“So they went to verify whether you were really a Crystal Whale Ecology Investigator dispatched from the Imperial Palace through proper channels. The Tower Master himself did it!”
For a moment, I stood there blankly, wondering if I had heard correctly. Then heat rushed to my face.
“Turns out you really are a government official. Sorry for doubting you.”
That bastard Cade.
So that's why he suddenly said that.
Even after seeing my identification, my beast-communicator credentials, and my official badge, he still hadn't believed me enough to check my background? Personally?
The rumors about me had apparently spread even this far. Forget making a good first impression—I felt as though I'd been marked as a person of interest before I had even started work.
“This is the first time the Magic Tower has ever made such a request,” the administrator said. “How ridiculous must you have looked for someone to suspect impersonation even while you're wearing an official uniform?”
“......”
I could feel every eye in the office on me, yet no one was actually waiting for my answer.
They were simply enjoying the sight of an unwelcome outsider being put in her place.
At least nobody suspects that I know the Tower Master personally.
I should probably pretend to reflect on my actions or something.
I lowered my head and put on a dejected expression.
After scolding me coldly for a while, even the administrator seemed to be growing tired.
“The work done at the observatory is directly tied to the safety of coastal residents and sailors. I understand you're here because of Magic Tower business, but if you neglect the duties here, I'll send a report straight to the Imperial Capital. Is that understood?”
“Yes, ma'am.”
I bowed my head and took the seat she indicated with a casual wave of her hand.
It had belonged to the employee who had recently transferred elsewhere.
As I arranged my belongings on the desk, I discreetly looked around the office.
The desks were smaller than those in the Imperial Palace administration, and the office itself was cramped, but it still had everything it needed.
Everything except the documents that should have been sitting on my desk.
The director said he'd have the paperwork sent here. What happened?
The director's nickname was "Two Birds with One Stone."
Since I needed the Tower Master's seal, he had used the opportunity to station me in Melgot and told me to handle the local magical-beast issues while I was there, effectively dispatching me to the Marine Observatory.
The documents he'd shoved onto me weren't exactly minor matters, so there was no way they should have arrived late.
I glanced around, but there didn't seem to be any place in the office where mail was stored.
Who should I ask?
After some thought, I quietly addressed the employee sitting next to me.
“Where do I pick up documents sent from the Imperial Capital?”
“Check the handover file.”
“Oh. Right.”
The answer came back as sharp as a knife.
I searched every corner of my desk but found nothing resembling a handover file.
“I can't find the handover documents.”
“They aren't there? Maybe the previous employee never wrote one. Then I don't know.”
“......”
The employee immediately turned away, making it clear that they didn't want to continue the conversation.
I decided to worry about the Imperial Capital paperwork later and focus on learning what I needed first.
I should start by looking at Melgot's magical-beast distribution maps.
However, no matter how thoroughly I searched the filing cabinet, there wasn't a single document related to magical beasts.
The previous employee had supposedly been responsible for recording magical-beast appearances according to marine climate conditions.
Yet the cabinet contained nothing except ocean climate analysis charts and weather maps.
Are those documents stored somewhere else?
After hesitating, I spoke to the employee beside me again.
“There don't seem to be any materials about magical beasts here.”
Though visibly annoyed, they answered.
“The previous employee took all of them.”
That answer only created a bigger problem.
“What? Why?”
“I think they requested permission to remove them for a consortium presentation.”
“Then what am I supposed to do?”
“Just work. You'll learn as you go.”
Learn what?
There were no materials to learn from in the first place.
At this point, I couldn't tell whether everyone was treating me coldly because of the rumors or whether this workplace simply never conducted proper handovers.
“Then where are the older records stored?”
At my question, the employee set their pen down with an audible clack.
“Where else? The archives, obviously. Do they explain every little thing to you in the Imperial Capital like you're a child?”
“At least they conduct proper handovers there.”
The retort escaped me before I could stop it.
I regretted it immediately.
No sooner had the words left my mouth than the employee glared at me with wide eyes, while the administrator behind them shot me an incredulous look.
Claiming that I wanted to review previous records, I quietly slipped out of the office.
Only after escaping the suffocating cubicles and hostile stares did I finally feel like I could breathe.
This place is even more territorial than the Imperial Capital.
It was so uncomfortable that my stomach felt upset despite not having eaten anything.
The building wasn't large, but its layout was complicated. After wandering around for quite some time, I finally found the archives.
After signing the visitor log and entering the external-document section, I found the paperwork almost immediately.
“Oh, for heaven's sake, Director...”
The towering mountain of documents left me speechless.
There was far too much to carry by hand, so I fetched a trolley and began stacking the files onto it one by one.
How long does he think I'm going to stay in Melgot?
Apparently, even the director didn't expect me to obtain the Tower Master's seal anytime soon.
Just then, several people in white lab coats entered the archive room.
I'd passed a few laboratories while getting lost earlier, so they were probably researchers from those departments.
They stared at the enormous pile of documents I was loading onto the trolley and gasped.
When our eyes met, they smiled awkwardly.
I returned the awkward smile and continued stacking papers as their conversation drifted over.
“Looking back, that was a close call. The sea monsters are multiplying faster and faster.”
“How am I supposed to board a research vessel without being terrified?”
“We deserve hazard pay for this.”
The Marine Observatory also employed researchers who studied sea monsters.
Since the creatures appeared in the ocean, it made sense that they would be stationed here.
“Research ships probably won't be sailing for a while. Still, the Magic Tower has stepped in, so everything should be cleaned up within a few days.”
“They say the Tower Master is a lunatic, but at least he does his job.”
“If he didn't, do you think the Imperial Palace would sit quietly? Still, seeing a whole group of mages move out together was pretty impressive.”
Tower Master.
Mages.
The words caught my attention immediately, and my hands slowed.
Apparently they had only just returned from a research vessel, because they continued talking about the mages out at sea.
Absentmindedly, I rubbed the government badge pinned to my chest.
...I didn't think he was lying.
But it really was because of the sea monsters.
The current Cade wasn't someone I could easily trust.
Only after hearing about his actions from other people did they finally begin to feel real.
Whatever the case, I hoped it wouldn't take long.
The Tower Master has to actually be at the Magic Tower before I can bring him official documents.
I had thought the observatory would be easier than the Magic Tower.
At this point, the Tower seemed more comfortable.
Pushing the now heavily loaded trolley, I muttered under my breath.
“Come back soon, Cade. I'd like this assignment to end before I even have time to process all these documents.”
The freezing sea wind cut through the air, making the hem of his robe whip violently around him.
Without the warming stones heated by magic and the spell wrapped around his body to preserve warmth, the weather would have knocked him unconscious long ago.
The mages flew above the stormy sea, hunting sea monsters.
“Tower Master! You're moving too fast! The rear group won't be able to keep up!”
Ben hurried after Cade, shouting desperately.
Only then did Cade stop in midair.
He didn't even glance back.
His gaze remained fixed on the distant ocean.
The appearance of sea monsters never truly ended.
Even after days of relentless extermination, their numbers would swarm back within a month.
People often said that the sea was the source of magic itself.
As though proving that belief, sea monsters always emerged from the ocean.
The mages had to coordinate with the coastal guard and the Marine Observatory to prevent the creatures from pushing inland and attacking harbors or coastal villages.
The farther north they traveled, the greater the concentration of monsters became.
Yet no stretch of sea could truly be considered safe.
People who touched land or objects corrupted by the creatures often suffered from severe fever.
...If she's a Crystal Whale Ecology Investigator, she'll be spending a lot of time at sea.
Ever since their unexpected reunion, Cade found himself repeatedly recalling Vivian.
The way she had grabbed his robe when she sensed the magical beasts approaching.
The way she had stepped in front of him to protect them.
The way she had communicated with the creatures using a power that resembled the waves themselves.
Vivian was a beast communicator.
Before they separated, he had known everything about her.
Yet in a single year, there were now things he didn't know.
One year wasn't a short amount of time.
But neither was it long enough to completely change a person.
Aside from becoming a communicator, Vivian remained exactly as he remembered.
From her eyes, green as fresh forests, to her love of books—so great that she had loaded entire crates of them onto the carriage bound for Melgot.
She lived near the Imperial Capital. She wouldn't have had many opportunities to encounter magical beasts and their powerful mana directly. So how did she become a communicator?
The ability to communicate with magical beasts was extraordinary enough on its own.
But that wasn't what made Vivian truly remarkable.