Chapter 1 - Princess, It's Time to Change Jobs (1)
Chapter 1 - Princess, It's Time to Change Jobs (1)
Chapter 1 - Princess, It's Time to Change Jobs (1)
It was an era of strange peace.
As if by mutual agreement, the demons had vanished without a trace.
Rumors floated around that lower-tier demons occasionally appeared near villages, but the Demon King's army had ceased all systematic movements.
However,
Rumors circulating amidst this peace, ghost stories about people vanishing without a sound or trace.
Rather than feeling tranquility, people increasingly trembled with anxiety over an unknown cause.
And
Within the Knights Order investigating the source of these rumors, fear beyond mere anxiety was spreading.
"Another disappearance?"
"The numbers are steadily increasing. Regardless of the missing person's status or age."
Kwang!
Knight Commander Hardwork slammed his fist down on the desk.
The Knight Commander's furrowed brow, flushed veins, and sharp eyes.
And his exhaustion-filled face began turning red, covered in rage.
As if unable to believe the documents he was reading, he repeatedly scanned through them.
The aide cautiously continued his report while reading Commander Hardwork's mood.
"This time, two court magicians are included among the missing. Last week, a horde of iron ore smelting artisans on the outskirts of town vanished. This time, it's a group of magicians."
People who were definitely there until yesterday vanished into thin air this morning.
Scanning the list of missing magicians, the Knight Commander let out a long sigh.
"Any signs of resistance at the Magic Tower?"
"None."
"Have you investigated any residual mana?"
"Yes, there is none."
"Bodies or casualties?"
"None at all. Not even a single bloodstain remains."
All of the missing individuals were skilled people who had been recognized and assigned to the regular army.
That was why the commander pressed the aide once more about what was written in the report.
The commander wanted to deny this reality.
He wished the aide would tell him right this instant that the report's contents were mistaken.
He looked over the report he had read, scanning it yet again.
"The magicians, without a single trace? They are veterans who even participated in past Demon Realm expeditions. Skilled individuals like that disappearing without any sign of resistance? This is..."
The Knight Commander choked on the word he couldn't bring himself to utter.
"Commander-nim..."
Adjutant Hustle finished the commander's sentence for him.
"Just as the report says... I believe there is a high probability of treason. I do not think it is a kidnapping."
The commander's eyes narrowed.
Then he stared intensely at his aide's face.
"How dare they! Treason?"
People disappearing was actually not a recent phenomenon.
The long war with the demons.
Impoverished finances and desolate land.
Followed by harsh labor, meager rewards, and suffocating, oppressive, excessive taxes.
People who couldn't bear it hiding in remote mountain areas or fleeing to puppet states was a typical social issue.
But such escapes usually meant risking one's life amidst the dangers of the wild, and if caught by a search party, harsh punishment equivalent to treason followed.
Reading down the report, the commander pointed to a passage and muttered:
"Treason is the conclusion reached based on the commonalities of these serial disappearances?"
However, the recent disappearances were on a completely different track from usual.
"Yes, the majority are either exceptional mana possessors or outlanders from another world. And what's even more serious is..."
It was understandable for the aide to conclude it was treason.
"It's the order in which they disappeared. Colleagues or family members with close ties to those who disappeared first are vanishing in succession. It's almost like following a chain link by link. That's why... circumstantially, I suspect treason."
The adjutant delivering the report swallowed hard.
There was a problem even more serious than the disappearances.
No one returned.
No one was caught.
Therefore, no one left behind words of regret.
Which meant,
"It doesn't look like it will end with these disappearances."
"Damn it! The empire's best talents are disappearing! And you're saying even more capable talents will vanish one after another?"
Disappearances occurring mainly among the elites inside the imperial palace, rather than commoners outside.
Along with rage, a feeling of terror bloomed in a corner of his heart.
Without leaving even a trace of resistance, those possessed of exceptional abilities had vanished on their own accord.
'If it really is treason as this report suggests?'
'What if the place they headed to is better than here?'
'What if they truly never return?'
'What if others leave this place as well?'
This empire would collapse in an instant.
The commander shook his head, denying the reality before his eyes.
"That can't be. Treason makes no sense. We all swore loyalty for the glory of our fatherland..."
Loyalty and devotion.
Even if their bodies were crushed, even if they gave their lives, striving for this country was the reason for the existence of the imperial subjects and the Knights Order.
To the commander who had dedicated his body and soul his whole life to the empire's revival, treason was impossible. To him, there was no insult as fatal as the contents of this report.
"Start searching from the border regions. Once you find them, show no mercy. Every single bastard who betrayed the empire's grace must be torn apart and killed."
The commander clenched his fist tightly as if crushing it, muttering in a voice full of rage.
At that moment, Commander Hardwork did not know.
The fact that tonight, another one of the empire's most valuable talents was scheduled to disappear.
...
Deep inside the imperial palace, the quarters of the 3rd Princess Eileen.
While other princesses and crown princes raised the empire's prestige by sweeping across battlefields with dazzling swordsmanship, Eileen stayed up all night in front of piles of documents reviewing the empire's administrative work.
The Brain of the Empire.
Though she was called that, the Emperor merely threw more work at her instead of commending her contributions.
Eileen did not complain about it.
Because such was her origin, having entered the imperial family as an adopted daughter. It was unavoidable.
Eileen thought she was fortunate just to be called a princess right now...
Or rather, she used to think so, but not anymore.
Kung!
Eileen slammed her fist onto the desk and slumped her back against the chair.
Reviewing document contents relying solely on a small lamp light was extremely exhausting.
Pressing her eyelids firmly with her fingers, she let out a groan.
"Finish the supply route budget proposal by tomorrow morning? This isn't an amount a human can do... Without Excel, with barely an abacus?"
A workload that would be overwhelming even with modern computer programs.
With bloodshot eyes, Eileen sighed and looked at the mountain of documents.
"Reincarnated only to be in work hell again! I might have fallen into a Sloth Hell of endless reincarnation..."
Deolkeong. Deolkeong.
The sound of the window rattling in the wind, the lamp light flickering, and a cool dawn breeze brushed the back of her neck.
Eileen sighed and thought:
'Did I leave the window open and forget...?'
The maidservants should have secured all the windows in her quarters; other than herself alone in the room, there was no one who should be touching the window latch.
Which meant someone was in this room!
Right around the time that thought crossed Eileen's mind,
"With that level of work intensity, you must already be burnt out, Princess-nim."
A quiet voice was heard.
"Who...!"
Eileen whipped her head around.
Emerging from the darkness was a woman wearing pitch-black clothes. A priestess who was once praised as the saintess of the empire.
It was Erika, who had suddenly disappeared one day.
A traitor.
Fallen Saintess Erika.
"Erika?"
"My, you're surprisingly startled. It is a pity that Princess-nim's talents are rotting away in the empire. Demon King-nim made a very special proposal. I believe that with this offer, you will cross over to the Demon King's army."
As if visiting the Princess's quarters was not her first or second time, Erika naturally let out a smile and sat in the chair opposite the Princess.
"Are you trying to kidnap me?"
"Your phrasing is always a bit harsh. It's not a kidnapping, it's a scout."
And then she politely pulled a single document from her robes and pushed it toward the Princess.
"Today, you will leave this place and come with us. We will take you to a place that recognizes Princess-nim's value."
Eileen looked at Erika's hands.
Skin much smoother than during her days as a priestess in the convent, and a relaxed smile.
"Hmm..."
From outside the door, the footsteps of guard knights making their rounds could be heard.
Though surprised by her sudden appearance, Erika secretly sneaking into her quarters was not a one-time or two-time occurrence.
Without alerting them to the intruder's presence, the Princess simply unfolded the contract pushed before her and stared intently at it.
"A 4-day workweek, flexible commute outside focused work hours..."
Eileen looked at Erika with a suspicious glare.
They were suspicious terms.
"Preparations to safely escort you are complete. If you cross over, we promise treatment equivalent to the Four Heavenly Kings."
"Treatment on par with the Four Heavenly Kings means setting up my own team. Project team leader level."
"Precisely. As expected of an outlander, your understanding is fast!"
An excessively sweet deal.
If only it weren't the Demon King's army.
However, Eileen thought:
'Can my life here right now really be said to be better than Erika's living in the Demon Realm?'
"Hmm... Does the Demon King's army feed you well?"
The fallen priestess smiled, stood up from her seat, and said:
"Princess-nim, you've finally made up your mind!"
"..."
The Princess didn't say a word, but as if understanding just by looking at her expression, Erika gathered her mana.
A moment later, a red portal opened from her hands.
"Haa, yeah, I do have the mind to. That's why... I haven't ordered your arrest until now. Though I don't even know if the guards could catch you anyway..."
She looked back and forth between the massive pile of documents and the red portal opening before her eyes.
Eastern Imperial Supply Route Reorganization Plan.
Northern Military Supplies Redeployment Plan.
Western Fortress Food Transportation Budget Proposal.
Dungeon Exploration Team Personnel Deployment Plan.
And a single line of instruction written personally by her father, the Emperor, atop the documents:
[Report before tomorrow's breakfast]
"Don't you think this workload is insane? Am I Cinderella? Even her stepmother wouldn't assign work like this!"
They were not words fitting for noble lips.
Erika tilted her head as if failing to understand the Princess's complaint.
"I don't know who Cinderella is. Is she someone famous?"
"There's someone like that."
Before she was a princess, she was a logistics operations team leader at a major distribution company in her past life.
She knew instinctively from experience what this amount of workload meant.
It was not an amount that could be finished even by grinding a single person down.
There was no integrated logistics system, no Excel, no automated dispatch system.
All that was on her desk was an abacus, parchment, ink, and a seal.
And documents stamped with the insane slogan: [We firmly vow loyalty, dedicating our bodies and minds to the glory of the Empire!].
In her past life, the Princess was an office worker.
Early morning shifts, late night overtime, weekend work, holiday overtime.
She prided herself on having been dragged through the mud in logistics centers as much as anyone could be.
Yet after dying from overwork and reincarnating into another world, an even worse work environment was waiting for her.
At least in her past life, there was Excel, and they paid a ton of money.
But here, after tomorrow's breakfast, more labor and exploitation would be dictated.
This place that viewed her not as a princess, but merely as a tool.
'Because you're smart.'
'Princess-nim must do it for the empire to survive.'
'You must bear the responsibility fitting for your position.'
Wrapped in nice words, but the meaning was just one:
'You can do it, so you do it. Though there's no real reward or anything.'
At this point, being a princess wasn't a noble status, but a title with nothing but responsibility.
Unpaid, at that.
As if having made up her mind, she stood up from her seat and said:
"I'm going to the Demon Realm. That would actually be better."
"Very good."
No sooner had the Princess's answer fallen than red light spewed from Erika's hands, swallowing the Princess into the portal.
The next morning, the imperial palace was turned upside down.
Because Princess Eileen had disappeared without a trace.
Only the chair she had been sitting in and the documents on the desk.
And the extinguished lamp light remained lonely in their place.
The Princess's disappearance also had no sign of resistance, nor a farewell letter.
Once again, only the person had vanished from the spot.