The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success - Chapter 53

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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 53
Kibon flinched. I shook my head and added,
“No, even if you were from the Imperial Family, they’d only apologize to your face while nothing actually changes.”
Kibon stopped for a moment, but the atmosphere around him grew even colder.
This was why teaching those sheltered flowers who’d never worked in society was exhausting.
I led Kibon outside and spoke.
“Calm down. From their perspective, it might seem natural.”
“What’s natural about it? Civil servants acting so childishly with each other…”
“We’re all earning the same salary, but our department looks completely incompetent. And honestly, we were incompetent.”
It had always been like this.
Whenever I mentioned the Scroll Management Department anywhere, the treatment was terrible.
‘Even at civil service events, we always stood at the very end…’
It was the same in daily life, not just at events.
Whether in the Dining Hall or the Cafe, we’d stand up whenever others said anything, reading the room.
We knew well that we were in a position to be mocked and despised by others.
‘But now there’s only more ridicule waiting for us, whatever.’
Sure enough, the incompetent fools were being fired left and right, and one of them was even revealed to be a spy.
Things would only get worse than before, not better.
Behind closed doors, they were definitely saying openly, ‘This is our chance to eliminate them…’
I spoke to Kibon in a soothing tone.
“They’re all elites who passed difficult exams to get here—it’s understandable they’d look down on us.”
Wage thieves… how many times had I heard that over the years.
“A department’s personnel size is one indicator of its importance. But now we’re down to just nine people.”
“But that’s unavoidable, isn’t it?”
“And then there’s this young Minister of Education that the Tower Master parachuted in. Ridicule is certainly wrong, but contempt is inevitable.”
In this situation, being treated as a legitimate Minister of Education was unrealistic.
It was obvious the other Ministers were dissatisfied with me too.
“I’ve shown nothing but incompetence so far, so insisting on better treatment would just come across as whining.”
I’d somehow become a Minister, but at this rate, I’d only be treated as the Tower Master’s puppet.
The staff would just face disrespect from all sides.
“So what do we do…”
“Stop just complaining and overcome this another way.”
“Um, how exactly…”
Kibon looked at me with confusion.
“We need to strengthen the department.”
I spoke with determination.
“We have to prove ourselves through competence. We need to show everyone that the Scroll Department can become an important division.”
“Um, how exactly…”
“For now…”
Kibon’s words kept trailing off, but I didn’t point it out. Lunch break was ending.
I turned around slowly and spoke.
“We need to secure the budget first.”
Money.
To demonstrate anything, we absolutely needed funds.
There were several ways to indirectly showcase a department’s authority.
Among them, the allocated budget was considered one of the most important factors alongside personnel count.
However, as a newly established department, we hadn’t even had our budget allocated yet.
“A lot.”
I’d already cast the bait this morning by sending a budget proposal to the Ministry of Finance.
“A very large amount.”
Now it was time to wait patiently.
“…Really, a very, very large amount.”
* * *
Namia and Kiaros eventually returned before the appointed time.
They had practically shoved food into their mouths and hadn’t even properly enjoyed dessert.
Kiaros didn’t mind that he hadn’t eaten properly, but I was concerned about the gaunt Namia.
‘That meal voucher wasn’t meant to be used like this.’
Sensing my gaze, Namia let out a small laugh and spoke.
“I’m a minister, after all.”
Then, as she took her seat, she pointed at the clock.
“If I don’t keep proper work hours myself, how can I tell my department members to do the same?”
The Scroll Management Department had always been a mess when it came to attendance, but she seemed intent on changing the atmosphere through her own example.
I stared at Namia for a moment, then spoke impulsively.
“Minister.”
“What?”
“That… the things you heard at the cafe… you don’t need to take them to heart.”
“Hm?”
“I’m speaking without fully understanding how thorough you are.”
Just thinking about it made me angry. How could they judge without knowing her properly….
[A minister at twenty-three? Who would want to work under her?]
[I’d never become a team leader under a twenty-three-year-old minister.]
I wondered how much those words must have hurt Namia.
But Namia… she simply turned away coolly, saying she’d prove herself through her abilities.
“They’re just gossip from people whose faces and names I don’t even know. I’m sure even the Imperial Family hears that level of criticism.”
It was meant to be consolation on her part.
After all, Namia had also comforted me during our meal.
I was learning so many new things about her that it was difficult to process.
The strongest emotion I felt was actually guilt.
‘It feels like I opened up my heart to her as if I were comforting her, just because she said I had no family….’
Honestly, I was moved by that warmth.
But before that, I felt a pang of guilt for deceiving Namia.
‘No, this is an investigation. Namia herself said to investigate freely if anything seemed suspicious. This is official business.’
At the same time, I made another resolution.
I would not let the Loapi Baronial Family off the hook.
I had already issued all the necessary directives, but it felt insufficient.
‘And Huan Loapi even had Namia handle all his work?’
He had leaked internal department documents, which was grounds for disciplinary action.
It was infuriating that he had violated protocol, but even more so that he had unilaterally dumped his work on Namia.
“Hmm.”
In any case, had Namia found comfort in my words?
Kiaros watched her quietly, and her small lips parted.
“They’re all fifth-year civil servants in the Ministry of Education.”
“…Pardon?”
“I know their faces and names. I look at the organizational charts and photos frequently whenever I have time. Even if I haven’t memorized all their names, I know roughly their seniority and departments.”
“…”
The Ministry of Education, while not quite as large as the Ministry of Finance, was still a substantial department with high entrance exam score requirements.
Yet mere fifth-year employees were disrespecting the Team Leader and the Minister like that…
That was absurd enough, but Namia’s murmur was even more absurd.
“Since they enjoy ranking departments by hierarchy, I’ll set the proper order for them later. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”
Kiaros swallowed dryly.
Namia hadn’t simply let it slide. She remembered everything.
And somehow, it felt like she would never forget it, no matter how much time passed.
“I don’t know all their names, but roughly starting from the one on the left—Ardan, Lebon, Udis… Wait. Let me check the organizational chart.”
Namia swiftly pulled out the organizational chart document.
She immediately began cross-referencing her memory with the black-and-white photographs, and then started marking several faces with red circles.
“Seven… Good. I found them all.”
Cold sweat trickled down Kiaros’s back.
That was when it happened.
With a bang, the office door opened and commotion erupted outside.
“Hmm?”
Namia, who had been staring intently at the organizational chart in the Minister’s Office, lifted her head sharply.
A startled voice of another employee came from the office.
“The, the Minister of Finance, why are you even here…”
Kiaros furrowed his brow.
The Minister of Finance had come?
‘Why at this timing?’
But Namia didn’t look particularly surprised.
Rather, as if she had been waiting, she even offered a smile.
‘That’s…’
Kiaros flinched without realizing it. His body trembled instinctively.
That bright and beautiful smile was the same one she had worn when she saw him this morning.
A smile that conveyed genuine delight, as if she had been waiting for him, and….
‘As if she had caught him perfectly in her trap….’

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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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