The Director Princess, abducted by the demon king known as the Minister, escaped by her own power and returned.
"I'm back."
"You've returned? You finished earlier than last time."
"Guess the old man's stamina is declining. I keep telling him to dial back the fury."
As I responded to the Deputy Director, the four section chiefs who'd been sitting with him started to rise. I waved them down, gesturing for them to stay seated.
"Ah, don't bother. No need to stand."
"You took the chewing out from the Minister for us—this is the least we can do."
"Son of a bitch, get up right now."
The Second Section Chief provoking the Director, and the Director retaliating by trying to crush him with authority. It was a complete mess, but they were used to each other—they giggled and settled back into their seats. Only after I took the head seat did the five of them bow their heads. I nodded back and confirmed the personnel gathered.
Deputy Director, First Section Chief, Second Section Chief, Third Section Chief, Fifth Section Chief. Good, everyone's here.
"Now then, my beloved slaves. I express my deepest regret that we've gathered like this when quitting time is right around the corner."
"I have a date tonight—is this urgent?"
"With that one comment, you just secured yourself night duty."
"Fuck."
As the Second Section Chief sank into defeat, having opened his mouth only to lose everything, I picked up a single document and waved it around. The culprit that had summoned me to the Minister's office, and the reason I'd issued a Buster Call for all executives right before quitting time. I couldn't count how many times I'd suppressed the urge to tear it to shreds on the way back.
"See this?"
"Can't tell what else is on it, but I can clearly see the Minister's seal."
"What's it about? It's been a while since all the executives gathered."
"Your masterpiece that stole two precious hours from the Director."
Whoosh—the document flew through the air. As if embodying my twisted mood, it danced midair before landing precisely in the center of the table.
Only then could the executives check the contents, and as if by prior agreement, they awkwardly averted their gazes. The Deputy Director let out a sigh as if his insides were bursting, while the Section Chiefs either cleared their throats or glared at dust particles floating in the air, doing their utmost to avoid meeting my eyes.
"The Count Yorun's Family incident—who led it?"
I muttered quietly as I observed their pathetic display. My demeanor was like a parent issuing an ultimatum: 'If you tell the truth now, I'll let it slide.'
"I... I did it."
The Third Section Chief, who had been cautiously reading the room, carefully raised his hand, and I responded to the criminal who had obediently confessed with a gentle smile.
"You're going in headfirst."
"Yes..."
Of course, everyone knew that responding to an ultimatum didn't actually mean you'd be let off. But everyone also knew that if you held out and resisted, what came after was truly unbearable. The Third Section Chief swallowed his tears, rose from his seat, and slammed his head against the floor, while the other Section Chiefs deliberately looked away, praying the sparks wouldn't fly their way.
Officially, this was an incident led by the Third Section Chief, but in reality, all the Section Chiefs had ganged up together to tear it apart. Since I knew this fact as well, I glared at the Section Chiefs with burning eyes before letting out a sigh.
"Our dear slaves. While our job is to play the role of hunting dogs, if you really bite anyone without discrimination, then you're not slaves—you're dear sons of bitches."
The department I lead, the Inspection Department under the Imperial Ministry of Finance. An organization that officially wields absolute power with only the Minister of Finance and the Emperor as superior commanding authorities.
And the name commonly used for us is, as I just mentioned, hunting dogs. A group of madmen who monitor the flow of money, watch if even a single coin of the Empire's budget is invested, and immediately smash heads when illegal movements are detected.
The Inspection Department's prestige was so considerable that rumors circulated questioning whether it was really okay to place such an organization under the Minister of Finance rather than directly under the Emperor.
And due to that considerable prestige, if you designate the wrong target to bite, you get beaten from all sides as if they'd been waiting for it.
"When Count Yorun's Family suddenly got their wrists cut off, quite a few contracts went down with them."
"It's regrettable."
"The Golden Duke expressed his concerns to the Minister about this matter."
"..."
The Deputy Director, who had been maintaining silence, flinched at the mention of the Golden Duke and glared at the Third Section Chief who was slamming his head on the floor. He had known that one Count House had suffered misfortune due to a wrongly designated target, but he must have just learned that it connected all the way to the Golden Duke. If he had known, the Deputy Director would have offered up the Section Chiefs as sacrifices before the Minister summoned me.
"...Then what did the Golden Duke say...?"
"You know how that man goes absolutely berserk when it comes to money, right? There needs to be financial compensation rather than just punishing those responsible."
"I've secured a list of families competing with the Golden Duke's faction. Which section should I transfer it to?"
"Section Three."
At those words, the Third Section Chief, who had been endlessly becoming one with the floor, rose to his feet. My gaze on him still wasn't particularly kind, but what could I do? This kind of work was perfect for Section Three.
"You clean up your own shit, don't you?"
"Yes, yes, of course."
"The Golden Duke isn't the type to care much as long as his losses are covered, so do it well."
"I will never forget this incident and will be careful."
"Good. Get out."
The bowing Third Section Chief quickly left the Director's office, as if worried he might be caught again. Despite his mountain-like build and bulging muscles, there were times when I wondered if he'd dumped all his stats into agility. Maybe having no brains meant less wind resistance?
"The rest of you, be careful too. If something like this happens again, be prepared for your sections to be dissolved into thin air."
Then I waved my hand dismissively. The Section Chiefs, who had been sitting on pins and needles, could finally escape. Once they reached their respective offices, the chewing-out would probably cascade downward. But what did I care? If they'd done their jobs properly in the first place, none of this would have happened.
When I first took office, everyone was careful even about falling leaves, checking and rechecking work documents several times before proceeding. But these days, people are so lax, not properly tense, and their work is unsatisfying...
"Fuck."
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, just remembered something from the past."
The Deputy Director, who had been about to leave, turned around at my voice, so I forced a smile and sent him out. Then I was horrified at myself for naturally drifting into the thoughts of an old fart.
Four years of civil service life had corrupted my once-fresh self this much...! I was only 21 now, but to have such terrible thoughts when I had decades ahead of me—how much darker would I evolve!
'Should I really just grab the budget and run?'
That would certainly end my civil service career, but it would also end my life. No matter how strong my family backing was, if the Inspection Department Director embezzled the budget, that alone would be enough to warrant public execution for sheer audacity.
To have transmigrated into this world only to face a death sentence ending for embezzlement—no matter how I thought about it, that was just too pathetic. I hadn't endured this long just to meet such an ending.
When I turned to look at the window behind me, the sun was already setting low on the horizon. The meeting had ended faster than expected, but since it had been called just before quitting time to begin with, even that brief duration had pushed us past the end of the workday.
With this, today became 'The Day I Re-Achieved 40 Consecutive Failures to Leave on Time.' Who should I share this joy with...
Perhaps because a Duke was involved in the matter, the situation was resolved smoothly thanks to the Third Section Chief's tearful ass-kissing and the other sections' voluntary cooperation born from their own self-preservation instincts. The Minister had also whispered to me that the Golden Duke was quite pleased, having sent about four families competing with his faction packing this time.
They'd been looking for the right timing to eliminate them anyway, but now that a compelling reason had emerged, what was there to hold them back? Hearing the report of how they'd been swept away as if cutting down lifelong nemeses made me feel cheerful with the rhythm of it all. When these bastards do their job, they do it well.
"...And so, we've transferred a portion of the confiscated assets to Count Yorun's family. We laundered it through several cycles before handing it over, so there shouldn't be any issues down the line."
A few days later, at the reconvened meeting, I clapped my hands in satisfaction at the pleasing results. See, when our people do their job, they do it right.
"As expected, the Third Section Chief's brilliant intellect is always admirable."
"Director, didn't you say before that you wanted to get rid of the Third Section Chief because that bastard's head shines too fucking much?"
"Shut it."
"Aww..."
I firmly cut down the First Section Chief's tactless interruption. I won't forgive reactionary elements trying to destroy the trust and friendship between superior and subordinate!
The First Section Chief's sudden internal exposé, the Second Section Chief subtly running his hand through his full head of hair while cackling, the Fifth Section Chief quietly gazing at the Third Section Chief's shining hea— I mean, intellect. The Third Section Chief trembled with indignation at this unexpected public roasting.
The First Section Chief, the one who started it all, just tilted her head as if she had no idea what was wrong. That lack of malice makes it even more lethal.
As the meeting topic seemed to drift toward 'When Did the Third Section Chief Go Bald?', I tapped the table a few times to refocus everyone's attention.
"Stop teasing someone who just came back from work."
"Only you and the First Section Chief said anything, Director. We didn't say a word, did we?"
"For a bald man, the full-haired are objects of mockery by their very existence."
"Damn, didn't know that."
"Grmph..."
Oops, I meant to stop but ended up rambling more.
"Anyway, Third Section Chief, you did well. But you know you got lucky with this one, right?"
"Yes, well, the materials needed for the operation were already prepared, so we could proceed quickly."
"Not that. If you were going to get caught up with a duke anyway, better the Golden Duke."
"Ah."
The Third Section Chief nodded as if in agreement. The best course of action was to avoid getting involved with any duke, but if it had to happen, the Golden Duke was the best option. Among the Empire's five dukes, the Golden Duke was the closest thing to a normal person. The other four weren't human in every sense of the word.
"If any section gets tangled up with another duke, I'll be the first to offer them up as tribute, so don't worry."
"Huh? That makes me more worried, though?"
"Then transfer to another department. If you can."
I can hear him muttering something about a shitty director, but I don't care. I curse out the minister all the time too.
Of course, not where anyone can hear me. Second Section Chief, you're on night duty today.