9th Grade Civil Servant In Another World Chapter 3 - This F*cking Another World (3)

“Cough! Cough! Khck! Damn it…”

After my coughing fit subsided a bit, I opened the door to find a tall man with thick brown hair standing there.

Daniel Hartmann.

One of Mrs. Schmidt’s only two boarders.

He’s supposedly a newspaper reporter, though not officially—just someone who occasionally takes freelance assignments and writes articles. But according to Lucas’s memories, he’s a “good guy!”

I guess you could call him a friend—someone who listened well to Lucas’s stories and hung out with him.

Which means this bastard is also a kind-hearted loser.

“You’re going to die at this rate, Lucas. I keep telling you to quit smoking.”

“Sm-smoking?”

“Yeah, your lungs are already bad. Be careful.”

Only then did I realize why I’d been feeling so miserable all along.

Something even worse than falling into an unknown world was nicotine withdrawal!

‘No wonder my hands were shaking. It wasn’t because of the coughing?! Crazy bastard, you should have gone easy on the alcohol and cigarettes.’

I grumbled at Lucas’s soul, wherever it might be.

I too had once lived immersed in alcohol and cigarettes due to frequent company dinners and stress, but this guy was just a straight-up alcoholic and chain smoker.

As soon as I became aware of this fact, the nicotine craving hit me intensely. My head immediately started pounding.

“So what’s up?”

“Oh, Mrs. Schmidt asked you to come down for dinner.”

A cozy dinner.

The potato salad, scrambled eggs, and fried pork were quite delicious.

To recreate Lucas’s usual habit of endlessly bragging about himself and praising the Supreme Leader, I swallowed my disgust and thoroughly badmouthed the man on the gallows I’d seen today.

Mrs. Schmidt neither got angry nor agreed, but Daniel nodded along as if I was absolutely right.

“People need to have professional consciousness. If you’re a gardener at the Supreme Leader’s residence, the salary must be quite high, so you should have a sense of responsibility.”

Daniel chimed in even more, as if strangling a man to death for just one mistake was perfectly justified.

But…

‘That guy’s a bit strange.’

I’d met countless business contacts and seen all kinds of people.

With that much experience under my belt, there was no way I could miss the emptiness reflected in Daniel’s smiling eyes.

‘Why is he going out of his way to mindlessly coddle me?’

The stupid Lucas seemed to consider Daniel just a compatible buddy, but I immediately became suspicious.

But I couldn’t just demand “What’s your angle?!” could I? I just smiled along.

“Damn, my head hurts. No matter where you go, dealing with people is always the same.”

After finishing dinner and going up to my room, I finally couldn’t resist and smoked a cigarette.

It was so sweet I almost cried.

***

“Oh my, you’re up early, Lucas? Going to have breakfast?”

“No, I’m just going out for a bit. I’ll eat breakfast as usual.”

Having woken up earlier than usual, I put on comfortable workout clothes and warmed up my body.

I’d have to quit smoking gradually, but I’d decided to start jogging today to improve not just my lung capacity but my overall stamina.

Schufaben’s summer morning was quite refreshing. Well, there’s no fine dust, and it’s a civilization that uses magic instead of coal and oil, so I guess that’s natural.

But as I ran from the boarding house toward the plaza, I burst into violent coughing and clutched my stomach in less than a minute.

“Cough! Cough! Khack! Just how trash-tier is this guy’s stamina?!”

No wonder he couldn’t go to the military.

Even South Korea’s Military Manpower Administration, which drags in all the weaklings they can get, would have immediately slapped him with a Grade 4.

I decided not to be greedy and compromise by starting with walking instead of jogging.

***

“Long live the Great Supreme Leader!”

Today’s task is casting.

I looked over the list I’d found in my room last night.

It was Lucas’s compilation of talent agencies operating in Lüdelheim, the capital of Schufaben—that is, this city.

Excluding the places already crossed out, I picked the one with the most reasonable prices and reputation based on my memories.

A large, heavy telephone was installed in the office corridor.

It felt quite old-fashioned from an Earth perspective. When I turned the dial, it even connected me to an operator.

Anyway, I explained the male and female lead roles to the kind agency representative and asked them to select and send a few people who seemed suitable.

Originally this isn’t something you’d handle so hastily, but they’d understand too.

‘When the government says jump, you jump.’

And once again, that horrible lunch with Emil Hoffman.

Perhaps concerned that the corpse would decay in the summer heat, the figures on the gallows had already been replaced.

Passing children were poking and shaking the corpse while giggling.

I thought about how I’d rather just eat alone in my office while forcing my lips into a smile.

“I’m planning to hold auditions for the lead actors this afternoon.”

“Oh, is that so? Then I’ll attend as a judge too. Speaking of which, that script of yours called <Revolution>—I saw it last time and it was quite excellent! You could even switch careers to become a playwright! I’m looking forward to the performance day.”

I put on an expression of being deeply moved.

“Since you say such kind words, I must work even harder so as not to disappoint you, Chief Clerk!”

“Hahaha! That’s right, of course!”

Hoffman laughed foolishly like a simpleton.

Not long after lunch ended, five or six actors came to visit. They were all handsome men and beautiful women.

Thanks to Hoffman’s consideration, I was able to use an empty office as an audition room.

I distributed the scripts I’d gotten from the printing shop and stood next to Hoffman, who was sitting solemnly.

“Well then, let’s begin the auditions. Male actors, please perform page 35, ‘Supreme Leader Kruger, who was betrayed in his long-held dream by revolutionary comrades,’ and female actors, please perform page 10, ‘The mother who recognizes Supreme Leader Kruger’s extraordinariness and offers prayers to God.’ Please look over the script first, and whoever is ready can come forward and begin.”

I was almost completely ignorant about theater and acting, but I managed to conduct the auditions somehow by relying on Lucas’s memories.

Since Hoffman was the final decision-maker anyway, I felt at ease.

‘It’s nice not having to take responsibility.’

The male actors’ skills were quite excellent—even I, who had been watching indifferently, found myself admiring them.

It seemed they’d only sent the best actors, probably due to the burden of playing the role of ‘Supreme Leader Kruger.’

Above all, Lucas had described Kruger’s appearance with obsessive detail, and I could feel they’d found actors who matched as closely as possible.

‘Supreme Leader Kruger has intelligent blue eyes that sparkle like jewels, and brilliant golden hair that has been considered the ideal of beauty since ancient times. His skin is flawlessly smooth, and he is so tall that he overwhelms others…’

How embarrassed I’d been when I called the agency earlier and read the script over the phone!

So all the actors had blonde hair and blue eyes.

‘Amazing. You can’t even see eye color from the audience anyway.’

“Bravo! Bravo!”

Hoffman suddenly jumped up and started clapping, startling me into following along awkwardly.

“That was perfect acting. Clerk Assistant Redan, let’s go with that actor!”

“Ah, I also think it was elegant acting that well expressed the Supreme Leader’s dignity. Let’s do as you wish, Chief Clerk.”

With the male actor decided, it was the female actors’ turn. But suddenly Hoffman whispered in my ear.

“That young lady standing in the middle—I believe she was called Hannah Art? Let’s see her last.”

“Yes? Very well.”

The female actors who would play Kruger’s spiritual supporter, the mother role, were also generally excellent.

Two actors’ performances passed without particular problems. Finally, it was Hannah Art’s turn—the one Hoffman had wanted to postpone until last.

She had a well-proportioned and pretty appearance for an actress. That didn’t particularly move me, but when she started acting, I almost dropped my jaw.

What the agency had said about her being a promising newcomer wasn’t an exaggeration.

Not only did her lines flow smoothly, but her natural gestures added persuasive power. Even as an atheist, I could feel such reverence for God that her acting seemed genuine.

‘Well, this settles it.’

I thought Hoffman would naturally choose Hannah Art.

So I was waiting for “Bravo!” or rather “Brava!” but after Art finished her performance, only cold silence descended.

The other actors had already gone out to wait, so the office felt eerily empty.

“Hmm…”

Hoffman rubbed his chin as if contemplating.

“Chief Clerk, didn’t you like the acting? In my opinion, this one seems the best.”

Then, unlike usual, cold eyes turned toward me.

“But tell me, did you know that this actress’s father is of elf mixed blood?”

For a moment I thought my heart would stop.

Magic actually exists in this world. Dragons fly around and knights slaughter enemies while emitting sword energy. I was so shocked to learn that even different races, which I’d only hoped might exist, were actually here.

The race called ‘Elves.’

They were similar to yet different from the elves with very long ears who lived long lives, were skilled in magic, lived in forests, and protected world trees.

Unlike humans, they had a high proportion of handsome men and beautiful women, but actually had shorter lifespans. Their ears were long but not as dramatically so as in movies. There was a perception that they were good at magic, but not all of them were.

And most importantly, they were a people who lived in deserts, not forests.

Or more precisely, they were people who had wandered the continent after their original great forest homeland was destroyed by climate change and agricultural development.

The elves who lost their homeland a thousand years ago scattered to various parts of the world and eventually most settled in human countries. There were probably very few elves still remaining in the desert.

However, they were also a race that was greatly despised because they had different faiths from humans, moved around in clan units, and had customs of engaging in commerce. Many had fallen into the lower classes due to such discrimination.

…That’s my objective summary of the current situation.

The Schufaben Republic under Kruger enforced racial purity and had more severe racial discrimination than any other country. Lucas naturally upheld his ideology and was steeped in elf hatred.

‘Cockroach-like things.’

‘Worse than parasites.’

‘Should kill them all!’

The Lucas inside me chattered excitedly, giving me a headache.

I glanced at Hannah Art, who was trembling and pale with fear, and put on an expression of great shock as I exclaimed.

“Really?! I didn’t know! Good heavens, a filthy half-breed!”

Art hung her head low. She seemed to be holding back tears.

“Hmm, is that so? Well then…”

Hoffman nodded and gestured toward her with his chin.

“Miss Art, please go outside.”

Whether the sound had carried outside, when the door opened the actors were murmuring among themselves.

“I’m truly sorry. I’ll call the agency right away to complain. Please forgive me.”

Hoffman, who had been watching Art’s retreating figure with a completely hardened expression, suddenly relaxed and began smiling good-naturedly again.

“It’s fine. These things happen. I have wide connections so I knew, but how could you have guessed? Still, please be mindful next time. Even if I let it slide generously, who knows what others might think. Oh, and let’s go with the second actress. I liked her voice projection.”

“Yes! Understood!”

I bowed exaggeratedly.

‘Ah, fuck, I aged ten years…’

I clenched my teeth invisibly.

It felt exactly like walking on thin ice.

Hoffman, who could smile cheerfully then suddenly turn cold—not like some Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde—felt chillingly creepy.

Hannah Art probably wouldn’t be able to continue her entertainment career. There’s no law saying third-generation elves can’t be active, but naturally she’d face disadvantages if it became known.

I felt a bit sorry. For her, and for me.

***

Several days passed after that.

I was busy with last-minute preparations—supervising the actors’ rehearsals, checking the stage, coordinating music.

With my already terrible stamina, running around like that left me completely exhausted as soon as I got off work.

Two days before the premiere, Friday evening.

I was lying in bed after doing a final check of everything and heading home, when suddenly a loud commotion came from downstairs.

Bang bang bang!

“Lucas Redan, come out. We know everything.”

I was just about to fall asleep when I laboriously lifted my eyelids. Mrs. Schmidt was shaking me with a worried expression.

“Lucas, the Ossel is looking for you.”

My blood ran cold.