freely like us’.

Among them, Yorhan, with his mouth tightly shut, staring only at Loen’s face.

Why is he staring at me like that?
Could it be that he noticed something suspicious in my story?

Just as his gaze was about to become burdensome, Yorhan opened his mouth.

“Would you like to come along with us?”

Already? No, I haven’t even told half of the story I prepared?
“Brother. What are you saying?”
“..?”

Dares, standing behind Yorhan, hurriedly put his hand on his shoulder.
Ead also looked at him with round eyes, wondering what on earth he was saying.

Despite the dissuasion of his brother and chief of staff, Yorhan firmly drove in the wedge.

“Join my mercenary group.”

Isn’t this too easy..?
The sound of common sense disappearing was heard in Loen’s ears.