episode_0008

008 – The Old Man and the Field # 1

Kronos’s cooperation was acquired too easily in this situation. I absolutely could not tolerate this achievement. So, as if spewing out what was inside like a shameful confession, I spoke.

“Kronos nim, I will be honest with you. While coming here, I haven’t seen anything but fog, let alone evil spirits.” “Really? It’s probably because of the ‘Blessing’ received from the goddess of nightmares and ghosts. No matter how old I am, I can tell right away who received a blessing from whom!”

Kronos is the Titan of time. He would be able to grasp time without any error. He possesses a sense that can adjust even the most minute things, and thanks to that sense, his discernment seemed to be more than double that of others.

“That’s why I was even more impressed! Receiving a blessing from the goddess of nightmares is several times more terrifying than traversing the abyss of evil spirits, isn’t it? To attempt such a reckless challenge just to persuade me?”

It was true, so I couldn’t argue back. Because the CEO’s daughter and goddess of nightmares is several times more frightening than the evil spirit security guards. That was the problem.

“Even an old man like me has ears. I know very well how conventional the goddess of nightmares is. Of course, she must have taken after her eldest son, tsk-. That stubborn eldest son was the worst to swallow too.”

The old god, frowning. His words continued.

“Since you received a blessing from such a goddess, it’s certain you’re no ordinary employee. Could you perhaps be that famous outstanding employee, Joy? The mortal who outwitted Sisyphus.” “…I am indeed that employee, Joy.” “So it is. The rumor has even reached the solitary confinement where I reside. Sending such a person as a negotiator means you’ve acknowledged my authority to that extent. That alone is enough as a negotiation condition.”

“…Ugh.” Don’t be ridiculous. Why are you so easily persuaded by yourself? You’re an apocalypse-grade prisoner. What am I supposed to do if Kronos, the former ruler, is persuaded even before sitting down at the negotiation table?!

‘…If things continue like this, the task will succeed again!’ It was truly a life-or-death crisis. I had to make a decision.

“…Kronos! O great former ruler of the Golden Age! I would think that you, of all people, should assert a more legitimate right!” “Rights? I don’t need such things, young one. Do you know the name of the punishment I bear? It’s killing time. Boredom, that is. All I’ve been given is the task of killing infinite time.”

I looked at Kronos’s solitary cell. There was nothing in his room. Only entirely white walls. The punishment inflicted upon the old god who once ruled the world was “T.” It’s the “T” from “Killing time.”

“Sometimes, apart from making hourglasses like this to relieve boredom, there was nothing else to do anyway! No one even came during holidays! And now a brave soul like you wants to give me some pastime, don’t you?”

This won’t do. It seems this old god has gone mad from boredom after being confined in the white room for a long time. Right now, this old man would say yes even if I told him to roll stones for life instead of Sisyphus. His rational thinking isn’t functioning. But? Rather, that point could be a great solution for me.

“Kronos nim, are you really okay with this? A ruler who once looked down on the world, bowing so easily to those who dethroned and imprisoned him?” “I said it’s fine!” “What we are seeking from Kronos nim is, by all means, cooperation. It’s not submission. I’m rather worried if Kronos nim, acting so passively and weakly, will truly do the work properly.”

“What? Weak? How dare you say such things to me! I am Kronos, King of the Titans!” Booming-! Kronos seemed genuinely provoked. Even if his will was broken from being confined for a long time, a being who once ruled the world couldn’t possibly lack pride. It was fortunate that his reason wasn’t entirely sound, to the extent that he’d fall for my cheap and clumsy provocation.

“I was going to let it slide, considering your courage and the authority of the goddess who bestowed a blessing upon you. But if a young one speaks to that extent, I simply cannot overlook it.” It worked! Things have become complicated! As I secretly cheered, Kronos pondered for a long time.

“Hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm-hmm-hmm, mm-hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm, mm-hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm. What should I do? Just letting it slide feels a bit off. Hmm-hmm-hmm…” No, how long will this pondering continue? Perhaps because he’s an old man with nothing but time on his hands, he’s pondering so much. If it’s like this, I’ll have to step in again, won’t I?

“Kronos nim, how about this? We will try to select the location, the office site, where Kronos nim will work. If that location pleases you, then we shall cooperate.” “Oh? That’s a good idea. As I said before, I’m confident in my discernment. But will you be alright? It won’t be easy to select a place that pleases me in this dreary underworld.”

Site selection? It was a piece of cake. If I choose the most wretched place, wouldn’t he say, “Are you ignoring me?! Cooperation is canceled!”? And, both very unfortunately and fortunately, most places in this “Happy World” were wretched. Indeed, one must use their head for such matters.

# # #

After employee Joy returned, Kronos was once again left alone in his room. The white room. How long had he endured in this solitary room? Therefore, it had been a long time since he had spoken with someone.

“My children never show their faces their entire lives, you see. Even if it’s because I did what I did, there’s nothing that can be done about it… Still, they are my children…” The old god Kronos became an increasingly sentimental being. He missed his children, and he also wanted to see his grandsons and granddaughters. Of course, no visitor had ever sought Kronos. Amidst that, Joy’s presence, who had braved fear to meet him, was strange and wondrous.

“It seemed as though she genuinely got angry for my sake.” Don’t be unconditionally submissive, but rather seek your rightful authority. It was also surprising.

“Assistant Manager Joy, that public-spiritedness of yours is extraordinary. You don’t need a negotiation secured with the goddess’s help. Are you saying you want to draw out my cooperation with your own discernment and strength?” The reason Assistant Manager Joy proposed the selection of the office site as a condition for cooperation. That was to deny the success of the cooperation achieved with the goddess of nightmares’ help and to accomplish the task with his own strength. And that was precisely correct.

“If she had been satisfied with a negotiation backed by the goddess’s authority, I would have intended to give her a severe scolding someday. Because those employees of Happy World generally don’t please me. But…” However, Joy tried to escape the divine majesty and prove his own competence. Kronos, who secretly held grievances against Happy World and its employees, could not speak ill of such manliness.

‘Even so, young one, I’m sorry, but I have no intention of evaluating carelessly.’ I will evaluate as meticulously as possible. Whether Assistant Manager Joy was a being who could cooperate with him or not.

Now, Kronos’s thoughts went beyond employee Joy, flowing toward the goddess of nightmares who had bestowed a blessing upon him. The thoughts that chased each other were a habit he had developed while killing time.

‘The goddess of nightmares, Melinoye, I’ve never met her directly, but she’s my granddaughter. The blessing that child bestowed upon Assistant Manager Joy was of a considerably high rank. She must have surely consumed a lot of divine power.’ In Kronos’s opinion, the goddess of nightmares was still an incomplete and young deity. An immature deity who had not yet fully realized her divine identity. And when such beings use divine power excessively, problems always arise.

‘Well, it’s not my business to meddle in, is it?’ Around the time Kronos had organized his thoughts like that and sat cross-legged. At the executive meeting unfolding in the deep and hot periphery of the headquarters, once known as the “Palace of the Underworld King,” a chaotic incident was occurring.

“Melinoye, has Melinoye, the Vice President of ‘Happy World,’ not participated?” The executive meeting. Melinoye, the CEO’s daughter, not participating in that great and glorious work? She had never missed a meeting even once until now.

# # #

Selecting the worst site was harder than I thought. Even in a place that seemed like barren and useless land, if I dug a large scoop-. Sparkle, sparkle-. For some reason, a gold vein appeared.

“Tsk!” Fearing someone might see, I quickly covered the soil. If it’s a gold vein, I’m truly sick of it!

“Joy, I told you to use the catalog I recommended, didn’t I? I know you feel a sense of rivalry with me, but this isn’t the time to be picky about such things, is it?” Krates, the ace of Team 1, approached my side and gently poked my flank. He had an expression of incomprehension.

“Honestly, where in the world is there a fool who kicks away an already completed cooperation? Cooperation with Kronos isn’t merely about your performance evaluation alone. It’s for the entire ‘Happy World’.” Rustle-. Krates, unfolding the catalog. There, the most expensive lands in “Happy World,” so-called prime locations, were listed at enormous prices. For me, who wished for the failure of this task, it was naturally the place to avoid the most.

“Krates, that’s why you’re no good. Cultivate a bit more discernment. Don’t rely on such numbers and figures.” “What? Ha, honestly. Do as you please. Geez, I went to the trouble of thinking and giving you advice.” A place where no hot springs or oil would appear even if one dug. A place where gold or gem veins would even more certainly not appear. I scoured “Happy World” searching for such a worthless land.

When about half a day had passed like that, a man wearing only square briefs called out to me. “Hey, you. What are you doing, constantly loitering around various parts of ‘Happy World’ like that? Suspiciously.” I’m suspicious? The man wandering around “Happy World” wearing only briefs would be more suspicious. He might even be a prisoner undergoing punishment. Seeing as I don’t recognize his face, he must be a prisoner managed by another team. So, it was when I was about to ignore him appropriately.

“Hey, have you by any chance seen a nymph somewhere around here? A small, cute little thing. Her height is about my waist, and she has black hair, just a very strange one.” What? A nymph? Where would there be a nymph in this Happy World? Oh, there is one, actually. Melinoye. But she isn’t just a nymph; she is a goddess. Her height is more slender, similar to mine, rather than cute and dainty. So when I shook my head, the briefs man added.

“Haven’t seen her? That’s strange. I thought she’d be somewhere around here.” The briefs man disappeared after saying that. He seemed to be walking normally, but his speed was remarkably fast. What a strange man.

After searching for several days for such useless, abandoned land, I arrived at a discarded landfill. Desolate, dirty, and useless land because no oil, gold veins, or gems were buried there. ‘My efforts have paid off.’ What if the former ruler Kronos’s office were set up in a place like this? Wouldn’t he probably say, “My office is being built in a landfill? Are you implying I’m trash? Cooperation is canceled!”?

‘No, perhaps I might even receive punishment for insulting a god. For now, let’s just clear away the scattered trash.’ It took several days even to clean the trash. Krates did not hide his sneer at me. “Joy, you’re clearly truly insane.” “He’s gone mad from working too much.” “Pitifully…” Other employees were also whispering likewise. In Assistant Manager Bones’s case, he even drummed his skull, which was just bone, like a drum.

“Assistant Manager Joy! I don’t know what you’re thinking, but suggesting to put Kronos nim’s office in such a desolate place seems absurd! This isn’t right! As expected, I will take responsibility instead of you!” “Manager, please stop such useless acts. No one needs to bear my responsibility instead of me. I am confident.”

Thus, the day Kronos was to evaluate the office site arrived. Kronos, held by the arms of the skeleton security guards, arrived at the former landfill. His meticulous and wrinkled face was stained vividly with colorful hues. “Th-this…” “This garbage-like land!” — wouldn’t he want to say something like that? This time, my strategy must have worked. It was the moment I was feeling triumphant with such thoughts.

“…This is it. Exactly the place I was looking for! A vast, desolate, and barren land! It’s absolutely perfect for my office! Assistant Manager Joy, you’ve truly managed to make this old man weep…” Everyone was stunned at the sight of the King of Titans starting to shed tears as if truly moved. Just as I was also wondering what this meant, Krates asked with bloodshot eyes. “Kronos nim, I apologize for my impertinence, but please give guidance to this inadequate mortal. Why on earth does this useless land please you?”