Side Story 2–1
Hello, everyone.
This is my first time properly introducing myself.
My official name is “All-Purpose Magic Office-Use Antique-Style Bed.”
(Notes: Dark Magic Collection & Suppression Department equipment approval No. 4444 / Department budget expenditure: 1,500 marks)
Oh my, my name is too long, you say?
Then please call me “Lara Bed,” just like the new hire Layla does this year.
I am a rest artifact placed in the lounge of the Dark Magic Collection and Suppression Department.
Even though I’m just a silent artifact, I have my own pride.
When the people here work overtime every day for the peace of the Empire, I support them so they can keep going.
But it seems the newcomer Layla doesn’t like me very much…
“Seamus, are you really going to use that thing?”
“Yeah.”
One day, when everyone was busy preparing for the workshop, Layla looked at Seamus with a horrified expression.
While Layla sees me as something like a giant lizard—
“…This is a really well-made artifact.”
—Seamus admired me.
As expected of the future tower master.
You don’t even need the manual to recognize my true value, do you?
“It’s made entirely with top-tier magic from the daily-life category.”
“Daily-life magic?”
“Yeah. Automatic sterilization, wrinkle removal for clothes, odor removal, automatic temperature control, turtle-neck posture correction—”
“A bed that fixes turtle neck?”
“Short-term deep-sleep adjustment, aroma therapy, and more.”
That’s right. I am the bed among beds.
I’m equipped only with premium features.
I manage my own cleanliness, and I keep a fluffy, sun-dried scent all year round.
Anyone who sleeps on me regains their energy perfectly with just one hour of rest.
“No, I mean, why would you pour magic like that into office furniture?!”
Tsk, tsk, Layla.
You know one thing but not two.
A home has love and freedom, but a workplace is a prison—so you make up for it in other ways…
Seamus spread out the blanket despite Layla’s shock.
He must have been tired. His face, already pale, had especially dark shadows under his eyes.
It actually made his decadent charm stand out.
But when I think it’s because of overtime, even my cushions ache.
Peeking out from under the blanket, Seamus suggested again,
“…Why don’t you try it too? It has a 30-minute alarm function.”
“Ugh, like I’d ever. You rest.”
Layla shook her head firmly.
With her pink eyes, the ‘overtime purple’ tone suits her face, but she just looks pitiful.
She doesn’t seem to trust my abilities.
It hurts a little, but I, Lara Bed, can wait as long as needed.
Someday, Layla will need me too!
Wow, my eyes feel completely dried out.
Staring at those black squiggles on the documents made my eyes stiff and sore.
“Ugh…”
I rubbed my eyelids and looked at the clock.
It was eight in the evening.
For reference, my original quitting time?
“Six. Damn it, overtime again today.”
Ever since I dropped the “workshop” bomb myself, this has been my life for days now.
What’s the worst thing about starting a new project?
Your existing work never decreases.
During normal hours, I handle dark magic complaints, and in between, I manage workshop tasks too.
“Ha… I went home at eleven yesterday.”
I collapsed into bed, and then I heard birds singing in the morning.
“If I keep living like this, I’ll die!”
Before I can destroy the Dark Magic Department and gain perfect freedom!
Feeling wronged, I looked around the office.
The mastermind was attending an evening meeting.
Seamus was out on field work for dark magic cases.
So only Carlisle and I were left in the quiet office.
“…He looks totally fine.”
Honestly, my senior annoyed me a little.
Last time, Carlisle suddenly bought me dinner.
“And it was meat! Meat!”
He even remembered exactly what dessert I like.
So I gathered my courage and asked him,
[Senior… do you, maybe, have feelings for me?]
And all I got to see was my senior completely panicking.
“Now I know for sure.”
Just because I fell into a romance fantasy world doesn’t mean I get romance.
Only heroine material gets that.
And me?
Slave material…
“Aaaahhh…”
“Lowell, what’s wrong?”
I’m sad because I’m a slave of the Dark Magic Department, sir.
I wiped my tears in my heart and pointed at the documents.
“Senior… I can’t take these home to work on them, right…?”
“By regulation, bringing work documents into the dormitory is forbidden.”
“Yes, yes.”
Damn it, I know!
But I was hoping for a different answer!
“Lowell.”
Carlisle grabbed my shoulder.
There were shadows under his eyes too.
But even as an overtime-drained office worker, a romance-fantasy male lead doesn’t lose his looks.
“Are you very tired?”
“Uh, n-no.”
“I’ll do it. Go home first.”
A senior who takes a junior’s work.
He really does care about me… or maybe he just wants to stop me from running away.
Holding back tears, I shook my head.
“I have to submit this to HR by tomorrow morning, and there’s no time to hand it over properly…”
And there were stacks of documents piled next to his desk too…
Then Carlisle pointed toward the lounge.
“Then how about getting some sleep over there for a bit?”
“…What?”
Was it because my soul was half-beaten out by exhaustion?
An unusually pleasant scent was drifting from the lounge.
But what’s in there?
“No, no…”
I must not be tempted by that fluffy, sun-warmed smell!
If I turn my eyes toward Lara Bed—
I jumped up in fear.
“I-I’ll just drink coffee! I’m still oka—aaah!”
I almost fell backward.
But instead of hitting my head on the floor and saying goodbye to the world—
“Are you okay, Lowell?”
Why was I being caught by Carlisle?
And why was I being carried straight into the lounge?
“If you’re not going back to the dorm, just sleep a little. I’ll wake you.”
“W-what?!”
Is this really something said in the Dark Magic Department?
But as Lara Bed got closer, I panicked for a different reason.
“N-no! Sleeping on the office Lara Bed is the end of human dignity!”
“Why?”
“It makes me look like a real slave! Like I live here! What if I die from overwork and become a workplace ghost?!”
“Lowell.”
Carlisle whispered gently.
As expected of a romance-fantasy male lead, his voice was unfairly good.
So for a moment, my body relaxed—
“We do live here.”
“Aaaah!”
“You need to accept reality.”
“No! No! I—! Pffff.”
The moment her head touched my pillow, Layla’s voice stopped completely.
“Pffoo…”
Oh my, she must have been so tired.
She started snoring as soon as Carlisle laid her down.
For the sake of true workers of this era, I must do my best.
I am Lara Bed, the bed among beds.
Now I will show you my hidden special function for exhausted office workers.
The ability to show the dream the sleeper most wants to see.
