A ‘letter’ fluttered into my hand.
Since this was a world where magic existed, it was used even for minor things.
Letters were one such use. By enchanting a letter, it could find a recipient nearby all on its own.
Compared to modern Earth, where every kind of convenient communication method was abundant, it might not seem like much. But considering this world’s level of civilization, it could be called cutting-edge technology.
Using these enchanted letters, I made it possible to place orders with me from anywhere in the academy.
“Here. As my employee, this is your first task. Deliver this to Senior Radeos. He should be in the fifth-year Department of Martial Arts classroom. If you tell him it is the item he ordered, he will understand.”
After checking the letter, I handed Lucia the Monster Summoning Scroll Radeos had ordered.
The first purpose of hiring Lucia.
It would have been nice if owls could make deliveries like in movies with mages, but it was difficult to find animals trained that well here.
That was why I had wanted someone to work with me.
People could make deliveries without any special training.
Greater convenience through a delivery service would lead to higher sales.
“All you’re having me do is deliver things....”
Lucia took the pouch and muttered with an unsatisfied expression.
“Do you have a complaint?”
“No. I’ll be back.”
“You’re being awfully informal with your employer.”
“Yes, Boss.”
When I lightly pointed it out, Lucia gave me a bright smile.
Excellent professional mode.
“I’m joking, I’m joking. An equal relationship is enough for us. That was our contract, wasn’t it?”
I sincerely wanted to maintain as smooth a relationship with Lucia as possible.
She was a reincarnator, after all.
This was the only time I could bind her to me so cheaply.
Thinking of the future, acting arrogantly just because I was her employer was not a good choice.
“Aha ha ha.”
Lucia laughed like a new employee listening to her superior’s unfunny joke.
“Go on.”
I would think more about improving my relationship with my employee later.
For now, it was working hours.
Lucia drooped her shoulders and began walking away.
However, Lucia’s delivery ran into an obstacle from the very start.
“Where are you hurrying off to?”
As always, idiots from the Department of Martial Arts picked a fight with Lucia.
They seemed to be taking out their frustration over yesterday’s loss in a twisted direction.
Considering that they had not been in the mood to accept defeat gracefully, it was not strange.
Still, it was not a good idea.
The situation had changed now.
“Why don’t you cut it out?”
One of the Department of Magic students nearby spoke up.
He was notable for his especially red hair.
“What?”
Apparently, they had not expected such a response. The Department of Martial Arts students’ eyes widened.
“I said cut it out. This is not even your classroom, so why are you here blocking the way?”
The red-haired boy did not bother to hide his hostility.
“...What?”
“Why all of a sudden....”
The Department of Martial Arts idiots looked around.
“Go to your classroom.”
The red-haired boy ordered them.
The other students did not speak, but they glared coldly at the intruders.
The experience of the Mock Battle had changed how the Department of Magic students saw things.
Those from the same Department of Magic were allies, while those from the Department of Martial Arts were enemies they would clash with time and time again.
Whenever they had to compete with the Department of Martial Arts, Lucia would become an important source of strength for the Department of Magic.
Only now had they begun to distinguish enemies from allies.
I did not particularly like seeing them change their attitudes overnight as easily as turning over a hand.
But that was simply how people were, and children even more so.
“What are you going to do if you stare at us like that!”
“You bastards, you have some nerve....!”
The Department of Martial Arts students must have had their pride. Rather than tuck their tails and run, they growled threateningly even at the other Department of Magic students.
The atmosphere became tense enough that a fight could break out at any moment.
They had only fought a Mock Battle yesterday, yet they still had energy to spare.
I could have simply watched, but if I left them alone, they would repeat similar things again and again and make Lucia’s life difficult.
“Hey, friends.”
It was best to clear away anything that would interfere with work beforehand.
“...Lawrence Reed.”
“W-What do you want?”
When I stepped in, the Department of Martial Arts students shrank back.
They kept looking at my hands with pale faces, as though afraid I might do something to them.
It felt vaguely unpleasant.
Still, I was an adult, so I did not get angry over something like this.
“Tell Kyle this. If he touches my employee again, I will make sure he can never show his face again.”
The reason these guys kept bothering Lucia was not so much their own will as it was their struggle to catch Kyle’s eye.
Naturally, saying something to them would not change anything.
I had no choice but to make Kyle change his attitude.
“Subordinate...?”
“Employee...?”
The Department of Martial Arts students repeated my words one at a time.
Thanks to that, the already stupid idiots seemed three times dumber.
“I hired Lucia.”
The contract period was one year for now. At least during that time, she was no stranger to me.
“Do you have a problem with that? Want to spar with me?”
I traced a finger through the air as though I were about to open the Shop.
At this academy, a spar usually ended only after someone suffered a serious injury.
When someone stronger than you threatened to spar with you, it could only be a threat.
“Urgh....”
“We’ll see about that!”
The Department of Martial Arts students ran away without even looking back.
Yesterday’s experience seemed to have firmly lodged itself in their minds.
The enemy fled. Seeing that, my Department of Magic peers burst into laughter.
I let out a small laugh as well.
“Heh heh. I can’t wait to see how Kyle will fly into a rage.”
It would not be strange if he lost his temper and came running over immediately.
Of course, if he did, he would learn that I was an honest man who always kept his word.
Still, I did not think Kyle had enough intelligence to consider that far ahead.
“....”
Lucia alone could not join the mood and mumbled something to herself.
“Lucia.”
I snapped my fingers in front of Lucia, who stood there blankly while fidgeting.
“Mhm? Why?”
Lucia’s face was slightly red when she raised her head.
“What do you mean, why? What were you doing until just now?”
Why could this girl not get herself together?
“Ah...!”
Lucia checked the pouch in her hand and flustered.
It seemed that the Department of Martial Arts students picking a fight had made her completely forget what she had been about to do.
“If you want to get back before class starts, you need to leave right now.”
Beaumont Academy’s grounds were excessively large. Each year used different areas, so visiting another year’s classroom required using the break between classes down to the wire.
Since going back and forth in person was burdensome, deliveries were necessary.
“Ah, okay! I’ll go!”
Lucia nodded several times and ran down the hallway.
I had dragged her into this somewhat forcibly, so I had been worried that she might not want to work. I liked how eager she looked.
That was right. A new employee needed passion.
“Using another reincarnator as an errand runner....”
“I said I hired her, didn’t I? What kind of terms did you set....”
“Did you get some kind of hold over her?”
“Lawrence, after all....”
I heard whispers behind my back.
Did they have to gossip so close to me?
I would have to correct their manners one day.
***
“I need... some kind of solution....”
After the day’s final class ended, Lucia slumped over her desk.
A new employee’s enthusiasm had not even lasted a few hours.
“What’s wrong? Is work difficult?”
I approached Lucia and spoke to her.
A good employer should listen to an employee’s troubles.
“I ran around delivering things during every break. Of course I’m tired.”
Lucia pouted and complained.
Hmm. Was I the cause?
“Making money is hard by nature.”
You paid money to do easy and enjoyable work.
You were paid money to do difficult and exhausting work.
There were exceptions, but that was generally how it worked.
“If you’re like this over deliveries alone, what are you going to do about other jobs?”
“Other... jobs?”
My words made Lucia’s face turn pale.
“Did you think I hired you to make deliveries alone?”
Delivering items was merely one of many tasks.
“How did I... end up making a contract with a devil....”
Lucia covered her face with trembling hands.
A devil?
How unfair. Compared to the bosses I had experienced on Earth, I was truly an angel who cared about his employees.
“This will not do. I need a countermeasure.”
With hollow eyes, Lucia picked up a pen and began writing something on paper.
“Could I move them with magic? Teleportation? That takes too much mana. But if I use a telekinetic method, the distance limit becomes too short....”
She seemed to be searching for a solution through magic, her own field of expertise.
As someone whose talent for magic was shallow, I could not understand the formulas that filled the paper without pause.
Lucia’s eyes suddenly turned toward the letters flying in without rest.
“That could be considered a type of Golem, right? Right. If the objects moved on their own... factoring in the increased mana consumption according to weight....”
I did not understand it, but it seemed as though something might come of it, so I left her alone.
I was happy to have such an excellent employee with a desire to improve.
Tap.
While we were talking, someone touched my shoulder. I turned around reflexively to see who it was.
“Ah. You finally came.”
A smile naturally appeared on my face.
“Are you busy?”
Media Jun. The eldest daughter of a marquis’s family. A senior who was destined to become my VIP.
“No. I’m not busy at all.”
She was someone I needed to prioritize over other tasks.
“I heard you performed incredibly well in the Mock Battle.”
Media spoke with a faint smile.
“I only did my best, and it turned out that way.”
I replied as modestly as possible. I had to be careful with what I said around her.
“Right.... You’re a reincarnator. You’re completely different from someone like me....”
As you could see, she was a pitiable person whose self-esteem had hit rock bottom.
“Who’s beside you...?”
“Lucia Hayes.”
I casually introduced Lucia.
If Media became a regular customer, she and Lucia would meet often.
They needed to become familiar with each other’s faces in advance.
Hearing her own name, Lucia raised her head and gave Media a slight greeting.
“Ah.... You’re a reincarnator, too....”
Media’s expression twisted when she heard Lucia’s name.
“Senior?”
Lucia slightly reached out a hand in concern.
“...There are too many reincarnators at this academy!!”
Media knocked the hand away and shouted as though vomiting blood.
“Why did you have to be reincarnated and come to the academy?! Why are you doing this to me?! If only that bitch had not been a reincarnator, I would have been more....!”
Her resentful voice echoed through the classroom.
Startled by the sudden eruption of emotion, Lucia hiccupped.
I quickly changed the subject to calm Media down.
“Now, now, Senior. The fact that you came looking for me means you liked the gift I gave you last time, correct?”
After shouting and catching her breath, Media nodded.
The gift I had given Media was incense with a sleep-inducing effect.
It was not something like a sleeping pill that forcibly put her to sleep, but incense made with herbs that calmed the mind so that one could sleep easily and deeply.
I had given it to her because I judged there was no way she could sleep properly in that mental state, and it seemed I had been right.
“I have also selected items that may be useful to you, Senior. These will probably help your grades as well.”
I bought products from the Shop and laid them out before Media.