ARML 02

Chapter 2 

The new recruits were split into small groups for their 3-month training period.

My group members were Yuriana and the Sub-male lead, who was the son of the Tower Master.

‘Did the author mess up while sorting by test scores and then try to fix it half-heartedly? Why is this team so random?’

We had:

• The top scorer, Yuriana (female lead),
• The second-highest, Sub-male lead,
• And me… the one who scored dead last.

People around us whispered all kinds of things.

“Wow, it’s the top-tier team. Except for one person!”

“Pfft, who made this team lineup?”

Well, the author of the original novel probably did.

‘Even if I’m last, isn’t it still amazing that I passed while working full-time at an orphanage?’

Sure, being at the bottom might affect promotion chances.

But I wasn’t aiming for success in this life anyway. I had been there, done that in my past life.

‘If you get promoted, you just become a middle manager… and that’s a nightmare job.’

Being a middle manager is just stress, dealing with problems from both the top and bottom.

“Haa…”

I almost teared up from bad memories of my past life.

But no use wasting energy on things that didn’t matter.

Anyway, the plot of the original story was going smoothly.

‘The female lead and sub-male lead are going to the Black Magic Department, just like in the novel.’

The Imperial Palace has three main departments:

1. Central Department – Think of regular offices like the Labor or Education Department.
2. Magic Knights Department – Handles magical and physical security.
3. Black Magic Control Department – Deals with collecting and stopping black magic.

…It’s called the Black Spoon Department for short.

‘It’s described in the novel as the most hardcore department!’

To handle deadly black magic, you need strong magical skills.

That’s why only a few elite people are assigned there.

This year, only two new people were going to be sent there.

‘Nice. That means I’m safe.’

No way they’d bring me along with those two.

I’ll just look around departments during training and stick to whichever looks easiest.

‘Still, I should get along with my team during this training.’

As I walked toward our group, Yuriana waved and smiled brightly at me.

“Layla! Over here!”

“Hi, Yuriana.”

Good. No worries with the female lead.

The real issue was the sub-male lead.

Seamus Finley.

Purple hair, pale skin, deep black eyes — a handsome man with a cold, cat-like look.

‘He’s the current Tower Master’s son and later becomes the Tower Master himself, right?’

The Tower is a separate organization from the palace. He and the female lead will become rivals.

But forget about the romance for now…

‘Wow, just look at what he’s wearing.’

He was told to wear business casual — but he showed up in flip-flops!

‘And he’s wearing a skull bracelet too?’

My inner “old-fashioned adult” almost came out. I bit my tongue to hold it back.

Still, since we’re in the same group, I tried to be friendly.

“Hi, Finley.”

“….”

“Looking forward to working with you.”

“….”

He only gave me a sideways glance… then looked away completely!

‘Tsk. That rude attitude.’

Maybe he thinks only Yuriana is worth his time since he’s the Tower’s ace?

‘Fine. From now on, you’re just “Grape-Head” to me.’

But I didn’t have time to grumble. We had work to do.

We had to rotate through all three departments during training.

Our first assignment? The Black Spoon Department.

And the first thing we saw there was…

“Oh my gosh.”

Yuriana covered her mouth.

Every few seconds, poof! — new papers appeared out of thin air.

‘Mountains of paperwork kept piling up!’

And there stood the male lead of the novel — Carlyle Ruphesque — staring at the mountain of documents.

He’s the heir to the Duke of the North.

He could have lived a life of luxury, but instead, he chose to fight black magic. Classic noble hero.

‘Like every good male lead, he’s got a dark past and family secrets.’

The female lead will help heal him. That’s her job, not mine.

More importantly, he was watching the papers with such sorrow in his eyes.

I closed my eyes, reminded of my past life.

‘I didn’t realize while reading the novel, but…’

Even the male lead is just a sad office worker here!

This world is truly tragic.

Worse than the apocalypse!

“Welcome to the Black Spoon Department, rookies.”

Still, pain or not, work is work.

The male lead pulled himself together and greeted us.

“Have you heard what our department does?”

Yuriana nodded quickly.

“Yes, Sir Duke Ruphesque.”

“No need to use noble titles. This isn’t a banquet.”

“Oh, b-but…”

She was flustered — understandable. Even though the palace accepts commoners now…

‘That only started recently.’

The Ruphesque family is ancient, going back to the founding of the kingdom.

It’s not easy for a commoner to drop noble titles like that.

But the male lead, a workaholic and practical man, shook his head.

“Just call me like a senior. And Lowell—”

“Yes?”

“How much do you know about black magic?”

“Black magic is magic used with evil intent.”

‘Evil intent’ doesn’t mean being annoyed at your boss for making you work overtime.

It has to be pure hatred — enough to want to completely destroy someone.

Without that kind of hatred, normal magic doesn’t turn into black magic.

“The Black Spoon Department blocks and removes artifacts used to cast black magic.”

“You’re well-informed. We’re short on people lately.”

Short?

There’s another paper mountain forming as we speak!

Seeing my expression, the male lead cleared his throat. Embarrassed?

“Ahem. Let’s start with simple paperwork. All three of you, this way.”

They were so understaffed, they were putting us to work immediately. What a wonderful work environment.

He led us to a desk with fewer documents. Three old-fashioned typewriters were set up.

This world has no computers or internet. Instead, documents are typed here.

Then, you tie a magic string to the paper and the object you want to send, and…

“Whoa.”

Just like sending an email — the paper and object vanish with a poof.

“Today, we’ll start simple. Send reports to the people listed here.”

He handed each of us a big pile of papers.

‘Wow, grunt work from the beginning!’

A classic fantasy version of photocopying duties. I love it.

But as I looked through the papers, I frowned.

‘Hmm… The content for each person is slightly different?’

If we’re not careful, it’ll be a mess later.

Just then, Yuriana raised her hand.

“Um, Mr. Ruphesque— I mean, senior. This is my first time using this kind of typewriter. Could you please show me again?”

“Sure.”

I watched the male lead explain kindly.

For the first time since recovering my past-life memories… my heart skipped a beat.

‘Aw… what a beautiful picture.’

With the grape-head guy, it’s all rivalry.

With the shady villain types, it’s thrilling.

But with the male lead? It’s the classic mutual healing love story.

Both lost their families to black magic.

‘Cursed by black magicians, right?’

【“I already know what you’ve been through… So Croswell…”

“Yes, senior.”

“I… want to be someone who helps you.”

“…Me too. I want to be someone you can rely on too.”】

Yes, fall in love, heal each other, and while you’re at it — wipe out black magic, please.

‘That way, I can quietly slack off in peace.’

Ha, I really am a small-minded person.

After explaining things to Yuriana, the male lead looked at me and Grape-Head and sighed.

“Anyone else have questions?”

I raised my hand carefully.

There was one thing we hadn’t covered yet.

“Um, senior?”

“Yes, Lowell?”

“What font should we use?”

“…Huh?”

Surprised, he looked at me as I held up a few papers.

“It looks like the documents follow different formats depending on purpose.”

Some were written in fancy script.

Others used simple, easy-to-read text.

‘It seems like there’s a system, so I wanted to be sure before starting.’

Then… his red eyes suddenly gleamed.