Chapter 41

Led by the paper user, I entered the document department's office, sticking close to Elies.

The room, which smelled of paper and ink, was filled with many desks arranged in several rows, with partitions between them that were barely adequate. Apart from these, the walls were lined with bookshelves packed with books and documents, leaving only narrow pathways and necessary spaces. On the desks were piles of documents, books that seemed to be references, quills, and ink, creating a true office atmosphere, albeit without any machines. The tidiness of the desks varied from person to person. Some were messy, with documents and various trash mixed together. It was impressive that work could be done in such conditions.

As I moved through the room, I was led to a large door at the back.

Unlike the office we had just passed through, this room had two impressive desks, one on each side, clearly for the captain and the deputy captain. The walls were lined with bookshelves filled with documents and references. There was also a reception table and sofa with a simple partition.

Between the two desks was a small, child-sized desk and chair, slightly stylish with a fluffy cushion on the chair. The hooks on either side of the desk for hanging bags added a nostalgic touch. ...It was clearly my size. Even though it stood out a bit, I didn't mind.

As I curiously looked around the room, the paper user placed a stack of papers on the desk and put a paperweight on them.

...Could it be documents? Just regular paper?

Intrigued, I moved away from Elies and approached the paper user, staring intently at the documents. He handed me the top document. I examined it closely and touched it to see if anything was hidden, but it was just a slightly thicker piece of paper. How could he do those tricks with this?

"Hehe..."

As I tilted my head, Elies smiled.

I couldn't help but look at Elies, who was smiling happily.

"It's just regular paper, Yurie. Mars is skilled in special combat using paper as a weapon."

...So he's the one Elies mentioned who fights with paper! To think he could repel a group with just paper, how amazing is that?

...Oh, I've been so focused on the paper that I haven't even greeted them yet.

"Good morning. I'm Yurie, and I'll be in your care from today."

"Good morning. I'm Mars, the deputy captain of the document department. Welcome."

I hurriedly greeted them, and he replied with a voice that seemed to contain a smile, though his expression didn't change. Huh?

"Hehe, how about it, Mars? Isn't Yurie cute?"

"She meets the captain's standards."

Elies seemed to understand the reason. Am I the only one left out? And it seems I'm the reason. Did I do something?

"Mars-shu-fukutai-cho?"

"Keep growing like this."

"?"

Even when I called out, it still made no sense. But Mars patted my head. Hehe.

After that, I returned the documents and was allowed to sit at my desk. Even though it was made on the spot, having my own desk made me happy. The fluffy cushion on the chair welcomed my bottom comfortably. It was subtly sheep-patterned, and upon closer inspection, it had round eyes.

"Yurie, let's do a simple test before we start work."

"Huh?"

"Let's see how well you can do calculations. We'll assign you tasks based on that."

Following Elies' words, I took off my shoulder pouch and placed its contents on the desk. I hung the pouch on the hook next to the desk. As I had confirmed yesterday, it contained two slightly unusual-shaped pens, a small pipette with red and black ink, a ruler, and an abacus, all in my size. They weren't quills. I've never used quills, so it's lucky they aren't.

Looking at the structure of the pens, the tips were like fountain pens when the caps were removed, and there was a small ink reservoir at the back. When I opened the cap of the ink reservoir, it was half full of ink.

"Jot has really gone all out. This is a new writing tool developed by the blacksmith department that can write without repeatedly dipping in ink, like a quill. Only a few members have it, but Jot had it made especially for Yurie to use easily."

"I'll thank Jot-tai-cho."

"Sure."

Oh, so it's a fountain pen. And it's brand new.

As I tightened the cap on the ink reservoir, Mars brought a sheet of paper. I moved the stationery to the side, and the paper was placed in front of me, face down.

"...There are fifty questions in total. There's no time limit, but I'll stop you if I see fit. You can use calculation tools and write on the paper."

Mars' explanation was very concise. It's been a long time since I've taken a test like a student. I was a bit nervous. When Mars checked the time with his pocket watch and casually signed the bottom left corner of the back, I became even more nervous.

"The captain and I will start working. If you finish before I stop you, let me know."

"Okay."

"You may begin."

At Mars' signal, I flipped the paper over and focused on it. I heard Elies and Mars sit down and confirmed that I could read and write the characters. If I couldn't, I'd be out immediately.

In my memory, I had never seen or written these numbers and symbols, but I knew what they represented. How is that possible? Does this body know them?

I picked up the pen and started solving the first question, writing down the answer. I could write, though my handwriting was a bit weak. I thought it was readable and childlike, which was a fair assessment.

The first ten questions were simple addition and subtraction. The next ten increased in digits. The following ten were multiplication and division, with the difficulty increasing every ten questions. But even with the increasing difficulty, it was still elementary school-level math. That was good.

I solved each question carefully and double-checked the answers at the end.

After finishing the last check and completing all fifty questions, I put down the pen. I had to rely on the abacus for the multiplication and division with many digits. My calculation skills had clearly declined, and my hands weren't very familiar with the abacus. I might need some practice.

"I'm done."

Despite the relief of finishing, I called out, and Elies and Mars looked up from their documents, surprised. Seeing Mars check the time with his pocket watch and move, I quickly stood up and brought the paper to him. As he took the paper and picked up a red pen, I was reminded of a teacher. The time was written on the back again. As Mars checked and graded each question, I felt strangely nervous.

"...Captain, all answers are correct."

"...That's impressive."

"Moreover, there are marks indicating she did the calculations."

Hearing Mars report the results to Elies, I did a mental fist pump.

"She's ready for immediate deployment. We can assign her 80% of the verification tasks."

"Her speed is excellent. It will free up other members for other tasks."

"This is an unexpected golden egg."

Elies moved to Mars' desk to confirm the results herself. ...Please be lenient with my messy handwriting?

"Since the job content has been decided, let's start the explanation."

It seemed I had been approved by Elies, who rewarded me with a beautiful smile. A beautiful person's smile never gets old, even after three days!