Chapter 57

The Investiture Ceremony had concluded without a hitch, and while I thought things would settle down, my workload had actually increased.

“Yes, Lord Demon King, please make sure to finish all of these.”

Torualina placed a mountain of documents on my desk.

“This is too much. Is this some kind of harassment?”

“No. These are the standard operational documents that were put on hold before the ceremony, and they’ve all arrived at once. This is only a small fraction of them. I expect more to arrive from the relevant departments soon, so I look forward to your cooperation.”

“This is exactly why I hate big events… Daily life is supreme… In the end, the backlog always catches up with you…”

No matter how important an event may be, routine business must proceed without interruption. The approvals for those tasks simply arrive with a time lag. Unfortunately, avoiding this is impossible.

“I sympathize with your plight, Lord Demon King.”

“If that’s the case, at least show a hint of pity on your face. You’re wearing a poker face like an iron mask.”

Torualina continued her work, her hands moving silently and mechanically. Sometimes, I even wondered if she was an incredibly sophisticated artifact.

“This is just how my face is, so it can’t be helped. Besides, I understand deep down how difficult this must be for you. Why? Because I am also incredibly busy!”

Her expression didn’t change, but her voice was louder than usual.

“Ah… naturally, there’s no way you’d be fine while I’m swamped…”

“Exactly. I’m busy enough that I’m starting to feel murderous!”

“Yeah, I can definitely feel the bloodlust, so I don’t doubt it.”

When a workplace becomes extremely busy, the atmosphere sours, and eventually, efficiency drops. That was exactly the state we were in now. It was never a good thing, and it wasn’t fun having someone in the same department being constantly irritated.

I had to do something about it… I needed to improve the work environment.

I clapped my hands together with a sharp “Pop!”

“Alright, let’s increase the staff. We’ll have two secretaries!”

“Increase them? I’d appreciate the help, but can we really do that so quickly? Well, I suppose you could force it through with your authority as the Demon King.”

Torualina was well-versed in such matters.

“Also, not to toot my own horn, but to have someone perform at my level of administrative ability, they would need to work here for fifteen years. I feel like I’d even take help from a Slime’s tentacles right now, but a simple-minded Slime-class worker really wouldn’t cut it.”

“I’m not expecting that level of performance. However, they should at least be able to handle assistant duties. I’m going to open a public recruitment for a fixed-term temporary staff position right now.”

I immediately began drafting the job posting.

Job Description: Administrative assistance in the Demon King’s Office.
Working Hours: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Break Time: One hour and thirty minutes.
Paid Leave: Available.
Transportation: Expenses covered.
Salary: 300,000 Demon Gold per month.
Contract: Renewed annually. Premised on potential recruitment as a mid-level civil servant in the future depending on performance.

Something like that. For a fixed-term employee, the salary was quite good, but since the room handled important documents, a high wage was appropriate.

Besides, if someone with questionable abilities showed up, it would only make Torualina’s mood worse.

If that happened, it would be putting the cart before the horse. One must not be stingy in these matters. Understand that lowering the salary only lowers the quality of the applicants.

Alright, while I’m at it, let’s throw in a bonus twice a year too…

“What do you think of these terms?”

I showed the draft to Torualina.

“I wonder if anyone worth 300,000 Demon Gold will actually show up.”

“I’m telling you now, no bullying them into quitting just because you think they’re useless, okay…?”

Torualina was excellent, but she was the type of employee who lacked cooperativeness. To put it differently, she was incredibly cold to incompetent people. Incidentally, she was a specialist in ice and snow magic, but apparently, that was just a coincidence.

People like her have a tendency to stop delegating to those they find useless and try to handle everything themselves. I couldn’t have her collapsing under the weight of her own workload, so I had to let some air out of the tires.

One could argue that I should just hire someone cooperative as a secretary, but some people in this world simply excel at solo play. That’s just how society works. I believe being the Demon King means being able to control subordinates like that effectively.

“I have a feeling the Demon King is looking down on me right now.”

She was sharp. As expected of my secretary.

“What’s wrong with looking down on you? I am the Demon King…”

“Fine then. Is it alright if I handle the interviews? I’d prefer to bypass the Personnel Department to avoid the hassle. The regulations state that for temporary staff, there’s no requirement to include personnel officers as long as I have authorization to conduct the interviews.”

She really had no intention of doing this peacefully… Moreover, she planned to decide everything herself.

But then again, if we hired someone Torualina hated, the atmosphere in the office wouldn’t improve at all. In that case, leaving it all to her might actually be the right call.

“Fine. Let’s go with that. However, as long as you’re the one choosing, don’t just sit there complaining about the staff we hire. Take responsibility for your own choice.”

“Understood. I have confidence in my eye for people, and I have a solid reputation for it.”

Despite that, I thought to myself that she never managed to get a boyfriend, but saying that would be a sexual harassment case, so I kept my mouth shut.

“And for your information, I also have a reputation for my eye for men. I simply make sure not to date pathetic ones.”

“I haven’t said a word.”

That was a classic line from someone missing their chance at marriage, but hey, a lifestyle without marriage should be perfectly acceptable too. Yes, everyone is different, and that’s okay.

“Anyway, go tell the Personnel Department that we’re recruiting.”

“Yes. Please wait and rest assured.”

And so, the official recruitment for a temporary staff member began.

I even let Torualina handle the interview scheduling. I left everything to her from start to finish. As a result, it didn’t add to my workload—killing two birds with one stone.

Two weeks later, Torualina stepped out of the office several times, saying, “I’m heading to the interviews.”

It seemed we had finally entered the interviewing phase. I hoped she would hire someone capable.

Then, a few days later.

Torualina, who had been checking the resumes of the interviewees, stood up from her desk. She walked over to the shelf and took out the “Hired” stamp.

Then, she pressed the “Hired” stamp onto a single resume.

“As a result of a rigorous screening process, I have decided on this person.”