01x02 - Strive to Ease the Burden on Your Future Self!

[bunniefuu]

Morning in the Demon Castle begins early.

What good weather.

It's a great day to get some work done.

Someone like me, who is still
in their probationary period,

should be the first one on the clock.

I'll start earlier than ever,

get to work on my tasks,

and demonstrate my enthusiasm.

Hey, wake up.

Another five minutes...

The sun is out. Wake up.

I know you're exhausted, but there
are still things left to do, right?

I'll give you a hand. Come on.

No!

Today I'm just going to cuddle in bed.

This isn't working.

Voice changing, Demon Queen Echidna.

There.

Sorcerer General!

What is the status
of the recruitment drive?

How long do you expect me to wait?

I'm terribly sorry, Queen Echidna!

We have far more applicants
than we expected,

so the selection is running behind.

It's running behind? That's not good.

No, it's nothing I can't handle!

Tomorrow... No, by the end the day,

I'll give you the list of applicants
that made it to the interview round.

That's why you don't get enough sleep.

It's all due to my failures.

Look...

It's not good to try
and do everything on your own.

Right...

You need to train subordinates
that you can trust to do the job.

-Yes Ma'am!
-That is a supervisor's responsibility.

Yes, you are right, of course.

Good morning, Steina.

I was wondering if you could
assign me some tasks.

Go away!

An enemy attack?

Steina...

Is she having a nightmare?

It's probably the stress.

Unbelievable... It's unacceptable!

-You've been mumbling for minutes now.
-Unacceptable...

-What's wrong, huh?
-Unacceptable...

You're what's wrong!

Your very existence!

Everything about you!

Isn't it obvious?!

The demon army at present
is severely short-handed.

In our last battle,

I utterly decimated their army

and many of its officers were forced
to recuperate back in the demon world.

All their work was handed over
to the remaining officers.

in other words, to the Four Generals.

On top of that, there seem to be many
tasks that only Steina can perform,

or that no one else knows how to do.

It's a situation commonly seen
in organizations, where only senior staff

have knowhow and there are no guidelines.

And with no time
to create such guidelines,

there is no time to train new recruits.

Even so, the Demon Queen Echidna has
demanded that the army be rebuilt soon.

Steina, here, is definitely the type
who will over-extend herself.

In fact, she might even
work herself to death.

No wonder her ice magic
has gotten so weak.

I'm here to assist you, you know!

Can't you be a little friendlier?

Are you out of your mind?

How am I supposed to be friendly
to a man who barged into my room?

That should be no problem for a succubus.

Shut up!

This is the list of your tasks?

Yes, the ones on top
are the highest priority.

"Preliminary selection of new volunteers,"

"reformation of the magical battalions,"

"regular maintenance
of Queen Echidna's homunculus..."

"Reducing the internal costs
of maintaining the castle..."

There are more than 50 tasks here.

You have to delegate!

Delegate to who?! I don't have any
reliable subordinates or coworkers.

All right, all right.

The last task on the list is...

Replenishing the magical furnaces?

What are you looking at?

Let me think for a moment.

The facilities and magical tools in the
castle are powered by magical furnaces.

In general, magical furnaces

can only be replenished
by the magician who created them.

In other words, the magical
furnaces created by Steina

can only be replenished with
magical energy on her wavelength.

Any attempt to force things otherwise,

and the magical furnaces might break.

That's where I come in.

Why are you smirking?

Starting today, leave the replenishment
of the magical furnaces to me.

That'd be a great help.

It's a boring and arduous task.

Aren't you going to ask how?

You'll probably imitate
my magical energy wavelength, right?

It's common sense.

It's only common sense
for those as powerful as you and I.

And? How many magical
furnaces have you made?

There are four of them.

There are more than
a hundred inside the castle,

so it's only a small portion of the total.

We only have to replenish
them once every few days.

All right.

2 hours and 30 minutes.

I will complete it
in two hours and 30 minutes.

I can do it within an hour, you know.

Come on.

I promise on my honor as a hero.

What do you promise?

You won't regret this.

In 2 hours, 30 minutes, you'll exclaim:

"Well done! Tomorrow will be easy!"

"Leo, you are amazing! I love you!"

Then you'll rejoice and give me a kiss.

I'm counting on you, then.

That's not much of a reaction.

14 seconds have already passed.

Yeah yeah, I'm off.

Metamorphosis.

I have to think of a name too.

Something cool...

30 seconds have passed.

One more thing.

Please name me
an assistant of the Four Generals.

The title will make things easier.

All right.

Thank you.

"Sir Godheart" would make
a cool name, right?

Just get going!

That's the latest.

If Steina seems to be acting weird,

report to me immediately.

Yes, your Highness.

If only I could help her...

No, that will only make Steina feel worse.

I suppose so.
I'll be counting on you guys.

Right.

You can count on me!

Okay, let's get to work!

I can do it!

My lady, I have returned.

Why are you talking like that?

Well,

if I'm hiding my identity,

I might as well change the way I talk.

It's only been 30 minutes.

Trust me. I've done the job.

Then I'll assign you
your next task, right away.

-No, I'm tired.
-What?

I hadn't matched another
energy wavelength for a very long time.

Mirage Eye?

I want to learn what you do while I rest.

I won't get in your way.

I'll just sit here quietly.

You can begin your next task
after you finish resting.

Leo, it's about time.
You should start your next task.

Wait. I want to rest a bit more.

I haven't used
Metamorphosis for a long time.

This food is terrible.

Looks like the kitchen
needs improvement, too.

It's been an hour.

You've had enough rest.

No, a while more.

My magic power hasn't fully recovered yet.

You slacker!

Get up!

You're heavy...

Who knew Gravity Root
could be used like this!

Seems like you have enough
magical energy left for pranks!

Which one should I choose?

"Sir Godheart" or "the Bloody Sword"?

No, how about something different?

Lord Onyx, The Dark Knight
has a nice ring too.

Steina, what do you think?

What's wrong?

I've seen enough, Hero Leo.

All you do is slack off.

You're the lowest of the low.

Please calm down!

I am calm.

I have observed your actions
with patient, serene calm

and I've come to the conclusion that you
are of no benefit to the demon army.

Dior, Neal, Zotte...

-Whoa there!
-The Spiral of Aurora pierces all things

The Heavenly Light fills my hands!

Wait. You'll mess up
all those documents you organized!

Gaiaselle!

She's here.

I must join the demon army at all costs.

I have my reasons for doing so.

To be officially accepted,
I must show my worth

and get recommended by the Four Generals!

This is only the first step
toward my goal.

I believe you are called Dianette.

Thank you for your help.

Looks like everything went well.

Yes, Sir Godheart.

I've changed my name
to Onyx, the Dark Knight.

Just call me, um...

Just call me Lord Onyx.

Onyx, the Dark Knight?

Now, I'd like a detailed report on the
replenishment of the magical furnaces.

Yes, sir.

The talisman that you gave me

worked just fine.

There seem to be no problems
with its durability...

Wait a minute! A talisman?

What's going on?

Didn't Leo... Didn't Lord Onyx
replenish the magical furnaces himself?

Well...

Let her finish what she
has to say, Sorcerer General.

You may go on.

As you command.

As there's no problem
with its functions and durability,

if you will allow,

we'll be able to replenish
the magical energy from now on.

What do you think, Lady Steina?

Those magical furnaces were my creation.

Are you really able to do it?

I will take it from here.

First, I will explain

what I did two hours ago,

during the 30 minutes
I was away from this room.

First, I went to the workshop
inside the castle

and asked for a piece of amethyst
from the goblin goldsmith.

Then, I imitated Sorcerer General's
wavelength and injected it in the crystal.

Amethyst is a stubborn stone.

It won't forget an energy
wavelength once it has learned it.

Which means it will automatically correct
the wearer's energy wavelength.

With that, the talisman was done.

That covers the first 15 minutes.

After leaving the workshop,

I wasted five minutes
because of an unexpected situation.

Leo!

I spent five minutes looking for Dianette.

Then I taught her how to use it
with the remaining five minutes.

He said that if I wear this,

I'd be able to replenish the magical
furnaces made by Lady Steina.

I also said this.

Get a few more people
with the same level of magical energy

to share the workload.

Yes.

Including me,

four of us took turns wearing the talisman

and completed the job.

Well done.

You should know what to do from now on.

The Sorcerer General is busy.

Starting from tomorrow,
the four of you will form a team

and take turns replenishing
the magical furnaces.

I will give each of you
a talisman within three days.

Yes, sir.

It seems to have taken a while,

but that's forgivable,
since it's your first day.

Be sure to work efficiently
from this point on.

Yes, sir.

That is all from me.

Well, er uh...

As you've heard,
the replenishment work is done.

Reducing your workload is part of our job.

Dianette, here, has been
worried about you.

This girl?

Yes, I apologize if it's presumptuous,

but I know that you've
been working non-stop every day.

Lady Steina, is there anything
I can help with?

It's fine. Focus on your own tasks.

I didn't dare to ask again,
nor did I have the capability to help.

But thanks to Lord Onyx,

we can at least
help replenish the magical furnaces.

Please tell us

if you need us for anything else.

Right. Understood.

Dianette,

I will ask for your assistance
if I need anything else.

Right!

You have been a great help. You may go.

Yes.

I will take my leave.

Do you understand what I did now?

Sorcerer General.

From now on, you just need
to hear their reports

and head to the scene if anything happens.

As promised,
in two hours and thirty minutes,

I have permanently reduced your workload.

Listen. You can't shoulder
all the work alone.

Especially if you're managing
an organization as diverse as this.

Rather than one capable person
doing everything themselves,

each person, no matter their status,
should have a job to perform.

Most tasks can be completed in that way.

Although, you might think
that's too optimistic.

Why didn't you tell me right away

that you had taught Dianette?

You worry way too much!

If I told you, you would have
definitely wanted to supervise.

The members of the current
demon army were all chosen by you four.

In that case, you should trust
the subordinates you chose.

An organization has to keep running, even
if those at the top were to die tomorrow.

That's rich coming from someone
who always traveled alone.

I have plenty of life experience.

That reminds me.

While you handed
your tasks to the subordinates,

and had them working hard,

you did nothing but sit around!

You are lazy! A slacker!

That's harsh.

I may have been relaxing,
but I was working the whole time.

Look.

I've been observing both your figure
and your daily work habits.

There are definitely
some inefficiencies to be corrected.

I revised some of your priorities.

Take a look.

Let me see it.

Observing my figure, huh?

I marked seven tasks with a red stamp.

Those are the ones
you can assign to subordinates.

Can they do it?

Teaching them how to do it

is your job as a superior, right?

This is a map of the Rarugo Sea.

They have amazing seafood there.

If we source from there,
food will definitely improve.

Considering the journey
there and the danger...

Leo!

Yes, Lady Steina?

I apologize. I misjudged you.

Cut it out!

I just did what I was supposed to.

That's why I have to apologize.

I've been giving you a hard time
since the interview.

Nevertheless, you worked
diligently and effectively.

I don't deserve to be one of
the Four Generals if I don't apologize.

Never mind that.

If you collapsed,

the demon army will cease to function.

Then I'll have nowhere to go.

That's why I wanted to help.

You don't have to thank me.

You're not an easy person to like.

I was apologizing sincerely!

That's why I always travel alone.

Bye then. I'll start my next task.

Tell me if there's anything you need.

Once again,

I'll be counting on you, Leo.

I almost forgot.

What is it?

When I told you my plans for the day,

I said "you won't regret it."

Do you remember what I said after that?

In 2 hours and 30 minutes, you'll exclaim:
"Well done! Tomorrow will be easy!"

"Leo, you are amazing! I love you!"

Then you'll rejoice and give me a kiss.

Now then...

I'll take a kiss on the lips or the cheek.

Or we can head to the bed...

Get out of here now!

That one hurt more than this morning's!

What's wrong?

You said I could call
if I need anything, right?

This is earlier than I thought.

In fact,

Lily is heading to the Rarugo Sea
for a logistics mission.

The food and resources
in the castle are running out.

She mustn't fail in this purchase.

Things are worse than I thought.

Not only that,

this is the proposal submitted by Lily.

"Everyone must smile
and have a good time!"

Seriously?