Ohanabatake No Maousama Chapter 18

Chapter 18

When the night comes, and the moon and stars paint stories through constellations in the shadows of the night.

The cries of terrible beasts echo, and people s.h.i.+ver with fear in their beds.

Ah, to be in a place without divine protection.

A wasteland that none should enter.

That night, while Adelia did retire to her bed, she was unable to sleep. It was the same with the others of their group.

But unlike the other members, it was not out of fear of a monster attack.

No, the reason for her fear, was the pressure of her role.

Indeed, how much would she really be able to do?

What would happen if she made a fatal mistake?

Such were the thoughts that ran through her head.

While she could act strong when around Qudels, she just did not have enough experience to back it up.

Yes, she had been given the best education. But she was also just eighteen years old.

And since she understood what that meant, more than anyone, she was afraid of failing.

—What the h.e.l.l am I supposed to do?

She crushed her pillow and recalled the face of that man with the gla.s.ses.

The Qudels in her head had a calm expression as he said, 'I know you can do it.' And then he smiled.

"Leave it all to me…! How dare he push all the responsibility onto me!! This is something that even he can't do… Ah… He probably can do it. And he is laughing at me! Arrrrrggggh! d.a.m.n it!!"

Adelia pretended that her pillow was Qudels and she smashed her fist into it.

"Very well. Let's think of it like this. What would he do?"

Unfortunately, she could not think of anything.

But that was a relief in a way.

Qudels was a creature that went in directions others could not predict. And she now understood that she wasn't on the same level as such a freak.

Still, there must be something she could use for reference.

For instance, Qudels was a monster both physically and intellectually, but he didn't try to do everything himself.

He had talked about this in the carriage on their way here.

"Jobs can usually be split into two categories. 'What you should do yourself,' and 'what you should make others do.' For instance, let's say it is necessary to make some general goods at a smithy. If I tried to do it myself, I would have to acquire the skills and that would be time-consuming. And so I would call a blacksmith who could use fire magic, and ask that person to do it. This is a very simple example, but there are times when it may seem like you can do something if you try hard enough, when in fact, you should let someone else do it. It all sounds very obvious, doesn't it? And yet, not many people do it."

Ah, yes.

Why had she allowed her foolishness to blind her?

The moment she remembered their conversation, Adelia understood the direction she should take.

And she tried to imagine Qudels's facial expression when he heard it.

—Oh, why can't it be morning already?

And with that, she fell into a calm and peaceful sleep.

"…And for those reasons, I hereby forbid Group Leader Qudels, and the other group members from interacting with the village chief, outside of business matters, of course."

Several angry cries could be heard after Adelia made this announcement during their morning meeting.

"What!? But why! This is tyranny, Miss Adelia!!"

As a representative of the single men in the group, Qudels slammed a fist onto the table as he protested. 

To them, the chief was like cool, healing water after a hard day's work. They felt motivated. And now that motivation was being taken away.

However, Adelia was one who had been made a showcase in the slave market. She had been through the fires of h.e.l.l, and this pressure barely even registered to her.

She stood proudly by the quivering chief and even laughed with a hand to her mouth.

"Ohohohohohoho! The disappointment on your faces is so invigorating. Thank you all. Now, allow me to ask you this… Why are you angry that private conversations are forbidden? Are you not here to work?"

She looked at the men who were grinding their teeth with piteous eyes.

"You should know, but this is not some party to meet people!!"

Adelia had seen from the beginning, that these men would immediately target the chief, who was a beautiful widow.

"You witch! You villainess of unrivaled evil!"

"Demon! Devil!"

"My, my. You do have opinions about me. But, is that all? I am not entertained. The man at the slave auction house had a much wider vocabulary."

At this point, applause and insults were much the same to her.

And so she smiled as if she were a singer on stage who was receiving a standing ovation. Then she continued.

"But, please don't get me wrong… I'm not saying you can't talk to her at all. You can talk as much as you want, if there is a good reason for it. For instance…"

After letting them go very hungry, she gave them a glimpse of something to bite on to.

"If you happened to dig out a house from the rubble at a most shocking speed, or if the building of temporary housing finished much faster than planned… Such reports would be best made to the chief, as I am very busy."

This was a pretty obvious provocation, but their eyes were now glimmering.

After seeing her ability to incite people, Qudels muttered to himself.

"Adelia. What frightening child! What…is she!? I did give her a small hint, but it is as if she learned the principle of being an official already!!"

Of course, that principle was something he called, 'leaving all of the work to others.'

It was a skill most necessary for those who stood at the top in the world.