Entering the central skyscraper of the Port Mafia, Qingque took the elevator to her workstation. She spent ten minutes finishing the rest of her daily tasks, then headed to the higher floors, turning into Chuuya Nakahara's office.
Technically, she was a clerk under the jurisdiction of Executive Candidate Chuuya Nakahara. While that put her close to the leadership, her status remained humble. Confidential documents went to dedicated secretaries; only the leftover, unimportant files reached small fry like Qingque. Since Chuuya was notoriously hardworking and capable, there was even less left for the low-level clerks to handle.
These clerks mostly managed odd jobs. Being a master of evasion, Qingque spent most of her day as a ghost, nowhere to be found.
Of course, no matter how much one slacked off, certain tasks couldn't be ignored—if you didn't do them, someone else had to. One of Qingque's secrets to "working happily" was processing her own share at lightning speed and maintaining great relationships with her colleagues. Thus, every day before clocking out, she would register the files handled by her team and deliver the originals to Chuuya's office.
As she approached the door, she noticed it was slightly ajar, as if it hadn't been closed properly.
As a diviner, Qingque already had a bad feeling.
'Well, things have come to this. Might as well cast a hex.'
She quickly interpreted the signs.
Let nature take its course.
Qingque sighed. 'No choice then.' She pushed the door open, only to see a pitch-black silhouette standing before Chuuya's mahogany desk. Hearing footsteps, the figure turned around.
Upon seeing his face, Qingque's expression shifted into a fawning smile. "Oh, isn't this Mr. Dazai? Are you looking for Chuuya? He isn't in today."
While Qingque lacked ambition and loved slacking off, even her former boss had to admit she was highly capable—just hopelessly unmotivated.
Qingque would surely cry foul at that. She did her homework; for instance, she had memorized the company regulations and identified all the executives the moment she started. That was why she could recognize the man standing before her despite having slacked off five out of her seven days on the job.
Osamu Dazai. A rank higher than her current boss, he was the youngest Executive in history.
Much like Chuuya, Dazai was famous. If Chuuya ranked first on the "Most Popular Boss" list, Dazai occupied the top spot on the "Least Popular" list by an overwhelming margin.
Their mutual loathing was public knowledge. It was even rumored that the thread Chuuya Doesn't Give Up This Week Either on the Port Mafia forums was maintained by Dazai himself.
Seeing Dazai, Qingque—as Chuuya's subordinate—immediately went on high alert.
'Look at that black outfit and those gloomy eyes... anyone who didn't know better would think his Mara-struck symptoms were acting up.'
Dazai lifted his eyelids, casting a flat glance at Qingque.
"I haven't seen you before."
"I only joined last week, Lord Dazai," Qingque replied respectfully, introducing herself in a hurry. "I'm a new low-level clerk. I usually just handle paperwork."
Incidentally, a newcomer like Qingque shouldn't have ended up directly under Chuuya. It had been a winding road, but Chuuya had "recognized her talent" and picked her to work for him.
At first, she feared he would be another Master Fu Xuan. To her surprise, Chuuya had a great personality and was incredibly diligent. Even with Qingque coasting every day, he never said much.
Then again, he was likely just too busy. He was out on missions constantly; they hadn't even seen each other since her first day.
'He's nothing like Fu Xuan, who's always stationed at the Divination Commission. Not only are we always face-to-face there, but she can use divination to find exactly where I'm hiding.'
"Oh, that slug's subordinate, then—" Dazai drawled intentionally. "How pitiful. Such a cute girl must have a hard time under a brainless guy like Chuuya."
Qingque gave a forced laugh, keeping her gaze fixed on her own feet. She had no intention of getting caught in the crossfire between two high-ranking officials.
Perhaps because Qingque acted so timid, Dazai lost interest. Just as he prepared to leave, a set of hurried footsteps echoed from outside.
Dazai's expression shifted slightly. Because of the delay with Qingque, the midget had already returned.
"Dazai!!" The voice arrived before the person. The moment Chuuya saw the door open, he had a premonition of disaster. He stormed in, only to stop when he saw Qingque. He frowned deeply. "Qingque? That guy didn't do anything to you, did he?"
Qingque waved her hands. "No, no. Mr. Dazai was very kind."
'As if I'd speak ill of a leader to his face!'
Chuuya's expression turned complex, his words catching in his throat. 'Dazai? Kind?' He seriously doubted if Qingque had been deceived by Dazai's highly misleading appearance.
Dazai lifted his eyes coldly. "As expected of a slug with more muscle than brains. I didn't do anything to her."
"Rest assured, I am quite tender toward lovely girls." Dazai smiled slightly. His handsome face took on an intoxicating, poppy-like allure. His eyes were like an abyss, threatening to drag anyone who looked too long down into inescapable depths.
"Miss Qingque, right? A beautiful name, just like yourself. If there's ever a day you can't stand that boorish Chuuya, you can come to my division. It'll be much more relaxed and free."
Though his goal was to disgust Chuuya, Dazai was very convincing when he put on his mask—especially against women.
Qingque remained utterly unmoved. What a joke. What kind of beauties hadn't the Xianzhou people seen? General Jing Yuan was a staple of the Universal Beauty Compendium—the very same book that had tricked the Trailblazer out of a month's worth of pocket money. The Trailblazer had cried to her about it for ages.
In short, Qingque's aesthetic threshold was sky-high. She decisively showed loyalty to her boss. "I'm sorry, Mr. Dazai, but I am single-mindedly devoted to Lord Chuuya!"
'After all, where else am I going to find a boss with such a good temper?'
The blunt flattery made Chuuya's face flush, but he couldn't show weakness in front of Dazai. He braced himself and snapped, "You heard her? Now get lost!"
Dazai swept a melancholy gaze over Chuuya. "Truly a boorish midget. Sister Kouyou's education hasn't changed your nature of only knowing how to throw punches."
Chuuya's knuckles cracked. "If you don't get out now, I'll show you exactly how boorish my nature is."
Dazai knew when to quit. He turned and strolled away, his black coat fluttering in the air like the wings of a demon.
Then, he was called back.
"Wait, Lord Dazai." Qingque pulled a thin stack from Chuuya's massive pile of documents and handed it to Dazai. "You forgot your things."
Qingque had noticed it earlier—Chuuya's stack was an inch higher than it should have been. Based on the rumors, Dazai must have been secretly offloading his work onto Chuuya.
Normally, Qingque followed the principle of "the less trouble, the better," but Chuuya was her current boss—a "Triple-A" boss you couldn't find even with a searchlight. If he weren't here, she wouldn't have dared to provoke an Executive, but since he was here... she had to fulfill her duties as a subordinate.
Chuuya saw the stack and realized what was happening. His suppressed anger exploded. He threw a punch directly at Dazai. "You bastard, Dazai! You're sneaking your work onto me again!"
Dazai's movements were light as he dodged. "I saw through your move ages ago, Chuuya."
"Shut up and take your files and get out!" Chuuya snatched the documents from Qingque and hurled them at Dazai.
Dazai caught them smoothly, his gaze lingering for a moment. He knew that when he slipped those files in, Qingque hadn't been watching. Furthermore, he hadn't been clumsy about it; he had mixed them in carefully so Chuuya wouldn't notice the workload increase immediately. Yet, Qingque had picked them out instantly...
Dazai stared at Qingque thoughtfully, his eyes dark and unreadable.
The gaze made the hair on Qingque's neck stand up. She took a side-step and hid behind Chuuya.
Seeing her movement, Chuuya stepped forward to shield his subordinate. "What are you looking at? Surely you aren't so petty that you'd seek petty revenge?"
"Rest assured, I'm not that bored. I was just looking... Tsk tsk. Truly a match made in heaven, boss and subordinate. I suppose this is the only time in your life you can show off any 'manly' spirit, Chuuya." Dazai stood tall and looked down, his eyes devoid of divine mercy, showing only contempt for the short stature.
"Tsk tsk. I suppose you two will never breathe the air of the upper levels in this lifetime."
Indeed, the 157cm Chuuya (who only reached 160cm at age 22) stood in stark contrast to the 175cm Dazai (180cm at age 22).
As for Qingque, don't forget she was a Pipishi-certified talent, perfectly suited for the Four-Foot Shrine. When she joined the Port Mafia, they had repeatedly questioned her age, and she had been forced to make up some nonsense.
The result was everyone looking at her with pity, thinking she was a girl who couldn't grow due to some illness. Qingque felt helpless.
'Dammit, I'm much taller than most Pipishi! People on Earth just haven't seen enough of the world!'
"Bastard Dazai!!" Chuuya turned red with rage, his voice a low growl as he punched. "I'm still in my growth spurt!!"
Qingque couldn't help but chime in. "That's too cruel! I'm not even two hundred years old yet; I can still grow!"
"Eh?" Chuuya's heated momentum broke. He turned back to look at her.
Dazai's gaze also focused on Qingque.
'Oops. Slip of the tongue.'
Qingque didn't want people to know she was an alien yet. The reason was simple: she didn't want to "pioneer," nor did she need to expand territory like the IPC. Slacking off and playing tiles was her true passion. If this pre-starfaring civilization found out she was an alien, she'd never have a peaceful day again.
But this was Qingque. She recovered naturally. "Don't you think so, Lord Chuuya? Humans are creatures that grow throughout their entire lives. We can definitely get taller!"
"Well said!" Chuuya blinked, agreeing. "Humans do keep growing."
"Honestly... I must be too idle if I'm listening to you two midgets have a fever dream." Dazai massaged his temples, looking like he couldn't bear to watch.
"I'm leaving. Chuuya, you keep holding onto that foolish dream while I look down on you forever." Dazai turned and gave a lazy wave.
"Get lost! And don't show your face in front of me again!" Chuuya squeezed his fist, his voice harsh.
Once Dazai was gone, Qingque couldn't help but complain.
"Lord Dazai is too much! Just a few minutes ago he was talking about 'beautiful ladies'!" Qingque hadn't been charmed, but what girl doesn't like a compliment? "If you ask me, he's definitely going to be single for life!"
Chuuya looked at Qingque and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "Just keep that opinion." He had seen far too many women crying over Osamu Dazai.
"No problem, Lord Chuuya."
'The leader is always right.' As long as it didn't interfere with her slacking, Qingque had that much self-awareness.
"Right, Qingque, you came here to..." Chuuya couldn't quite recall her specific duties. Though he had requested her for his unit, he rarely saw her.
"Lord Chuuya." Qingque cut off his train of thought, placing the files she had spent ten minutes organizing on the desk. "These are the documents processed today."
"Oh, right. Just leave them there." Chuuya glanced at them, planning to check them after finishing his current work. "By the way, Qingque, have you gotten used to the Port Mafia yet?"
"I have, I have!" Qingque smiled fawningly. "Thanks to you, everyone takes great care of me."
"That's good." Chuuya nodded. "If you run into any trouble, tell me. I'll help if I can."
"Not at all! I'm doing great, thank you, Lord Chuuya!" Qingque meant that from the bottom of her heart. She was a top-tier slacker who spent less than thirty minutes in the building, excluding clock-in time.
"Hmm... anyway, don't go near Suribachi City anymore. It's dangerous." Chuuya added one more instruction.
The reason he mentioned this was tied to how Qingque had been hired.
Originally, Qingque had used her tech to get rid of her "illegal immigrant" status, since Earth didn't recognize a Xianzhou diploma. To find a suitable job (mostly suitable for slacking), she had left it to the power of divination!
She followed the signs all the way to Yokohama's most chaotic area—a massive two-kilometer crater filled with gangs, orphans, and stowaways known as Suribachi City. With her pretty face, petite height, and exquisite clothes, she had successfully been cornered by a local gang after doing a "good deed" by saving some kids.
The thugs didn't just want her money; they wanted to sell her.
Just as Qingque was about to show the Earth natives the martial prowess of the Xianzhou, Chuuya had descended from the sky and taught them a harsh lesson.
However, it wasn't a "hero saving the beauty" moment. Chuuya had simply mistaken her for a minor. Seeing her protect other children reminded him of his old group, "The Sheep," so he stepped in. Of course, this mafia member with a surprisingly high moral compass would have helped anyone, but he wouldn't have escorted them all the way out of Suribachi City like he did for her.
Chuuya had lectured her for a long time about staying away from dangerous places.
Qingque had taken the chance to explain she wasn't a minor, but just "born that way," and that she had five hungry kids at home and one weary adult to support, so she had no choice but to find a living—at least, that was Chuuya's interpretation.
Whether out of "short-stature sympathy" or just genuine kindness, Chuuya feared she'd get into more trouble and told her the Mori Corporation was hiring clerks, suggesting she give it a try.
Chuuya had only meant to give her a livelihood. He hadn't expected Qingque to use the same exam-taking prowess that got her into the Divination Commission to breeze through the recruitment process, taking first place—she had actually failed to manipulate her score low enough.
Seeing her name and remembering her "five siblings," Chuuya had simply promoted her into his own unit, leading to Qingque's happy life of slacking.
In a sense, Chuuya was like a second parent to her.
And, like a father, he was prone to worrying.
"I understand. I won't go there again." Qingque nodded repeatedly in response to his warning.
'There's no one to play Celestial Jade with over there anyway. Why would I go?'
★ ★ ★