Manipulating Public Opinion (2)

Yes...!

I confirmed from the 'misdirected' document that had mistakenly landed on my desk that I'd dropped from first place. This was essentially an exit poll—results directly from those who'd already voted. Since it was half in jest, no one bothered hiding their picks.

Whatever I'd been blabbing about must've worked; the votes that had piled up on me had scattered to the other top contenders.

Me in first? Yeah, that never made sense.

In the normalized standings, Gerda was the frontrunner. She had rock-solid support from the guild members working the Small Labyrinths and the adventurers who relied on her potions. With turnout over fifty percent, the results weren't likely to flip dramatically. Even with a margin of error, it wouldn't be enough to bridge the gap between first and second.

"Haru, what's this?"

I held out the document I'd finished reading toward her.

"Huh? ...Oh! This was supposed to go to Welfare! Sorry!"

"How long are you going to keep making these mistakes? My work's getting delayed because of you, Haru."

"I'm really sorry. I'll be more careful."

"......"

Her drooping puppy ears tugged at my heartstrings. Truth be told, Haru hadn't messed up—the document had ended up here by my design. But to manage the votes, I had to keep an eye on the underlings too. Couldn't have her getting nice to me and voting my way.

"Fine. I'll drop it off myself, so make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Got it......"

I headed to the guild tavern with light steps. Along the way, I 'accidentally' bumped into an adventurer, making her spill the drink she was carrying.

"Ah, fuck."

"S-sorry! I'm in a rush right now...!"

"Hey, where do you think you're going?!"

"Eek...!"

Rudely enough, I tried to slip away without cleaning up, and she reached out in anger, grabbing my ass hard.

"You spill someone's drink, you clean it up before you go—not just bail because you're 'busy'?"

The adventurer grinned and pulled me down to sit beside her, slinging an arm around my shoulders. She picked up a rag and shoved it at me.

"Hurry up and wipe the spill on my clothes, you mutt."

"Y-yes, ma'am......"

I rubbed diligently at the soaked spots as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she ordered.

"Mmm... not bad......"

She leaned back comfortably, looking pleased. I wanted to shift position, but her arm stayed firm, so I sat primly beside her, wiping awkwardly. No way would this dry her booze-soaked clothes. My slender arms started aching from the endless task, but she leisurely stroked my head and shoulders.

"......Ah, keeping Vivi all to myself has been ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blissful. That's enough—go on."

"Huh? But I haven't finished wiping..."

"Nah, if you stick around longer, things might get ugly."

For some reason, the other adventurers nearby were glaring at her fiercely. Anyway, after showing off like that, no one here would dream of voting for me anymore.

Finally, voting ended, and results day arrived.

As guild members crowded the tavern chattering away, Vice Guild Master Helen took the stage.

"Alright, time to announce this month's Outstanding Guild Member?"

She snapped her fingers, and massive letters materialized in the air.

"With overwhelming support, Vivaldi has been selected as this month's Outstanding Guild Member. Everyone, give him a big hand!"

"Congrats!"

"Congrats!"

"Congrats!"

Why the hell?! How did I end up in first with that massive lead? I was solidly second, way behind Gerda!

"What, it was Vivi anyway? Should've voted for him too."

"He told everyone not to vote for him, and that's the score he got. Bet it was even more lopsided for real."

"Yeah. Look at all he's done."

This vote tally defied all logic. It screamed rigging, but no one batted an eye. Fine, I'd raise hell myself...!

"What're you doing? Vivi, get up here for your acceptance speech!"

"Eek...! W-wait a sec!"

Before I could protest, countless hands shoved me onto the stage. Helen stepped behind me, resting a hand on my shoulder—her incredibly soft, pillowy sensation pressed against the back of my head, overwhelming me.

"Come on, Vivi? Face the crowd and say your name and age."

"Huh? Uh, well......"

Up high, I realized way more eyes were on me than I'd thought. With most of our guild here, the vast tavern felt packed. Makes sense for Tragodia, the top guild proudly claiming first place.

...Though half seemed to be Marie's clones.

"V-Vivaldi... age twenty......"

"Woo-hoo! He was just a kid the other day!"

"Looks delicious......!"

"Show us your lower belly!"

Shrinking under the attention, I mumbled with my head down. The guild women cheered me on in voices thick with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠something sticky.

"Thank them for voting for you."

"Th-that... I don't know why I won... but, um..."

"Work it off with your body."

"......Huh?"

Helen whispered in my ear.

"Say you'll repay this honor by working your body hard."

"R-right... this honor... with my body..."

"Woo-hoo! For real?!"

"Hold up! Lady! What the hell are you doing?! Tone it down!"

"Ah! Ruining the mood like that... Eek! Vice Guild Master?!"

"Oh, sweetie, you're one to talk, dressing like that."

"Shut it! This ceremony's canceled! Just post the results on the board and hand out the prize!"

Face burning with shame, I could barely see the commotion. Somehow, amid the chaos, the ceremony wrapped up, and everyone returned to drinking.

"Haa......"

Exhausted, I dragged myself back to the darkened office. Figured everyone had clocked out or hit the tavern, but someone was huddled in the corner. Wings on her waist—only one person fit that bill here.

Crunch crunch—something was being chewed.

"Marie?"

"Eep...!"

She clapped hands over her mouth, swallowed whatever was inside, and shot up. Her nameplate read "44"—the real deal, not a clone.

"V-Vivaldi-nim. You're here."

"......What were you eating?"

"W-well......"

She hastily hid what she held, but I'd already seen: an empty candy bag wrapper and a kiddie sweet drink.

Realizing it was too late, she sighed and confessed.

"Maintaining clones takes a ton of energy...... I need maximum calories......"

"Ah... then just eat normally—why sneak around......"

"I-it's embarrassing, still......"

Worried I'd tease her kid-like tastes? Marie always struck me as the perfect office lady, but up close, she had these cute quirks.

Didn't seem like she wanted to dwell, so I changed the subject.

"Marie, you worked hard your first month. Handling all the request processing alone stabilized our admin ops."

"......I'm thrilled you acknowledge me, Vivaldi-nim. I wanted to repay your faith in me. Thank you."

"You did so well, it's a shame. You totally deserved Outstanding Guild Member—I stole it from you..."

"Ah, that......"

She fidgeted like a kid hiding something.

"T-truth is, I wasn't going to say, but... it's probably my fault."

"Huh?"

"You granted voting rights to each of my clones who've worked here."

"......Huh?"

"Helen-nim recognized each of my personalities as individual people. So we all voted for you, Vivaldi-nim..."

"No no, hold on. That's not right?! At this rate, whoever you back wins hands down!"

I didn't know her clone limit, but she kept at least forty percent of the guild's staff as clones full-time. Unless everyone else piled on one person, no one could beat her votes!

"I-I know you might not believe me, but my personalities each have distinct values and thought processes. We didn't conspire to vote for you. Some clones voted for others."

"So even you didn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠expect this outcome......?"

"N-not exactly. I knew plenty of my personalities wanted to vote for you......"

"......"

I bolted to Helen to complain, but she just smothered my head in her bosom until I couldn't speak.