Civil Servant Marigold

1.

Was this also a kind of arrogance?

It seemed Lancel had become too accustomed to being the one rejecting advances. He had even turned down a princess’s proposal, so there was no point in saying more.

Lancel’s attitude towards Marigold had been the same. He had been trying to avoid raising her affection for him too high.

Of course, that was still the case now. Marriage with Marigold was practically a bad ending, so there was no point in reliving it, only to add another bitter memory.

However.

“Lancel, please step back a little. You’re too close.”

“……”

Did he hear wrong?

Lancel was shocked.

Her attitude after boarding the train was completely different from her previous life. The way she turned her face away and kept a slight distance was clearly visible to him.

‘No way!’

This was the first time he had experienced this since meeting Marigold. Lancel had always been the one to back away first, not her.

Now it was the opposite.

“We’re traveling together for the mission, so it’s difficult if you get too close. Please understand.”

“Ah, okay.”

Lancel wiped away the sweat. Even in his hundreds of years of life, it had been a long time since he had been this flustered.

“Ahem……”

Marigold was busy fanning herself with her sleeve, avoiding his gaze, as if she was hot.

“……”

Lancel had to distance himself from her, still unable to escape the mental confusion. She told him to step back, so what else could he do?

It was true that he had been too close as soon as they met. It wasn’t out of ulterior motives, but simply because he was happy. He was so happy to face Marigold in her ‘normal state’. That’s why he did it.

Because.

Before coming here, Lancel had just encountered Marigold, who was overwhelmingly abnormal compared to all the previous iterations.

.

.

.

“Human!”

“……Marigold……?”

After the regressionist Marigold died, Lancel couldn’t find her for a full four years in the next iteration.

He naturally thought she was dead. Marigold was too close to death anyway.

But she was alive.

And very well.

“Give me food, human!”

“……Is this for real?”

A little too healthy.

“Hurry! Right now!”

It was pure luck that Lancel found Marigold in the southern forests of the Empire.

There was a rumor that a ‘blonde female monster’ had been sporadically appearing in the forest and robbing food. He had never heard of such a rumor in his hundreds of years of memories, but he moved his steps with the thought that maybe it was her, and it hit the mark.

“Hand over the fruit in your bag! Then I’ll let you go!”

“Whoa, put down the spear. It’s dangerous.”

“You have two! Give me one!”

“How did you know I had two?”

“I can smell it!”

“You have a great nose.”

She was wearing clothes that barely covered her chest and lower body with animal skins. A woman wielding a spear and leading nine wolves.

It was Marigold, the natural woman.

‘What kind of life have you been living, Marigold!’

Lancel closed his eyes tightly for a moment in despair, then quickly regained his senses.

He had to do what he had to do.

“Can I just leave it there?”

“Yes!”

“I’ll leave both.”

“Human……Could it be, you’re a good human?!”

“……”

The mental shock hit his brain, but he found Marigold again anyway.

“I’m here.”

From the next day, Lancel consistently visited her.

“Human! Are you going to eat that?”

“Yeah, I’ll leave it here.”

One day.

“You came again! I wasn’t waiting at all, but I’m glad to see you, human!”

“You’re a human too. I’ll leave it here.”

Two days.

“Where do you get so much fruit! Tell me your secret!”

“Huh? I bought it at the market.”

“Eek! Market! Scary!”

“……?”

One week.

“Thank you, human. You’re the best human.”

“I told you, you’re a human too.”

One month.

“Human. Can you stay with me and not go anywhere?”

“I’ll do that if you live in the city.”

“N-No, I can’t go to the city! I want to live in nature, human.”

“What happened to you in the city?”

“Heeing!”

One year.

“Ugh, just have a child with me!”

“……”

“Aah, don’t run away!”

Three years.

“Human, I built a house for you. It suddenly rained the other day, and it was a little difficult to go back, right? From now on, you can sleep here. Take a look, it’s very spacious and nice. There’s also a bed made of wool. How is it?”

Ten years passed like that.

.

.

.

[Playtime 10 years 0 days]

—Marigold has turned 25 years old.

—No marriage partner.

—No achievements.

[Normal Ending 98. The Barbarian Marigold of the Cabin]

—The ending has been added to the ‘Album of Memories’.

—Opening the album.

‘I’ll do all the hunting, farming, and gathering. Human, just stay by my side. You don’t have to do anything.’

Marigold, who once ran away to the forest because she hated humans, her wariness has now melted away like snow.

‘Now my dream is to create a kingdom. From today, I’ll gradually increase the number of houses, build a village, and fill the entire forest with my beloved family. This treehouse will be the starting point. How is it, human? Huh? Where are you going to get all those people from? What are you talking about, human?’

The eyes of the great barbarian Marigold gradually become wild.

‘Don’t you understand what it means to create?’

[Normal Ending. The Barbarian Marigold of the Cabin – fin]

—Would you like to restart the game?

.

.

.

“……”

Lancel shuddered.

The fierce eyes of the natural woman Marigold were still vivid.

How could he not be happy? Marigold, who was not only human but also had a decent job.

Marigold, who had a job at the Imperial Central Administration, which was probably the best place a commoner could get a job.

1.

It wasn’t easy to meet Marigold in this iteration either.

The first hurdle was that she wasn’t seen on the streets of the Imperial Capital, and the second hurdle was that she was a much more virtuous talent than Lancel thought.

==========

—Congratulations! Merigold has been selected as the top graduate from the Academy’s Administrative Archives and Records Department!

==========

‘Academy?’

No wonder he couldn’t see her.

It wasn’t swordsmanship or magic. Administrative Archives and Records Department. It was a field of study that vaguely acquired knowledge of the Empire’s administration, laws, records, geography, management, history, etc., and it was also a condition for the start of the so-called ‘Imperial Administrator Route’.

There, Marigold had become the valedictorian on her own. It had been exactly three years since the iteration began, and it was the year she turned eighteen, an adult.

‘Well, it’s good anyway.’

He didn’t know what the conditions for a happy ending were, but he knew the most certain thing.

‘There’s nothing more intuitive than being materially wealthy.’

Lancel immediately went to the Academy where Marigold was.

“Um, Sir Lancel? The thing is, Miss Mary is… rejecting all personal sponsorships…”

“Huh?”

Lancel, who had brought a lot of gold, tilted his head at the words. She hates money? Who? Marigold?

To Lancel, who clearly remembered her overwhelming miserly behavior in the merchant route, the words of the Academy official were unexpected in many ways.

“We’re telling her to just accept most of them, but she doesn’t want to be indebted to any nobles personally, so it’s a little difficult to persuade her.”

“It’s unusual for someone attending the Academy not to receive sponsorship.”

“Well, maybe Miss Mary has big dreams?”

“She wants to become an administrator.”

“There’s no reason not to make connections with nobles unless that’s the case.”

There were two main routes for Imperial Administrators.

1.

Attach yourself to a noble and become a local administrator.

2.

Continue to rise as an Imperial Administrator and reach the level of manager.

Most administrators fell into category 1.

Because it was much easier, more comfortable, and paid well.

The mandatory working period in the Imperial Capital was 20 years, and after that, the general mindset of administrators was to enter the service of a local noble and live as comfortably as possible. The Empire used that as an excuse to legally exploit manpower for at least 20 years.

But Marigold didn’t want that. Why?

“If Miss Mary changes her mind, tell me.”

“Yes, Sir Lancel.”

After that, he tried to contact her several more times, but Marigold’s mind remained unchanged. Lancel had no idea how far her goal was in this life.

In the end, Lancel got the opportunity to meet Marigold when it had already been about three months since she graduated from the Imperial Capital Academy and became an administrator.

==========

—Regular Event! You have started your first job as an Imperial Administrator. Starting today, we will begin recruiting escorts to accompany us on administrative tasks. I hope it’s a good person.

==========

“Is it now?”

“……Huh? Sir Lancel?”

Lancel immediately jumped up from his seat. He neatly ignored the puzzled look of Baron Ibil Shen, who was sharing tea with him.

The escorts who accompanied the administrators were usually mercenaries recommended by the Empire. It was a job that was far below the level of someone with the status of a knight.

“Yes? An escort? Sir Lancel, you mean?”

Of course, it wasn’t a problem for Lancel.

“This is usually something mercenaries do, why would someone like Sir Lancel bother…”

“Do I have to satisfy your curiosity too?”

“It’s not that…”

“Or just do as you’re told.”

He could just ignore them.

Lancel easily participated as Marigold’s escort.

The rumor that there was a strange knight who was willing to go through hardships to follow a new Imperial Administrator only briefly circulated among the Imperial Administrators.

“Nice to meet you! I heard you’re the one who will help me with my work. I’m Mary, a records officer at the Imperial Central Administration.”

Through this complicated and eventful process, Lancel was able to meet Marigold again today. Yes, with high expectations.

But now.

.

.

.

“After the workday is over, we’ll separate until the next morning. Of course, we’ll use separate rooms.”

“……I’m okay with it, but are you going to be okay? What if you get attacked while you’re sleeping?”

“It’s okay. I won’t be traveling in areas that are that dangerous. I appreciate the thought.”

“……”

Why?