The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success - Chapter 11

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 11
“Pardon?”
“You could always quit, or request a transfer to another department citing poor fit or something similar, couldn’t you?”
He seemed thoroughly dissatisfied with our department. I answered blankly.
“There hasn’t been anything particularly serious, so….”
“Don’t worry about reading the room. Be honest with me. Being scolded unfairly like that isn’t a serious matter?”
“Yes. In the Scroll Management Department, this sort of thing is quite ordinary and unremarkable—just another peaceful day at work.”
At my polite response, Kiaros clicked his tongue in disbelief.
“It sounds like an organization you could leave immediately.”
If I quit, I won’t get paid….
But as for why I hadn’t requested a transfer due to poor fit… truthfully, I didn’t fully understand my own heart.
Or did I? Did I know?
‘I do like scrolls, after all.’
Perhaps because I’d been making scrolls and playing alone since childhood, even though the department was a mess, I didn’t particularly want to transfer elsewhere.
But listening to Kiaros grumble suddenly made me think of the New Intern.
‘There really was someone who quit on the spot….’
That New Intern had submitted their resignation without hesitation.
Before they left, I’d at least gotten them to move some boxes, so from my perspective it was fortunate.
I was smiling slightly while thinking of the New Intern when Kiaros suddenly furrowed his brow and asked.
“Why are you smiling?”
“My apologies.”
I’d only smiled a little, but his observational skills were remarkably sharp.
I immediately lowered my head and explained.
“The New Intern I received not long ago submitted their resignation after just one day, and… I was thinking of that.”
“Ah.”
Unexpectedly, Kiaros continued the conversation about that New Intern.
“Why did that New Intern quit after just one day?”
“Well, I’m not entirely sure.”
“Didn’t Namia receive the resignation letter directly?”
“That’s… correct.”
“Then Namia must have handled all the follow-up procedures. Why didn’t you ask her the reason?”
I suddenly felt awkward.
In truth, I hadn’t been particularly motivated to inquire about the New Intern’s reasons for leaving.
I honestly wasn’t even curious. But I couldn’t answer here with something like ‘I suppose I didn’t feel like it….’
So I quickly racked my brain and spouted out some excuse.
“I thought it might be burdensome for someone in the position of resigning….”
“Hmm?”
“Actually, I’d assigned them a task, and they seemed to dislike it… I wondered if they didn’t even want to talk to me….”
As I fabricated the explanation, my words grew slower and my pronunciation increasingly slurred.
“I’ve never had a subordinate before… so whenever a subordinate comes to me, I’ve always thought I should make things really comfortable for them….”
That was my genuine intention. I had sworn to myself that if anyone ever came under my command, I would never become a superior like Oson.
Though my first subordinate was… a truly insolent New Intern with an infuriatingly disrespectful manner of speech.
“Even if that New Intern quit after just one day… well, that’s why I didn’t ask for reasons.”
Was I pulling this off reasonably well?
I glanced over to find Kiaros staring at me with unmistakable suspicion.
His expression screamed disbelief. He was clearly no easy opponent.
“Ah, well, and.”
But once you started a lie with your superior, you could never let it be discovered.
“He was quite handsome, actually. Good physique too. The kind of face that would be popular with women everywhere, so if I asked too many more questions, wouldn’t he think I was being inappropriate?”
At that, Kiaros let out a sudden cough.
“So… um, you’re saying you thought he was handsome?”
It’s working! I nodded vigorously for emphasis.
“Yes. Extremely, truly, genuinely so.”
“…Really? That exterior was that impressive….”
Despite never having actually seen the New Intern, Kiaros adopted a very serious expression. Then he asked with genuine earnestness.
“Better than me now?”
What? This self-centered line of thinking?
Still, it was the fate of a subordinate that I couldn’t say things like, “Why would you even ask that in this context?”
I answered reluctantly, but honestly.
“No matter how handsome that New Intern was, he couldn’t compare to Your Highness the Crown Prince….”
It was sincere enough that it was hard to call it flattery. Perhaps that’s why Kiaros didn’t look particularly pleased.
I couldn’t understand why he’d asked in the first place.
I rolled my eyes and continued.
“But, well, talking with Your Highness just now, I realized… that New Intern might have misunderstood things in a different way.”
In any case, it was time to end this topic.
Since I’d unexpectedly needed to lie, I’d been rambling without coherence or logic until now.
So I decided to finish with a truly seamless lie.
“If my first junior, that New Intern, were to return by some chance….”
If that arrogant New Intern who had widened his eyes just because I asked him to move boxes were to return by some chance.
“I would make sure to clear up any misunderstandings and help him feel completely at ease.”
I would make sure he understood what real work entailed by rolling him around thoroughly.
“Well. Namia’s sincerity will get through one way or another.”
Kiaros finally relented! He even nodded, seemingly impressed by my words.
“Though that excellent New Intern with the handsome exterior and good physique will never return to that department.”
“Yes, he’ll never return….”
As we continued our conversation about the New Intern, we arrived at the Office.
Just as I was about to open the door and enter.
“Your Highness!”
Kiaros’s Aide came rushing toward us in panic.
“During the investigation, something urgent came up that I needed to report. There’s someone inside the Imperial Palace colluding with the conspirators…. Ah, my apologies. You have a guest.”
The Aide’s mouth fell open as he looked at me, then snapped shut.
As expected, he was clearly tracking down the perpetrators swiftly following yesterday’s assassination attempt.
Kiaros gave his Aide a subtle wink as if to say he should remain quiet for now, then turned to address me.
“Well, ahem, anyway, returning to the matter of the New Intern… it’s only natural for superiors to assign work. That intern must have simply harbored some misunderstanding; he certainly didn’t dislike Namia.”
“Yes, well…”
My lie seemed to have worked—Kiaros appeared to believe I had grown quite fond of the New Intern.
In truth, I held little interest in the intern; what truly captivated me was the investigation into the perpetrators behind the attack…
‘Wait. Hold on.’
As I naturally reflected on the assassination scene, something suddenly struck me.
‘That’s it! How could I have overlooked that until now?’
My mind blazed with sudden clarity. Meanwhile, Kiaros continued speaking.
“Well, you see, Namia simply isn’t the type to articulate matters with logical precision. There’s certainly room for misunderstanding…”
I gasped involuntarily and cried out.
“Your Highness! Wait, please!”
I opened my eyes wide and continued urgently.
“Let me direct attention back to that moment when the escort was breached.”
Both Kiaros and his Aide stared at me in bewilderment.
“That Ministry of Justice Official was facing Southeast when he cried out, ‘Aaahhh! Here! Here! Three o’clock direction! They’re here!’ And upon hearing those words, three of the five escort knights who had been facing West rushed toward that location. But here’s the critical point—that ‘three o’clock direction’ was given from the knights’ perspective, not his own. Yet ordinarily, someone without combat training wouldn’t possess the spatial awareness to spontaneously reference directions from another person’s frame of reference during a sudden ambush. He’s neither a professionally trained operative nor does his regular duties involve such spatial coordination.”
The Aide’s jaw dropped as he listened, and he murmured in astonishment.
“Heavens. To articulate matters with such absolute clarity and logical precision…”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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