Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 158. Minister of Administration

In a shabby-looking wooden shack, Leonardo sat at the table with an expression of utmost seriousness on his countenance. His piercing blue eyes stared into the pair of brothers seated before him on the other side of the table.

"I've heard that both of you have previously worked in the Ministry of Administration on other islands," Leonardo stated.

"Yes, sir," the brothers replied in unison.

One of them continued, "Both of us were responsible for managing the public administration documents on the Spider Islands. We can definitely handle other administrative tasks as well, aside from documentation."

Leonardo then inquired, "Let me test your knowledge then. What are the primary duties of a competent Minister of Administration?"

The Joseph brothers exchanged gazes. There was a hint of surprise in their eyes. They hadn't anticipated this question in the hiring process.

"Well? You don't have an answer? The door is right there; help yourself out. Hope Island has no room for con artists," Leonardo continued; his voice was icy, and his expression was cold.

Hearing Leonardo's words, the brothers were visibly panic-stricken. They had journeyed so far and spent a large amount of money to reach here. If they were to be turned away here, they wouldn't be able to afford a ticket back.

"I know! Of course, I do. The Minister is responsible for executing the Governor's orders. He has to ensure seamless communication between the involved ministries and provide timely feedback and report to the Governor," the elder Joseph answered.

His younger brother quickly added, "Yes, yes, yes. In accordance with the Governor's intents and strategic development plan for the island, the Ministry will have to draft the work plans, annual work summaries, and other important documents.

”They also lead or assist other ministries in their planning and research."

In a rush to solidify their credibility, the Joseph brothers started pouring out knowledge after knowledge and revealed everything that they knew.

Leonardo nodded and jotted down words as the Joseph brothers spoke.

When the brothers were done regurgitating what they knew, Leonardo posed another question, "Second question. If you were the Minister of Administration, given the island's current state, what would you do first?"

The two brothers engaged in a brief whispered conversation before the elder Joseph hesitantly replied, "Erm... The priority is to establish the structural framework of the various ministries on the island? Is that right?"

Leonardo's expression hardened. "Who's the recruiter here?"

The brothers were clearly taken aback by Leonardo's response and fell silent.

"You may leave. Return tomorrow for my decision. But don't keep your hopes up. The Governor has very high requirements."

The moment the brothers left the room, the calm expression on Leonardo's countenance swiftly crumbled. Feeling slight relief, he tugged at his collar and took in large breaths of air.

"Dammit. Finally found two that could be of some use," Leonardo mused as he stood up and walked toward the window. His cautious gaze was fixated on the bandaged figure standing on the sandy beach in the distance.

The man looked like a patient with limited mobility, but Leonardo knew otherwise. After all, the entire island belonged to that individual named Charles.

Recalling Charles' icy gaze that seemed to stare right through his soul, a shiver went down Leonardo's spine. However, compared to the fear of death, Leonardo was burning with a desire for authority and power.

Indeed, Leonardo was a con man. The moment he learned that there was a newly found island, he knew this was his golden opportunity and decided to do this grand scheme of his.

He was no Minister of Administration from Shadow Island, but he was confident that those seafaring lunatics who had been risking their lives at sea wouldn't have any idea what the real one looked like.

Since they were ignorant, he could easily become the Shadow Island’s Minister of Administrator by just proclaiming that he was one. As long as he managed to pull this scam off, his status would be upgraded from a small-time con artist in the port district to an elite of an island!

Just as Leonardo envisioned the grandeur of his future, he felt a sudden chilling gaze on him. The governor, Charles, had turned his head and was staring in his direction.

With a right hand placed on his left shoulder, Leonardo immediately bowed before returning to his seat and continuing with the recruitment.

A growing civilization needed order. Hope Island started off chaotic, but laws and societal norms slowly took shape under the establishment of the Governor's Office.

A lawful society started to form on the island.

"Governor Charles, this is the six-month plan that I have drafted for the island's development. Please take a look at it," Leonardo said as he presented Charles with a notebook filled with written text over every single page.

With an air of confidence, Leonardo continued, "Sir, we have abundant food and fresh water on the island. I suggest we put out a resettlement announcement in other islands. We could use a larger population."

While Charles appeared to be engrossed in the pages he was methodically turning, his thoughts were actually preoccupied with something else entirely.

"You've done well for the past few days," Charles commented.

"Naturally. I told you earlier, I am an expert," Leonardo replied with a smirk on his face.

Charles raised an eyebrow and stared into Leonardo's eyes as he asked, "Really? You mean an expert con artist?"

The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees instantly. The smirk on Leonardo's face seemed to freeze up in anxiety. "Sir, I'm not sure what you mean."

"You've been cautious, I'll give that to you. You didn't show any signs of flaws before my men. However, it happens that one of my crew members isn’t a human."

At that, a white mouse scrambled onto Charles' shoulder and poked her tongue out at Leonardo.

"A mo—mouse?" Leonardo took a step back in fear, only to feel that he had stepped on something furry. His heart raced as he turned around in terror. Dark brown mice were huddled together right behind him, blocking his exit.

"These creatures are my crew members as well. They understand human speech, too. They’ve heard every single word you've said."

A chill coursed through Leonardo's body, and his heart raced as a cold, hard object was pressed against the back of his head.

At this moment in time, he was utterly regretful of his choice. Governors were never ordinary people. He had to have been out of his mind to even think and actually attempt to scam a governor.

Is this the end? Just as Leonardo braced himself for the pain, the hard object pressing against his skull disappeared.

"All right, we will go with your plan."

Leonardo turned around while visibly trembling. He stared at Charles with a look of disbelief in his eyes. "You are not killing me?"

"Why would I kill you? You did a good job of planning for the island's affairs. I need a competent Minister of Administration like you right now. Why are you still standing here? Get to work."

Unable to control his fear, Leonardo stumbled out of the room. The moment the door closed behind him, he collapsed to the ground and gasped for air.

"Mr. Charles. Why did you not punish him? He lied to you," Lily inquired, her beady eyes wide in curiosity.

"Someone has to do the job. Since he is doing it well, I might as well let him continue with it. We lack a suitable replacement at this time as well."

Feeling a sudden itch, Charles scratched at the bandage circling his arm.

"But aren't you worried that he’ll secretly do something bad?" Lily asked with an adorable tilt of her head.

"The knife is in my hand, and it’s up to me when I cut something down. You'll understand when you grow older," Charles smirked.

But the next moment, the itch on his arm intensified. His scratching became more vigorous, and the abrasive sound of dead skin scraping came from beneath his bandages. Unable to withstand the itch anymore, Charles stood up and started to unwrap his bandages.

Perched on the table, Lily hurriedly placed her tiny paws before her eyes, pretending not to watch. However, she couldn't resist but to peek through the tiny slits between her fingers.

The bandages, marred with dried blood and dead skin, were thrown onto the floor, and Charles stood before the mirror. He studied his naked reflection. His body's recovery rate was much faster than he expected.

There weren't any ghastly, flaying scars like the one his vampiric sailor had. Apart from a few burn scars and wrinkled skin, most of his skin had healed, but there were still patches of pink and pale white.

Full recovery would still take some time.

Naturally, he was now devoid of hair. Sliding his hand across his bald head, Charles grimaced at his strange, new appearance.

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