/
“Wake up, Evil boss!”
“Wake up! Wake up!”
“Guarantee the rights of farm workers!”
“Guarantee it! Guarantee it!”
The powerful shouts of several people resounded inside the farm building simultaneously.
Outside the window, the farm members had gathered together, wearing headbands with slogans written on their foreheads and holding placards in their hands, shouting as one voice.
“Hey, what are they doing outside right now?”
“They said they’re on strike.”
“On strike?”
I briefly explained the concepts of ‘strike’ and ‘protest’ to Kaneff. As soon as he heard the story, his face crumpled.
“They’re not working and just doing that?”
“Well, the thing is, they finished all their work and then started protesting like that…”
“What? I thought a strike was not working?”
“That’s usually true, but everyone there finished their work today and then started protesting.”
Usually, strike protests ignore working hours and stop production activities. However, the farm members currently protesting had finished all their assigned tasks before starting the strike.
In fact, the ‘strike’ was meaningless.
It was just a protest.
“But why did they suddenly start protesting?”
In response to Kaneff’s question, I answered with an awkward expression.
“It’s probably because of the diet that started recently.”
“Diet? Wait! That’s something you forced them to do. So why are they blaming me, calling me an evil boss? If they’re going to blame someone, it should be you.”
“That’s true. But the boss here is also responsible, and you’ve been an evil boss, right?”
Kaneff grinned and raised one hand. Then he pressed down hard on the back of my neck and growled.
“Do you want to die? Do you want me to show you what a real evil boss is like?”
“Hahaha! Of course, it’s just a joke, just kidding!”
I desperately laughed, trying to neutralize the anger directed at me. Fortunately, Kaneff withdrew his intimidating aura and turned his gaze back to the window.
“Really, what strange things have they learned…?”
He muttered as he looked around at the faces of the protesters.
“Looks like Elaine and the Angels were forced to participate. Are those three the main instigators?”
The three who had been the reason for the diet regime’s start.
Those three were at the center of the current protest.
“But why is Speranza there?”
Among the protesters, there was a cute fox girl who was enthusiastically waving a small placard.
She had a red headband on her forehead and was passionately shouting, “Wake up!”
“Looking at her cheerful expression, she probably thinks it’s a game.”
Speranza probably didn’t even understand the meaning of the slogan she was shouting.
In addition, her placard had the phrase “Wake up!” written in colorful crayons, surrounded by flower drawings, fairies, and cute demon beasts drawings.
It made me think, ‘Isn’t this the cutest protest placard in the world?’
I took out my smartphone and captured a video of Speranza protesting. Her earnest effort to shake the placard sign was somewhat adorable.
Upon seeing that, Kaneff sent a pitiful look, as if saying [Here he goes again…] but I thoroughly ignored him and focused on capturing Speranza’s face.
‘How could I resist when she’s so cute?’
Even while conversing with Kaneff about various topics, the heat of the protest did not easily subside.
“So what are we going to do now? We can’t just let them keep protesting like that. How do you handle this kind of situation where you live?”
“I don’t know the specifics, but usually, people find common ground through discussions. If negotiations aren’t easy, the protest will go on indefinitely.”
“Negotiations? Wouldn’t it be easier just to use force? That’s what I would do.”
Despite disliking being called an ‘evil boss’, the way you think is completely like an ‘evil boss.’
I had a lot to say about Kaneff’s forceful suppression remark, but I held back my thoughts and continued to explain.
“Essentially, both employers and employees are in the same boat. It’s best to find a compromise while respecting each other’s positions as much as possible.”
“Hmph. Fine. I just need to hear directly what they want, right?”
Kaneff headed towards the entrance with a reluctant expression, and I followed him closely.
“Ah! There’s the Evil boss!”
Lillia shouted as she spotted us. Kaneff slightly furrowed his brows but tried to initiate a conversation with a calm voice.
“Stop making noise and tell me what you want. I’ll listen for now.”
Several people widened their eyes in response to Kaneff’s unexpectedly cooperative attitude.
After exchanging silent glances with each other, Andras stepped forward as their representative.
“We, as farm workers here, want our basic rights to be respected.”
“Cut the nonsense. Just tell me what you want, simply.”
“Ahem. Firstly, we’d like you to stop forcing us to eat something we don’t want just because of the so-called diet.”
“Please lift the snack ban as well.”
“Yeah, yeah!”
Lia and Lillia successively chimed in, agreeing with the demands.
“That diet thing was started by Shiyeon in the first place, but you guys gained weight during the winter, didn’t you?”
“We didn’t gain that much weight!”
“Right!”
Contrary to the two who got exaggerated by Kaneff’s “gaining weight” expression, Andras calmly presented his argument.
“I understand that dieting has a good purpose, but I think it’s a problem to force it on farm workers. This approach doesn’t respect individual opinions.”
Hmm… Andras has a point.
While I somewhat agreed with Andras, Kaneff’s face grew increasingly annoyed.
“If we don’t do this, you guys won’t listen. I told you not to eat snacks, but you kept sneaking them!”
“Well, if we’re going to argue that way, Mr. Kaneff, you’ve also secretly taken beer from Sihyeon many times!”
“It’s fine for me. I’m the boss here.”
“Dictator! Evil boss! Booooo!”
“Booooo!”
Lia and Lillia launched a joint jeering attack. It was only natural for Kaneff’s face to grow even more irritated.
“These guys, I swear!”
“No, don’t do it, Boss!”
I desperately stopped Kaneff, who seemed to be turning into a real evil boss. After calming him down, I spoke to the protesters.
“Now that I understand your concerns, let’s organize our thoughts and have a proper discussion.”
And so,
For the first time in the demon farm, labor-management negotiations took place.
All the farm family members gathered around a large table.
On one side were Kaneff and me.
On the other side were the rest of the farm family members.
And in the middle was…
“Sorry, Ryan. I suddenly asked for this strange favor…”
“Haha, it’s fine. Fortunately, I’m not too busy right now.”
Ryan, who was called in the middle of work, joined us. I quickly invited him to be the mediator for the negotiation.
“I never imagined that such a meeting would be held at the farm. It’s really fresh and fun.”
Ryan couldn’t help but smile at the current situation.
“It’s really strange for me too. I, participating in labor-management negotiations… and on the management side at that. I’m also employed as a worker on the farm…”
Kaneff snorted at my words.
“Who doesn’t know that? Technically, I’m also employed. Should I call the Demon Lord who’s in the Demon Lord’s Castle?”
“No, not that…”
The owner of this farm is the Demon Lord.
But calling the Demon Lord for a diet issue is a bit…
“Didn’t you dislike the idea of making the farm family members diet, Boss?”
“I did originally.”
“Then why…?”
Kaneff grinned, looking at the people sitting on the opposite side.
“I wanted to force them to diet when I saw them protesting. How dare they call me an evil boss?”
Kaneff, with his newfound motivation, seemed to have lost interest in the original purpose of the diet.
Ryan and I shook our heads helplessly at his sinister smile.
Ryan glanced briefly at the people sitting at the table and then spoke in a serious voice.
“Let’s begin the first-ever labor-management negotiation at the Demon Farm.”
He announced the start of the negotiation quite skillfully.
“I will maintain a neutral position as the facilitator. I ask both parties to follow my lead. Please be aware that if you deliberately hinder the progress or engage in aggressive behavior, you may be asked to leave.”
It wasn’t surprising that everyone’s gaze naturally focused on one person when the phrase “aggressive behavior” was mentioned.
“Let’s start with the farm workers who claimed injustice through the protest.”
“I’ll speak.”
Andras stepped forward as the workers’ representative, just as before.
“Our claim is simple. We want to put an end to the forced diet that ignores the individual wishes of the employees. Of course, snack control should also be eliminated.”
“Right on!”
“Woohoo!”
Cheers erupted from the farmworkers’ side as soon as Andras finished speaking.
“Alright. Now, let’s hear Sihyeon’s opinion on this matter.”
Following Ryan’s lead, it was my turn to speak.
“I admit that the diet I started may have some forced aspects. However, I did it out of concern for a few employees who gained a significant amount of weight during the winter. There was absolutely no intention to oppress anyone.”
“So, Sihyeon, you don’t intend to stop the diet?”
“Of course not. I believe it’s essential for everyone’s healthy farm life.”
As the differences in opinion became clear, tension began to build between the two sides divided by the table.