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Managment problems (158)
🕑 Added 2021-11-08 13:04:42 +0000 UTCEven realizing that she had somehow stepped into the enemy's trap, there was little Medea could do about it.
For all her magical prowess, unfortunately, she could not travel through time. And so, there was little she could do in her current situation other than try to instantly jump up and run after the unknown adversary who had introduced themselves as a reporter.
On the other hand however, judging by Ainz's plan, the part of the plan that she was able to grasp at least, she was not required to do more.
Indeed, if her Master had given her important information, but had not warned her of anything more, for example, that Mashu and Medea should not communicate with anyone around them, he was clearly planning for something like this to happen. Anyone, even the dumbest person, could not make such a slip-up as ‘just forgetting to give instructions’. And Ainz' actions had given Medea no reason to doubt his intelligence.
And so, whether or not to chase the ‘reporter’, Medea could only shrug. Either way, she was following Ainz' plan. And if no further instructions came from him, well, then all Medea had to do was act according to her own reasoning.
And that in turn meant that…
“Mashu,” Medea turned to the other Servant, who was in a slump for some reason unknown to her. Apparently, Mashu thought that she had done something wrong in her decision to communicate with the reporter. Which was true. But at the same time, all according to plan, so, completely irrelevant to the situation. “It seems that we have done all we could in this situation, there’s no point in staying here any longer.”
“Hmm?” Mashu looked up, her expression still unsure. “What should we do next, then?”
The answer to that question was difficult to say, in view of the fact that Medea was not privy to Ainz's plan. But on the other hand, if she was left to her own devices, Medea could easily formulate a suitable plan for herself. “It is obvious, isn’t it?”
Medea, rising from her chair, glanced at the few people still occupying seats in the café where Medea and Mashu had chosen to take a little break after receiving the unexpected information from Ainz. After that, she nodded and, without trying to reveal any additional information to her colleague, moved towards the exit.
Mashu, not prepared for such a quick action, tossed the small amount of money given by Ainz, matching her opinion of the price of the small snack received they had ordered, and hurried after Medea. “Caster, wait!”
Unlike Medea, Mashu's name was not associated with any legendary hero. And even if guessing, at a glance, that Galahad's spirit was inside her was pretty much impossible, there’s still a need to keep Medea's name a secret.
However, Mashu’s exclamation did not cause Medea to pause her stride, and so Mashu, almost losing sight of her colleague, rushed after her.
Medea herself, clearly focused on something and having some kind of plan of action in her mind's eye, almost escaped Mashu's gaze. Medea was moving quickly to the landmark she had identified. It took a few minutes for Mashu to manage to catch up with her, making Medea stop in some dark alley by grabbing her hand. “Caster!”
Medea, feeling the grip on her hand, seemed to flinch, then turned to Mashu, looking at her with an incomprehensible frown, before a dawning realization appeared on her face. “Oh, right… Of course, sometimes I forget that I need to voice my plans in order for someone to understand them…”
‘I think just now our combined intelligence has been insulted, but I'm not sure how…’ Galahad's voice whispered in Mashu's mind, but she was too distracted by trying to talk to Medea to respond to Galahad “Caster, where were you going in such a hurry? And what is the plan or what we’re supposed to be doing? I don't understand!”
“Of course you don’t.” Medea sighed at Mashu’s confusion, before turning fully to face Mashu, all the while her appearance expressing her disappointment at Mashu's inability to read minds. Rally, is that so hard? “If you have not managed to understand such a simple thing, or the fact that the journalist sent to us, or more specifically to you, was in fact a spy collecting information, I’m perhaps a bit disappointed.” Mashu flinched at the terse reply, but before she could reply in any way, Medea continued.
“The information that you gave him… No, it doesn’t matter. But no need to fret, I will say that it is not your fault. Or to be more precise, it was the expected outcome, one that Ainz had foreseen. He had to reveal through us the fact that he has a plan, while not revealing what this plan is. In fact, my and your particular actions up to this point were all fitted into this plan… somehow. I’m still not clear precisely on how.”
Mashu could only blink at the strange explanation.
Definitely, the information just dumped on her was important, and definitely not something that she would figure out naturally. It even took her a few seconds to fully digest what Medea had just told her. Fortunately for Mashu, and Galahad, for all Medea's standoffishness and straightforwardness bordering on rudeness, at least she gave those few seconds before continuing.
“And if Ainz had purposefully revealed information to the enemy that he had a plan, without revealing what it is to us… Moreover, making a point for us to ‘keep acting as normal’, then it must mean that his plan relies on our not knowing much of his plan. So, in that case, all we need to do is behave as we would normally behave. And that ‘action’ is for us to gather information.” Medea finished with a flourish, ignoring Mashu’s troubled look.
“Apparently, Ainz has ordered the other Servant to infiltrate the opposing sides fighting against this… Kingdom. It means that the only thing we can do in this situation, as we would have done without further order from Ainz, is to give the maximum advantage possible to the two sides fighting against Cu Chulainn Alter and Medb. In that case, gathering information about their forces and plans should be the first priority.”
‘That… sure, it sounds logical in general. But I'm not quite sure how we were supposed to figure it out on our own without any input from Ainz,’ Galahad vented in Mashu's mind at the mental gymnastics needed to get that conclusion! And for once, Mashu was even in agreement with him.
I mean, yes, gathering information to help her allies was a logical enough action, but… How was she supposed to figure that out on her own?!
“I mean, in that case…” Mashu sighed, looking at Medea, “We have to… how are we going to do that?”
Mashu was silent for a second, trying to ignore the smug expression on Medea’s face.
How… how exactly are they going to gather the necessary information? I mean, she couldn't just walk the streets, then ask passersby who the Servants in Cu Chulainn's service were. Even if the normal person walking through the streets knew about the concept of Servants, it was unlikely anyone would dare to just tell her about such information. Mashu wouldn’t be surprised if she would end up in jail in short order if she did such a thing!
“Hm, it's simple, Mashu,” Medea smugly intoned, “We just need to ask Cu Chulainn Alter about the composition of his army and the Servants that make up his army.”
Mashu blinked.
Galahad inside Mashu couldn't blink for lack of eyelids, but his stunned silence was definitely transmitted to Mashu.
Hmm, you could tell that they were gradually getting closer and closer in personality. Even their reactions to events were becoming similar!
Medea, quite adequately assessing Mashu's confusion with her words, only sighed and started explaining. “The local King, Cu Chulainn Alter, in fact, has no initiative or even a will to do anything. He handed over the Grail, which was lying dormant in Medb's chambers, without even asking us to reveal who we were and why we wanted the Grail. He's not even bothering to hide his name, and he doesn't care about Medb's actions in decorating the city with his portraits. In that case, the information about the composition of his army is also invaluable to him, in the sense of having zero value. In fact, I think it would be harder just to get him to talk that long than to convince him to give up secret information. All he cares about is a good battle, which he also has no plans to start on his own.” Medea paused with a grimace, as if tasting something sour.
“When the full-fledged fighting begins, and he goes to the front, his view and stance might change, but at the moment he doesn't care about anyone or anything. I don’t think he even cares about the outcome of the battle itself. It's illogical, but Berserkers, which he is one of, are not prone to logical actions, anyway.” Medea finished explaining her plan.
Mashu only blinked in surprise, trying to understand what Medea just said in her head. “So we just… go to the Commander of the army? And ask him the composition of the army? That’s what you’re saying, right?”
At Mashu’s question, Medea only nodded slowly. “Yes.”
Mashu blinked again, then slowly exhaled as she heard the strangest plan she has ever heard.
‘I'm not sure if I can completely follow Medea's logic, but… if we're talking about a berserker,’ Galahad's sounded as confused and unsure as Mashu felt herself. ‘Then… maybe she's right? I mean, it sounds crazy enough to work…’
Mashu at Galahad’s words just slowly nodded.
“Okay,” Seeing nothing wrong with the plan, Mashu shrugged. “ Okay, then, let's just go and ask the enemy commander what his forces consist of…”
“Irony is inappropriate with Berserkers, the insane logic of their behavior requires an insane logic of communication if one is trying to interact with them.” Medea didn't even smile at Mashu's words. “But speaking of dealing with Berserkers. Yes, that's exactly what I planned to do.”
After some pauses as Mashu tried to come to grips with the insanity of their plan, Mashu and Medea went directly to the King of an enemy nation in order to find out about the composition of their forces.
And, as one would expect from a Berserker…
***
‘Master, we have received information on the forces of Cu Chulainn Alter and Medb,’ Medea's voice echoed in Ainz's head, making him gasp for air.
‘Good…’ Ainz once again gave praise to his suppression of emotion, which prevented him from accidentally going into a falsetto from surprise, before continuing more confidently- ‘In that case, pass this information on…’
Ainz hesitated, then slowly exhaled with a sense of defeat. ‘To whomever you see fit.’
With silence restored once again, he slowly raised his hands and put them to his face.
“Hmm, a hard day, I suppose?” Came the bartender's voice, causing Ainz to look up and sigh. “Oh, yes… Whiskey, please.”
Oh, what an ingenious plan of Ainz's! So magnificent in fact that he was able to, all according to his plan, find out all the servants on Cu Chulainn's side, Scáthach, and even Edison! A plan so secret and complicated, that even Ainz himself knew nothing of it!
I mean, of course, Ainz knew that he was not particularly equipped to create complex strategic plans or to resolve political intrigue. But, up to this point, it has seemed to him that at least his presence added something to his Servants’ capabilities. At the very least, combat power or the ability to accomplish any missions through the use of his many spells. But…
Amazingly, as soon as Ainz was finally out of the picture, his Servants began to solve the Singularity quite independently, and without a single action on his part!
Ainz had only needed to tell his Servants that he had come up with some kind of miraculous plan, for the Singularity to be solved. In fact he had just walked the streets for a while, and settled down in some unremarkable bar, contemplating his next move, for him to be immediately bombarded with reports.
Some of his Servants had infiltrated the top of Edison's forces, some had obtained full information on the composition of Cu Chulainn's army, and some had established links with a huge number of local Servants… Which was good, no two ways about it, but it's the fact that they did it without any help from him that troubled him!
When Ainz commanded his Servants himself, they ended up solving the Singularity in a few days, or even a week. But, as soon as he left the Servants to themselves, they solved the Singularity in less than 24 hours!
I mean, sure, it was all good, the mission was accomplished, but it was accomplished without Ainz's involvement. Something which plunged him into the abyss of depression.
So the Servants without his command were more effective than the Servants under his command… I mean, Ainz knew that he couldn't command the Servants in any significant way, he had neither the skills nor the intelligence to do that, but it appeared that he was negatively influencing the Servants' actions, making them worse!
‘Am I a bad boss?! What am I talking about? Of course, I'm a bad boss!’ Ainz felt the urge to bang his head on the bar counter he was behind before he waved to the bartender for his order. “Whiskey.”
“In a second,” the bartender, the Demon King Vassago, answered instantly, pouring the whiskey carefully, doing his best to calm his trembling hand, trying not to offend the enemy King sitting in front of him in any way,- “Your whiskey…”
Then, after waiting a second as Ainz drained the glass in one gulp, the Demon King still tried to start a dialogue as he refilled the cup. “Heh, there's nothing better than a glass of whiskey after a hard day's work, huh?”
Hearing the bartender, Ainz snapped out of his musings and glanced around the bar he found himself in.
Huh, from the looks of it, he had been here long enough that the bar had had time to fill up with customers.
“Might as well say so,” Ainz mumbled, sighing, as he drank the glass of whiskey in one gulp.
Ha, what a disgusting taste… Well, what else could he expect from alcohol?
Worse, he couldn't even get drunk from something like this! His passive abilities prevented the effects of alcohol on him, considered poison by internal mechanics, except maybe something like Mead of Medb. Though that, while it was alcoholic based, was because it was considered a potion rather than an alcoholic drink. Damn the developers’ screwed up Yggdrasil's infernal logic again!
Under any other conditions he could at least ‘virtually’ get drunk. That is, by succumbing to the atmosphere and surroundings on purpose. It might even feel the same! But, despite the fact that he was in a bar, even that was unavailable to him now.
“Trouble at work?” The Demon King tried to smile in such a way that the creature across from him wouldn't notice his slightly twitching face.
“I guess you could say that…” Ainz sighed, then looked at the bartender carefully, almost making the Demon King’s false heart stand on end. “Did it ever occur to you that your… Boss might be restricting you? I mean, that without his meddling your work was actually much better?”
Vassago froze, almost as if his breath were sucked out of him. He never even dreamt of being asked such a question. And even less from such an interlocutor, for sure.
Ainz, his King's opponent, had just asked him a question about whether he had ever had any desire to rebel against the King.
Such a question’s purpose could be seen from several perspectives. For example, Ainz could have been suggesting that he betray his King, which is an impossibility. It could even be said as an insult. But, an answer that would not please Ainz could end Vassago's life. Or was he just playing with him now? He does know that the King would have destroyed him instantly if he even had an inkling of disloyalty. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Vassago could only slowly try to answer, choosing his words like nuclear bombs. “Sometimes such thoughts come as idle thoughts, but… I cannot even assess the truth of these thoughts, or if it is even possible.”
“Hmm?” Ainz was puzzled by such a strange answer. “What do you mean?”
“What I mean is that…” Vassago chose his words very carefully and spoke his thoughts clearly. “I'm not sure if I could do better… on my own…”
“I mean,” Seeing Ainz’s raised eyebrow, he hurried to explain himself. “Everything I have is thanks to my, uh, Boss. I couldn't have achieved these results by myself…”
“Why?” Ainz sighed, “There are bad bosses that only inhibit their employees… I mean, if someone does their job better without a boss than with a boss, then that boss is a bad boss, isn't he?”
“Ahem…” Clearly remembering all the times the Demon Kings have acted on their own without Solomon's direct orders, Vassago hurriedly answered, trying not to provoke his interlocutor with silence. “It's not so. I mean, sure, individual people can sometimes act on their own better than under strict supervision…”
Vassago, remembering the Singularity of London, when Solomon appeared for personal command, gulped. “But without a ki… without a boss, all plans would simply be a confused mess, and the employees, aimless…”
‘Please don't kill me’. Not quite understanding exactly what Ainz was talking about, Vassago simply pleaded internally. ‘I'm only four hundred years old, I'm still too young to die now!’
“Hmm?” Ainz thought for a second, “I mean, that makes sense. Although I certainly am…”
‘Wait a second!’ Ainz suddenly blinked. ‘Suppose all the Servants worked effectively without your intervention… but only because you told them that you have already done your job? I mean, you told them that you had a plan, and that's why they started working so effectively, isn't it?’
“You mean, that even if the boss isn't very efficient in management… he's still needed at least to give a starting point to get things started?” Ainz blinked at the strange realization.
“Yes. Of course. That's exactly what I mean.” Vassago was absolutely not sure what exactly they were talking about at all, having already lost the thread of the conversation. But it was also expected, given Ainz’s eldritch-like intelligence, this dialogue of theirs most likely had at least three double meanings and right now Ainz was inwardly laughing at Vassago's befuddlement.
“However, is that right? Indeed, that is indeed possible.” Ainz was silent in thought for a moment.
I mean, yes, apparently he really wasn't needed as a commander right now… But it was his comment that set off this sort of excellent course of action by the Servants, wasn't it? And, after all, it wasn't like his intervention was required on the front lines, was it? And wasn’t it ‘the main job of superiors is to find competent deputies’? That is how the saying goes, isn't it?
And, I mean… sure, without his command, the Servants had dealt with the problems pretty well, but what would they do next? I mean, without Ainz' plan, however unsuccessful it might have been, at the end of the day, they didn't have a clue what exactly they needed to do either! I mean, yes, they were able to get information and infiltrate the enemies’ camps, but they had no plan before his intervention anyway, did they? Anyway, it was up to Ainz to determine what their mission was in the end, wasn't it?
Ainz thought about it for a moment, nodded, then rose from his seat and smiled at Vassago before checking his pockets for the money to pay for his drink.
“On the house,” Vassago was barely able to stop his face from trembling, to which Ainz only smiled. “Thank you for your patronage!”
Then, with restored faith in himself, Ainz headed for the exit, leaving Vassago alone, shivering in the wind. Vassago, on cotton legs, decided that this is all he could take for the day, heading to the employee lounge. “Lancel! Take over for me!”
Then, as he stepped inside, Vassago nearly fainted from the rush of instant relief that rushed over him.
And Lancel, replacing Vassago’s place, only glanced at Ainz now fading back.
Even he didn't want to face Ainz.
Especially him. Especially now.
***
Eternal President Thomas Alva Edison, who is NOT A FURRY, but a Servant with a somewhat peculiar body, is wading through the report given to him, then glancing at the two Servants sitting across from him. “So… what information did you get?”
“Tesla is the real deal, so no need to worry about infiltration there. But, there is no information about the identity of the other Servant.” Almost yawning, the man with an unremarkable appearance in a dirty green coat, comfortably seated on a sofa in the reception area of the local residence of Edison, replied. “Cu Chulainn, as usual, is not doing anything. Anything else?”
Edison only growled, something which was extremely appropriate for his appearance, at the man's disrespect and laziness, before he sighed and turned his gaze to the second Servant, “Well, what about the missing army?” Edison asked the other Servant in the room.
The second Servant, a girl of outstanding beauty, with red hair gathered into two large ponytails on the sides of her head and dressed in what could only very charitably be called a dress, only shook her head. “I found nothing near the site where they had last checked in, not even traces of battle. Even if any Servant had destroyed them, they would have left at least traces of blood or scraps of clothing or a battle site, but…”
“So we have nothing, hmm,” Edison sighed.
Unfortunately for Edison, he had no information to realize that the missing ‘army’ was actually closer to him than he might have thought. Fortunately for him, at least he didn't know that the missing army was entirely in Angrboda's stomach at the moment, including their equipment, which Angrboda was too lazy to remove.
“I'm sorry, but I'm afraid we can't devote more time and effort to finding them.” Edison caught the saddened look of the Servant across from him at this point and tried to cheer her up. “At least we can continue their fight and hope that one day at least we will know their fate.”
“I understand,” The Servant nodded, but the man in the dirty green cloak did not react to these words in any particular way. “So… how about the offensive? You know, that thing we were doing all these scouting for?”
“It's…” Edison sighed, “It's not particularly delayed. I think I'll be able to make the latest improvements in robot design as soon as today…”
“You?” The cloaked Servant raised an eyebrow, “But wasn’t it Tesla the one designing them now? Besides, did you really set him up with Blavatsky to convince him to start working on your designs? You do know the kind of things the girl does, right?”
“Blavatsky’s eccentricities are irrelevant”, Edison easily dismissed the accusation. “As for the first… Tesla works for me, so it makes sense that I'm the main reason why the robots are improved in the first place, doesn't it?”
“You’re the boss,” The man shrugged, not interested in such a thing, just resting his head on the sofa, after which Edison sighed.
“Mr. President, excuse me, but don't you think that you…” The girl across from Edison tried to find the right word to describe Edison’s actions, causing him only to wave it off. “No, I don't. In any case, in just a couple of days, the entire army will be fully improved, and we'll be able to launch a full-scale attack on the enemy forces!”
The Servants opposite Edison didn't react much to Edison’s proclamation, though. One didn't care, and the other still wasn't sure exactly if she supported Edison’s decisions.
On the other hand, however, Thomas Edison could at least unequivocally guarantee that their chance of victory, thanks to Tesla's intervention, not that he would ever admit it, had been greatly enhanced.
Edison didn’t have time to exclaim his greatness further however, as he was crushed by his front door, flying off its hinges and into his face, destroying his desk in the process. The silence that followed was soon broken by a familiar voice, somewhat distorted by the volume that they’re spoken in. “SO WHO ARE THE ONES THAT LOCKED MY CHILD IN THAT CONCRETE BUNKER?!”
The Servants in Edison's office, seeing Angrboda's appearance, only pointed a finger at Edison, who had been knocked off his seat by the door and was struggling urgently to get up from the floor.
“I HAVE A THING TO DISCUSS WITH YOU!” As he rose from his seat, Edison only managed to see Angrboda's furious face, behind which he managed to discern the figure of Karna and the flushed face of the considerably shrunken Bunyan, before sighing.
He should have launched the attack right away.
If he had done so, at least he could escape from this hell by going to the battlefront.
***
Excerpt from “Letter from Hell: The Jack the Ripper Phenomenon”
… Indeed, there is an almost mystical connection between the novel Faust and the Jack the Ripper phenomenon. In fact, it was so strongly associated, that to explain its occurrence, was a mystery in and of itself.
Despite the fact that the legend of Dr. Faustus and Mephistopheles itself has been known since at least the sixteenth century, and the first edition of Goethe's classic work ‘Faust. Tragedy.’ was published more than eighty years before Jack the Ripper committed his murders, nobody had ever connected the two such events together before. Perhaps it was the magnificent book by Henry Jekyll, a very famous English doctor, writer and scientist, which had first linked the two events together and served as the starting point of such a connection.
In it, the two stories are linked together, where it is Dr. Faustus who was the real identity of Jack the Ripper. Who, in pursuit of a new life, makes a deal with Mephistopheles, the demon of Hell, which in return for the powers granted, similar to those described during the hysteria by all kinds of newspapers, to commit murder. Eventually, turning him into a being like the demon himself.
And, as if in mockery of this book, or perhaps in a vengeful response to the writing of Henry Jekyll, who linked the two stories together, a little later, the book about Henry Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was published. A story in where the noble gentleman and his evil alter ego, something that the creation of another writer to mock Henry Jekyll, attributed the identity of Jack the Ripper to Mr. Hyde. That is, that the real identity of Jack the Ripper was in fact the alter ego of Jekyll himself…
Comments
Russian Reversal
Ooops... My bad
Will
Um, there's inconsistencies of the excerpt. In the previous chapter, the book title is “Letter from Hell: The Phenomenon of Jack the Ripper”, while in this chapter it's “Letter from Hell: The Jack the Ripper Phenomenon”.
Richard Piedra
UwU 👍💖❤️
