Chapter 75

Early the next morning, my new life at the guild “Epic Seeker” began.

Snow came to wake me up personally.

As she looked at us—brother and sister sleeping in the same bed—she smiled. It was a strange smile, as if she were exasperated, yet envious, yet nostalgic all at once. Come to think of it, this might have been the first time I’d ever seen her smile.

Soon after, Snow led me out of the room. In the office prepared for us, she painstakingly taught me the guild’s operations from the ground up.

The real work started after noon. About a dozen members gathered at the training grounds to confirm the day’s schedule. Initially, Palinchron took the lead, but it was quickly decided that I would be the one issuing orders to all of Epic Seeker as the Guild Master.

I tried to decline. However, Palinchron simply said, “It’ll be easy for the two of you, Kanami and Snow,” and promptly vanished from the training grounds.

Left behind, Snow and I thought it over while enduring the stares of the guild members.

We began selecting the most efficient way to manage the guild using the “hand” we had been dealt.

And so, the answer we came up with was—

In front of me sat a mountain of paperwork.

Before this pile of various reports and request forms, I desperately worked my quill.

I checked the flow of guild supplies, improved the management of funds, and familiarized myself with the placement of personnel. I processed the necessary documents for these tasks one by one.

Furthermore, while doing paperwork at my desk, I was simultaneously (・・・) directing the “field.”

My rule-breaking Dimension Magic allowed me to grasp the situation on-site while staying at headquarters. My way of thinking, optimized by a modern education, made filing and organizing a breeze. And finally, my “Intelligence” (Int), which had been boosted to the highest class of humanity through Leveling Up, allowed for these parallel tasks.

“…Kanami. Instructions for Teiri’s party.”

Snow murmured softly beside me.

In response, I organized the information picked up by “Dimension.”

At the scene several kilometers north-northeast of headquarters—I perceived, in real-time, a certain fugitive and the party consisting of Teiri and her companions who were pursuing him.

“Yeah, I see them. Tell Teiri to turn left at the next path and wait at the third corner. The other members can keep chasing the target as they are. The target will run right into Teiri’s position in twenty seconds… no, about seventeen seconds. Tell her to be careful and intercept with magic. The other members should arrive a few seconds after that. They’ll have him in a pincer movement.”

“…Got it. Passing it on.”

Snow spoke listlessly into the magic stone she held.

The content was exactly what I had just said. Right now, she was using the magic stone to communicate with Teiri and the others several kilometers away.

Listening to that transmission, I kept my hands moving, clearing out the paperwork.

In parallel, I used “Dimension” to confirm whether Teiri’s group caught the robber. The fleeing robber was startled by Teiri appearing in front of him, and he was promptly captured as he was sandwiched by the other members.

“…How is it?”

“Yeah, just as expected. The target was pinned down by Teiri’s magic and captured by the surrounding members. That’s the end of the request for Teiri’s party. It finished sooner than I thought.”

“…Obviously. The robber never would’ve dreamed his opponent could perceive the entire town.”

“Can’t Palinchron do something similar?”

“If you’re talking about Palinchron’s ‘Sorcery,’ you’re wrong. That has a lot of strict conditions. Besides, it’s not as accurate as yours, Kanami. He can’t do this.”

“I see…”

I had heard that Palinchron was one of the continent’s leading experts in sensory magic, but it seemed my Dimension Magic was even higher in precision.

“To be blunt, this is abnormal. Is this what Palinchron wanted us to do…?”

“Seems so. Apparently, he’d been envisioning this combo ever since he heard about your abilities and mine. I’m glad it’s working out. With this, I can at least act like a proper Master, if only in outward appearance.”

“No, at this point, you’re many times more competent than your average Master… Truly, you are a Master…”

“…Snow, stop calling me ‘Master.’ I don’t know why, but I hate being called that by a girl like you.”

“…Mm, understood.”

Seeing that I genuinely disliked it, Snow nodded obediently.

Fundamentally, Snow was submissive.

One might even say she had a weak will.

“Ah, found another robber.”

At the edge of my “Dimension” field, I caught a crime in progress.

“…Ugh. Again?”

“Vorzak and his group are nearby, so contact them. It’s a chance to earn some points.”

“…Kind of a pain.”

“No, no, no…! It’s work, Snow. We have to catch robbers for the sake of the people living in Lauravia.”

“…Mmm. Boring stuff is boring. Besides, the guild didn’t even get a request for that one.”

Snow was submissive, but she was also extremely lazy.

She didn’t like getting serious, hated getting tired, and would slack off as much as humanly possible.

To an abnormal degree.

“You’re just repeating what I say, right, Snow?”

“…I thought it’d be an easy job just repeating things, but it’s unexpectedly tedious.”

“Hey. Don’t forget that I’m currently doing the paperwork that you were originally supposed to do, okay? I won’t help you anymore if you keep this up.”

“…It’s painful when you put it like that.”

“Just make the call.”

When I brought up the fact that I was shouldering several of her tasks, Snow started talking into the magic stone with an air of resignation.

Walking through town, Vorzak heard the message and moved his mouth.

I focused my “Dimension” field, strengthening it to “Dimension: Multiple” only around Vorzak to grasp the movement of his lips and the vibrations of his voice.

It looked like he had enough energy to take down the robber.

Based on his Status, he seemed fine.

The robber’s level was low, and Vorzak’s HP was plenty.

It shouldn’t be a problem to let them face off directly.

“Okay, he’s taking the job. Now, tell him to rush to the market at District 67 immediately. Once he’s close, I’ll give him detailed navigation. The target is Level 5. No special precautions needed, so tell him to just capture the guy from the front.”

“…Passing it on.”

Snow repeated my instructions.

Receiving the orders from the magic stone, Vorzak began running his massive frame, closing in on the target. Once he was close enough, I just had to give precise directions so he’d collide with the target.

I confirmed the movements of the two through “Dimension,” closing the distance as if moving chess pieces.

Before long, the two collided, and the robber was captured.

Since the difference in strength was obvious, the fight ended in an instant.

Vorzak took the captured robber back to the shop that had been victimized.

The shopkeeper wept with joy seeing his lost goods returned. Looking at his expression, I could tell there would have been considerable damage if the thief had gotten away. I felt glad that we were able to prevent that.

All that was left was to take the robber to the national security office.

It all happened in a matter of minutes, but I had helped another citizen of Lauravia.

“That’s good. The shopkeeper is happy…”

“…Right.”

However, it seemed I couldn’t share this emotion with Snow.

With an indifferent expression, she was looking up at the sky outside the window. When she had nothing to do, she had a habit of sunbathing like this.

“If you’re free, I’d like you to help with the paperwork.”

“…It’s fine. Thanks to Kanami, I’ve already finished enough so that no one will get mad at me.”

“Ah, so that’s Snow’s standard.”

“…I don’t like doing my absolute best as much as I can, like Kanami does.”

In the course of today, I had gained a good grasp of Snow’s personality.

Her stance was incompatible with mine as the Guild Master, but I didn’t entirely fail to understand her feelings. Back when I attended school in my original world, I took the exact same stance as Snow.

The only reason I was living life to the fullest now was purely due to the environment of this other world.

If it weren’t for this harsh environment, there was a high possibility I would be acting the same as Snow.

“Even so, I can’t feel at ease unless you’re watching, Snow. I’m a newcomer, after all; there might be something I’m misunderstanding.”

“…That’s the fault of Palinchron for making such a personnel choice. Let’s just give up on the fact that an outsider is doing the paperwork.”

“…True. Everything is already bizarre, considering a first-day rookie is looking through such important documents…”

“…Exactly. Therefore, I am not at fault. Since I am not at fault, I will not work any harder than this.”

“Oh, I see…”

I gave up on lecturing Snow and silently faced the documents.

In reality, Snow’s work of communicating via the magic stone was equivalent to the work of dozens of people.

The colors outside the window took on a reddish hue as the sun began to set.

The paperwork I had started at noon was nearly finished.

The scattered parties of the guild were also finishing their respective requests.

For now, I thought I’d done a good job for my first day as Guild Master.

Refocusing my resolve, I began to clear the last few documents.

However, right then, I felt someone entering the Epic Seeker headquarters through “Dimension.”

The intruder was a girl with a sword hanging from her waist.

Running through the building and currently out of breath was Seri, the swordswoman I had fought first during yesterday’s round-robin tournament.

Since Seri’s party had been finishing a request far from town, I expected them to return much later, but it seemed she had run back ahead of the others.

She kept up her momentum, heading straight toward me.

Apparently, she had business with me.

“Mmm, Seri is heading this way. Ugh, I want to pretend I’m not in. I’m really not good with that girl…”

I confessed my honest feelings to Snow.

The memory of running into Seri this morning and ending up in a tedious situation resurfaced.

“…Seri? …I’m not good with her either. But since she goes to you when you’re around, it’s a relief and a big help.”

Snow agreed with me while staring up at the sky.

“I heard she used to look up to you, Snow.”

“…I was made into her goal. It was incredibly exhausting.”

Exhausting. Yes, that one word summed it all up.

And the fact that her goal had shifted from Snow to me was a source of deep melancholy.

I knew she wasn’t a bad person by any means, but talking to her was just draining.

As I sat there with a bitter expression, I heard the sound of footsteps pounding on the floor outside—and with the loud sound of a large door swinging open, Seri burst into the room.

“Kanami! I have returned!”

“O-Oh, welcome back… Seri.”

I greeted the energetic Seri.

“This is the report handed to me by the leader. Here you go!”

“Thanks…”

We finished the business of handing over the report. I hoped she would leave after that, but naturally, she showed no intention of exiting the room. After searching for a conversation starter, she spoke to me with a look of pure delight.

“Wow, thanks to the Master, the request finished at incredible speed! As expected of you, Kanami!”

“…No. I was just giving instructions; you guys were the ones actually moving. Your efficiency is what led to that speed.”

“I respect that humility of yours too, Kanami!”

“No, it’s not humility…”

I had assumed the position of Guild Master under problematic circumstances as it was.

She didn’t grasp the nuance at all—that I wasn’t in a position to go around boasting about my achievements.

“Kanami doesn’t swing his power around, and he doesn’t act superior! You’re equal to everyone and kind to everyone! You truly are the best Guild Master!!”

“W-Well, it’s only the first day… I’d like you to take a bit more time before making that judgment…?”

“You’re right, exactly as you say, Kanami! I always get ahead of myself and fail! As expected of Kanami. To think you understand me so well, even though I’m just one of the guild members!”

“Ah, yeah. Right…”

I was overwhelmed by Seri’s momentum and could only nod.

Undeterred by my half-hearted responses, she continued talking to me without restraint.

Starting with today’s work, she then moved on to asking me all sorts of things about myself.

Because of Seri’s unique intensity, I could do nothing but keep a strained smile on my face the entire time.

“I-I’m exhausted…”

In the middle of it, my true feelings accidentally slipped out.

“Are you tired, Kanami! Then, shall I massage your shoulders!?”

However, it didn’t work on Seri at all.

“No, I’m fine. You should rest. And, let’s try to be quiet, okay…?”

“As expected of Kanami! Even at a time like this, you never forget to look after your subordinates! You’re so kind! Palinchron makes us work like carriage horses, after all! It’s like the difference between heaven and earth!”

“Ah, right…”

I shouldn’t answer anything anymore.

I’ll just give short “Yes” or “Right” responses.

If I do that, the damage should be kept to a minimum.

And so, while I continued my paperwork through parallel processing, I kept receiving this act of violence known as “communication” from Seri.

Just as my stomach was starting to ache, “Dimension” caught the return of the other members.

The sun had completely set, and most of the members had returned.

Teiri was among them, holding the report from the previous mission in her hand.

Thinking this was my chance, I stood up.

“Oh, it looks like Teiri and the others are back. I have to go since there are things we need to discuss.”

“Ah, is it that time already? In that case, I’ll go with—”

“S-Snow seems to have a little work left. Seri, would you mind helping her out?”

I pushed Seri onto Snow, who was pretending to face her paperwork.

“——!?”

Snow’s ears twitched, and her eyes widened as she looked at me.

“Understood! I will help with all my might!”

Seri accepted happily, but Snow clearly had an objection.

“…Wait, hold on. Wait, Kanami!!”

I thought I heard something, but I walked straight out of the room.

Snow had been using me as a sacrifice to stay in the safe zone this whole time. It wouldn’t be divine punishment if I did the same thing.

I felt a sense of relief as I used “Dimension” to confirm Snow being clung to by Seri—then, I expanded my senses to find Teiri.

I found her talking to Palinchron near the entrance.

I hurried toward the entrance. It would be bad if the two in the room changed their minds and came this way.

Walking through the Epic Seeker headquarters, I reached the point where I could hear Palinchron and Teiri’s voices.

“—So? Isn’t Kanami excellent as a Master?”

“Yeah, more than you. Accurate information arrives at a terrifying speed. It’s as if the entire process of information gathering doesn’t even exist anymore. Thanks to that, a request that was given a seven-day window finished in just a few hours. It’s practically cheating.”

“Both Kanami and Snow are talents that people back in the home country would do anything to get their hands on if they knew. Since it’s a combo of those two, that much is only natural.”

“Natural? Listen to yourself… But they still lack experience. They don’t have connections, and their names aren’t known yet.”

“The members can make up for the lack of connections and experience. Those two are obedient. they’ll listen properly to the advice of you seniors. As for making their names known, don’t worry. I’ve already set things in motion.”

“Such careful preparation… You’re serious about Kanami, aren’t you, Palinchron? This is the first time I’ve seen you this desperate…”

“Heh. If I look desperate, I still have a long way to go. It’s nothing; I just want to head to the home country with a peaceful mind.”

It’s a bad habit.

When I have “Dimension” active, I end up having “Hell Ears” even when I don’t want to.

At a distance, it would be impossible without “Dimension: Multiple,” but at this range, I pick up information out of habit.

To avoid eavesdropping any further, I quickened my pace toward the two and spoke to Palinchron.

“Palinchron, I’ve finished most of the paperwork.”

“…Oh, Kanami. So, how much did you get through?”

“How much? Uh, pretty much all of it…”

Except for a few small things I left for Snow, I had finished all the documents I was given.

However, hearing that, Palinchron made a face as if he’d heard something unbelievable.

“A-All of it…? You mean that mountain of paperwork?”

“Yeah. You said doing that was the Guild Master’s job, didn’t you? So, I finished it all.”

“Wait. …Wait, wait, wait, that’s crazy. That isn’t the kind of thing that finishes so easily! There were documents just for confirmation, sure, but there were also some incredibly tedious income and expenditure calculation sheets in there!”

True, there were things like that.

The guild’s logistics, the expenses, the labor costs for everyone, the balance—various movements of numbers that a rookie shouldn’t be seeing, but I had finished organizing all of it in a single day.

“It’s probably because the arithmetic I use is different…? I was good at bookkeeping and math…”

“A-Are you serious?”

“Also, if I use ‘Dimension: Multiple,’ I can perform the stunt of looking at multiple documents at once. Plus, since my Level went up, I feel like I’ve become able to think about multiple things at once…”

It’s something I’ve started feeling lately; my thinking level has clearly risen compared to when I was in my original world. Not just the speed of thought, but the very form of my thinking has morphed. The fact that my thoughts are partitioned, allowing for parallel work, is one aspect of that transformation.

“Did Snow actually help you…?”

“No, Snow, uh, she didn’t help much…”

In fact, I did Snow’s portion too.

Snow had taught me various things seriously this morning, but it was all just so she could dump it on me.

From noon onward, she had been completely idle.

“No, even if Snow had helped, this speed is insane… Just because your Level went up shouldn’t result in this… No, wait, depending on Kanami’s mana properties, could such a thing be possible? Or is it a characteristic of Dimension Magic, or perhaps a ‘price’—?”

Hearing my story, Palinchron fell into deep, serious thought.

I didn’t intervene in those kinds of speculations. Palinchron was well-versed in the culture of this world and was an expert in specialized magic techniques. It was better to leave the analysis to him.

“Anyway, it’s finished. Is that it for today’s work?”

“A-Ah. …Actually, rather than today’s work, that was seven days’ worth of work.”

“Eh, all that was for seven days?”

I was surprised.

True, I was taken aback by the volume at first.

However, I had tackled it thinking it was only natural since it was a day’s worth of data for running an organization. Being told that was seven days’ worth was a bit of an anticlimax.

Seeing me like that, Teiri, who was standing beside us, spoke up.

“Palinchron… Putting aside the magic, isn’t Kanami himself a bit strange?”

“Don’t say it… I’m shocked too…”

The two of them looked at me with eyes as if they were looking at something mysterious and unknown.

“U-Um… in that case, should I just focus on supporting the members from now on?”

“No, it seems the seven days’ worth of work assigned to the members is also mostly finished. With this report from Teiri, everyone’s quest is complete. Thanks to Kanami’s support.”

Apparently, the tasks I had finished through parallel work today were all seven-day missions.

“Um… isn’t that a bit little…?”

“It’s true I kept it easy and light since it was Kanami’s first time as Guild Master… but even so, it wasn’t a small amount. It was an average guild’s workload…”

“I-I see…”

I was finally starting to realize the gravity of the situation.

My own high capability.

And the high command capability when Snow’s support magic was involved.

It seems it was an abnormal situation that accelerated guild operations by sevenfold.

Palinchron continued with a troubled expression.

“I’ll negotiate with the country to get more work sent our way starting next week… Until then, go ahead and proceed with the Labyrinth exploration. That counts as a guild contribution, too.”

“Understood…”

I nodded obediently.

In response, Teiri raised a voice of question.

“Palinchron, what about us?”

“You guys can use your spare time however you want, as usual. You can pick up suitable quests at public institutions, or go wherever you like as a party.”

“Got it.”

It seemed I had been too enthusiastic because it was my first day.

It wasn’t a bad thing, but the work for the entire Epic Seeker guild had disappeared.

And so, with our future policy decided, the three of us disbanded.

After that, I felt a bit reluctant to return to the room, so I made my way to the training grounds.

The members who now had nothing to do were loitering there.

I started by apologizing to everyone for being over-eager, but I was told it was “unnecessary.”

Most people seemed to think that finishing early was the best outcome, and rather than blaming me, more voices praised the high precision of my command.

I continued to deepen my interactions with the members.

I received rematches for the round-robin tournament and we taught each other about magic; I felt the distance between us close, if only a little.

As these interaction events went on, the sun went down.

In the evening, I had a meal with Maria and went to sleep together again… and so my first day of guild life ended.