Layze's Story

Admin! I've been looking for you for some time.

I need someone to take a look at the equipment acting up in the security office.

Send us someone good.

What? Again?

Damn it, I don't really have anyone to spare....

Hey. Intern. You go.

*Yaaaawn*

Hey, Layze!

Oh... were you talking to me?

Yeah. Stop slacking off during work hours! Earn your pay!

Ahhhh... please leave me alone....

Over here.

Here. There's something wrong with this makeshift generator.

*Sigh...*

What happened here? This one's completely dead.

What have you done to this, really? What a bother....

I'm just gonna shut it down and unplug this wire....

Well, that wasn't too hard.

Hey. It's all repaired....

Argh. Why isn't it working?

Excuse me.... I want to go....

I have this conditional statement here, but the result is....

Can I go now?

Oh, please be quiet for a moment.

The servers keep crashing, and we're very busy.

Oh, dear. Well, I'll be going then.

It doesn't work because it's coded like that....

What... did you say?

Oops... I said that out loud.

If you know something, come here and give it a try. We want to go home, too!

Ugh... okay.

Change the strings like this from here... and do this, then....

It's working!

I'll put the servers back up!

Wh-who are you? Are you a hidden expert? How did you solve it?

Well, I dunno. I had a look and I thought it might work....

I'll get going now.

What? Go where?

It's been a while since we've found a talent like you...

... There's no way we'll let you get away.

Uh, uh, what are you doing? Why are you grabbing my arm?

If you don't want any trouble, follow us quietly.

We won't let you go until we've extracted every ounce of coding knowledge from your brain. *Evil cackle*

Cooperate with us, and there won't be any bloodshed.

Wait! Let go! Somebody save me!

Come on, take her to the back room!

I'm done deploying, I'm off for today....

Ugh, I'm gonna get back to my seat and roll around for a while.

I was very surprised at first when I was kidnapped and locked up, but after a while, I'm getting used to this life....

Still, the occasional night shifts are annoying....

Anyway, I gotta get back and roll around....

Layze, it's me! Your chief!

Oh, it's the Maintenance Chief.

I came here to find you because you didn't come back. What are you doing here?

Well, as you can see....

That's not important! Save the explanation for later! It's urgent and I need you to come now!

Ugh, no. I'm done here, and it's time for me to relax.

Please! This has something to do with the mayor!

She has developed an automated lemon tea delivery machine...

But a maintenance worker made a mistake, and the lemon tea concentration is having a problem!

The mayor will be furious tomorrow if we don't fix it!

Please, Layze!

Ah. Ahhhh....

Please? Please?

Ahh... alright....

Is this the lemon tea machine?

Let's see... This is the part that mixes the powder and water.

Yes. I trust you, Layze.

But what's that horrible mess of cables?

Huh? Oh, that?

The mayor's working on a cable organizer, and she took some samples and sent them back down.

I guess the prototype's not working properly yet, because the cables came back more tangled up than before.

They aren't important anyway, so I'm just leaving them alone for now.

Yes.... It would be better to leave them alone.

That would be better... but....

Can I organize them just a little bit?

Huh? Sure, that'd be very helpful.

I'll sort out... the main cables....

Here are the cable ties.

Since I got the cable ties, I'll do a bit more....

Ohhhh, you're good. It'll be done soon, huh?

If you divide this section and tie it like this....

But aren't you going to get off work, Layze?

Ugh. I want to stop, but my hands are moving on their own...!

I can't stop organizing the cables!

Maintenance Chief. Is Mayor Elena's lemon tea delivery machine repaired?

Oh, Miss Amelia! That's....

...!

Wait a minute. Who tidied up these cables?

It was Layze here. She's an intern in the Equipment Maintenance Room.

I see. Layze?

Yes....

Come with me right now.

You're the elf with the talent I've been looking for.

I hereby appoint you as Mayor Elena's official cable organizer!

Oh, and by the way, I won't take no for an answer.

Where will I be taken to now?

I can't even be bothered to refuse anymore....

*Sigh* Why does the mayor always call me out of the blue to organize cables?

But it was done quickly today, so I'll hurry home and laze around for the rest of the day....

Layze!

Ugh... not again....

You're done organizing cables, right?

Good, come with me to the Equipment Maintenance Room.

There is a lot of equipment to repair today as well.

It seems like you're taking me for granted and making me do additional work.

Hey, c'mon. Don't be a stranger.

I'll buy you a can of Let It B at the convenience store after the repair, so please?

Ugh....

Up until now, I was too lazy to refuse and run away, so I just went along quietly....

But I can't stand it anymore!

Hey, wait! Layze!

Wait!

Phew... I barely managed to give her the slip.

When can I get some rest? When Monatium collapses? Whew.

I'll grab a drink and catch my breath.

Huh? All that's left is... ew, Dr. Peppa?

Ugh, this will have to do....

Dr. Peppa. Got good taste, have you?

Who... who are you?

A genius hacker... at your service, I guess? *Chuckle*

Oh... right.

I overheard you saying something about wanting Monatium to collapse. What exactly do you want to see happen?

Huh?

I didn't mean it seriously. I just said it in the heat of the moment because I was tired and wanted a break....

If Monatium collapses, it's bad for me too.

The scale suddenly became realistically small. What a bummer.

If I had to wish for something, I wouldn't want the world to end...

But I wonder what it would be like if there were a power outage throughout Monatium for a day or so.

Then I could just relax and not think about anything during that time.

Hehehe... Just imagining it makes me happy. I'd laze around all day....

A total power outage.... Then I won't be able to play League of Elves.

My rank will drop if I don't play it for a day....

But that's okay. Let's go.

Go where?

To show off the gloves... I mean, to show my skills as a player?

Just trust me.

What a weird elf she is. Seriously....

Layze! It's an emergency!

H-Huh? What's going on?

The power plants have stopped generating electricity due to a mysterious hacking!

We're currently supplying power with backup generators, but we don't know how long this will last.

We have to fix this while we still have power.

If we don't... Monatium will fall into an eternal abyss....

Noooooo! Anything but that!

A total power outage....

Is it the elf from last night?

What are you all doing? Is this the best the Security Team can do?!

I was in the middle of developing a new product, but now everything's stopped!

How much emergency power do we have left?

Just enough to keep us going until tomorrow night.

When will the power be restored?

That... we can't say.

It would've been simple if it were just recovering from a power outage, but the power plants are still being hacked...

We don't even have access to the recovery system.

Unless we catch the hackers and tell them to stop, given our current situation....

Is that all you can tell me?! Come in right now and explain it in detail!

Ahh... let's go. And get a good hiding.

Layze, please stay here and see if you can come up with something.

Come up with something....

This must be the doing of that elf I met at the convenience store yesterday.

But how do I find her? I don't know anything about that elf.

No... I know two things.

She drinks Dr. Peppa and she is a good League of Elves player.

If that's the case...!

If I can't find my opponent, I'll make her come to me!

She ripped into us all night....

Ugh... I think I'm going to drop dead any moment.

By the way, Layze... what are you doing?

I'm looking for the cause.

Did you play LoE all night?

You're already a ranker?

90.1% win rate... That's ridiculous!

What are you doing, Layze?! Is it time to be playing games when we're almost out of the emergency power?!

Our opponent will come, I know she will...!

Oh, the hacking has stopped!

I got calls from the thermal and hydro power plants that they're starting up again!

Layze! Over here!

Please party with us in League of Elves!

The washbasin in our barracks is leaking!

Ugh....

Ever since I solved the power outage incident, more and more elves have been asking me for help.

And I feel like I'm getting used to this kind of life....

Thank you, Layze!

You're the best, Layze!

Thank you for that. Take this and eat it later!

It feels somewhat rewarding too....

But... how did I end up fixing an arcade punching machine?

Thank you! Our VIP customer has been in a bad mood because she couldn't use the machine for the past few days.

But now that you're here, Layze, it'll all be fixed!

Start it up and it should work fine.

I'll be going then....

Hey, Boss! Did you get the punching machine fixed today?

I haven't punched it for a few days, and my fist is itching!

Chief Canna! Of course!

Our technician here has just taken care of it, so it should be working fine now.

Huh? Aren't you....

The elf who fixed the faucet in our barracks?

So your name was... kuhum....

... My name is Layze, and I'm currently unaffiliated and taking care of odd jobs all over Monatium.

That's right. Layze.

I heard that you can fix everything quickly, and many elves are asking for your help.

Yet... you're currently unaffiliated?

Yes. Miss Amelia told me to go around and help out rather than being tied to a department....

Oho. So you're not officially affiliated with anyone right now, huh?

Great! You can join us!

The Suppression Unit needs talent like you!

Huh...? But Miss Amelia is the mayor's secretary and she assigned me this position...

Is it okay to change my assignment like that?

Hmm? Miss Amelia?

Ugh... but it would be a shame to lose such a talent right in front of my eyes....

Gah, stuff it. Come with me to the Suppression Unit anyway!

If you work hard with us and produce results, Miss Amelia will have to accept it too! Hahaha!

Oh, wow. Layze... is being dragged away.

It's okay. She seems to be enjoying being dragged around and working lately.

Come to think of it, hasn't Layze forgotten what she was like?

She used to just idle around and always tried to run away when there was work to be done...

But now, she never refuses and works hard when someone asks her.

She used to be so lazy, but she's a hard worker now.

Now that I think about it, you're right!

She's forgotten her roots. Boo....

Hang on, isn't it better that she's become a hard worker...?

After all, we've gotten a vacation for the first time in six months thanks to her.

Anyway, see you later, Layze!

I'll call you if we need you again!

Here, Layze.

Erm... What are all these guns?

*Sigh* The rookie on duty last time used water instead of oil when she was disassembling these to clean them.

So now some of the guns are rusted, and some are actually broken and don't work.

We're doing a full inspection, so check these and repair any that needs fixing.

I'll leave it to you, then!

Uh, wait...!

I may be a jack of all trades, but this is a bit...!

I've never repaired a gun before, and when am I going to finish all these...? *Sigh*

... Hmm? Oh?

This looks defective here.

Inside there... how do I fix it?

Oh. I know how to make that better!

Huh?

Under that breech block... do this... and replace it with this....

Like this...?

Yup. Then take that out and put it in here...

What about the empty spot here...?

Why not patch it with this?

Ohh... Then doing this will....

Ta-da! It's done!

That's cool, but....

Isn't this too different from the original gun?

I wonder if this is okay...

You used the same parts to make a new gun, didn't you?

We call it heavy modification in technical terms. It's a very creative and cool thing to do!

It was quite fun, yes.

Yup, yup. And you're especially good at it.

You're very quick and hard-working! I wish my brazier elementals were like you.

I'm hard-working?

Yup. Otherwise, you couldn't have followed it even if you knew what to do.

Oh, oops. I'm gonna be late for my appointment.

I'll be going now. Thanks for the fun!

I'm... hard-working...?

When I've always tried my best to be lazy...?

There you are, Layze!

My goodness, you've finished them already? You're hard-working as always.

Am I really hard-working?

Uhm... I guess so?

At first, you definitely liked to laze around and grumble every time you worked...

But you gradually became more hard-working, and now you do things without grumbling, even when no one asks you to.

Of course, you still say you want to slack off, but you've become a diligent elf!

... I've become diligent?

I'm still the same old me, but I've turned into a diligent elf....

Has Monatium souped me up in some way, too?! Is that what's going on?!

Ahaha, I don't know what you're talking about, but I'll take these guns away.

Thank you for your hard work!

I'm suddenly confused. I need something to calm my mind....

Being lazy is good, but something that can help me focus....

T-That's it! I'll calm my troubled mind by doing heavy modifications!

I'll go and heavily modify anything I can get my hands on!