Working As A Procrastinator

"How do you like this place?"

"It's pretty good. I especially liked the garden. Did you plant all those flowers?"

"That's right. How did you guess?"

"I heard you have a great taste in designing stuff."

"Hehe, you're quite the sweet talker aren't you?"

"I am?"

"That's right, you are. Unlike Anne."

"Hey! I'm right behind you, you know."

The saintess and Stella kept chatting away happily, completely ignoring Anne.

"Did you hear someone yelling?"

"No. Must've been the wind."

"....."

Anne was done with their bullshit. She stomped her foot angrily and left.

"Oh dear, We angered her a bit too much." Saintess Lavonne sighed.

"It's alright. She's not angry at all. She'll be back soon." Stella was unconcerned.

"Really?" The saintess was surprised by her answer. "I feel kind of like you know Anne better than me."

"Maybe... in some areas." Stella slowly replied. "Can I ask you something?"

"Hmm. Go ahead."

"Why do you consider me as your family? You just met me for half an hour." Stella asked as she looked up.

"Why?" The saintess smiled. "You don't know how unstable her mind was even two days ago. She was gloomy and unresponsive. Her head would always be lowered. She would barely talk or smile. And suddenly yesterday, she was completely different. Her aura, mind, and behavior changed completely. She felt like a different person altogether. I was stunned when I saw her. Was this the Anne I knew? I asked her about what happened. And she told me... she found a little girl. A troublemaking brat with a weird personality. And she said, she felt you gave her peace of mind. You made her feel like she found her long-lost family. And I know how much her family meant to her. If she loves you like a family, so do I."

"I see. That's nice to hear." Stella smiled.

"You're welcome. Shall we go have lunch?" The saintess asked.

"Sure. But let's wait for Anne to cool off."

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*******

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"Have you found her?"

"No Sir. There was some destruction on the eastern side of the city. But we found no traces of her."

".....Alright. Dismissed."

Merlin closed his eyes as he laid back his head on the chair. He let out a soft sigh.

'Where did she disappear in broad daylight? It's been hours already. I told her to be careful.... Did she fall into a trap?' Merlin massaged his temples. But he couldn't figure it out. Mysteriously, there was no eyewitness despite the destruction of multiple buildings. The entire thing was puzzling.

'Let's wait a few more hours. After that....I might have to consider the worst-case scenario.' Merlin was in between a rock and hard place. He couldn't publish the news that the Grand Marshall was missing. He couldn't hide it for long either.

While he was deep in thought, someone knocked on his door.

"Come in." Merlin sighed.

"I hope I didn't disturb you, Sir Merlin." The Emperor came inside the room.

"No, you didn't. Take a seat." Merlin pointed in front of him.

"Thank you." The Emperor slowly sat down.

"So, how have you been, Charles?" Merlin asked as he started tidying up his table.

"Not that great, I suppose. The situation in the Empire is quite unstable. A lot of high-ranking ministers and officials went missing... in a single day." The Emperor frowned as he looked up.

"I know that. But they all had something in common, didn't they?" Merlin smiled.

The Emperor nodded. "They were all involved in slave trafficking, especially children."

"Well, maybe it's a good thing they're gone. Now you have a chance to appoint someone else onto that position." Merlin explained.

"While it may be a good thing in some ways, we cannot ignore the underlying issue within it. An unknown force kidnapped over five hundred officials in a single day, without any traces. What happens when they target more and more people? We need to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible." The Emperor knocked his fingers on the table.

"Speaking of targeting others.... Sylvania is missing too." Merlin sighed.

"What?! Impossible!!! How could she disappear?!" The Emperor's face changed dramatically. If Sylvania couldn't resist, the rest of them didn't have any hope.

"I don't know what happened. But what I do know, is that even if I sneak attacked her with the intention of transporting her away somewhere else, I would fail. She is not someone to be trifled with. She will not go down without a bloody fight. Whoever she had encountered, overpowered her to the point she could not even battle before getting transported away." Merlin bitterly explained.

".... Don't we have any clues about her disappearance at all?" The Emperor felt heavy.

"I have a clue. But I just can't gauge the danger level of trying to interact with it." Merlin replied.

"What do you mean?"

"It's a little girl. A very peculiar one. Sylvania went to capture her for allegedly kidnapping a Spy of the Empire. She's probably behind the spatial fluctuations in the city. And the group behind her should be the ones that kidnapped everyone." Merlin explained.

"So what do you suggest?"

"We wait and observe. Even Sylvania is gone. But I have a gut feeling she'll be able to return. We could get valuable information from her. Let's not step on the tiger's tail for now." Merlin spoke softly.

"And what if she doesn't?" The Emperor frowned.

"At that point, we have no choice but to confront them. We'll probably incur massive losses, but that'll be enough to flush the rats out of their hole.

A hidden group of dangerous people, that can do whatever they please is too big of a threat. We have to neutralize them at any cost."

"True. Let's hope she manages to return. Too many things depend on her. We cannot afford to lose Sylvania."

"I know Charles... I know."

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Two of the most influential people in the Empire kept racking their brains to resist the looming threat closing in.

A threat that simply didn't exist.

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*******

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"Stella, why aren't you eating?"

"Saintess, she...is very picky about food."

"Oh. You don't like it?"

"No, I'm not that hungry. I'll eat later." Stella replied quietly.

"Alright then. We'll go to Anne's house later and cook together." The saintess smiled.

"Okay." Stella nodded.

"Saintess Lavonne..." Anne slowly called.

"What is it?"

"About you giving salary to Stella... She can't work like us. Wouldn't people say you're giving preferential treatment?" Anne was worried. She didn't want people to put the saintess in a bad light.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. I'll officially give her a job. Stella, what are you good at?" The saintess asked.

"I'm good at... nothing." Stella shamelessly admitted.

"You must be proficient in at least one thing... right? Everyone is." The saintess asked again.

"Hmm.... Let me think." Stella was deep in thought. "Oh! I got it."

"What is it?" The saintess smiled.

"I'm very good at procrastinating." Stella puffed up her chest.

"....."

"....."

Both the saintess and Anne went silent.

"....I see. That's.... great." Lavonne's mouth twitched. "We'll just check a bit of everything to see what suits you best. Okay?"

"Hmm? Okay~" Stella chirped.