■ Beautiful Girl Mask □
“Alright, let’s eat.”
That’s how the group dinner of the Finance Management Department began.
Actually, the reason I pressured the employees to unify their menu choices was because I wanted them to try this inn’s Hunting Stew at least once.
Fifteen years ago, during the days when I was poor and had no connections, sobbing over my misfortune.
Even while being beaten daily by my violent Master during training, I would drag myself here to eat.
If it weren’t for the owner of this inn, I might have already succumbed to malnutrition.
In that sense, this Hunting Stew, along with my Master’s apology fried chicken, is one of the cherished foods from my memories that I hold dear.
“Hmm~ Hmm~”
I take a sip of the broth that has been simmered for over ten hours, rich with the flavors of meat and vegetables.
“Wow…”
The uncle’s exclamation naturally slips out after taking a bite.
It felt like ten years of built-up stress sliding down my throat, leaving behind a refreshing taste.
Upon seeing me eat, the finance department staff, who had been skeptical, tried the Hunting Stew, their eyes widening before they started hastily devouring it.
As I watched them with satisfaction, Aness beside me asked,
“By the way, Chief Financial Officer.”
“Yes?”
“Why did you, as a high-ranking demon, choose to work for this country?”
Though it was an unexpected question, I thought it was a reasonable doubt for her, being human, so I smiled and replied,
“Just saying ‘because’ wouldn’t be enough of an answer, right?”
“No.”
I rubbed my stubble that had grown from not shaving for two days and answered,
“In fact, before becoming wealthy, I was Oz’s mage. The higher-ups were so stifling that I always thought I could do better than them.”
“Yes.”
“But once I actually started doing it, I realized I really was good at it. So, getting excited, I kept doing various things and couldn’t stop.”
A large part of Oz’s rapid development over the past two years was due to my influence rather than Ozma’s.
“…Is that all?”
“Yeah, that’s all.”
Truthfully, the reason I continue with the dull and uninteresting duties of a financial officer is because with money, I can manipulate the city of Oz however I want.
With Ozma’s approval, I could use the taxes collected mainly from the nobility to do various things.
A city governed by demons is better to live in than when ruled by human nobles!
Just hearing that statement feels so satisfying, doesn’t it?
After hearing this explanation, Aness looked at me incredulously but soon chuckled and took a spoonful of her share of the Hunting Stew.
“If someone else had said that, I would have thought it was hypocrisy, but coming from you, Chief Financial Officer, it sounds believable.”
I then turned the question back on her,
“So, what would you like to do if you become the Chief Financial Officer?”
“Me?”
“Eventually, when I retire after marrying Ozma, you’ll be the next in line. Surely, there must be a couple of policies you’d like to implement by then.”
Aness seemed to struggle to imagine such a scenario, closing her eyes for a moment before answering,
“I would make Oz a more livable country.”
“In what specific ways?”
“A world where commoners and nobles are not discriminated against. A world where people can choose their careers based on their aptitude and talents, and a world where anyone can pursue their desired profession regardless of gender.”
Such progressive values are impressive.
It seems the discrimination and oppression Aness experienced while attending the academy significantly influenced her identity.
Since there was no reason for me to dissuade her, I gave her affirmation.
“Certainly, Aness, I believe you can accomplish great things.”
Thinking about the future when Oz will be governed by a new governor after Ozma and I retire, I decided to support her dreams.
[[#]] The stew, which cools down quickly, ends up being slurped down by everyone relatively fast.
Indeed, nothing beats a warm broth when your energy is depleted.
After finishing a hearty bowl of stew, while waiting for the house specialty dessert juice, a gruff voice came from behind the table.
“Did you hear? There’s been a beautiful girl thief at South Gate 3 recently.”
“Oh, yeah. That cyclops gem merchant, right?”
“They say he lost 600 gold. I wonder which neighborhood will get lucky next?”
“Ah~ Personally, I don’t care about the money, but I’d love to meet that pretty girl thief.”
“Heh, naive kid. Does the beautiful girl thief have eyes?”
Beautiful girl thief, huh?
I’ve only seen them in newspapers until now, but this is the first time I’m hearing people talk about it like this.
However, it seems there aren’t many people who are truly grateful for her actions.
To be honest, I expected this to some extent since the beginning.
She went around distributing cash instead of goods to individuals in the slums, so at best, she’d be treated like a lottery winner.
Just because someone is poor doesn’t mean they’re all good.
It seems the beautiful girl thief hasn’t realized this yet.
If it were me, I would have used that money to build a welfare facility that everyone could benefit from.
While I was lost in thought recalling the newspaper article I read last time,
“Anyway, when will those demon kids finally return to their hometown?”
“Hey, hey, don’t say scary things. I’ve become someone who can’t live without the succubus brothel.”
“Ah, the succubus brothel shouldn’t disappear. But it would be nice if the rest of them went back while leaving the succubi behind.”
“Still, isn’t the Governor pretty? Something about her sharpness suggests she becomes submissive in bed.”
“Ah, I know exactly. She looks like someone whose weakness is her anus.”
Suddenly, I felt nauseous.
I didn’t like the guys talking trash about someone else’s fiancée.
They probably think they’re just joking around, but it’s uncomfortable to listen to.
Realizing my expression had hardened, Aness hurriedly tried to wrap things up.
“Alright, everyone, let’s head back to work…”
“The sudden mention of the Governor makes me want to dream about her at the succubus brothel today.”
“Ah, me too. It was amazing last time.”
You bastards…
I kicked my chair and stood up.
I immediately slammed the heads of the two fools behind me onto the table.
Bang!!
The restaurant fell silent instantly, like a honey-eating bear.
Showing my ID that I pulled out from my coat, I said,
“I am Partarth, the Chief Financial Officer of the Governor’s Office. These two have committed the crime of insulting the Governor, so I’m going to conduct a summary trial. Don’t worry too much.”
The two men, whose heads I was holding down, started trembling upon realizing the situation.
Currently, if there are two famous demons in Oz, they would be Ozma and me.
The fact that the protective barrier of the Constantinople Wall, thought to be eternal, was erased with two spells by Nero the Demon King’s hound, Partarth, is well-known even within the royal court.
My policy favoring the commoners wasn’t necessarily because I cared about them.
It was necessary to control the unruly nobles and easily form a base of support by winning over the commoners, who could be considered the opposing force.
Incidentally, I also had the goal of changing Oz Kingdom’s backward system.
Anyway, after hearing my name, the customers began to quietly leave one by one.
Although I unintentionally drove away customers, I apologized inwardly to the owner since these two couldn’t be ignored.
“Tell me where this succubus brothel you mentioned earlier is.”
Then, the two men who were trembling just moments ago, now desperately pleaded,
“Spare us!”
“We didn’t mean it seriously!”
Roarrrr—
I used my vision breath for the first time in a while.
The wind mana formed within my body transforms into the desired shape.
It manifested as thin, sharp needles.
As thousands of wind mana needles appeared right in front of them, the two men struggled to escape but couldn’t move since I had a firm grip on their necks.
“I’ll ask again. Where is the succubus brothel you spoke of?”
“Melujin! It’s quite famous near the South Gate red-light district. Just mention the name, and you’ll find it quickly…!”
Pierce!
“AAAAAAAAAAH!”
As a few needles pierced through their tongues and protruded from the other side, the men screamed in pain.
But I didn’t flinch and said coldly,
“You told the truth, so I won’t kill you. However, remember this for life: the mouth is the gate of disaster, and the tongue is the sword that cuts the neck.”
After telling the men writhing in pain that the needles would disappear in three hours, I turned to the finance management room employees who were staring at me with wide eyes and said,
“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
The employees responded promptly with strict discipline.
I threw a bag filled with plenty of gold to the shop owner as compensation for the mess and decided to return to the Governor’s Office first.
I intended to investigate the place called Melujin, which had violated the basic law prohibiting the use of famous people’s faces.
