「From now on, please think a little more about women before you speak, Halfren-sama.」
「Yeah, yeah, I got it. Man… even if we’re childhood friends, you didn’t used to be this merciless.」
「Whose fault is that?」
「Mine? At least getting hated by you sisters was their own fault. Becoming Noie’s subordinate was because of your magic and paperwork skills… I don’t see why I should be the one getting complained at.」
「Well, that’s just the kind of person you are.」
Though exasperated, Frea gives up.
She tells herself that it was thanks to that very personality of his that she was removed from the list of candidates for second prince’s legal wife.
「Oh, right. I should tell you, since you’re basically in charge of Noie’s squad.」
「The one in charge is the captain.」
「Nobody actually thinks that. Even after marriage, we won’t allow retirement. Keep working, paperwork specialist.」
「Are you inhuman?!」
「Well, about that… you can discuss it with your new superior later.」
「?」
Frea tilts her head at the unfamiliar phrasing.
Halfren gazes at her as if enjoying her confusion.
「You know Arg became vice commander of the royal guard, right? From now on, Noie’s squad will be placed directly under Arg.」
「Why?」
「In the long run, we’re planning to separate Noie’s squad from the royal guard entirely. The direction is to make it a fully independent unit specialized in anti-dragon operations.」
Halfren raises both hands with a 『Politics sucks, huh～』 and laughs.
「The nobles have started voicing a new complaint lately. 『The royal guard has too much power.』」
「…I’d heard rumors about that.」
「There really are idiots saying it out loud. Probably some fools who sniffed money from the republic or somewhere.」
「Haa～」
There are surprisingly many idiots dancing to foreign schemes.
As the daughter of a noble herself, hearing such things fills her with a helpless feeling.
「When complaints come up, we have to deal with them. So, after discussions with big brother, we settled on 『making Noie’s squad independent』. We’ll make it official as an organizational change when aniki ascends the throne. The first… well, the top guy will be Arg. Noie only listens to him anyway.」
「That’s true. I do think that would avoid a lot of inconveniences.」
It’s a huge problem in a completely different sense, but pointing that out would just keep the conversation from wrapping up.
In short, as long as Prince Argusta harbors no unnecessary ambitions and the couple stays happily married, everything will be solved.
「So yeah, from now on I’m dumping it all on Arg, so handle things well on your end.」
「…I suddenly feel like I’ve glimpsed the shady behind-the-scenes stuff.」
「Nah～ When I offload all the Noie-related stuff onto Arg, my daily paperwork drops by seventy percent. You guys work way too hard.」
「Ahaha… You make us work like crazy and then say we’re overdoing it, what’s with that!」
Frea slams the desk over and over, toppling the mountain of papers, and that finally lets her vent her frustration.
「Hmph! At least Argusta-sama will properly do the work, so he’s trustworthy!」
「Yeah, yeah. Well, keep working hard.」
Irritated by him shooing her away like it’s time to go, Frea picks up all the scattered papers and builds a fresh mountain on the desk.
「By the way, where is Argusta-sama?」
「Ah. In his new office.」
「New?」
A creepy grin spreads across his face, and Frea gets a bad feeling.
「Yeah… I mean, since he’s going to be your superior, it’s more convenient to share the same room, right?」
「Excuse me!」
Frea dashes out at full speed.
-0-
Wow… Frea-san wears stuff like this.
I ended up spotting something outrageous in her desk drawer.
That trash heap of a desk is definitely the idiot’s doing, so I left it all to the maid. Probably no treasures to find anyway. Maybe some moldy bread would turn up.
Speaking of which, underwear isn’t just basic string panties, there are these super thin ones with barely any fabric too… Maybe for Noie next time?
I shake my head hard to chase away the weird fantasy.
I don’t want to become some perverted husband buying sexy lingerie for his wife.
With the maid’s help too, the room cleaning is mostly done.
So, the castle had an office for Noie and the others. Well, some idiot was always holed up here churning out paperwork.
I sit in the freshly wiped chair… and look around the room.
There were already three desks here, and we added two new ones.
We also swapped the sofa for a chaise longue you can fully stretch out on. It made the room a bit cramped, but… Noie and the others aren’t usually here anyway, so no problem.
The captain’s desk and chair were completely covered in dust anyway.
That seat is mine starting today. If Noie ever comes in… I can just have her sit on my lap.
「Excuse me!」
「Ah, black-underwear Frea-san.」
「Argusta-sama. Shall I cast reinforcement magic and bury you alive soon? Want to experience the terror of being crushed under endless dirt yet never quite dying because it only feels heavy?」
「…I’m sorry.」
I bow deeply in apology to her, dark aura swirling menacingly behind her.
With a sigh, she seems to release her anger along with it. Her usual expression returns as she steps inside, looking around the room.
「You cleaned it up nicely.」
「That was way too filthy, don’t you think?」
「…We’re hardly ever here, so it just happened.」
「That’s understandable.」
Normally, she and the others are based at the standby post.
「Why the extra desks?」
「Ah. Apparently I’m getting two subordinates just for paperwork sorting.」
「That prince… he has zero intention of doing admin work himself.」
I don’t bother denying it. More importantly, her tone is still scary, maybe she’s not fully over it yet.
「Oh, right. Did you hear that the squad is being placed under me?」
「I just heard and came running.」
「Well, that’s the situation, so please take care of me.」
「Yes. The pleasure is mine.」
With impressive composure, Frea gives a perfectly elegant, ladylike bow.
「So… there’s this thing that’s been proposed a bunch of times before.」
「Yes?」
「The upgrades and expansions to the standby post facilities.」
「……」
That was the issue that had been suggested over and over in the past, only to fizzle out every time.
Honestly, Frea had already given up on it.
The military is built on a male-dominated society. Even in Univance, a small kingdom short on male workers, where women take on many jobs, that doesn’t change.
Things for men always get improved first, and women are perpetually pushed to the back of the line.
「I’m going to slash every bit of waste from the royal guard budget to make room… so in the near future, we’ll fix the restrooms somehow. And for expanding the changing room, instead of just adding on, let’s build a whole new one.」
「…Are you serious?」
「Yeah. I want Noie to work in a good environment, after all.」
It’s a completely personal reason mixed shamelessly with public duty.
But Argusta has no hesitation. He’d even dip into his private funds if needed.
「From now on, if anything else comes up, just tell me. I’ll do whatever I can to fix it.」
「…Argusta-sama.」
「Yes?」
「This Frea von Crostpurge… finally feels like she’s met a superior she can truly admire from the bottom of her heart. I look forward to working with you sincerely from now on.」
Her bow is so flawlessly beautiful… Argusta can’t help but feel a little intimidated.
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