Sir Mage, You Said We Would Only Hold Hands! Chapter 15 - This Is Going to Make Me Sick

 

Chirp, chirp…

 

The sound of birds chirping filled the house. It was loud enough to wake Birkin, who was lying in bed with her eyes closed.

 

Ah… I don’t want to open my eyes. I want to sleep a little longer.

 

The temptation came rushing in like a tide. Birkin eventually couldn’t resist the temptation and decided to close her eyes a little longer. The rustling blanket was so cozy that she wanted to sleep for exactly 10 more minutes.

 

How long had it been since she closed her eyes like that?

 

“Geez, crazy!”

 

Birkin kicked the blanket off and got up from her seat. Crazy, crazy. That was all she could say. When she checked her watch, there were only 20 minutes left until she had to go to work.

 

She decided to skip breakfast today as well.

 

In her eighth year of living on the rooftop, Birkin, who was weak in the morning, had always chosen sleeping over eating. However, even though she skipped breakfast today like usual, she was pressed for time.

 

Birkin thumped and ran to the sink and tapped the bottom of her toothbrush twice. Then, the toothbrush that floated in the air applied toothpaste on its own and went into her mouth to clean it.

 

With the toothbrush in her mouth, Birkin hurriedly opened the closet and took out her pants. There was a dress that looked like it had only been worn a few times in the corner of the closet, yet she didn’t even look at it.

 

It was a dress she had bought to wear on a vacation last year. Of course, she couldn’t go on that vacation.

 

“Am ghoing crashy! (I’m going crazy!)”

 

Birkin, wearing pajamas on top and dress pants on the bottom, went back to the sink and started brushing her teeth properly. She could only choose a blouse after rinsing her mouth cleanly.

 

For hair… Let’s tie it up.

 

Birkin’s red hair, which reached down to her chest, was all over the place for she had just woken up from sleep. She held a rubber band in her mouth as she was tying her neatly together.

 

After getting ready for work like that, Birkin ran out with her bag without even looking at the mirror. At the moment, there were only 10 minutes left until work.

 

Fortunately, the house she found this time wasn’t far from the Magic Tower. When she was at the headquarters, the price of houses near the headquarters was shockingly expensive, so she had to take the floating train that ran in the morning and evening to find a house far away.

 

…Of course, she, who was weak in the morning, spent more money on the private carriage ride than the floating train fare.

 

“I really don’t want to go to work, really!”

 

Birkin left the house and walked as if she was running at first. Then, when she checked that there were still about 6 minutes left until work time, she slowed down. It was human nature to want to be neither too late nor too early.

 

When she turned her head, she saw her reflection in the store window. The cravat on her neatly dressed beige suit was slightly crooked. Birkin touched it and passed through the main gate of the Magic Tower.

 

“Hello, you’re also working hard today.”

 

She had already finished apologizing to the Magic Tower worker who worked in the first floor hall, whom she wasn’t on good terms with when she first arrived here, over a cup of coffee. The moment she greeted him with a smile, he smiled back and greeted.

 

“Miss Birkin, your cravat really suits you today! Where did you get it?”

 

“My mother made it for me. Thank you for the compliment.”

 

“Oh my, she’s so good at it.”

 

After greeting him, Birkin soon got on the moving box. There were more than a dozen moving boxes in the tower, and most of them were for two people at most. Of course, there was the disadvantage of having to use your own mana.

 

When she got off the moving box and entered the now familiar Team 3 office, she saw Herion, who always came to work early. Sophia and Docson were still there.

 

“Good morning, Sir Rutt.”

 

“…Yes, good morning. Vice… Birkin.”

 

I woke up too late today, so I couldn’t even buy coffee. Birkin clicked her tongue inwardly as she thought so.

 

Although Herion, who hadn’t yet sat down, seemed to be fidgeting, Birkin ignored him and went back to her seat. Then he finally spoke to her first.

 

“Excuse me… Vice.”

 

“Yes, what’s the matter?”

 

He was visibly nervous, as if he was about to say something very important. Birkin noticed it too and looked at him with a puzzled expression. Then he finally spoke after a gulp.

 

“Am I… doing the general consultation wrong?”

 

As she listened to his question, Birkin recalled something that happened during a general consultation a while ago. Herion, who had been struggling because he couldn’t handle a serious client, seemed to have taken that incident to heart.

 

“What do you think, Sir Rutt?”

 

“Well, I don’t know… They seemed to be difficult.”

 

“Then, only think about this during the consultation. ‘How can I get this client back quickly?’”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“That’s right. Customers won’t come here because they’re bored, and we’re even more so. We respond by thinking about which direction will be a win-win for both of us. That’s the first thing.”

 

Herion opened his mouth slightly as if he realized something.

 

“And Sir Rutt, you’re doing well enough. When I was around your age, I even cried in front of customers.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yes. So don’t worry. The difficult things now will get better as you go along.”

 

It wasn’t just consolation. Dealing with people was something you had to learn as you went along. Birkin comforted him affectionately.

 

“Then, can I ask you one more favor?”

 

“A favor?”

 

“…Please call me Herion too.”

 

Birkin was lost in thought for a moment at the unexpected request. She knew very well that his name was Herion Rutt. However, the reason she called Docson and Sophia by their last names was because they were so fresh and chick-like, not because she wanted to discriminate against him.

 

While waiting for an answer, Herion blushed from the nape of his neck to his ears. It was somehow cute to see such a big man doing that.

 

Birkin tried to nod, thinking that he might be upset. The reason she couldn’t do that was because the door to Team 3 office opened wide with Docson and Sophia barging in.

 

“Gasp, gaaasp! Hello, Vice Redfield!”

 

“Yes, Miss Sophia. You were also safe today.”

 

“Hello! Vice!”

 

“I guess Sir Docson came in a carriage today since you’re looking fine.”

 

Sophia’s house was closer to the tower than Birkin’s, so she always ran there without drying her hair. Docson’s house was quite far away, thus he often complained that more than half of his salary went to carriage fees.

 

It had already been two weeks since she had been transferred to the Deepdale branch. Birkin was now completely acclimating to the place.

 

***

 

“Vice, let’s go eat!”

 

“Yes, yes. I’ll just be doing this for another minute. You guys go first.”

 

“If you do that again, you’ll miss lunch time! Let’s go together, Vice.”

 

When Sophia sneaked up to Birkin and clung to her, Docson also came up to her desk. For the first few days, Birkin ate separately because she thought they might be uncomfortable, yet it was Docson who made the first suggestion.

 

“Vice, why don’t you eat with us? The other teams all eat with their deputies and vices…”

 

Birkin, who was flustered by Docson and Sophia’s noticeably gloomy appearance, ended up eating with them. Of course, it was a suggestion that Birkin couldn’t understand at all.

 

When she was a newbie, how uncomfortable it was when that old Chief Gendal asked her to eat with him. He even always asked her to choose the menu, and if he didn’t like the menu she chose, he kept showing his discomfort.

 

And how fast he ate. Birkin still firmly believed that her stress-related stomachache was due to lunchtime when she was a newbie.

 

Based on her own experience, Birkin, who had been a vice, deliberately ate alone, couldn’t help but be flustered. However, Sophia and Docson insisted on eating together.

 

There was another reason for her surprise.

 

“…You skipped breakfast this morning too, you know.”

 

It was Herion. It seemed that he had overheard Birkin’s casual remark about breakfast to Sophia in the morning.

 

Since he  was also hanging around nearby, Birkin ended up putting down the parchment she was holding. They decided to walk down to the cafeteria in the basement instead of taking the moving box, and walked together.

 

As they entered the stairs, Birkin spoke first.

 

“By the way, how is your general consulting work these days? Does Team 2 Deputy bother you?”

 

“Bother me? Of course he absolutely can’t. Do you know what happened on the first day I changed my job to Vice’s designated inquiry?”

 

Since matters related to the Item Development Division were handled in the utmost secrecy, everyone except Birkin and Chief Ad thought she was simply in charge of designated inquiries.

 

Sophia smiled as she recalled what happened that day and continued.

 

“Team 2 Deputy suddenly yelled at us for being so late, and someone showed up right at that moment. Chief Ad!”

 

“…Hmm.”

 

“That was when it really felt good. The deputy there was flustered and stammered…”

 

Birkin regretted not being able to join them at that time. Then, suddenly, a worry crossed her mind. In fact, it’s no exaggeration to say that teamwork is determined by the general consulting work that the team performs together, so how could she, the senior, be left out?

 

In addition, the problem with Team 2 hadn’t been resolved yet. It was still bothersome to leave behind only the squeaky chicks, but fortunately, it seemed that Chief Ad had taken good care of them.

 

“And I also heard what Chief Ad said. That Vice Redfield is indeed a vice, but she’s no different from a deputy, so treat her properly.”

 

“…Me?”

 

“You are such an elite! From headquarters! Vice, please don’t forget us even when you go up to a higher position.”

 

“Me too, don’t forget me too!”

 

Docson and Sophia, who acted cute like a cat and a puppy, were so cute that it made him chuckle. Birkin decided to put aside his worries about teamwork for a moment.

 

Then, suddenly, Docson turned around and spoke. Behind the three, the huge Herion followed silently, like a pole.

 

“What about Sir Herion? Is it okay for Sir Herion to be forgotten like this?!”

 

“…Me.”

 

When Herion was suddenly caught in the gaze of the three, he was flustered. Birkin smiled briefly and spoke on his behalf.

 

“How could I forget, Herion?”

 

Birkin emphasized the pronunciation of ‘Herion’. It was the first time she called him such instead of ‘Sir Rutt’.

 

Despite feeling Herion staring at the back of her head, she didn’t look back. Soon, if they took just one more step, they would reach the underground cafeteria.

 

“What about Vice?”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“How are you these days?”

 

Birkin hesitated to answer Docson’s question. It was because she had been thinking about the two-hour appointment with Liam for the past two weeks.

 

Liam would always come without saying anything and hand her an item without warning. And when she started charging it, he would look at her with a persistent gaze.

 

Then, after another week, he held out his hand as if he had been waiting. He seemed to be following the rule of ‘one week’s worth of mana’ that Birkin had mentioned.

 

Just thinking about the man’s appearance and his burdensome gaze made her feel suffocated. Frowning, Birkin followed the line of people holding his tray.

 

“…Not really, I don’t have any good memories.”

 

“Oh my, I heard there are so many terrible customers in the designated inquiry! I guess it’s true!”

 

“Yes. There are many of those. Crazy, terrible customers, at that.”

 

Sophia and Docson were startled by the word ‘crazy’ coming out of Birkin’s mouth. Even though it didn’t seem like it, their senior had a secret personality, so it was always surprising.

 

However, she wasn’t the type of person to get angry for no reason. Both of them were worried about how crazy that customer could be if she called them ‘crazy, terrible’ one.

 

On the other hand, Birkin, who had mentioned a crazy, terrible customer, had already received today’s lunch menu on his tray.

 

The lunch menu was Birkin’s favorite wyvern wing meat and golem soup. They could hear people praising today’s menu as they left after eating first.

 

“It certainly seems like the Magic Tower is feeding us well. Isn’t this all a conspiracy to fatten up Docson?”

 

“…Sophia. You know I’m sensitive to weight these days!”

 

“Well, you’ve already gained weight, though”

 

Sophia and Docson bickered again today. From what she heard, they were alumni of the Academy and had known each other for a long time.

 

When Birkin sat down in a suitable spot, Sophia and Docson sat across from her. Since it was natural for two close friends to sit across from each other, the seat in front of Birkin was always Herion’s.

 

Yet today, Herion was late. When she looked back, she saw him standing alone in front of the serving area for some reason.

 

“Why, Herion…”

 

“Ah! I guess he had the golem ready too. The chef said it was almost done cooking, so they told him to wait a little.”

 

“Then, when Herion comes, let’s eat together.”

 

Anyway, he would be coming soon. So, Birkin fixed her gaze on the plate, thinking of waiting without eating first.

 

Suddenly, the surroundings became quiet. Birkin noticed this and looked around. Then, she saw Sophia and Docson, who were constantly opening their mouths, quietly looking down at their plates.

 

“Sir Docson, Miss Sophia?”

 

That was when she called them. Birkin checked that a shadow was cast in front of her and raised her head, thinking that Herion had arrived.

 

However, it wasn’t Herion who put the plate down in front of her.

 

“…Hi.”

 

Liam Moore, why on earth is this guy in front of her?

 

— Wise Magic Tower Life TIP! —

The floating train comes down to the ground once every hour at a designated location. It’s called the train to hell because there are so many people during the morning rush hour.