Seraphim is a Bystander

A Certain Seraph’s Rest
 

“Alright, I’ll be counting on you again~”
“Haa… Excuse me, then.”
With a half-hearted reply to that strange voice—which sounded like it could belong to a boy, a young man, or an old man—I exited the floating castle. I nodded to the angels standing guard, then walked briskly to the edge of the floating landmass where the castle stood and flung myself off, beginning a freefall.

While letting gravity pull me toward the outer edge of the Creator God's residential domain, I began mentally listing the tasks I still had to complete and their deadlines.
A complete list of the structural power levels of 536 worlds and anomaly reports; coordination with the gods in charge of the 500 worlds that would collapse or merge within the next five centuries; and the appointment of gods for newly born worlds—320 tasks in total.
Plus, there were several reports submitted by the junior angels I was assigned to supervise 80 years ago—thanks to that f***ing boss of mine.
As I mentally tallied the remaining work, I completed the list of structural power levels for the 536 worlds. By the time I reached the edge of the domain, I had finished double-checking the numbers. I gathered the papers into a neat bundle, opened a portal out of the residential zone, and stepped into the space where I and the junior angels normally worked.
“Ah! Seras-senpai! You finished your audience with the Creator God?”

“Yes. And Helmé, this file management task—wasn’t it originally handled by someone from your team? Please deliver it to them.”
“Got it! Oh, and did you read the reports we submitted?”
“I looked through them. Nothing seems urgent, so I’ll handle them in three hours. I’ll be taking a short retreat now.”

“We’ll be waiting!”
After watching Helmé speed off like a bullet with the documents I’d handed her, I opened a portal and slipped through it into my personal space.
Collapsing into my usual rocking chair, I let out a long sigh.
“...Aaaah~”

I summoned an unread book from the shelf and simultaneously began preparing materials for my next task using my split consciousness and wings.
I hadn’t had personal time like this in 43 years… This book had been added to the shelf several million years ago. The unread ones were piling up.
But I hated the idea of using my full angelic specs to speed-read.
Just how long will it take to finish reading every book in existence?
With a pace hundreds of times slower than the wings compiling documents beside me, I slowly turned the pages, letting each word soak into my mind.
Within the hour, the paperwork was done, and I’d read about half of the book. I closed it, sank deeper into the chair, and wrapped myself in a blanket.

“I can probably nap for thirty minutes…”
Pushing away the creeping thoughts about junior angels’ reports and upcoming work, I focused only on the time I needed to wake up—and let myself drift off.
“...pai! ...ras-senpai!”

…Ugh, noisy… I worked non-stop for 43 years—can’t ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) you leave me alone for a little longer?
“Seras-senpai! The Creator God is calling you!! Why are you sleeping?!”
…Mmgh… Helmé? Let me sleep another 200 years…
“What are you saying?! The Creator God summoned you! Even you could get erased for insubordination, you know!!”

…? Can’t we just ignore that useless b—wait, why is Helmé in my private space?
“Huh? Helmé…? What are you doing here?”
When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was Helmé looking flustered and angry, yelling at me non-stop.
That was odd—my private domain should only be accessible to beings with higher authority than mine.

“Don’t ‘what are you doing’ me! You wouldn’t come when summoned, so I was sent in to drag you out!”
That damn Creator God again… Ruining my first break in 43 years…!
If you had business with me, why didn’t you just say it earlier when I submitted my report!?
“…Haa.”

“C’mon, Senpai! Quit sighing and get moving already!”
“…Fine. Sorry to trouble you.”
So in the end, I only got ten minutes of sleep.
Still, you can’t exactly refuse a direct summons from the boss.
Grabbing Helmé by the scruff of the neck, I tossed her out of my personal space and followed her back to the main workspace.

The moment I stepped out, all the junior angels’ gazes snapped to me.
They were probably freaking out, just like Helmé, over the Creator God's sudden summons.
“…Return to your duties, all of you.”
“““Yes, ma’am!!”””

Watching them scatter with armfuls of paperwork, I flapped my wings and took off.
Opening a gate, I soared into the Creator God’s domain, flying at my top speed.
Even at full throttle, it still took me 30 minutes to reach that bastard’s castle—what a pain.
“Haa… If this turns out to be something stupid, I swear I’m gonna kill that guy…”
As I skimmed through documents to pass the time, the familiar palace I’d seen before my break came into view.
The angels standing guard bowed their heads as I passed on my way to the spot with the strongest divine presence.

“Hey, sorry for calling you so suddenly, Seras.”
“…No, it’s fine. I had some room in my schedule, so aside from cutting into my rest time, there’s no problem.”
“I see, that’s good.”

“…Haa.”
…Seriously, I’m going to kill this guy someday.