Preparations for Departure

I should probably inform Wozuma, the Deputy Village Chief who essentially runs the village, about my upcoming trip.

While at work the following day, I told Wozuma in his office that I would be heading to Wakoku.

"So, that's the situation, Wozuma. There shouldn't be any problems even if I'm not around, right?"

"What? That's a huge problem. Please give me more notice about these things, Village Chief."

Huh? I'm just a figurehead, though… No, I guess it makes sense. Things can get difficult if even a figurehead suddenly were to disappear.

"Sorry about that. Wataru only told me about the whole thing yesterday."

"Ah, I see…"

"Oh, and Misha will be coming by to work part-time, so feel free to have her help."

"Uh… Misha? You mean that person who stayed in the village a while ago?"

Wozuma asked hesitantly.

"Unfortunately, I don't know any other Mishas."

"Why would the Guildmaster of the Imperial Capital Adventurer's Guild come to this rural village to work part-time?! I could understand if it were for a vacation or something, but…"

Oh, right. Misha's the Guildmaster of the Adventurer's Guild in the capital. It's a pretty absurd situation now that I think about it.

"I don't know either. It must be an order from higher up."

"The only ones above the Guildmaster of the Imperial Capital are the Grandmaster or the top officials of the nation… or possibly the highest authority… I see, so that's what this is about…"

Wozuma shook his head in disbelief.

He's sharp, as expected from our deputy village chief. He already figured out the situation.

"Since you know she's the Guildmaster, running the village should be easy. It might even go smoother without me here."

"I hope so. Still, I wish it were Amelia-sama instead…"

"Huh? Then why not ask her to help instead?"

"Wait, Village Chief. The way you phrased that… it sounds like I can choose between them?"

"That's exactly right. You can have both of them help out if you want."

Wozuma clutched his head.

"They're being sent here by Haku-sama for labor. I'm not sure if the two of them can handle working at the inn, so it's probably better for them to help with village management instead. It's the lesser of two evils, right?"

"Maybe… It'd probably be best for Misha-sama to serve as a bodyguard, wouldn't it?"

Yeah, that's about the most she could handle. I can't even imagine her working as a server.

"Oh, and by the way, Dolce-san will be coming to work part-time too."

"… So that's three out of the Empire's Four Heavenly Kings? The last one—the captain of the knights—isn't coming, right?"

"It doesn't seem like Sally will be coming, so that's a relief."

"At this point, it might have been easier if they all showed up. Hah…"

Wozuma laughed bitterly.

"I've been thinking for a while now… Is this village really that important of a place?"

"Hm? Well, to be honest, it pretty much exists because of Haku-san's hobbies."

"Hobbies?"

"Yeah, you know, those things you spend money on without worrying about profitability."

"… I've heard that Dyne's general store often strikes suspiciously good deals."

Haku-san, are you pulling strings on that front too? I knew it had some perks through the Adventurer's Guild, but still…

"By the way, with you and your wife gone, who's going to entertain the Heavenly Kings?"

"… They're here to work part-time, so no one needs to entertain them. Probably. Yeah."

"They're not the type of people you can just leave to their own devices… I guess it falls on me as the Deputy Village Chief… sigh."

Sorry about that. If I weren't just a figurehead, I'd do it myself.

Anyway, since I'll be away for a while, I need to leave some instructions behind.

Basically, they just need to carry on with their regular duties as usual. The only tricky part is the irregularity of having the Heavenly Kings working part-time.

"I'll also have Rokuko give them a firm warning before I leave, so they should behave."

"That just raises more questions about who Rokuko-sam really is… Not that I'm going to ask at this point."

"Well, from an outsider's perspective, she does seem above the Four Heavenly Kings… Oh, speaking of which, that reminds me. Chloe-san won't show up, right? I should confirm with Wataru just in case."

"That's the White Goddess's right hand, the overseer of the Heavenly Kings… It's not impossible that she'd come."

Yeah, you're right. Chloe-san has come along a few times with Haku.

Still, if Chloe-san does show up, at least she could manage the other three for me. That would actually make things easier. But since she's Haku-san's bodyguard, I doubt she'll come.

Oh, right. Misha and the others are probably using the Soto Express service to get here. I'll need to arrange for that too…

Ugh, there are so many little things to do…!

They just keep piling on unnecessary work!