Chapter 10
What is this insane quest?
There’s no way I’m doing something like this.
[Reward: 3,000p]
[※ Penalty applies upon failure.]
As if it had read my mind, the system message changed.
What do you mean there’s a penalty for a subquest?!
[This is not a subquest. It’s a surprise quest.]
[For your reference, surprise quests have a time limit. 10, 9…]
“What? Wait!”
I was so flustered that I spoke out loud instead of keeping it to myself.
“What are you doing?”
Calix Kraubel asked, clearly displeased.
His gaze was so sharp that cold sweat ran down my back.
“Ah, well…”
Even as I tried to come up with an excuse, the countdown continued.
I couldn’t organize my thoughts.
[4, 3, 2…]
“Please take me to the city gate!”
In the end, I had no choice but to accept the quest.
***
As expected, riding in a carriage alone with Calix Kraubel was suffocating.
If I looked straight ahead, I might meet his eyes, so I kept staring out the window.
The public carriage I usually took circled through residential areas and markets to pick up passengers.
But the lord’s carriage cut straight through the city center.
The scenery was completely different.
The buildings were far more luxurious, and the streets were spotless.
‘This must be where the wealthy live.’
As I was looking around, something caught my eye.
Triangular roofs.
‘How did they make those?’
Did they copy what I made?
If so, that meant they had used my design without permission—which annoyed me.
‘Wait… shouldn’t I be happy about this?’
The reason the lord placed me in the Urban Planning Department was because of that roof.
If they could replicate it without me, it would be much easier for me to get fired.
“How is the work at the Urban Planning Department?”
Just as I was hoping to get fired soon, the lord suddenly spoke.
Silence was uncomfortable—but talking was worse.
“Yes, it’s fine.”
“I heard the staff are giving you a hard time.”
So Noah reported it.
“It’s not really harassment. They just doubt my abilities. I can handle this much, so there’s no need to worry.”
If the lord interfered, my plan to get fired might fail.
So I emphasized that I was fine.
“You said this is your first time working, yet you speak like someone with years of experience.”
“…Do I?”
I hadn’t thought about it, but maybe I gave myself away.
I’d need to be more careful.
‘But how am I supposed to “enjoy a cozy carriage date” with him?’
It couldn’t possibly mean acting like lovers.
And until now, all the quests were about construction—why this all of a sudden?
“Have you lived in the hunters’ village your entire life?”
While I was thinking about the quest, he suddenly started questioning me.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Then why didn’t you step forward earlier?”
“…Pardon?”
“The monsoon. There has been damage every year. Why only act this time?”
Because I only transmigrated into this world recently.
But I couldn’t say that.
“Actually, I tried several times before but failed. This time, I just got lucky. Yes, it was all luck.”
I used to hate when people dismissed my skills as luck.
But with him, I hoped he would believe it.
“Luck is also a kind of skill.”
“Haha… is that so?”
I’d noticed this before—he was oddly generous in strange areas.
“I hope your luck continues while working in the department.”
“Yes… I’ll do my best.”
I had no intention of continuing to work there, but I couldn’t say that.
So I gave a vague answer.
At that, the straight line of his lips curved slightly.
…Wait. He can smile like that?
[Surprise Quest Complete!]
[Reward: 3,000 points.]
A notification suddenly appeared.
This counts as success? What’s the standard?
It was absurd, but there was no point questioning it.
And I wasn’t losing anything, so I let it go.
***
“Did you finish sorting the blueprints?”
The next day, Toma Harens called me over as soon as I arrived.
“Yes. Here they are.”
I placed the box of blueprints on his desk.
He looked at me in disbelief.
“What are you doing? I clearly told you to separate the approved and rejected ones.”
“They’re all rejected, so I didn’t separate them.”
He must have given me only rejected ones to mess with me.
But since I figured it out, he was surprised.
If he acknowledged me, the main quest would be complete.
“Hah, that’s amusing.”
I was already thinking about what to buy with my points when Toma let out a scoff.
“So you don’t know anything and decided to just say everything is wrong?”
That meant there were approved blueprints among them.
That surprised me even more.
No matter how many times I checked, none looked acceptable.
“Which ones are approved?”
I asked sincerely.
Toma pulled out four sheets.
“These.”
I examined them again.
How could these possibly be approved?
Even after double-checking, I couldn’t understand.
“This one has a foundation that’s too thin. If the ground softens from rain, the entire building will tilt. And this one—the spacing between the pillars makes no sense. It won’t support the upper floors at all.”
I pointed out the problems one by one.
Toma’s face turned red, then blue.
“What does a newbie like you know?!”
“Don’t step out of line without experience. Just do what you’re told.”
Incompetent superiors trying to protect their pride—same in fiction and reality.
I had planned to act incompetent and get fired.
But seeing truly incompetent people made my blood boil.
This wasn’t easy either.
“Even I can see what’s wrong. It’s quite unfortunate that someone as experienced as you can’t.”
In reality, Han Seon-ah had to endure things to survive.
But Aileen didn’t.
“And while we’re at it—I saw quite a few buildings with triangular roofs yesterday.”
The moment I said that, Toma’s expression stiffened.
“Seems like someone copied my design. Was it you, team leader?”
Bang!
“Who copied it?!”
He slammed the desk and stood up.
“I analyzed it myself and improved it! It’s better than yours!”
“That’s what we call copying.”
“I said it’s not!”
Anyone could see it was.
Yet he kept denying it.
“I didn’t expect you to be this unreasonable. I feel sorry for the people working under you.”
Behind me, I heard someone cough awkwardly.
Looks like they agreed.
“In this place, my word is law! If you don’t like my way, get out!”
“Why should I? If you don’t like it, fire me.”
“Y-you…!”
He glared at me, eyes bloodshot, but couldn’t say anything.
He clearly wanted to fire me—but couldn’t because of the lord.
It was almost funny.
“Aren’t you going to fire me?”
When I provoked him, he threw the blueprints at my face.
“Get out of my sight right now!”
Ah… I failed to get fired again.
“I’ll take that as permission to leave early. I’ll see you next week, team leader.”
I gave a polite bow, grabbed my bag, and left the office.
“That crazy woman…!”
“Calm down, team leader.”
Toma Harens’s furious voice behind me sounded almost pleasant.
It felt like the day I’d finally get fired wasn’t far off.
