“…Me?”
“Yeah, me.”
She stared at the man in disbelief, but he looked at her blankly as if he didn’t understand what was wrong. He even placed both of his hands calmly on the table.
His fingers were bony, and thick veins protruded from his wrists. Hands like his might have earned compliments for being sexy if seen outside.
But what did that matter? The owner of those hands was a lunatic.
“Isn’t the second floor of the Magic Tower’s Service Department for mana replenishment?”
“Yes, sir. That’s correct, but the Service Department only provides mana for purchased items…”
“I bought this. Here.”
The man dipped his hands below the table and rummaged through his pocket. Then he casually plopped something down. A pocket watch rolled across the table. She recognized it.
Selena’s pocket watch. What was it again? Enchanted with ice magic, if she remembered correctly. It was worth a whopping 80,000 gold.
VIP.
She glanced at the man’s face, and that word flashed through her mind. This wasn’t something they sold on the first floor. This item came from a restricted high-level zone, where only verified individuals were allowed—ones even staff like Birkin couldn’t easily access.
“I’m sorry, sir, but this item doesn’t require mana replenishment.”
“Yeah, I’m here to recharge my mana.”
A nuisance.
No—a total nightmare.
This was the kind of person who’d order food at a restaurant and then ask the staff to salt the takeout he brought from elsewhere.
She instantly categorized him as a nightmare customer. But Birkin was a seasoned Vice Manager in the Service Department. With years of experience dealing with all kinds of clients, she responded with a trained smile.
“Ah, I see. But I’ve never transferred mana to a person before. I’m afraid I can’t recharge you myself, but we do offer free item recharge coupons you can use next time…”
“You just need to hold hands.”
“Excuse me?”
“Holding hands will do it. Mana can be transferred that way.”
It’s not that she didn’t know that.
Mana, though invisible, was a force that flowed through the body. The reason it could be transferred to objects was that the mana owner could will it so. Of course, the same principle applied to people.
However, unlike items, which stopped accepting mana once full, a person’s mana circle had no limit depending on their individual capacity. In other words, you could just keep draining someone.
Because of that, mana transfers between people weren’t considered a thing. She’d heard rumors about people selling mana under the table, but that had nothing to do with an official Magic Tower agent like Birkin.
“Can’t you do it?”
Of course not.
…is what she wanted to say. If she hadn’t gained her current title as Vice through word-of-mouth among nobles, or if this man weren’t a VIP, she might have said just that.
But in the end, Birkin let out a long sigh. She hoped he’d take the hint. Instead, he simply stared at her blankly.
“…Please put the watch away. And give me your hand.”
“Sure.”
The man obediently placed both hands on the table like a well-trained puppy. To transfer mana, there needed to be physical contact. Bodily fluids were most efficient—but she obviously couldn’t kiss a client.
Birkin’s pale, slender fingers reached out to his.
She hesitated. Holding a client’s hand? In her eight years on the job, she’d never once done that.
But the man suddenly grabbed her hand, wrapping it tightly in both of his large palms. Her hands weren’t exactly small, but they disappeared completely inside his grip.
Did he just snatch my hand?
Before she could even speak in her shock, Birkin felt it—her mana being sucked into him, completely against her will.
“S-Sir.”
“Yeah?”
“Let go.”
She felt dizzy.
When mana circles opened through contact, it was like invading someone else’s world. You revealed your entire mana structure to the other, and vice versa.
If she had to describe this man’s mana circle in one word… it was greedy.
She tried to pull her hand away, but it didn’t budge. Her voice rose.
“I said let go!”
“…No.”
What?
He even muttered quietly, “I don’t wanna,” like a whiny child. She nearly snapped, but then he finally released her hand.
Birkin quickly pulled back and examined her hand. All she saw was a slight flush of red on her wrist.
Creak.
While she was inspecting it, she heard the chair scrape. She looked up. The man smiled.
He was handsome.
His brilliant smile lit up his face like a blooming flower. With that sweet expression, he murmured:
“You’re delicious.”
“That nightmare…”
“Birkin, what did you say?”
“Huh? Did I say something? You must’ve misheard.”
It had been a week since that man left.
But Birkin still hadn’t recovered from the shock. She never imagined she’d be so powerless to someone stealing her mana like that.
She was in the Magic Tower’s underground cafeteria, eating lunch. Today’s menu was goblin sandwich and tangy fruit juice—a popular combo.
Birkin absentmindedly picked at her sandwich, recalling that troublesome customer. She was soul-less, removing vegetables like a machine.
“Oh right, Birkin! Did you hear?”
“Hear what?”
“Next week is the personnel reshuffle announcement. The competition for the Deputy spot is crazy tight.”
“Oh, really?”
Deputy. Deputy.
That sweet word made her forget the annoying customer for a moment. She smiled faintly, though she tried to play it off. She knew the truth: she was the one already selected for the promotion.
As Deputy, her salary would go up. Should I increase my savings plan?
The Magic Tower staff didn’t earn much compared to magicians or magical engineers. Still, they were paid well above commoners.
Birkin finished her meal with a peaceful look, already dreaming of expanding her only hobby—savings. She also thought of giving her busy mother some allowance.
When her lunch break ended, her wristwatch beeped with an alert. She looked down to see a red bell icon floating above the screen.
“Oh? Birkin, another designated request?”
“Yeah, looks like it.”
“You’re amazing. It feels like you get more designated calls than anyone else. They say people who come to you always return, right?”
“Well, it’s not like we get incentives for doing more work.”
“That’s true…”
And she meant it. There were no extra bonuses for getting more requests.
But what you did get was connections.
Designated clients were almost always nobles or the wealthy. If you impressed them, even showing your face when selling items later could boost your numbers.
And those numbers translated into real incentives.
As she headed to the 2nd-floor consultation room for her appointment, Birkin paused. This had happened before—someone making a tight-lunch appointment…
Could it be… him again?
The ghost of that nightmare reared its head. She tried to reassure herself that it wouldn’t be, but the suspicion wouldn’t leave.
Beep. Beep. The alert continued.
Glancing at her watch, then at her colleague who looked on with envy, Birkin spoke slyly.
“Well… it doesn’t give bonuses, but it’s good for networking.”
“Right? And once someone calls you, they always ask for you again. Since you’re alone with them in a room, it’s easy to get close…”
“Remember Helene from Team 3? She married Baron Leviathan recently.”
“Oh, her! Wait, that started with a designated appointment?!”
Birkin didn’t answer. She just gave a knowing smile. What other chance did commoners like them have to meet nobles?
Seeing her stay silent, her colleague looked even more desperate. Birkin casually offered:
“Wanna take it? The appointment?”
“Me? Are you sure I can?”
“Of course. It’s a good opportunity. Go give it a try.”
She tapped her watch a few times, and with a beep, the red bell icon transferred to her colleague’s screen.
“But they asked for you, didn’t they…”
“It’s just mana infusion for an item. It won’t make a difference who does it.”
[Personnel Notice]
◆ Helene Leviathan ◆
Previous Position: Vice Manager, Service Department Team 3
New Position: Deputy, Service Department Team 1
Effective: 1st of the following month
“What… is this?”
Birkin mumbled blankly as she stared up at the large announcement pinned to the Tower’s bulletin board.
The center of attention, Helene, was surrounded by people offering congratulations.
“Helene, congrats! You’re finally a Deputy!”
“Aw, I owe it all to the Chief. I’ve still got a long way to go.”
“Should we have a party?”
“I need to tell my husband! Oh my goodness!”
The excited chatter of Service Team 3 echoed down the hall. Birkin quietly slipped away toward the lounge.
There, she found Chief Gendall—the man who had promised her the Deputy position.
Seeing her, he wiped his sweaty forehead awkwardly. Then he approached her with a forced smile and patted her shoulder.
“Well, Birkin… I don’t know what to say. I truly meant to give you the Deputy spot, but… well, Helene’s husband is Baron Leviathan, you know?”
“…Yes.”
“You understand, right? That’s just how things are around here…”
Birkin snapped out of her daze. Her eyes met his, and he gave her an apologetic smile.
“She was just a Vice like me. Now she’s my boss?”
“There was only one Deputy position open… I hope you understand.”
How could I possibly understand this?
Birkin bit her lip. Just yesterday, she’d called her mother and boasted about her promotion. She promised to cover her brother’s lab materials and her mother’s medication.
And now—still a Vice.
“I… I don’t understand, Chief Gendall.”
“Right, I figured. That’s why—I want to make you an offer.”
She stayed silent.
“There’s a Deputy-level spot in our Deepdale branch. If you stay there for three years, I’ll make sure there’s a position waiting for you back here.”
Deepdale. A port city, three days south of the capital, Turfmoor.
Birkin understood what this meant.
She couldn’t get the job here, so she was being told to suffer in the provinces for a few years.
It was unfair. It wasn’t right. But more than anything, what she couldn’t tolerate was the thought of her smug, noble-husbanded colleague Helene lording over her as her superior.
Birkin clenched her teeth and said,
“…I’ll go.”
💬 Magic Tower Life Tip!
Birkin has actually transferred her mana to someone once before…
