Chapter 2

I wasn’t wrong. If I could live my long life with ease like this, I would consider it a victory. Perhaps one could call it my “win condition.” And wasn’t it nice to just get drunk at home without anyone scolding you? On the morning of my day off, the light streaming in through my run-down apartment woke me up. But— “I stayed too long yesterday helping people. Maybe I should sleep a little more…” That morning I fell back asleep, then finally woke up for real with bed head. “What shall I do today? First I’ll go to the restaurant with spicy hell pasta for brunch.” That place offered large portions and allowed us to add extra spice for free during lunchtime. “Then I’ll pick something out from the bookstore—it looks like it’s going to rain tonight, so I’ll come back early, and I can just have the hell-pot and bread I made yesterday… I suppose I’m fine as long as I’m eating spicy food.” Savoring the little things was a good way to live, in my opinion. Sometimes I felt like the little things were too little, but big dreams would only leave me exhausted. I was born as a daughter to greengrocers and spent some time helping with the store, and after I reached a suitable age for a long-lived demon, I took a test and became a civil servant. I was indifferent to the promotion ladder at that point. To be honest, I lacked any interest in moving up in the world, or in becoming important. I yawned as I milled about Vanzeld Castle town. As I walked along a market road, I saw a flyer: CORONATION OF THE NEW DEMON KING ON THE XTH DAY OF THE XTH MONTH Ah, indeed. It was finally time for the succession. Now that the war with the humans had reached a cease-fire and the aftermath was mostly over, the demon king was apparently putting his daughter on the throne. Her name is Provato Pecora Ariés, I believe. I’d heard she was young and reform-oriented. Because of that, the people at the top of the organization were apprehensive that she might interfere with the status quo for the civil servants based on her whims. When a new demon king was crowned, they often put the scalpel to the bureaucracy in order to freshen it up. The agricultural minister at the top of the department would probably change, but, well, that had nothing to do with me. I’d just go about my business quietly. There was no fight for power at the bottom. I didn’t have any power to begin with. I wolfed down my extra-large and extra-spicy pasta at my usual place. A demon couple walked hand in hand in front of the bookstore. They were too lovey-dovey; they’d probably break up in six months. They should take more care so as not to deepen the inevitable wounds. I sighed as I stored my warning away in my heart. Some people out there just had brilliant lives. And so coronation day for the new demon king came. Us civil servants all attended to give praise to our new ruler up on the stage. She was young. Far younger than I had imagined. The new demon king had a pair of sheeplike horns growing from the sides of her head and wore a black dress for the ceremony. She struck me as a well-raised girl, but she looked so much like a child that I heard voices of concern around me. I understood their opinion; things could prove difficult if the demon king wasn’t an already battle-hardened individual, even if we weren’t currently at war with the humans. “I am the new demon king, Provato Pecora Ariés. I hope to work together with everyone to create an even better nation.” Her plain, generic general policy speech came to an end. Still, if she could follow a template like that, she could at least keep the status quo. From the perspective of all the civil servants, that would be the most ideal— And then. The new demon king suddenly locked eyes with me. I was standing way, way, way behind the agricultural minister, and yet it felt like she was looking directly at me. No, I had to be imagining things. The new demon king would never look at a low-level grunt like me. Our eyes had just happened to meet when she was scanning the audience. “And now, I would like to announce each new cabinet minister~ I believe our new personnel will be more youthful than ever.” What she said was also something all too common. The words meant she was breaking up the old ways, but it was normal to promote the powerful members of some faction somewhere. If they had any interest, the minister would be selected from the same faction that supported the previous demon king, or possibly a different faction. According to the rules, even someone of low standing could climb up to a higher position, but there was nothing but lip service to the idea. Every position at the top was and always had belonged to the privileged class. A noble title was necessary to be a minister, especially. “First, our foreign minister shall be Nastas. Next, the home minister shall be Velts; the economic minister shall be Vector…” She read names one after the other. It seemed the designated demons had no idea of this announcement beforehand, so a few of them made victorious poses upon hearing their name. Everyone seemed strong. If the war with the humans were still in progress, then they’d probably be dispatched to towers here and there as bosses. The new demon king offered simple explanations for why she selected these first few people as ministers. I paid no attention to it as I thought about who came from what faction. She was appointing ministers from all different factions. Maybe that meant the new demon king’s authority was weak. “Now, I shall return to the personnel. The labor minister shall be Chanoir; the health minister shall be Mix…” The rank-and-file workers weren’t interested at all. Many people around me started yawning. None of it affected us personally, after all. “…The agricultural minister shall be Beelzebub…” At first, I didn’t really understand what she said. Actually, it might be more apt to say that I ignored it. This couldn’t have to do with me. Beelzebub was the name of a great demon from the past, so it wouldn’t have been strange to hear of other civil servants with the same name. It was probably someone else, someone important in the agricultural department. But all my coworkers standing in front of me turned around to look at me with blatant disbelief. “Wait, can she do that?” “How many ranks are you going up?” Everyone was thinking I was going to be the agricultural minister… “Wait, wait! This has to be a mistake! I’ve always been at the bottom; I can’t be the minister!” I cried with conviction. Such a personnel shift was unthinkable! But the new demon king continued with her explanation. “Beelzebub has worked dependably for one thousand, five hundred years in agricultural policy. She has also helped many of her coworkers and is extraordinarily popular. In the past, we received many comments in the suggestion box requesting she be placed in an important post. And yet, she herself never boasted about it, working for years as an unsung hero. I believe the time has finally come to raise her into a position of authority.” The new demon king replied with a lengthy and unbelievable explanation. Perhaps she was just trying to catch everyone by surprise with a sensational cabinet selection because she was young, but I wouldn’t be part of this! Once I took on the position of minister, a colossal amount of work would be waiting for me. I certainly wouldn’t be able to continue the easy life I had now. My humble delights would crumble to dust… I would not stand for this. I leaped out of my row. “I am Beelzebub! Your Majesty, I don’t think this assignment will be possible!” It was a rude thing to do to the demon king, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and no one was coming to stop me. The new demon king looked down at me playfully from the stage. I could see on her face that she had predicted this very reaction. Which meant I hadn’t been imagining it when I thought our eyes met… “It seems you are not satisfied with the situation,” the new demon king said to me, blatantly ignoring our difference in status. I wanted to applaud her for her frank tone, but my promotion was what was at stake here. “Of course I’m not! The minister’s post is for a person who is already important! Someone fourth or fifth in the pecking order may end up becoming a minister, but there’s no precedent for bottom-tier trash like me to take the position!” I hadn’t been working for 1,500 years for show. I knew this was unprecedented. “I see. What you say is correct. So I will answer your question.” It wasn’t like the new demon king was using any kind of voice-enhancing magic, but it still carried really well. “You’ve been serving for one thousand, five hundred years; is that correct?” “Yes. I was originally helping out with my parents’ greengrocery, so I only took and passed the civil service exam after I turned one thousand. And for the fifteen hundred years since then, I’ve been working where I am now.” I wondered why I had to give my life story in front of everyone, but if this was going to create a scandal and make it clear that I shouldn’t be promoted that far up, then that was reasonable to me. “So you’ve been working for the current public Agricultural Policy Organization for fifteen hundred years, Beelzebub. In that case, it should’ve been impossible for you to remain at an entry-level position this whole time. Yet there’s no record of you having been promoted.” “I’ve turned down every offer of promotion because it would be beyond my abilities.” My job was just to complete the tasks that came down to me from the top, no thought required. I’d always be in a position for others to use me, but I wouldn’t have to take on any heavy responsibility. I could hear my colleagues: “Someone’s been at the bottom for fifteen hundred years?” and “I guess that’s not a post that comes with a fixed term.” It was true; the way I worked was not a common trick. This might’ve been difficult to pull off if I were human, but demons were long-lived, and with my youthful looks, my low position wouldn’t seem strange. “Indeed, and so I’ve calculated to see what would’ve happened if you had been continually promoted with your grades. Please look at this.” A plan written on a large poster unfurled next to the new demon king—she must’ve had this ready beforehand. “Taking into account your service record, service history, and reputation among your bosses and colleagues, you have accumulated results that prove there would be no problem if you became minister. Congratulations!” “Wh-wh-wha…?” I wanted to believe it was a dream and softly pinched my left arm. Ow. Around me, I could hear comments: