If You Don't Have Strong Connections, Don't Come Here as a Nepotism Hire

I was the only one in the whole department who knew that the new guy was actually a nepotism hire.

The name Sufu Hiro only appeared on this year's hiring list. It wasn't there last year, or the year before that, or the year before that...

The whole story about how he graduated from college, took the civil service exam for years, and finally passed this year was a load of crap!

Sure, he was handsome, had a way with words, and was great at his job, but none of that changed the fact that he was a nepotism hire! I wouldn't tolerate one under my watch. I had to get rid of him!

Heh. I'd give him assignments from the Security Planning Division and make him deal with those arrogant Public Security officers upstairs!

Heh. I'd make him coffee and deliberately leave out the sugar, so he'd have to choke it down anyway!

Heh. I'd invite him out for drinks after work every day, get him drunk, and make him late to work the next morning!

OMG, I had no idea I could be so cruel. How terrifying!

But I wasn't a bad person. I was doing all this to make that nepotism hire realize he wasn't cut out for the job and give up.

Three months later, the nepotism hire was still stubbornly hanging on.

With that kind of perseverance, he could succeed at anything. Why insist on clinging to this dead-end little office?

I decided to stop beating around the bush.

“Furuya, did you know there's a nepotism hire in this office?”

“You mean me, right, senpai?”

He admitted it without hesitation, speaking in an unhurried manner. “But I don't think I've been getting in your way.”

“Huh? What makes you so sure?”

I said flatly, “Listen. There can only be one nepotism hire in this office, and that's me! If your connections aren't powerful enough, what kind of nepotism hire are you? Getting parachuted into the Image Analysis Unit doesn't prove anything. If you're so capable, get yourself parachuted into the Security Planning Division. Otherwise, I'll make sure you're out of here!”

Furuya, who had turned down the Security Planning Division three times: ...Huh?

+

After his identity was exposed, his undercover mission was cut short. Under the handler's arrangements, Furuya, whose situation was rather delicate, temporarily took up a post in the Image Analysis Unit.

In that tiny office, he met a very unusual senpai.

They introduced him to their Public Security colleagues upstairs, made him a cup of coffee every time they brewed some, and often invited him out for drinks and a chat after work.

But the most unusual moment came after one night of drinking, when he heard that thoroughly drunk senpai slur:

“...I know. You're wasting your talents here.”

[A lighthearted short story. Everyone survives, and the pairing is Furuya. The first 20 chapters are first-person office life; after the identity reveal in Chapter 21, the narration switches to third person, but it stays serious for all of about three seconds. By the time the mystery is revealed in Chapter 23, the main plot is basically over. Chapter 27 is a related prequel, and Chapter 25 includes a little related aftermath. Chapters 24, 25, 26, and 28 are the romance arc. Feel free to jump straight to whichever parts you like. Thanks for reading.]

Theme: Set things right, and choose love and peace.