Nine Days After Nine Days

"What did you say?!"

The roar of Lord Regent Guilliman echoed from the Imperial Ministry of State Affairs, located in the 40K Adeptus Administratum.

"Your Excellency, you did not mishear me, and I did not give a false report."

"Following the completion of the reforms to the Adeptus Administratum, the overall administrative efficiency of the Imperium has decreased by forty percent."

"How could there be such a large drop? Aren't there enough officials in the Administratum?"

The official in charge of the report shook his head.

"My lord, you simply do not understand. There is no need for any relationship between the Imperium government and Imperium officials in this era."

"No matter how large the volume, government services will still be slow."

"And before that?"

"My lord, as long as the great Imperium Chancellor remains in office, Imperium decrees can reach the front lines directly."

Listening to the political officer's words, Guilliman had a bad feeling.

"You mean I shouldn't have banished those Chaos Daemons?"

"My lord, before you expelled them, we had no idea that our best colleagues were actually Daemon."

"Besides, we underwent a purity test before you disposed of them."

They had experienced both the Psychic Power checks conducted by the Dawn Army Group and the Masses held by the Ecclesiarchy.

The purity of one's own soul and mind is beyond question.

"So you mean the Imperium of Man's governance still relies on Daemon?"

"My lord, I hope you understand that we are ultimately Mortals, Mortals will eventually die."

After reporting his work, the political official left; he didn't want to linger any longer, as he had a lot of work to do.

Guilliman never expected that banishing the Chaos Daemons would cause such a significant drop in the Imperium's administrative efficiency.

Fortunately, the Lord of Iron sent Space Marines to provide assistance.

So Guilliman decided to go and see the Space Marines who were atoning for their sins.

Then he went to the area specifically designated for Space Marines to work in.

As soon as he entered, he saw a large group of people lying on the ground.

What happened this time?

No one spoke, but there was a sign standing in front of them.

"Suan Membrane have been activated. He will awaken in three minutes. Do not disturb."

No, is that right?

Guilliman never imagined that Imperium politics would cause the Space Marines to fall into a state of suspended animation.

"Your Excellency, it's time for you to get back to work," said the Lord Regent's aide.

Guilliman nodded. Since structural inefficiencies had emerged after the reforms, he, as the Primarch, naturally had to set an example.

And so, Guilliman worked tirelessly for nine days straight in the Administratum.

After he finally finished the last task on his to-do list, he decided to get up and relax.

"Sir, the work from nine days ago still hasn't been finished?"

"Work from nine days ago? Didn't I already finish it?"

"My lord, that was nine days ago, then nine days before that, and then another nine days before that."

"Are you playing me?!" Guilliman said, frowning.

It was supposed to be nine days, but why is it nine days after nine days, and then another nine days after that?

"Your Excellency, under the leadership of the great Imperium Chancellor..."

"The administrative elites within the Imperium government system have their own set of procedures for handling government affairs."

"We usually work in cycles of nine, and we're already familiar with this way of doing things."

Was I wrong to expel those Daemons?

"It's not wrong to expel Daemon to preserve humanity's purity, sir. We don't even know those people are Daemon."

"Furthermore, if you waste another nine minutes, your to-do list will accumulate exponentially in the next minute."

Guilliman opened his mouth, trying to speak, but no words came out; all his words were stuck in his throat.

"What about the other government officials in the Imperium?"

"My lord, since the reforms of the Administratum were completed, the mortality rate of political appointees has increased."

"Mortality rate?"

Death from overwork.

Okay, okay, that's better now.

Guilliman had just stood up when he slumped back into his chair like a deflated balloon.

"Also, sir, your to-do list has begun to grow exponentially; please expedite it."

And so, Guilliman, who had hoped to relax, never got the chance.

He even became numb to handling government affairs to the end; he began to shut down his emotions and treated himself like a machine.

Even so, his current state was forced to end.

Guilliman didn't know how many documents he had approved in this state, but at that moment, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his wrist.

How many tasks do I have left to do?

"My lord, so far you have accomplished what you were supposed to do today."

Upon hearing that today's tasks should be completed today, Guilliman felt a sense of relief.

However, he immediately noticed something was wrong; the voice of the person next to him sounded off.

He glanced at the Lord Regent's aide beside him; clearly, it wasn't the same person.

"Official, what are you doing here?"

"Your Majesty, I am your new Lord Regent's aide, responsible for assisting you in handling state affairs."

"And what about the previous attendant?"

"The previous attendant died suddenly from overwork."

"Furthermore, sir, I need to remind you of something."

"If you're asking about the aide-de-camp you know, then that was thirteen years ago."

"Thirteen years ago?"

"Yes, sir, nine days have passed since you activated your high-efficiency mode."

"In these nine days, you have lost twelve attendants."

"That's a lie!"

He is the Primarch, and no matter how ignorant he may be, he knows the physical limits of an ordinary person.

How could twelve attendants have been lost in just nine days? They were all political elites.

"Excuse my bluntness, my lord, but you are the Primarch, Demigod of the Imperium."

"He handles government affairs very quickly, the fastest except for the former Chancellor."

"But after you finish handling government affairs, the issuance of related orders and coordination between departments will need to be done by others."

"The deaths of political appointees mainly occurred due to coordination issues between departments."

There are too many things to coordinate and too many orders to issue.

Mortals simply can't keep up.

What about the Space Marines?

"More than half of them have also fallen into a state of suspended animation."

"What?!"

Seeing Guilliman's surprised expression, the political officer took a deep breath.

"My lord, thanks to your tireless efforts these past few days, although they died, they died a worthy death, and you have also accomplished what you set out to do today."

"Now you can take a break."

Rest?

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, sir. As long as you finish today's work today, you'll have plenty of time to rest."

Guilliman walked out of the Administratum, looking somewhat dazed.

He hadn't seen the outside world in so long that he could hardly remember.

No, the Primarch's biological clock told him it hadn't been long, less than twenty days.

But those less than twenty days felt like an eternity to Guilliman.

"Oh, isn't this the Angry Accountant? You've finally decided to show yourself?"

"Mr. Han?"

Guilliman never expected that the first person he would see after leaving the Administratum would be this gentleman.

"Yes, I heard from officials in the Administratum that you shut down all your senses to handle the tasks, turning yourself into a mere government machine."

"Efficiency has indeed improved considerably, but your position as a page has now become a high-risk profession; few people are willing to do it."

Guilliman knew that Han Mingxuan's words weren't directed at him, but he still had nothing to say.

"Sir, you have too much work."

"Didn't Perturabo already tell you back then? To Harmonize with the World."

"If ruling the Imperium of Man requires mingling with Daemon Harmonize with the World, then the Imperium of Man is in grave danger."

Isn't that so?