The Undercover Boss
The office was quiet. The only sounds breaking the silence were the occasional scratch of a pen across paper and the soft sip of tea. It was the kind of ambient noise that could probably sell quite well if recorded and packaged as a white noise collection.
“This can’t go on.”
Askal shot to his feet with the intensity of a conglomerate chairman drawing his sword. Ria glanced at him briefly before turning away again.
It was one of his usual episodes.
“I need to rediscover my original intention.”
He had been living far too diligently lately. Commute, work, eat, get off work, feed Per, sleep, wake up, and repeat the cycle. This was no good.
Didn’t he look exactly like an ordinary bureaucrat?
He had to thrash about more actively. He needed to break free from the inexorable flow of time that slowly but inevitably dragged people toward unavoidable promotions.
“Ria. Bring me that thing.”
“The cathedral construction matter, sir?”
There were many qualities that made an excellent aide, but in Askal’s opinion the most important was the ability to understand perfectly even when instructions were delivered like complete gibberish.
In that sense, Ria was outstanding. Even with a vague “that thing,” she instantly produced the correct answer.
When Askal nodded, Ria brought over the documents related to the cathedral construction.
Bidding Competition for Cathedral Construction
Though various minor tasks had come in recently, the largest by far was this cathedral construction project. It had arrived some time ago, but the pressure of it had made him put it off.
The reason was simple. Even in this near-modern fantasy pseudo-medieval world, the church wielded enormous power. In some ways it was even more terrifying than the original Middle Ages.
One prayer could make a cripple walk again on the spot.
Witness that miracle and most people would immediately donate their entire fortune to the church, cleanly abandoning this life to go all-in on the next one.
The empire’s state religion, the Star’s Cult, even had a doctrine stating that the tithes offered during one’s lifetime determined the quality of one’s seat in the afterlife.
To make matters worse, bringing an acquaintance to the church raised one’s believer rank. If that acquaintance then brought another, the rank rose again…
What is this, some kind of pyramid scheme?
At any rate, the Star’s Cult had recently decided it wanted a new cathedral and had requested the empire to oversee its construction.
The church had money. As a natural result, countless construction guilds eager to snatch a share of the pie had swarmed the project.
Deciding which guild to choose was now the task facing Askal, head of the Evaluation Department.
“Ria. Weren’t there originally around ten guilds? Why are only two left?”
“I investigated in advance and removed ghost companies, guilds with poor performance records, and any with ties to corruption.”
In other words, Ria had already done the preliminary screening.
Tsk.
He had planned to pick the most incompetent guild, but that option had unfortunately been eliminated. Only two remained: Golden Hammer and Blue Flame.
Askal read through the organized report.
Golden Hammer already possessed numerous verified achievements and boasted solid capital and manpower—a promising guild. Any normal person would choose them.
Blue Flame was a rising newcomer with recent results. Though smaller in scale than Golden Hammer, it maintained a fairly solid portfolio.
No matter how he looked at it, either choice seemed correct.
Askal let out a low groan.
But.
What would happen if he abused his authority here?
He was currently the head of the empire’s Evaluation Department and a rising fifth-grade official. He was in a position where he could legally throw his weight around.
“Ria. Inform both guilds that each must build one structure. The guild that produces the superior building will be awarded the cathedral contract.”
“Understood.”
Of course, no manpower or funding would be provided. No specific designs would be designated either. It was the most unreasonable condition imaginable—they would have to handle everything themselves.
This would reset the entire matter to a blank slate, and he would earn a reputation as an incompetent, greedy official.
A perfect plan.
“Both guilds have accepted the terms.”
“?”
Why on earth would they accept that?
A few days later, when he heard Ria’s report, Askal’s eyes widened.
“Did you clearly tell them there would be no support of any kind until completion?”
“Yes. On the contrary, it seems to have lit a fire under their competitive spirits.”
That couldn’t be right. There must have been some miscommunication.
Askal pulled on his coat and prepared to head out.
“Looks like I’ll need to go on a business trip.”
“Please wait a moment. I’ll get ready to accompany you.”
“No. I’ll handle this trip alone.”
If you come along, there’s no telling what kind of carry you’ll pull off again. Askal cut Ria off at the source.
“…Understood.”
For some reason, Ria looked a little downcast.
This business trip was a secret inspection.
Hiding his identity as an imperial official, he needed to uncover exactly what schemes those guilds were plotting.
To do that, he first had to secure a carriage heading in the right direction.
“Where are you headed?”
“To Sebrin.”
“I’ll take you safely and quickly.”
At the trustworthy old coachman’s words, Askal climbed into the carriage. The seat, covered in what felt like rather expensive leather, was pleasantly comfortable.
“What takes you to Sebrin?”
There was a problem, however.
No matter the era, uncle coachmen loved to talk. Get unlucky and you could suffer through current events, life stories, and the full course until you reached your destination.
If he had to choose, Askal preferred closing his eyes and sleeping until arrival.
Still, he couldn’t ignore an elder.
“I’m going to help with some construction work.”
“Ah. I heard the Star’s Cult is building a large new cathedral. Is that the job?”
“Yes.”
The coachman spoke as if delighted by the connection.
“My son is actually a former guild master, so I know a thing or two about it.”
“Oh, is that so?”
My son graduated from such-and-such university, my son is an executive at a famous company, my son is a high-ranking official—this was standard repertoire for coachmen uncles. If you gathered all their sons, you could probably found a country.
Askal decided to deploy the skill of listening with one ear and letting it out the other.
“What do you think about the current political situation?”
“Hm.”
Suddenly jumping to politics. This was on a bigger scale. Askal nearly choked.
“I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but His Majesty’s health hasn’t been good lately, has it? It’s about time he started considering a successor.”
“Th-that’s true, I suppose?”
“Who do you support?”
This was dangerous. Cold sweat began to run down Askal’s back. This was essentially a deadly multiple-choice question.
If he picked the wrong answer…
Get off.
Pardon?
I said get off. Where does a beggar with judgment that bad dare board my carriage? I’m going to need to sprinkle salt on this seat.
It could escalate into a nightmare.
After a moment’s thought, Askal spoke.
“Who do you support, sir? I’d like to hear your esteemed opinion first.”
When in doubt, let the other person reveal their position first.
“Obviously the Crown Prince, no? He has a solid foundation as successor and he’s the eldest. The Crown Prince should naturally inherit the throne.”
Then why did you ask in the first place if you were just going to pick the correct answer?
Askal stared at the coachman in disbelief.
“Still, all the princesses possess outstanding talent. It wouldn’t be strange no matter who succeeds. Personally, I’d like to see an empress before I die…”
“I… see. I feel the same way.”
The old man was hard to keep up with.
By the time their conversation ended, they had already arrived in Sebrin.
Askal immediately removed his coat and changed into the shabby clothes he had prepared beforehand. From this point on, he had to conceal his identity—like a secret royal inspector.
Fortunately, he didn’t need to search for where the guild competition was taking place. The moment he set foot in Sebrin, he spotted workers shouting at the top of their lungs.
“Golden Hammer workers, this way!”
“Blue Flame, over here!”
They seemed busy preparing for construction.
Askal moved closer and observed. Just as the report had said, the Golden Hammer side had relatively high-end equipment and stylish work uniforms. Blue Flame looked shabby by comparison, yet something fierce burned in their eyes.
“Hey, you. What are you doing standing around? Time is short!”
“Who, me?”
“Who else is here? What a slow fellow. If you’re here to work, hurry up and change your clothes. What are you waiting for?”
He had been mistaken for a laborer.
The Blue Flame recruiter shoved work clothes into his arms before Askal could protest and sent him straight to the site.
In the blink of an eye, Askal found himself mixed in among the workers.
Actually… this might be better for keeping an eye on them.
Yet one day passed, then two, and Askal never once left the construction site.
“Hey! Mister Kal! Come over here and have some snacks first!”
“Yes~ Yes! Coming right now!”
After several days, Askal—who had adapted perfectly into the role of a laborer—wiped the sweat from his forehead and received a heaping bowl of stew.
The stew was packed with generous chunks of meat and looked incredibly hearty. Askal slurped it straight from the bowl.
“Kyaa! Now that’s the stuff!”
The response came out naturally.
This is actually pretty decent?
Perhaps this was his true calling after all.