Chapter 92

““WHAAAAT!?”” “Oh my.”

Mary and I cried out in shock, while Cerulia actually looked quite pleased.

“At first, I thought about having her use one of the empty rooms in the basement of our headquarters. That’s where I live, you see~. Or perhaps the room next to Miss Crunya, who lives on-site. At any rate, we have quite a few rooms available.”

This headquarters was originally a fortress, after all. There are plenty of rooms, including the basement.

“But if she lives in the same building, she’ll often end up not going outside all day. That’s not good for her health. Since it’s a ‘mini-study abroad,’ I want her to breathe different city air and broaden her horizons.”

“That makes sense…”

I’ve heard that if your workplace and living space are the same, your mind never rests and you tend to get depressed. It would be difficult to switch gears.

“Besides, I thought it would be a better experience for her to interact with her peers outside of work hours. So, it’s decided—you’ll be living together!”

The phrase “interact with” made me remember some unnecessary things. I had already “interacted” with Aliénor physically quite a bit… Coming face-to-face with her again is a little embarrassing.

“I understand… I have my concerns, but it’s only temporary, so I’ll put up with it…”

We each have our own private rooms, and given Aliénor’s personality, there’s a chance she won’t come out at all.

“Ufufufu. Let’s all have fun together~”

“Sigh… So some weirdo is coming…”

Cerulia and Mary’s reactions were polar opposites, but regardless, Aliénor’s arrival was set in stone.

And so, September arrived.

Aliénor arrived at the company with her familiar, the ‘Blue Crow Rimurik.’

I had been nervous that she might start spouting grandiose nonsense to my seniors and ruin the atmosphere, but my fears were groundless.

“I have come from the Carlyle Dark Magic Shop in Shizuogu County. I am Aliénor Carlyle… I am still inexperienced, but I look forward to working with you…”

In front of the President and Farphistania-senpai, she was incredibly nervous! She was like a prim and proper schoolgirl!

I see, Aliénor is the type who acts completely humble in front of people she clearly recognizes as superiors… You see people like that quite often in sports-oriented environments.

Rimurik the crow said, “Aliénor, idiot, but good person, forgive her,” though I couldn’t tell if that was a follow-up or an insult.

“Don’t say unnecessary things!” Aliénor smacked Rimurik lightly. They actually look like a good duo.

“I’m Farphistania. Nice to meet you.”

“I am President Kelkel, the Cerberus. It’s for a short time, but I look forward to working with you.”

The members of the company are used to this sort of thing; they look quite relaxed.

“Y-yes… I will work my fingers to the bone in the spirit of selfless service!”

She’s acting like a completely different character…

“If you work yourself that hard, you’ll burn out in three days. Let’s aim for the long haul. Now, Aliénor-san, you were with Franz-san during your training, right?”

Aliénor glanced at me and turned red.

She definitely just remembered everything. I know because I did, too.

“Yes. H-he was very helpful…”

“For a while, Aliénor-san, please shadow Franz-san and learn how we do things at this company.”

At President Kelkel’s smile, Aliénor answered, “Y-yeth!” tripping over her words slightly.

And so, Aliénor ended up accompanying me. I wonder if this will be okay, but it’s strictly within the scope of work, and I’m sure she’ll take it seriously.

“Fuhahahaha! To think I would meet you again! This time, I shall be the one to make you cry ‘uncle’!”

Is this going to be okay…? Also, nobody says “cry uncle” these days.

“I shall investigate the reason why you became so strong during that mini-study abroad and become a Dark Mage who won’t lose to you!”

Oh, it seems her motivation is genuine. I wonder if I should tell her that the reason I’m doing so well as a Dark Mage is partly due to being the descendant of a powerful one… Probably better not to.

“Understood. Then feel free to steal whatever techniques you can from me.”

I began walking through the suburban forest with Cerulia.

“I’ll do it even if you don’t tell me to! Now, what is the first abominable and terrifying task? You must have traded something for the power you’ve gained!”

We arrived at a field at the edge of the forest.

“I’m going to summon some Imps to till this field.”

For a while, Aliénor just stood there with her mouth open.

“A field?”

“Tilling. We’re tilling it thoroughly.”

Aliénor was dazed for a moment, but then she started pounding on me playfully.

“You’re joking, aren’t you! You’re trying to hide the secret of becoming strong from the great Aliénor-sama! How sneaky!”

“No, no, no! This really is the job! Besides, if you spent every day making contracts with evil gods, your body wouldn’t last!”

Cerulia took a step back, looking delighted. “How charming~” she said. I’d appreciate it if she stopped my “master” from being hit, even if it doesn’t hurt.

“I suppose that’s true… but shouldn’t a Dark Mage in the Royal Capital be more glamorous…? I imagined you’d be wearing the latest trendy robes and using industry jargon all the time…”

This girl really came to the capital with some strange fantasies.

Rimurik mocked her, “Country bumpkin, country bumpkin!” This crow might be smarter than its master.

“Alright, let’s summon the Imps and get to work.”

First, I summoned an Imp and asked it to work the field. This is the usual flow, so things moved quickly.

On the other hand, the Imps Aliénor summoned had nasty eyes and looked completely unmotivated.

“Now, you lot, till the field!”

“Yeah, yeah. We can hear you without you shouting so loud.” “We just gotta do it, right? Whatever.”

Those are some ill-mannered Imps… and their work was sloppy.

“Master, that isn’t the same ‘Summon Imp’ spell; it’s a different magic called ‘Summon Useless Imp.’ It doesn’t use much mana, but since the Imps don’t receive much mana either, no motivated Imps ever show up.”

“I see… so if you’re incompetent, you can’t even get ‘Summon Imp’ right…”

I guess I was blessed. I had cleared that hurdle from the start, so there were no walls for me there.