Eloise blinked.
She had thought it would feel nothing but good if Gerard didn't show up.
Yet somehow, the empty seat where he had sat every day already felt hollow.
'That's why they say you don't notice when someone fills a spot, but you sure notice when they're gone.'
Eloise unwittingly clicked her tongue.
"If any mages cause trouble after I leave, use this."
Gerard placed a ring on Eloise's desk.
'My ring!'
Overjoyed, Eloise snatched it up.
It was the ring Gerard had given her in her previous life.
A ring embedded with a pink gem that matched her hair color exactly.
It looked ordinary at a glance, but she could contact Gerard with it.
'Whenever I tapped the ring, he'd come running, even if it took a while.'
She had felt so disappointed upon returning to this world and realizing the ring was gone.
To get it back like this!
Eloise's lips curved upward.
"Do you like it?"
"Yes."
"Do you know how to use it?"
Eloise nearly blurted out yes but bit her tongue and swallowed the word.
She shook her head, and Gerard stared at her intently.
"It's simple."
"It's my first time using something like this."
"Your first time... I see. If you need to contact me, just tap it."
"Got it."
She answered quickly, then slipped the ring onto her finger.
Eloise examined the recovered ring from every angle, thrilled.
Gerard watched her for a long while before speaking.
"Tap it often."
"Pardon?"
"Anytime you need me."
What could I possibly need you for?
If anything, the opposite.
'He couldn't help even if I needed him now anyway.'
She still had a year before manifesting as an S-Rank Healer.
As Eloise swallowed a sigh,
"I'll take my leave then."
"Already?"
The words slipped out without thinking, and Merlin shot Eloise a glare.
The corners of Eloise's smiling lips trembled slightly.
Why hold back a busy man!
And sounding so reluctant, no less!
If Gerard thought it odd, or Merlin called her crazy, she had no defense.
"Should I stay?"
"No, you should go. Everyone knows the Tower Master is busy."
"Gerard."
"...Yes?"
"I call you by name. It isn't fair if you call me Tower Master. Use my name casually."
It's not a name I can call casually.
Eloise grumbled inwardly, but in the end, things would go his way.
Just like how he started punching the clock at the Support Team despite her objections.
"I will."
Eloise nodded, and Gerard smiled.
It was a bright, dazzling smile, like sunlight pouring through a spotless window.
One that made her forget the Support Team office was a dingy basement.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Magic Management Bureau cafeteria.
Eloise and Merlin enjoyed a leisurely lunch.
After Gerard spent a week stationed at the Support Team, the number of mages visiting had plummeted.
Even they never came during lunch hour.
Thanks to that, Eloise and Merlin could finally savor a relaxed meal for the first time since joining.
Two steaks, heaps of roasted vegetables, and three slices of bread.
Eloise, with her plate piled high, murmured contentedly.
"I'm going to get promoted."
"What? Did I hear wrong? You said 'victory'? Planning to throw down with someone?"
"You heard right. Not victory—promotion."
Seeing Eloise's serious face, Merlin set down her fork.
"Eloise, like the team leader's going to promote you."
"What's our promotion criteria?"
"You don't even know that and you're talking promotion?"
Merlin snorted.
Eloise sighed and ticked off on her fingers.
"I get a top score on my performance review."
"Impossible."
Eloise's boss and review evaluator, Collin, didn't like her.
He figured an orphanage kid like Eloise wouldn't help his career and treated her with disdain.
Unaware, Eloise had bent over backward early on to impress him.
Even when he gave slightly unfair tasks, she'd endured.
And not just that.
'I even helped with his personal errands!'
She'd gotten autographs from mages for his daughter, who adored them.
The begging she'd done to the mages...
She thought her palms would wear through.
With all that effort, Eloise had secretly hoped for a good first-year review.
But her score was B.
B out of S, A, B!
The lowest.
Even when she'd toed the line obediently, it was B.
In this life, Eloise was acting like the team leader's advisor.
Every time he assigned work, she'd say, "That's not in my job description."
When complainers showed up, "Shall I connect you to someone higher?" and pass them to Collin.
And more!
When he said, "Get me some tea," she'd snapped back, "I didn't join to make tea."
"We're doomed."
She envisioned the word "promotion" sprouting wings and flying far away.
"There is a chance."
Merlin comforted her by placing a small piece of meat on Eloise's tray.
"What chance?"
"Stand out. Make a huge contribution to destroying a Rainbow Hole, and they'll give you a special promotion."
"There have been cases like that..."
The first Healer discovered, who laid the foundation for the Magic Management Bureau—Morgana Raven!
"Like the Vice Director?"
Eloise's eyes sparkled.
A commoner who rose to Vice Director, Morgana was the hope and dream of low-level bureau staff.
Of course, she and Eloise were different.
Morgana was a genius academy top graduate, not just any commoner.
But there was no reason Eloise couldn't follow her path.
'What contribution could I make?'
A one-off achievement would limit her promotions.
To achieve her goal this life, she needed a high enough position to attend major bureau meetings.
Like department head, royalty, Vice Pope, Tower Master, S-Rank Mage, or S-Rank Healer.
'I'll become an S-Rank Healer in a year, but it'll be too late then. I need to prepare now.'
Going public as an S-Rank Healer would bring complications.
'I can't just exclusively treat Gerard either.'
To reliably help him at the scheduled Purple Hole, she needed to focus on him.
'But can I rise to director level with speaking rights in executive meetings that fast?'
Even the team leader, lobbying everywhere for promotion, had over ten rivals.
Ignoring their achievements and connections, her chances for a key post were slim.
'What should I do?'
She was deep in thought when—
🚨 EMERGENCY ALERT 🚨 Beep! Beep! Beep! —East-West 40km point, Orange Hole with 5km radius in Cloverfield Village! All available mages, proceed to Cloverfield immediately.—Repeat: East-West 40km point, Cloverfield Village...
The cafeteria turned into chaos in an instant.
Mages abandoned their trays and bolted for the teleport zone.
Healers headed to the healing rooms for standby.
"What are you doing? Eat up! This is going to be a mess. 5km radius means a major hole. Overtime confirmed."
Merlin smacked Eloise's arm, who sat stunned.
Suddenly, memories from the past flooded Eloise's mind.
Memories of the day the Orange Hole appeared in Cloverfield Village.
Her face drained of color as she shot to her feet.
She grabbed a passing mage and shouted.
"You can't go there!"
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