Vol. 1 Chapter 2: Distinguished Guest

**Junie, Monday morning…**

The next bad thing about the end of the weekend was Monday; the first would always be the evening of Sunday. As an employee, we dreaded the ‘Big M’ because it meant back to the dreary world of office, paper works, and fake smiles. And it was made even worse when you know that the higher-ups would come to your office to check on things.

Those people never saw anything good with how we do things, not even when we try our best.

“…” Honestly, I caught myself looking at watch too many times now. Well, I couldn’t deny I was excited for its hands to hit ‘5:00 p.m.’ Once that happened, I’d bolt out of our office, and ran to my motorcycle.

If I can avoid the scrutiny of the big shots from the main headquarters, I’ll do it.

A co-worker asked me from his side of the cubicle, “Hey, Junie, you think our bosses from central will come?”

“I don’t know; I’m hoping they won’t. Haha…”

We shared a laugh, though we both felt the tension in our workplace. In fact, since Ma’am Flor warned us last Saturday through group chat, we dreaded coming to work. A few of us called sick, though we knew they were just avoiding the bosses. As for me, I used up all my ‘sick leaves;’ I couldn’t add one more to my monthly attendance, or my salary would be cut, and I still had to explain stuff to higher-ups.

It’s not like I did not experience having people from the main office come and look at us. But I’ll keep away if I can…

“I heard the Information department is scrambling people,” another co-worker revealed to us. “Seems like the guys from central are bringing in some big shots from abroad.”

“Do you think it’s that mage, Henrietta d’Anvilles? News says she’s coming here in the Philippines.”

“Haha…I doubt it. We’re just a small office; what business does she have here?”

I listened to their talk, and agreed with my co-worker about us being a small office. Celebrities like that d’Anvilles kid had no business in the fringes of the adventuring world. Also, on the other hand, though my office mates would kill me for this, I silently hoped the bosses from central would come. The Information department people were pricks; I’d like to see them suffer, even for just a bit.

-----

Okay, what the hell? I take back my words about celebrities not coming here.

“…”

The big shots from the main office arrived sometime after 10 a.m., with a huge fanfare because the adventurers in our branch quickly recognized the golden blond, braided hair and purple eyes of their ‘idol,’ the mage Henrietta Temaire Louise d’Anvilles. Camera lights flashing, videos rolling, and everyone wanted to have a picture from her, which she enthusiastically obliged. The guards had to intervene, so the entourage could move. Typical for celebrities like her, media people followed Henrietta d’Anvilles, along with the high officials from the main headquarters of the Adventurers’ Agency, as the director of our branch, Mister Ryan Maranan, welcomed them.

“Thank you for coming!” he said, shaking her hand. Then, the director introduced the officials of our branch, including Ma’am Flor. After that, the Information department took over…

“Lady d’Anvilles, please allow us to take you on a tour of our office,” the head of the Information showed her his employees, including that asshole, Zac. That guy wore the most ‘punchable’ face ever with his smug. If I could, I would do it…

“Ah, it’s all good, Monsieur,” she answered, with her head looking around as if searching for something.

As for us, all the employees got the order to come to the lobby to join the welcome. Our group was placed at the back; which showed the slight contempt the ‘main’ departments had for our section.

Well, it’s not like I’m complaining. In fact, this is advantageous because we can’t be seen on the cameras, as well as the guests.

“…”

Though, standing here like an idiot just to greet some famous girl was boring. I brought out my phone to check on some social media posts.

“Junie,” my co-worker asked. “You won’t get a picture from Miss d’Anvilles?”

“Nah,” I waved my hand, telling him to go ahead. “You know I’m not that interested in celebrities.”

“You sure? This is a one-in-a-lifetime moment.”

“Yeah. Have fun.”

And so, my office mates rushed to have their pictures taken with our celebrity guest. There was considerable tussle as others took their chance. Some even accidentally hit me, though I didn’t mind it. But, just in case it got worse, I better get out of here.

When I was about to walk away, however…

“…”

I noticed the silence of the lobby, which was strange because it was chaotic literally just seconds earlier. When I looked up to check, I saw everyone staring at me. Of course, I was weirded out, so I asked, “What?”

My co-worker pointed towards the spot before me, and there she was, wearing the most beautiful smile on her face, Lady Henrietta Temaire Louise d’Anvilles.

“Hello!” she greeted with a little wave from her hand.

“Y-Yes? H-Hi?”

“Can you take me on a tour?”

I was dumbfounded by her request that I inadvertently looked at Ma’am Flor, who was equally flabbergasted. The head of the Information department and Zac rushed to her to explain, “Miss d’Anvilles, while that man is one of our employees, he is from another division. He has no in-depth knowledge of the operations of our humble agency.”

“He’s right, Miss,” I backed him up. “I’m just from another department.”

“All the better then!” she happily said, even clapping her hands. “It means, the information you will share will be the honest opinion of someone who works here.”

The head of the Information department, Ma’am Flor, Zac, as well as the rest of the employees were confused at what was happening. Yet, because Miss d’Anvilles insisted, not even the director could do anything about it.

“Junie, make sure she gets the good impression,” my superior whispered to me as she tapped my back. “We’ll treat you later if you do.”

I could only nod; my heart was going haywire because, not only do I get an unexpected job assignment, I also had the eyes of everyone—including the higher-ups from Manila—looking at me.

Well, on the good side of things, my co-workers said that I pissed the people from the Information department after that. That asshole, Zac, had to rethink of his life choices when he got rejected.

-----

Miss Henrietta Temaire Louise d’Anvilles was a powerful mage from France, said to be the youngest to achieve the rank of ‘Sage’ in the roster of the Society of Mages. Her illustrious reputation included being the team leader of OyasumiSe7en, a fashion model, as well as a respected painter who won numerous accolades for her artworks. Not only those, after her party disbanded, she became a recording artist, releasing music albums that featured her talent as a violinist.

All of those, she achieved before she even reached her current age of 19. No wonder many adore her…

“…”

“So, this is where we evaluate new members based on their aptitude,” I brought her, along with her escort officials, to the room where aspiring adventurers take the aptitude exams. There were a few recruits doing the test, so I thought it was a good opportunity to show them the reality on the ground. “As you can see, our air-conditioning unit is already in need of repairs. However, we lack funds for this, so we have to make do with ice magic on electric fans. We don’t want our precious adventurers get fried in this heat, after all.”

Looking at their faces, some of the officials from the central office didn’t like what I said. But they couldn’t do anything about me; I got civil service license, so they had to suck it up. In contrast, Miss d’Anvilles chuckled.

“Not only do you have a creative mind, Monsieur…?”

“Junie. Just call me Junie.”

“Right, Monsieur Junie, not only do you have a creative mind, you also have a sense of humor.”

“The ice magic on electric fans isn’t my idea, though.” I didn’t like the thought of grabbing someone else’s credit, so I had to be honest.

“I see…well, you have a sense of humor, and honesty to pair with that.”

“T-Thanks,” was all I could say before I averted my face. I couldn’t show her my flustered cheeks.

“Any case, Monsieur Junie, is there anything else you’d like to show me?”

I thought for a moment; counting the departments and sections of our branch, there were still a few we didn’t get to see. However, those offices were part of the ‘internal’ process of our system, not the ones that directly deal with the adventurers I don’t think Miss d’Anvilles and the other officials should look into those…

“I believe there’s none that concerns your functions, Miss d’Anvilles,” I told her. “These are only peripheral to our main responsibility of helping the adventurers on their expeditions.”

“I see…” the smile on her face slowly vanished.

“Well, let me guide you to the office of our director, Mister Maranan.”

“I guess the tour ends here, huh?”

I stared at her for a moment, then, I took some paper cups and offered, “Would you like coffee, Miss d’Anvilles, at least, before you go back to the director’s office? My office mates say that the coffee I do is best.”

“Ah, the famous Filipino hospitality,” she giggled. “Yes, please Monsieur Junie! Let me have your office blend.”

-----

After our short ‘coffee break,’ I took our celebrity guest back to the director’s office and left. However, before I went out, Miss d’Anvilles called out to me…

“Monsieur Junie!” she gave me a calling card infused with magic. “I’d like to see you sometime, if that’s okay with you.”

“Oh…alright then, thank you!”

Before I entered our office, I took her calling card and burned it with my lighter. Once I ensured it was thoroughly incinerated, I put the ashes on a nearby trash can, then washed my hands. Then, I got back to my cubicle.

“Junie, what the hell is that?”

“What?”

“You and Miss d’Anvilles,” my co-worker answered. By then, I noticed that our entire section staff stopped their work and just converged at my area, including Ma’am Flor.

“I dunno. I was just looking at my Fesbook then she came to me. Even I was confused at what just happened, don’t ask me why.”

“Heh, rumor is, the Info peeps are raging at you. It was their ‘moment,’ yet you fucked them.”

Of course, hearing that I caused grief in our ‘rival’ department, I felt a sense of accomplishment within me. Nevertheless, I never showed it; office politics could get nasty, and as always, I preferred to work in silence than be at the center of every maelstrom. “Ask Miss d’Anvilles, not me,” I opened my computer and pretended to type something. My workstation was positioned in an angle no one could see what I was doing, anyway. “Well, not that I hate it, but I don’t like unnecessary attention.”

“Still, you’re lucky, man…I’d give everything just to switch places with you back there.”

“Dude, I know you’re looking for a girlfriend, but please, don’t be a simp.”

“So? How is she?” my co-worker kept asking. “Miss d’Anvilles is the kind of girl every man is looking for!”

“Yeah, yeah sure…” I suddenly remembered how Miss d’Anvilles looked at me back then, especially when she learned that the tour ended. It’s as if she never wanted it to end. Shaking off her image from my mind, I went back to typing random stuff on my computer. When my office mates saw I wouldn’t say anything else, they eventually lost interest, and went back to their workstations.

-----

I had no idea of when the people from the main office, including Miss d’Anvilles, left our branch. By lunch break, I stayed in my cubicle to avoid narrating my story to other people. In fact, I couldn’t remember if I ever went out—even to the comfort room—after that encounter. I just typed whatever paper was sent to my desk, and in the process, all the submissions were encoded in record time.

When 5 p.m. came, I barely had time to fix my cubicle. I just stashed the clutters in some hidden corner or under my table, and grabbed my bag. Then, I rushed to the biometrics to log out my workplace as soon as possible. However, I had to retreat; there was a long queue to the attendance clock, and I would have to line up, which also risked getting myself exposed to the gossipers of our workplace.

I’ll logout after 15 minutes…

Just as I did a full ‘u-turn,’ however…

“Ah! Junie, there you are!” It was Ma’am Flor. “Mister Maranan is looking for you!”

“The director?” I felt my heart froze for a second. “Why? I’m about to leave, Ma’am.”

“Ask him for answers,” Ma’am Flor retorted. “Hey, you’re not the only who wants to go home, see? But orders from the higher ups came; they want both of us in his office ASAP.”

In my mind, I could only think of the ‘tour’ as the culprit of why I was summoned by Mister Maranan. Those idiots from the central must’ve been offended by how I presented the deplorable conditions of our agency to their idol, Miss d’Anvilles.

Well, part of office culture. The bosses don’t like it when their employees are honest. Haha…shit.

-----

“Yuuki Lerin Jr., or Junie. I presume that’s from your name suffix, right?” Mister Maranan asked the moment we settled at his office.

“Yes sir,” I replied, though I silently wished to be in another place right now.

“Mrs. Rey,” he turned to Ma’am Flor. “How did he end up in our agency?”

“S-Sir?” my superior was equally-confused at the question.

“Ah,” the director paused, as if realizing he put up a wrong question. He looked at one of the papers on his desk, chuckled, then corrected himself. “My bad. I should’ve asked: ‘Mrs. Rey, why did we hire this person?’”

Ma’am Flor stared at me, looking from head to toe. Of course, I felt awkward. At least, I preferred it if a hot lady would do that instead of a middle-aged hag. She said, “Uh, sir…I’m not really sure what you mean by that. I mean, Mister Lerin underwent proper hiring procedures and was hired according to the requirements put up by our office. And we did proper background checks to ensure we employ ‘safe’ people.”

“Yes, I know that.” Mister Maranan sighed, looked at the paper once again, and then stood up. “Okay, I guess it is better that we talk about the issue in front of the higher ups. Come with me.”

Higher ups? What did I do this time?

Nevertheless, I never had the chance to ask the director about that. He touched our shoulders, uttered a teleportation spell, and my sight immediately transitioned from our small office, and into the grand lobby of the Adventurers’ Agency in Manila.

-----

It took us a few moments before we adjusted to the sudden transfer. Ma’am Flor, as the older one between us, felt dizzy even after five minutes already passed. Good thing a few medical personnel stood at the lobby, and they quickly assisted with a wheelchair. Nevertheless, Mister Maranan wouldn’t delay; he led us to the elevators. It was my first time to come here; I never had the chance to admire the grandeur of the façade…all I remembered was it looked ‘old and arcane.’

“My apologies for taking you here,” he told us. “Even I was surprised by the turn of events, and the higher-ups want us to come at the soonest possible time. So, it had to be done.”

As my superior was still ‘out,’ I pushed her while following the director. Eventually, he brought us to the office of the Secretary of the Adventurers’ Agency—the highest official in-charge of adventurers in this country. Inside, we saw an elf sitting on the grand, elevated table on the other end of the room. She had a white hair, and purple pair of eyes that looked straight towards us…

Wait…is she staring at me?

“Lady Menea,” Mister Maranan greeted her with a bow. “I brought Mister Lerin as Lady Yanari requested.”

Huh? Someone else requested for me to be here? What for?

“Ask Lady Yanari, Mister Lerin,” the elf told me, without opening her mouth. Is she speaking to me through telepathy? And she can read my mind?

“Many of us wind elves can read someone’s mind, and yes, we can also ‘see’ through your hearts!”

Another elf entered the room, though this one stood smaller than the first elf, Lady Menea. She exuded an air of dignity, like those of a noble. But, unlike the former, the second elf wore her golden hair in twin tails, and she had a fiery red pair of eyes. Another thing that caught my attention was the smug on her face. Mister Maranan immediately knelt before her, to which Ma’am Flor followed.

“I don’t need you kneeling down on me, Mister Lerin,” she told me before I could even do it.

Huh?

“Don’t ‘huh’ me,” she laughed. “Let’s say this is my way of paying respects to you.”

Paying respects to me? But I’m just a lowly employee!

“Let me introduce myself; I am Lady Yanari, an elf from St. Petersburg, Russia. Nowadays, I head this branch of the Adventurers’ Guild, which I specifically requested from the big bosses in New York. However, back then, I was an adventurer. Nice to meet you, Mister Lerin!”

“Uh, it’s also a pleasure to meet you, Lady Yanari…?” I reached out to her for a handshake. However, the elf grabbed my arm, and before I could even react, she pulled me close to her face and received my very first kiss!

Well, on the cheek, of course. And after a long while…

“!!!” Both Mister Maranan and Ma’am Flor were flabbergasted. Of course, I had the same reaction.

What is that for?

The elf laughed, though her cheeks were slightly red. “So, I’m happy you haven’t lost that ‘virgin vibe’ of yours, Mister Lerin…or should we call you Yukie of OyasumiSe7en?”

“Whaaaaat?!” Ma’am Flor’s voice echoed throughout the room. More than myself, she was the absolutely clueless one.