The Tyrant Is Far Too Competent
A random gacha pull with zero thought behind it somehow gave me an SSR ticket. The problem? This particular SSR ticket was a one-way express pass straight to hell.
After sending Lia out of the room, Askal sat down for a serious discussion with Kane.
“After careful consideration, I regret to inform you that she will not be able to join our team. We sincerely thank you for taking the time to participate in this assistant recruitment process, and we wish you boundless success in all your future—”
“…Why did your tone suddenly change like that?”
In his momentary panic, the trauma from his previous life had slipped out. Askal wiped the cold sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.
“Anyway, you’re saying you don’t like Miss Lia. But please reconsider. She’s talented and young, just like you. Among all those applicants, she stood out as a true gem.”
Kane was the type who never let go once he latched onto someone. Of course Lia was talented. If the future Swordmaster, Archmage, general, chef, painter, scholar, author, politician, and tyrant wasn’t considered talented, then everyone else would be nothing more than crawling earthworms. But since her true identity was Princess Julia, he couldn’t possibly keep a walking time bomb right beside him.
Askal cleared his throat and countered in a serious tone.
“Isn’t her background rather unclear?”
“What are you talking about? Miss Lia is the daughter of Viscount Sinis. There are few people with a clearer identity than hers.”
He had pointed it out thinking that hiding the fact she was the Third Princess of the Empire might be a weakness, but it seemed she had already completed a flawless identity laundering. Askal prepared his next attack.
“Doesn’t she lack experience?”
“Miss Lia maintained first place throughout an entire year of assistant training without missing a single day. There are countless testimonies to her diligence. Her career credentials are second to none.”
Wait. She even took assistant training classes in between everything? A genius who also puts in the effort? This is unfair.
She was a tough opponent. Askal licked his lips and pondered. If he kept objecting, it would start to sound like he was just nitpicking. This was probably his last shot. He had to be careful.
I swore I would never use this method.
“She’s a woman, isn’t she?”
…….
A heavy silence fell over the room. Before he could be forcibly reclassified as a sexist, Askal hurriedly continued.
“When performing official duties, there are often tasks that require physical strength. We already have Sushia in Division 3. We need someone who can handle the heavy lifting.”
“I wondered where you were going with that. Heh heh, my dear fellow.”
Kane burst into hearty laughter.
“Can’t you just use magic for that sort of thing?”
Ah. I forgot this is a fantasy world.
“I was ready to give up if you truly disliked women. But if that’s your only concern, it’s completely unfounded. Miss Lia is quite skilled with magic as well.”
I should have just gone all in and declared myself a sexist. Askal felt his head spinning.
In the end, having failed to build an iron wall, Askal reluctantly accepted Lia as a probationary assistant after a dramatic round of negotiations.
During the probation period, I’ll find any excuse to kick her out.
Was this how his old supervisor felt when he nitpicked every single thing Askal did? It was the moment he finally understood that man’s heart.
“What should I start with?”
“Do you really have to ask about every little thing?”
Julia—or rather, the future emperor currently disguised as the daughter of Viscount Sinis—was now Askal’s assistant and was getting scolded by him.
“I’ll start with cleaning.”
Lia gave a polite bow and began cleaning the office. Askal didn’t even respond, simply flipping through his documents. Today’s work was the usual simple tasks that would be finished in ten minutes. Why was the workload in this damn department so ridiculously light?
“Cleaning is finished.”
“Already?”
Not long after he had started on the paperwork, Lia approached him.
Did she half-ass it just because I told her to clean?
That would actually be perfect. He could use negligence as an excuse to fire her. Askal’s eyes burned with determination as he inspected every corner of the office.
It’s spotless.
He was astonished. To clean this thoroughly in such a short time—did the future emperor even possess the talent of a professional cleaner? But he couldn’t let his guard down. Askal knew exactly where cleaning usually fell short. He walked over to the window and ran his index finger along the windowsill.
“Look at this. If you don’t clean even these small details properly, it becomes a problem. If you can’t perfect something like this, then how do you expect to handle official du—”
Askal’s words stopped dead the moment he looked at his finger. There wasn’t a single speck of dust on it.
No. He couldn’t give up yet.
I can do this.
Askal steeled himself and rubbed his finger along the corner of the windowsill again. Finally managing to collect a single tiny particle of dust, he spoke once more.
“How do you plan to handle official duties if this is the best you can do? Do it again.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll clean it again.”
“I’ll step out for a while. Make sure it’s done by the time I return.”
To be honest, it was a stretch. It seemed using poor performance as an excuse to drive her out wasn’t going to work. He would have to switch tactics to workplace harassment.
Having made up his mind, Askal approached Sushia.
“Let’s talk outside for a moment.”
The weather was starting to turn pleasantly cool. Askal took a long drag from his pipe, exhaling a plume of smoke, then spoke.
“What do you think of the new assistant?”
Sushia was a 9th Grade Official. Strictly speaking, the assistant to the head of the Evaluation Department was treated as a 7th Grade position. It was only natural that she might feel uncomfortable with a sudden parachute hire.
“…? I don’t really have any thoughts about it?”
Ah, right. That was her character. Sushia was competent, but she only did exactly what she was told and nothing more. She wasn’t negligent either—just the perfect type for a long, stable bureaucratic career.
“I have a favor to ask. Harass Lia for me.”
“Is that your preference?”
“No. Honestly, I’m not entirely satisfied with her as an assistant, but since the head of Division 1 was watching, I had no choice but to accept her.”
“Well, if that’s the reason, I can help.”
As expected, Sushia was reliable. The two of them, having formed their little conspiracy and taken a break, returned to Division 3.
“……Did I enter the wrong office?”
Something was off. He was sure he had taken the right path, yet the office looked strangely different. It sparkled as if it were a brand-new building that had just been waxed.
“Welcome back.”
At that moment, Lia, with her hair tied back tightly, finished the final touches of cleaning and greeted them. In less than an hour, she had completely transformed the office. She could have won the World Cleaning Championship. While Askal stood speechless, Sushia walked up to Lia.
“Hey. Even if it looked messy, there was a system to the arrangement. How could you just rearrange everything however you wanted?”
Well done, Sushia. Push her harder. You must never realize that the person you’re harassing is the future emperor.
“Sigh. Never mind. Just don’t do it again next time.”
Sushia plopped down into her chair with exaggerated force, making a loud thud. It was an excellent display of non-verbal communication. Askal quickly checked Lia’s expression. Other than looking slightly downcast, there didn’t seem to be any major change.
Pushing too hard would be dangerous. No matter how weak Julia’s current political standing is, if she snaps, we’re all doomed.
The key was maintaining the right balance. Since Sushia seemed to understand that line well, he decided to leave it entirely in her hands.
And then a week passed.
“Oh? Really? She did that?”
“Yes. She seemed lost, wandering around the government building. When I gave her a snack, she followed me all the way to the entrance.”
“Wow. She must have been so cute. I want to see her too.”
Askal, who had been sitting in his chair handling paperwork, glanced toward where Sushia was. She was chatting with Lia. But there was a problem.
They looked way too friendly.
Sushia. What the hell are you doing?
Feeling a sense of crisis, Askal tapped Sushia on the shoulder.
“Let’s talk.”
Once outside, the two inhaled from the pipe again.
“What happened? Weren’t you supposed to harass her until she quit?”
“After talking to her, she seems like a really good kid. Can’t we just let her work with us?”
Work with us? What do you mean work with us? We’ve already bought tickets for the ferry to the afterlife. Can’t you see the grim reaper waving at us from the distant shore?
Swallowing those words, Askal replied.
“No.”
“Hmm. Then it would be better if you harassed her yourself, sir.”
He had a gut feeling. The power dynamics were subtly shifting. If this continued, he would end up being the one ostracized. This was exactly why workplaces full of women were problematic.
Askal took a step back.
“I understand. Go back inside. I’ll stay out here a little longer.”
“Yes.”
Sushia’s personality of not clinging to honor was usually a good thing, but at times like this, it became a problem.
While taking another drag from his pipe and wondering if there was any good solution, he spotted a friendly-looking middle-aged man approaching from afar. It was Kane.
“Oh, you came out to rest too? Perfect timing. I have something to pass on.”
“Something to pass on?”
“There’s been a request for civilian support from Viscount Yorick. He says he needs help with farm work. It was originally Division 1’s job, but he specifically asked for you, Askal. It’s essentially a personal request.”
“Me? Farm work?”
“He’s one of your supporters, apparently. Viscount Yorick still holds considerable influence in central politics. It would be good to build connections while you can. Besides, you can just have your subordinates do the actual farming, right?”
Farm work was heavy labor that even strong young men found exhausting. Even though the weather had cooled slightly, it was still hot during the day. He had been planning to refuse, but—
Wait. Heavy labor?
A brilliant idea occurred to Askal, and he smiled.
“Understood. Our Division 3 will take on this civilian support mission.”