Chapter 135: This Place Is An Excellent Source of Civil Servants (3)
The disaster of the President becoming “Brilliant President Fragment x8” due to the enraged Treasurer was narrowly avoided. Thank goodness, because gathering those fragments would have been a real hassle!
“Is it Sirri Dared?”
“Yes, that’s correct!”
“You wrote it properly. Here you go.”
“Thank you so much!”
I couldn’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction from the booming voice of the Treasurer, which felt oddly fulfilling. If someone as passionate as her joined the Ministry of Finance, my future would certainly be smoother. It would be even better if she made her way to the Prosecutor’s Office!
Bowing her head, the Treasurer happily accepted the business card with both hands. Anyone could see that her shoulders, which had once trembled in anger, were now shaking for a completely different reason. After all, she was the somewhat ambiguous second daughter of a noble, so it wasn’t likely anyone would give her a letter of recommendation.
This is what a newbie should look like.
Genuinely thrilled even with the smallest opportunity! You absolutely have to grow up the right way. It’d be heartbreaking if such a fresh newbie underwent a dark transformation like the trio of those 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Managers!
“I’ve been closely observing the efforts and abilities of the student council, and I’m glad to say that I wanted to give you a recommendation letter beforehand. Looks like it’s finally happening.”
“It’s an honor! I won’t forget this kindness!”
No need to thank me that much. I should be the one feeling grateful.
“I asked the President to keep it a secret, so don’t feel too let down about it.”
I told the Treasurer this while patting the President’s shoulder next to me, and she kept nodding her head in agreement. This should prevent any potential second round of drama.
Sure, the President might be a bit flamboyant in his teasing, but one can’t miss a good opportunity to tea-bag someone, right? I totally understand—I was just like that at his age too…
Oh, damn it.
A dreadful thought crept in, causing me to lightly bite my lip. Seriously, after just a 2-year age difference, what the heck am I saying? I’m still young, for crying out loud!
Mentally, I feel like I’m aging faster than my actual years. Gotta snap out of this! I can’t become one of those old young folks!
“Here are the letters of recommendation for the other officers.”
While suppressing my dismay, I handed four business cards to the President. I had already given one to the Treasurer. If I delayed handing them out to the other officers too long, they might misunderstand and think they were being ignored.
These talents are going to serve the Empire for decades, so I can’t afford to bruise their feelings over something trivial. I trust that the President will handle them all today.
“I’ll make sure they get delivered properly.”
“Alright!”
Even if the President forgets, there’s no need to worry since the Treasurer is watching. Plus, it’s not like these cards could just vanish into thin air; they’ll be delivered to the rightful owners for sure.
Thus, I left the student council room, saying goodbye to Marghetta, who had just stepped out of the Vice President’s office.
It’s quiet.
And thankfully, as I exited, my fears of the Treasurer grabbing the President by the throat didn’t come to pass.
What a relief! If two future civil servants ended up in a brawl and got hurt, it would be a loss for the Empire, wouldn’t it? Their bodies now belonged to the nation, not to themselves!
On my way back to the club room, I pulled out my communication crystal in an isolated spot.
“A partnership?”
“If you want to put it grandly, yes.”
It’s crucial to act quickly on important ideas before they slip my mind.
Of course, I could’ve done all this in the club room. But after spreading the letters of recommendation around and hearing Marghetta’s confidence in boosting next year’s student council, I simply couldn’t sit still!
If raw gems are just lying around, it makes perfect sense to collect them professionally instead of picking them up individually. How infuriating would it be to miss out on future civil servants due to such inefficiency!?
So, I suggested to the Minister that we create a system where the student council automatically transitions into civil service through cooperation with the Academy.
“After all, the student council wants to enter official positions. Wouldn’t it also benefit us to have more newcomers?”
“That’s true.”
Despite his response, the Minister’s demeanor seemed indifferent, as if questioning why we needed to meddle when everything was running smoothly.
This fiery old man had become a full-on office worker after two years behind a desk. He wouldn’t even lift a finger for anything that wasn’t necessary. Where did the passionate Manager who used to punch me in the jaw go in front of the last Minister?
“These kids aim to be civil servants, do they really need to take those exams?”
Nevertheless, I needed the Minister’s approval, so I continued. Nowadays, even individuals without any experience can become civil servants with a mere letter of recommendation. Is it really such a problem to grant a free pass to kids who’ve been involved with the student council for three years?
“They’re already aiming to be civil servants, so creating this system is unnecessary.”
“It’s not a problem, but it’s a hassle.”
His expression seemed to say just that, even if he wouldn’t say it outright.
It definitely wouldn’t be a simple task. It involved the Academy, which meant the Ministry of Education would get dragged in. Plus, we’d have to handle all the necessary paperwork since new people would be joining regularly. It wasn’t impossible but would be incredibly annoying.
On the other hand, letting the current exam process continue would suffice. If someone truly wanted to pass the test, they could follow my route and grab a recommendation letter.
But that shouldn’t be the case! I couldn’t afford to risk losing out on raw gems by sticking with such a haphazard method—
“Hey.”
“Pardon?”
I was about to speak again when the Minister cut in first.
“How many are left?”
The Minister’s casual question caught me off guard. Damn it, what timing for that!
“…About seventy remain.”
“Ha.”
After stuttering a few times, I managed to respond, only to hear the Minister’s mocking laugh.
“You can’t seriously still believe in that, can you?”
“Why suddenly bring that up?”
I felt irritated. He was pulling me back into a topic I was trying desperately to avoid.
Sure, my hands and feet were trembling, but I had no way to lash out while using the communication crystal.
“Sometimes I can’t tell if it’s a lack of intelligence or just sheer naivety on your part.”
“Just say I’m overly faithful!”
And crap, isn’t it basically the same to be lacking in intelligence and being overly naïve?
Damn it.
I sighed and irritably ran my hand through my hair.
I knew it all too well. I was clinging to something pointless and unreliable.
“Leaving talented individuals unattended is like committing a sin against the Empire. If you bring me about a hundred talents to replace the Prosecutor’s Office’s Executive Manager, then I might consider it.”
Those were the words the Crown Prince shared with me that day I went nuts, bypassed the Minister, and handed in my resignation straight to him.
Upon seeing my resignation, the Crown Prince laid a deal on me. No, honestly, it was more like he was teasing me rather than making a genuine offer. Even if I really did bring a hundred people, he’d probably just change his statements to, “Replacing the Prosecutor’s Office’s Executive Manager requires not just one hundred, but two hundred people!”
I get it. What I heard was akin to a child demanding a toy while throwing a tantrum, being told, “I’ll get it for you if you’re good this year.” But in desperation and neediness, we all want to grasp onto something, or anything. I was no exception…
“By the way, how did you manage to gather thirty?”
“I recruited all of them from the Academy. The Academy really is a treasure!”
Since the Minister had seen through my intentions, I decided to lay it all out there. Besides the student council, I had managed to score some fun during the last practical exam.
Yeah, this partnership proposal was rife with my own interests. I planned to automatically recruit all those prospective civil servants from the Academy to fill up the hundred spots. Is that such a crime? Am I doing this just for my own gain? Isn’t this a win-win situation for everyone involved?
The student council would be thrilled by not having to suffer; I would be happy to retire sooner, and the Crown Prince would be over the moon with new slaves. It was perfection!
Sadly, it appeared the Minister wasn’t included in this perfect scenario.
“I’ll consider it, but just keep quiet.”
Hearing “I’ll consider it” was basically like being told to shut up because I was being annoying.
“Understood.”
But what could I do? If the one needed to approve remained unmoved, there was nothing I could do.
Looks like I’ll just have to keep writing the recommendation letters myself. Still, I should be able to reach one hundred before I graduate.
The call with the Minister dragged on, stretching into club hours. Truth be told, I suspect more than half of that was me pitifully begging.
Still, it felt so unfair! After putting in so much effort for the Ministry of Finance and the Empire, couldn’t he grant me this one small favor?
“What a waste of time.”
It was already time for the club members to gather in the club room. Please, I hope they didn’t cause any trouble while I was away! If they pulled some weird stunt to celebrate the start of the second semester, I might just break down in frustration.
When I was in the capital, it was a breeze taking a short break, but those good times have now passed.
“Good times?”
Thinking it over, it feels odd. Is my working environment so worse off that spending time with club members back in the capital counted for good days?
I shook my head slightly to clear these thoughts. There’s no need to take some metaphorical red pill that only leads me deeper into despair.
…Although it feels like something troublesome is brewing.
“What now?”
The closer I got to the club room, the more ominous noises seemed to get louder. It felt like a bad omen of chaos about to erupt.
I found my steps quickening of their own accord. If it escalated into a full-blown diplomatic incident because of a simple argument, that could get serious!
“Oh, Advisor! You’ve arrived!”
But when I swung open the door, Rutis welcomed me while holding a teacup.
“You’re unusually late.”
“I was wrapped up in some work.”
A quick scan of the club room showed that my worries were unfounded. They were just having snacks and chatting among themselves like usual.
“They made me worry for nothing.”
I felt like a fool for rushing over in a panic.
“Ah, we ate the snacks that were already in the club room. There wasn’t time to make new ones.”
“It’s fine. Just eat everything that’s there.”
I guess those were leftovers from when I invited Villar and Perosa over. It didn’t matter much since they’d go stale over time anyway.
“Haha, thank you! We were all commemorating getting rejected by Louise, so there really was no time to make them.”
?
What’s this commemoration about?
With that statement, Rutis shrugged and shifted his gaze to one side, where Louise stood, her face bright red as her eyes darted around nervously.
“What’s going on?”
What on earth happened?
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