Organizational Restructuring (1)
‘It’s not just a poor sense of time—they have absolutely no concept of dates at all?’
This wasn’t a problem he could just laugh off.
Having a hazy grasp of time and dates didn’t just mean the minor inconvenience of missing a few appointments. It meant something far more systemic.
‘Damn it.’
Transportation, logistics, taxation—everything. It meant that almost every foundation of administration was running in a state of total chaos.
It was no coincidence that even in medieval Europe, which was practically a graveyard for science, technology, and reason, cities built clock towers in their squares and rang bells to mark the hours.
“Um, Administrative Officer? We’ve managed just fine until now, though...”
“That’s only because the administration was being run in such a haphazard, slapdash way.”
“Heh-heh.”
At Aiden’s sharp remark, his adjutant scratched the back of his head and let out a sheepish laugh.
Back when they hadn’t even updated the census once in five years, and couldn’t even track the countless unregistered residents, it wouldn’t have mattered much if they fudged the dates a little. But,
“From now on, that won’t fly.”
Even if a permanent marketplace was still premature, the interest in the flea market and the quality of the goods were better than he’d expected. Furthermore, he intended to break through the technological stagnation caused by the North’s peculiar, insular village-based lifestyle.
‘Once things stabilize a bit more, even if a five-day market is too difficult, a ten-day market is definitely worth a shot.’
However, a weak grasp of dates would inevitably lead to problems—small ones like transport schedules and assembly times, and large ones like payment deadlines and the validity of official documents.
When you looked at them one by one, they were just tiny holes. But if he left these overlooked cracks unsealed, eventually,
‘It’s a collapse.’
After all, it’s a single small hole that brings down a massive dam.
“Go bring me a wooden board. And don’t bring me some random log—get me a square one, about this big... something I can hold.”
“Yes, sir.”
For now, he had to start with what he could do immediately.
The second day of the flea market began.
The curious eyes of the people, the boisterous, excited voices, the goods sparkling in the sunlight. Almost everything was the same as yesterday, but,
“What’s this?”
“Beats me.”
A few things that hadn’t been there yesterday had appeared. The first was the large wooden board set up at every entrance to the market.
“It’s a calendar, a calendar.”
“A calendar?”
As the people grew curious, the soldier guarding the gate answered as if tossing them a scrap of information.
“See the numbers marked with red circles here?”
“Yes, yes.”
“The market will open on these days from now on.”
“Every time? Ohhh!”
“But he said there won’t be any extensions if it’s not the set date.”
“Who said that?”
“Why, the Administrative Officer, of course.”
“Ah, the Lord!”
“I told you, he’s the Administrative Officer.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“Well, I suppose?”
If Aiden had heard that, he would have gasped and covered the soldier’s mouth. But the soldier hadn’t insulted his superior; he’d actually held him in high regard, so he had no idea he’d done anything wrong.
“Anyway, they said this calendar will be distributed to every village, so you’d best learn your numbers.”
“I’m illiterate, sir. Heh-heh.”
“They said all sorts of things will be written on this calendar, so you’d better learn it, even if it’s a hassle.”
“All sorts of things, like...?”
“Like the dates when merchant guilds permitted by the Lord’s castle will visit each village, tax payment days, farming education sessions, or village meetings.”
“...Excuse me?”
The man asked back, confused by the words he was hearing for the first time.
“Honestly, I don’t know much either. I was just told to say this if anyone asked.”
The soldier stroked his chin with a thick hand and let out a hollow laugh.
“Oh, right. If you go inside, there’s a tent with the Lord’s castle flag on it. That’s the Situation Room.”
“The Situation Room?”
“If any problems come up, you go there and ask.”
“Oh, I’ll be sure to remember that, sir.”
“And next to that Situation Room, there’s a tent with two crossed flags, right?”
“Yes, yes.”
“That’s the, what was it again...”
The soldier, who had been explaining fluently until now, suddenly hit a wall.
“You know, the... the...”
“Temporary Administrative Welfare Center.”
“Ah, right! Administrative Welfare Center!”
It was Jamie who had appeared behind the soldier. The soldier’s face turned pale instantly.
“You forgot the most important thing? Can’t you focus?”
“I, I’m sorry, Adjutant!”
Technically, Jamie wasn’t the soldier’s direct superior. Even if the North was a mess with no distinction between administration and anything else, there was always a difference between the duties of a civil official and a military one, and their chains of command were bound to be different.
“Our Administrative Officer, huh? He explained it so easily! Attention! At ease! Attention! About-face! Go touch that tree over there and come back, move!”
“Move!”
But sometimes, there are people who don’t care about such trivial distinctions.
“How much of the explanation did you hear?”
“The, the, Wel, Welfare Center!”
“Correct. The Administrative Welfare Center is next to the General Situation Room.”
“Yes, yes!”
“Don’t go inside there, so don’t get it mixed up.”
The merchant, now fully alert, nodded repeatedly.
“U-um, sir!”
“What is it?”
“But what exactly is an Administrative Welfare Center?”
“......”
“......?”
At the merchant’s question, Jamie coughed a couple of times and,
“Oh, look at me and my absent-mindedness!”
He ran away.
Following Aiden’s order, he had set up an extra tent and placed a sign that read ‘Administrative Welfare Center’ in front of it, but he hadn’t actually been told what it was supposed to do.
Jamie grumbled as he took a lap around the bustling market, then went to find Aiden.
“Where’s the Administrative Officer?”
“He’s in the next tent. But, Adjutant.”
“What.”
“What on earth is that? You said it was important, so we told the village heads and merchants, but...”
“Do you think I know? I’m going to go ask him now.”
At Jamie’s words, the lower-ranking officials nodded as well.
Administrative Welfare Center.
To anyone from the Republic of Korea, it was a familiar name. Because it was exactly what Aiden had created, thinking of the Administrative Welfare Centers back home.
The very place that some still called a ‘Dong Office’ and others called a ‘Community Center’ had made its appearance in the North.
However, because it was something that existed only in Aiden’s head and had been pulled out in a hurry, not only the residents but even his own adjutants had no clue what it was.
“I’m coming in.”
Jamie, the man of action, decided to summon his courage for the sake of everyone’s curiosity.
‘It’s scary to interrupt him when he’s working...’
Even while thinking he might get chewed out by an angry Aiden, he preferred to face things head-on. That was how Northerners were. They were confident in their physical and mental toughness, so there was no reason to beat around the bush.
“You came at the right time.”
“Yes?”
“Stick this up next to that.”
He’d expected to get an earful for interrupting, but unexpectedly, Aiden welcomed his adjutant with a bright expression.
“What is this?”
“An organizational restructuring plan.”
“...Oh.”
Jamie’s eyes sparkled. Seeing him like that, he was a bookworm through and through. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t feeling the pressure.
He should have been flustered by the sudden restructuring plan, but Jamie carefully examined the organizational chart that had fallen into his hands.
- Livelihood Support Department
- Civil Complaints & Dispute Department
- Technical Labor Department
- Commercial Development Department
- Education & Enlightenment Department
Five departments in total.
Every time Jamie’s bear-paw-like hands turned a page, his expression went from puzzled to enlightened, then to impressed—it was a rollercoaster.
“I want to go to the Livelihood Support Department!”
Then, as if he’d made up his mind, he thumped his chest and said,
“Even if no one is starving right now thanks to the Administrative Officer’s brilliant strategy, isn’t the North always a place where it’s tough to make a living?”
“That’s true.”
“Even if it’s not hard to put food on the table right this second, poverty always clings to a town like a shadow, so I’ll take charge of this department.”
“Hmm...”
Jamie sounded like a saint overflowing with humanism, contrary to his appearance. It was a speech that would have moved anyone else, but Aiden just crossed his arms and nodded ambiguously.
“Um... say, did you have someone else in mind for the Livelihood Support Department?”
“Well, yeah.”
“Ah...”
At Aiden’s confirmation, Jamie wilted instantly like a stray dog soaked in the rain.
But only for a moment.
“Then shall I go to the Civil Complaints & Dispute Department? Ever since I was little, people would strangely stop fighting the moment I appeared. Isn’t that amazing?”
Aiden clicked his tongue. He really needed to order a mirror the next time the merchants came. To think his adjutant was a guy who lacked such basic self-awareness.
“...Did you have someone else in mind for this one, too...?”
“Yeah. I do.”
“Ah, then how about the Technical Labor Department? After all, for the development of the North...”
“I have someone else in mind for that, too.”
“Commercial Development Department...”
“Taken.”
“Education & Enlightenment Department...”
“Also taken.”
“......”
“What.”
“T-that’s too much!”
Jamie hugged the organizational restructuring plan to his chest and began his ‘I’m sulking’ routine.
“Are you going to shut your trap?”
Of course, it was a sight terrifying enough to haunt one’s dreams.
“We’re going to build a new structure for the Administrative Welfare Center. One side of this vacant lot where the flea market is held would be good. Since the market will be held every fifteen days from now on, the residents coming to the market will naturally encounter the Administrative Welfare Center.”
“...Yes.”
Jamie’s voice was still resentful, but he wasn’t the type to do a sloppy job just because he was annoyed by an order.
“Are we only building the Administrative Welfare Center at the Lord’s castle?”
“For now.”
“That means...”
“Once we have some breathing room, we’ll have to build branch offices in key locations. Whether we create every department in those branch offices is a problem to think about then.”
“Staffing for each department will become important.”
“Right. Because the nature of the work each department handles is different. Oh, and the number of people in each department doesn’t have to be the same. We don’t have enough people for that anyway.”
“I’ll do my best regardless. Oh!”
“Why?”
Jamie, who had been deep in conversation, suddenly slumped his shoulders with a gloomy face.
“But personnel issues are the authority of each department head, so is it okay for me to get involved?”
The fact that his lip was sticking out again meant he was still deeply offended.
“That’s true. It’s work for the department heads.”
“...Exactly.”
“Which is why you have to help.”
“Yes?”
“You just said it yourself. We’re short on personnel.”
“Uh... yes, but...”
“We don’t even have enough capable people, so how are we supposed to assign department heads one by one? Let’s just do it this way until things settle down.”
Aiden grinned and pulled out one more piece of paper.
Document Number: No-A/05-032-NorthPersonnel
Effective Date: Immediate
Appointment Details:
Affiliation: Administrative Welfare Center under the Northern Lord’s Castle
Position: Head of Livelihood Support, Head of Civil Complaints & Disputes, Head of Technical Labor, Head of Commercial Development, and Head of Education & Enlightenment
Appointee: Aiden Blackwood
The above is hereby ordered.
“This is...?”
“Yep.”
Five department heads, all of them me.
Aiden was smiling so dazzlingly that it felt like there was nothing more to be said.