The Ogre Strength Fairy and the Eldest 'Son'
Chapter 154 - I Tried To Be Professionally Courteous, Why Force Me To Be Bitter By Making It Personal!?

Chapter 154: Chapter 154 - I Tried To Be Professionally Courteous, Why Force Me To Be Bitter By Making It Personal!?

The new Coiled Serpent Guild branch’s manager stared at the teenager, searching for any crack in the mask she felt quite strongly was being worn by the girl. As someone who worked to keep up with her appearance on top of her work ethic, Dima was quite sensitive over the ’apparent’ effortless poise the heiress held.

Still, her questioning of the reason why one room might be ’bad’ was delivered without any tone of accusation... affecting casual curiosity instead of the heart-pounding worry that was her reality.

"Well of course that’s because the afternoon sun can be quite harsh on the other side of the building. I would have felt terrible if you had to deal with that glare all day."

Dima felt her face heat. The teenager had certainly already known which office was ’superior’ of the two that looked so similar. The branch manager, by official order, was starting to feel that no matter what she chose... the one with better light would be hers.

’She would have offered to swap. Either way she gets to feel clever about noticing the lighting difference first and *giving* me the better one.’

For a woman who worked hard on her appearance, her profession, and her goals... such ’kindness’ from a younger party almost made her *wish* the pot of tea had been poisoned. Not because she wanted to die herself, but so that if she did then at least the infuriatingly friendly child would be going with her!

"Would you like to discuss any furniture arrangements? I’ve had some lovely pieces commissioned already, but naturally you should have a say in their placement in your space."

’Your space.’

The words rang hollow even when she repeated them in her mind. It was quite obvious that nothing here truly belonged to anyone but the Goltbreds... and their terrifyingly thoughtful daughter. She held back her desire to cry as a realization crawled up her spine.

’Doesn’t that mean I’m owned now, too?’

Her spiral of despair was interrupted by the voice that had caused it.

"We’ll need to start reaching out to the other Guilds soon. I thought perhaps we could begin with the Ironclad Order, since they’re so central to the region’s defense... and because you’ve worked with them before."

The former liaison found herself wondering if the girl was thinking of her handsome husband - and the way that she had tried to use her charm on him - or if she was actually evaluating her professional connection as worthy of making use of. Neither made her feel good, for different reasons.

"That seems... reasonable."

She managed to keep her voice steady despite the worming sensation that even her words weren’t her own anymore. Unless she simply tried to be difficult... there was not a lot of ’options’ being presented to her! The teenager nodded, her ’sweet’ smile never wavering.

"I always try to be quite reasonable... which is why I’ve taken the liberty of drafting some preliminary letters. Naturally, you should review and sign them as the branch manager. Proper protocols for official communications should be maintained so that no feet are stepped on."

There it was again - that ’perfect’ balance of initiative and deference that made it quite impossible to object without seeming petty. Dima found herself wondering how many of those letters were crafted to serve the heiress’s purposes. How few would have actual decisions for her to make.

’She brought me here to be a figurehead.’

"Oh, we’ll need to discuss staffing at some point soon. I understand things are moving quicker than headquarters expected. I have a few recommendations for positions we should fill first, but I’m very interested in hearing our manager’s thoughts on the matter."

Elua continued to chatter brightly at the older woman. Pretending she was oblivious to people’s inner turmoil was not very hard at her level of experience. At a certain point, everything was just noise that became pushed into the background. But not everyone could push things aside so easily.

’As if you haven’t already selected every person who will work here. Just like you did me.’

Dima couldn’t voice that suspicion out loud or truly do anything but nod and pretend this was a normal discussion between professional equals. Even if her stomach felt like she’d swallowed a hot coal that had burned and hollowed out her insides all too quickly.

"Perhaps we should start with a receptionist?"

She suggested while trying to assert some minimal control over the conversation.

"What a wonderful idea! Have you ever been a receptionist yourself?"

The branch manager could somehow feel her empty insides dropping just a little further down to another level of low... as the brunette clapped her hands together in *excitement*. She was all too certain that the Goltbred’s next words would be a threat about demoting her to that position. But before she could answer-

"I actually worked at a few places before I came to the Coiled Serpent. Only as the assistants to the roles, obviously. But... I think I know what makes a good worker because of it."

The woman blinked at the girl after she stopped talking. Dima felt very lost and confused. Had the teenager really only intended to... brag about a bit of part-time work?

"That’s it?"

"Hm? Ah... I guess if you ever would like for my advice on a candidate, I’d be happy to give my opinion. But I think you should probably handle as much of your own tasks as you can."

The emotional whiplash of realizing that she *had* been taking everything much too negatively hit the woman. She chuckled at herself. So what if the young girl had rich parents? She was still just a young girl! Elua tilted her head at the sound of the laughter.

’I didn’t tell a joke? Is suggesting that she takes her work seriously that funny?’

"Would you like to take a look at the research facility plans before you consider the staffing needs? Or perhaps we should break for lunch first. You seemed to have come straight here and-"

The teenager’s stomach growled right on cue as she tried to return them to important matters. Dima quickly found herself wondering if even that was orchestrated before she caught herself and had to suppress another small laugh when the girl puffed out her cheeks and furrowed her brows.

’When exactly did I become so suspicious that even a child’s hunger strikes me as a front of some kind?’

"The plans can wait. I hear there are several excellent establishments nearby. If you’d like we could go and share a meal tog-"

"Honestly, no thank you."

The temperature in the room seemed to drop as mint eyes locked onto her. The woman now felt like this little snake had a loud rattle on its tail that was trying to warn her away. The heiress dropped her friendliness to help make it clear that there would be *no* sharing.

Not food together, not personal time - and definitely not the most important thing there was. Qat was hers!

"I would rather go hungry than eat lunch with the thieving cat that did not stop flirting even *after* realizing someone was *already* owned by-"

The brunette cleared her throat hastily. Her ’sweet’ voice returned, though it now felt more like the sun shining on the stark tundra. Pretty and bright... and deadly for those that strayed on its surface for too long.

"That your target of interest had a fiancee."

The Goltbred wasn’t about to spend a bunch of effort to look for a new scapegoat, so she made sure to prove once again that she could be polite and amicable with a nice, ’sweet’ professional smile. The former liaison felt that her earlier laughter had been very premature.

The whiplash wasn’t from her paranoia being proved false at all - it was from forgetting, just for a moment, that the cups of tea they shared didn’t have to be poisoned... not when the drinking partner herself had a hidden second tongue that apparently dripped with it when she spit her words!