Chapter 56

Inspection 3 will continue in the next chapter.

"Are you saying I'm weak?"

I couldn't help but prick up my ears at the ominous voice coming from next to me.

At the window to the right, Luciola, the counselor, was calmly and politely denying the man's accusation.

However, no matter how much Luciola tried to explain, the man's anger didn't seem to subside.

"Then, aren't these numbers wrong? Come on, do it again for me."

Ah, yeah.

I got it.

To put it simply, the man was dissatisfied with his status numbers.

Luciola must have mentioned the average values of HP and MP as a reference.

"I'm sorry, but to use this system again, you need to make a new reservation."

"Reservation? Can't I just wait in line right now? If it's wrong, it's your mistake."

Just wait in line right now.

What about the people waiting outside the guild?

It's the same as demanding to cut in line.

While I was vaguely listening to the conversation next to me, I continued to process the new registrants in front of me.

The man's attitude only got worse.

First, there had never been a failure in the status imprinting process.

Whether the numbers were correct or not, I couldn't say for sure. There was no precedent, so it was inevitable.

This is just a guess, but if the numbers were wrong, it would mean that all the numbers I've seen so far were wrong.

For example, if there were two people with a magic power of ten, another skill user might come along and say both have a magic power of thirty.

In that case, even if the numbers were different, they would be saying the same thing.

It's just a matter of the reference values being different between me and the other skill user.

In the end, there's no way to verify it for now.

If the skill didn't fail and the status is displayed on the card, the best I can do is have them accept it as their provisional numbers.

It's just a reference point.

I should have gotten a signature on the agreement at the beginning, but the man didn't seem to understand.

"Hey, you. Can you step aside for a moment?"

The frustrated man put pressure on the young man in front of me who was registering.

He must have been discouraged when he heard that he would have to wait thirty days for a reservation.

The young man, intimidated by the rough man, immediately gave up his place.

Looking to the right, I saw the usually calm Luciola with a strained expression, looking at me.

"I'm sorry, but—"

"Hey, it's fine. It'll be quick."

The troublesome thing about this man is that he doesn't get physical.

If he tried to grab me, the staff would immediately pull him out.

It's a last resort, but even if my words were interrupted, I continued with a smile.

"As stated in the agreement, a reservation is required for any updates, regardless of the circumstances."

If I say that, he'll definitely get angry, but there's a fee for updates.

"It's your mistake, right? Are you going to make me wait for days?"

His tone had changed to one that definitively blamed us.

In his mind, it must be our fault.

It would be easy to check again, but if I did, similar people would keep coming.

That would be a problem.

"Normally, there's a fee for updates, but I'll waive it this time. How about that?"

So, just go home.

The man seemed to think about it when he heard the word "free."

It's unlikely that his magic power and HP would increase dramatically in thirty days, no matter how much he trains.

"If there's a significant difference in the numbers during the update, I apologize."

I said this with as apologetic a face as possible.

"Really?"

"Yes, I sincerely apologize. However, even if the numbers are unsatisfactory during the update—"

"I get it. Don't complain, right?"

The man interrupted me again but seemed to be willing to back down.

He might be thinking of demanding money as an apology from the guild.

I sincerely apologize, but I won't give you anything special.

It's just a verbal promise.

I saw him off with a lukewarm smile as he left in a good mood.

"Thank you for your patience. Let's resume, please."

The young man, who had been watching, muttered, "Ah," and returned to the counter.

"Sure."

His name is Kimi, right?

I'm glad he's not a short-tempered man.

I activated the skill as usual.

"Ah..."

"What?"

I couldn't help but voice my surprise.

Kimi had a special skill.

I showed him the card and asked.

"Please look at this. Has it never been activated before?"

"Me, a skill user? No way. I didn't know until now!"

Kimi, with a look of surprise, held the card.

"Could you come back another day? It's a special case, so I'd like to handle your consultation personally—"

"Eh?"

"If you're looking for a job, I can help with that too."

Kimi, still in a state of confusion, nodded at the word "job."

"That's great. Can you come to the guild at noon two days from now?"

"Okay, I got it."

So far, I've directly approached about five people, including Kimi.

I usually ask for their accommodation details and arrange for them to come back to the guild.

It's part of my job to scout special skill users and match them with suitable jobs.

After seeing Kimi off and processing a few more people, the morning shift ended.

"Thank you for your hard work. The earlier incident was my mistake. I'm sorry."

As soon as it ended, Luciola came over and apologized to me.

"It's not your fault, Luciola. Good job."

I waved my hand to show I wasn't bothered.

"Nice follow-up. I would have provoked him and banned him outright."

Theo, another counselor, came from the opposite side and said.

"Heh. Banning is a last resort. It's important to gain understanding, especially since it's a first-time occurrence."

Well, sometimes people just don't get it.

I scratched my cheek and said.

"True. Convincing them is part of the job. Okay, boss. I'll try."

Theo patted my shoulder and left to have lunch.

"I'll try too. Excuse me."

Luciola bowed and left.

Theo and Luciola work the same shift but don't talk more than necessary.

I haven't quite figured it out yet, but Luciola's meticulous attitude and Theo's laid-back demeanor are completely opposite.

So far, they haven't had any major conflicts and seem to separate work from personal issues.

"Hey, let's have lunch."

If I don't eat soon, the guild's carriage will come to pick me up.

By now, Eugene and Renji must be frantically reading through the data Lavah compiled at the magic guild.

The carriage is scheduled to stop at the magic guild to pick them up before heading to the Mencis Knights.

Claus, the butler of the Stern family, gave me a bento, so I decided to have lunch in the office today.

The bento, including the wrapping and container, is unusually clean.

This bento started because I complained that I didn't want to go out for lunch and mentioned that it would be nice to have a bento.

When I lived in Albus, I was free to use the cafeteria or make my own bento.

Now that I live in the mansion, it's not an atmosphere where I can cook.

It would also be bad for Quincy, my bodyguard, if I went out too often.

To get back to the story, when Tristan, who didn't know about the bento, asked about it, and we started talking about portable food, Claus, the butler, kindly made it for me. I'm very grateful.

"...This isn't just a bento."

When I opened the lid, beautifully arranged dishes were neatly placed inside. It was perfectly balanced and flawless.

"Let's eat."

Claus's bento was incredibly delicious.

I'll definitely thank him later.

2015/01/12 Revised