Commander, Consultation (2)
I quietly pulled my eyes away from the mountain of applications I couldn't even bring myself to look at, and turned my gaze elsewhere.
Unlike the other documents I could knock out in a matter of seconds, this one alone seemed like it wouldn't produce an answer even if I wrestled with it for days on end.
...What am I supposed to do with this?
Honestly, I couldn't even bring myself to pick a priority. Setting an order among that many people — it felt like blatant discrimination. And I'd be the one leading the charge, making it official.
I'd tried the fairest method I could think of, sorting them by the time they'd applied, but everyone had come rushing in at almost the exact same hour. Even that wasn't easy.
What the hell. Did they make a secret pact behind my back?
"Haa..."
...More than that, why had so many people piled in to begin with?
They'd have to set aside time after work hours, which would essentially become an extension of their jobs. And they weren't just accepting that without complaint — they'd gone and treated it like a midnight-release rush?
Do they all just love work that much... or do they have so many worries they're this desperate to cling to something like this?
...I'll put it off.
I sat there thinking it over, then finally turned my head away. This wasn't something that could be settled in a day or two. Regular Consultation... I'd started it, so I'd have to follow through eventually, but at least not today. It wasn't urgent, and taking my time to get my thoughts in order and prepare wouldn't cause any problems.
After much deliberation, I carefully pushed the towering stack of applications to a corner of the desk, then reached for something equally tricky, with a short deadline, but far less of a burden.
Namely, next week's Adjutant...
"Ah, why?!"
...was what I was trying to decide, anyway.
"...What do you mean, why. There's not much time left until next week."
"That's exactly why!!!"
"No... haa."
Calia was throwing an unreasonable fit, so I quietly pressed my throbbing temple. ...She's not listening to me.
You're a department head. Could you at least let it go with some dignity? What is this spectacle. More than anything, watching a fully grown adult throw a tantrum was deeply unpleasant to look at. If you were Cardia's age I might let it slide as cute, but you're not.
"I haven't seen the Commander in three days, you know?"
"Well, that's because you were away on a business trip."
"I was covering as the Commander's proxy that whole time, wasn't I...?"
"That's originally the Adjutant's job. You know that."
...What's she trying to get from me by suddenly bringing that up. She didn't say a word after coming back, and now she's suddenly like this.
"That ponytail maid got two whole weeks! Give me that much too!"
"...Rielly should be treated as an exception. It was a special case."
Ah. So she wanted to be Adjutant.
Well, that would be relatively simpler, I suppose. Compared to being Head of the Information Department — compiling intelligence from every corner of the continent and judging whether any of it is even accurate — being an Adjutant who just does light paperwork would be easier.
Not that I'm going to let her.
But no. I have no intention of granting that. Go back. What happens to the Information Department without you? It can be roughly covered from here, but there's a pretty big difference between a department head being at their post and not.
Rielly... well, right after I possessed this body, a bunch of things piled up at once, so I couldn't change her because there was no time. And exceptions like that should only happen once. Keep doing it and it's a vicious cycle.
"...You're mean."
"Could you please just follow the regulations?"
So even if you pretend to sulk like that, it won't work.
When I didn't react much, Calia quickly snapped back to her usual self and pointed at the piled-up stack of applications.
"By the way, are you just going to leave those sitting there?"
"Hmm..."
"Nobody knows when they'll blow. It'd be better to decide on those quickly."
...She had a point.
The way they'd all come swarming in the moment the hour and minute hands on that wall clock hit the announced application time... there had been a kind of madness to it. It looked like nothing special, and it really was just a consultation. There wasn't a person in Firma who didn't know that, and yet they'd been that desperate — which clearly meant something was tied up in it.
...Not that I actually knew what that something was.
That aside...
Consultation... I'd thought I could take it pretty leisurely, but apparently not. ...Hmm. As Calia said, I should hurry a bit more than I'd planned. Thinking about it again, there hadn't been a set period at all — I'd just barely been holding it down as a temporary measure.
Still, it wasn't a problem that would produce an answer just because I rushed it...
Ah. There is a method.
"Then Calia, you decide."
"Huh?"
"You brought it up, didn't you? So you do it."
Straight-up dumping it on a subordinate. A time-honored workplace tradition, passed down through the ages, that only a boss can pull off. Decide the consultation personnel, and dump half the responsibility. Isn't that killing two birds with one stone?
Back when I was on the receiving end I wanted to beat the living daylights out of whoever did it, but now that I'm the one doing it, it feels amazing. My heart is so at peace.
Ah, so this is why they do it... nice.
"That's... what kind of stretch is that..."
"Ah, and whoever you pick, I'm making them next week's Adjutant. So don't decide too lightly."
"Ha?"
On top of that, I didn't forget to add a layer of pressure so she wouldn't just pick anyone carelessly. Well, honestly, it wouldn't matter even if she picked at random. Calia wouldn't do that, but just in case she slammed someone in without considering a thing and a problem came up, I'd be the one suffering. It's a kind of insurance. Insurance.
That insurance might make things a bit more annoying and somewhat picky. But I believe in our Calia.
"Fine, well... if that's what you want, I'll pick."
See? Calia accepted it readily. Her whole body was radiating that she didn't want to do it and wasn't happy with the current situation, but the important thing was that she accepted.
From now on, we're in the same boat. The concept of getting off midway no longer exists, you hear?
"Do the consultation subjects... really need to be made Adjutants too?"
"It's good for building rapport, right? Two birds, one stone."
And I didn't unify the Adjutant and the consultation subject just because it was annoying. With people like Rielly and Calia, I talk with them often and even go on business trips together, so I'm familiar with them. But with the other operatives, there's a slight lack of comfort when it comes to talking freely.
If I had to put it... a sense of personal closeness? Would it make sense if I said that hasn't quite formed yet. Besides, they all want to stick close to me... so why not. It's not like I'll wear out.
I'll stick so close they'll start developing a hatred for their boss...!
"Looks like I'm just going to be doing other people favors... haa..."
While I was steeling myself with that pointless resolve, Calia muttered something too quiet for me to hear. Was that her cursing me out? Trash-talking her boss right to her face.
Sure. If you're a department head at Firma, you should have at least that much guts. As long as you don't put a bullet in my head, you can do whatever you want...
"No, before that. Is it okay to leave this to me? If anyone finds out, there'll be talk..."
"Because I trust you."
"Uh, huh?!"
Calia still seemed to wonder why she had to do this. That, surprisingly, could be resolved simply.
"W-wait, even for me, coming at me like that out of nowhere is a bit overwhelming...?"
"Because I know you wouldn't pick carelessly. That's why I'm trusting you with it."
I casually flattered Calia, pretending it was nothing. Of course, the reality was that I was desperately wrapping up the reason I'd dumped the work on her... but if it at least looked plausible on the surface, she'd work a little harder.
Calia would know it was just lip service anyway. I was just saying it to cheer her up a bit. I am absolutely not doing this because I'm scared Calia might retaliate in some weird way.
...Yeah. Really.
"...Commander."
"Hm?"
"Commander, you need to be aware of what you're saying, at least once in a while."
"...What are you talking about?"
Why is she suddenly like this. Did her brain break from taking on a job that wasn't even in her destiny?
"...But can I pick myself for this?"
"Common sense says you should be excluded."
I already said no earlier.
...More than that, she still hasn't given up?
The tail end of the weekend, right before Monday — that hour when every office worker stares down despair.
Having finished work as usual, I... unlike usual, still hadn't clocked out.
Ah, to be precise...
"It should be around here...?"
In theory I'd already clocked out, but I'd come out to do another job. It's not that I didn't want to rest... but at a position like mine, extensions of work happen frequently, so whatever. The fact that there's no one above me, meaning this is entirely of my own volition, is at least some consolation.
"Room 201, Room 201... found it."
Anyway, the place I'd come to, throwing aside rest for tomorrow's work, was none other than the operatives' dorms. Finding the exact room number had been quite a struggle. It was so vast that "residential district" suited it better than "dorms," and since even the Commander hadn't come here often, the paths themselves were thoroughly unfamiliar.
I should've at least looked at a floor plan before coming. I've never been called directionally challenged anywhere I've gone. This is a bit much, don't you think.
...Doesn't matter.
There'd been some twists and turns, but I'd arrived somehow. ...I should memorize Firma's layout. I almost couldn't find it today. It felt like an inspection, which I wasn't thrilled about, but I should start wandering around more.
With that resolution, I straightened my posture, then carefully reached for the doorbell...
Creeeak—
...was about to press it. But the door in front of me opened first.
"Ah, you've arrived."
What appeared behind it was a child whose eye level sat far below my own. Unlike her grown-up way of speaking, the three tails swaying behind her only accentuated her cuteness.
This little girl who, at a glance, seemed merely unusual was none other than my glorious first consultation subject — and, at the same time...
"It's been a while, Commander?"
My Adjutant, who would be working with me starting tomorrow.