I Became a Civil Servant Who Can Use Magic

The weekend passed in an instant.

One day was spent roaming the bustling area with Senior Ria and Psyche,
The other day was spent wrestling at the desk organizing meeting materials.

And so, back to work.

Today was a meeting day.
The content of the meeting was the final report on the solo dispatch mission.

While Loen prepared for the meeting, team members sat down one by one.
Lastly, the Department Head closed the meeting room door as he entered.

“Let’s start the meeting.”

At the Department Head’s eye signal, Loen walked to the front of the platform.

Click.

Loen, who activated the mana projector, took a deep breath.

Why am I nervous over this?
No, it’s been almost 20 years since I’ve stood in front and presented..
It’s understandable to be nervous.

Loen, who briefly scanned the meeting room, opened her mouth.

“The area where I will be going for this solo inspection dispatch is here.”

A map was displayed on one part of the report.

A frontier among frontiers located in the northeast of the empire.
The land beyond the barrier surrounded on all sides by massive mountain ranges and endless seas.

Geographically isolated from its surroundings, it’s a peculiar region that still remains in the medieval era.

While the civilization level of the empire’s center and duchies is in a transition period from medieval to modern, that place is completely medieval itself.
I even heard that monsters appear in places that haven’t been fully subjugated.

It’s not that the culture is different, but it seems to have turned out that way due to geographical characteristics and being so far away from the central region.

And this is also why I chose this mission.

‘I don’t need to be mindful of anyone’s eyes here, right?’

Moreover, although the illusion of adventure has long been shattered due to the hardships in the duchy, somewhere in my heart, there’s still a romance for medieval fantasy.

If I have to go on a dispatch anyway, isn’t it right to choose a region that piques interest?

That’s why I chose this place.

“Rookie?”

The Department Head awakened Loen, who was lost in thought.

Ah, I was in the middle of a presentation.

Loen, who shook her head, continued speaking.

“To continue, Count Lidyte, who can be considered the real power in this region. Suspicions have been raised that he has been deliberately omitting taxes for the past two years.”
“Wow~ He’s got guts.”

Senior Ria added a comment.

“However, according to the Support Department’s investigation, he’s not the type of person reckless enough to omit taxes. Therefore, it seems highly likely that something unusual has happened to him or external pressure has been applied.”

Given that it’s a frontier even the Imperial Family doesn’t care about, it’s certainly not the involvement of demons or the allied forces. Probably conflicts with surrounding lords. That must be the reason.

However, regardless of the circumstances, taxes must be paid on time.
Because in the midst of the war with the allied forces, money is insufficient no matter how much there is. Or so I’ve been told, anyway.

Loen’s report continued for a while.
Questions flew in occasionally, but nothing particularly special.
From the team members’ perspective, there wasn’t really anything to point out anyway.

And so, the purpose of this inspection.

To visit Count Lidyte and ‘kindly’ persuade him to pay not only the omitted taxes but also future taxes on time.

It can be said to be an extremely mild mission for the Inspection Department. This was because it was a mission to build justification for early promotion.

Thanks to this, I can also without burden…. yeah right.
Still, it’s full of pressure.

Although Senior Ria repeatedly says to go as if taking a light stroll, from my perspective, well.

There’s no guarantee that something far beyond expectations won’t happen again like in the duchy or viscounty.

Moreover, the person who will be with me this time is Psyche, isn’t it? It’s not that I don’t trust her, but compared to the senior or team leader, it’s inevitable to feel uneasy….

Right after the meeting ended,
Loen, who returned to the office, asked Psyche.

“Psyche, are you all prepared?”
“Yes!”
“Food, equipment, potions, travel tools, everything?”
“Yes!”
“Well done.”

Psyche answered in a spirited voice. Judging by her tail spinning round and round behind her back, Psyche seemed excited just at the thought of going far away.

“But at least there’s the artifact and staff.”

Loen looked down at the Seal of Protection gifted by the Grand Duke and the staff purchased from the magic shop over the weekend, suppressing her anxiety.

An active defense artifact that defends against attacks of 4-star or lower.

A wooden staff imbued with effects of slightly reducing magic casting time and slightly increasing power.

The staff could barely be obtained by spending all the money earned from betting.

‘There’s no need to even mention the importance of equipment.’

Perhaps because of that, I didn’t feel like the money was wasted at all.
My life is precious, after all.

In addition to this, I’ve planned up to Plan B in case things go wrong.

If necessary, quickly leave the area and head to the nearest Inspection branch….

While I’m thinking about it, I checked the plan for the solo dispatch mission once more in my head.

Hmm….
Okay, perfect.

Some might ask “Why are you making such a fuss?” looking at me like this. For example, Senior Ria, or Ria.

But from my perspective, I can’t help it.

The dragon girl Psyche right in front of me.
Regardless of her behavior, her appearance is above average. She clearly belongs to the pretty category.

The same goes for me.
I’m not a fool, how could I not know my own appearance?

Just thinking about what happened in the duchy….
One guy was obsessed, and another guy spouted nonsense about wanting to play with me because my face is half-decent.

Therefore, Psyche and I,
Two women with above-average looks have to embark on a long journey to a frontier region alone.

‘Isn’t it rather strange not to make any preparations?’

Anyway.
I’ve already packed my luggage and made plans, so the preparations are done.
Now I just need to take the train tomorrow morning and leave.

Loen got up from her seat and headed towards Ead.

“Team Leader, I wanted to say goodbye in advance before leaving tomorrow.”
“I see.”

Ead, who glanced at Loen, leaned back in her chair and said.

“Have a good trip. And here’s one piece of advice. If something happens, don’t hesitate. Whether they’re nobles or whatever, if you’re threatened, just kill them all first. You can think about the consequences later. Understand?”
“I… understand.”

Loen responded with a bitter expression to Ead’s rather extreme statement. The next place she headed was Senior Ria.

“It’s already tomorrow? Time flies~ Just go with the mindset of taking a light stroll. Even if you have to overturn everything, it doesn’t matter. Since it’s a frontier with no strategic value, as long as you don’t commit unjustified massacres, no one will say anything, right?”
“Yes..”

Loen’s expression was still bitter.
Next was Senior Gilbert.

“Don’t get swept up in the situation, always judge coolly. Well, nothing major should happen. But you never know. Still, with your level of skill, you won’t die in some strange place, so don’t worry too much.”
“Yes!”

Finally, a normal piece of advice!
As expected, the only normal people in the Inspection Department are me and Senior Gilbert.

Lastly, Loen left the office, leaving behind Psyche who was still rummaging through her luggage despite saying she had finished preparing.

And she encountered Deputy Director Silina.
Her narrow eyes scanned Loen up and down.

“Hello? I think this is the first time we’ve talked face to face since the interview, right?”
“Yes, Deputy Director. But what brings you here..?”
“Just wanted to see your face. Oh right! I enjoyed watching the duel. You fought well, didn’t you? As far as I know, you were raised gently in a ducal family, right? By any chance, did you receive private lessons from a war mage when you were young, or anything like that?”
“No. There was nothing like that, just.”

Loen paused for a moment before answering.

“Just while pondering how to win the duel. It suddenly came to mind.”
“I see.”

The Deputy Director nodded and thought.
Certainly..

The fact that she came up with such a combat style in the first place means she has a sense for combat.
Originally, magical talent and combat sense are completely separate things anyway.

‘But a talent born with both talent and sense..’

The Deputy Director put Loen in a basket in her mind. What kind of basket it was, was a secret only she knew.

“I heard you’re going on a solo dispatch tomorrow? You must be busy, so you can go now.”
“Yes, then I’ll be going.”

Loen bowed her head and walked out into the corridor.
Then she encountered Seraphine.
What is this, a string of sausages?

“Inspector Loen, I heard the news. I heard you’re going on a solo dispatch tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm, that’s unfortunate. I was hoping we could have tea time this time.”
“That’s right. When I return after finishing the dispatch next time, let’s have one then.”
“Sounds good.”

Seraphine smiled and replied to Loen’s words. Of course, Loen has not the slightest intention of having tea time.
It was merely a polite remark.

Afterwards, Loen returned home and went straight to sleep.
And early in the morning, she woke up, packed her luggage, and boarded the train heading east with Psyche.

It was the beginning of the first mission led by Loen.

After taking the train to the eastern metropolis, then traveling by carriage for a long time, they reached the entrance to the ‘Land Beyond the Barrier’ located in the northeast.

And they were amazed.

“Wow..”
“Woah!”

True to its name, massive mountain ranges filling the horizon stretched endlessly as if it were the end of the world.

And in the middle of the mountain range, a towering wall rising between deeply split cliffs greeted Loen’s party.

“Loen! That must be the entrance to go inside!”

Loen’s party headed towards the gate located in the center of the wall.

The gate was wide open, and people and carriages were constantly coming and going through it.
Since the Land Beyond the Barrier is still part of the empire, it didn’t seem like they were doing identity checks or anything like that.

As they passed through the gate and entered the Land Beyond the Barrier.

“There’s not much difference?”
“Right?”

There was no change in the flow of air, or a drastic change in the surrounding scenery or anything like that.
Just awkwardly..

Loen unfolded the map.

“To head towards the city ruled by Count Lidyte from here, we should go this way.”

The two walked along the road for a long time.

But at some point, a heavy sound like the ground being pounded began to be heard from far away.

Thud thud thud thud.

Eventually, the cause of the sound was revealed.
Dozens of cavalry were the cause.

Loen and Psyche looked at each other.
What’s this? So suddenly? Or are they just passing by?

As the sound of hooves grew louder and the distance became close enough to identify faces.
Loen, who had been quietly watching them, suddenly pulled out her staff.

“Psyche.”
“Aren’t they just passing by?”
“No.”

Loen shook her head and started casting magic. At this, Psyche also nodded and stood at the vanguard.

Of course, it could be a misunderstanding.
They might really be running this way without any intention.
It could be that I’m overreacting due to previous experiences.

‘If it turns out to be nothing, I can just not use the magic. There’s no harm in casting in advance.’

However, judging by the ominous killing intent they emitted and the blood splattered all over their bodies,
That probability seemed very low.

The smell of death wafted strongly from them.