I Became a Civil Servant Who Can Use Magic

A heavy silence descended upon the dining room.

In the suffocating stillness, Loen raised her eyes and quickly scanned around the table.

“……”

Her parents’ faces full of concern and occasional sighs, and next to them, her brother still on the verge of tears.

Loen lowered her eyes again. She just focused on cutting and eating her steak.

No matter how much of a ruthless inspector wielding the blade of purges she might be, at home she’s just an ordinary daughter, so…

An uncomfortable mealtime continued for a while.

Then suddenly, Loen’s mother, Karin, opened her mouth.

“Is the Inspection Corps work manageable?”
“Yes.”

Karin’s eyebrow twitched at her daughter’s nonchalant answer.

“Loen, I’ve heard plenty of rumors about you. Among them, there were quite a few stories that were hard to believe.”

Karin continued.

“But rumors are often exaggerated and easily distorted, aren’t they? It seemed quite different from the truth, so I sent you a letter wanting to hear directly from you.”

Loen nodded at her mother’s words and finally opened her mouth.

“Well, what happened was…”

Somehow got involved in a war …… even received treatment as a goddess …… executed a noble who was instigating internal strife as an exampleㅡ.

“Wait, you suddenly… did that to his neck?”
“Yes.”
“..”

Karin and Karl exchanged glances for a moment.

“Continue your story.”

Had a final battle with a dark mage …… invaded the city and purged the opposing nobles gathered thereㅡ.

“Wait, you personally carried out the purge? Of all those nobles?”
“Yes.”
“And the aftermath?”
“I handled that personally too.”
“..”

Extreme shock.

This was the common reaction of the family members who heard Loen’s Barrier chronicle.

This is…
If anything, the rumors were ‘less’ than the truth.

Silence fell upon the dining room again.
Everyone in the family was at a loss for words.

It’s true that Loen had been in conflict with her family over the subject of adventure, but this was purely due to differences in stance.

Rather, looking at personality alone, there are few people as virtuous as Loen.

She didn’t act arrogantly riding on the family’s prestige,
Nor did she ever slander or bully others.

She always showed courtesy even to the servants in the mansion.
She didn’t neglect her training either.

This level of conduct was close to that of a sage. At least by noble standards.

Therefore,
The Loen that her family saw was:

An unusual ducal daughter who rejected the noble framework,
But someone with a heart more delicate(?) and warm than anyone else.

At least by her family’s standards.

To think that a child they thought was like this had transformed into a cold-blooded person carrying out bloody purges in just half a year…

It was truly mind-boggling.

Loen’s father, Karl Franz, who had been silent until now, opened his mouth.

“Loen.”
“Yes.”
“Are you alright?”
“About what?”
“I mean, are you really fine after doing such things?”

Loen pondered.
Am I alright? Of course.

“Of course. I think there’s nothing particularly problematic since everything I did was with proper justification.”
“If that’s how you think, then that’s a relief.”

Karin narrowed her eyes at her husband, who nodded at their daughter’s words. What are you trying to do?

Karl, deliberately ignoring his wife’s gaze, pondered.

It’s true that he was surprised by this unexpected side of his daughter.
But that’s all.

After all, he himself is someone who has countless times bloodied his hands to reach his current position.

So how could he say his daughter’s actions were wrong?

Above all.

‘As a descendant of Franz, of course she should have that level of decisiveness and sharpness, yes indeed.’

Karl fully understood his daughter’s actions.

However, separately from this.

‘Nevertheless, it’s true that her methods were too excessive.’

Considering her age and experience, Loen’s actions were somewhat excessive.

It’s not for nothing that voices of concern are coming from around.

However, if Loen’s dream is to become a powerful figure that makes everyone tremble in fear, then it wouldn’t matter.

But knowing well that she’s far from such a person…

Karl felt the need to address this once for the sake of Loen’s future.

After much deliberation, Karl opened his mouth.

“Anyway, Loen. You did well. Given that it was revealed they had conspired with dark mages, purging was the natural course of action. You did what you had to do as an inspector.”

Karl, who took a sip of wine, continued.

“But for such an important matter. I’m just slightly disappointed that you carried it out all by yourself from start to finish.”

Is that something to be disappointed about?
Loen tilted her head.

“It would have been enough to execute the key instigators as an example, then leave the rest to others.”
“That’s true.”

Karl stroked his chin and expressed his doubt.

“By the way, weren’t you the type to avoid attention-grabbing actions?”

Loen nodded slightly.

“Then why, no. We can’t change what’s already happened. From now on, refrain from actions that might draw someone’s vigilance. Even now, the number of people watching you has increased. I believe you understand what I mean.”

Johan and Karin, who were observing the situation, added a word.

“That’s right, sister. There’s no need to shoulder everything alone.”
“I think so too, Loen.”

Afterwards, the family united in one mind and heart to remove Loen’s thorns one by one.

No, wait a minute.
Loen thought this wasn’t something to make such a fuss about… but her family seemed to think differently.

In the end, under her family’s fervent support and encouragement, Loen transformed into a new person.

“From next time, I’ll think twice before acting.”
“Yes, that’s good enough.”

The family members let out sighs of relief.

However, whether things will go according to the family’s wishes remains to be seen.

The first family gathering in the dining room ended like that.

Karin, who had been tossing and turning for days worrying about her child, returned to the bedroom.

Next, the second family gathering began in the reception room.
The participants were Loen, Karl, and Johan.

“Father, how is the imperial successor competition going?”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t tell me you’ve suddenly become interested in power, sister!?”

Just as they were letting out sighs of relief, the family members became worried again at Loen’s sudden bomb drop.

For a daughter who had never shown interest in power her entire life to suddenly ask about the imperial family?

“No, that’s not it…”

Of course, it’s not that Loen has become interested in power.

Just before reaching 5-star, when she decided on her direction.

She had resolved to acquire enough power not to be swayed by surrounding circumstances.

At the same time, she also resolved to get involved in family affairs and increase her influence.
Not active involvement, but just to the extent of offering advice.

That’s why she asked such a question.
Because she needs to know the surrounding situation to decide whether to get involved or not.

“I was just curious about the current situation.”
“Undercurrent work is still in full swing.”
“So there won’t be an intensification of competition right away.”
“That’s right.”

In addition to this, after learning about the surrounding political situation through additional questions.

Loen was convinced that now was the appropriate time to start building the family’s influence.
Clearing her throat, Loen opened her mouth.

“From now on, I’d like to gradually offer my opinions on the family’s future.”

The family members were surprised once again at Loen’s words.

It’s not that it was an absurd statement.
It’s quite common for a capable family member to act as an advisor to the family head.

It’s just that she’s doing something she usually doesn’t do, so they wonder if she’s eaten something wrong.

Karl called Johan with a surprised expression.

“Johan.”

Since Johan Franz was the one who would lead the Franz family in the future, he was asked to make the decision.

While Loen was staying in the Inspection Corps, Johan had also been living a very busy life. While receiving successor training, he gradually took control of the family’s real power. Under his father’s help, he even elicited loyalty oaths from the family’s retainers.

He was now the de facto ruler of the Franz family.

So Loen was cautious too.

It’s not that she doesn’t get along with her brother, but when people actually gain power, their thoughts can changeㅡ.

“By all means, sister.”
“..?”

This quickly?
Loen was rather taken aback by the answer without a hint of hesitation.

“You’re exceptionally capable, after all. I rather welcome it.”
“I-I see.”

Johan Franz, the heir to the Franz family.
In his opinion, Loen was a pitiable sister now as she was before.

With her heart that cherishes family, she even gave up the successor position to her brother, and then was almost dragged into joining the Inspection Corps…

‘According to my childhood memories, sister was someone with a delicate heart who was even afraid of catching insects with her own hands.’

For reference, the size of that insect was as big as Loen’s palm.
It was at a level that would terrify a modern person.

‘She was also someone with a kind heart who never said a harsh word to others.’

At that time, Loen’s only interests were magic and adventure.
So she was completely indifferent to surrounding matters. With no interest, there was no reason to waste energy saying unpleasant things.

‘To think a person could change so much in just half a year!’

The Inspection Corps life must have been incredibly difficult.
Otherwise, how could a person change so drastically?

Well, the fearfulness of the Inspection Corps is known to everyone, so it must have been no ordinary task for my delicate-hearted sister to adapt there.

Moreover, she belonged to the notoriously infamous Inspection Department!

Johan stopped his thoughts there.
It felt like tears might burst out again.

‘I will lighten sister’s burden even if just a little!’

Loen’s confusion deepened at her brother’s increasingly wistful gaze.
Is the successor training that hard?

Anyway, it was good for Loen that her brother expressed active support.

“Ah, before that. Do you know Duke Goldpiece by any chance?”
“Of course. I exchanged letters with him recently. He expressed his intention to fully support you. So I sent a reply asking him to wait until I heard your opinion.”

Ferdinand Goldpiece, who had declared his support for Loen and presented a 4-star artifact as a gift.

At that time, before firmly deciding on her direction, she had just greedily accepted the gift and paid no attention.
But now the situation has changed.

As the duke exerting the greatest influence in the west, his support would be of great help in expanding the family’s influence.

“Please send a letter to the duke accepting his declaration of support.”
“Butler.”
“Yes, young master.”

Johan called the butler and ordered him to carry out Loen’s request.

“And about the Barrier.”
“Should we send a letter there too, sister?”
“No, before that.”

Johan’s sparkling eyes were very burdensome to Loen.

“Have you heard of muskets by any chance?”
“Isn’t that a weapon used by elves?”
“Recently, it’s widely used not only by elves but also among the allied forces on the eastern front.”

Karl and Johan answered in turn to Loen’s words.

“Even so, wouldn’t the outcome of battles still depend on knights and mages?”

Karl Franz showed a negative view on muskets.
In fact, this is the general perception.

The current soldiers were merely for filling numbers. Especially from the perspective of the imperial army overflowing with high-grade forces.

However, what needs to be kept in mind is that it takes at least several years to decades to cultivate high-grade forces.

Until now, there’s been no problem with force supply due to the accumulated personnel pool.
But who knows what will happen in the future?

Loen continued speaking.

“There’s a dwarf blacksmith named Hans at headquarters. Recently, I heard he succeeded in developing muskets.”

However, there was no group willing to buy the weapon he developed…

Loen suggested the idea of pushing for supplying muskets to the Barrier.
Given the Barrier’s characteristic lack of high-grade forces, Baron Ridite would gladly accept it.

It wouldn’t be a difficult task assuming the Franz family mediates between Hans and the baron.

“That’s a good idea. I’ll give separate instructions to the guild.”

Afterwards, Loen offered a few more suggestions.

“I’ll review it positively.”
“We’ll do so.”
……

Only positive responses came back without exception.

Oh? They agree to everything I say?
Even Loen wondered if this was right.

As the second meeting was coming to an end.

Loen suddenly dropped another bomb.

“Lastly.”
“You mean reaching 5-star? I’ve been aware since I felt your aura change.”
“Not that, there’s more..”

More?
Karl’s expression became subtle.

“I also mastered triple casting.”
“……”

This time, even Johan couldn’t hold back.

“Your joke goes too far, sister.”