Chapter 105: Demonic Sword Forte (7) - Efficiency and Inefficiency

#105화 Demonic Sword Forte (7) - Efficiency and Inefficiency

Although he had retired by then, the elderly bureaucrat who had worked at the Imperial Golden Cloud Palace and taught the Crown Prince administrative affairs until a few years earlier said,

“In short, even if you say someone is good at their work, that ability can be divided into many different details.”

“You can process documents well because you calculate quickly, endure long hours because you have good stamina, and notice even minor problems thanks to your excellent powers of observation. You have strong concentration and do not waste time. Any one of these would be an excellent quality in a bureaucrat.”

“His Highness the Crown Prince was born with all the qualities of an excellent bureaucrat. If not for his bloodline and position, it would hardly have been strange for him to oversee administrative affairs as chancellor. Ah, keep what I just said a secret. The people who call themselves his swordsmanship or magic instructors would all grumble that he belongs to their side.”

“I’ve strayed from the subject for a moment. I said that His Highness was exceptionally capable as a bureaucrat, didn’t I? But what he truly excelled at was neither speed of calculation, physical stamina, powers of observation, nor concentration. He was outstanding in all those areas as well, but what he excelled at most was practical sense in handling work.”

“For example, suppose you needed to obtain a pair of leather shoes, some raspberries, and a flute. One man bought the leather shoes at the market, went into the forest to pick raspberries, and then worked at a musical-instrument shop in exchange for a flute.”

“Another man simply hunted a beast, gave its bones to a musical-instrument maker and its hide to a shoemaker, then asked a young woman from a nearby village to pick raspberries for him. He covered the necessary expenses by selling the meat.”

“The first man took more time, spent more money, and had to do more work. The second man spent little money and took little time. That is the difference in practical sense.”

“Whenever His Highness worked, he did not blindly tackle whatever happened to be in front of him. His first priority was to understand the entire workload. He determined which tasks could help with others and which could be handled simultaneously, then completed everything in the most efficient order. Even when performing the same task, he improved his method each time by searching for ways to make it even slightly more efficient.”...