Chapter 05
Eloise blinked.
She thought she would feel nothing but relief once Gerard stopped coming.
But already, the seat where he used to sit every day felt strangely empty.
“So this is what they mean when they say you only notice an absence once someone is gone.”
She clicked her tongue unconsciously.
Just then—
“If a mage causes trouble after I leave, use this.”
Gerard placed a ring on Eloise’s desk.
“My ring!”
Overjoyed, Eloise quickly picked it up.
It was the ring Gerard had given her in her previous life.
A ring set with a pink gemstone identical to her hair color.
At first glance it looked ordinary, but it allowed her to contact Gerard.
“When I tapped the ring, he always came… even if it was late.”
She had been deeply disappointed when she realized the ring didn’t exist in this returned world.
And now she had it again.
Her lips curved upward without her realizing.
“Do you like it?” Gerard asked.
“Yes.”
“Do you know how to use it?”
Eloise nearly answered “Yes” out of habit, but bit her tongue and swallowed the word.
She shook her head instead.
Gerard stared at her.
“It’s simple.”
“I’ve never used something like this before.”
“Never… I see. If you need to contact me, just tap it.”
“Okay.”
After replying quickly, Eloise slipped the ring onto her finger.
She examined it from every angle, happy to have it back.
Gerard watched her quietly for a while, then said,
“Tap it often.”
“…What?”
“Whenever you need to.”
What reason would she ever have to need Gerard?
If anything, it was the other way around.
“And even if I needed him now, I couldn’t help him yet.”
She wouldn’t awaken as an S-rank healer for another year.
Just as she swallowed a sigh—
“I should get going.”
“So soon?”
The words slipped out before she could stop herself.
Merlin shot her a sharp look.
Eloise’s lifted lips trembled slightly.
Why am I stopping a busy man?
And sounding reluctant, too.
If Gerard found it strange, or Merlin scolded her later, she’d deserve it.
“Should I stay?” Gerard asked lightly.
“No, you should go. Everyone knows how busy the Tower Master is.”
“Gerard.”
“…Yes?”
“I call you by your name. But you call me ‘Tower Master.’ That’s not fair. Call me by my name comfortably.”
That wasn’t an easy name to call at all.
But no matter what she muttered in her head, things always went the way Gerard wanted.
Just like how he had shown up at the support team every day despite her objections.
“I will.”
Eloise nodded.
Gerard smiled.
It was a bright, dazzling smile, like sunlight pouring through freshly cleaned windows.
So much so that she almost forgot the support team office was a gloomy basement.
***
At the Demonic Energy Management Bureau cafeteria, Eloise and Merlin enjoyed a relaxed lunch.
Since Gerard had stayed with the support team for a week, mages had almost completely stopped visiting.
They especially never came during lunchtime.
Thanks to that, Eloise and Merlin were enjoying their first peaceful lunch since joining.
Two steaks, a heap of grilled vegetables, and three pieces of bread.
Looking at her generously filled tray, Eloise murmured with satisfaction,
“I’m going to get promoted.”
“What? Did I hear that wrong? You said ‘win’? Are you picking a fight with someone?”
“You heard right. Promotion, not victory.”
Seeing Eloise’s serious expression, Merlin put her fork down.
“Eloise. Like hell the team leader is going to promote you.”
“What are the promotion requirements again?”
“You’re talking about promotion without even knowing that?”
Merlin snorted.
Eloise sighed, then raised a finger.
“I get an extremely high performance evaluation.”
“Impossible.”
Colin, her supervisor and evaluator, didn’t like her.
He believed that an orphan like Eloise wouldn’t help his career at all and constantly looked down on her.
Not knowing that, Eloise had worked hard early on to gain his favor.
She endured unfair orders.
That wasn’t all.
“I even helped with his personal errands.”
She had gone so far as to get an autograph from a mage his daughter liked.
She had practically begged mages to get it.
She thought her palms would wear down from all the pleading.
Because of all that effort, Eloise had quietly expected a good evaluation in her first year.
But she received a B.
Out of S, A, and B—she got the lowest.
Even when she obeyed everything, she got a B.
And in this life?
She was acting like a complete nuisance to the team leader.
Whenever he gave orders, she said, “That’s not part of my assigned duties.”
When nightmare complainants came, she said, “Shall I connect you to someone higher up?” and dumped them on Colin.
And when he told her, “Make me some tea,” she snapped back, “I didn’t join to make tea.”
“I’m doomed.”
She could practically see the word promotion sprouting wings and flying away.
“There’s still a chance,” Merlin said gently, placing a small piece of meat on Eloise’s tray.
“What chance?”
“Make a big contribution. If you play a major role in destroying a Rainbow Hole, they’ll promote you.”
“There was a case like that…”
The first person to discover healers and lay the foundation of the Bureau—Morgana Raven.
“Like the Vice Director?” Eloise’s eyes lit up.
Born a commoner, Morgana was the hope and dream of low-ranking Bureau workers.
Of course, she and Eloise were different.
Morgana had graduated top of her academy class.
Still, there was no reason Eloise couldn’t walk a similar path.
“What kind of contribution could I make?”
A one-time achievement wouldn’t be enough.
To achieve her goals this time, she needed to rise high enough to attend major Bureau meetings.
For example—department head, royalty, vice pope, Tower Master, S-rank mage, or S-rank healer.
“I’ll be an S-rank healer in a year, but that’ll be too late. I need to prepare now.”
Once she was officially revealed as an S-rank healer, many restrictions would follow.
“And I wouldn’t be able to take care of Gerard exclusively.”
To properly help him during the destined Purple Hole, she had to focus on him alone.
“But can I really rise to a director-level position in such a short time?”
There were more than ten team leaders already lobbying everywhere for promotions.
Compared to their achievements and connections, her chances were slim.
“What should I do…”
Just then—
Beeep! Beeep! Beeep!
The emergency alarm rang, and magical loudspeakers echoed throughout the building.
***
“An Orange Hole with a 5km radius has appeared in Cloverfield Village, 40km east-west point. All available mages, proceed to Cloverfield immediately.”
“Repeating: Orange Hole detected at Cloverfield Village…”
The cafeteria descended into chaos.
Mages abandoned their trays and rushed to the teleport zone.
Healers headed to the healing rooms to prepare.
“What are you doing? Eat quickly! This is going to be a mess. A 5km radius is a large-scale Hole. Overtime for sure.”
Merlin smacked Eloise’s arm when she saw her sitting there blankly.
In an instant, memories exploded in Eloise’s mind.
The day the Orange Hole appeared in Cloverfield Village.
Her face turned pale.
She jumped to her feet and grabbed a passing mage.
“You can’t go there!”
