I Became a Civil Servant Who Can Use Magic

“This is why nobles are…”

Ria clicked her tongue briefly.

“Is there a problem?”
“It’s about the rooms.”

The viscount treated the Inspection Team group with great hospitality and provided two guest rooms.
One was for the adjutant to stay in, and the other was for Ria and Loen to stay in.

Isn’t this just room assignment based on gender? What’s the problem?
No matter how much Loen thought about it, she couldn’t see any issue.

“Ugh, maknae. You’re a noble too, right? Don’t you feel something’s off? According to the Imperial Law, inspectors should be treated equally to nobles. In practice, due to the nature of our work, we often receive treatment on par with high-ranking nobles. But. Even if we’re colleagues, does it make sense to have us stay in the same room?”
“Now that you mention it, you’re right?”

Ria wasn’t saying this for no reason.
Even if it’s a noble of lower rank than oneself, when visiting one’s residence, it’s basic etiquette among nobles to provide one room per person.
Even Ria, an inspector from a commoner background, knows this fact.

And it’s not just a casual visit, but they’re here for an inspection, and they’re told to share a room?

“It means ‘We don’t have separate rooms for you, so get out quickly while I’m still asking nicely.'”

The noble society has such insidious aspects.

“What confidence makes them act like this?”

At Loen’s question, Ria fell into thought.

We’ve already finished investigating Viscount Felon’s forces.
The only threatening existences are the 4-star knight commander and the 4-star elf magician.

The Felon Regiment and the Knightly Order are meaningless against me or Loen.
Then the variable is… The Red Band, those pointy-eared bastards.

‘What on earth is their purpose?’

Even the viscount must clearly know that even if he raises a rebellion, it will be quickly suppressed.
As the maknae said, when they should be on their knees begging, what confidence makes them act like this?

No matter how much Ria pondered, she couldn’t find a suitable answer.

“Let’s stay a few more days and see what their real purpose is, what they’re hiding. We can execute them anytime. Anyway. Maknae, you should also look around and check if there’s anything suspicious. Understand?”
“Yes.”

After finishing her words, Ria suddenly looked over Loen’s body and thought.

Still, someone from a ducal family is different.
Her skin is so clean and her figure… I’m jealous.

“Maknae~ I didn’t notice because you’re always wrapped up in your uniform and coat. They’re quite big?”
“Pardon?”

Ria’s eyebrows waved up and down.

“Don’t just stand there, come up on the bed. We need to sleep early since we’ll be busy from tomorrow.”
“…”

It seems you have other intentions…

Loen finally grasped the situation.
Same room with Senior Ria, one bed.

“I’ll sleep on the floor.”
“…Sleep on the floor? A noble lady from a ducal family?”
“Yes. I’ve preferred sleeping on the floor since childhood.”

At this ridiculous excuse, Ria’s eyes narrowed.
Her amber eyes, the same color as her hair, exerted silent pressure on Loen.
Loen broke out in a cold sweat.

“Sure~ The noble inspector from a ducal family probably doesn’t want to sleep with a commoner senior like me. Well, what can we do.”

Loen’s pupils trembled uncontrollably.

In the end, Loen became Ria’s body pillow.
Loen, who was inwardly cursing the damn viscount, tossed and turned for a long time before finally falling asleep.

The next day, the adjutant quietly slipped out of the fortress on the pretext of urgent business.
His real purpose was to request support in case of any contingency.

Senior Ria was causing trouble here and there to induce Viscount Felon to reveal his hidden cards.
To Loen, it seemed like she was going too far.

For instance, breaking seemingly valuable artworks was basic.

“Oops? Sorry~ Something caught my foot.”
“It, it’s alright.”

Or breaking wine barrels stored in the cellar.

“I was wondering if there might be any hidden mechanisms~”
“There’s no way something like that exists…”

Or making unreasonable demands by bringing up financial reports for no reason.

“This maintenance cost item here looks strange?”
“We’ve already explained that, Inspector.”
“Explain it to me again. I forgot.”
“Urgh. Al… right. Financial officer!! Come explain this.”

Even Viscount Felon, being human, had his blood pressure rising day by day due to the inspector’s troublemaking.

Bang!

Someone strongly struck the table in the center of the conference room.
The culprit was, of course, Viscount Felon.

“How long do you expect me to wait! I’ve already decided to raise the flag of rebellion. Why do you keep hesitating?”

The viscount expressed his frustration and asked the elf magician.
Then he took a deep breath and offered words of apology.

“I’ve shown unseemly behavior to my benefactor without realizing. That damn woman made my blood boil. I’m sorry.”
“I understand completely. I didn’t expect someone called the Emperor’s sword to act so frivolously either. Let’s wait a bit longer.”
“Hah… Alright for now.”

The preparations to kill the inspectors and throw the southern border region into chaos have long been completed.

Yet the reason the elf hesitates is…

Because of Loen.

Originally, the personnel who should have come for inspection to the viscount’s territory were Ria and her adjutant.
Just the two of them.

But an unidentified person was added, so from the elf’s perspective, he had no choice but to be cautious.

Above all, in the elf’s view, Loen’s aura seemed very extraordinary.

Of course, her appearance played a large part in that aura.

Loen’s sharp impression and the nobles’ unique overbearing attitude not only added to her aura but also had the charm of making even ordinary actions seem special to the observer.

As a result, from the elf’s perspective, even Loen’s trivial actions seemed to carry some intention.

A piercing gaze as if she knows everything.
The boldness of standing openly on the castle walls, looking down at the surroundings as if daring them to come.
She even appeared in front of soldiers transporting gunpowder to give a warning, somehow knowing!

‘I’ve never heard of such a woman in the Inspection Team.’

For reference, the information the elf received was based on a month ago.
That is, information from before Loen joined.

Suddenly, the elf came up with a hypothesis.
No way!!!

“Imperial Guard!?”
“Did you just say Imperial Guard?”
“Yes. Actually… I’ve been hesitating because there’s a possibility that woman belongs to the Imperial Guard.”

The elf bit his lip.

Thinking that she might be from the Imperial Guard, everything made sense!

She might have already figured out our purpose.
She might have come here disguised as an inspector while knowing everything…

Those cunning imperial bastards.
If this is the case, we might have to completely revise our plan.

“Oh my. This is…”
“Let’s wait at least until the messenger arrives with additional information.”
“Alright.”

While Senior Ria was causing trouble, Loen also wandered around various parts of the fortress.

She would randomly knock on walls while passing through corridors, touch books on bookshelves, and lift up jars. Of course, there was no result.

The atmosphere was already tense, so it felt awkward to just rest while wearing the Inspection Team uniform.
She would cross her arms and roll her eyes on paths where people were passing by.

Even so, it was just people-watching.

“Hey. It’s an inspector, stand up straight.”
“This is a path only soldiers use. How did she know to come here?”
“How should I know?”

I can hear everything, you fools.
After that, she never went to the ‘path only soldiers use’ again.

When she felt too stuffy, she would go up on the castle walls to admire the vast scenery spread out before her.

Looking at the open landscape made her feel like her mind was being purified, and she felt good for no reason.

Thanks to the Inspection Team uniform, no one spoke to her, so she could enjoy the privilege of quietly viewing the scenery alone.

“They might fall sideways like that.”

Loen’s eyes caught sight of three or four soldiers struggling to pull a cart at the far end of the horizon.
But unfortunately, because it was an unpaved road, the cart was shaking back and forth.

Seeing that precarious sight, memories from her past life flashed by.
Memories of those days in the military, going back and forth to the warehouse pulling a guruma full of heavy equipment.
How hard and miserable it was back then.

Loen decided.
Let’s help them.

After casting a body enhancement spell on herself, she jumped down from the castle wall and ran to where the cart was.

“In, Inspector!”
“You look like you’re having a hard time, let me help you.”
“No, it’s fine!”
“Really, it’s okay. We’ll manage on our own.”

Even though Loen offered to help, the soldiers repeatedly refused.

How frustrating.
Even when I offer to help?

Loen used magic to move the cart to where there was a paved road.
The soldiers watched nervously.

Is the military discipline here very strict? Why are they trembling like that?
Well, since inspectors are treated like nobles, maybe they’re uncomfortable because of that?

During the process of moving it, the cloth covering the cart was blown by the wind, revealing its contents for a moment.

“Gunpowder?”
“Ah.. that, because the elves use a new type of weapon called muskets. We’re trying to use them on a trial basis.. Anyway, yes. It’s for training purposes..”

The soldier stumbled over his words and eventually trailed off.
Of course, Loen doesn’t think much of it.

With this much gunpowder, they’d have to handle it very carefully.
Feeling worried for the soldiers, she made a concerned expression and said one thing.

“Be careful.”

Loen left those words of concern and disappeared into the fortress.
The soldiers were completely frozen, just looking at each other.

“Sh, shit. Did we get caught?”
“Did you see her frown at the end? She must have noticed.”
“Let’s quickly report to the elf magician.”

Loen felt like she was just wasting time without any particular results.

Well, this is what she came for in the first place.
But still, isn’t this too uneventful?

“I should go rest in my room today and look around again tomorrow.”

Loen turned her steps towards her room.

While walking down the corridor, a little boy came into her view.

“Huh? Oh!”

In novels, to describe main characters, ‘colors’ are often used.

Rather than adjectives like beautiful or handsome,
Descriptors like red eyes, black hair leave a stronger impression.
The reason for suddenly bringing this up is because of the color of the boy who entered my sight.

The boy’s hair color and eyes were shining silver.

It matched exactly with the color of the original protagonist that Loen knew.

‘Silver hair and silver eyes are the protagonist’s symbol, right? Is this for real.. To meet like this here?’

As if entranced, Loen approached the boy, met his eyes, and spoke. The boy also stared blankly at Loen.

“Hello?”

As Loen came closer, the boy suddenly bowed his head deeply.

Is my face that scary?
Or is he just shy because he’s a child?

“H-hello.”
“I’m Loen, who came to… um, tour the fortress. What’s your name?”
“I, I’m Darus.”

At that moment, a maid rushed from behind and picked up Darus.

“Young master! You shouldn’t wander around alone! Ah, Inspector.. I’m sorry. The young master is very active.”
“It’s alright. He’s just walking around in his own castle, after all.”
“Thank you for understanding. Then we’ll be going now!”

The maid carrying Darus quickly disappeared from view.
Before disappearing, the boy turned his head to look at Loen.

Loen’s bright red eyes and the boy’s silver eyes met briefly.

Even after they disappeared, Loen stood blankly in the corridor.

“Come to think of it…. Did she say ‘young master’?”