The time was somewhere around noon. Minerva and I were currently dying from frustration. The cause of our shortening lifespan was a few of Minerva’s underlings. Said clerks were utterly resistant to Minerva’s teaching methods. It was to the point that one of them even begged me to save her from Minerva. 

“I wish I could smash their skulls into the counter,” Minerva complained to me during lunch break. 

“You could have started out with the less incompetent ones,” I pointed out tiredly. “But I guess it’s also my fault for not stopping you.”

“Sorry, I was being overly optimistic,” Minerva replied. “I thought the changes I made yesterday would be enough.”

While the two of us ate our bacon sandwiches, Sekh just looked at us with amusement. Even though she was part of our suffering just the day before, she was now mildly chuckling. I guess suffering is entertaining if you’re not the one experiencing it. 

“Minerva, how come you don’t trust the senior clerks?” I asked Minerva after we finished eating.

Instead of responding, Minerva simply scratched at her chin. For a short time, I was just staring at Minerva as she attempted to come up with an answer. 

“I’m not entirely sure,” Minerva finally spoke. 

“So do you have any deep rooted trust issues?” I probed. “Maybe negative experiences with a boyfriend or girlfriend. Or perhaps you developed a distrust of people in your childhood?”

“Not everything has to do with childhood trauma,” Minerva sighed. 

“Then is it because you look down on the clerks?” I persisted.

“That’s...not it,” Minerva denied with wide eyes. 

So she does know why. Well she does seem to be the type that tries to do everything by herself. However, I wonder why she’s trying to hide it. Most likely she wants to maintain her public image. 

In a way, she reminds me of myself. Even after the events of the war, I still can’t shake off my own feelings of superiority over others. Just like how I derived my superiority over the other heroes from my considerable martial background, Minerva’s extensive education distances her from the clerks working here. The only difference is that Minerva was given charge, while I wasn’t. 

“It’s fine if you don’t want to admit it to me,” I said with a shrug. “All you have to do is recognize your problem and address it.”

It seems like I had hit a nerve since Minerva just stood silently. Though she appeared to be deep in thought rather than a state of anger. If I was a masochist, this would be a prime time to poke the metaphorical bear.

“Anyways, can you follow me?” I requested. “I’d like to introduce you to someone. Well, you should actually know them by now.”

The person in question was none other than Edwin. The moment that he saw us approaching him, his face cast a curious look. I feel a bit bad about the disappointment that’s soon going to hit him. 

“Minerva, I’d like you to try teaching Edwin,” I recommended when we got to his desk. 

Now both of them were giving me funny looks. I can understand Edwin’s feelings, but Minerva is just being moody now. But I have the power to just ignore them. 

“Can you explain what’s going?” Edwin asked me with concern. 

Instead of speaking up, I simply gestured towards Minerva. 

“It looks like Iblis hasn’t told you,” Minerva observed. “So what’s happening is that I’ve been working on a training regimen for the clerks. We haven’t been having success with some of the other clerks, so we’d like to see how it goes for you.”

What happened was a complete reversal compared to what happened this morning. In fact, it felt more like a review session since Edwin knew pretty much everything. The only problem was that Edwin hadn’t memorized much of the niche procedures. For some odd reason, Minerva actually memorized around ninety percent of said procedures. 

For context, if one were to make a scale from one to ten about knowledge regarding the workings of the Labor Bureau system, Minerva would place around nine. Edwin was somewhere around seven and eight. I would be at four or five, while regular clerks would be at a five. The incompetent clerks would sit at a three, and regular clients like Sekh would be at a two. 

“I’m really surprised how good he is.” Minerva remarked as the two of us took a break on the third floor lounge. “I guess I just had a bad impression of him.”

“Can’t say that I haven’t felt similar sentiments,” I commented. “But we need to cut him some slack. It’s not easy interacting with clients when you’re an orc.”

“And here I thought I was good at judging people’s character,” Minerva sighed. 

“Character isn’t always the same as skill,” I told her as I leaned back on my chair. “Especially since you’re always comparing your subordinates to yourself. But you haven’t used yourself as a baseline when evaluating me. You just compared me to other people.”

“That’s true,” Minerva responded. “But I think it would be unfair to compare you to myself, no offense.”

“So why do you compare your subordinates to yourself then?” I retorted.

“Because they actually work as clerks,” Minerva answered like it was obvious. “Anyone who holds such a position must be held to its standards.”

“Yeah, but your standards are just absurd,” I complained. “Maybe the only reason you think I’m well educated is because I’m a mercenary. Had I been a clerk, I’m fairly sure you would have just brushed me off.”

Minerva just silently stared off in the distance as she sipped on her cup of tea. I decided to follow her example and let her sink into thought. For the rest of the day, Minerva took a break from training the clerks. During that time, I questioned Edwin about the status of the rest of the staff. 

Apparently there were only a few other veteran staff members. Edwin was well acquainted with said clerks since they often went out for drinks with each other. But what surprised me the most was how the veteran clerks evaluated their juniors.

Contrary to Minerva’s attitude, Edwin and his friends were more optimistic. Although they had accepted that some people just wouldn’t be able to reach Minerva’s standards, they did believe that almost all of the staff members had the potential to be useful. In particular, they pointed out that many of the incompetents were easy to work with. The main issue was that they were overly intimidated by Minerva. Still, they did have a few clerks on a sort of watchlist. These people were either incorrigibly lazy or uncooperative. 

Now that I think about it, part of the issue lies in the overall fear of Minerva. A majority of the lower level staff was positively terrified of her. Although the veteran staff held her in high regard, they definitely kept a respectful distance from her. In fact, Edwin suggested that it would be better for the veteran staff to instruct their juniors in comparison to Minerva. 

It was during the time after dinner that I asked Minerva a pressing question. 

“Hey Minerva, how come you haven’t fired anyone yet?” I inquired of the dark elf as she sat by her work table. 

“Already tried that,” Minerva answered. “But the replacements I got were somehow just as useless. And so far the applicant pool shows no sign of improving.”

“So we can’t even reroll,” I remarked. “By the way, I’m curious about why you trust me more than most of the veteran clerks?”

“Well you stand out quite a bit for a sellsword,” Minerva told me. “More importantly, you’re the only person here who is equal to or above me in rank.”

“That’s rather shallow,” I pointed out. 

In response, Minerva simply averted her eyes in shame. But I don’t really hold it against her. This sort of strict hierarchy adherement has pretty much been drilled into the minds of many people, particularly lower nobles. Though I wonder if I can use this trust to my advantage.

“Hey Minerva,” I said in an attempt to pull her back into the conversation. “I appreciate that you trust me, even if it feels unearned. However, I think that some of your clerks are just as worthy of your trust, if not more. So I want you to give them a chance by letting them teach their juniors.”

For a while Minerva sat as she contemplated my proposal. She even went to the point of stroking her chin for a bit. 

“I’ll give it a try,” Minerva finally answered. “Even if it doesn’t work, it’s not like things would get worse.”

“Thanks,” I replied with a smile. “If that’s all, then I’ll be leaving.”

“Actually…,” Minerva stuttered with slightly rosy cheeks. “Can tell Sekh to keep it down? Last night she was a bit...loud.”

“Oh sorry about that,” I told her nonchalantly. “But I had to repay her for using her as a test subject.”

“I see…,” Minerva trailed off. 

No point in trying to revive this now dead conversation. I’d much rather occupy myself with creating another noise complaint tonight. On a side note, Sekh has been washing our sheets pretty much every morning. 

The next day, Minerva and I enacted Edwin’s plan. For two days, Minerva taught the senior clerks the new curriculum and procedure for educating their juniors. It was actually quite the fast process because they all had some degree of experience in teaching the lower clerks. The main issue was plugging some gaps in knowledge and debating what teaching strategies would be most effective. I just tagged along and provided occasional advice, though my real job was to act as a supporter for the veteran clerks when they had a proposal for Minerva. 

Once we finished teaching the veteran clerks, we began the second phase of Edwin’s plan. For the remaining three days of the week, Minerva and I watched as the veteran clerks carried out the training program. 

The real victims of this plan were the above average clerks. These were the ones who weren’t unskilled, but just needed experience to improve. Thus they were the lowest priority group for the training program. However, they were faced with an increased workload because the senior clerks were taking time off to teach others. This was also how I got roped into being a temporary clerk for a few occasions. 

It’s interesting to note that the clients have a sort of hierarchy when it comes to choosing clerks. Naturally attractive women stand at the top, followed by average women, then attractive men, then unattractive women, and then the rest of the men. 

On the topic of clerk attractiveness, I should note that Edwin is actually quite good looking, by orc standards at least. I personally don’t prefer orcish women. The orcish race are generally short, stocky, green or brown, and have massive foreheads. Although southern orcs that have intermingled with humans to a greater extent are more tolerable, I still can’t see the appeal of orcish women. Orcish men ,on the other hand, are a different story. My inner conqueror jumps at the thought of an orcish army. I would even dare say that the average orc is the optimal build for a footsoldier. But that’s only natural when the creator of the orcish race is the actual war god. 

That week, I was unable to go and do much with Sekh. As a result, Sekh just went fishing on her own while I was confined at the Bureau. At the end of the week, I received another payment of 6 denarii, though I spend 25 nummi each week on groceries and goods. I also sold off the untanned owl-tiger pelt and jewelry from the bandits for a total of 37 denarri, 20 of which was given to me . So my current budget now sits at 23 solidi, 45 denarii, and 33 nummi. 

“Do we have more work today?” I asked Minerva our break day. 

“Let’s not,” Minerva complained. “I think that a respite will allow us to work harder tomorrow.”

“Then let’s go crabbing,” Sekh chimed in as she began to pull on my sleeve. 

Thus Sekh and I rode out to the wetlands in search of food. There we spent hours wading in the water as we snatched crabs, crayfish, and other crustaceans. Despite the slums in the city, much of the freshwater bounty lay untapped. Partly because of the distance from the city as well as the skill required to catch the slippery morsels. 

However, I had been distributing excess food, mainly smoked meat or shavings, to soup kitchens run by the followers of Sol. It was to the point that some in the slums began calling me the meat man. Maybe not the best public image campaign, but I guess it’s better than nothing. 

When Sekh and I got back to the Bureau, we found Minerva on the third floor with a book and cup of tea. However the moment I started cooking, both Sekh and Minerva immediately left to go sparring with each other at the field. Thus I was left by my lonesome to prepare a large crustacean boil. Well I got to wash Sekh’s back afterwards, so perhaps it was worth it. 

“Life sure is good,” Minerva sighed happily as she wiped beer off her mouth. “When I hired you, I never expected to get a professional chef.”

“Thank you, thank you,” I replied almost smugly. “Though I wouldn’t say that I’m at the level of a professional. I don’t even think I can compare to some of the housewives in this city.”

“You two are awfully cheerful today,” Sekh remarked. “Trying to compensate for the weekdays?”

“Sekh, please let us enjoy our temporary happiness,” I complained. “It’s not like you have to go through our bullshit.” 

When I said that, Minerva began to nod vigorously in agreement. 

“Pretty sure you were the ones that chose to go through it,” Sekh said to me flatly. “Oh, if I see you working at a counter then I just might register for a job there.”

“Are you planning to drag me out for a job?” I asked.

In response, Sekh began to bob her head happily. I...didn’t expect her to be this excited. Normally I’m the one dragging her out to do work. Though I wouldn’t really mind an excuse to use my spear for something other than sparring. 

Unfortunately that reprieve did not come early. The first three days of the week progressed steadily without excitement. Minerva and I just continued our previous observations, while we occasionally plugged in holes and offered advice. I even worked at the counter a few times, but Sekh didn’t notice at those times. However, I have to say that the training program was coming along quite well. In particular, some of the lower ranked clerks were showing quite the improvement in their work. 

It was only on the fourth day that Sekh popped up at a counter I was substituting at. 

“I finally found you,” Sekh said with a smile. 

“You’re just bad at looking in that case,” I answered wryly. “Well then dear, do you have any jobs in mind?”

Sekh began to scratch her cheek as she tried to recall what request she wanted to take. Normally you’re supposed to figure that out before going to the counter. Or at least ask the clerk on the details of the desired requests. 

“Now I remember,” Sekh announced quite late. “There’s a big request for a reed serpent nest that’s been sighted near a river trade route.”

“Oh that one,” I commented. “The pay is 10 denarii, but the most recent attempt ended in failure. Supposedly there’s a king reed serpent presiding over the nest. Are you sure you want to do that? It seems quite dangerous considering that we’ll probably be fighting in wetlands.” 

“We can always draw out the hunt,” Sekh pointed out. “Worse comes to worse, you can just shoot it with arrows until it bleeds to death.” 

I nodded my head in response. Although reed serpents have a weak paralyzing venom, their raw size and strength put us at a serious risk. Theoretically, a king reed serpent would be about as dangerous as one and a half large direwolves. However, that would be assuming we fought them on flat and dry terrain. In the wetlands, things just get worse for us. Perhaps it wouldn’t be bad to call in a bit of help. However, the mercenaries that I picked out to be competent were currently out on long jobs. Out of all the candidates remaining, the only useful one would be...Minerva.

“Minerva, can we try out something?” I asked the dark elf as she was giving advice to one of the veteran clerks. 

“That look on your face scares me a bit,” Minerva muttered. 

“So hear me out,” I began. “I was thinking that you should come along with us for a request. That way we can test out how effective the training program has been. We’ll allow the clerks to do their work normally, but without your supervision. Thus we can measure the status of the Bureau clerk force.”

“That… actually sounds pretty good,” Minerva remarked, almost in surprise. “But what exactly is the job that you want to do?”

“You remember the king serpent request that hasn’t been resolved yet?” I asked.

The moment she processed what I had said, her face became quite serious. 

“How many people are you bringing in total?” Minerva inquired. “And what am I supposed to do? I only really have experience fighting people.”

“Just the three of us,” I answered. “My plan is to bring a small but skilled force to prevent casualties. As for your part, I just need you to defend me and Sekh while we pelt the serpents with projectiles. I don’t trust the other mercenaries here to not flee in terror at the sight of a big snake.” 

“What makes you think that I won’t run?” Minerva pointed out. 

“Your pride,” I shot back. “Besides, it doesn’t matter if it’s a snake or person. A sword will cut all the same.” 

“If you weren’t an experienced hunter I wouldn’t even consider this,” Minerva sighed. “Just make sure that your preparations are in good order. If not, I won’t go along.”

I just smiled for a bit before giving a response. “In that case, make sure to get your equipment in order. I can lend you some of my armor if needed, but don’t get encumbered.”