Hero, Quit ~ Next Workplace Is Demon Castle

2-3. Make Sure That Even If You Die Tomorrow, The Organization Continues, Even Without You.

[–Thank you for your efforts. Now, report back to me with the details.]

The dark elf woman standing in front of Steina and me – I think her name is, er. …… so. Deanette. Deanette. Elven names are hard to remember.

Anyway, this Deanette seemed to have finished the job of supplying magic power on my behalf, as she said she would.

In her hand was a piece of paper …… That I had taken with me on my way out, a manual of procedures describing the work procedure. She seemed to have made good use of that, too. That’s great.

[Yes, sir. Um, Sir Godhart.]

[Revised, I am now Onyx, the Black Knight. Henceforth, call me Sir Onyx.]

[Ha, sir…… Anyway, the talisman, a magical tool given to me by Sir Onyx. That one worked fine. There seems to be no problem with its durability, so–]

[Wait a minute. Wait a minute.]

Steina, who still doesn’t grasp the situation, interrupts us with both hands, “Stop”.

[A magical talisman? What do you mean? Le…… not Sir Onyx supplied you with magic?]

[You’ll know if you ask. First, you should hear the report, demon general.]

Oh dear. It is the duty of a superior to listen calmly to the reports of their subordinates.

In fact, you can find out what happened by asking them, and you don’t want to slip up and have my true identity exposed. I nodded and urged Deanette to continue with her explanation.

[There seems to be no problem with the Talisman’s durability, so if you’ll allow us, we can supply the magic power on your behalf from tomorrow.]

[– Um. That’s the magic furnace I made, was it okay?]

[Yes. You have not heard?]

Deanette took a small magical talisman from her pocket and offered it to Steina. Yes. I made it in a little over 15 minutes, right after I left the room, after I rented the goblin engraver’s workshop.

Of the other 15 minutes that remained, I spent five minutes catching Deanette. Five minutes teaching her the procedures of the job, and the last five minutes skipping around at random and coming back to this room.

All in all, 30 minutes.

That’s the breakdown of the work I did.

[If I wear this, my magic wavelength temporarily becomes the same as Lady Steina’s. Even those who are not Lord Steina can supply magic power to the magic furnace. …… Well, that’s what, Sir Onyx said…]

[……]

Steina turns to me with a pout and ignores me. You later, later.

[And I also said. “And I also said: ‘Find a few more people with the same level of magical power as you, and work with them to supply the magic.]

[Yes. Apart from myself, there were three other magicians of the same level, so the four of us used the Talisman to carry out today’s work.]

[Very well.]

He nodded in an exaggerated manner.

This wording is quite fun, like being a demon king. …… Steina, on the other hand, has gradually swallowed the situation and is silently listening to our exchange.

[–The Demon Lord is busy. Form a team of four of them and take turns supplying magic power to the reactor core from tomorrow. Talismans for the number of people will be supplied within three days.]

[Huu.]

[It seems to have taken a little longer today, but as it’s your first day, I’ll forgive you. Next time, be aware that you will have to be more efficient and get on with the job.]

[Yes, sir!]

[That is all from me.]

[…..]

The conversation was interrupted and the gaze fell on Steina.

Since she is the only one who owns the room, Deanette can’t leave the room without her permission. Poor Deanette was frozen stiff, waiting impatiently for permission to leave the room.

No wonder. Steina is the highest-ranking officer in the demon king’s army and has mastered a lot of spells that are difficult to master, so she is more than a well-known figure among magicians. The name “Almighty Demon” is not a mere decoration.

When the Demon King’s Army was a large organization, direct conversation like this was rarely allowed, so of course she must have been nervous.

However, the «Almighty Demon» seemed to be struggling to sort out what had happened now and was mumbling something unspoken with a goofy look on his face.

[Ah. That, er,…….]

[Lady Steina?]

[Uh …… ugh……]

[Um, ……?]

…… At this rate, it seemed only a matter of time before the awe and respect for the Four Heavenly Kings rattled and crumbled away.

There was no choice. I’ll have to lend a helping hand here.

[–Director General of the Demons. The supply of magic power to the magic furnace that you entrusted to me has now been completed.]

[What? Ha, yes. Yes, thank you for your hard work.]

[It is our job to relieve your burden in this way. Deanette was worried about you.]

[….. this girl too?]

[Oh, um, if I may be so presumptuous.]

Stretching her long, elven-like ears, Deanette faltered and announced.

[We knew that you were in trouble, Lady Steina, but we are…… ashamed to say that we didn’t know what we could do to help you, and we were at a loss.]

[……]

[Thanks to Sir Onyx, it seems that we can now supply the magic on your behalf. If there is anything else we can do for you, please do not hesitate to ask.]

[—— so is that so. …… Right.]

[?]

[Ahem.]

She clears a cough in a great manner.

Steina – at least – finally seemed to have picked up her usual pace and gave her instructions in a dignified manner.

[All right, Deanette. -It was great work. Stand back.]

[Yes. Excuse me.]

She bowed deeply to me and Steina, and Deanette flapped away.

—-

After making sure the door was fully closed, the

[- How’s that.? Do you understand what I have done? ‘-Master General]

[First, stop talking like that. Undo your Metamorphosis as well.]

[Aiyo.]

He reverts from his Black Knight form back to his original form. He sits in the chair he had been sitting in earlier.

Meanwhile, Steina was staring at me. Without saying a word, her eyes are telling her to “explain”.

I think she has a pretty good idea of what happened, but I guess she can’t be convinced unless she hears it from my mouth.

[In short.]

Spread your hands.

[If the problem is that “only you can do it”, then solve that. Using the talisman I made, I’ll let them take your place – there are four workers, including Deanette. You will be supplied with six talismans, including a spare. That should be enough.]

He takes a spare talisman from his pocket and chuckles and shakes it.

If the one I gave Deanette was damaged, I was going to give her this one and go with her, but I’m glad I didn’t have to go out.

I was worried about the durability because it was a sudden product, but surprisingly, it seems that my engraving and magic grant enchantment technology worked.

[The rest of the talismans are being made by goblins. The work itself will be done by Deanette and the others. You will hear regular reports and only go there when there is a problem. Understand?]

[…… muu.]

[As promised, in two hours and half an hour, I’ve reduced your workload by one, almost permanently.]

[….. muu……]

It seemed difficult to find the words to argue with him.

The key in a fight is to close the gap between you and your opponent.

An opening where the leader is killed and leadership is disrupted.

A momentary gap when the fort’s guards change.

The gap at the moment when the opponent is convinced that she is about to make a killing by striking with a great move.

And it’s no different in relationships – even though she’s a Demon general.

I took advantage of the gap when Steina was stunned and said what I had wanted to say for a long time.

[Look. Work is not something you do alone. Especially if you’re running an organization with a lot of different people in it. Instead of a bunch of guys with high specs working hard on their own, each one of us just needs to do what we can do, even if we’re mediocre at best. That’s all it takes to get most jobs done.]

Of course, this is idealism. There are things that can go wrong. Sometimes, the individual skills are not good enough, or the total amount of work is too much for the number of people.

I remember one time – I did a bit of work for a merchants’ guild, and it was terrible, because there was so much work coming in that you needed two or three times the number of people to get it done, and people were falling and the person in charge was running away.

If I hadn’t kicked out the guildmaster at the time and rebuilt the guild myself, there wouldn’t be a merchant guild today.

Anyway, it is important not to create a situation where work cannot be carried out without a certain person, as is the case in the current demon army.

Teach your subordinates to do their jobs. Delegate work to subordinates. No matter who leaves the organization at any time – in extreme cases, even if you die tomorrow, the organization should be able to operate normally. That is the role of the executive.

Because she was only somewhat competent, Steina had misunderstood this point.

I have to do everything.

I have to do it.

Without me, the Demon Army cannot stand.

That’s not true.

In a good way, there are many replacements, so you don’t have to do everything.

That’s how organizations support each other.

That’s what I wanted to teach.

I don’t know if Steina really understood that. She just looked at me with a mysterious face.

After a very long silence, the first words that finally came out were.

[Why didn’t you tell me?]

[You worry too much.]

He says it plainly.

[I know from watching you work with the Mirage Eye. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with being cautious, but if I had told you about this, you would have said something like, ‘I’m curious, I’ll just have a look around’.]

[Ugh.]

[Besides, most of the people in the current demon army are people you interviewed in person, evaluated their abilities, and hired them. You should believe in yourself for hiring them. Believe in your subordinates, and give them the job. It’s your duty as a boss to believe in the people you put under you.]

[It doesn’t sound like the words of someone who’s been traveling alone all his life, but ……]

She responds with puffed cheeks. You’re a child, Haha..

[It’s alright, I am. I’ve got plenty of life experience; I’m allowed to travel alone once in a while. And I’ve had some results this way.]

[Life experience is you …… No.’ No! Yes!]

I fell silent, and when I was about to turn over.

Steina, who seems to have come up with a counterattack, looks up with a flash.

She sticks her index finger in the air, as if triumphant.

[It’s a good thing you let your educated subordinates do their job —- while they were working hard and you were lazing around in this room doing no work! Laziness! Slacking! How do you intend to explain this!]

[Outrageous. I may have been lazing around and sunbathing, but I was doing my job.]

[Huh?]

He thrusts out a flap of paper.

It’s – yes, it’s the list of jobs this guy has, which I had Steina write at the very beginning.

The general outline of what is written is the same as at the beginning. Instead, each of the 50 jobs is numbered and annotated, and a few of them are circled in red.

[I could see all the way from the back, looking at your work and the valley. There are a few inefficiencies – I’ve re-drafted the priorities for some of the 50 jobs, so you can refer to them as you see fit. Read the notes on the side for more details.]

[Valley ……? No, let me have a look.”]

Taking the paper from me as he snatches it and looks at it through the top.

[And also’, quill pen flicked and tapped the red-marked area for emphasis. The seven marked in red – you don’t have to do these from today. Like magic supply, I’ll find the ones who are free and have them do it.]

[Can you …… do it?]

[Train them so they can do it. That’s my job, boss.]

[…………]

Silence.

No, she is not completely silent – and starts wandering around the room, grunting something. She had a terribly complicated expression on his face.

Well, I can almost guess what she is confused about.

I decided not to leave the room, but to relax, enjoy the sun and look at the mountains in the distance.

The view of the Seshat Mountains in the late afternoon was quite good, and if this wasn’t the Devil’s Castle, it would be a first-class tourist attraction.

[Oops. This room has a bit of a view of the sea, doesn’t it?]

[……]

[Do you know? Sardines from the Bemer Sea, they’re great with chopped onions.]

[……]

[And that bread I just ate! I’m sorry, but I have to be honest with you, it tasted like shit. I was once recruited by the Culinary Guild, so let me tell you about my skills. —-]

[Leo.]

The small talk was interrupted.

I turned around to see Steina looking down, twiddling her fingers, and struggling to say something.

[Yes.]

[Its ……]

[Yes, what is? Almighty, Demon General Steina.]

[So ……]

[……]

Sighing, Steina looks up.

Then she bowed her head again.

[I apologize. I was wrong about you.]

[…… hmm. I just did what I had to do.]

[So it’s all the more reason.]

I thought she would get angry at the curt reply, but she bites back.

She kneaded his way round to my front and stared into my eyes.

[I – I have disliked you ever since the interview, but you have not let that stop you from doing your job well and reducing my workload. As one of the Four Heavenly Kings, it wouldn’t make sense if I didn’t thank you here.]

[If you fall, the Demon Army will not be able to stand, and it will certainly be crushed. Unfortunately, that is the truth.]

I look at the office desk, which is piled with papers. Steina had been working for the past few hours, yet the volume of paperwork had not decreased in the slightest.

[If the Demon Army goes down, this time, I’ll have nowhere to go,” he continued. “I didn’t want that – so I did something for me. I don’t deserve an apology or a thank you.]

[…… It’s not pretty. I have gone to great lengths to apologize honestly.]

[That’s why I was traveling alone.]

That’s what I mean. If you had the talent to be affectionate to others – and no, I think I was affectionate to a certain extent when I was a kid – But then I wouldn’t have been kicked out of the human world, and I wouldn’t have defeated the Demon King solo. I don’t.

It’s not pretty. Not honest. He has a twisted nature. I guess it’s just my nature now.

[See you later. I’m off to the next job. Call me if you need anything.]

[Yeah. Once again, good luck tomorrow, Leo.]

[Ha.]

The words on my back were softer than I’d imagined. I couldn’t help but turn around.

Steina bows with a smile that looks complicated, but contains a certain gratitude. What the hell, you can even make a pretty face.

I waved my hand in the air and was about to leave the office when I realized something.

Or rather, I remembered.

Yes, I did. I think I can do it now that she’s being honest, don’t you think?

[Yes, Steina.]

[Yes? Yes?]

[I will never make you regret it. Do you remember what I said to you afterwards?]

[What?]

She tilts his head slightly and pulls back the threads of her memory.

There was a short pause, and the demon general’s cheeks turned red.

…… Is she really a succubus? Maybe she’s so absorbed in her magic that she has no experience, or something like that?

I pouted my lips and begged for a reward.

[Lips or cheeks, if you like. Oh, or the bed if you want…]

[– get out!]

–The “Icicle Lance”, which was much less powerful than the one eaten this morning, exploded.