The next day, when Van cautiously peeked into the office, he found that the mountain of paperwork had increased quietly. Could it be that Dee and the others had prepared all this paperwork in just one day?
Trembling with fear, Van approached the desk to go over the papers when someone appeared behind him.
“Hm… Good morning. You’ve arrived quite early for work today.”
The one who appeared was the great demon king of fear… no, the head butler.
“Espada. I wonder… Despite having processed so many papers yesterday, why does it look like even more papers have piled up today? Could this be… a dream?”
“It’s reality.”
“Oh, yes.”
Van was brought back to reality by Espada’s dry response and turned to examine the papers again. There, he saw a list of various requests and opinions neatly outlined… Wait, what is this?
“Huh? These are the requests and opinions from the residents of Ceat Village that we talked about yesterday? How are they already here? I haven’t even started gathering opinions yet…”
Confused, Van asked. Espada opened his mouth casually, as if it were nothing.
“After hearing yesterday’s conversation, I’ve compiled the past requests and opinions. For those we’ve already dealt with, I’ve written the actions taken in response. In the past, we’ve been responding to requests as they came in, but I believe compiling them will help us address issues in advance where possible. First, regarding the requests and opinions related to daily life…”
Before Van knew it, Espada had smoothly transitioned into his work routine. This was strange. He had only intended to check in for a moment, but somehow, he was now working as if it were a given.
“Espada. About the morning routine, with Til’s tea and snacks… for my morning break…”
“And also, regarding the handling of these requests and opinions, we are encountering the drawbacks of staff shortages. The lack of manpower is delaying responses… Hmm? What is it?”
“Nothing.”
Seeing Espada completely in work mode, Van resigned himself. The smart and genius Van quickly assessed the situation and decided to finish work as soon as possible so he could go enjoy some free time.
“Staff shortages are troublesome… But seeing this, I think I understand why no one is applying for the jobs. After all, no one has come for the posted recruitment signs since yesterday.”
“Hm, I’ve identified one possible cause. It’s still just a hypothesis, though…”
“Huh!? You’ve found the cause!? What is it?”
Van was relieved to hear that a cause had been identified. He had thought that Espada had been completely buried in this pile of papers since yesterday, but apparently, there was more going on than just that. How much does this butler work?
With these complicated emotions, Van immediately asked for the answer. Espada lightly cleared his throat before responding.
“This comes from the information gathered under Murcia-sama’s direction. I believe it’s a reasonable cause, and I’m reporting it to you.”
“From Brother Murcia? Well, they’ve always had staff shortages there, poor guy…”
Van, who had sent the staff himself, found himself sympathizing with Murcia. No, things should get better soon. Not in the sense of overwork death, but because new staff would be hired and work would get easier. Sorry, Brother.
While thinking that, Van commented, and Espada slightly lowered his chin and continued his report.
“From the information gathered from the officials we sent, it seems that each of them has one or two subordinates, and opinions have been coming in. The main complaint is that having to handle multiple tasks on their own is difficult. It’s a natural result of staff shortages, but many of them are struggling with unfamiliar tasks and aren’t able to master them quickly.”
“I see. So, because of hearing those kinds of rumors, no one wants to become an official…”
“That seems to be the case. In Ceat Village and the adventurer’s town, the people who support the territory are always seen working hard. That image of hard labor and heavy work probably makes the job unappealing.”
Espada explained this hypothesis nonchalantly. Van couldn’t help but sharply comment in his mind.
So, it looks like Van himself seems extremely overworked. He had shown himself being escorted by Espada multiple times in front of everyone. Wait… If I think about it like that, doesn’t this mean the cause is that Espada seems scary?
Van quickly processed these thoughts and carefully asked Espada.
“…So, you’re saying that the reason is that people feel sorry for me, being forced to work so hard by Espada…?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
It’s not!?
Van immediately responded in his mind. Espada’s strange and definitive answer made him feel like saying, "Don’t look away." Because, clearly, the rumor about Van being overworked must have been circulating in Seato Village.
“Well, for now, while we can’t find another cause, it might be better to adjust the content of the recruitment signs. We should clarify the job details and tell people to focus on those tasks for a while.”
“I see! So, you’re saying we should recruit for specific roles. If that’s the case, they might not feel as anxious!”
Van agreed and said so, and Espada quietly nodded in agreement.
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