Chapter 6: Voluntary (?) Overtime Negotiation

[About 15 minutes later.]

“So, to sum up,” the Tactile Officer finally managed to catch her breath, raising her hand.

“In short, a pilgrimage group is coming from the south, and we are in charge of them. Is that correct?”

“That’s right.”

“And the group is at least a thousand people, right?”

“Yes.”

“Plus, the Saint is among them, and we have to take care of her too, but we don’t know when they will arrive?”

“Exactly.”

“So they could arrive tomorrow or a week from now, and we have to be prepared?”

“You have an excellent summary, Tactile Officer. Correct.”

It was nice of her to neatly wrap up what I had just said.

The Tactile Officer lowered her hand, looking around nervously.

The Olfactory Officer, Gustatory Officer, and Auditory Officer exchanged glances and nodded meaningfully.

After getting their approval, she asked a very serious question.

“So… when can we go home?”

The answer came instantly.

“You can’t.”

“Until when?”

“Until the pilgrimage group reaches the border.”

“When are they coming?”

“We don’t know.”

“Can we go home once they arrive?”

“No, only after everyone has passed the immigration check.”

I repeated what I had said 15 minutes ago to those rebellious officers.

“Once the entire pilgrimage group and the Saint have cleared the inspection, you can go home. This is the top priority. Until then, you all must stay here.”

In other words, indefinite extended duty.

“Then… when does this emergency duty start?”

“Right now.”

From this moment on, no one is allowed to leave.

Not me, not you.

Round two begins.

“Why do we have to do this?! This is supposed to be the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ job!”

“What kind of nonsense is that?!”

“The Central Officer should ensure our right to leave! We want a workplace with no forced overtime!”

“Let us go home, home, home, home, home!”

The Olfactory Officer pounded on the table, while the Gustatory Officer lay flat on the floor, throwing a tantrum.

‘The Auditory Officer? Somehow, she already had a picket sign that read ‘Down with the tyrant boss!’ How did she even flip the ‘Safety First’ sign so fast?’

I wish they would show this level of unity in normal situations.

“Wait, calm down. Please listen to me. In return, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has promised a reasonable compensation—”

“Central Officer, I haven’t seen my mom in three days! I spent the whole weekend just reading! I miss my mom!”

“I miss my mom too, Gustatory Officer. I couldn’t leave because I had to retrain you.”

“I’ll report this to the Ministry! I’ll say my boss is so obsessed with promotions that he won’t let us go home! Abuse of power! Species discrimination!”

‘You calling me ‘you’? This wolf bastard’s gone mad.’

Finally reaching my limit, I slammed the chalkboard next to me.

***

“Hey! Quiet down! I want to go home too! But you—no, you all—messed up the safety record! That’s why we couldn’t refuse!”

“When did we do that?! Do you have proof? This is a presumption of guilt!”

“Right! Right!”

The nerve of these guys.

Proof? Oh, I have proof.

Filled with anger, I pointed at each one of them.

“Gustatory Officer, threatening to kill a fire spirit!”

“Ugh.”

“Tactile Officer and Auditory Officer, public intoxication incident!”

“Ack.”

“Olfactory Officer, unauthorized early departure!”

“Grr.”

“All of you did it! Want to get fired? Want to lose your performance bonus?”

The more I spoke, the angrier I became. Damn it, you guys!

I want to go home too. But orders came from above.

“This is my fourth day without going home! And now there’s an official mission from higher-ups! We can’t refuse! The Saint and the pilgrimage group are already on their way. Should we tell them to turn back?”

“Well, no…”

“Then shut up!”

“Uuugh…”

The four officers, now aware of their mistakes, shrank back.

Sighing, I calmed down and spoke more softly.

“For now, we will eat and sleep here until the pilgrimage group arrives. We’ll enter emergency duty mode. No one can go home. Understood?”

“Bu-but… going home…”

Ears, tails, and tentacles all drooped. They looked so pitiful, as if I were some tyrant boss scolding innocent kids.

“Relax. The Minister has promised compensation for your hard work.”

The four officers raised their heads.

“What kind of compensation?”

“A 100-day safety extension if nothing goes wrong. If the group passes the northern border safely, another 100 days. That’s a total of 297 safety days.”

The meeting room buzzed.

“297 days? Then the bonus…”

“That’s three times the monthly salary! Hey, Tactile Officer, what was our longest safety record again?”

“128 days, back when the Visual Officer was still here.”

Their resolve to go home wavered.

The temptation was working.

Completing the mission and holding out for three days would give us a 300-day safety record.

Triple the bonus.

No one could say no.

I could already see the calculations in their eyes.

Just like the incident with the fire spirit.

They’re so transparent.

“But I still want to go home…”

“Sleeping at work is basically torture.”

“But if the bonus is that high… maybe it’s worth it…”

They weren’t fully convinced yet.

‘What could I do to make them wholeheartedly commit to this mission?’

***

[…]

“W-What!? The Frost Dragon’s Wine!? The one that’s only available once every 12 years, and you can buy just one bottle!?”

[Merchant’s secret technique: Targeted Salesmanship. Present exactly what the customer wants.]

“And this exquisitely crafted glass is included as a bonus.”

[Merchant’s secret technique: One-Plus-One, executed once more.]

The Sound Officer, almost breaking the door on his way out, shouted, “Attendant! Go to the market and get some snacks—or rather, some side dishes!”

Simple-minded folks.

In the end, the only ones left in the meeting room were me and my direct attendant.

“…Sometimes, Inspector, you can be a bit scary.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Thus, the rebellion of the Sensory Officers came to an end.

***

Alright, I’ve successfully erased the concept of ‘leaving work’ from my subordinates’ minds. Now, what’s next?

First, I should assess the current situation of our department.

I asked my attendant, “Thinking about it, there could be at least a thousand people, or maybe even two thousand. How many staff members do we have in total at the immigration inspection office?”

“Including junior inspectors, attendants, the Central Officer, and the Sensory Officers, a total of 96.”

Ninety-six.

I couldn’t help but frown.

“That’s nowhere near enough.”

Too few.

Way too few.

At the southern border, the only immigration inspectors are me and the Sensory Officers.

The rest are just junior inspectors working under them.

If our job was solely ‘immigration inspection,’ it might be sufficient.

But our duties extend beyond that.

Anyone who has seen the border firsthand knows.

The endless line of people and goods, all waiting to cross this drawn line.

We are responsible not only for maintaining order among those waiting but also for preventing criminal incidents.

On top of that, we must ensure that goods don’t get mixed up, block unauthorized entries, and stop illegal immigration.

In other words, we have to manage a line of 2,000 people, prevent crime, inspect goods, block illegal crossings, and handle immigration checks—all at once.

“It seems impossible to manage with just our current staff…”

“You also need to consider the regular traffic in addition to the pilgrimage group, Central Officer.”

“Ah, right. It’s not just the pilgrims. We also need to account for the usual traffic, which makes things even worse.”

“There’s no way 96 people can handle this. Even if we work non-stop for three days and nights, it might not be enough. Plus, if a fight breaks out among the waiting people, how are we supposed to stop it?”

“We desperately need additional help. At least 50 more people.”

Seeing my expression, the attendant made a suggestion.

“Should we try to recruit external personnel? If we offer appropriate compensation, we could gather people quickly.”

“No, that won’t work. The reliability would be too low.”

‘No matter how urgent it is, I can’t just seek help from outsiders. ‘

‘This is a matter of national security. ‘

‘I can’t risk a repeat of the disaster four years ago, where corruption led to a bloodbath.’

‘I can’t let that happen again. It would be the end of everything.’

I need people who can be trusted with government affairs and won’t be swayed by bribes.

“The Foreign and Intelligence Departments have already dispatched personnel to the eastern and northern regions, respectively. Other border inspectors might take too long to get here.”

“What about the Ministry of Internal Affairs? It would take three days to get here from the capital, though.”

“Not a bad idea, but…”

It’s a reasonable suggestion. But since I don’t have connections with them, asking for sudden support would be awkward. Moreover, it’s outside their jurisdiction, making responsibility tricky.

Then, a name that I had almost forgotten popped into my mind.

“The Border Guard.”

Assigned to the border just like us, they only move when crimes or violent incidents occur.

They are stationed at the frontier territory, entrusted with the sacred duty of protecting the border.

They fit the bill perfectly.

They’re not outsiders, they’re unwaveringly loyal, and they’re strong—each standing over three meters tall.

The only downside is their lack of flexibility.

The attendant looked worried.

“Are you sure? If the Border Guard gets involved, the pilgrims might see it as a display of force.”

That’s a valid point.

Having three-meter-tall golems holding clubs could certainly come off as intimidating.

But it’s not like we have the luxury to be picky right now.

I made up my mind and spoke to the attendant.

“Send a communication to the Border Guard.”

With a reluctant look, the attendant infused mana into the crystal orb, and a rigid face appeared immediately.

[Purpose.]

“Greetings, Border Guard Captain. This is the Southern Border Immigration Office.”

[Purpose. Submit in writing.]

Still the same as ever.

“…Could you hand me some paper and a pen?”

I quickly wrote down the current situation and the cooperation request, then showed it to the crystal orb.

The reply came just as quickly.

[Request acknowledged. Cooperation granted. Communication terminated.]

Typical—simple and to the point.

The crystal orb dimmed after less than four seconds.

“Good. One major problem solved. Let’s focus on immigration checks now.”

“Yeah, they’ll be great at maintaining order.”

“That alone will significantly reduce our workload.”

The attendant handed me a document.

“There’s something you should know, Central Officer.”

“Go ahead.”

The attendant handed me a paper with the personal information of the Saint, as noted earlier by the minister.

“My wife, a follower of the Holy Order, often mentions this. Saint Erjena is… quite a unique character.”

“Really? In what way?”

“Well… intense, to say the least.”

‘Intense, huh? I can imagine.’

After all, even someone chosen by the gods is just a young woman.

‘If a teenage girl is revered as a saint, it’s not surprising if she grows up a bit spoiled and power-hungry.’

‘Actually, that might make things easier.’

Just flatter her a bit and give her some jewelry or fine crafts—she’ll calm down.

“Don’t worry. I can handle it. Let’s focus on how to distribute the pilgrims for now.”

‘How strange can she really be?’