The Vacation That Backfired
“Have you heard? The first division all went on vacation to Kelly Kingdom together.”
“Kelly Kingdom? Where’d they get the money?”
“They were picked as an excellent department, so it was fully covered.”
“Is that true!?”
The gossiping employees’ eyes sparkled. Kelly Kingdom. The resort ranked in the top three by the Imperial Magazine for three years running. One of the ten places you absolutely must visit before you die. The place rumored to bless newlyweds with a hundred years of harmony and rekindle the flames for couples in a rut.
“If we work hard, we can go too, right?”
“Of course. Do you know what kind of person Director Askal is? He takes the bare minimum in bribes, is only ever ten minutes late, and is relatively fair and just. He’ll definitely send us.”
“Time to dust off those hidden work skills.”
A wind was blowing. Hard work would be rewarded. That truth gave the officials tremendous motivation.
The story that the first division had gone on a group vacation to Kelly Kingdom as a reward revived the forgotten morale of the Evaluation Department staff. The second division, the third, even the fourth began to actually do “work.”
The officials, using their past laziness as a stepping stone, began working like mad.
“Efficiency has risen three times compared to usual.”
“What? The first division is on vacation right now.”
“Average tardiness has dropped from an hour to thirty minutes. Even without managers urging them, they’re voluntarily seeking out tasks.”
Lia reported. Askal walked around the office to confirm. There was no way those people were actually working. Lia had to be mistaken about something.
“No. That land is designated as a protected botanical zone, so its evaluation should drop to a third of what it is now.”
“Haven’t you heard the rumor that the protection will be lifted soon? Including its potential value, this is the appropriate price.”
“Hey. We evaluate current value, not the future.”
Suppressing his presence, Askal arrived at the second division and witnessed an unbelievable sight. They were seriously discussing work. No one was slacking off. This made no sense. This was a problem.
“Everyone, take it easy. I brought some snacks.”
Askal had bought donuts loaded with cream and urged the second division to rest. He needed to break this flow somehow.
“Director, you’re here. I’m sorry, but we’re in the middle of work right now. Could you come back later?”
However, the second division didn’t even glance at the snacks and dove back into their work. Left out, Askal left the second division feeling lonely.
No. It must only be the second division. Let’s check the third.
Askal trusted Sucia that much. Even if everyone else was working diligently, Sucia would be different. Arriving at the third division with high expectations, Askal was shocked once again.
“Ah… Director. You’re here?”
Sucia, exhausted from overtime with heavy dark circles under her eyes, was busily writing documents.
“Hey, what’s going on, Sucia?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why are you working?”
“?”
Askal’s voice trembled. He simply couldn’t believe the scene before him. Sucia, with her powerful ducal family background and naturally lazy disposition, never worked unless ordered to. That was the Sucia Askal knew. And that unchanging fact had just been shattered.
“Ah… You’re asking why I’m working so hard? I want to go to Kelly Kingdom too.”
“Can’t you just go with your allowance?”
“I wasted too much this month, so Father cut off my allowance. I’m poor right now.”
“And you’re working because of that?”
“..If you’re not going to help, then stop bothering me and leave, Director.”
Askal was kicked out again. This was dangerous. At this rate, the Evaluation Department would keep running even without the first division. Even more vigorously than before.
If it was like this now, what would happen when the first division returned? It would become an unstoppable disaster. He needed to come up with something.
“Lia. Come to think of it, isn’t there an empty room on the second floor of the Evaluation Department?”
“Yes. It’s too small to use as an office and too big to use as a storage room, so it’s been left unused.”
“Let’s convert it into a rest area.”
The Evaluation Department had no rest area. In truth, the offices themselves were no different from rest areas.
“We’ll partner with the empire’s best dessert shop using the surplus budget. And hire masseuses to soothe tired minds and bodies. The expensive Myomyo Tribe masseuses, at that.”
Temporary enthusiasm would quickly crumble in the face of temptation. If he just diverted the current a little, everything would return to its proper place.
“I’ll create a veritable paradise. One that makes them lose all desire to work.”
The rest area was completed in no time.
“Director! Come on in!”
The moment he opened the door, the soft sound of a music box greeted him. The magical music box, playing tones that healed the heart, seemed to soothe his tired mind along with the scent of lavender oil.
“Here’s some dessert. There are other guests, so please enjoy it while you rest.”
The dessert melted on the tip of his tongue the moment he put it in his mouth. The refined sweetness lingered subtly, proving it was worth contracting with the empire’s best dessert shop.
“Please write down the areas that hurt and the intensity you want, and I’ll relieve your fatigue properly.”
The Myomyo Tribe attendant in a white gown handed him a questionnaire. Askal shook his head.
“I didn’t come for a massage today. May I look around the rest area a bit?”
“Of course, Director! You’re always welcome!”
There were several massage beds, all occupied. The rest area had become so popular that reservations were required to enter.
“Director… This is the best…”
Following the attendant’s guidance inside, Askal found Sucia lying on a massage bed receiving treatment.
The Myomyo Tribe masseuse was pressing down on her back with cat paws, and at a glance, the technique looked professional. The pushing and pulling motions were so skillful that it seemed they had properly mastered chiropractic techniques as well.
Melted into a puddle, Sucia fell fast asleep. About ten minutes later, she suddenly sat up.
“Recovery complete. Time to go back to work!”
The moment Sucia left, another employee came in and began receiving a massage.
Employees soaked in fatigue would eat a single dessert, receive a massage, and then leave perfectly refreshed to return to work.
What is this, a respawn point? Are they dying and coming back to life?
From observation, the employees used the rest area for a set amount of time according to the rules before leaving.
At this point, Askal was beginning to realize something.
The rest area hadn’t become a place for employees to slack off. It had become the ultimate rest spot that increased work efficiency.
That person’s been using it for over an hour. Well, at least someone is using the rest area as originally intended. That’s a relief.
It was the perfect attitude of a salary thief. Worthy of being a role model. Feeling a slight curiosity about who it was, Askal peeked behind the curtain.
And there was an unexpected figure.
The person receiving a massage shirtless turned around and greeted Askal cheerfully upon seeing him.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince…?”
“Oh! Askal! I was just about to go find you, but here we are. I came in because there was a rest area, and the technique was so good that before I knew it, I’d been here for over two hours. Hahahaha!”
The empire’s crown prince, Cain. The Myomyo Tribe masseuse was drenched in sweat, being worked to the bone by the crown prince.
“Oh, that spot’s a bit more knotted. Press harder.”
“Understood…”
Let’s pretend he didn’t see this. Askal hurriedly made an emergency exit from the place.
※ This article was written with the empire’s permission and after review.
※ We once again express our gratitude to Evaluation Department Director Askal Dever, who granted us permission to cover this story.
The first thing that welcomed this writer upon opening the door was the soft sound of a music box. The magical music box playing tones that heal the heart, along with the scent of lavender oil, calmed this writer’s slightly excited mind.
But there was an even more surprising encounter. A Myomyo Tribe member in a white gown was bringing dessert to this writer using those adorable cat paws!
The dessert melted on the tip of the tongue the moment it entered the mouth, and the refined sweetness wrapped around the tongue. It was truly worthy of being made by Leblanc*, the empire’s best dessert shop *written after receiving a small gratuity*.
Afterward, the Myomyo Tribe member sincerely asked which areas were tired and what intensity was desired, then guided this writer to the massage bed.
The moment I lay down, gentle hands pressed firmly into my tired back. The pressure, neither too strong nor too weak, felt like heavenly hands on my knotted muscles…
Askal closed the magazine.
“Wasn’t the Imperial Magazine on bad terms with the government offices? I allowed it because I thought they’d write something negative.”
“They seemed to have been moved far more deeply than expected and left.”
“I see.”
“And the plaque arrived today.”
Department of the Year — Evaluation Department
Congratulations on being selected as an Excellent Department of the Empire.
As a result of the employees’ efficiency skyrocketing through motivation and the rest area, they had even been selected as Department of the Year. The plaque was filled with words about additional budget allocation and praise. He’d have to feed this to the horses later.
“I’m taking a vacation too.”
There was no answer at this rate.
Askal made his decision. He would run away from here.