Chapter 31

A few days after the commotion surrounding the Glorio Grass transaction with Tiara, rumors began circulating in the adventurer’s guild vicinity.

“It seems a new staff member angered an elf.”

This is the gist of it.

The “elf” refers to Tinameril, the deputy guild leader of the Tiara Adventurer’s Guild.

In a straightforward sense, it’s just a story of a new employee making a mistake and getting scolded by their boss. Well, not a particularly significant event.

However, the key point of this rumor is that the other party is an elf, and reactions differ between those who know elves and those who don’t.

Firstly, those who don’t know elves see it as simply a rare word, and the rumor is spread just because it involves an elf.

There’s a sense of excitement in the conversation like, “I’d love to see it, whether it’s intense anger or anything.”

However, for those who are familiar with elves, it’s a different story— the reaction is more along the lines of “I can hardly believe it.”

This is because no one has ever seen a scene where an elf from Tiara is furious.

She, in any case, has always had “no interest in people” — that’s how the past guild masters of Tiara described her.

Even if there were numerous troubles in the guild, she would ignore them, and without even bothering to observe the situation, she would leave the scene.

In other words, the fact that an elf expressed emotions toward a person was hard to believe.

Moreover, a staff member, especially a new one, would hardly ever have an opportunity to talk to an elf.

The question on everyone’s mind was: What on earth did this person do to cause such a stir?

And so, the rumor returned to its origin, the Tiara Adventurer’s Guild, and I was being questioned by everyone about the truth of the matter.

“Hey, Mizuki-san, they’re saying you got scolded by the deputy guild leader!”

“Leslie heard it from the source, and it seems the financial staff saw you apologizing to the deputy guild leader next to a separate building.”

“Is it true that you were prostrating on the ground? What were you doing?”

“Well, you know, we understand that it’s a misunderstanding.”

“All the other staff members keep asking us, ‘What did he do?'”

“And the deputy guild leader’s sudden change was really something. Mizuki-san, did you do something?”

“I thought I had gotten used to it, but seeing the deputy guild leader chatting with an adventurer with a smile next to her was quite shocking.”

I rested both elbows on the desk, covering my face.

—So, they really saw me bowing down like that!!

I don’t know from which point they observed it…

But most likely, they witnessed me groveling at the deputy guildmaster’s feet.

I was loudly apologizing, digging up soil in the flowerbed with a piece of wood, sticking dead grass right in the middle, and performing a deep bow.

No matter how you look at it, it appears as if I’m being punished.

If anyone saw that, they’d undoubtedly rush back to the workplace to share the story.

Nevertheless, I can’t talk about that night or the magic involved.

Yet, given the circumstances, I can’t come up with a plausible reason to fabricate an explanation for each specific scene.

Might as well let the story develop.

“Well, I wasn’t really being scolded, but now that the rumor has spread this much, denying it wouldn’t be fun, right?”

I crossed my arms and pondered for a moment.

“So, that’s how it is… Should we go with the story of ‘I made a mistake in the digits of the invoice and incurred damages, so I was scolded’?”

It seems like a story that a new employee might cause trouble with, and the damages also seem significant.

In Japan, it would likely become news, and the boss would hold a press conference to apologize with a solemn expression.

In response, Carol asks with a worried expression

“There’s also talk that you were lying on the ground crying. Is that okay?”

“Well, I did apologize…”

He nods with a wry smile.

“Huh!?”

It’s a fact that he apologized instinctively when the water bullet blew away the soil.

“I don’t want too much speculation about that grass incident.”

There’s a reason he can’t explain why the withered grass returned as if it were new.

Lily also wears a puzzled expression. 

“Why would you tarnish your reputation like that?”

Everyone else looks similarly perplexed.

Well, it would indeed be strange to remain calm when false rumors are spreading.

I release my crossed arms and tap the desk with my finger while explaining.

“In our country, there’s a saying that ‘competent newcomers receive harassment.’ So, it’s better to have a story about making a big mistake, getting scolded, and crying…”

“…Harassment? What kind of harassment are we talking about?”

“Hmm? Well, let’s see… being ignored, having personal belongings hidden… things like that, I guess.”

Galand expresses surprise with an exclamation.

“Wow! Do they really harass newcomers like that in Japan!?”

“Well, it’s more of an extreme case.”

“Then, Mizuki, you must have endured quite a bit of harassment, being so competent at your job…”

In response to Rockman’s remark, I chuckle and wave my hands emphatically to deny it.

“No, no! I’m not in that category at all. I’m not good at all. I slacked off a lot in school and was the worst-performing.”

“““Eeehhhhh!”””

The others exclaim in disbelief.

Everyone reacts with surprise.

It’s not surprising considering I’m proclaiming to be the person with the fastest task processing in the guild, yet declaring myself to be poor at what I do.

“Eh… Mizuki-san, you’re not good at your job?”

“No, no! I have a terrible track record! I skipped working on my thesis and played around a lot.”

I grin, and everyone exchanges disbelieving glances.

“So, those rumors are just fine the way they are.”

I didn’t mention to everyone that being too conspicuous might lead to an attack like the one the other day.

I don’t want to worry them…

I can’t avoid using my smartphone for work, and there might be occasions when I need to use magic to turn herbs into new ones.

In any case, conspicuous actions are likely to happen in the future.

So, I thought it would be convenient to actively drop cases whenever there’s an opportunity.

Still, Lily wears a melancholic expression.

When I raise the corners of my mouth and smile, she tightens her lips and smiles as if she has resigned.

Lana asks about the deputy guild master.

“Hey, Mizuki-san, why did the deputy guild master come here at that time?”

“Ah, I forgot to mention that!”

I slap my hand on the table.

“I asked the deputy guild master to come. I said, ‘Please show your face outside once in a while.'”

I’ve informed everyone that the reason I was called was simply that she found someone who could speak Elvish and wanted to have a conversation.

“I invited her, saying, ‘Everyone wants to talk with you.'”

Everyone was surprised by that revelation.

Personally, I hoped that Tinameril would interact with people a bit more. 

She seems to have forgotten, but she originally left the forest for that reason. Perhaps if she makes an effort, she might remember again.

Of course, it might just be my meddling.

But honestly, deep down, I was happy to see her, too.

“You welcomed her quite well.”

“I did my best.”

She pats her chest proudly.

“So, next time Tinameril-san comes, feel free to talk to her without hesitation.”

“Using ‘san’ for her, huh?”

Leslie grins.

“Well, she’s a fellow speaker of Elvish.”

“Awesome!”

He envies, and Carol teases me.

“But you got scolded and cried, right?”

“That’s right.”

She pretends to cry with both hands raised.

Everyone bursts into laughter.

In the end, without giving any answers about the rumors, and with the guild staff not denying the gossip,

‘The Newbie Employee who Angered and Messed Up with Elves’

Became the unfortunate title I would be known by.

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