SOLIRF~07

Chapter 7

Escape from the Apprentice Life

If this had been my original world, I probably wouldn’t have executed this plan so easily.
But being in another world, in someone else’s body, gave me a strange sense of distance—like I could see the situation more clearly.

And as a result, I’ve been listening to this nonsense for thirty straight minutes.

The senior didn’t know that I already knew last night’s “overtime” was actually a crucial report.
Which meant she couldn’t complain about how much trouble she’d gotten into.

Because that would mean admitting it publicly.

All I had to do was act clueless and play along. And she couldn’t afford to get rid of me now.

I’ve become too convenient for her.

Reports completed and polished, all without lifting a finger herself.
Judging by what Pinea told me, she probably even got praised for it—certainly not scolded.

“So, even if you’re sick, you finish what you’re given before you go home. You can’t just skip work every time you feel unwell, can you? I’ll let it slide this time only because I’m generous.”

Let it slide, my ass.

She must’ve gotten chewed out by the branch manager yesterday and was grinding her teeth over it.
If she’d felt even an ounce of guilt, she wouldn’t be barking orders like this.

Her behavior made it obvious—she had no intention of stopping.

So, I smiled brightly, all innocent and harmless.
“Yes, ma’am. Understood.”

After the pointless lecture in the basement, I went back upstairs, only for everyone to suddenly crowd around me.

“Cornelia, did you hear?”
“Hear what?”

I’d been called in the moment I arrived, so I had no idea what was going on. Nicola, beaming like it was her own accomplishment, spoke up.

“They mentioned you in ‘We Compliment You!’”
“‘We… Compliment You?’”

The name alone screamed corporate PR campaign.
Another worker quickly explained: customers could send letters of praise to headquarters for employees who provided excellent service.

Ah… I think I saw a poster about that near the entrance.

“Remember that difficult customer the other day? Someone saw how you handled it and was so impressed, they wrote in about you! Said you were considerate of both the shop’s reputation and the other customers’ comfort!”

“Really? That’s… a bit much.”

It was such an unexpected twist.

“You know how rare that is? Most people only write complaint letters. Compliment letters are super rare—they said it’s been months since the last one! It’ll boost our branch’s rating. The branch manager’s been smiling ear to ear!”

Just then, the assistant manager walked in briskly.
“The branch manager’s buying everyone a nice lunch today!”

“Whaaa!”

Everyone cheered, all smiles and laughter—except for me.

If only they’d just give out the cash instead.

Still, I smiled along and accepted the congratulations.
Well, a win’s a win.

The influence of “We Compliment You” turned out to be far greater than I expected.

People no longer looked at me like a useless trainee.
Even the assistant manager began trusting me with simple errands and minor tasks—just like Pinea before me.

Of course, there was a side effect.

My workload doubled.

It was as if my senior had gone out of her way to scrape together every possible chore to throw at me.
But I accepted it all with a calm smile.

Completely unaware that I was inviting disaster myself.

And since I didn’t react, she grew more annoyed—nitpicking every little thing.

“There’s dust here! Wipe it again!”
“I don’t like your handwriting! Redo it!”
“From now on, come in thirty minutes earlier!”

At this point, “tyranny” didn’t even begin to describe it.

Pinea finally exploded and tried to storm upstairs to report it. I had to hold her back.
“Let go! I’m going straight to the branch manager!”
“Calm down, I’m fine.”
“Fine? You call this fine? Don’t you know there’s a limit to how much someone can take, you idiot?”

Wait… didn’t she used to hate me?

I smiled faintly, soothing her.
“It’s okay. It won’t be long now.”
“What?”
Days like this… won’t last much longer.

That night, I was half-heartedly finishing up yet another round of overtime.

These days, I rarely got home before midnight.
Marcella always came to pick me up—claiming that “a lady shouldn’t walk home alone this late.”

Unbelievable. Real siblings couldn’t be this caring.

Well, we technically weren’t siblings, but still.

And I already told them—I’m not the real Cornelia. If they don’t believe me, that’s their problem.

Besides, I’d literally sold my hair to pay for Leo’s medicine.
I’d more than earned my room and board.

“This one goes here…”

As I organized the documents on the table, I heard someone approaching.

“Who’s there? Still here at this hour?”

It was the branch manager.

He was a middle-aged man with an energetic demeanor.
Because of his position, I rarely interacted with him beyond morning greetings.

I quickly stood up and bowed.
“Good evening, sir. Cornelia, at your service.”

Thanks to both my past reputation as a hopeless case and the recent compliment letter, he clearly remembered me.
And I knew—this was my chance.

“Oh, Cornelia! Why are you still here so late?”
“I had some leftover tasks to finish up.” I smiled sheepishly.

“Leftover tasks?”

One eyebrow rose.
“Did your senior assign them?”

“I missed a day when I was sick, so I’ve been catching up. It’s fine, really!”

“Hmm… I’ve seen her make trainees do overtime before, but this late? That’s… unusual.”

He walked closer to the table.
“You’ve been working hard, haven’t you?”
“It’s nothing.”

I ducked my head shyly.

“Looks like a lot for one person… Here, let me see.”
“Oh—no, it’s fine!”

But he’d already noticed the papers scattered across the table.
He picked one up and frowned.

“Trainees don’t usually handle complex paperwork like this… this is…”

As he scanned the document, his expression changed drastically—eyebrows lifting, eyes narrowing, lips pressing tight.

I smiled inwardly. Got you.

After a long pause, he asked,
“When did you start doing this kind of work?”

“About two months ago. I’m still clumsy at it. I’m sorry.”

I hurried to gather the papers, pretending to tidy up—while subtly pushing them closer so he could see more.

“You really wrote this yourself?”
I nodded meekly, forcing a tired smile.

“I’m still slow. She wanted it by morning, but finishing before midnight is the best I can do.”

His eyes widened.
“You finished this entire thing… alone… in one night?”

“It takes me a while. I’m sorry.”

As I reached for the papers again, he gently took them away.
“You don’t need to do any more of this.”

“But my senior—”

I let my voice tremble just slightly, feigning fear.
His face hardened immediately.

“I’ll handle it. It’s late—go home.”
“Thank you, sir.”

He patted my head softly.
“You’ve done more than enough. Good work, Cornelia.”

He said he needed a moment to think, so I packed up and headed out.
Marcella was waiting for me at the entrance.

“You look oddly cheerful for someone working overtime.”

Why wouldn’t I be?
“It’s my last night staying late.”

After that day, all overtime vanished.

I didn’t know exactly what the branch manager said, but my senior didn’t speak a single word to me again.
A new rule was also announced: any future unauthorized overtime would result in disciplinary action for whoever assigned it.

“Whew, thank goodness.”
“Word is, she got absolutely chewed out. Things should stay quiet for a while.”
“Who’d have guessed the branch manager would walk in that exact night? Talk about lucky!”

Lucky?

No.
If you stay late enough, someone’s bound to notice eventually.
That’s why they say a long tail always gets stepped on.

“You planned this, didn’t you?”

Pinea cornered me with a suspicious look.
“Planned what?”
“That the branch manager would show up.”
“Hmm, who knows.”
“Wait—you didn’t make him show up, did you?”
“How could I do that? He just happened to see me.”

“With your skills… that means you stayed late on purpose?”

Her jaw dropped, hand covering her mouth in shock.
I only smiled faintly.

The best plans work when they look effortless.

Artificial moves only draw suspicion.
It took time, but the payoff was worth it.

“Alright, morning briefing starts now.”

Everyone gathered in the center of the store.
The branch manager looked calm as ever—but the senior standing beside him? Absolutely terrified.

Looks like she got crushed pretty hard.

The manager stepped forward.
“I have an announcement to make today.”

Everyone perked up. Announcements during briefings were rare.

“I’ve been reassigned to headquarters.”

A brief silence—then cheers and applause erupted.
Just like in my old world, a transfer to HQ was a promotion, plain and simple.

“So, from now on, the assistant manager will lead this branch as the new manager. A replacement assistant will be sent from HQ.”

That meant my senior had just lost her chance at a promotion—by a hair.
Her face turned beet red, like she might explode any second.

Talk about killing two birds with one stone.

Maybe this world wasn’t so bad after all.

“And I’ll be taking a few people with me to HQ. Since the new manager will need experienced staff here, I’ll bring three apprentices with me—Cornelia, Pinea, and Nicola.”

For a moment, my mind froze.

Wait…

I’m going to the capital?