Chapter 39

“You come here quite often—.”

I greeted the imperial ultra-elite man sitting in front of me wearing a lamb mask. He looked embarrassed, turned his head, and cleared his throat a few times.

“Did you try the advice I gave last time—?”

“Yes.”

“How was it?”

“It was so frustrating I thought I’d die.”

“Ding-dong! That’s normal—!”

“What?”

I couldn’t hide my delight as I saw him take a step towards understanding the mindset of an ordinary office worker.

“Everyone goes to work feeling that way.”

“R-really?”

His voice trembled with shock.

“Of course~. When the little lamb delivers factual blow veiled as criticism, has anyone ever retorted even once with, ‘You bastard, how great do you think you are? If you’re so good, do all the work yourself!’?”

“…No.”

The gap in rank was so great that even if everyone was furious, they’d have held back.

“It’s not just you, little lamb. Still, at least you stick to work-related topics, so it’s better. There are countless cases where people endure unrelated comments from bosses—like ‘get married,’ ‘your looks are this,’ ‘lose weight’—things unrelated to the job.”

“Is that true?”

“Why would I lie? It’s one of the main reasons many of my clients here feel like quitting.”

“Like being so fat you can’t even hold a pen?”

“Have you ever seen someone like that at work?”

Shake, shake.

The Duke seemed even more shocked than before.

Clap clap!

I clapped to draw his attention.

“So you should see yourself as having more chance of recovery than them. You haven’t hit rock bottom! So get a little more used to it. You’ll adapt quickly—.”

He sighed heavily at my answer that there were no special tricks. It would be easier once he experienced it himself. Maybe I should ask anyway, just in case.

“Then, little lamb, have you never held back the urge to curse when a boss gives you absurd tasks?”

“….”

“You have?”

“Hah.”

He let out another long sigh.

“Surprising. I thought even with a superior you’d say whatever needed to be said.”

“Most of the times I do, but sometimes I can’t.”

If it’s to that extent…

I guessed this and that, then threw out a random comment.

“What, like the Crown Prince? Hehe.”

“…”

He froze for a moment, as if petrified.

“…”

“…No.”

“So it’s the Crown Prince.”

Right, calling the Crown Prince useless or brainless could be an insult to the royal family, so that’s risky. I told him about the functional benefit of the TWCR.

“You checked last time, right? This place perfectly hides both identities and conversations. It was perfect just now. I couldn’t even see which mask you chose when you came in. So even if you curse the Crown Prince here, no one will know—. They don’t know who you are, so who would I go around saying someone said that? And I have no desire to risk my livelihood for that—.”

After all, in modern times people even curse rulers; Quokka (mask) had nothing to fear.

“…It’s fine.”

“Well, it might be hard at first. I’ll do it for you.”

“What?”

“It seems that holding back what you want to say is stressful, and didn’t that Crown Prince order you to do something that made you snap?”

He flinched as if I’d hit the nail on the head. Honestly, knowing his identity made understanding the situation much easier.

“What did he order you to do?”

The little lamb was silent for a while, then sighed again. How many times today was that?

“Right, since we confirmed there are no eavesdropping or recording magics here, nothing serious should happen.”

‘When did he even confirm all that again?’

“I just checked because you could lie and use people’s weaknesses to blackmail them.”

“Right, anyway. You confirmed my innocence, right?”

He nodded and then slowly began to tell the story.

It was the tale of the Crown Prince secretly diverting another department’s budget and blowing it, and now the little lamb having to clean up the mess.

“That’s a crazy bastard, that one.”

“…!”

Because the position was high, the cleanup work was on a large scale.

The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to curse. Royal family members are symbolic figures who can’t be refused in this world, aren’t they?

“Does he think imperial citizens’ taxes are his personal pocket money? If you lack ability, at least stay still—you’re just dead weight to carry around. Is this someone they can call as the Crown Prince?”

He was silent to my words. I began to get nervous that I’d crossed a line.

“Is this too much swearing?”

Still no response.

“If it’s unpleasant, I’ll stop. Sorry.”

“…Keep going.”

“Huh?”

“Seems to make me feel good. This.”

For some reason I felt like the lamb mask’s mouth corners had lifted into a smile.

I picked apart the Crown Prince’s trash behavior piece by piece. The little lamb, who had been quietly listening, soon began to hold back laughter.

“Kuhp, kruk.” (choked laughs)

“I’m the only one listening, so laugh freely.”

“Puhahaha!”

He laughed so hard his body shook.

‘Is this really that funny?’

I didn’t quite understand, but laughter meant he’d overcome the urge to quit, so I let him laugh his fill. The imperial ultra-elite man calmed down after a little while.

“I didn’t expect Master Quokka to put into words what I wanted so well. Your profanity skills are quite impressive.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment—.”

“It’s a compliment. I liked that it wasn’t random swearing but had logic.”

He said this as he placed a gold coin as consultation fee.

“Come by often from now on.”

“Yeah, take care—.”

Only after he left did I come to my senses.

‘Ah! This isn’t what I wanted!’

An unwanted client looked like they were becoming a regular.

I tore at my hair.

Two weeks later, the Minister of Finance sent a letter proposing dinner, saying he’d buy.

‘So he didn’t ask to me to join out of courtesy?’

I vowed not to casually accept future dinner invitations. I could unexpectedly end up with trash for company.

Luckily the Marquis’s new aide had just arrived, so I could leave on time and accepted.

He took me to a popular restaurant among Rusera’s nobility. It was surely the capital dining tip I’d gotten from the Information Guild when renting the TWCR office.

“It was truly crazily busy.”

The Minister of Finance bought an expensive course meal worth about half my salary. Since I had inadvertently helped his goals, I didn’t refuse and decided to enjoy it fully.

“What happened to Marcus—no, Chancellor Vain?”

The Minister of Finance smiled gently.

“He was dismissed.”

“You look pleased.”

He cleared his throat slightly.

“Does it? I won’t hide it. There was a scandal with the Seref Duke family’s mistress, so to avoid damage to the royal dignity the procedure was swift. Many things were uncovered in the process as well.”

“So you found what you wanted, Minister of Finance.”

He answered while enthusiastically cutting his steak.

“Yes, what I wanted wasn’t proof of an affair but the work-related corruption. Solid embezzlement evidence I could use to blast them out. The more power, the larger the scope of graft—they had every kind of favor and slush fund. They even played the royal stooge a bit.”

‘His words are getting bolder.’

Regardless, it was someone else’s problem, so I eagerly cut my beef and popped it into my mouth.

‘Wow, this is really good.’

It was the best thing I’d eaten since coming to this world. My drive to become rich had been temporarily dampened by reality, but it flared up again.

‘After all, if you’re Korean you should eat well—…’

After filling his stomach a bit, the Minister of Finance continued.

“So the Chancellor’s seat is vacant now. I’ve decided to act in the role until a suitable person is found.”

“Along with the head of the Treasury? Ugh… That sounds like a lot of work. But with the Minister of Finance’s power growing, this might be good for you.”

“Yes, it’s a lot. The Chancellor’s position is what it is, so finding the right person will probably take considerable time.”

“I see.”

I was distracted by the second serving of steak and answered vaguely.

“So I need a reliable talent to help me.”

“That makes sense.”

“I think you’d be perfect for it—what do you think?”

“Sounds good. Huh?”

What did I just hear?

I lifted my head from the plate and saw the Minister of Finance already set down his utensils, clasped his hands, and smiled warmly at me.

“Come into the Chancellery and work for me.”

I immediately put down my utensils and returned his smile.

“I must decline.”

“…!”

The Minister of Finance seemed momentarily speechless, as if he hadn’t considered refusal.

“What’s the reason? If it’s money, I’ll match it.”

“I work for myself. I don’t devote myself or sacrifice myself for someone else.”

I said this while wiping my mouth with a napkin and setting it down.

“Sorry, but I don’t think I’m the right person.”

“No. My eye is never wrong.”

Surprisingly, the Minister of Finance was insistent. But I wasn’t attracted to his offer.

“If you truly need me, get to know me well and then try to persuade me.”

With that, I stood up from my seat.

His light tone and suggestion, as if he thought he understood the mind of a twenty-year-old girl, struck me as ridiculous.