Draconia Offline vol. 1

24.2. Not Coming Back - Part 2

We finish eating and Erik makes me buy a croissant as a snack for later. Then we head back to Liana's office. I expected Emi to be long gone but she's still there, sitting in front of her laptop and typing something. The kittens are playing around her feet and look happy. I can feel Emi is sulking a bit but otherwise it seems the ladies reached some kind of compromise.

"Great, you're back," Liana waves at us from her table without looking away from the screen. "From now on, we start at 8 o'clock, okay?"

I look at Erik with horror. As someone who used to stream until late at night, I was never an early bird. I was hoping that Liana would go for traditional office hours but no such luck. I have a boss who is a workaholic.

"We'll finish work earlier and go sleep earlier," Erik, who is perfectly used to irregular work hours that often include getting up inhumanely early, tries to comfort me.

"That actually depends on our workload," Liana has to disappoint us. "This isn't one of those jobs with fixed hours."

I gulp but I should have known. It's not like any of us, not even Liana, can anticipate what we will be dealing with in near future. Damn, we have another meeting with the Czech government tomorrow, right? I'm not ready at all!

"L-Li?" I ask carefully. "What kind of job division did you come up with for incoming Draconians?"

"Jobs will be given ideally based on one's education and previous work experience, of course," she says and narrows her eyes at me. "So?"

"So... wouldn't it be better if I was helping with something else? I can continue doing videos and... I don't know... become a magic instructor perhaps?"

Liana isn't even trying to resist rolling her eyes. She does so ostentatiously. Erik chuckles and shakes his head, amused that I'm still trying to get out of ruling my race.

"Sit," she points towards another table that is opposite to Emi's. "And work, no excuses. I've already set today's tasks for you and Erik."

I don't have the courage to oppose her when she's like that—uncompromising. I sit behind the table, Erik next to me, and we switch on the computers. The moments the screen is on, I can see virtual sticky notes of my tasks:

1. Contact university and finally discontinue your studies. - Okay, I admit I was postponing that because I still don't feel like doing it even if I have to. But I know that I can't return to school and I wouldn't have time for virtual lessons. Still, I'm impressed Liana keeps track of my personal stuff.

2. Call Deminas (with Fefnir).

3. Training magic. – Oh, looking forward to that.

4. Brainstorming ideas for tomorrow's meeting. – Dreading it.

5. Call Werden and Twyla (with Ingri).

6. Call Gotrid and Gin (with Emi).

I glimpse at Erik's list and except for task 4, it's very different from mine. Wait! Does it mean we won't be together that much today? I doubt I'll be calling other race rulers from Liana's office as I would be distracting them. It's evident Erik just realised the same thing because he got irritated inside. Are we really too attached to each other? Well, at least I'll finally have the opportunity to test it out.

"Lunch together," I nudge him reassuringly. He nods but keeps frowning. Still, he starts working right away.

I reluctantly open my student's dashboard. The process is as simple as putting a request to the student affairs office but it still breaks my heart to do it when I recall how hard it was to get in.