Edinal blinked. It might have been a momentary confusion.
But soon, she laughed while banging on the desk. Her long black hair flowed down behind her shoulders.
As a vampire, her sharp fangs and neck veins were visible enough.
Edinal found it amusing that Seonal, who stood there impassively, was even funnier, and she had to suppress her laughter.
“Alright. Seonal, I like this side of you. Well then, if Seonal couldn’t handle it, I would have taken care of it.”
Edinal shook the report and invoice along with it.
Contrary to her pale face, her red eyes sparkled with energy.
“Yes. I expected that, so I confidently made the request. I have to find my rights myself.”
“This is something I’ll take care of, so you’ve worked hard since morning.”
“Since I’ve worked hard, how about leaving early?”
As Seonal subtly pushed forward, Edinal grinned.
“Is our Seonal eager to write the end-of-day report of Monday?”
“If I can get early leave with the end-of-day report, I’ll write up to three pages. How about that? I’ll write up to four as much as I can…”
“No.”
“…Huh.”
Seonal lowered his head and turned away, sighing.
Thinking of going back to his seat after a brief visit to the field in the morning made him sigh at the thought.
‘I want to go home already.’
“Ah, Seonal.”
Edinal suddenly called, and Seonal looked back with a somewhat expectant expression.
“Not that kind of expectation.”
Edinal quickly cut off what Seonal wanted.
Seeing the disappointment on Seonal’s face, Edinal smiled brightly.
“I thought the protective glasses you made were really pretty.”
Seonal’s dead eyes momentarily flickered.
‘Team leader is really hard to understand.’
Seonal found Edinal somewhat unfamiliar. He had just submitted a report, but Edinal always seemed to know the outcome of the case in advance.
How did she know about the glasses he gave to the Medusa?
Maybe it was better not to know how she did it.
“Thank you for the compliment.”
Despite his words, Seonal gave Edinal a languid look and left the room.
‘Ugh…’
As soon as he went out, Seonal stood still and wiped his face.
‘It’s just Monday, but how come many things are happening?’
Even though he didn’t know what it was, his colleague Irang, who dealt with the Minotaur tribe complaints just like the Medusa incident, seemed to be restraining the Centaur tribe, who were known for their sensitivity.
It felt like he didn’t want to go out.
‘…Ha.’
Internally sighing, Seonal approached them.
To prevent the conversation from flowing out, a magical barrier blocked the sound of internal discussions.
Entering the area where the magic didn’t reach, loud voices were immediately heard.
“…No, I’m going to file a complaint right now! Why are you stopping me!”
The Centaur’s forelegs rose, and its bristling mane stood straight. It meant it was angry.
Seonal recalled the typical characteristics of the Centaur tribe.
– Sensitivity.
Who again irritated the Centaur, just like the Medusa incident?
“If you want to file a complaint, please wait calmly.”
His colleague, the goblin Irang was skillfully avoiding the Centaur’s hooves and trying to calm it down.
Seonal glanced around.
‘Was it just me and Irang?’
Working in the Special Unit for Addressing Concerns and Resolving Disputes among Different Races meant that everyone had to go out on the field as soon as they received a complaint. The seats were connected in a straight line, like a post office counter.
To his left was Irang, a goblin. To his right was a fairy named Terisha, and one seat was vacant for additional staff.
“What’s going on?”
Seonal approached slowly and asked.
“It seems the complainant had a problem with a magical tool.”
Irang spoke up, her tied-up hair and goblin mask somewhat disheveled as she managed the Centaur.
“Shouldn’t magical tools be handled by the Magic Association, not here?”
“Yes, but the complainant insisted it to be done here.”
As Irang explained, the complainant stared at Seonal.
The pressure to speak well was noticeable. The frustration was still visible on their faces.
“There’s an issue with a magical tool, and the Magician Association said…”
“I’ll just explain.”
The centaur couldn’t endure it any longer and interrupted.
Perhaps due to the spray effect, their tone softened compared to a moment ago.
“My magical tool malfunctioned, so instead of going to the Magician Association headquarters, I took it to a branch. As you know, the headquarters is far away.”
All magical tools were sold by the Magician Association, and they were responsible for repairs as well. Having heard enough and predicting the outcome, Seonal sighed inwardly, thinking, ‘Can’t fix it.’
Seonal felt a surge of energy. It was an opportunity to make trouble for the Magician Association.
“I admit I made a mistake. I accidentally dropped the magical tool. However, when I showed them the tool, instead of repairing it, they accused me of intentionally damaging it, discriminated against me, and said I couldn’t repair it.”
‘Can’t fix it.’
Seonal smirked internally but hid the desire to mock.
“When I asked around, I heard they could resolve such issues here.”
‘Smart.’
Seonal observed with satisfaction as the centaur’s tail slightly lifted.
The Special Unit for Addressing Concerns and Resolving Disputes among Different Races was created to address conflicts and discrimination among different species and reintegrate them into society. Dealing with complaints was its primary purpose.
“I apologize for causing a commotion due to my anger.”
The centaur lowered their head.
“Could you please come forward and tell us what discrimination you experienced?”
Seonal smoothly guided the complainant.
As the complainant moved, Irang approached discreetly and lowered his voice.
“As you know, there’s only one magician here, and it is you Seonal.”
Irang, a goblin, indicated his status with a diagonal mask on the right side of his head.
“I’ll treat you to a Kwalk Frappe later.”
“That’s fine.”
Seonal’s response slightly slowed.
‘Why is he acting like this all of a sudden?’
It felt unfamiliar.
Although Seonal had been working here for only about a month, he still felt somewhat unfamiliar, and a few days ago, there was an incident that made him feel uncomfortable.
‘Let’s not dwell on it for now.’
Seonal decided to focus on the matter with the Magician Association.
“Now, please tell us your story. You can sit down.”
Seonal belatedly took a seat to appear friendly, lifting the corners of his mouth.
“No, I prefer standing. It’s more comfortable for me to talk.”
The complainant’s expression showed simmering anger.
She took out cosmetics from her bag. It seemed to be a foundation for her round face.
‘That’s a magical tool.’
Seonal keenly felt how the Magician Association might be obsessed with money, given the diverse ways magic could be incorporated.
“This is a magical tool. Even during the free warranty period, they refused to repair it, claiming I stepped on it, leaving visible marks.”
She presented her cosmetic product to Seonal.
“I didn’t step on it. I said it wasn’t me. However, they insisted that my legs were like horses, so I wouldn’t notice stepping on or passing over it. They said it wasn’t a significant shock, and besides, since it was a magical item, I should buy a new one instead of repairing it. They even gave me a bunch of coupons for other items and offered a refund. I was more infuriated by that.”
She handed the cosmetics to Seonal.
“I lightly dropped it. Like a pen falling to the floor. Is this some kind of glass cup?”
‘Damn magicians.’
The complainant grumbled.
“When I looked at it, the vampire next to me brought the same item and dropped it right away. They immediately replaced it with a new product, saying there might be an issue with the internal mechanism and gave me discounts for other items. It made me even angrier.”
She sighed deeply while sweeping her hair back dramatically.
“I’ll apologize for causing a scene.”
Seonal instructed, and she reluctantly complied.
“May I take a look?”
When Seonal suggested, she covered her mouth.
“…Um, are you a magician?”
“Yes.”
“Ugh…”
Her gaze shook dramatically.
“You don’t have to listen to me. I really didn’t mean it that way. I was just angry at that moment. A vampire brought the same item right behind me and dropped it, and they immediately replaced it. They gave them a new product and even offered discounts for other items, saying there might be an issue with the internal mechanism. But for me, since it’s a magical item, it can’t be repaired, and I have to buy a new one. I was given all sorts of reasons. Ah, well…”
She sighed again while sweeping her hair back.
“I slightly dropped it. It’s like dropping a pen on the floor. What kind of glass cup is this?”
‘An enchantment.’
Seonal couldn’t help but feel a tightness in his chest. The magical patterns that formed the basic structure of magic were visible.
‘No. How serious are they about makeup?’
If he interpreted those patterns, there would be more than ten lines of sentences, and the main point was to find the areas where the makeup didn’t adhere well.
‘Why bother with intricate patterns?’
Interpreting the patterns would result in a sentence. If they put them all together, it would be about how to find areas where the makeup didn’t adhere well.
‘Effortlessly dropping it causes the magic circle to shake so much that the binding force of the connecting patterns is weak.’
There were parts where patterns should be inserted together and others where they should not.
It was like two magnets with the same poles facing each other.
“Did they really try to sell this? Is there a magician at the Consumer Complaint Center?”
As expected, the magic circle had already collapsed, and the excuses he made, knowing it was beyond repair, were undoubtedly absurd.
Seonal erased the magic, looking at the complainant.
Any magic was a place where mana and communication intersected, their voices being what they produced.
Mana could be anything, and they wanted to be anything.
So, instead of trapping them with mana-preferred patterns, not using sly means to capture them, but directly, he had to express what they desired.
The ‘scanning’ magic he had just cast was also of that kind.
“Even mana has language. Do you think it’ll work well communicating with patterns frustratingly?”
Seonal said to the complainant, holding cosmetic products.
“I can’t find any traces stepped on by this magical tool.”
“Really? I didn’t step on it.”
For the first time, she smiled brightly, then slowly clenched her fist.
“There are many misunderstandings due to the fact that I have four legs. I didn’t expect it to happen even in this case.”
“I’ve heard about it.”
Seonal closed his mouth with a smile, wearing the smile of capitalism.
The complainant received a lot of misunderstandings because she had four legs.
This issue caused many fights and complaints.
In fact, there were people who really kicked someone because of this issue, so he couldn’t say it was not possible.
Thud!
The complainant kicked the ground with her foot.
“There are still many people who want to try riding on my back…”
As she spoke, her eyes widened slightly.
“…I’m sorry.”
‣ Easily gets excited.
Seonal tilted his head, thinking about the characteristics of the centaur race, raising his head.
“Please write down the details of the complaint here. And if you could lend me the magic tool for a moment.”
“As much as you want.”
“Shall I fix it and send it back? Or would you like me to send it by courier?”
“No. Send it back, if they don’t take it, please discard it.”
Her distorted expression seemed to have relaxed somewhat.
“By any chance… Can I come back for a similar issue next time?”
“Of course. Our complaints are here for you all.”
Seonal lied without even getting saliva on his lips.
Starting from Monday.
How would it feel to go on a business trip from Monday morning?
“Those damn Magician Association guys.”
Seonal couldn’t stop the rising corners of his mouth.
It seemed to work out well.
The Magician Association always had business, any time.
After all, they were the people that shattered his dreams in the past.
