Beyond a Thief's Power (All Ages Version)

Episode 10

An Abnormal Day at the Ministry of Finance and Elsewhere

It was during the lunch break at the Ministry of Finance. At that time, a bunch of co-workers were having lunch with Riki; a circle formed his group of chums—most he had known for years. Nonetheless, they were still welcoming and wonderful to be with. The only thing was that Riki was perhaps the most ordinary person in the group, which was mostly filled with females. Not regular women, but magicians who had come from Neon. There were some males other than the handsome individual, so it wasn't so bad. Like the women, there were men who were magicians but one of them wasn't.

"Riki," the other human man began. He had beautiful fiery orange hair and red eyes, yet he looked more feminine for a guy around Takuto's age. "You seem to be doing well today. Is it because your wife prepared your lunch as always?" While he was younger than the black-haired superior, he seemed to chat with Riki like a close friend.

With a fine smile, said employee spoke in a kind manner. "You're faring well yourself, Claire. It's hard to believe a former celebrity such as yourself is working at the Ministry of Finance with me. Your appearance suits the entertainment industry, rather than the business field. But yeah, I love my wife's cooking. It's actually better than mine, and it makes me happy to have a boxed lunch full of love from her."

"Well, I'm done with entertainment related careers and schedules for good," Claire replied. Despite having a feminine name, he was definitely a guy—voice, build, stature; practically every part of him was manly but his given identity. "Besides, I can't keep being a celebrity for the rest of my life. I don't precisely hate doing plenty of jobs per day, but even I need to take a breather and detach myself from overexerting my stamina. Many celebrities work through busy schedules, but... you know how it is for them. I believe you should seize your youth while you still can. I don't really need to do the same thing over and over again anymore, so I decided to do what my gut pointed me to."

Riki asked with an astonished expression on his visage, "So you came here based on a whim? Wow. You're something."

"Fame isn't everything," Claire replied, "but it has gotten me to where I am now. I don't mind that there are people who are surprised to see me working here. I like trying new things and going on adventures." He let out a laugh as though he was joking before continuing his chat. "Haha, time will take you to lots of places, after all!"

A female magician with long, fanned white hair [reaching down to her upper thighs] had already closed her eyes, and held a white teacup handle in her right hand that matched the rest of the cup. With elegant movements, she took a sip of the tea before placing the cup back on the authentic china. Then, she placed them both on the glass table and opened her eyes, revealing a bright color of cyan. She was quite an adorable and beautiful woman to behold. "I've always thought about this, Riki-san, but you and Mitsuki-san have yet to take the same surname. Though, I never mentioned it before now, I believe it would be best for you two to discontinue being 'Riki Yanase and Mitsuki Saionji.' You're married to each other, so this shouldn't be an ongoing thing when it's already been nine years."

"That's right," a male co-worker [who had teal hair and light green eyes] nodded with closed eyes and folded arms. He opened them afterwards, looking directly at Riki. "Nao's got a point, Riki. It's strictly a tradition and law for a magician and their spouse to take upon a surname for their household, regardless of the male or female's. This is a decision that must be done after the wedding rings are exchanged at the wedding. As marriage for us must only be between a male and female magician, you two are the first to break these two laws because this is the first marriage in Neon's history to be recorded as one between a human male and female magician; thus, Mitsuki-senpai's already suffered the consequences of being banished from Neon, and a high power reduction and usage since the day you two got married. That's what female magicians have to go through if their romantic partner is human once that law has been broken. When someone breaks the rules, they will inevitably suffer severe consequences, but since Mitsuki-senpai is a member of a Great Family, it wasn't completely bad for her.1 However, it does prove that abilities/powers and privileges can also be taken away."