The Mechanical Era

With Arjun's death at Kant's own hands, he had to choose a new assistant minister to replace him, as Silverstone would not do. Silvester, as Kant put him, would be better off in a different area of expertise, which Kant already had an idea of.

For a new assistant minister, he would need someone loyal, who will listen to his orders, and act appropriately. However, he would need someone confident, and will politely voice their advice to Kant if needed. Being surrounded by yesmen would be very dangerous, although he is sure that he will get a degree of that type because their lives depend on it.

With that information, Silverstone comes up with a few candidates who match the criteria and may be interested in working with the palace. There were many applications, most of which were rejected to boil down to a few. Once their papers were gathered, they were filed and placed on Kant's desk to read.

The new king flipped through the pages of the files. There were no pictures in it depicting their faces, considering photographs or cameras haven't been invented yet. The papers contained information regarding their name, date of birth, address, areas of previous employment, a few recommendation letters from other employers, and a self-description of themselves. There was also an area filled with information that claimed to spew their flaws, but all of them were good characteristics to boost their appeal further.

Kant goes through a bunch of files until he comes across a few that he deems acceptable. One by one, he interviews each and every one of them. One of them caught his eye in particular, Alan Walker Fleck. A 38-year-old man who is revered by his colleagues and employers for his flexibility, confidence, and experience.

He was apparently born to a knight family, in the city of Vallina. However, he had traveled around the continent, working with many people as their assistants. Although he didn't stay for long, they had all given him a pretty good rating.

Kant waited in his office, maintaining a relaxed position, reading Alan Fleck's file further. As he continued reading his file, there was a knock on the door. Kant, upon hearing the noise, closed the file, placed it on the desk next to the book and pencil, and allowed the candidate to enter.

The man, who was about 5'10, which is about 1 inch shorter than Kant, entered the room. He had black hair, a little long and combed with oils. He also possessed amber-brown eyes on his oval-shaped face. But best of all was his attire.

Unlike the other candidates, he came in wearing an acorn gray suit made of wool, with underneath a long-sleeved white shirt, and an acorn gray tie. His legs were covered in wool paths, matching the color of the suit, along with a pair of black leather shoes to go along with it. On his hand, he carried around a calfskin briefcase, one similar to what Kant had brought to the Petersons. Although Kant can tell it might have been relatively cheap, he was impressed nonetheless.

As soon he entered the room, Alan bowed in front of his majesty. Kant got up from his chair and extended his hand. Alan Fleck, noticing the gesture, grabbed it immediately. The two men shook while greeting each other politely. In an instant, Kant knew that he definitely had connections to some people he had previously met and influenced.

"Good morning your majesty. I hope I am not late?" he asked with a smile.

"No, Mr. Fleck. You are just in time. Sit down." The two men took their seats and started the interview.

"Now Mr. Fleck. Your application tells me that you have worked with many people before?"

"That is correct your majesty. I had the great opportunity to work with many people in many cities around the continent, in a great variety of high-pressure situations. I guarantee you, no other man could take."

"Is that so? I assume that you have excellent communication skills."

"I do consider myself to be highly proficient in communication. I learned how to speak in different dialects and even separate languages if it comes to it. Although the chances are small, it will be very important.

For intense, back in 12', I worked in a small coastal city. The city by that point was nearing bankruptcy to its debts. I had managed to keep it afloat thanks to my small role in the finances.

Its problem was that it was a bit reliable on what I call a cash crop called tobacco. Now, considering how profitable the endeavor was, the lord ordered his farmers to grow more of it to grow the city's revenue.

Now at the time, profits DID increase, and they increased by a lot. However, when its neighbors started to notice, they ALSO started growing and selling tobacco to make a profit while undercutting their neighbors, which also included the city.

With that, revenue fell and all hell nearly broke loose. Now, at the time, I was looking for a different job at the time, so I joined up there. Thanks to my role in finances, I managed to keep the city afloat while searching for someone else to buy the tobacco.

There was a merchant from the southern continent that wanted to meet up with the lord of the city to purchase cotton from us. Unforutanly, our translator was sick at the time, so I came in to effectively communicate and established a good trade deal between the two parties."

"That is impressive. I am sure you face a lot of stress while working in that situation?" Kant asked.

"Considering that the entire city was in danger of going bankrupt, disrupting the lives of thousands and my own life, very. However, despite the tense nature of the situation, I managed to keep myself calm and do the task effectively."

Kant wrote down what he just said, and moved on to the next question. So far, he has a pretty good impression of the man.

"Now, considering the nature of this job, you will be given classified documents. The previous minister, who will not be named, had spied on classified letters beforehand that he himself was not allowed to read. Can I entrust that responsibility unto you?"

"I have had lots of people hand me personal and professional letters carrying great consequences. No matter what it was, whether it was from just a kid to another kid, or from the leader of the city itself, I always did what needed to be done.

If your majesty is worried that the letter could be read by someone else, we could come up with countermeasures to identify and capture anyone who is brave enough to do so. That way, your majesty would not have to worry about any information leak."

"Can you give me an example?" Kant asked. Alan Fleck reached out to his briefcase and opened a hidden compartment inside the bag for Kant to see. He took out an envelope and handed it over to Kant to open.

"Here is a secret letter from the OSAC group, your majesty. They told me it was some kind of message that they only want your majesty to hear, so to make sure they gave it to me," he claimed Kant shook the letter in hand. Although it was little, he definitely felt some kind of powder in there.

"Flour?"

"I don't know your majesty. They did not tell me." Alan replied. Kant, wanting to read the letter, put on his gloves tore off a corner tip of the envelope, and poured the flour out of the envelope. Afterward, he opened the letter and read it quietly. From the way it was structured, to the handwriting itself, Kant could confirm it belonged to Oswald.

The message itself, however, was more of a congratulations letter by the group about ascending the throne. Despite that, Alan appeared to have brought it over without daring to open it up.

"Very good, Alan. Very good. Now, on to the next question..." Kant continued to ask a few more questions. Did he have any experience coordinating events, his experience with basic administrative tasks, what he thinks are the most important qualities for a successful ministry assistant, and so on?

Alan replied with a detailed answer, with a personal story of how he managed to overcome any difficulties. His qualities rather impressed Kant, to the point he wondered why nobody else had snatched him up. Feeling curious, he decided to ask why, but in a rather indirect way.

"Mr. Alan Fleck, for all the great accomplishments that you have done, is there a sort of weakness that you may possess?" Kant asked.

"Well, if there is anything, I think it might be my proficiency in magic. Although I do have an impressive mana pool, I didn't practice as much as I could have."

"Is that so? Well, I would like to inform you that this position would not require the use of magic."

"Alright, your majesty. I will uh... keep that in mind," Alan replied with a smile.

"Well, I think that is all for now. I am sure that there are others that I have to interview. You will be informed in about 1 to 3 days if you are chosen. Is that alright with you?"

"Yes, your majesty. I am." With that, the two men stood up once again. Alan bowed before leaving the office.

1 day later. He got hired.