Isekai Office Worker: The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter (異世界の沙汰は社畜次第)

You're back?

Hello.

Even with my barrier, I can feel the stifling magicules around me again today.

Good grief, you're just increasing my workload.

That should be my line...

If your branch had submitted its income and expenses report on time,

there would be no need for an investigation.

That whole business is entirely for you, isn't it?

Besides, the Church exists outside the kingdom's authority.

Who do you think you are, demanding we submit

yearly income and expenses reports?

This is their attitude after being designated

as the kingdom's primary religion and receiving subsidies?

I'd really like to meet whoever's in charge of your accounting.

Brother Cipriano isn't here.

The royal palace is investigating, and the person in charge is absent?

When will he return?

He went to a meeting in another town with Bishop Mateus,

so he won't be back for a while.

This Bishop Mateus again...

I'll show you around the church, so make sure you keep up.

THE OTHER WORLD'S BOOKS DEPEND ON THE BEAN COUNTER

I WENT TO WORK ON MY DAY OFF

I've grown used to working in the palace,

but the church has a completely different feel to it.

There are more statues than just Abran.

Are they important religious figures or perhaps gods?

There's a barrier around them to keep anyone from messing with them.

So that was from magic just now, not magicules.

Either way, I'd better be careful.

Let's get on with the next explanation.

He sure likes to talk a lot when it comes to the church.

The fire hour, huh?

We don't really have anything here for you...

But, well, since you're a representative from the royal palace,

we've no choice but to feed you.

Oh, there's no need for that.

I brought my own lunch, so please don't worry about me.

Damn it!

Okay. It's time for lunch... which means I have some free time.

The civil servant...

Pleased to see you again, Priest Siegvold.

Where is Selio?

He went to eat lunch.

And left you behind?

No. He invited me to join him,

but I declined since I brought my own lunch.

I see.

Where are those documents from?

They're visitor logs from the assembly hall.

Please get permission before removing any documents.

I attempted to speak with the person in the assembly hall,

but I will make sure to get permission next time.

Have you finished your lunch?

Where are we?

This is a flower garden created by the holy maiden before last.

She said that flowers soothe the human heart and cared for this garden herself.

The holy maiden of two generations ago...

I believe records say she became a nun on the outskirts of the kingdom.

She must have settled down at this church after fulfilling her duties.

Could it be... that he's monitoring me?

I heard that you're the otherworlder

who was summoned alongside the current holy maiden.

Yes, that's right.

I see...

Actually, I was present at the time of the summoning.

Come to think of it, were people from the Church there then?

Thank you for answering Abran's call

and doing your utmost with the holy maiden to save this kingdom.

No, I was just dragged into—

I mean, I happened to come along with Shiraishi—

Her Holiness as a normal person with no power whatsoever.

I don't deserve such thanks.

No. The summoning ceremony manifested

divine revelation bestowed upon us by Abran.

There is meaning to your arrival here.

If that's the case, I wish you'd taken better care of me.

You are, after all, a disciple sent to us by Abran.

I'm nothing so grand...

This must be what it feels like to have a mission unconditionally thrust upon you

and high expectations placed on your shoulders.

This was Abran's will.

What is it, Pavel?

Norbert, we haven't gotten very far on this. Will we be all right?

Sei-san won't be back for a whole month!

We have plenty of time!

When did I say that this was all the work you'd have for the month?

S-S-S-S-Sei-san?! Weren't you temporarily assigned to the church?!

Today's my day off.

Then what're you doing here?

I came to see if you were slacking.

I'm kidding. I only came to do my own work.

No, you should rest on your days off.

Then when would this backlog get done?

Am I allowed to tell Commander Indolark about this?

Won't it be bad if you run into each other here?

It'll be fine. Aresh-sama never comes here alone.

Oh, you shouldn't eat that!

It's not that I can't eat such foods forever.

I'm slowly building up a tolerance.

You are?

Then do you wanna go drinking tonight?

Have you been listening to me?

That's too bad.

I wanted to hear about the church.

Oh, I actually wanted to ask you about that myself.

Have you been to the church before?

Of course!

All citizens are baptized by the Church at the age of six

and undergo a coming-of-age ceremony there at eighteen.

As I'd expect of a national religion that 90% of the populace believes in.

We even give offerings to the Church during seasonal festivals.

The Church feels closer to people than the royal palace.

Nobles who own land support their local churches,

while nobles who don't either support

the one in the royal capital or the orthodox church.

Now that I think about it, I saw many noble family names in the visitor logs.

Also, a lot of the positions in the Church are normally held by nobles.

As I suspected, that priest must be a noble.

The only ones allowed to work in churches are those who graduated

from the almshouse or nobles with lots of magical energy.

That's because you need plenty of it

for prayer ceremonies and sacred relics.

So the magicules aren't just from the barriers around the sacred relics.

No wonder I felt so uncomfortable.

If it weren't for Aresh-sama's barrier, I might have collapsed on the first day.

It's you again...

Thank you for all your help.

Selio is... I suppose there's no need to ask.

What a troublesome child.

Do whatever you want!

He's very devout in his faith,

but his honesty to his own emotions is a bit of a problem.

I believe it's quite normal at that age.

Besides, it would seem he never liked me to begin with.

True...

He's always had an inferiority complex toward nobles and civil servants.

If they assigned him to me knowing that,

the church must feel very strongly about the royal palace indeed.

Of the monks in training, some have no families, and the majority are commoners.

They instinctively reject anyone from the royal palace.

I wish I could reassign you another guide,

but I cannot go against the orders of Bishop Mateus.

No, please don't worry about it.

The church is open year-round.

Their jobs and lives here are intertwined, so they learn as they work every day.

Being raised in such a closed-off environment from a young age

is bound to instill a biased set of values in them.

The church can prepare meals for you.

Many foods disagree with my constitution,

so it's easier to bring my own lunch.

I have no resistance to magicules or magical energy,

so I show symptoms of overdose if I consume foods containing them in excess.

Overdose?

Yes, holy magic and recovery spells have the opposite effect on me.

Though they'd heal injury or illness,

I'd break out in a fever from magic-sickness.

But the holy maiden...

I suspect she received divine protection, as she was formally summoned here.

Yes, divine protection... That's true.

Then that must mean...

You are the tribulated disciple.

Come again?

Your inability to adapt to this world must be a trial given to you by God.

I think I just flipped a switch!

What an incredible sense of déjà vu!

If I'm not careful, I might get strong-armed into monastic training...

I just happened to tag along when the holy maiden was summoned!

No!

Everything God does has meaning.

Is that right?

Ist-san...

Ist-san.

It's Kondou.

I've come to get a progress report on the return spell.

Oh, Kondu! Long time no see.

The otherworlder is amazing.

BLABBER BLABBER BLABBER BLABBER

Even we can't understand some of the stuff Ist-san says.

Are all otherworlders like that?

I think something's just wrong with him. He's similar to Ist-san...

Not only do you lack manpower,

but you also lack the funds to buy tools required for your research.

Huh?!

Are you going to buy them for us? When? Tomorrow?

I didn't say we'd buy them yet.

I'll be at the church tomorrow, so I won't be able come by.

Then bring me back one of those sacred relics.

That's obviously not happening.

Good grief...

Kondou-san! It's been a while!