I'm a court magician. Recently, I’ve been worrying about the princess staring at me. - Chapter 5
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- I'm a court magician. Recently, I’ve been worrying about the princess staring at me.
- Chapter 5 - In which I am forced into being an errand boy.
After finishing my morning duties, I lay on the sofa in my office, giving myself up to fatigue. The soft, white sofa was so comfortable that I could doze off easily. Not that I minded. I could lay here all day, if I wanted to—I already finished today’s work the other day.
As I stared at the ceiling, drowsiness began to cloud my thoughts. Sleeping like this is a privilege granted only to those who wake up early to work. I felt terrible while waking up, but at this moment I was glad I got up early.
In just a few seconds, I would be transported to Dreamland. The trip there was my greatest guilty pleasure. I was lying on what felt like a bed of clouds.
As my mind wandered, my consciousness gradually began to fade…
“—Raize.”
My fading consciousness was suddenly jolted back into existence.
I clicked my tongue, not bothering to hide my displeasure, and gazed at the open door. Who was it? Who could be so audacious as to interrupt my precious morning nap? I was so, so close…
I had a mild urge to send a thunder spear flying into the brain of whoever had opened the door. Of course, it was just an urge.
I scratched my head and sat up.
Standing in front of the door was a woman with golden hair that seemed to shimmer in the light. She shook her hair, which had a single lock dyed green, and turned her emerald eyes towards me. She was breathing heavily. So the perpetrator was—
“Arina-san…”
I rubbed my eyelids lazily and sighed her name.
She was a senior in my department.
In fact, she was the epitome of a nagging senior. She had a lazy atmosphere about her and always treated me like a child. From what I’ve heard, she was frightening when angry, but I had never actually been on the receiving end of her wrath. Conversely, she doted heavily on people when she was in a good mood.
I scowled at Arina-san, who was currently the object of my annoyance.
“…What’s this all of a sudden? I was just about to take a nap.”
“Sorry, but I can’t let you sleep right now.”
“What do you mean?”
In my drowsy mental state, I was struggling to understand the situation. Only something extremely alarming would cause Arina-san to be this impatient… No way—!
“A demon beast appeared—”
“The royal coffee shop Cherry has a new cake on sale! And the stock is limited!”
In my haste and confusion, I almost slipped off my sofa.
“What? Cherry? Cake? You want to eat cherry cake?”
“No. I want to eat the new marron cake that Cafe Cherry is releasing today!”
I still couldn’t quite understand. Why was she so desperate for cake? Is the new cake that amazing? Was my nap interrupted for this? What a waste of time…
While I was assembling my thoughts, Arina-san suddenly approached me and grabbed me by the neck.
“Guh…”
“This is an order. Can you go and buy it right now?”
“If it’s an order, you don’t have to kill me… do you? Don’t grab my neck… it’s supposed to be the shoulders—”
“Sorry.”
When I choked out those words, Arina-san immediately released me. I thought I was actually going to die… Honestly, I wanted to escape right now. But I’ve never been able to escape from her.
“And… Why do you need me?”
“To go get it.”
“Can’t you do that by yourself?”
“I have an errand to run at the orphanage today. I had no choice but to ask someone else. Someone who finishes his work early, is younger than me, and seems easy to handle.”
“Why do you have to go to the orphanage? And wow, that list is pretty specific…”
I stared at her inquisitively, but she didn’t respond.
To this woman, maybe I was no more than a gofer. Well, as a junior in the department, I felt obligated to listen to the demands of my seniors. In fact, I respected them enough to do so.
Well, whatever. Being her errand boy was fine with me, considering I had the time. I could go around the royal capital while I was at it. I still felt sleepy, but that problem would fix itself after a short walk.
“Sure, I can do that. Was it a marron cake?”
“Yes, buy five of them.”
“You can eat that much!?”
How could five cakes fit in such a thin body? I’d be full after just one.
She shook her head.
“Five will be enough for everyone.”
“…Arina-san.”
I relaxed my face.
Usually, she looked tired and indifferent, but at heart she was a genuinely thoughtful person.
Having tea with everyone in the department sounded like a good idea to me. But I’d have to hurry up to get there before the cakes sold out.
“Thanks for thinking about us.”
“Mmm. Right, this should cover it.”
I took the money Arina-san offered me and put it in my wallet. That’s quite a bit of cash… is the cake that expensive? Well, it didn’t matter to me. It’s not my money, after all.
“By the way, would you have gone if I hadn’t agreed?”
“Probably not.”
“Then what would you have done?”
“I’d give you a hard time until you agree.”
She spoke with a straight face.
I take back what I said.
She isn’t kind to me at all. If anything, she enjoys harassing me. It’s terrible.