I Became a Civil Servant Who Can Use Magic

As a consequence of her bombshell declaration to Inspection Director Muston that she just came to see his face,
Loen had to be held up by the director for over 30 minutes.

“It’s good to see such a spirited attitude! Sit down here. As the director, I have various things to tell you.”

Muston drained Loen’s spirit by going on and on about how young people these days lack spirit and passion, and how things were back in his day, and so on.

“Yes.”
“That’s right.”
“Of course.”

Loen became a machine of agreement, mechanically repeating responses to Muston’s words, and was finally able to escape the director’s office.

“Come to think of it, isn’t today your first day at work? The department head will be waiting, so you can go now.”
“Ah.”

Right. Work..! I ran so hard not to be late!
As soon as Loen left the director’s office, she hurriedly ran to her original destination, the Inspection Department head’s office.

The Inspection Department head is in a bad mood. Very much so.
The reason was none other than the new recruit who hadn’t shown up despite the work hours having started.

The department head glanced at the clock on the wall.
9:40 AM.

Surely they must have been told to come to the department head’s office as soon as they arrived?
Did something happen? Is there some unavoidable circumstance?

“Or else.”

Is the Franz ducal family’s child trying to pick a fight?

There are occasionally such fellows.
Those who act recklessly, relying on their family’s influence.

“Interesting.”

Once you enter the Imperial Inspection Team, past status doesn’t matter.
Only ability. Only ability determines everything.

Even if they’re from a ducal family, if they lack ability, they won’t be treated well.
Conversely, even a commoner without any title can rise to the top if they have ability.

This isn’t just lip service,
It was the 3rd principle of the Inspection Team, directly declared by the Emperor when the Imperial Inspection Team was established.

In fact, even the Inspection Department head currently wearing an displeased expression,
was someone who had risen to this position solely based on his outstanding swordsmanship skills.
Despite being a commoner without any title.

“Loen Franz..”

The department head picked up the document containing Loen’s personal information.
His eyes, which were reading from the top, stopped at the ‘Special Notes’ section.

Estimated 4-star magician.
Wields dual attribute magic.
Has a record of winning against the Magic Tower’s chief magician in a duel.

“Born with magical talent too, their shoulders must be touching the sky.”

A life in a ducal family wanting for nothing, and on top of that, outstanding innate talent, they must feel like the world is at their feet.

In the department head’s view, Loen was a cunning noble child who was well aware of her position and abilities and knew how to use them.
These types need to be dealt with preemptively before they cause discord among colleagues and negatively affect the entire department.

“I guess I’ll have to put her in her place.”

Knock knock.

The sound of knocking on the door reached the department head’s ears.
So they’ve finally arrived.

“Come in.”

Loen appeared, fidgeting.
Even if she didn’t plan to stay long in the Inspection Team, she was still in the wrong, after all.

The department head’s eyes narrowed.
For a new recruit who’s over 40 minutes late on their first day of work, they seem quite bold.

“I’m sorry for being late.”
“Let’s hear the reason. Why were you late?”
“Well, I took a wrong turn and ran into the director…”

This isn’t even funny.
The department head snorted.

“The director isn’t someone who would be wandering around at this time.”

He’s too busy lounging on the sofa, that is.
You’re saying you ran into the director outside? At this time? You should at least lie within reason.

“To be precise, I was standing in front of the director’s officeㅡ.”
“Enough. That’s enough excuses.”

As if it wasn’t worth listening any further, the department head raised his hand to cut off Loen’s words.

But it’s true..
Loen grumbled inwardly.

But she decided to hold her tongue, knowing that saying anything more would just sound like excuses.

The department head got up from his seat, opened the door to leave, and told Loen to follow.

“Since we’re late, let’s postpone the interview. First, let’s check your skills. Follow me, newbie.”
“Yes..”

Loen’s shoulders drooped.

Being treated as a strange person like this wasn’t Loen’s goal.

The person seems nice and seems to be working hard…
But if you look closely, they’re a bit lacking in ability~

This was the kind of treatment Loen was ultimately aiming for.
Only then would there be no gossip when she left the Inspection Team.
Her father wouldn’t be able to hold her back either.

But she’s been branded as a strange newbie from day one.

Oh well..

Loen let out a sigh identical to her mother’s and followed the department head.

“Ah~ I want to see our maknae’s face soon.”
“Why on earth did you drag me here?”
“If I’m alone in the corridor, it’ll be obvious that I’m waiting on purpose?”
“It’s just as obvious with two of us.”
“Eh~ That’s not true.”
“Sigh, now that we have a new recruit coming in, stop acting so frivolously. As a senior in the Inspection Department, maintain your dignity.”
“Yes~”

A woman with a lively expression and a man with a prickly expression are having a friendly conversation while standing in the corridor.
They are Ria and Gilbert, ‘Senior Inspectors’ of the Inspection Department.

Ria puts her hand on her forehead and falls into thought in the middle of the conversation.

“It’s been 6 years since we joined.. right?”
“It’s 5 years.”
“Ah! Right. It was 5 years.”

Gilbert made an expression as if to say, “You don’t even know that?”
Regardless, Ria continued with what she wanted to say.

“Come to think of it, isn’t this the first time a magician has been assigned to the Inspection Department?”
“It is the first. The Chief and Team Leader are magic swordsmen after all.”
“I wonder what their face looks like~”
“You’re still obsessed with useless things. What’s so important about appearance? What matters is ability.”
“Of course they’ll have ability.”

While discussing various things about their junior who was joining after 5 years, Ria suddenly crossed her arms and made a serious expression. Gilbert also acted accordingly, noticing her sudden change.

“I heard that elves were spotted in the Felon Viscounty. They’re clearly in cahoots, so we’ll be going for an inspection soon. We’ll have to turn the place upside down.”
“I see, it would be good to be careful. The opponent is a viscount after all.”
“Of course… Huh? Department Head?”

Ria opened her eyes wide and waved at the department head.
The department head let out a dry laugh.

“You should have just waited in front of the department head’s office.”
“Eh~ What are you saying? We were really talking about work. Hey, Gilbert. Right?”

As Ria tapped Gilbert’s arm and gave him a look, Gilbert sighed and joined his colleague’s act.

“Ria is right.”
“See? By the way, is that perhaps, the maknae next to you?”
“Not maknae, but new recruit. Use the correct term. Don’t forget that this is the Inspection headquarters.”
“Yes~”

Since it was obvious to anyone that Ria had been waiting for the new recruit, the department head stopped and introduced Loen.

“New recruit. This is Senior Ria. She’ll be in charge of guiding your work from now on.”
“Hi~ Nice to meet you. I’m Ria. By the way, you look totally like a noble lady?”
“Not ‘like’, she actually is the lady of the Franz duchy. Since she gave up the heir position, I guess ‘lady’ is correct now.”
“What!?”

Leaving the shocked Ria behind, the department head continued the introductions.

“This is Senior Gilbert. If there’s anything you don’t know, ask Gilbert. He’ll teach you better than Ria.”
“Nice to meet you, newbie. I’m Gilbert.”
“Nice to meet you both. I’m Loen, assigned to the Inspection Department this time. Please take care of me.”

Loen bowed her head to them.
The seniors also nodded their heads towards Loen.
Afterwards, they all followed the department head to the training ground.

“I heard you’re a 4-star magician, is that right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”

Ria and Gilbert looked puzzled.
We heard they were an excellent magician. 4-star?

Objectively speaking, a 4-star magician is quite outstanding.
They can handle various situations with multiple spells.

That’s why from 4-star onwards, they’re classified as high-level personnel.
But by Inspection Department standards, it was a bit… ambiguous.

“Wasn’t the minimum standard for Inspection Department assignment 5-star? Did it change recently? Or is it different because they’re a magician?”
“There must be something more to it.”

The seniors whispered, and
the department head continued his questions.

“What’s your attribute?”
“I was born with light and dark attributes.”

At those words, Ria and Gilbert’s eyes widened.
A dual attribute holder?

No wonder~
Then it’s understandable.

“Possessing opposing attributes, how interesting. By the way, do you have any practical experience?”
“Practical experience…”

Loen traced her memories.
Do I have any? The battle with the Magic Tower magician was just that, a battle.
Since I mostly stayed in the ducal mansion, not really… I guess?

“I don’t have any.”
“A greenhouse flower, I see.”

At the department head’s words, the seniors whispered again.

“Why is the department head acting like that? He knows very well how proud magicians are of their magic..”
“That’s what I’m saying.”

Of course, the department head has his own thoughts.

In the department head’s view, Loen is an audacious new recruit full of noble and magician pride. So he deliberately provoked her to drain all the unnecessary water and make her humble.

Then, what was Loen’s reaction to the provocation?

Blank stare.
Loen just blinked and looked at the department head.

In short, she had no thoughts.
She doesn’t even realize the department head’s words are a provocation.

The Franz family is a family of magicians.
Her father is a magician, Loen is a magician, her younger sibling is a magician.
So Loen grew up not knowing how precious magicians are.

Moreover, Loen’s father, Carl Franz.
He had long recognized Loen’s wanderlust and took various measures from her childhood to prevent her from getting carried away.
One of them was to put her down by saying, “You’re just slightly above average, don’t be arrogant.”

It’s the same principle as parents telling their handsome son, “There are plenty of better-looking guys in the capital, you fool!”

Thanks to this, Loen doesn’t accurately recognize her own magical abilities.

So even the department head’s provocation of calling her a greenhouse flower was just a natural statement from Loen’s perspective.

Seeing Loen just blinking without saying anything, the department head smirked.
She must be flustered because this is her first time experiencing this kind of provocation.
The department head delivered the final blow.

“I don’t care what method you use. Try to make me take even one step back.”

No matter how talented a dual attribute holder might be, asking a 4-star magician to make a 6-star swordsman step back is…
It’s no different from asking a child to push a large muscular man.

“Understood.”

The seniors exchanged glances.
She’s going to do it? Does she have some hidden ability?

Loen saw this as an opportunity.

A chance to be branded as an unremarkable newbie once they see what she can do!
She planned to fail to make him step back on purpose and blow away people’s expectations.

Woong.

She couldn’t use too basic a spell or it would be suspicious, so she started casting a moderately leveled spell.
Loen began casting a light beam spell.

Drawing out magical power and fixing it in the air,
Imbuing it with light and dark attributes,
Applying properties of condensation, concentration, projection, and penetration.

As the casting was nearing completion, with her hand stretched out in front, looking straight at the department head, she called out the activation word.

“Magical Light Cannon.”

Kwaaang.

The training ground repeatedly brightened and darkened several times.

Senior Gilbert’s impression of the scene that followed:

‘Not a greenhouse flower, but a World Tree in a greenhouse.’

The department head had been pushed to the far end of the training ground.