episode_0118

After Baekbujang’s request ended, I hoped I would have some time to spare, but with one person still vacant, it was still a busy end of the month. n Excluding weekends, today is the last working day of October, so it’s ambiguous to do something new, and there have been too many things happening to just let it pass. n So I restarted the employee counseling that ended ambiguously last time. n Since nobles usually have freedom of speech, I prioritized commoners who hadn’t been counseled yet. n “So, it’s your turn for this counseling.”n So, following Mari and Adelheid, Katerina became the subject. n “Uh… do I have to say something?”n “Everyone has at least one thing they don’t like.”n “That’s true.”n It’s impossible not to have even minor complaints unless it’s a divine workplace. n And I’m not a god, nor am I a good boss. n I’m capricious, recklessly act on my gut feeling, and create big projects – a terrible boss in and of itself. n I do generously give money, but what people value most differs from person to person. n Some chase dreams rather than money, while others want to be comfortable and have plenty of time, even if they earn less. n “Feel free to tell me anything, even if it’s trivial.”n “Um… actually, until a few days ago, I had a complaint?”n “What was it?”n “You keep dressing mannequins or other people, neglecting me, the model.”n “Ah.”n “But coincidentally, you dressed me this time, right? So I was going to watch a little more.”n “……”n Katerina’s eyes were so fierce, I wondered, and it turned out that was the problem. n “There was an unavoidable reason for that… I plan to respect each person’s work as much as possible in the future.”n “I understand that, I’m just saying I was a little disappointed.”n “That’s a relief, is there anything else besides that?”n “Hmm…”n Katerina’s brow furrows deeply as she crosses her arms. n “Ah! I want to touch Mari’s ears and tail, but she won’t let me. Isn’t it torture to not be able to touch something fluffy that keeps wagging?”n “……”n About 1 minute?n The complaint that came out after a short period of thought was a bit absurd. n “Um… I sympathize with the content, but isn’t that an issue you should resolve with Mari?”n “Mari is in charge of employee welfare, right?”n “Right?”n “So, isn’t Mari doing a poor job of welfare by not letting me touch her tail and ears?”n “Oh…”n Listening to her, it made sense. n I often found myself watching her wagging her tail. n Teasing me first and then not letting me touch her is obstructing business…n “No, wait a minute, that’s not right!”n I snapped back to my senses before my trash thoughts continued and objected to Katerina’s opinion. n However, Katerina pouted at my reaction, as if she couldn’t understand. n “Why?”n “Asking to touch someone’s body for welfare is just harassment.”n No matter how you look at it, it’s harassment. n No, even if you think about it with 100% positivity, it’s harassment. n Mari’s job does include providing a relaxing environment for employees, but that meant giving massages, not using her as a cuddle doll. n And in reality, you can sometimes watch Mari deliver a “nyang-nyang punch” to someone’s back. n “Then it’s okay to touch my ears too…”n “Uh-huh!”n I cut off Katerina, who was about to say something even more terrible, and exclaimed in disbelief. n “Stop saying weird things, I’m the one who goes to jail if that happens, and I don’t want to go back to jail.”n A boss who allows employees’ bodies to be touched for welfare purposes… n Even His Majesty the Emperor cannot easily defend me. n Rather, he might take the lead and destroy me. n “Really not allowed?”n “Tsk! No, it’s not allowed. It’s not my place to interfere with your personal relationships with Mari, but it’s absolutely forbidden in our atelier, don’t even bring it up.”n “Hmph…”n When I completely forbade this terrible agenda that could send me and the atelier to hell, Katerina lowered her head with a gloomy expression. n Her acting skills are good enough to make me weak, but I braced myself by thinking of prison whenever my heart wavered. n “Then, can I just raise a cat? It’s to find an assistant who will heal our hearts instead of Mari.”n “I’m sorry, but that’s not allowed either. Fur will fly around. Do you think customers will like it if cat hair gets on their clothes?”n “Huh? Then what about Mari?”n “That’s why Mari’s fur management obligation is written in her contract.”n Mari is, thankfully, an Ajin with not much fur, so she can manage her fur on her own. n If she had fur all over her body like a furry, or if her back was covered in fluffy fur, she wouldn’t have been able to work with us. n “So, is that why Mari’s fur is always so glossy?”n “Yes.”n “Ugh! That makes me want to touch it even more!”n Katerina, who was suffering even more because of her fluffy fur, shouted at me. n “But it can’t be helped because of work.”n “Ugh…”n Well, I’m a little sorry, but it’s not like I’m trying to torture her on purpose. n Katerina knows that too, so she frowned and pouted, but she couldn’t say anything else. n “Haa~ Then since Mari and cats are out of the question, is it possible to grow some plants?”n “Plants?”n “Hwangdo is too desolate. The only forest is the one in the east, and the streets and squares are just bricks and dirt… Moss and grass stuck between the bricks are all the plants you can see in the city.”n “Well, that’s true.”n For an elf living in the forest, human cities must feel desolate. n Humans are obsessed with expensive or fancy buildings and streets, and don’t care about plants, which are bothersome to manage and don’t make money. n Unlike other humans, I somewhat understand the importance of urban green space, so I agree with Katerina’s opinion to some extent, but the problem is that there is no place to plant them. n “First of all, the front of the building is not allowed.”n “Why?”n “It’s not our land. The roads are managed by Hwangdo, so we can’t do anything without permission.”n “What about the rooftop?”n “It’s a pointed roof, so you can’t put anything on it.”n “Huh…”n Hearing that this place is not allowed and that place is not allowed, Katerina let out a hollow laugh and stared blankly at me with a vacant face. n “Are there really no places to plant trees? Don’t humans get mental illnesses in places like this?”n “Nobles can go to their villas when they’re having a hard time.”n “These evil rich people!”n “Uh-oh…”n T-that’s turning red. n Maybe it’s just my imagination, but I keep hallucinating a red flag with a sickle and hammer drawn on it fluttering behind Katerina. n Or waving a blue, white, and red flag and shouting “Revolution!”n At least those people ruined the country’s economy and were overthrown in a revolution, but they weren’t overthrown for not planting trees… n “Um… if you want to grow plants, you have to do it inside the building, but is there a place for that? You can’t do anything big inside.”n “A few potted plants would be possible.”n I urgently suggested an alternative before my subordinate started plotting a revolution. n If someone from the Hume family is overthrown in a revolution by an elf employee, things will become complicated in many ways. n Suddenly, a mysterious political force may appear and try to frame a simple labor dispute as a conflict between Ajin and humans. n “Potted plants…”n I don’t particularly like plants, but that’s only when I have to grow them. n If Katerina is growing them, it might not be bad to have one or two for the refreshing atmosphere. n “It’s not bad, but there’s a condition.”n “A condition?”n “It can’t have pollen flying around, it can’t have a very unique scent, it can’t be harmful to Ajin, it can’t be too big, it would be better if it’s not too difficult to grow, and it’s a problem if you spend too much time on the plant.”n “Um~ That’s not very difficult.”n “Really?”n “There are plenty of plants that don’t produce pollen, and there are many plants that don’t have a scent. If it doesn’t work out, I can deal with the flowers right away, and most plants only take about 10 minutes to care for.”n “Hmm~ That’s good.”n If she’s that confident, it would be okay to allow a few. n I’ll try a few as a test, and if it doesn’t work out, I can stop. n “Then let’s start by putting one or two in the break room. If you seem to be managing them well there, I’ll allow a few more in the workshop.”n “Yes! Thank you!”n _n After Katerina’s consultation ended, I called Walter and Ellin into the break room. n I thought it would be better to call them separately since it’s a counseling session, but considering these two’s personalities, something might happen if I did that, so I called them together. n “Uh… uh-oh… did we do something wrong…?”n “We didn’t do anything…”n Seeing them trembling and clinging to each other just because I called them without saying anything, it seems like I did the right thing by calling them together. n If I had called them separately, they would have fainted. n “I didn’t call you here to scold you, I called you because it’s your turn for counseling. Do you have any complaints or suggestions?”n “No…”n “T-that’s right…”n “Don’t you have anything, even trivial? Anything is fine, like, ‘I don’t like the snacks~’ or ‘Give me less work~’.”n I even created a health leave after consulting with Mari, so what can’t I do? n “Umm…”n “Woo…”n A look of concern spread across the siblings’ faces. n If I push them too much, they might not be able to say what they wanted to say, so I quietly sipped my black tea and waited for them to sort out their thoughts. n “U-um…”n “Yes.”n Ellin was the first to open her mouth. n When I nodded with a smile, Ellin swallowed hard and continued. n “Th-then, I, I want to drink something other than black tea during breaks…”n “Something else?”n “I-if I drink black tea… I can’t sleep at night…”n “Ah~ I understand, I’ll get some other drinks soon. Tell me anytime if you want anything in the future.”n “Thank you…”n Ellin nodded shyly, happy that I readily agreed to her request. n Her complaint can’t just be this, but it’s important that she expressed her opinion. n She will gradually be able to express her opinions confidently in the future. n I decided to get some fruit syrup or herbs and turned my head to Walter. n “Walter, do you have anything?”n “I, I… I hope you can put a heater in the workshop…”n “I was planning to bring that in next week, anything else besides that?”n “Ugh…”n Walter’s eyes shook like an earthquake, as if he was trying to gloss over it with something appropriate like Ellin. n Even so, it’s a bit much to suggest “Please put in a heater” as a suggestion… n Heating is a welfare that should be done as a matter of course. n “U-um… th-that…”n “I’ll give you plenty of time, so think slowly.”n “Yes…”n I smiled and gave Walter more time. n Walter, who was moving his eyes anxiously again and wracking his brains, suddenly flinched, his earlobes slowly turning red as he met my eyes. n “Th-that, Sir William… I, I have a favor to ask K-Katerina…”n “Yes, feel free to say it.”n “P-please tell her not to… not to get on the window frame wearing a short skirt…”n “Window frame?”n When I tilted my head as if I didn’t understand, Walter blushed like an apple and began to move his lips wildly. n “F-from the work table… th-that, uh… ugh…”n Walter’s work table?n There are many people in the atelier who hate sunlight, so it must be near the window… n “Hmm…”n Come to think of it, Katerina always faces her legs in Walter’s direction when she climbs on the window frame, doesn’t she?n Then, from Walter’s seat…n “Ah! I understand, I’ll be sure to warn her about that.”n “Thank you…”n I realized the shocking truth and nodded wildly with a pale face, and Walter smiled comfortably and bowed his head. n “And, in the future, if you have any inconveniences like this, be sure to tell me anytime. You can tell me through a letter or Herbert, anything is fine, okay?”n “Yes…”n “Ah, I understand…”n I told Walter and Ellin once again to be sure to tell me about these things, and then leaned back in my chair after seeing them answer. n “Phew…”n And I let out a sigh of relief and gently stroked my chest. n I’m so glad I started counseling, even if it was late. n If I had made a mistake, a young boy would have been ruined because of an elf girl…n