Chapter 1

Chapter 0

Prologue

"From a distance, it's a comedy; up close, it's a tragedy."

It's a rather famous quote, and personally, it has resonated with me over the past few years. My current life as a civil servant is just like that.

From a distance, I might look like a thug wielding absolute power, but up close, I'm just a pitiful middle manager being squeezed from above and below. It's true that the authority of an imperial civil servant is immense. However, when you look around, there are plenty of such civil servants. Yeah, it's a dog's life.

No matter how prestigious your family is or how high your rank, what does it matter? There are always dukes and ministers above you. Even if you manage to reach the pinnacle of the civil service through a combination of ability, luck, and connections, you can't afford to be complacent. After all, the royal family is still above you. So, are you going to push them aside? That would be a perfect setup for a celestial forced meeting.

That's why life as a civil servant is so sad. Overbearing superiors, competitive colleagues vying for promotions, and subordinates aggressively climbing the ranks. Even if you do your job well in such a situation, it's just breaking even, and if you fail, you're bound to get beaten up. Ah, it's so scary!

"Director, if you don't get here right away, the Minister says he'll kill you."

It's the same now. My extremely vicious direct superior doesn't hesitate to make threatening remarks to a poor, weak civil servant.

"I will take full responsibility for this situation and resign."

"Didn't you use that line last time? The inkwell flying around was no joke."

"Was it last time?"

I glance out the window. The raging storm seems to reflect my shattered spirit. It's strange, climate manipulation mages are rare...

"Are you very angry?"

"It's the same as usual."

"You're really pissed off, aren't you?"

Sometimes it's heartbreaking to see. If you're this angry, you'll die young. The deputy, who was informing me of the Minister's condition, nodded silently. Yeah, you're also suffering as the messenger.

"I'll be back. Gather all the section chiefs."

"Please come back alive."

"Sure."

With the deputy's farewell behind me, I moved my heavy feet. Even as a director, I'm not in a position where I can just come and go as I please, but it just so happens that the one calling me is the Minister. I hope either he or I retire soon.

"How the fuck do you do your job?!"

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorryaaaaah!"

As soon as I trudged into the Minister's office, I heard the shouting and instinctively bowed my head.

It was the same as always.

Yeah, it's a dog's life.

Author's Note

Nice to meet you, please take care of me!