Chapter 379: You Really Know How to Slack Off
Practically fleeing from the office like a man escaping a crime scene, Steven finally understood why so many CEOs and rich second-generation heirs in those Slice of Life manga liked pretending to be ordinary people when they interacted with the MC.
Running a company? Yeah, that's definitely not something for normal humans to handle. Best to leave it to that tireless corporate workhorse. Czarny looked completely overworked and on the verge of collapse, yet somehow he still seemed to enjoy it.
Honestly, that expression of his might as well have had "Bigger! Stronger! Brighter Future!" tattooed across his forehead.
Steven, on the other hand, couldn't care less about all that. As long as the conglomerate ran smoothly, he didn't give a damn how much money it made. The whole reason he founded the "Block Consortium" in the first place was just to prove a point—that even a corporation with a conscience could survive in this world.
Whether that meant earning less money or missing out on some shady profits… well, that was someone else's problem. Steven had no shortage of cash anyway.
Following the minimap on his interface, Steven eventually found where Centaurea was.
Whether it was because she'd taken his teasing to heart or she'd just decided to play along for real, he wasn't sure—but there she was, actually lying on the company's front desk.
Her long, perfect body was half-draped across the counter, and no matter how he looked at her, it was hard to connect this lazy beauty with the once-feared Platinum of the Armorless Union. Right now, she looked more like a content, dozing cat basking in a patch of sunlight—dangerously adorable.
Everyone on Steven's team knew there was something… unusual between the boss and this woman. Naturally, that meant nobody dared to say a word, no matter what she did. Sleeping on the front desk? Napping during meetings? Totally fine.
After all, who knew when this woman might suddenly become the boss's wife?
Moving quietly, Steven approached her from behind. A quick glance confirmed the front area was empty except for the slumbering girl, and so he leaned in a little closer.
Getting paid to nap—she really had it figured out.
But wait a second… had she gotten chubbier in just a few days?
Steven poked at her slightly puffed-up cheek with his finger. Compared to the pale, underfed look she used to have as an overworked office drone, Centaurea now seemed much healthier—her skin had regained a rosy glow, and the dark circles under her eyes were fading.
She'd definitely put on a little weight, but in the best possible way—it only made her figure look more balanced, more alive. Judging by how relaxed she looked, she must've been making up for all the rest and laziness she'd been denied before.
As his finger continued its mischievous poking, she let out a sleepy murmur but didn't bother to open her eyes. Instead, she brushed his hand away, shifted into an even cozier position, and went right back to sleep.
With a grin, Steven reached down, pinched a lock of her silky hair, and used it to lightly tickle her small, pert nose.
Centaurea's peaceful, innocent sleeping face instantly twisted in discomfort. Her cute little features scrunched together as if in protest, until she finally couldn't stand the ticklish sensation on her nose any longer. With a faint growl, her eyes snapped open, full of sleepy irritation.
"Who's there!?"
The words came out half-asleep, but as soon as she saw who was standing in front of her—that annoyingly handsome face just inches away—her expression froze.
Steven grinned, not bothering to move back in the slightest. "What? As your direct superior—the very boss who signs your paychecks—I catch you napping on the job, and you've got a problem with that?"
He wasn't worried she'd actually get angry. After all, she'd been caught red-handed slacking off during work hours. It wasn't like he'd forbidden her to rest—she was the one who got caught, fair and square. Unless she was planning to abandon all sense of reason, he clearly had the moral high ground here.
But instead of snapping back, Centaurea's irritation melted away almost instantly. Seeing him again after so long, her face brightened with a radiant, genuinely happy smile. Then, as if remembering she was supposed to be mad, she puffed out her cheeks and put on a slightly sulky expression.
"You've got some nerve saying that. You promised to take me on vacation, remember? And then—poof!—you vanish! I packed up and got ready to go, but you were nowhere to be found. What else could I do but wait here for you to come back?"
Her pout deepened as she crossed her arms, looking up at him with an adorable mix of frustration and grievance—the classic "you owe me" face.
Honestly, Steven's tendency to disappear was infamous by now. Nobody could ever find him unless he wanted to be found. Even the intelligence network of the Armorless Union could only shrug and wonder if he'd evaporated from existence.
Having a boss like this—she still wasn't sure if it was a blessing or a curse.
"Yeah, well… something unexpected came up. Had to deal with it," Steven said awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.
Even with all the convenient teleportation mods he had, there were still times when things didn't go perfectly. What was he supposed to do, clone himself? One Steven for Kazimierz, another for Ursus?
Technically, there was a mod for that… but he hated the idea. If it wasn't him doing things personally, what was the point?
"Anyway," he continued with a playful smirk, "as soon as I finished up, I came straight to see you. What, miss me that much? Though, looking at you now…" He glanced pointedly at the blanket and pillow she'd set up behind the counter. "It's kinda hard to tell whether you were waiting for me, or just using the office as your personal nap zone."
Judging by the cozy setup she'd built, even a stranger would've thought she was here for a sleepover, not a work shift.
Centaurea tilted her chin up defiantly. "Whaaat? I was just bored waiting, okay? There's nothing in the company that really needs me right now. You said it yourself—the Block Consortium runs on civility, not violence. So what's a combat specialist like me supposed to do? If I can't fight, I might as well sleep. Waste not, want not, right?"
She spoke with such self-assured confidence that Steven couldn't even find the words to refute her.
After all, she wasn't wrong. With the company focused on diplomacy and ethics instead of force, someone like her didn't exactly have a busy schedule. Meanwhile, those few ex-commanders who'd spent years barking orders—the Lazurite and the Darksteel—were now running themselves ragged managing logistics and paperwork.
Centaurea, on the other hand, had mastered the art of professional slacking.
And honestly… Steven kind of admired that.
"Well then," Steven said with a helpless smile, "go ahead and pack up. Once our ride gets here, we'll be heading out on our next trip. If I remember right… you said you wanted to visit Yan, didn't you?"
He wasn't actually angry with her. He had promised to take her on a vacation, after all. Now that the Ursus situation was more or less wrapped up, there was no reason to delay that promise any longer.
"Really!?" Centaurea's eyes lit up instantly. Her smile bloomed like a white rose in full sunlight—pure, radiant, and impossibly charming. Her already cute, idol-tier face sparkled with joy, like a little girl who had just been handed her favorite toy.
"In that case, I'll go home right now and pack! Want to come with me?"
Her eagerness was so bright and genuine that it almost made Steven laugh.
"Mm, not just yet," he said, shaking his head. "No need to rush. The thing that's coming to pick us up will take a little while to arrive anyway. And I've still got to finish up some business in Kazimierz first."
He hadn't forgotten his outstanding promises—helping Margaret heal her Sarkaz friend's legs, for one, and taking Zofia out for that celebratory meal once she recovered enough to leave the hospital.
Not to mention that the little shark girl who'd vanished since his return was still missing… and there was also that mission he'd agreed to do with the orca girl.
Yeah, none of that was going to be solved overnight. He'd have to take things one step at a time.
Centaurea sighed dramatically, plopping back down into her chair with all the grace of a collapsing cat. "Fine, fine. I'll just stay here and wait for you, then. Everything that involves you turns into some huge mess anyway—better not drag me into it."
Without hesitation, she reached for her nearby pillow, hugged it to her chest, and leaned back against it with the determined expression of someone about to fall into a long, righteous nap.
And she wasn't exaggerating. Whenever she got involved in Steven's affairs, things always spiraled into chaos—big, loud, world-shaking chaos. Compared to that, staying here and pretending to be furniture was a much safer life choice.
She had fully, completely, and unapologetically embraced the way of the slacker.
"Seriously," Steven sighed, watching her curl up again. "Can't you show just a little ambition? You hated your old job, sure, but the one I gave you isn't that bad, right? Do you really have to act like this every single day?"
In some twisted sense, her life might actually be more comfortable than his. Maybe she'd figured out the ultimate truth of the world—that true happiness lies in doing absolutely nothing.
"Nope," Centaurea replied cheerfully, pulling a sleep mask from her small handbag and slipping it over her eyes. "I think this is the perfect work attitude! Look at it this way—I'm showing everyone that the boss treats his employees well. It's good for the company's image, right?"
With that, she gave him one last mischievous grin before sinking back into her pillow fortress, clearly ready to continue her nap as if nothing in the world could possibly go wrong.
<+>
Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
<+>
If you want to see more chapter of this story and don't mind spending $5 monthly to see till the latest chapter, please go to my Ko-Fi[1]
Latest Chapter in Ko-Fi: Chapter 418: No Wonder[2]
Link to the latest chapter: https://ko-fi.com/post/Arknightcraft-Modpack-418-I3I51PUOCK[3]
https://ko-fi.com/stevetheminecrafter[4]
[1] https://ko-fi.com/stevetheminecrafter
[2] https://ko-fi.com/post/Arknightcraft-Modpack-418-I3I51PUOCK
[3] https://ko-fi.com/post/Arknightcraft-Modpack-418-I3I51PUOCK
[4] https://ko-fi.com/stevetheminecrafter