Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou (LN) - Volume 8 - Chapter SS6

I Can’t Keep Working as an Elder in This Exploitative Nation 

A strange silence filled Ulfric’s room. Hajime and Shea, who’d been called there by him, exchanged confused glances. What in the world had created such a heavy atmosphere? 
“Hey, Ulfric, what’s going on here? Kind of looks like you finally got fed up with all the overtime one of those terrible tech companies was forcing onto you.” 
“Are you okay? You look like you’ve lost sight of your future or something.” 
Ulfric was Verbergen’s oldest elder and the one in charge of heading the council. The fact that he’d called for just Hajime and Shea meant whatever business he had, it was likely serious. Seeing his exhaustion, both Hajime and Shea gave him uncharacteristically worried looks. However, he responded to their worry with a Yue-level glare. 
“Are you two trying to make fun of me?” 
Shea and Hajime tilted their heads in confusion. Judging from their reaction, Ulfric realized they really weren’t aware of what they were doing. He heaved a long sigh, then eventually continued. 
“Shea-dono. Would you like to take my place as elder?” 
“Come again?” Shea gave him a puzzled look. But then she guessed his intentions and her bunny ears shot up. 
“You’re thinking something crafty again, aren’t you!? Since my dad refused your offer, you’re trying to get me to join the elder’s council instead to make the Haulia part of Verbergen, aren’t you!? I’m won’t fall for your tricks, old man!” Shea’s ears waved back and forth angrily as she chewed him out. 
“Ah well, I suspected as much,” Ulfric muttered. 
Seeing his despondent gaze, Hajime chimed in. 
“Ulfric, surely you know Shea would never accept that offer. Really, what happened to make you so depressed?” Hajime’s words calmed Shea down, and she once more gave Ulfric a worried look. The old elf heaved another long, weary sigh and replied. 
“I wish I could retire...” 
Hajime and Shea exchanged glances. Why doesn’t he then? they wondered. 
“Why don’t you just retire, then?” 
“Yeah, why not?” 
They said what they were thinking outright. The emotion vanished from Ulfric’s face and he got to his feet. He walked over to his windows, opened them, and beckoned for Hajime and Shea to come take a look. Confused, the two of them joined him at the windowsill and looked outside. Ulfric silently pointed to a corner of the city. 
“Those people right there are our elders.” 
Hajime and Shea looked down to see a truly bizarre sight. 
“All hail Kaori-sama, our great goddess!” 
“Oooh, she looks stunning today too! Ah, she glanced at me! She smiled at me!” 
“Huh!? Are you daft!? She smiled at me! How can you not tell, Guze!?” 
“Pah, tigermen never learn, do they!? Ah, Kaori-sama’s flying off somewhere! We must give chase!” 
“Oh, you’re right! Everyone, follow after me! We can’t allow even the slightest possibility of harm come to Kaori-sama! On our pride as the Kaori-sama defense squad, we’ll defend her from the shadows!” 
The group of dwarves and tigermen raced off into the forest. Both squads were led by their race’s respective elders. Hajime could hear Kaori scream “Get away from meeeeeeeeeeeeeee” in the distance, but her words only served to spur her “defense squad” on further. 
“......” 
“......” 
Hajime and Shea fell silent. 
“There’s another one of our elders...” Ulfric pointed in a different direction. 
“Fufufu. On my pride as a reporter, I will discover at least one scandal you’re involved in, Yue! For the sake of all beastmen morale, I need Princess Shea to be Nagumo’s one and only lover. And for that, you must disappear!” 
The harpy elder Mao had fashioned a camouflage suit made of leaves and branches for herself. On top of that, she’d painted her face green to help her blend in. The chief editor of Verbergen Monthly crawled across the ground, following Yue from a safe distance. 
Why doesn’t she just fly? Hajime thought idly to himself. Just then, Yue turned around with an irritated frown on her face. She raised one of her arms and reversed Mao’s gravity. 
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” Chief Editor Mao screamed as she was sent hurtling into the air. 

“And that over there is my successor.” 
Hajime and Shea hesitantly turned toward the new direction Ulfric pointed at. 
“P-Princess? What exactly is that?” 
“Oh, this? It’s a choker. After seeing the one Shea’s always wearing, I felt like getting one of my own. Since we’re best friends, we need to have matching accessories. I’m trying to find Shea so she can put it on for me!” 
“There’s a lot wrong with what you just said, but let me tell you, Princess, that’s not a choker. That’s a slave collar.” 
“We’re best friends!” 
“Princess, please at least try to make conversation! It sounds like you’re implying it’s okay because you’re best friends, but honestly that’s even more terrifying! I’m starting to fear you’re going crazy!” 
“I wonder where Shea went. I absolutely must get Shea to put this collar... I mean, choker on me. Considering her strength, she might accidentally end up choking me while she does it... Haaah... Haaah...” 
“Someone, anyone, call Kaori-sama over! The princess is suffering from a horrible disease! We need Kaori-sama to restore her mind!” 
Hajime and Shea averted their gazes. They couldn’t bear to face reality. Verbergen was on the verge of internal collapse, and most of it was Hajime and the others’ fault, whether directly or indirectly. 
“So you think I should just retire?” Ulfric stared at Hajime and Shea with dead eyes. Cold sweat poured down Hajime’s forehead. 
“Wait, it’s not over yet. There’s still the foxman elder! The elder’s council isn’t done for yet!” 
“Lua attempted to run an espionage campaign against the Haulia and was caught spying on their missions. As retribution, Cam shaved all of Lua’s hair, turning him into a shut-in who hasn’t left his house since.” 
Shea covered her face with both hands and squatted down in shame. Even if it hadn’t been intentional, the Haulia had turned Ulfric’s granddaughter into a pervert, and the foxman elder into a NEET. Shea couldn’t bring herself to meet Ulfric’s eyes. Even Hajime was starting to feel a little guilty. He looked around awkwardly, trying to find some way of encouraging Ulfric. Before he could though, Ulfric quietly continued. 
“I am the eldest after all...” 
Yep. Hajime and Shea nodded. 
“And I certainly am getting on in years...” 
Yep. Hajime and Shea nodded. 
“Perhaps I really should retire...” 
You probably won’t be able to. Hajime and Shea shook their heads. If Ulfric stepped down, Verbergen would almost certainly collapse. The old elf turned once more to Shea. 
“Shea-dono. You’re both a respected beastman and the princess of the Haulia clan. No one would object you to taking my place as elder. Besides, even if they did you could use that hammer of yours to quell any dissent. In fact, I’m beginning to think the elder’s council would be better off if you were the only elder in it. A dictatorship seems more appealing than a council right now.” 
“U-Umm, Ulfric-san?” Shea didn’t like the direction Ulfric’s thoughts were going. Ulfric turned to Shea with the ground-down expression of an underpaid, overworked employee stuck working for a terrible company. Then, he spread his arms wide and declared something. 
“Shea-dono, I grant all of Verbergen to you!” 
“Who do you think you are, the demon lord?” 
Ulfric ignored Hajime’s retort. And before Shea could even reply, they were interrupted. 
“Ulfric! Are you here!? I was thinking we need to erect a statue of Kaori-sama in the city’s central plaza! Can you pull up a budget for it!?” 
“We’ll need a cathedral too! That way we can hold weekly prayer sessions! Please give us some money for this project! Also, we’d like to make this an official city-wide announcement! Things are going to get busy pretty soon here!” 
“Grandfather, I’ve been giving it some thought, and I wish to join Shea in her travels! Please give me permission to leave the city!” 
“Ulfric-sama! My harpies alone can’t cover all of Verbergen’s scoops! Do you know where Lua and the other foxmen are? I’m thinking of enlisting their help!” 
“Hey, Ulfric. One of your elders tried to spy on us. How exactly are you planning on making this up to us, huh? You looking down on the Haulia or something?” 
All of the elders, Altina, and even Cam piled into Ulfric’s room. They had only come to petition for something, or to ask for something, or to threaten him, too... Ulfric gave Shea a pleading look. However, both her and Hajime already had one foot out the window. They gave him one last pitying glance, like herders selling their favorite lamb to the slaughter, then leaped out of the window. 
“Perhaps this is as far as I go. I certainly can’t see a tomorrow anymore...” Ulfric sighed yet again as he looked over at the swarm of people begging him for money or favors. 
The next morning, Ulfric received a large shipment of energy drinks. The cans had illustrations of a certain white-haired individual and a certain bunny girl on them.