[ ...Karl Krasius, Inspection Department Director of the Ministry of Finance, is hereby dispatched to the Imperial Academy as Emergency Inspector. ]
[ ...dispatched to the Imperial Academy as Emergency Inspector.]
[ ...to the Imperial Academy... ]
"I genuinely hope he drops dead somewhere."
Having tasted both paradise and hell in a single fleeting moment thanks to the Minister's vicious machinations, I returned to my office and, not long after, shoved the remaining documents haphazardly into my desk drawer.
In my current mood, there was no way I could focus on work. Wow, giving and then taking away is the worst thing you can do, and he does it without batting an eye.
Of course, the Minister had never once actually told me he'd permit my retirement.
"I'm leaving early."
"What? But it's not even quitting time yet—where are you going?"
"You all leave early too."
"Flexible work hours are important, after all."
The section chiefs' resistance quickly subsided when I dangled the carrot of early dismissal. How delighted they must be, suddenly granted early leave when they wouldn't dare even dream of leaving on time.
The Second Section Chief in particular left first, grinning from ear to ear. That offspring really needs to get some sleep—I hope he's not going down some weird path again. I briefly considered dragging him back, but quickly looked away. If I stop him, I'll have to stay too, and I don't want that.
The day after the Inspection Department's historic early dismissal.
"Congratulations."
"Congrats!"
"Congratulations, sir."
The moment I opened my office door and arrived for work, the executives gathered around, clapping and greeting me. What the hell? Some new form of harassment?
"What are you all doing?"
"We heard everything. They say you've achieved your dream?"
"What the hell are you talking about."
That wish burned to ash in hell's lava just yesterday.
I stared at them dully when the Deputy Director sidled up from behind and tapped my shoulder. Then a finger pointing at empty air. Following the Deputy Director's finger, I turned my gaze and squeezed my eyes shut.
[ Congratulations ☆ Sir! Director's Academy Posting Confirmed! ]
[ Ah! So jealous! Academy life in the flower of your twenties! ]
Two goddamn placards hung there, flaunting their garish splendor.
"You fucking..."
"Director, are you perhaps moved?"
"Hehe, we found out late yesterday and prepared in a hurry."
"You should have told us about something like this first. Isn't it a joyous occasion?"
Bullshit from the Second Son of a Bitch, First Son of a Bitch, and Third Son of a Bitch, in that order. I glanced at the Deputy Director standing behind them, and he lowered his head, avoiding my gaze. As if apologetic for failing to stop them. Right, this must have been an unexpected disaster for you too. You're the only one I can trust.
"...Where's the Fifth Section Chief?"
"He suggested we throw a celebration party for you yesterday, Director, and we haven't been able to reach him since."
"He still hasn't come to work. My, my, to be absent on such a joyous day."
Good, I can include the Fifth Section Chief on the list of trustworthy people. It would be too much to stop three section chiefs alone, so he must have chosen to go diving. A rather wise choice, one could say.
I smiled. The Second Section Chief smiled back. The First and Third Section Chiefs also smiled while clapping even faster. The Deputy Director quietly left the office and closed the door.
***
Not long after the Deputy Director closed the door, the sound of something tearing was followed by the sound of three heads slamming into the floor.
"Is it over?"
The Fifth Section Chief approached the Deputy Director, who was hearing increasingly Minister-like booming shouts from beyond the door. Seeing how quickly he arrived, he must have been waiting nearby, watching the situation unfold. Truly excellent survival skills befitting a section chief of the Inspection Department. Though it's unfortunate that he's using those survival skills on 'Surviving the Director.'
"It just started."
"Hmm, have you eaten?"
"No. I rushed over as soon as I heard the news."
"Then you should eat now. It'll take at least an hour."
The Deputy Director glanced at the firmly shut door and nodded. This one definitely wouldn't end quickly. As he walked away with the Fifth Section Chief, profanity-laced bellows echoed from behind them, as if chanted from the depths of hell itself.
"Are you fucking kidding meeeee!"
Maybe two hours instead of one. The Deputy Director offered a silent prayer for the section chiefs' souls and quickened his pace.
***
Thanks to the three section chiefs' efforts, the Inspection Department enjoyed an energetic morning, while I massaged my stiff neck after two hours of vocally expressing my profound emotions. What would come first—my retirement or collapsing from stress-induced illness? A truly fierce chicken race... My heart feels petty just thinking about it.
As I let out a sigh, the communication orb before me flashed blue. Blue light... a direct call from the Minister.
'Damn it.'
Another sigh escaped. They say sighing drives away good fortune, but hasn't mine already been seized? How else could my life be this much of a mess? Maybe I should go to church and get a blessing. If I donate enough, maybe my fate will turn around?
"Yes... Inspection Department Director speaking."
- Oh? You're actually answering right away for once?
As soon as I touched the communication orb, the Minister's face popped up above it. The Magic Tower goes too far. Why couldn't they just make something that transmits voice? Why did they have to create something that shows faces too? I barely used video calls even before possession.
"Yes, well. I just finished what I was doing and was taking a break."
Periodic hierarchy reinforcement with the section chiefs is one of the Director's important duties.
- Really? Perfect timing then. Come to the Minister's office. It's urgent.
"You dumped that mess on me yesterday and now you have another urgent matter? Did you leave your decency in the Northern Region?"
- It's related to yesterday's incident, so shut up and get over here.
And then the communication orb cut off unilaterally. Rank is a bully, rank truly is a bully.
'I don't lose to anyone else in terms of protocol hierarchy either.'
The Minister chews me out so naturally that even I'm starting to forget, but a Director is a position that commands respect anywhere. Especially as the Director of the Ministry of Finance, which shines as the second-ranked department in the entire Imperial administration. But of all people, my counterpart is a Minister. What a pain in the ass.
"I'll be back shortly."
I informed the Deputy Director, who was working at his desk, and headed to the Minister's office. The frequency of my attendance at the Minister's office seems to be increasing lately, and that's probably not just my imagination. Every time I go, all I see is that burly muscle-bound Minister—what's so great about that place that I keep getting dragged there?
"Oh, Inspection Department Director. It's been a while."
That didn't mean I wanted to see other people either.
"Foreign Affairs Minister, Your Excellency? Wait, what brings you here?"
A middle-aged man with a benevolent impression who had been drinking tea with the Minister greeted me warmly. I hurriedly bowed my head. Then I glared at the Minister. If another Minister was going to be here, he should have told me in advance.
At my look, the Minister set down his teacup on the table as if to say, 'So what?'
"He came because there's an important matter to convey before you leave on this dispatch assignment. He's moved his precious feet because of you, so be grateful and listen."
"Haha, it's work for the Inspection Department Director who's traveling far for the Empire's sake—what thanks do I deserve?"
"Don't gild him too much. He gets cocky right away and tries to talk back."
"Oh, speaking from experience? I'll keep that in mind."
The Foreign Affairs Minister chuckled and turned his gaze back to Karl.
"So, Inspection Department Director. You've been appointed as the Inspector dispatched to the Academy this time, correct?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"Until now, a Section Chief-level Inspector was sufficient for Academy dispatches by convention. The fact that we're specifically sending a Director means something significant has happened. You must have received some explanation from the Minister of Finance."
No, I haven't heard anything at all.
Naturally, my pupils moved toward the Minister. Yesterday ended with just the two of us shouting back and forth, so I didn't hear jack shit.
The Minister, seemingly having nothing to say about that, quietly sipped his tea and avoided my gaze. Either oblivious to the awkward exchange of glances between superior and subordinate, or simply ignoring it, the Foreign Affairs Minister pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his forehead and continued speaking.
"The truth is, there are many problems with this year's Academy freshmen."
"Many problems? Don't tell me commoners make up over half the class?"
"If that were the case, it wouldn't be called a problem. See for yourself."
With that, the Foreign Affairs Minister handed me the documents he'd been holding.
"This is a list of persons of interest among this year's freshmen."
"Just who could they be for Your Excellency to mark them as persons of interest?"
I couldn't help but question the Foreign Affairs Minister's words. The Academy was the Empire's premier educational institution and a preparatory ground for high society, so it was common for children of high-ranking nobles to enroll. Members of the Imperial Family frequently attended the Academy, as did those from the five great ducal houses below them.
Excluding unusual cases like myself, the vast majority of the Empire's Blue Bloods enrolled in the Academy. Yet here was the Foreign Affairs Minister, personally visiting the Ministry of Finance to discuss persons of interest. Were there really people who warranted such concern?
My eyes, which had been racing through the list, immediately stopped. The very first name was nothing short of extraordinary.
1. Ryutis Robens
Momentarily at a loss for words, I looked up at the Foreign Affairs Minister.
"That's... not who I think it is, right?"
"It's exactly the Ryutis you're thinking of."
My brow furrowed sharply.
"Why in the world would a prince of Armein crawl his way into the Academy?"
"If I knew that, would I be here like this? The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been turned upside down—it's absolute chaos. We reached out to the Armein side asking what this was all about, and they said they were just as bewildered since the prince's will was so resolute."
At that utterly unhelpful answer, I irritably scratched my head and stared down at the name Ryutis. The Third Prince of the Kingdom of Armein, a nation that boasted the second-greatest national power on the continent after the Empire.
While it wasn't unprecedented for foreign students to enroll in the Academy, there had never been a case of a high-ranking official doing so. When they had educational institutions in their own countries, what glory could they possibly seek by coming all the way to the Empire?
"This is maddening."
"It's too early to be overwhelmed. There's still plenty left, isn't there?"
The first batter had made such a strong impression that it overshadowed the fact that there was still a long lineup remaining. Belatedly checking all the remaining names, I let out a hollow laugh.
2. Later Ostia
3. Tanian Enes
In order, the Second Prince of the Yuben United Kingdom and a leading Saint Candidate from the Holy Church State.
The Foreign Affairs Minister, watching me as my composure fled, added in a quiet voice words that nonetheless seemed to pierce through my eardrums.
"Those three are the foreign dignitaries. As for domestic matters, you'll remember that His Highness the Third Prince is enrolling this time."
"Yes... I'm aware."
Which made this even more maddening. The Empire's prince, the prince of the second-greatest power, the prince of the next-ranking United Kingdom, and a Saint Candidate from the Holy Church State—whose territory might be small but whose prestige couldn't be ignored—all gathering in one place. If even one proper terrorist attack landed here, the entire continent would erupt into chaos.
"Ah."
So that's why I'm being sent.
When I looked at the Minister who had been silent until now, he nodded in affirmation. As if to say, 'Yes, it's exactly what you're thinking.'
"The Academy is nominally absolutely neutral, but it's located right in the middle of Imperial territory and most of its students are Imperial citizens, so that clause is effectively meaningless. That's why Academy security has been handled by the Imperial Army, and recently we've been in the process of redeploying some of the Academy security forces to other regions."
The Empire redeploying the Empire's forces was an undeniable right that no one could object to. However, the situation changed when key personnel from the Three Kingdoms enrolled in the Academy just as its security forces were being reduced. From the perspective of the Three Kingdoms' foreign ministries, already on edge about the safety of their key personnel, the news that the Academy's security forces had been reduced from their previous levels would be cause for alarm.
Of course, if their key personnel simply didn't enroll in the Imperial Academy, they wouldn't care whether the security forces were large or small. But apparently, having eaten something wrong, they stubbornly insisted and managed to enroll anyway. In that case, civil servants—who are nothing more than tools to realize the will of those in high positions—had to somehow make that will a reality. Thanks to that, they swallowed the diplomatic discourtesy and expressed their intention to send their own forces to the Imperial Academy.
Sending their own forces to an Imperial educational institution on Imperial territory? Even the foreign ministries of the Three Kingdoms must have done this while suffering from extreme existential dread. But what choice did they have? If a prince and a Saint insisted on going no matter what, ensuring their safety was the top priority. The safety of the royal family took precedence over diplomatic discourtesy.
Naturally, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs initially rejected the Three Kingdoms' proposal outright, telling them not to be ridiculous. What lunatic would want to let foreign troops onto their own territory? However, the desperation of the Three Kingdoms' foreign ministries, blinded by the need to secure the safety of important personnel, was truly desperate.
At their declaration—wrapped in all manner of diplomatic rhetoric but essentially saying 'If you just give us this, we'll make major concessions elsewhere!'—the Empire finally reached an agreement with the Three Kingdoms, allowing a small contingent from each nation to guard their enrollees on the condition that they submit a list of their forces.
"We had been reducing Academy security forces anyway, but there were many voices asking how we'd handle the chaos from the sudden gap. Then the Three Kingdoms offered to send forces while paying us for it. Since we couldn't stop the enrollment anyway, we gladly accepted."
"And with foreign forces stationed inside the Academy, a war of nerves is inevitable. The faculty would find it difficult to handle those responsible for guarding royalty, but conveniently, isn't it time to dispatch an inspector to the Academy? With this year's freshmen being so illustrious, donations have come in at an incomparable scale, establishing justification for a director-level official to step in."
I had no rebuttal against the one-two punch from the Foreign Affairs Minister and the Minister. No matter which civil servant went, they couldn't negotiate directly with royal personnel. That meant they'd often be dealing with the guard forces beneath them instead, and I was being told to use my director rank to assert dominance.
I understood. I could see the necessity.
The problem was that I had to be the one to do it.
'Wait, was this an Academy story all along?'
A guy, a guy, and a guy had crossed borders and forced their way into the Academy. All in the same year, no less. Which meant the Academy was the main stage. The invisible hand of the Creator was clearly herding the protagonists into the Academy.
Damn it, the free chapters didn't mention anything about the Academy, so I just assumed it wouldn't go there. Who could have known it would turn into an Academy story when the free chapters only showed them as children?
As I cursed inwardly, the Minister approached and patted my shoulder.
"Whenever things get tough, think of it this way: if you mess up, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs goes down with you."
Wow, how incredibly motivating.
After that, I had no choice but to frantically prepare for my dispatch to the Academy.
I possessed someone's body, but is there no regression? It would be nice if I could go back exactly four years.