The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success Chapter 114

 

“Waaah!”

“What the—what just happened?!”

With a thunderous bang, the clerics burst out first. Through a narrow crack in the shed’s door, I could just barely glimpse the chaos outside.

They’d clearly been peacefully asleep and were completely startled. At the same time, patrolling knights and attendants came running.

“What happened here?”

“What’s going on?”

Soon after, a civil servant from a nearby department, who had been on night duty, arrived as well.

“We heard something explode over here!”

With this many people gathering, there was no way this incident could be brushed aside.

By tomorrow morning, a report would be filed, and even if they judged it to be a minor accident with no casualties, the Construction Department would begin inspecting the entire temple for safety.

But then—

Another crack—the living quarters wall that had already collapsed once crumbled again.

“Waaaah!”

“It’s falling again!”

Keyvon, who was pressed up right next to me, let out a quiet groan and held his forehead. Then he whispered softly,

“…I’m sorry…”

His breath brushed against my ear—it tickled.

But more surprising than that was the fact that I heard the words “I’m sorry” come out of Keyvon’s mouth!

Keyvon was the type of person who never said those words, no matter what.

Granted, he had never done anything that needed an apology—but still, even in formal situations where a simple “Pardon me” would suffice, he never said “I’m sorry.”

And yet, here he was now, saying “I’m sorry.” That was truly shocking. I instinctively shook my head in surprise.

“Why are you sorry? His Highness the Crown Prince must’ve given us a bomb that was too powerful!”

As I shook my head, my forehead rubbed against his chest. He held his breath and tightly shut his eyes.

Outside, everything was in complete chaos.

“Wait, is anyone inside?”

“Everyone’s already out!”

At that moment, the ground shook with a resounding boom, and the shed we were in collapsed with a loud crack.

“Wait—now the shed’s collapsing too!”

This wasn’t part of the plan!

Why the heck was the shed collapsing too?

“Thankfully, that place is crammed full of farming tools. There probably wasn’t anyone inside.”

“Right? I mean, who’d be in there at this hour?”

Keyvon and I were frozen in shock, so tightly pressed together we couldn’t even scream.

Of course, as the shed collapsed, we both fell over.

Fortunately, the jumble of tools around us created just enough space that we didn’t get crushed.

And in that instant—Keyvon had fallen underneath me, catching my body to shield me completely. I came out of it entirely unharmed.

From our collapsed position, we could hear footsteps approaching the shed.

“Phew, we’re going to have to rebuild this…”

“Don’t think the Construction Department inspects sheds. Must’ve already been half-collapsed.”

Keyvon and I stiffened, exchanging flustered looks.

And—our proximity was way too close.

Keyvon was lying flat on his back, arms wrapped around me, while I was sprawled across his chest.

The position was… awkward, to say the least, but there was no space to move.

“…I’m sorry…” Keyvon whispered, his face contorted in discomfort.

I opened my eyes wide and quickly denied it.

“Why are you apologizing? I told you, it’s all the Crown Prince’s fault!”

“…That’s true, but… I’m seriously sorry…”

The fact that a crowd had gathered wasn’t a problem. The problem was that some people were starting to poke around the shed.

If someone saw us like this… there would be no salvaging the situation.

‘If we had bolted right at the start… no, even then it would’ve been a disaster…’

In the end, staying hidden like this was the best option. Every time someone’s footsteps neared the shed, my heart pounded violently.

I could feel Keyvon’s heart pounding just as fast.

We were so tightly pressed together that we could clearly feel each other’s heartbeats, both equally on edge. Our eyes met in the dark—and the tips of my ears burned.

“Should we just leave it as is?”

“The shed’s in worse shape than the chapel.”

Two civil servants kept muttering around the shed.

Frozen completely still, we felt each other’s breath, tense and unmovable. And then—

“Whoa!”

“Oh no!”

Another portion of the shed wall collapsed, sending farming tools clattering loudly. I nearly screamed, but managed to stifle it just in time.

“Jeez, touch it and the whole thing falls apart.”

“We’re gonna wake the whole palace. Best to leave it alone.”

“Let’s deal with it in the morning.”

Thank heavens—because of the fresh collapse, the nosy observers gave up and walked away.

They rejoined the others still inspecting the temple area.

“Oh, here’s the bomb casing.”

“Must’ve rolled here and exploded.”

They had already found the remains of the bomb Keyvon had detonated.

“But why was the bomb here?”

“Looks like it came from the Imperial Guard. Didn’t His Highness the Crown Prince issue a memo earlier about some bombs?”

“Huh? What memo?”

“There was an announcement—said the knights were disposing of dud explosives today and some birds flew off with them. Told us to inspect buildings and be cautious.”

“Ahhh, right! That’s why those attendants stopped by our department earlier for an inspection!”

As expected—Kiaros had handled everything perfectly.

He’d laid the groundwork ahead of time, just in case anyone asked questions about the bomb.

Meticulous. Thorough. The man really was something else.

“The temple doesn’t have a designated department overseeing it. That’s probably why no one caught this.”

“We’ll have to assign someone. But not our department—it’s too far.”

“We’re swamped too. Let the Construction Department handle it. It’s their job anyway.”

And thus, even the bureaucrats trying to offload the work onto another department—it was all part of the perfect setup.

Then, amidst the buzz, the High Priest’s voice was heard.

“Well, if there’s no major issue, you may all return to your posts.”

At that, others began to speak up.

“Still, can you really continue staying here? Until the safety inspection is complete, you should relocate to another room within the palace.”

“That would be best. Please, come with us.”

It was the logical thing to suggest.

And at the same time—it was the sound of their plan to collapse the temple with Kiaros inside it falling apart.

The High Priest let out a sigh.

“…Hmph…”

Insisting on staying in a half-collapsed building under these circumstances would only make him look suspicious.

Eventually, the High Priest and the clerics followed the attendants and left the area.

As the sound of footsteps receded, I whispered to Keyvon,

“Even after they leave, we should stay put for a bit.”

The shed was already teetering with unstable farming tools piled around us. I was afraid even the smallest movement might trigger another crash.

Right on cue—clatter clatter CRASH! Another pile of tools fell.

People muttered from afar:

“Geez, what a mess.”

“That shed’s a lost cause. Might as well rebuild it—or move it somewhere else.”

It really was a complete mess.

Still, the fact they didn’t come back after grumbling was a relief. I let out a long sigh of relief, when Keyvon whispered again.

“Please… just stay still…”

“Huh? I am staying still.”

“D-Don’t fidget… I… it’s hard for me…”

“Is your position uncomfortable? Okay, just a sec—”

But the moment I shifted, CRASH!

The wall collapsed again. Alarmed, I pressed myself flat against him and whispered urgently,

“L-let’s just stay still after all.”

“…Ah…”

Keyvon squeezed his eyes shut and let out a strained sigh.

Even though everyone was gone, the pounding in my chest wouldn’t stop.

Same for Keyvon.

If anything, now that things were quiet, the sound of our clothes rustling and our overlapping breaths became even louder.