Chapter 1
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「Service Track, Administration.
Grade, 9.
Congratulations from the bottom of our hearts on passing the civil service examination, Mr. Nam Dowon.」
Right before my heart, which felt as though it might stop from tension, the result plainly stated that I was among the successful candidates.
Grade 9 open recruitment.
I had often heard that one to three years was usually enough, and I thought I had done fairly well on the exam.
But even so, I had done my best not to expect to pass in one shot right after graduating high school.
…Maybe the effort I made to build good karma during my senior year had actually helped.
Clenching my trembling hand into a tight fist, I let out a satisfied breath.
"This is why managing expectations is the most important thing in the world…."
Even after pressing the refresh button just in case, the screen in front of me remained unchanged.
You definitely passed the civil service exam, so stop fucking around and get your paperwork ready instead of wasting time acting like a damn fool.
After checking everything one more time, I ended up lying on my bed, completely immersed in the pleasant dopamine rush.
…So that was what my bedroom light looked like.
I wondered how long it had been since I had lain down like this in broad daylight and looked at my bedroom ceiling.
My friends, who had finished the CSAT and were about to study hard at university all over again, would never understand it, but this must be what a working adult’s leisure felt like.
"I should brag to the guys later…."
For the moment, though, I spent a pleasant while lazing around on my bed.
If I faced reality just a tiny bit, though, I knew perfectly well that government jobs were not exactly considered ‘good jobs’ these days.
They were supposedly jobs where everything else was stressful in exchange for job security until retirement.
The absurdly low pay was common knowledge even to little kids on the street.
The internet was overflowing with stories about all kinds of ridiculous, malicious complaints, too.
That said, I did sometimes worry about comparing the salaries of other professions with those of Grade 9 civil servants, or wonder whether a life endlessly spinning around the same hamster wheel would really suit me….
"……Tsk."
But right now, I just wanted to savor the joy of no longer having to worry about finding a job.
I was just about to pick up my smartphone while hugging the thick winter blanket beside me.
"…Huh?"
The quiet smartphone began emitting a loud beeping sound.
It was none other than the emergency disaster alert tone.
「Three <M0>-class monsters have appeared 1 km west of the National Museum of Korea. Please evacuate immediately.」
But if they were M0 monsters, the lowest rank among monsters, there was no need to call on a ‘witch’ for help.
Those things could be dealt with by an ordinary person who merely enjoyed working out.
"Ah, damn. I thought something serious had happened…."
After confirming the apology message saying it had been sent by mistake, I soon forgot about it after that brief flash of irritation.
1
After passing the civil service exam, I was told that the department I would actually be assigned to would be notified separately by phone.
When I looked it up online, apparently it was common for people to wait around three months because the process was delayed.
Then I shouldn’t get impatient, either, and should take the opportunity to relax.
What would be the best way to spend my time while waiting?
Just working out and playing games like I always did was starting to get boring.
I’d even jerked off a fucking shitload――.
Those were the sorts of thoughts I had been having about two weeks earlier.
"The Apprentice Witch Rehabilitation Support Department?"
- Yes, that’s right.
Contrary to what I had looked up beforehand, I was able to receive my appointment notice much sooner than expected.
It was not somewhere ordinary like a local community center, but an unheard-of place called the ‘Apprentice Witch Rehabilitation Support Department.’
"Hmm."
The woman on the phone had a really nice voice.
For a moment, I even fantasized that she must be incredibly beautiful.
Being assigned in such a hurry without even receiving training was one thing, but the people I was supposed to support were ‘apprentice witches.’
Could that even mean anything?
I tilted my head slightly in puzzlement.
Women who could freely wield magic beyond the understanding of science, while looking exactly like human beings in appearance.
It had been quite a long time since the witches who had lived hidden in the Otherworld came out and began interacting with humans.
Hadn’t it been a little over a thousand years, counting only the history that could be verified?
In Western terms, it was the Middle Ages. In Korea, traces of them went back to the Goryeo era.
What witches had been doing continuously since then was none other than dealing with monsters.
They had been handling the monsters that endlessly crossed over from a place called the Void in humanity’s stead.
It might be awkward to put it this way, but it would not be an exaggeration to say that humans had been cared for by witches for a very long time.
Fortunately, in modern times, firearms could handle monsters up to a certain level…
But compared to a skilled witch merely giving a delicate flick of her fingertips, the difference in efficiency was truly staggering.
Besides, I had learned that witches continued to help humans, seemingly finding meaning in hunting monsters rather than seeking any particular reward.
I had always assumed that was simply how things were.
"I understand. I’m sorry to keep asking, but I start work tomorrow, right?"
- That’s right.
"Understood…."
- Yes, then….
…A witch.
An entire department dedicated to supporting the rehabilitation of apprentice witches?
Are you asking us to discipline an apprentice who’s hit puberty for you? Something like that?
"This is ridiculous…."
Still, setting aside the word rehabilitation felt a little strange, too.
Simply thinking of it as a department that helped witches was even more absurd.
What kind of help could this department possibly provide?
Was its job to run over and report, "A monster has appeared over there!"?
According to what I had learned, even recognizing such signs had to be a witch’s power.
I had also heard that the monsters were assigned their ranks as soon as they crossed over from the Void, with people merely writing down whatever the witches told them.
As for combat, that went without saying.
If a cute little fighter jet happened to fly around beside them, it would probably only make things more difficult by forcing them to adjust their attack range.
That left supporting them from the rear.
Would they massage a witch’s shoulders and tell her she had worked hard?
What else could there possibly be to do from behind?
…Ah, I suppose I could act as a meat shield in an emergency.
Even then, I would be far too soft for the monsters, so I would be torn apart without lasting even a moment.
"I wanted to earn more money, sure, but that wasn’t me asking for hazard pay."
After pondering for a while, I finally waved the appointment notice with a sigh mixed with doubt.
I had looked over the notice in case there was anything else, but for now, what I had just seen and heard was all there was.
Frustrated, I searched for it online, but this place was even more absurd.
It suggested other search terms, saying there was no such department as the Rehabilitation Support Department and asking whether perhaps I had meant something else.
Something called the Ministry of Justice’s Rehabilitation Protection Program came up, among other things. Anyway.
"Since there was even a phone call, there’s no way someone would prank me with something like this…."
None of my friends seemed like the kind of person who would pull a prank like this.
There was no girl among my friends with a voice as pleasant as the one I had just heard, and if someone had gone to the trouble of forging registered mail and making a phone call, I might as well let myself be pranked at least once.
Excluding that unlikely possibility, it meant that I really had been assigned to the mysterious department called the Apprentice Witch Rehabilitation Support Department.
"…What could it be? Seriously."
Was I dreaming some ridiculous dream?
I pinched my cheeks firmly a few times, then let go without learning anything.
*****
In any case, it was something I could find out the truth about as soon as the sun rose the next day.
I went to bed early so I would not be late, got up, and arrived at Seoul City Hall with almost excessive time to spare.
I had only been informed yesterday that I needed to report to work by nine, yet the current time was eight.
Even so, perhaps thanks to the flexible work-hours system, there were quite a few people around here and there.
I had worried there would be no one to ask for directions. This was lucky.
"I only need to take the elevator to the fourteenth floor…."
As for the exact location of the Apprentice Witch Rehabilitation Support Department, I figured I could go up there first and then ask someone nearby.
I stood in front of the elevator, my eyes darting around anxiously like an obvious newcomer.
Fortunately, the elevator arrived right away.
Now all I had to do was go up to the fourteenth floor.
So I slowly traced my gaze upward, following the numbers printed on the buttons.
"…What?"
The elevator buttons stopped at the thirteenth floor.
"Mr. Nam Dowon?"
That was when it happened.
A voice came from directly behind me, where there had definitely been no one, and I turned around in surprise to find an unfamiliar woman standing right behind me, smiling softly.
She was pretty, too.
No, she was very pretty.
I had had a few chances to see celebrities up close by coincidence, but whether it was just my imagination or not, she drew my attention far more strongly than any of them.
While I stood there momentarily flustered in front of her, she met my gaze with her beautiful golden eyes beneath her black hair and asked,
"You got here early, didn’t you?"
"Ah, ah. Yes. I was worried about what would happen if I was late…."
"I see."
…Had I answered ‘yes’ when she asked a moment ago if I was Nam Dowon?
I could not remember, so she must have already known and simply asked anyway.
Flustered, I quickly cleared my throat and replied.
As an aside, I suspected that the voice I had heard over the phone yesterday had belonged to this woman.
I had thought the voice was beautiful the moment I heard it, and I had vaguely fantasized that her face would be beautiful, too—but it had actually been true.
…….
But that still did not explain how this woman had suddenly appeared behind me.
Something like that would only be possible for a ghost, or perhaps a witch who had mastered teleportation….
"You haven’t forgotten that I told you yesterday it was on the fourteenth floor, have you?"
"…I’m sorry, but when I checked earlier, there was no button marked fourteen…."
"It’s right there, isn’t it?"
"……?"
…It must have been her doing.
After looking over the elevator buttons again, I confirmed that a new number, ‘14,’ had appeared at the very top. From that moment on, I could only be certain of one thing.
"Shall I explain our department on the way up?"
Even the name tag hanging around her neck.
Apprentice Witch Rehabilitation Support Department Team Leader.
Eve Lycaon.
That was what it said.
"…I’d appreciate that."
She had to be a witch.
This woman, too.