episode_0006

First, there are a total of two high-ranking executives working at this ‘Happy World’.

“The President is entering.”

One of them is the man who is the President of this ‘Happy World’.

He is Thanatos, the God of Death.

He was a man with striking pale skin and long purple hair. His constant black suit made him look somewhat gloomy, truly like a grim reaper.

I had only seen him a few times from a distance, but when he sat next to me, it literally felt like ‘death’ had drawn close, suffocating me.

“Are you Deputy Joy, last year’s excellent employee? It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

He greeted me, sitting next to him, very respectfully and politely.

His eyes are as blue as ice.

It’s eerie.

“I heard you successfully guided that special inmate Sisyphus. It truly satisfied me. You are truly excellent.”

I recalled stories of Thanatos from mythology being outwitted by Sisyphus. Sisyphus, instead, imprisoned Thanatos, the grim reaper who came to take him, in his basement and enjoyed a long life, they say.

As far as I know, Thanatos possesses immense physical strength, and I heard that no god, except for Hercules, could forcibly restrain Thanatos.

Since Sisyphus, in a human body, subdued such a Thanatos, one could gauge how formidable Sisyphus’s strength must have been.

It means Muscle King Sisyphus’s high-weight gym addiction was a predetermined course of action from long ago.

Conversely, from Thanatos’s perspective, the above incident must have been an enormous humiliation.

Therefore, Thanatos must have had a lot of resentment towards Sisyphus, and it seemed he held considerable favor towards me for having guided him.

Making a good impression on a very high-ranking superior.

If I were an ordinary employee at an ordinary company, it would be a situation to cheer about wholeheartedly, but for me, it was only awkward.

“President, my guidance of Sisyphus was purely by chance.”

“By chance, you say. A wise person like Odysseus, and humble too. I like it very much.”

No, it really was by chance.

At this rate, I’ll be unnecessarily overvalued and just get more work.

“The Vice-General-in-Chief is entering!”

Just then, simultaneously with Deputy Bones’s dramatic voice, ‘Nightmare’ entered the office dinner venue.

I felt even more suffocated than when Thanatos sat next to me and extended a handshake.

Swish, swish-.

Melinoye, the Goddess of Nightmares.

With an unreadable expression, she glided in like a ghost and sat in front of me.

And then she said one thing.

“Bones, I am not the ‘Vice-General-in-Chief’; I am the ‘Vice-President’. Please stick to the changed titles after the business reforms.”

An elegant and clear demeanor, as if a noblewoman was expressing displeasure.

Deputy Bones also good-naturedly lowered his head and quickly offered an apology.

“Yes, I made a mistake. It’s not easy to detach a word that’s been stuck to my tongue for a long time.”

“Melinoye nim, congratulations on your inauguration as Vice-President.”

Clink!

At that moment, Krates, the ace of Team 1, who had been promoted to Deputy along with me this time, presented a beautifully packaged golden bottle of liquor to Melinoye.

“This is a liquor made by steeping earthly honey and underground pomegranates, a gift from our team to Melinoye nim. Nymphs like honey, don’t they?”

Krates’s eyes, as he said that, were directed at me.

It was as if he was showing off, saying, “Look here, this is how you earn points.”

However, the goddess receiving the gift, quite contrary to expectations, developed an even more unsuitable furrow in her brow.

“Thanks, but I am not some small, foolish nymph. I would prefer if you never treated your goddess as a nymph again, understood?”

The atmosphere had grown chilly in many ways.

The office dinner venue, which had been filled with laughter and chatter just moments ago, became dead silent.

“Uh… yes…? Ah… that, that is… I apologize. I will be mindful…”

What a truly fitting atmosphere for a place named ‘Happy World’.

I want to leave here right now.

As I was thinking that, Thanatos, the President of ‘Happy World,’ soon raised his glass.

“Then let’s have a toast. To the future of ‘Happy World’.”

To the future-!

Clink, clink, clink-!

Thus began the office dinner.

“At that time, Joy dug into the ground and a gold vein appeared-.”

“This time, the Sisyphus Energy stocks I held skyrocketed─.”

Giggles, squeals-.

Thanks to the efforts of many employees trying to liven up the atmosphere, laughter could be heard everywhere, but I, sitting next to the executives, was having a terrible time.

If I made a mistake here, the chances of being told “You’re fired!” were high, but conversely, the chances of being told “You’ll be punished!” were also high.

Moderation is key in everything.

‘It reminds me of eating next to the corps commander when I was a private first class.’

A quick glance-.

I used the keen perception honed by my long graduate school life to assess the situation.

…….

…….

At this moment, Vice-President Melinoye was looking at me without even touching her drink.

As if to pierce me with her red eyes, like flames from the underworld.

Without even a single blink.

‘Why is she looking at me like that?’

The gods of the Greek worldview are beings who can transform people into animals or crush them to death simply because they don’t like them.

Therefore, being gazed upon by gods was certainly something to be nervous about.

‘Surely, she doesn’t want to preserve me as a constellation, does she?’

Indeed, I can’t stay in this seat.

So, I leaned my head towards Deputy Bones, who was sitting next to me, and whispered softly.

“Deputy Bones, I actually have some documents I need to finish by today. Would it be alright if I went to the office for a moment? It’ll only take a little while.”

First, I just want to get some air.

So, I tried to get up from my seat, using work as an excuse, but Deputy Bones grabbed my arm.

“Stop it, Joy. Have you forgotten the advice I gave you? You must never get up from your seat before the executives! Your performance evaluation might be severely cut!”

I know!

That’s precisely why I’m trying to leave!

Then our great Vice-President Melinoye nim, who had been silent until just now, spoke.

“Deputy Joy, even knowing that it might affect your performance evaluation by displeasing an executive, your dedication to overdue work—I value that very highly. You are truly a role model for employees.”

“Excuse me?”

“However, in this ‘Soul Society,’ regulations must be observed fairly by everyone. Just as Sisyphus observed his break times, employees must also observe their work hours.”

What on earth is she trying to say?

So, it was when I swallowed my saliva nervously.

“For an excellent employee like Deputy Joy to have to worry about overdue work even at an office dinner, this is not right. From now on, work after hours will be strictly prohibited. The same goes for work-related contacts after hours. This is my first company policy as Vice-President, so keep it in mind.”

Not even being allowed to briefly leave the office dinner using work as an excuse…?

What’s more, I was even overvalued instead…!?

Thud-.

I had no choice but to slump down.

However, cheers were erupting from all over the place.

“Workaholic Joy finally pulled it off! Leaving work on time is guaranteed at last!”

“The Head of Department sending contact after work will end today too!”

“Joy, you’re truly a monster of company loyalty. Markius acknowledges this!”

Wowowow─.

Click.

Amidst the torrential cheers, Melinoye nim extended a pretty crystal glass to me.

“Then, Deputy Joy, thanks to me, you’ve been able to lay down troublesome post-work tasks. As a reward for that, would you pour me a drink?”

Does this not count as work after hours?

Pouring sound-.

I poured the liquor as if it were tears flowing from my heart for the CEO’s daughter.

# # #

Even though it was 8 PM, the office dinner showed no sign of ending.

Didn’t she say work after hours would be prohibited?

Does she not consider the office dinner as work?

Moreover, from my position, sitting next to the executives, I couldn’t easily open my mouth, so I had no choice but to be as nervous as a borrowed scarecrow.

Because if I misstepped in my words or actions here, I might suffer not ‘dismissal’ but ‘punishment’ or ‘Orion’.

As a result, I couldn’t help but overhear the surrounding conversations, and that was why I ended up hearing Thanatos talking to Melinoye.

“More than that, it’s surprising. Weren’t you, Melinoye nim, the one who most opposed and disliked these business reforms? I didn’t expect you to personally descend to ‘Happy World’.”

“I am simply where I need to be.”

“Princess, among the executives, I hear this rumor: that you, Princess, were pushed aside by Prince Zagreus and demoted to the remote ‘Happy World’─what do you think of that?”

“Indeed, it was my older brother who strongly advocated for changing ‘Tartarus’ to ‘Happy World’. Many executives sided with my older brother, not me.”

Zagreus.

As far as I know, he is the CEO’s eldest son and the legitimate prince of this Soul Society.

Of course, he wasn’t particularly prominent in Greek mythology, but that’s because mythology primarily focuses on the gods and heroes of the surface world, so not much is known about the stories of this underworld.

I’ve only heard his name.

However, at this moment, Zagreus, the Prince of Hell, became my enemy.

The culprit who unnecessarily changed Tartarus to ‘Happy World’ and confused me while I was preparing for employment─!

To think that all these business reforms that are tormenting me originated from his hands.

“Speaking of which, Thanatos, you also sided with my older brother instead of me during the executive meeting, didn’t you? I thought you would naturally oppose such a ridiculous idea as ‘Happy World’. Were you bribed by my older brother?”

“Princess, I like interesting things. There’s nothing as interesting as rapid change, you see.”

I want to plug my ears.

The stories of the ‘gods,’ which I shouldn’t know, keep disturbing my mind.

The more deeply I get involved in these stories, the less likely I am to leave the underworld.

Melinoye twirled the glass filled with liquor.

“Interesting, you say. So that’s why you’ve invested ‘time’ in the management of ‘Happy World’. Thanatos, I heard you were going to prepare a position for Kronos. Is that just a rumor too?”

“It’s not a rumor. The ‘Hourglasses’ he creates are greatly improving work efficiency. It’s a fact we discovered thanks to Deputy Joy. So, we will demand collaboration with him.”

“But Kronos is a stubborn and eccentric old god. There’s no way he’ll willingly cooperate with us, is there? We might end up drinking from a poisoned chalice.”

“That’s a problem ‘Time’ will gradually solve.”

‘Time’ will solve the Kronos problem?

Was that a joke just now?

Thanatos added.

“How was my joke? Kronos is also the God of Time, so the joke’s punchline is that ‘time’ will solve a problem concerning the God of Time, isn’t it?”

“Hahaha! He says time will solve it!”

“President! That’s really too funny!”

“This joke is deadly funny!”

“Shall I tell you another one? What if an almond dies? Die-amond. Of ‘die’ for death and almond’s─.”

“Kee hee hee!”

“Aang-kkiruk-kkiruk!”

“President, your sense of humor is exceptional!”

…….

In the office dinner atmosphere, as if someone had rung a laughter bell, cold sweat ran down my back.

What kind of ‘Happy World’ is this?

This is truly a black joke.

However, at this moment, a thought flashed through my mind.

“I apologize for daring to interject into the executives’ conversation, but it’s about the matter concerning Kronos, the special management target.”

“Oh? An ordinary mortal employee daring to speak without the permission of our executives. However, since it’s Deputy Joy speaking, I’d like to hear what you have to say.”

“…Joy?”

The eyes of Death and Nightmare turned towards me.

Not only that, but everyone who had been chatting in small groups fell silent, making the venue as quiet as a dead almond.

“The matter of securing Kronos’s cooperation─.”

It was a moment that made my legs tremble, like a private first class daring to interject into the corps commanders’ conversation, but I did not back down.

“─Please leave it to me.”

“Joy… Deputy Joy! No! You cannot do a task that is difficult even for the executives! If things go wrong, you might have to lose your job at this ‘Happy World’!”

Deputy Bones, clenching his teeth, jumped up.

At his words, a confident smile, quite the opposite, played on my lips.

“Yes, I’ll take off my clothes, so what.”

“…What? Take them off?”

For some reason, Princess Melinoye twitched her beautiful eyebrows.

I said, like a brave warrior.

“I, Deputy Joy, will gladly accept the responsibility if I fail to successfully secure collaboration with Kronos nim!”

Rattle- At this moment, the dice were cast!

A rigged dice with only ones!