When Raine woke up in the morning, he got ready and left the house.

As always, it took him just 30 seconds to arrive at the branch.

Yesterday, it had also taken him only 30 seconds to get home, and when it came to working overtime, there was nothing more convenient than living this close.

Moreover, it was probably because he lived so close that Erika could bring him sandwiches.

Feeling grateful for the great place he had managed to find, Raine entered the branch and went up to the second floor.

Sure enough, Erika was already there.

"Oh, good morning," she greeted him with her usual beaming smile.

"Ah, good morning. Thanks for yesterday. It was delicious," Raine replied.

"It was really good!" Erika chimed in.

They both expressed their thanks and returned the washed lunchboxes.

"No, no, it’s the least I can do. Oh, by the way, Raine, you have a letter," Erika said, pointing to Raine's desk.

"A letter?" he asked.

A pale pink envelope was sitting on his desk.

"It’s from Lady Adele, a noblewoman," Erika explained.

Adele...

"Raine, it’s a reply to your apology letter and thank-you note," she continued.

"Isn’t that quite fast? I only sent it the day before yesterday," Raine said.

It must have been express delivery.

"Shall we read it?" Erika asked.

"I’ll read it later. I want to finish today’s tasks first," Raine replied.

He put the letter away and began working on creating magic stones for the day.

Erika began her task of transforming iron ore into iron.

As they continued with their rather monotonous tasks for a while, Helen dozed off, and the branch manager came up the stairs.

"Oh, you’re hard at work," the branch manager said as he approached them.

"Good work," Raine said.

"Did something happen?" Erika asked.

"I heard we’ve taken on an urgent request," the branch manager explained.

Did Erika report it? Raine wondered. He certainly hadn’t.

"It’s not a big deal. But the deadline is tight, so I’m going to charge them heavily," Raine said.

"Yeah, do that, do that. I’ll leave that part to you," the branch manager replied.

So, that meant Raine had to make the invoice too. They hadn’t even given an estimate, and the client had shortened the deadline without consulting them, so Raine planned to overcharge them.

"Branch Manager, could you let the town mayor or someone high up in the military know about this urgent request?" Raine asked.

"Hm? You want to prepare them in advance?" the branch manager inquired.

"Yeah, something like that. Actually, I think Major Esmarhi is doing this on his own, and the higher-ups don’t know about it. After all, there’s no such thing as an urgent request for magic stones," Raine explained.

No matter how much of a noble he was, a major wouldn’t be able to make decisions involving millions on his own.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"I see... How’s the progress?" the branch manager asked.

"We’ve completed 62 out of 100. We should be done by the end of today, and we’re planning to deliver them tomorrow," Raine reported.

"...Can you really finish that quickly?" the branch manager asked, surprised.

"I’m a third-class, you know? I may not be that great as a person, but I have skills," Raine replied confidently.

He was a skilled professional who had been on the elite track.

"You’re really saying that about yourself..." the branch manager chuckled.

"It’s the truth. I’ve never failed a job," Raine said firmly.

"No, not that part..." the branch manager clarified.

Oh, he means the part about not being great as a person, Raine thought.

"…That’s true too," Raine admitted.

"Alright… In any case, I understand. I’ll head to the town hall and the military office now," the branch manager said.

"Please do," Raine replied.

With the branch manager heading out, Raine and Erika resumed their work.

When lunchtime arrived, they ate lunch and continued working diligently through the afternoon.

"Erika, the second one was faster," Raine noted.

Erika had already finished converting the second iron ore into iron. It was only 2 o’clock, earlier than the day before.

"Yes!" Erika replied enthusiastically.

"The third one will be even quicker," Raine encouraged.

"I’ll do my best!" Erika responded.

They continued their work until it was past five. A quick glance at Erika showed she was fully focused on her alchemy, with about 80% of the iron ore already turned into iron.

"There’s no rush, so you can finish it tomorrow," Raine suggested.

"I want to finish at least this much today," Erika insisted.

Raine understood that feeling. If it was just a little more, you’d want to push through.

"Make sure to claim overtime pay," Raine reminded her.

"This is actually my first time..." Erika admitted.

What a laid-back workplace... Raine thought.

"I see..." he murmured.

…Now, what should he do?

Raine had only two more to finish. Would it be okay to finish up and leave early? he wondered.

He glanced over at Helen.

"Raine, you’ve been working non-stop since last night. Maybe you should take a break. It’s not good for your health," Helen suggested.

Take a break and time it right, huh... Raine considered.

"Maybe I will... Erika, do you want some coffee?" Raine offered.

"Oh, I’ll prepare it," Erika offered.

"No, it’s fine. I’ll make it. It’ll be a nice change of pace," Raine said.

He stopped Erika, who was about to stand up, and headed over to where the tea set was kept to make some coffee.

He prepared two cups of coffee and placed one on Erika’s desk before sitting down himself.

"Thank you," Erika said.

"Sure," Raine replied.

He took a sip of coffee and, to pass the time, pulled out Adele’s letter and opened it.

He began reading the letter.

"What does it say?" Helen asked.

"Well, first, she says she’s accepted the apology and not to worry about it anymore," Raine read aloud.

"That’s good, isn’t it?" Helen said.

Isn’t that just a polite way to say it? Raine wondered.

"She also said she was happy with the hotel arrangements. And there’s the usual pleasantry of inviting me to dine if I ever return to the capital," Raine continued.

The usual polite invitation to dine if ever back in the capital.

"It’s not just a formality," Helen insisted.

I’m not going back to the capital, so it’s just a formality, Raine thought.

"It’s not like I’d actually go to dinner with her. What would I even talk about with Adele?" Raine questioned.

"Well, you were classmates and worked together at the same place, so you could talk about your school days or work or anything, really," Helen suggested.

That’s the tricky part, though, Raine thought. He didn’t really remember much.

"If it ever comes to that, you’d have to come along. With someone as lovely as you there, everyone would be smiling," Raine teased.

"That’s kind of sad, isn’t it... Anything else in the letter?" Helen asked.

Anything else… Raine thought.

"She asks, ‘How’s your life over there? Are you busy with work?’... Wait, do I need to reply to this?" Raine wondered.

I mean, does she really want to ask that of someone who’s been demoted? Raine thought. Is she picking a fight? No, Adele wouldn’t be like that...

"If she’s asking, then you probably need to respond," Helen said.

Seriously...? Raine thought. He had assumed a simple apology and thanks would have been the end of it.

"Another letter, huh..." Raine muttered.

"She’s a friend, right? That’s just normal," Helen said.

Normal... Raine thought.

"Hey, are Adele and I really friends? We haven’t had a decent conversation," Raine pointed out.

Even though the letter starts with ‘Dear Raine,’ Raine thought.

"You’ll build that connection from now on. That’s what the letters are for," Helen explained.

How troublesome, I don’t need friends, I’d rather just ignore this... Raine thought.

"Erika, do you have any friends?" Raine asked.

He thought he might be intruding, but he asked anyway.

"Of course!" Erika replied.

Well, Erika is friendly, so she must have lots of friends, Raine thought.

"Have you ever thought they were a hassle?" Raine asked.

"Yes, I have," Erika admitted.

What? Raine was surprised.

"That’s an unexpected answer..." he said.

"Everyone has bad days or days when they aren’t feeling well. Sometimes we argue too. It doesn’t feel great then, but the fun times you spend together, playing or just being together, those memories outweigh the bad ones," Erika explained.

I see... It’s not about thinking in absolutes, Raine realized.

"Maybe I should write back..." Raine considered.

"I think that’s a good idea. And listening to you, I think you should ask about how Adele is doing with her work as well," Erika suggested.

Huh? Raine was puzzled.

"Why?" he asked.

"I think she’s asking about your work because she wants you to ask about hers. That’s just how women are," Erika said.

"...Is that so?" Raine