I Became the Second-in-Command in a Romance Fantasy Novel

“Dirty…”
I looked at Violet as Bell muttered, slumped as if she had given up on everything.

“Finally, the GL Drift…”
I had expected this day to come someday, but never thought it would be today.
“Shut up. Take her back to her room.”

Violet frowned deeply, clearly not in the mood to joke around, so I left the dog in the dormitory.
“So, what is it?”
Why did the mood suddenly become so tense?

“She’s a mid-boss.”
“How strong?”
“Just below Silence.”
So she was beatable.

“She didn’t look like it at all.”
The bitch panting like a dog was actually a ruthless villain from the romance fantasy novel? What on earth had happened…
“Oh.”

Now that I think about it, the dark mages tried to use living people as sacrifices for something. And after failing repeatedly, the romance fantasy’s male lead Ellen was controlled.
“Our bitch was that strong?”
“You, don’t ever interfere in naming children when you get married. What kind of name is ‘bitch’ anyway?”

Grumbling like that, Violet revealed an important piece of information that’s still relevant even though the original story has been messed up.
“She may look like that, but she’s the daughter of the wolfkin warlord.”
“No wonder she’s strong.”

A warlord was equivalent to a knight commander among humans. Among the beastkin factions, the wolfkin warlord was influential enough to claim friendship with the princess.
“What happens in the original?”
“To save Bell alone, the beastkin including the wolfkin joined forces. But in the end, they couldn’t break the mental control and died.”

“Wow.”
We really were their lifesavers.
“So, what should we do?”

“A school trip? I think we should take her. Most forbidden areas are inhabited by other races. According to her, there are other beastkin villages.”
Nodding at Violet’s suggestion that it would be good to establish ties in advance, I asked,
“But what exactly did she do to come back in such a tattered state?”

“I just made her transform into human form to check her body.”
“……”
“Aren’t you going to look away?”
Violet shouted at me in surprise at my subtle gaze.

“Vacation’s over.”
“……”
Violet realized that she, not I, was the one who should be looking away.

Having confirmed that my dog was actually SSR rank, I had no choice but to keep her on a leash instead of abandoning her.
So the first thing I did was:
“Sir, the dog I found long ago is the daughter of the wolfkin warlord. Beastkin are coming to the Academy. Since I plan to take her on the school trip, please come when the beastkin delegation arrives.”

“……?”
Uncle Aerin, whose dark circles deepened as the school trip approached, blinked about fifteen times, then sighed deeply after thinking for a long while.
“Did you fall asleep?”

He muttered as if he’d had a crazy dream. I repeated my request:
“Sir, the dog I found long ago is the daughter of the wolfkin warlord. Beastkin are coming to the Academy. Since I plan to take her on the school trip, please come when the beastkin delegation arrives.”
“You bastard! What the hell are you saying?!”

“What do you mean? I’m saying the dog’s family will come looking for her, so please tell them to come.”
“She’s not a dog!”
“She even mimics dogs herself. Isn’t treating her like a dog fair?”

“Ugh!”

I looked at Uncle Aerin’s bald spot as he banged his head on the desk.
Thank goodness. At least he still has some hair.
“Take it slow, just answer the questions.”

“Yes.”
“You said you found the dog long ago? When?”
“During vacation, when I returned. I think I mentioned it.”

“You little… While you were enjoying your vacation in the Leon Kingdom, what were we doing?”
“Working.”
“Right, working! At the Holy Nation! Getting caught up in that damn incident!”

Rather than getting caught up, those precious ones volunteered to jump in.
“Ah…”
“Damn…”

But since others were suffering PTSD too, I decided to keep quiet.
“Even after returning, I was called around because of that. Who’d remember you just picked up a dog?”
“What does the past matter? The present is what counts.”

“Ha… yeah. So then. That dog is the daughter of the wolfkin warlord?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you say so before?”

“I only found out this morning.”
“……”
His face said he wanted to say so much but was holding back. I understood but felt a little unfair. I really only just found out this morning.

“…Alright, let’s move on. So beastkin are coming to the Academy?”
“When I was in the kingdom, I sent a message. It took a while to reach because they’re far away.”
“Yeah. Beastkin don’t have mages even if they have shamans. So communicating requires primitive methods, which takes time.”

Uncle Aerin, who had been nodding, suddenly stopped.
“Wait. If the Leon royal family sent the message, why not just handle it in Leon? Why bring the beastkin all the way to the Academy?!”
“They don’t want to go. They don’t listen to anyone weaker than themselves.”

“Then they should have sent you, stronger!”
“I already tried, but they said they don’t listen even to stronger people.”
“What kind of guy like you even exists…”

A guy like me? I couldn’t deny the injustice.
“So you’re taking her on the school trip? Why?”
“There’s a beastkin tribe they know over there.”

At that, Uncle Aerin looked at Taylor.
“There are two beastkin tribes and one elf village near Rias.”
Taylor nodded, confirming Bell’s words.

“You’re the Empire’s contact person, and you didn’t know that?”
“I specialize in the imperial capital. External info is better left to outside agents.”
“That’s why the Academy keeps getting breached…”

“D-Do you think Rias is any different?!”
“Sounds like you’re praying for it to be breached!”
At my words, two Empire agents started arguing.

According to Violet, more supporting characters will be added next year, so more people will join here too.
I thought it would be fun if the Empire’s people increased, and we could watch a three- or four-way conflict.
“Well, alright. So you want me to tell the arriving beastkin the news? That won’t be easy.”

After grumbling with Taylor for a while, Uncle Aerin surprisingly nodded and agreed to help.
“Was it really that easy?”
“Yes. It’s such a ridiculous matter. Reporting is hard, but entertaining visiting beastkin is easy.”

“Really?”
Except Bell, I hadn’t met any beastkin, but from rumors, they weren’t easy opponents.
Well, Bell herself isn’t exactly an easy bitch, is she?

“Really.”
But Uncle Aerin smiled broadly, unlike usual.
“Anyway, I’m not the one dealing with it.”

Guess he just planned to kill time.
Tap. Tap. Click.
Watching coffee drip into the glass, a green-haired woman took off her glasses and placed them on the desk.

“They should be arriving soon.”
Sighing deeply, she untied her hair and leaned back in the soft chair.
Then she sighed quietly as she ran her fingers through hair that hadn’t been washed for days.

“Still, it should be quiet for a while now.”
On the outside, she looked like an Academy student.
But in essence, she was a great mage suppressing aging with magic, serving as the Academy director directly managed by the Empire’s royal family.

Joan Helias.
Having not slept for nearly a week due to sending the first-years on their school trip, she took a sip of her coffee while managing her skin with magic.
“I’m so tired of coffee. I want something sweet. I’ll just finish sending this to the royal family quickly. I’ll finish work before noon, leave early, and sleep all day…”

A great mage could summon superhuman mental power with magic to stay awake a week straight.
But staying awake doesn’t mean wanting to.
“I’m taking a vacation. Damn royal bastards. They dragged in old men just to show off that it’s an empire. They were happy to have foreign royals come, but now the Academy’s breach is all blamed on me. I told them to spend some money on preparations in advance.”

Sipping her coffee with both hands, Joan simultaneously handled dozens of documents with magic. Should one admire her as a great mage or pity that such ability was wasted ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) here?
“The budget’s peanuts but the demands are huge. And if it gets breached, it’s my fault again. Just do it. If they don’t, they can blame me later when it gets breached.”
The Academy’s facility budget had an extra zero added, but Joan didn’t care at all.

“Let Rias be breached too. Let all those who came to the Academy go there.”
Muttering words similar to Uncle Aerin’s, Joan finished her coffee, placed the cup on the desk, and clapped her hands.
With the snap, her mana spread out.

The dozens of papers floating in the air increased to nearly a hundred.
“……”
Her red eyes focused on the floating papers.

It didn’t take even a second to check the countless characters written.
Just glancing over them, she confirmed everything and stamps flew onto the papers.
Unnecessary or revision-needed documents were placed back on a corner of the desk.

Stamped papers were neatly arranged on the other side.
Having finished the work of dozens of people in that short time, Joan suddenly stood and stretched.
“Done!”

Tears of mixed joy and sorrow welled in her eyes as she said that.
“Leaving work…”
“Director!”

No one could stop my leaving work!
Just as I resolved that, the door opened without knocking, and Joan’s eyes flickered sharply.
“The royal family?”

Though she was casual with her secretaries, she never tolerated stupid ones who mistook kindness for a right.
“No!”
So the royal family hadn’t caused trouble again.

“Then Leon? Dale? Or another country?”
Did a diplomatic problem arise? Damn it, what the hell?
Joan frowned at the thought of all the possible incidents, but

“Not that either!”
Then only one thing was left.
“Did something happen in Rias?!”

It was something at the first-years’ school trip, which was about to start!
“Not that either!”
“Then what is it?!”

If it wasn’t that, I’d kill whoever disturbed my leaving work.
Joan glared at the secretary, but
“The beastkin have arrived. They said if you mention the wolfkin warrior corps, they’ll understand!”

“…How am I supposed to know that?”
Joan’s hollow expression upon receiving the report from the intelligence agent about the beastkin arriving was the scene two hours later.