The morning starts early for the Silver Order’s grunts.
First, they wake at five in the morning, finish various preparations at home, and head straight to headquarters.
After that, once they enter their assigned departments and change into uniforms emblazoned with the Silver Order’s logo, the day begins in earnest.
Their duties differ by department, and everyone continues working toward world domination from their respective posts.
Just hearing that, it sounds like the very definition of a black company. The hours are long, and you even have to wear a designated uniform.
However, the actual work is relatively free, and the pay is high, so job satisfaction is surprisingly good.
On top of that, most of the members are loyal to the Silver Order, so there’s no need to worry about internal divisions.
I, too, was spending my days devoting myself to the organization as much as I could, but the road ahead was looking rather dark.
“…Hoo.”
With only the bare minimum preparations and no need to change clothes, I stepped out of the old storage room bearing a sign that read “Operations Support Department.”
Unlike the other departments, Amber and I don’t have to wear uniforms. One of us is a café owner, and the other is an academy student, so it’s only natural.
In exchange, so to speak, the boss ordered us to remodel and use a suitable storage room instead of an office.
I understand. In the first place, even if it’s called a department, there are only two people in it.
Even with the impressive name of Operations Support Department, in reality, it’s nothing more than a bottom-rung department where two rookies have been shoved away somewhere convenient.
Just then, I heard a few other grunts passing nearby snicker quietly as they looked our way.
“Wearing plain clothes despite being bottom-rung? Must’ve parachuted in or something.”
“Not like he does anything anyway. Just clings to Lady Amber, who’s an executive.”
Truly childish lines worthy of third-rate villains.
‘Wait, they are third-rate villains.’
I had thought about it wrong. They were acting more faithfully to their roles than anyone else, yet I, of all people, failed to see through it…
“Oh, good morning, everyone.”
“…Good morning, ma’am!”
But the moment Amber waved her hand, those guys erased their attitude from a moment ago and returned her greeting with vigor.
Honest bastards. They hate me, but they like Amber.
“Senior, you should fight back a little too. Unless you want them to keep looking down on you.”
“From their point of view, it probably rubs them the wrong way that I get to work alone with a cute girl. No need to worry about it.”
“C-Cute…? I’m trying to have a serious conversation here.”
Chatting idly, we stepped into the hallway and blended into the procession of countless grunts passing by.
The place we arrived at was the briefing room created for the Silver Order’s chain of command.
Just because we gathered in the briefing room didn’t mean there was some large-scale operation. It was just a simple morning assembly and a few brief instructions for the day.
“Salute the great Lady Lapis!”
“All hail Lapis! All hail Lapis!”
As we entered, countless grunts were gathered in one place as usual, saluting Lapis, the leader of the Silver Order.
For the record, I don’t know why the salute is like that. Nor do I want to know.
“As you all know, once again, that hateful little magical girl has interfered with our Silver Order’s plans. At this rate, we must establish countermeasures for the future.”
Magical Girl Ruby. Real name, age, and address all unknown.
Her magical power had reached the point where she could truly be called the strongest in all mankind, and because she had such a strong sense of justice, she apparently interfered with the Silver Order at every turn.
The problem was that even the mighty Silver Order, which could make crying children stop at once, had yet to identify her true identity.
It was no wonder. The moment a magical girl transforms, her appearance changes completely, making identification difficult, and she was probably even using perception-inhibiting magic.
‘And she confessed to me.’
The fact that only Amber and I knew the identity of the person the Silver Order was desperately chasing made my heart go cold for an instant.
Of course, aside from Amber, no one had found out. There weren’t any loose ends that might give me away either.
But the thought of “what if they find out” refused to leave my mind.
“I’ve said this until your ears grew calluses, but if we can seize that brat’s weakness, our Silver Order will be able to make a great leap forward. Rewards will be granted to whoever catches her trail, so keep that in mind and act accordingly!”
“Yes, my lord!”
In any case, today’s assembly ended safely as well. All that remained was for everyone to disperse and begin their assigned missions.
Wanting to get out of there quickly, I lightly pushed Amber’s shoulder and urged her on.
“We should get going too. You have school soon.”
“There’s still about an hour left, though. Maybe I’ll take a nap in the storage room.”
Just as we were about to leave the briefing room, pushed along by the pressure of the other grunts—
“……?”
I quickly rubbed my eyes and stared at the boss’s face. She was talking with an executive from another department, her face steeped in exhaustion.
Was it just my imagination? For a moment, I felt as though my eyes had met hers.
“…Senior? Aren’t you going?”
“No, I just spaced out for a second.”
It was probably my imagination.
***
Around half a day had passed since then.
As usual, I was managing the café that had been handed over to me by the Silver Order.
Brewing coffee suited to the customers’ requests, putting up flyers to promote the shop, cleaning the interior…
What I was doing didn’t look villainous at all, but despite appearances, this café was a proper branch of the Silver Order.
Each and every one of these modest actions piled up and led directly to world domination.
‘…It does lead directly to it, right?’
Let’s not think about it too much. I wasn’t interested in world domination anyway, and as long as I got paid, that was enough.
“There really aren’t any customers here.”
As I was cleaning the floor with a mop, Amber, who had returned after finishing academy, said that to me.
“Are you picking a fight out of nowhere? Follow me to the roof. Now.”
“Don’t say weird things… I’m the only proper customer you have.”
“Rabi’s technically a regular too. Though she hasn’t been coming much lately.”
It had already been a week since the day she confessed, but surprisingly, that girl had not set foot in the café during that time.
‘Did she really get sick of me, or is she simply busy?’
Personally, I hoped it was the former. If my existence gradually faded out of her life like this, nothing could be better.
In any case, it was fortunate that my peaceful daily life had returned, but…
“By the way, Senior. Are you really sure you don’t have to tell anyone? That Magical Girl Ruby confessed to you, I mean.”
“You’re persistent. I told you, not yet.”
Amber, was that why she brought up the topic like that?
“It’s just a bit of a shame. If you tell the boss, your standing in the Silver Order would rise a ton. You’d probably get a heap of money too.”
“Money, huh.”
In reality, the Silver Order’s finances were very healthy. To the point where they even paid night-duty allowances and year-end bonuses.
‘Judging by the fact that they even signed me up for health insurance, they must really be overflowing with money.’
Since the Silver Order was a decent company that evaluated both results and effort, if even someone like me, a mere bottom-rung member, revealed Ruby’s identity, there was a good chance I’d receive a large reward and even be treated as an executive or higher.
“I’m satisfied with this life for now. It’s not like I’m so broke I’m starving.”
“You’re surprisingly ordinary.”
Managing the café at a reasonable pace while spending my days leisurely. Even if my treatment within the organization wasn’t good, I liked this job itself.
“Working here suits me too.”
Unlike Korea, where there’s a café next to every café, the culture of drinking coffee hadn’t developed much in this world.
Since labor had been simplified through magic, people apparently didn’t usually build up fatigue.
Even this café itself mainly served meals and desserts, with coffee relegated to an after-meal extra.
“…Should I admit it? The coffee you make really is delicious, Senior.”
In other words, even someone like me, who had learned coffee mostly by guesswork, could dominate in this world.
In any case, perhaps realizing that I was blatantly trying to change the subject, Amber shifted the conversation elsewhere.
“I’m a little late saying this, but actually, I’m in the same class as Rabi.”
It wasn’t a little late, it was damn late, but I decided not to point that out.
“Are you close with Rabi?”
“No, we’ve only talked a little… but she’s normal at school. She’s pretty popular too.”
According to Amber, Rabi made friends far and wide, boys and girls alike, so she was always—
“My impression of her would’ve been pretty different if she hadn’t tied me up with rope. Does she have anyone she’s especially close to?”
Even if someone made friends broadly, there was usually at least one person they got along with best.
I asked out of simple curiosity, without any particular intent, but…
“Now that I think about it, there is exactly one. The girl she’s closest to is named Sophia, and she has blue hair, so she really stands out—”
Just as Amber began listing the traits of the girl named Sophia, I heard someone descending the stairs beyond the door.
“Looks like a customer. Let’s stop talking about magical girls here.”
“Fine, I get it.”
I moved the mop aside to begin serving the customer, but for some reason, the conversation just now wouldn’t leave my mind.
Something bothered me. Something important.
‘Wait a minute. Someone especially close to Magical Girl Ruby, with blue hair. And on top of that, her name is Sophia…’
From Ruby to Rabi. And from Sapphire to Sophia.
No, it couldn’t be. There was no way such a coincidence existed.
—Clack!
“…….”
There was no way the blue-haired girl who opened the café door and stepped inside with an angry look on her face was Ruby’s best friend, Magical Girl Sapphire.