Volume 8 Chapter 16 Administrative Demon Of Capital City
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
*Arbalest’s perspective
”Those damned morons in the central army!! Are they trying to work me to death?! Can’t they handle even this small task properly!? Ordering the rations for training exercises with the wrong quantity?! Unbelievable!! Get the person in charge here right now!!”
The clerk scrambled out of the office, frantically trying to call the responsible party, but I was frozen, staring at the numbers written on the papers in my hands.
The document detailed the rations prepared for the upcoming initial training exercises of the newly formed Kingdom army, but the number of participants was off by a digit.
This exercise was meant to train the mishmash of the Kingdom army with Elite Troops, and we were planning to accommodate about 5 hundred participants, yet the order had been placed for 5 thousand.
Many of the morally dubious officers and generals had been dismissed from the active military status due to this reorganization, but the central army had always been an organization riddled with nepotism and connections. It was often joked that the higher-ranking officers’ abilities decreased with their ranks. Now, this was a blunder from a top figure in the administrative department.
…With such incompetent officers, it’s a wonder my brother has managed to fight through all this…
I had thought my brother Gwain’s performance in the Gertroud battle was clumsy, but if the army he led was filled with this caliber of subordinates, perhaps I should reevaluate that judgment.
It was just that glaringly evident how incompetent they all were.
”Hey! Bring me the military registry! My superior is so useless it’s infuriating!! I don’t care about rank, just send me someone useful!!”
I called upon a clerk who had been by my side since the South District Margrave days to fetch the military registry.
During my brother’s tenure, the quality of the administrative officers reached unprecedented lows, with many colluding with superiors to skim supplies for personal gain, and bogus military units being organized to siphon off salaries. It was one of the areas where personnel shortages were the most acute.
”Your Excellency Arbalest… this is the list of officers who were put on reserve duty due to the Travers Incident…”
The Clerk’s list was filled with officers who had been placed on reserve duty as a result of the Travers Incident.
”Uh, the invasion… that was a disastrous defeat… well, just show me…”
He snatched the list from the Clerk and flipped through it.
The officers listed were practically criminals, having committed offenses like assault, insubordination, and desertion.
Among them, one name stood out.
He was the Supply Strategist of the 478th Transport Unit.
Their unit was responsible for transporting food and fodder to the front lines, but his unit alone managed to handle a transport volume almost 3 times the usual amount without a single error.
I’ve served in the military for a long time, but it was clear that handling a transport volume nearly 3 times the usual without a single error would require an impressive ability for administrative processing.
However, this Strategist was demoted to reserve duty and suspended for disobeying orders and concealing supplies.
”Hey! Where is this officer named Kunela now? Bring me anyone who knows him, right now!”
”Y-yes! Right away, sir!”
Another Clerk dashed out of the office once more.
* * *
After a while, the Clerk returned with a man.
It was the same officer who had made the mistake with the rations order earlier.
At the same time, this man was also Kunela’s superior during the Travers Incident.
”…Ah, Sir Arbalest! This blunder was committed by my subordinate, and I have nothing to do with it! If I had checked it, there’s no way a rookie mistake like this would have happened…”
”Shut up!!! You are the one in charge!Signing a document means you’ve reviewed it and confirmed its accuracy! Don’t you even understand such a basic thing?!”
I felt a surge of disgust at this man trying to wriggle out of responsibility, but I decided to endure it until I found Kunela’s location.
”…But, with that many documents to process, there’s bound to be some oversight…”
I glared at the man, who was still clinging to his excuses.
The man trembled under my gaze.
”That doesn’t matter. I’ve called you here to offer you a chance to redeem yourself for this failure. It’s not such a difficult task, after all.”
The man raised his head, which had been hung low, and his face lit up with excitement.
…What a hopeless fool… If I can get Quenelra onboard, I might just have to promote this man to the military’s director of archives…
”I’ll do anything I can! Just give me the order!”
”Then, quickly investigate the whereabouts of your subordinate, the officer named Quenelra. You’ve been close to him for quite a while, right? We already have some leads on our end.”
The moment he was asked about Quenelra’s location, the man’s complexion drained to a sickly pale.
It seemed he was harboring quite the dark secret.
”Q-Quenelra… that scoundrel ignored my supply plans during the Travers incident to line his own pockets!”
”Oh? From what I’ve heard, you were in cahoots with Quenelra, siphoning off the supply goods. Am I mistaken? Well, it matters little. You can choose──either be dismissed and face a military trial immediately, or track down Quenelra and stay in the army.”
The man looked as if he might faint, his eyes darting from side to side.
He was clearly in a desperate struggle to make a choice.
Finally, the man seemed to have made up his mind and turned his face toward me.
Though he was incompetent, it seemed he wasn’t entirely without resolve.
After all, he had worked alongside Quenelra for many years.
”…After going into the reserves, Quenelra has been frequenting a place called ‘Rolling Tangerine Inn’ in the Capital City. If you go there, you should be able to find him… Will this allow me to avoid a court-martial?”
”Indeed. You had a daughter, right? If you marry her off to Quenelra, you might just have a chance to stay in the army.”
The man’s face lit up in surprise at my words.
”Understood. I will arrange for my daughter to marry Quenelra. Will His Excellency be the mediator for the marriage between Quenelra and the Sove family?”
He was terrible with numbers, but the moment it became an issue of his survival, his mind started working much faster.
It was hard to tell if he was truly incompetent or just pretending to be so.
”I’ll be the one to arrange the marriage myself! Now, take me to Quenelra’s place right away!”
”Yes, sir! Right this way!”
I followed the man through the winding streets to ‘Rolling Orange Inn,’ located on the 8h floor of the Capital City.
The name of the shop came from its rickety state, as old as time, where placing an orange on the table would send it rolling right off.
It certainly looked like it had seen better days, with various spots showing clear signs of wear and tear.
”Quenelra!! Are you in here?! Hey, landlady! Is Quenelra here?”
The man was asking the shopkeeper about Quenelra’s whereabouts.
”Mr. Que is in the back private room, drinking with some of her former subordinates.”
We started walking towards the back room together.
From inside, there were loud voices, a lively chatter of many people drinking and having a good time.
I gave the door a firm knock.
”Quenelra! It’s me! Sorry, but I have an urgent matter. I’m coming in!”
Without waiting for a response, the man swung the door open, revealing a scene of nearly half-n*ked waitresses mingling with men, all clinking their glasses and enjoying their drinks.
”Well, well, well, if it isn’t Lord Sobe. I’ve already left the military, you know. You surely can’t need anything from me now. After all the ways you used and then tossed me aside, what could you possibly want? I can’t make any more ‘extra funds’ for you; I settled everything when I became a reserve.”
The man who was likely Quenelra scratched at his untidy, tawny long hair and responded with an air of annoyance.
”You fool! That’s not what this is about! First, you’re going to marry my daughter! If you don’t, my head’s on the chopping block. You have no right to refuse.”
”Huh? Have you finally lost it? Why on earth would I marry your daughter? It makes no sense at all.”
”Enough noise! I’m saying I’ll give you my daughter as a bride. As you know, we only have daughters in our family. That means, you become the heir to the Sobe family.”
Quenelra’s former subordinates erupted in laughter upon hearing the man’s words.
”Mr. Quu as Lord Sobe’s son-in-law?! Hahaha! What a hilarious joke! Is this some kind of surprise event today?! Hahaha!”
”Laugh all you want! My life is on the line here! Otherwise, how could I possibly hand over my daughter to a delinquent soldier like you?!”
Lord Sobe remained unfazed, his resolve unshaken by the laughter of Quenelra’s former subordinates.
”Are you Quenelra?”
I called out to Quenelra, who was still chuckling to herself.
”Who the heck are you, old man? This area is off-limits to anyone not on the list.”
I tossed the documents regarding the failed training food management exercise in front of Quenelra.
She flipped through the papers, covering her face with one hand as she stifled a laugh.
”Those were approved by your stepfather, Lord Sobe. How on earth can you mix up 5 hundred and 5 thousand? I’d appreciate a detailed explanation, if you don’t mind.”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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