Sir Mage, You Said We Would Only Hold Hands! Chapter 1 - Sir Customer, Sir Customer

 

“No, I mean. I bought this and it broke down as soon as I got back!”

 

“Sir Customer, it has been more than a month since you purchased this product. I’m sorry, but I think it will be difficult to return it.”

 

“What’s the point of making tea if it doesn’t keep you warm?! If this isn’t a malfunction, what is it?”

 

“Customer, that function is in the paid version. If you want to use it, you have to pay extra…”

 

All items in the world move with mana. Everyone uses items when cooking or cleaning. Also, those items come from the Magic Tower.

 

Therefore, the Magic Tower is the ‘top’.

 

However, items don’t end with purchase. Now, there is something called ‘post-service’, and people responsible for it have also been created.

 

That’s right here, Magic Tower’s ‘Service Division’.

 

“Pay again?! How expensive this is, and I have to pay again? Y-You thieves!”

 

One of the Magic Tower members who was conducting a consultation with a customer across a table began to cry due to the sudden outcry. She was a new employee who had been hired at the Magic Tower for less than a month.

 

As the woman cried, the old man seemed to have taken his chance and started pounding his fist on the table. If it continues like this, she will be eaten by the customer. That was a fact that everyone in the Service Division of Magic Tower knew.

 

“Miss Birkin! Are you busy?”

 

“Yes, of course I’m busy. I have several reports that need to be submitted by today.”

 

“Haa, I really want to stop asking for Miss Birkin like this, but…”

 

Then you don’t have to do it.

 

Birkin quietly lowered his head and thought to herself. However, it’s impossible to tell the truth to the person who is your boss. When Birkin didn’t respond, the boss spoke without paying attention to Birkin’s attitude.

 

“I’m talking about the terrible man from last time. He came again today. Can you see our rookie crying over there? If this continues, she’ll get eaten!”

 

“Ah, yes. Yes.”

 

“Don’t just say mere words, yeah? It would be nice if you could help out.”

 

Ha.

 

A deep sigh came out. Dealing directly with customers was the job of new employees, not the job of the vice with five years of experience. But Birkin knew why her boss made such a request.

 

The new Magic Tower member who came in this time was quite young and pretty.

 

In other words, it means that, unlike herself, who is worn out and harsh, she’s innocent and sets fire to her boss. The logic is that such difficult work is only suitable for her, but not for them flowery newbies.

 

“Yeah? Miss Birkin, please do me a favor. Miss Birkin also specializes in this kind of thing.”

 

“Yes, I will go. Please take a look at what I was doing.”

 

Birkin eventually stood up, putting down the parchment she was looking at.

 

As Birkin, who was quite tall, approached the table, the terrible customer who was sitting there couldn’t help but look up at her blankly.

 

“What, is this your boss? Miss, please listen to me!”

 

“Sir Customer.”

 

Miss my ass.

 

He was clearly not a normal person as she was treated like a miss although she was clearly an employee at the Magic Tower. Birkin hid her dissatisfaction and began responding in a businesslike yet elegant tone typical of service workers.

 

“You previously purchased refrigerated items from our Magic Tower branch?”

 

“…Huh? That’s right.”

 

“If you pay additionally for this paid version now, there is an event where special services will be provided for previously purchased refrigerated items. Can I explain briefly?”

 

In a battle with customers, the thing that shouldn’t be left behind more than anything else is a smile. You need to let them know that you’re as considerate as possible without seeming like a pushover. Respecting others ultimately means that they must also respect you.

 

Birkin, who gave up general consulting work after becoming the vice, had a smile on her face for the first time in a long time. Then the customer nodded with a shocked look.

 

“I-I’ll listen first.”

 

“If you need the warming function, you should actually purchase the paid version. It should have been announced in advance, but I think you missed it because there was a lot of function explanation. We should have paid more attention at the Magic Tower… Instead, I apologize. So, if you pay additionally for the paid version, we will provide free mana recharge for previously purchased refrigerated items.”

 

“Recharge mana…?”

 

After that, Birkin’s fluent explanation continued. The customer who came in with an angry face eventually returned with a satisfied face after paying additional for the paid version.

 

The new Magic Tower member, who was staring blankly at the scene, came to her senses only after the customer left. She was looking at the back of the Birkin, which was standing upright until the customer left.

 

“V-Vice. I’m sorry…”

 

Birkin, who had been standing with her back to her until then, turned around and looked at the newbie. The picturesque smile on Birkin’s face had completely disappeared.

 

Birkin straightened her disheveled shirt collar and glanced at the newbie who was talking to her.

 

“There is no need to be sorry. Because it wasn’t like I was trying to get an apology.”

 

“Yes, yes!”

 

“You could just say thank you instead.”

 

“Thank you…”

 

The newbie’s shoulders slumped.

 

Right, what is your fault. The problem is with these Magic Tower old guys who are full of prejudice and think that newbies have to learn by getting beaten up. Birkin patted her shoulder comfortingly.

 

“The next time that customer comes, tell him that I’m the person in charge at that time.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“He will come again anyway because he doesn’t like something. This means that since Ailee isn’t in charge, you should be accused of not knowing. I’m busy so I’m not around often.”

 

Ailee, the newbie, understood those words too late. In the end, Birkin will take responsibility for everything, so if the same thing happens again, doesn’t that mean it’s her fault?

 

Ailee’s mouth opened slightly. Meanwhile, Birkin had already returned to her seat to do her own thing. The newbie’s cheeks turned red as she looked at the back of the departing Birkin.

 

***

 

The world is divided into those without mana and those with mana.

 

Such mana is the biggest driving force that makes the world go round. And those who used magic using this were called ‘mages’, and those who used this to create magic items were called ‘magic engineers’.

 

But Birkin fell into neither of these two professions.

 

She spent her student years at a magic academy in the capital, but she ultimately became neither a mage nor a magic engineer. She was told that she could make a lot of money if she became a mage or magic engineer, so she paid that ridiculous amount of tuition and even though she attended the Academy.

 

For her to be a mage, she had to be talented in magic, and for her to be a magic engineer, she had to be smart enough to be called a genius.

 

Magic my ass, genius my ass!

 

As Birkin drank water from the paper cup, she unknowingly distorted it. Knowing that she had mana in her body, she fearlessly entered the Academy, yet that was the end for her.

 

There was only an abundance of mana in Birkin and no talent for magic. They said that in order to use magic, she had to use the mana in her body, yet no matter how hard she tried, Birkin’s mana wouldn’t budge.

 

That’s why she got a job at the Magic Tower’s Service Division.

 

“Miss Birkin, your designated inquiry wasn’t a joke today either?”

 

“Everyone else does it, well.”

 

“No way. It’s famous around here. Mana supply expert, Birkin Redfield!”

 

The Service Division was also responsible for post-processing of sold items, but that wasn’t the entire scope of its work. They also supply mana to items that are low on mana, and Birkin is a special category among them.

 

Birkin’s mana exceeded that of an ordinary mage.

 

It was comparable to any other high-circle mage. So, Birkin was able to fill up the mana that other people would have had to spend an hour to grab one item in just ten minutes.

 

Because she worked quickly, she had quite a number of customers who regularly visited her. It was also the reason she was able to get promoted to the vice position in just three years.

 

“Then what, I’ve been a vice for five years.”

 

“Um, that’s right. Has it already been five years since Miss Birkin became the vice? It’s also been a year since you can be the deputy… It’s not like you can’t work.”

 

Deputy was the next position after vice. And it was also a position that Birkin held in her fifth year, only to be told, ‘You’ll be promoted this time.’

 

That’s why Birkin couldn’t become Deputy. She deserved it.

 

Since the organization called Magic Tower itself runs on the basis of ‘magic’, you have to be at least a 1st circle mage to be treated well. As a 1st circle mage, one could only use the mana in one’s body, so it was a level you could only reach if you learned magic.

 

Except Birkin, of course.

 

It was clear that when she first entered the Academy, she was a rookie who received attention because it was said that she would become an archmage. However, she had no talent for her magic. How she was called by the humiliating nickname ‘Mana Barrel’.

 

“Miss Birkin, Chief Gendal is calling. But I heard that these days, he’s been eyeing the newbie? Ah, that pretty newbie. Does he really want to do that when he gets to that age?”

 

“Well, the newbie will take care of it. It’s not like Chief Gendal does that for a day or two.”

 

In the end, Birkin couldn’t even spend her lunch break and headed to the place where her boss, Chief Gendal, had called her. It was a smoker’s area, so as soon as she opened the door and walked in, there was a terrible smell of cigarettes.

 

“Oh, you’re here?”

 

“Yes, you called me.”

 

“Miss Birkin, you know, right? There is a personnel change at the end of this month.”

 

Of course I do, don’t you?

 

She held back what she wanted to refute. This is because she knows that only by impressing Chief Gendal, the head of the Service Division, can she change her path.

 

“Since you’ve been working, Miss Birkin, huh? It’s already been eight years. I think it’s time for you to be the deputy, you know?”

 

“I still have a lot to learn from the Chief.”

 

“Indeed. To be humble. Anyway, I called you to make you aware that I was thinking of Miss Birkin as my candidate for the deputy.”

 

A smile appeared on Birkin’s lips as she lowered her head at a 45-degree angle so as not to upset the Chief. It seemed that the true value of the rare items she had given to Chief Gendal every New Year was finally being revealed despite her poor household budget.

 

Birkin hastily hid her smile and blinked her eyes as if she didn’t know anything.

 

“Me? I really…”

 

“I know it all, that Miss Birkin is good at what you do. Even the Magic Tower members will understand. Well then, just know that and leave. Because you’re not a smoker.”

 

Chief Gendal’s bald head was shining brightly today. Of course it was because of the lighting, but it was still good. Finally, deputy. A promotion!

 

Clack.

 

Birkin, who came out after closing the door of the smoking room, clenched her fists without realizing it in joy. Then, suddenly, a beeping sound was heard from somewhere, and Birkin naturally looked down at her wrist.

 

As she lowered her head, there was a notification on the watch, a magic item given to Magic Tower members for schedule management. It had a bell floating near her wrist, signifying that her designated inquiry had come to her.

 

Any other time, she would have headed with a face as if it was extremely annoying, but today was different. Birkin headed to the second floor, where the private counseling rooms were located, in a good mood even though there were five minutes left for her break.

 

“Ah, Miss Birkin! I’m sorry it must have been lunch time. I received a designation inquiry from the hall, you know? Only high-ranking people inquire about designation… Because he said he doesn’t have time.”

 

“Lunch time was coming to an end, well. Is it room 4?”

 

“Yes, come in!”

 

Newbies deal with commoners in the public counseling room on the first floor, but once they reach vice level, they are given a private counseling room. Counseling room number 4 was mainly used by Birkin and became famous as a place to resolve emergency cases.

 

Knock, knock.

 

Before entering, she knocked at regular intervals using the handle. Although Birkin was a commoner, some people often mistaken her for a noble because of her manners.

 

“Excuse me, this is the vice you specified.”

 

When she went inside, a man with fairly broad shoulders was sitting quietly. The man with impressive gray hair didn’t respond to her voice, but immediately raised his head and looked at Birkin’s face.

 

He’s handsome.

 

Birkin, who came across the man’s face at an unexpected moment, evaluated his face with a fairly objective gaze. Birkin sat across from him with an artificial smile.

 

“…Soap.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“…”

 

Soap?

 

The man’s voice was on the husky side. She thought about what he muttered, yet it couldn’t make any sense.

 

When he raised his eyes, he was already looking at Birkin blankly, as if he had never muttered anything.

 

It looks like everything looks fine.

 

Birkin was unimpressed and looked away from him with an indifferent face. Anyway, with her mana, it would be over in ten minutes. She began reading the inquiries the man had written on parchment for designated inquiries.

 

Let’s see, the item to replenish mana…

 

“…Me?”

 

It’s been eight years since she worked in the Magic Tower’s Service Division. Birkin, who thought she had already seen everything she would or wouldn’t see, ended up muttering what was written on the parchment without realizing it.

 

Although Birkin had no talent for magic, she was a very talented person. She never missed a master’s degree, except for magic. Still, she couldn’t quite understand that one word, so she raised her head again and looked at the man.

 

So, do you want me to recharge you?

 

— Wise Magic Tower Life TIP! —

The order of positions in Magic Tower is divided into intern (intern) – general Magic Tower member (employee) – vice (assistant manager) – deputy (section manager) – chief (director).