Chapter 8

The desk I had struggled to carry—with Noah Roheim’s help—was placed in the corner of the office.

A seat facing the wall, with my back to the other employees.

It felt like they were drawing a clear line, saying I could never belong with them.

I had no intention of fitting in anyway, but this still felt unpleasant.

To make it worse, there wasn’t even a single piece of stationery on the desk.

There was only one book: “About the Monola Empire.”

‘So this is what they call being sent into exile.’

I had only heard about it before, but experiencing it myself felt strange.

Being treated like this on the first day—most people would have buried their heads in the desk and cried.

But not me.

I wasn’t planning to stay long anyway, so being isolated like this was actually more comfortable.

Besides, I had been curious about the place I was living in.

And they even kindly provided a book.

“Hm-hmm~”

I sat down, humming as I opened the book.

The employees stared at me like I was crazy, but I didn’t care.

Oh, so this continent is called the Aska Continent.

I thought it would be dry and boring since it was a history book, but it was surprisingly interesting.

While I was engrossed in reading, a woman entered carrying a tray filled with appetizing sandwiches and drinks.

The clock showed 12:30.

Ah, lunch time.

“Let’s eat!”

After she set the tray down and left, the man who had told me to get my desk and chair spoke to the others.

Everyone grabbed a sandwich and a drink.

I went to get one too—but he waved his hand dismissively, like he was shooing a fly.

“There’s none for you.”

…What kind of nonsense is that?

“Excuse me, there are two sandwiches and drinks left.”

“One is mine, and the other is the team leader’s. If you want to eat, go down to the first floor and get it yourself.”

Wow. Now they were even discriminating when it came to food?

I stared at him in disbelief, but he ignored me and took the remaining food.

The others snickered as they watched.

They were really determined to mess with me.

If they didn’t like me, they could just fire me—why go through all this trouble?

Clicking my tongue, I left the office.

“Excuse me!”

Just then, I saw the woman who had delivered the lunch coming out of another office.

“I didn’t receive lunch—do you happen to have any leftovers?”

She tilted her head.

“You didn’t receive lunch? That shouldn’t be possible—we distributed according to the number of people…”

“I started work today, so I think mine might have been left out.”

“I know. You’re Miss Aileen, who started at the Urban Planning Department today, right?”

Oh? She knew who I was.

“We delivered exactly thirteen portions, including yours.”

“…Did that include the team leader’s portion?”

“No. The team leader said he would eat outside today.”

I knew it.

That sandwich was mine.

Of all things, messing with someone’s food—this was the type I hated the most.

“Here, take this sandwich and drink.”

“Ah, thank you.”

She looked at me with sympathy before leaving.

“…The more I think about it, the more annoyed I get.”

Even dogs aren’t disturbed while eating—and yet they pulled something like this.

“I won’t just let this go.”

I was already trying my best to get fired anyway.

There was nothing I couldn’t do.

First, I decided I’d deal with that skeleton-faced guy.

With that in mind, I gulped down the drink.

***

“It seems the Urban Planning Department staff are displeased with Miss Aileen and are giving her a hard time.”

At the end of his report, Noah Roheim brought up Aileen.

Calix, who had been flipping through documents, stopped.

His indifferent expression changed slightly when Noah mentioned that Aileen said she would handle it herself.

“She’s got guts.”

With that brief comment, he resumed reading.

“She said she’s fine, but I’m still concerned.”

Noah added carefully, slightly puzzled.

“She’s a commoner, so even if she does well, they won’t accept her easily. Perhaps you could say something to the team leader—”

“That’s enough. She said she’d handle it, so let her.”

His tone made it sound like he didn’t care at all what happened to her.

Noah was confused.

Since Calix had personally placed her in that department, he thought she must be special—but maybe not.

“…Still, keep an eye on her.”

Calix handed him the signed documents.

“I want to see how far she can go.”

***

To plan an effective revenge, I first needed to understand my target.

His name was Allen Cranter.

He was 28 years old—a typical coward who was weak against the strong and strong against the weak.

How should I deal with someone like that?

I wanted to get proper revenge.

“Excuse me.”

“Oh—welcome, Miss Rianne!”

Just as I was thinking, the perfect opportunity appeared.

It was my third day at the department.

A blonde woman entered, and Allen Cranter greeted her enthusiastically.

“I think there’s an issue with the documents I submitted earlier, so I came to see the team leader. Is he here?”

“He stepped out for a moment, but he’ll be back soon. Please have a seat and wait.”

“Then I’ll do that.”

As Rianne sat down, Allen hurried to bring her water and snacks, acting overly attentive.

Oh? Looks like he likes her.

This was a perfect chance.

As I approached with a grin, Allen flinched and stepped back.

“Do you need something from me?”

He forced a polite smile—very different from how he usually treated me.

“I have a question. About what happened at lunch two days ago.”

His eyes wavered.

“Ahem… I’m currently speaking with Miss Rianne, so we can discuss that later—”

“It’ll just take a moment. That’s fine, right?”

I asked Rianne instead of him.

Not knowing anything, she nodded.

“I’m here to see the team leader, so don’t worry about me.”

“Then I’d like to know why you took my lunch, even lying that it belonged to the team leader.”

“When did I lie?!”

Startled, Allen shouted.

Rianne’s eyes widened.

“I mean… it wasn’t a lie. It was true.”

“Really? Because I heard from the person who brought the lunch that the team leader was eating outside that day, so his portion wasn’t included.”

Allen opened his mouth but couldn’t say anything.

He kept glancing at Rianne nervously.

“Allen must have made a mistake since he didn’t know the team leader’s schedule. You should understand, as a newcomer.”

A bearded man suddenly defended him.

“Yeah! It was a mistake! I didn’t know he was out!”

Allen spoke quickly, as if trying to justify himself.

Did he think I’d just let it go?

“Then—”

“What’s all this noise?”

Just as I was about to press further, Toma Harens returned.

“Team leader! Miss Rianne from administration is here!”

Allen quickly ran to him.

Rianne followed as well.

…Tsk. If only he had come a little later, I could’ve made Allen sweat even more.

What a shame.

As I clicked my tongue, I noticed the other employees glancing at me.

Before, they would glare at me if our eyes met.

Now, they quickly looked away in shock.

Well, the ending was a bit lacking, but at least they now clearly saw me as crazy.

‘They probably won’t try that childish stuff again.’

It would be even better if they started complaining that they couldn’t work with me.

At least Allen Cranter seemed likely to react the way I wanted.

So when our eyes met, I gave him the brightest smile I could.

“……”

Allen immediately looked horrified, as if he had seen a ghost, and hurried back to his seat.