The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success Chapter 6

 

Luka couldn’t speak for a while, just opening and closing his mouth.

I gave a sheepish shrug and added,

“Well, I mean… from the next test onward, your grades were way better than mine, so…”

At that, Luka’s green eyes gleamed with intensity.

“That’s because you deliberately tanked every single test! Just enough to barely scrape into the palace service!”

“Mm.”

“I may not be the brightest in the world, but I’m smart enough to see that much!”

Truth be told, this wasn’t the first time Luka had gone off like this.

He’d always been the only one obsessed with the fact that I’d ranked first on the entrance exam.

Back in the academy, he used to rush to my seat every time results were posted, like he had something invested in it.

And then he’d glare down at my embarrassingly low scores.

‘Even though I always beat him by a mile on the written exams, he kept calling us rivals and jumping around like it meant something. Still at it, huh.’

Naturally, I thought his interest would die down after graduation…

But apparently, that interest hadn’t vanished—it’s just that we’d ended up in different departments.

“Ahem! Ahem, anyway! You were the first rival I ever set my sights on, and I still want to compete with you somehow!”

“Oh, okay…”

“Hey! Normally, people ask what kind of competition!”

“I don’t have the energy for that…”

“Hey!!”

Honestly, Luka was right about everything.

Other than the academy entrance exam, I’d never once tried to show my full abilities.

During the civil service exam too, I’d scored just high enough to hit the cutoff.

‘Of course, I wrote Juan’s entry project too.’

While I was doing that, Juan was cramming for the written exam. That’s why he managed a middle score on that part.

‘Not like it was anything new.’

Even back in the academy, I’d always done his assignments. That’s why he always got perfect scores.

[Don’t you dare make our precious Juan feel inferior. Got it?]

And my salary…

[Write down this account number for your salary.]

Though I’ve worked four years, I’ve never once touched my paycheck. Overtime pay was the only money I could keep.

It wasn’t much, but for someone like me who never had a cent to her name, it was precious.

I had something I absolutely needed to do with that money.

“Namia, let’s at least compete on promotion speed. Huh? Let’s see who climbs higher in this system.”

“Mm… You’ve already won. And you’ll keep winning. There, happy?”

When I said it plainly, Luka made a face like he was choking on something.

I watched his emotional rollercoaster and gave him a heartfelt piece of advice.

“Luka, it’s time you moved on from me and lived your own life.”

“And what about you? Are you living your life right?”

At that, Luka clenched his fists and shouted like he couldn’t hold back anymore.

“You’re living like this all because of your family, right? It’s obvious! If I lost my whole paycheck to them, I’d want to check out too!”

He tried to hide his sympathy behind an angry expression.

“I mean, fine, I understood during the academy. But Namia Roapia, you’re an adult now. You really don’t have to live like this anymore.”

He opened his mouth again, but just sighed deeply instead.

“I don’t know your whole situation, and I know this might be overstepping… but just cut them off and live for you. Get rid of those dead-fish eyes and actually use your talent.”

I lowered my gaze, my eyes having just been called ‘dead-fish’ level.

And then I was silent for a long time.

‘Wow. For him to go that far… my bad nutrition must’ve really freaked him out.’

Luka had gotten worked up about my potential before—countless times, really.

But this was the first time he’d brought up my family and started giving me life advice.

“Ahem. Ahem, well!”

After the silence dragged on, Luka started sneaking glances at me.

Then, flustered, he cleared his throat and stammered,

“L-look, if I went too far—i-if I was out of line, then I apol—apo—apo—”

I let out a quiet sigh, turned to him, and slowly opened my mouth.

“Yeah, you’re right… You’re crazy.”

“Not that much! I was just trying to say I’m sor—wait, huh?”

Just as he was about to go off again, Luka flinched when he saw my eyes.

Probably because, for once, there was focus in them.

“You’re right—you don’t know everything about me.”

My tone turned serious, unlike my usual vague responses. Luka’s eyes widened.

Contrary to what he thought, I was actually doing my best in my own way.

I had a clear goal that no one else knew.

‘I’m going to keep enduring, no matter what. I’ll stop the war—and I will find my real father. Until I do, I don’t care if I don’t use my abilities.’

Silence fell in the infirmary.

Luka let out another long sigh. His anger had faded, but it was replaced by visible frustration.

I gave him a small smile and said softly,

“But I know you meant all that for me. Thanks, Luka.”

Ever since the academy, our relationship had always been the same.

So this kind of conversation was a first.

Maybe it was the first time I’d ever shown someone my real feelings. Maybe it was just that I hadn’t been cared for in so long.

Even if the person doing it was Luka Klass, who constantly pestered me with his whole “rival” shtick.

“I’m not planning to live like this forever. I have something I want. I will get what I need from those people.”

Luka bit his lower lip as if it pained him. Then he let out a breath and smirked.

“Well, too bad.”

“…Huh?”

“Now everyone knows how ridiculously talented you are, Namia Roapia.”

Luka looked smug as he stared at me.

“If you really wanted to hide it, you shouldn’t have used 172 scrolls. Rumor has it you made 166 of them yourself and activated them all at once.”

“Oh, that?”

I slipped right back into my usual detached expression.

No one understood how dysfunctional our department was better than I did.

“You clearly don’t know how our Scroll Department works. We’re thoroughly disorganized, through and through.”

I calmly explained how my future would play out.

“They already filed a report saying we had six scrolls. There’s no way they’ll let a rumor spread that I made 166 on my own.”

“…What?”

“They’ll probably say I misreported inventory. Then I’ll be the one who gets disciplined.”

“No way! That kind of injustice—at least the Magic Tower—!”

“The Magic Tower lives in its own world. They’re not even aware of this, and no one’s going to bother telling them.”

I said with a shrug,

“The only one who might acknowledge me is His Highness the Crown Prince. Maybe he’ll toss me a commendation or something.”

I didn’t care whether I got disciplined. That commendation was my real goal.

With it, I might be able to meet Kiaros again.

If I wanted to actively intervene in the original plot, I needed power.

But I had no money, no rank, no influence.

‘Honestly, why am I the one remembering the original story? It’d be so much more efficient if someone like Kiaros, with all the power and money, remembered it instead.’

As a low-level civil servant, I had no way to stop a war on my own. Only someone like Kiaros could change a future of that scale.

So I made a decision.

I would stick close to Kiaros—cling to him if I had to—and drop hints about the future, piece by piece.