Despite the saying, "If there's work, let the secretary handle it; if not, the secretary's available," in reality, the relationship between a secretary and a boss is mostly work-related.
When it comes to the boss's personal matters, an assistant is often closer than a secretary.
This is why male bosses might have male secretaries but rarely have male assistants. The reason? Because female assistants tend to be more attentive, minimizing the chance of mistakes.
Regardless of whether others believe it, Shinji certainly does.
However, theory is just theory; in reality, specific issues require specific solutions.
For instance, right now, no matter how confidently Ryougi Shiki argues her point, Ophelia the secretary isn't buying it.
"Miss Ryougi, this is my desk," Ophelia takes a step forward.
She doesn't say much, but her resolute expression clearly conveys her stance.
"Phamrsolone-san, you must be joking. As a secretary, you're sitting in the assistant's place—won't that cause total chaos?" Ryougi Shiki blinks, her innocent giggle echoing softly.
Hearing this, Ophelia looks at Shinji with a pitiful expression. Her wide, watery eyes seem to say, "Boss, she's bullying me."
"Ahem..." Shinji glances around, looking troubled.
If only one of the two, either Shiki or Ophelia, were here, Shinji would have no problem getting them to follow his lead. But with both women present, he's really not confident he can convince them to listen to him.
Calming two women at once is exponentially harder than calming one because their competitive spirits make neither want to back down easily.
Not even during his wild days around the Clock Tower had Shinji ever attempted to pursue two women at the same time.
Thank goodness neither Sakura nor Lissy are here—otherwise, things would be even livelier, Shinji thinks, forcing a smile as he looks at his little secretary.
"Hmph~~" Ophelia expresses her extreme displeasure with a rare, audible huff, directed both at Ryougi Shiki's challenge and Shinji's reluctance to stir the pot.
"Ophelia, in terms of work arrangements, what Ryougi-sansaid does indeed make sense," Shinji says reluctantly. One reason he hasn't outright rejected Shiki's proposal is that he'd been planning to split the secretary and assistant roles anyway.
Before, when the workload was lighter, Ophelia managed both the secretary and assistant roles without issue. But with the business expanding, the little secretary is finding it increasingly challenging to keep up.
Originally, Shinji had planned to hire someone new after the New Year and then have Ophelia delegate some of her responsibilities as either secretary or assistant. But as fate would have it, a "Shiki" fell from the heavens, offering herself as his assistant.
Thank the Heavens… or maybe not!
"Sigh..." Shinji lets out a long sigh, surprised to see his usually obedient secretary suddenly standing her ground.
"Hmph~~" Ophelia huffs again.
Shinji glances at Shiki and then pulls Ophelia aside, whispering, "Stop huffing; it's all for the sake of work, right?"
"Boss, do you even believe that yourself?" Ophelia replies, unimpressed.
If it were any other woman, Ophelia wouldn't have hesitated to yield her seat. But Ryougi Shiki? Absolutely not.
Even though it's their first day meeting, Ophelia can already tell, even without using her Mystic Eyes, that this woman has ulterior motives toward her boss.
More importantly, her boss doesn't seem quite right around this "vixen" either.
Ophelia worries that if she doesn't keep a close watch, her boss's virtue might be at risk.
Not that she's sure her boss still has any virtue left, to begin with, but she's terrified that this fox named Ryougi Shiki might end up living in the Matou household.
If that happens, wouldn't she, Ophelia, just be another maid, constantly bullied by the "Madam of the House"?
So, Ophelia must ensure that this woman named Ryougi Shiki never gets the chance to be alone with Shinji.
"So, what do you suggest?" Shinji asks.
"Have her work outside?"
Shinji rolls his eyes. "Do you think that's possible?"
Secretaries handle a lot of the company's core information, so Shinji can't just hand this position to someone like Shiki, whose background is unknown.
The Ryougi family understands this too, which is why Shiki's role is that of an assistant, not a secretary.
"No way, boss," Ophelia shook her head firmly once again. "That woman is too dangerous; I'm afraid you won't be able to resist her temptations."
Seeing Ophelia's serious expression and then glancing at Ryougi Shiki on the side, Shinji shrugged and took a step back, signaling for the two of them to work it out on their own.
With a frown, Ophelia walked over to face Ryougi Shiki. But before she could speak, Shiki, already knowing what Ophelia was about to say, stopped her in her tracks.
"I understand that Phamrsolone-san is very fond of Shinji," Ryougi Shiki said with a playful smile. "But personally, I believe work should remain strictly work-related. Mixing personal feelings with business isn't right."
"You…" Ophelia was at a loss for words, unable to counter this point as she wasn't particularly eloquent.
She couldn't exactly say, "You look like a vixen, so go work outside," after all.
Seeing the two women locked in a stalemate, Shinji suddenly had an idea. He called both women over, "Come help me with something!"
Curiously, Ophelia and Ryougi Shiki followed Shinji out of the office.
Under his direction, the three of them moved an outside desk into the office.
A few minutes later, the setup was complete. Shinji was seated at his own desk, with Ophelia's desk on his left and Ryougi Shiki's on his right.
This was Shinji's stroke of genius.
The best way to break a deadlock was to think outside the box.
If the Maginot Line is too strong, then simply go around it.
After all, no one ever said the secretary's desk had to be outside—having both desks inside the office, with Shinji at the center, worked out quite nicely.
<+>
Alone in his office, Shinji held a glass of cold soda, drinking it in big gulps.
There's nothing quite like a cold drink in a warm, air-conditioned room in the winter; the only thing that might beat it is having a chilled mandarin orange while huddled under a kotatsu.
Meanwhile, Ophelia and Shiki were in a small conference room next door, coordinating the transition of assistant duties.
Shinji wasn't worried about them fighting—after all, his assistant wasn't the deadly figure capable of killing gods from some alternate universe.
Shiki, trained as the Ryougi family's lady, was a young woman without any real physical prowess.
Smart as she was, Shiki certainly wouldn't choose violence to settle the matter. But still…
It's about time… should be any moment now…
Sure enough, just as Shinji finished his last sip, there was a knock on the office door.
"Excuse me, Shinji, are you in there?" came a woman's gritted voice from outside.
"Come in, Lissy," Shinji said with resignation.
The door opened, and not only did Cloris enter, but Sakura and Arturia followed as well. Cloris glanced around the office before glaring at Shinji, demanding, "Where are they?"
"Ophelia took Ryougi-san… out for a work handover," Shinji replied.
"Not here? Good!" Cloris nodded with satisfaction. She walked up to Shinji, towering over him, and demanded, "So, what's the deal with this Ryougi girl?"
Sakura closed the door, standing silently with her arms crossed behind the desk, watching Shinji and waiting for his explanation.
As for Arturia, she immediately found a box of high-end cookies for guests in the office cupboard and settled on the couch to enjoy them by herself.
Seeing her so absorbed, with an air of "no interest in outside matters, just here for the snacks," Shinji couldn't help but feel a tinge of envy.
Darn it, I wish I had an endless stomach like hers.
As a magus, weight isn't much of a concern, but being human, they don't have the ability to eat infinitely like a heroic spirit.
"So?" Cloris raised an eyebrow.
"I really have nothing to do with her!" Shinji held his hands up, surrendering.
Unfortunately, Cloris wasn't buying it. "Nothing to do with her? Do you really think I will buy that?"
As she continued to press him, she pulled out a small vial containing a suspicious-looking liquid and swirled it menacingly. "Disobedient children need a little 'help' to be honest."
"Alright, alright, I'll talk!" Shinji, not daring to guess what was in the vial, quickly gave in.
It could be ordinary cold medicine, but it could also be a truth serum from the Flora family—or even a secret tech accessory.
"Ryougi was arranged by my grandfather," he quickly lied, figuring they wouldn't go to his grandfather to verify.
"Oh, Shinji? Are you trying to tell me she's your fiancée?" Cloris began swirling the vial even more vigorously.
"A fiancée? Onii-sama, why didn't you tell me something like that before? You kept that a secret from me?" Sakura began to show hints of her "Dark Sakura" persona.
"No, no! I don't have any fiancée—there's no such thing!" Shinji hastily explained, making the two female magi look a bit more relieved.
But then, in the next instant, their expressions turned dark as coal.
"Why would I need a fiancée? Giving up the entire forest for a single tree? That's way too short-sighted," Shinji scoffed.
"You truly are foolish, Onii-sama," Sakura said, covering her mouth with a smile.
"Haha, I knew that little vial wouldn't be enough—I'll just get hands-on." Cloris rolled up her sleeves, saying, "News flash: famous director found mysteriously dead in his own office. What do you think, Shinji? Will it make the headlines?"
Shinji replied with a pleading tone, "Lissy, I hate pain…"
"Too late~" Cloris shot back, showing no mercy.
Shinji had likely planned to provoke her into venting her frustration on him from the start.
Better to let it all out now than have it fester inside, leading to who knows what in the future.
After all, his desire to have a harem was no secret to her.
'At least,' Shinji thought, 'I just hope I don't end up in the emergency room after this beating.'
Watching Cloris's fist get closer, Shinji could only silently pray for himself.
<+>
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