Chapter 17

I Want a Bit of Decoration in My Office Skrtch skrtch, skrtch. Fatla was writing something in pen, and the sound resonated through the minister’s office. The noise was quiet, but this room was so echoey for some reason. Why did they build it like this? I doubted I would be able to hear the pen if Vania and I were talking, but Vania was presently working in silence. I felt no need to speak, either, so the room was utterly quiet. In a way, we were spending our time at the office properly. Yet on the other hand, the pen sounded rather loud in the silence. In fact, the silence was so intense that I could not concentrate. I once thought that phrase was a way of avoiding responsibility, but it felt a bit too on the nose right now. It weighed on my mind. But when I looked around the room again— It’s quite bleak in here, isn’t it? There were desks for work and shelves of documents—a given, considering this was an office. I was not about to complain. On the other hand, there was nothing else. Perhaps the door, windows, and curtains counted as exceptions, but essentially, there was nothing but the bare minimum required for work. Of course, it did not hinder my work, but it was much too simple, no? This was not a factory where suits of armor and dolls that moved by magical means were working. This was an office used by three high-ranking demons. Oh, just thinking about it was extremely irritating… And the sound of that damned pen seemed much louder now! Once I noticed it, I could not get it out of my mind! Wham! I slammed my hands on my desk and stood. “Fatla, Vania, I have a query for you!” “What is it, Lady Beelzebub?” “Are you growing into a cranky old lady, boss?” No, I was not. “Don’t you think this room is a little too bland? There is nothing here, nothing at all to say what sort of people work in this office, no? Yes, they should know a minister works here, but why don’t we add a bit of our own personal touch?” “I suppose one could surmise that the demons who work here have no hobbies,” Fatla paused from her work to say, but— “Does that not make you sad?” I asked. “A bit.” —she also seemed to acknowledge the joke at her own expense. “I know only the three of us use this room on normal workdays, but plenty of other demons from other departments come to consult you here in this room. I doubt we will be able to bring in anything that is clearly not meant for work,” said Fatla. “I am not saying we will be putting in games. But there is nothing in here that shows character, not even a desktop calendar of cute little animals.” That seemed like something Vania would do, but there was practically nothing feminine about her desk. There was nothing on it but messy piles of paper. “Is this not the room for the head of the Ministry of Agriculture? Why do we not have at least something related to agriculture in here? At minimum, should we not put up a painting of a farming scene? Or posters of fruits and vegetables?” “I understand the sentiment. However, I am against the posters. I believe that will cheapen the atmosphere of this room and make it feel less like what it is, which is our office,” Fatla replied with a rather powerful criticism. “I—I suppose you’re right…” It was hard to tell by looks alone, but Fatla was the most feminine of the three of us. Especially compared with me and Vania. That was one reason why this room was so bleak. “Placing one or two paintings in this room will not change its mood very much. I have heard that other ministerial offices have paintings, but I do not think that is what makes their offices so beautiful. They barely bring any color.” “A-aye… I suppose you’re right… There are paintings by the first-floor entrance, but it still feels like a normal office…” If we put one here, it might only emphasize how much it was an office. “But I understand what you’re trying to say, boss~ There’s no green in here. A decorative plant might be nice to have~” “Yes indeed!” That was a good idea, Vania! “A decorative plant! We will add green to this room that way! I hear indoor plants help one relax, and it will not harm the image of the ministerial office!” But there was still a problem. Vania pulled out a catalog for equipment and supplies, then flipped to the indoor-plants page. “Oh wow, they’re expensive~” I peered at the page as well, and they all cost so much that I was tempted to drop the idea and go with something else. “They all cost this much…? Just for one…? A single lonely plant in the corner hardly seems like enough… Mmm, are there more pages for plants near the front? ’Tis cheaper over there.” Vania had opened to the pages displaying midpriced plants, apparently. “But the minister’s office shouldn’t have a cheap plant~ We need a big one.” “You are right on that account…” It was not just my femininity but also my dignity as minister that I had to protect. Our plan to get a nice indoor plant quickly ran aground. “Oh well. I suppose I shall give up on decorating and bringing color into this room. We are demons anyway; perhaps the bleak decor is more appropriate for us.” But then— “Sigh…” The sound was borderline contemptuous, and it came from Fatla. “If you do not mind my personal articles, I believe I will be able to transform this space into one befitting the Ministry of Agriculture. I am rather knowledgeable about plants, you see.” “Are you now?! Perhaps I will ask you to do so, then!” Fatla’s own personal items would not cost us money, so it was two birds with one stone. But Vania seemed worried, which in turn worried me a tinge. Well, this is Fatla taking the helm; it could not be too big of a failure. The weekend was over. I went to work at the ministry as I always did and pushed against the door to the minister’s office. This door always felt a bit heavier at the start of the week. I knew it was a mental thing, but it had not changed in the years I’d worked here. It was a little different today, however. “Hrm… ’Tis truly heavy today…” I pushed with both hands, but it still did not open. Was someone pushing on the other side? “Oy, Vania! You’ve done something again, haven’t you?! You don’t want me to see, so you’re pressing against the door, aren’t you?!” “No! Please, please don’t blame me for this! I haven’t taken part in this at all!” Vania was pleading false charges. “Then why does this door not open?!” “Oh, I’m sorry. It’s caught on a shelf.” A shelf? Did we have a shelf in front of the door? “I moved it, so it’s all right now. Come in.” I once again pushed against the door, and it opened easily this time. But this was not the office I recognized—there were several shelves placed throughout the room. On each separate area sat little glass containers. Plenty had dirt or rocks in them, so I wondered if they were sets for raising insects. None were lidded, so it must have been for something else. “What is this, Fatla? Hell’s bells, what on earth…?” I rarely found myself so completely clueless. What was she putting on display? “Decorative indoor plants,” Fatla said, as though I should not have even asked. “What? What about these things are plants…? All these containers are very cute, but they are full of dirt and stones…” “Can’t you see? They all contain moss.” When she said that, I finally understood the purpose of the containers. There was moss! Moss in the dirt! Moss on the rocks! Moss in the artificial beach in the container! “Wait, wait! This isn’t it… This is moss, not decorative—” “Do you mean to say moss is not an indoor plant? I am afraid you are incorrect,” Fatla replied with unusual firmness. She was not spoiling for a fight, but she was upset that I disapproved of her moss. Then I recalled how uneasy Vania had looked last week. “Um, boss… Sis likes to collect and cultivate moss…,” Vania said, exhausted. I see she had been forced to help with the shelves. In the meantime, Fatla pointed to the container of moss right in front of me. “Lady Beelzebub, please look inside. Moss is so small, but upon closer inspection, you can see it has leaves. Cute, is it not? It’s like a miniature. Each individual glass container is its own pocket garden.” “Well, cuteness is in the eye of the beholder…” I could say there was something fashionably modern about putting dirt or rocks into a little container and growing moss in it. And a little feminine, I suppose. If I were to place one on my desk, the simple decorative pocket garden might even relieve some of my tension. However— “There are too many of them! The whole space at the front of the room is filled with shelves! What is this, a moss shop?!” “We would need at least this many to bring life to this dreary room.” Fatla was holding something—was that a mist bottle? With a quick spritz, she watered the moss in the container. The green of the shriveled moss appeared to brighten up. “Oh! You gave it a little more life, didn’t you?” “Indeed. The moss waits patiently until it receives water. And then once it does, it flourishes. Are you not proud of them? Are they not adorable?” “Everything comes back to the cuteness factor…” Fatla retrieved something else that looked like a round piece of glass. “You can see the moss up close with this. You’ll be fascinated by what you can observe. Here, Lady Beelzebub. Give it a go.” I didn’t exactly have the option to refuse, so I examined the moss with it. “Oh! Up close, I can see the tiny leaves. ’Tis indeed a plant!” “Of course. A world too small for us to know is still filled with life. Within this little garden, there might even be nations inhabited by the tiniest creatures. Does it not fill your heart with wonder?”