Chapter 85

[Equipping Effect: When performing your duties, your work efficiency will increase, and you’ll more easily receive support from within the organization, as well as access to all relevant resources.]

[Advancement Path: After independently resolving more difficult tasks multiple times or leading teams to complete relatively important missions several times, this badge will automatically upgrade to the Silver Badge “Key Member”.]

[Hidden Feature (No need to wear): Due to being a relation of someone important, after achieving success, you’re more likely to gain appreciation from your superiors, and your promotion speed will also increase accordingly.

However, at the same time, because of your relational status, colleagues at the same level or lower may have reduced evaluations of your abilities.]

“…”

Eh, whatever. Since I get promoted faster and it’s easier to obtain resources from the Clearing Bureau, I don’t care if their opinions drop. As long as I can grab the benefits, that’s fine.

With mixed feelings, Leon carefully closed the badge panel, tucked his ID away, then bid farewell again: “Thank you, Director. If there’s nothing else…”

“There is~”

Once again stopping Leon, the red-haired director glanced at his somewhat exasperated expression and smirked before pulling out an envelope from the drawer and pushing it across the table.

“Here, the witch sent you a reply. Once you’ve read this letter, the Witch’s Broom will reactivate, and the mission infiltrating the Lane family can continue.”

Just by reading this letter?

Looking at the weird red envelope tightly bound with a wide strap on the table, Leon hesitated for a moment, not daring to take it right away. Instead, he cast a dubious glance at the red-haired director.

“Director, if I open this letter, will it turn into a mouth and start screaming at me wildly?”

“Hmm?”

Surprisingly glancing at Leon, the red-haired director curiously asked, “How did you know? Have you met another witch who sent you a yelling letter?”

“…”

So…it really does?! “No…I’ve never even seen a witch in my life…”

Sighing heavily while picking up the envelope, Leon reluctantly started opening it while casually bluffing:

“I just read a novel about wizards where the author mentioned that when wizards are mad, they send letters that can shout… Whoa!”

The opened envelope suddenly transformed into a big mouth, biting onto Leon’s finger, while the triangular-toothed strap used to tie the envelope scratched wildly on his hand like cat claws.

But despite its ferocity, since the materials were paper and thin ribbons, the “yelling letter” struggled furiously against Leon’s hand for quite some time but ultimately couldn’t leave a single scratch.

After a while, the letter seemed tired from scratching, paused for a rest, then its two corners slightly stood up, forming something resembling cat ears, and it opened its “mouth” to roar loudly at Leon.

“Meow! Meow meow meow!”

“…”

“She says you’re the rudest, most disrespectful, and most barbaric human she’s ever met in her life.”

Leaning aside and listening to the feline language for a bit, the red-haired director smiled sweetly and translated: “She says she won’t forget the shame you brought upon her in this life, next life, and the one after that, especially when you pointed at a basin full of sand and asked if she could use it as a toilet.”

“…”

How was I supposed to know you weren’t just a normal cat…

After hearing the translation from the red-haired director, Leon helplessly scratched the back of his head.

Harry Potter’s cats eat cat food, snack on dried fish, and use cat toilets. I assumed all wizard-raised cats would be similar…who knew your intelligence was comparable to a regular human’s…

Seeing Leon looking utterly frustrated, the red-haired director, as the mastermind behind all this, continued translating gleefully: “She asks if you realize how much damage such behavior causes to a lady?”

“…”

Yeah, yeah, probably equivalent to a massive insult, huh?

Speechless, Leon opened his mouth, listening to the clearly furious “meows,” and curiously asked the red-haired director,

“Director, you actually understand cat language?”

The red-haired director shook her head.

“Nope.”

“Then is it telepathy or something?”

“No.”

Smirking at Leon, the red-haired director answered,

“I’m guessing~”

“…”

Guessing…I bet you’re bored without alcohol and are messing with people again. I shouldn’t have even asked…

Speechlessly glaring at her sideways, Leon quietly listened to the “cat letter” and then pushed the door open to leave the office, intending to check on the condition of the Witch’s Broom. However, just as he pulled the office door open, he collided with a short, slim man.

“Ah! Sorry!”

Though short, the man was surprisingly robust. After knocking Leon off balance, he quickly helped steady him and apologized profusely,

“I was rushing to report to the director and wasn’t paying attention…”

“No problem, no problem. I was heading out in a hurry too.”

Although slightly hurt, seeing the remorseful look on the short man’s face, Leon smiled, waved to indicate it was fine, and quickly left the director’s office.

And once his footsteps faded, the previously remorseful-looking man grinned and looked up at the red-haired director sitting behind the desk, curiously asking, “Director, why was there cat noises earlier? Something about a basin toilet and a lady’s disgrace? Did you get a cat?”

“Spare me. I wouldn’t dare keep a cat, especially with people like you around.”

Glancing at the short man, the red-haired director tapped her knuckles on the desk and seriously asked, “How’s the thing I had you do going? Did you find out who summoned the Holy Spirit for the Scale Gold Religion?”

“Since you asked me to handle it, naturally I could find out.”

Hearing this, the short man confidently smiled,

“I controlled 300,000 ants and checked the scent of everyone who went to the shopping plaza recently. There were only a few dozen people with traces of contact with the Scale Gold Religion.

Then I sent out 20,000 rats and 3,000 crows to monitor those people day and night, locking down the most suspicious targets. And…”

“Alright, alright, I know you worked hard.”

Seeing the man indirectly claiming credit, the red-haired director couldn’t help but rub her temples and promised directly,

“This counts as a great achievement. The animals’ feeding expenses will be covered by the bureau! Count it as a month’s worth! Plus, there’s a bonus! Now tell me the result!”

“Got it, I’ll thank you on their behalf~”

Cheerfully thanking her, the short man continued reporting,

“The result is, the person who summoned the Holy Spirit was the three families who colluded to scam Chal Department Store… Oh, and my rats dug through the secret chamber under the Rose family mansion and overheard some news.

Those three families couldn’t compete properly in business, their attempt to cause trouble with the Holy Spirit got cleaned up by our bureau, so they resorted to kidnapping the only daughter of the Chal Department Store boss, planning to force him into submission with brute force!”

“Understood, those damn nobles are truly troublesome!”

Rubbing her temples, the red-haired director sighed headache-inducingly, “By the way, did they summon anything else?”

“Nope.”

The short man shook his head,

“Not sure about later, but at least during these few days, there hasn’t been any movement.”

“Alright, then continue monitoring them. During this period, the bureau will cover double the feeding expenses for your ‘friends’… Oh, by the way.”

At this point, the red-haired director’s eyes slightly narrowed as she extended her hand toward the short man.

“What did you steal from Leon earlier? Show it to me!”

(End of Chapter)