ARML 15

Chapter 15 

A worker picked up my ID necklace and touched it to the round pendant on her bracelet.

-Beep!

-Layla Lowell, ID confirmed.

-0.8 marks for breakfast deducted!

The worker smiled brightly at me.

“You’re all set! Enjoy your meal!”

“….”

“Oh, and don’t worry about rent or maintenance fees. They’ll be automatically taken out of your paycheck at the end of the month!”

“….”

So… even in this fantasy world, there are barcode artifacts?

I was so shocked, I could only think nonsense.

…Wait, are they seriously charging a new recruit money?

‘Even when we’re basically forced to live here?’

Rent and maintenance fees?!

‘This company is the worst!’

Even after years of working, I was furious to be caught off guard like this.

I clenched my fists and swore to myself.

‘I’ll twist the original story and get rid of the entire “Poor Department” early on!’

It may sound extreme, but sometimes drastic problems need drastic solutions.

‘That’s probably why people say “desperate times call for desperate measures!”’

Then, I’ll save up my salary and quit this place.

‘Alright, let’s stay focused.’

For now, I have to go to work with the male lead and Seimus for safety reasons.

Then, from the male dorm building, someone with purple hair slowly approached.

“Seimus? G–”

Bonk.

…Right in front of me, Seimus hit his face on a hallway pillar.

‘What… just happened?’

He hit it hard enough to leave a lump. I ran over to the wobbling Seimus.

“Hey. Are you okay?”

“….”

He nodded… very slowly, like a broken toy.

‘Thankfully, no bruise on his face.’

Seimus blankly nodded.

‘He must have seriously low blood pressure in the morning.’

I grabbed his shoulder and whispered,

“Hey, hey, wake up. We have to go outside.”

“….”

“Come on, take care of your own body!”

But Seimus just couldn’t pull himself together.

“Hey, watch out! Look ahead!”

Thud. He hit his right shoulder on another pillar.

“Seimus, look where you’re going!”

“Ugh…”

Guess his need to sleep is stronger than his sense of pain. He’s out of it.

‘This isn’t going to work…’

If we leave the building like this, people might think I beat him up.

In the end, I brought the edge of my sleeve close to his hand.

“Here. Hold my sleeve.”

“….”

“We need to walk at least to where we’re meeting Senior Rufesque, right?”

“Mmm…”

Seimus gave a weak groan and barely held onto my sleeve.

It felt like I was raising a baby purple bird.

‘But I owe him, after all.’

At the royal meeting, if he hadn’t recorded that moment, who knows how it would’ve turned out…

Then I remembered something.

“Oh, right. About your skull artifact.”

“Mm…”

“When did you decide to record things with it?”

“….”

His sleepy eyes slowly focused.

“Because of you.”

“…Huh?”

“I recorded it because of you.”

What did I just hear?

‘Because of me?’

…Wait. Did he predict Allison would bully me again?

Was he planning to report her in my place since HR here is basically nonexistent?

‘Wow… that’s kind of touching.’

Now I understand why people say things like “peer love.”

Yeah, when you’re stuck under a workaholic boss and mysterious higher-ups, your peers are all you’ve got!

“Seimus…”

“You’ve always annoyed me since the beginning.”

“…What?”

Why is he suddenly picking a fight after making me emotional?

‘Should I start calling him Grape Head again?’

While I was deciding, he just kept talking seriously.

“I told you. You had lower grades than me or Crosswell, and your practical skills were average.”

“Uh, yeah. You said that.”

“But somehow, everything you said turned out to be right. It was weird.”

“That’s just your lack of social skills…”

“So I wanted to record what you said and analyze it later. I had to understand why you were right.”

Wow. That’s the most ridiculous logic I’ve ever heard.

Instead of yelling at him, I calmly gave a ridiculous response of my own.

“Seimus, recording people without consent is a privacy issue. It made me uncomfortable. Gave me chills.”

“…But at the Magic Tower, we record everything humanoid monsters say.”

“Hey.”

“We need it for analysis.”

…My warm feelings had already vanished, but since the recording did help me, I explained carefully.

“Finley. From now on, don’t record me without permission. It’s not polite. If you want to know me, just work with me.”

“But that’s not always enough—”

“You’ll see me for nine hours a day. If you still can’t figure me out, then your analysis skills are the problem.”

“Ugh.”

That hit him hard. He flinched a little.

Then mumbled with a slightly defeated face,

“…Fair enough.”

Good. At least he got the point.

Right then, the male lead came to pick us up.

“Oh, senior! Hello.”

“…Hello.”

“Yeah. Good—”

He started to greet us awkwardly… but then paused.

“Finley. What are you doing holding Lowell’s sleeve?”

“Ah.”

Both Seimus and I looked down at my sleeve at the same time.

He was still lightly holding onto it.

Slowly, Seimus let go and shook his head.

“It’s nothing.”

The male lead frowned slightly.

“Finley, Lowell. Romantic behavior between officials inside the palace grounds goes against the proper conduct rules.”

What…? I forgot my manners and just stared dumbly.

“Huh?”

“If you’re unsure, check the ‘Arpelt Palace Internal Relationship Guidelines,’ Lowell.”

“We’re not like that… Oh. Okay.”

“You could be fined, so be careful.”

Ah. Now it makes sense.

This is probably why the romance in Beyond the Golden Gate was so slow.

‘Most of it happened in the palace!’

Even holding hands or kissing could get you fined? Of course someone like me would hesitate.

‘But workplace romance is more fun to watch than be in.’

To me, what really mattered wasn’t romance.

It was safe resignation and a fat severance pay.

And to get that?

“Senior.”

I had to destroy the department’s reason for existing.

I stared fiercely at the male lead and asked,

“What should I start with today?”

Meanwhile – That same morning, from the male lead’s POV

‘Not sure how Lowell is doing today.’

Carlyle admitted it wasn’t fair, but he worried more about Layla than Seimus.

Even though he had sincerely apologized, she might still be upset.

But he was wrong.

“What should I start with today?”

Layla Lowell’s face as she asked that…

‘Honestly, her eyes are dead inside.’

But her determination seemed as strong as her father, Duke Rufesque.

‘How is she… this tough…’

Carlyle was speechless at his junior’s professional attitude.

To swallow her feelings and focus completely on her duties like that!

Carlyle placed his hand on his chest again.

‘Am I having a heart attack…?’

Even back in training in the North, his heart had never raced like this.

‘Maybe it’s because I’ve never been this moved before?’

He nodded to himself secretly, then glanced at Layla and Seimus’s hands.

‘Yeah… they should be more careful.’

Still, why did he have to exaggerate things by mentioning a fine?