Chapter 57: Lesson Learnt: Forcing Zorathys to Work Is Going to Result in a Massive Headache
Chapter 57: Lesson Learnt: Forcing Zorathys to Work Is Going to Result in a Massive Headache
Elyn’s POV
"You are tired?" I asked him, and he nodded.
"You didn’t even do anything," I told him.
"I went through almost all the petitions here..."
"...which were incomplete, and Ignivar and Naviel will have to go through it all over again. So that just means you didn’t work at all."
"Well, maybe that’s your definition, because my definition of work is what I just did."
"You made them write the petitions this way because you were too lazy to read anything more than a single line," I pointed out.
"I wasn’t too lazy. I was just trying to make work faster and easier, thereby making me less tired."
"You didn’t even understand what you just approved and disapproved," I told him.
"I know what I approved and disapproved," he argued.
"Oh really?" I asked him, then picked up one of the scrolls.
"This here says, ’Thief of snacks.’" I frowned, confused.
What even is this?
"What does this mean? And why is it disapproved?" I asked Zorathys.
"Firefly, it obviously means someone is stealing snacks from whoever that person is, and I disapproved it because it’s not my concern if someone is stealing snacks. Thievery is common in the realm," he told me.
Why am I not surprised that stealing was a normal thing in the demon realm?
"If thievery is common, did it not occur to you that perhaps there is a reason why this person submitted this petition?" I asked Zorathys.
He shrugged his shoulders.
"Did it not occur to you to try to find out what was stolen and how it affected the petitioner, and why they must have submitted it to you?" I asked him.
He shrugged again.
"Did it also not occur to you that the petitioner may need help dealing with this thief? The thief is stealing food," I told him.
"Which is a normal thing. We’re all demons, we steal. The only thing is to not be caught," he told me.
"Then what about the mines? Why did you approve them needing more workers?" I asked him.
"They always need more workers," he told me.
"And how many do they need?"
"Ignivar and Naviel will sort that out."
"What mine needs the workers?"
"Ignivar and Naviel will sort that out," he said with a yawn.
I threw the paper at him, and it didn’t even touch him because I had bad aim.
"This is something that you are supposed to be able to sort out yourself and not pass down to Ignivar and Naviel," I told him.
"But I’m tired."
I ignored him, then turned to Ignivar.
"The people who placed these petitions are going to rewrite them in the normal way, and Zorathys here is going to read them," I told him.
Ignivar spared a look at Zorathys, who just stared at me with those red orbs of his.
"Are you sure?" Ignivar asked me slowly.
"Do I look like I’m not sure?" I asked him.
I sighed, taking in a deep breath. I needed to control myself.
I searched for my snack box and found it on the floor. I frowned; I did not know how it got there, but maybe it was while Zorathys had been working.
I picked it up, not registering the fact that it was even lighter than before, and took three from inside. Kethra was right—this snack had some calming effects, and I needed it while working with Zorathys.
"Yes, I’m sure," I told Ignivar after I took in a deep breath.
"Um... we have some with us. The old ones, before they rewrote them. Should I bring those instead?" he asked me.
I beamed. "Yes, that would be better."
Ignivar nodded and then moved deeper into another room I had no idea existed in the office. He brought out some scrolls this time. They were about twenty or so.
I opened one and found that it was written exactly how petitions should be written.
I smiled and then told him to place it in front of Zorathys, who looked at the scroll, then back at me.
"More work?" he asked.
"Real work."
"So what happened to the others I’ve been working on? I’ve been working for hours already."
"No, you worked for minutes," I corrected him.
"There’s hardly any difference," he told me.
"There is," I said, then patted the table. "Now, work."
Zorathys grumbled.
"My lady, are you sure you want to do this?" Ignivar asked me.
"Of course," I told him, then turned to Zorathys.
He picked up the first scroll, and within seconds, Zorathys yawned loudly. He pushed the scrolls away and then laid his head on the table, where he fell asleep, his huge black wings exposed as he slept.
I frowned, because there was no way he was sleeping, right? I had to be seeing something else.
"Is he sleeping?" I asked.
"It... it would seem so," Morthen said, adjusting his glasses.
I moved to wake him up, and Rin gasped in shock.
"My lady, are you trying to kill yourself?" she asked me.
"I think we should let him sleep, Your Highness," Vaelory told me.
I ignored them and woke Zorathys up. Immediately his eyes opened groggily. It was like everyone else in the room held their breath, like Zorathys was going to destroy the room.
But Zorathys just yawned and sat upright.
"Finish that," I pointed at the scrolls on the table.
He grumbled once more, but he obeyed. He obeyed too easily. I should have known that I would regret my choices.
He picked up the scrolls one by one and within one minute disapproved everything without even going through them. Then he picked them up and placed them in my hands, his eyes half-closed.
"There. Work done."
I opened my mouth to argue, and he disappeared into a swirling mist of shadow, with no trace left behind.
I turned to the others in the room in shock, and Ignivar cleared his throat.
"My lady, a piece of information—don’t ever force Zorathys into doing any work. You’ll only regret it," he told me.