episode_0016

016 – For the One I Love # 5

“My husband has been working late every day lately, so he gets home late. I think you can come inside and wait. For drinks, should I give you herb mint? Or hyacinth? Asphodel?”

There was a cozy house with a yard nearby the Opuntia humifusa flower field.

Perhaps because the decorating skill was extraordinary, Orpheus also stopped sniffling before he knew it.

“Was it Mrs. Kshali? Your skill in cultivating the garden is truly remarkable.”

“Indeed.”

It was something mentioned even when they were going around to decide on Kronos’s office plot. The land in this “Happy World” was extremely barren, making it difficult to cultivate flowers or plants.

The soil itself just isn’t good.

It couldn’t be helped, as this “Happy World” was designed not for cultivation but as a prison and place of exile.

But in this yard, colorful flowers were blooming adorably, and at a glance, the dedication seemed immense.

*Squeak-, squeak-.*

At that moment, a strange plant caught my eye.

The rhythm of a small potted cactus swaying from side to side was extremely familiar.

“Madam, isn’t that a Cerberus cactus?”

“That’s right. You truly are a knowledgeable and excellent employee. Normally, people don’t memorize the names of cacti.”

“I bought one from Hermes Net a while ago.”

“Oh my, it seems likely that it’s one I sold. I’m the only one who cultivates and sells Cerberus cacti in this ‘Happy World.’ I call them Hell Cacti.”

Wow, it’s a small world.

I never imagined I’d meet Krates’s wife in a place like this.

To think that person is the one who sold me the plant I’ve recently become so fond of cultivating.

Mrs. Kshali gently stroked the cacti placed here and there, as if caressing a dog or cat.

“These friends were originally used as tools for punishing prisoners, because their thorns are prickly. But actually, they are cute children. If you give them affection and love, they don’t raise their thorns like this.”

Are they hedgehogs?

I’m seeing all sorts of amazing cacti.

I was raising one too, but I didn’t know it had such a characteristic.

“Also, they’re truly remarkable children because they catch Hell cockroaches well. If you place one between pots like this, they also keep out bugs that eat flowers…”

“Madam!!!!! What did you just say!!!!!!”

“Huh? That they catch cockroaches well…. Why are you suddenly shouting…?”

No way!

To think that strange cactus had such a characteristic!

I had no idea!

“Madam, that cactus! Can I buy a large quantity? Please give me all that you have! I will buy it no matter the price! Please! Seriously!”

To me, who had always suffered from Hell cockroaches larger than my palm, this cactus truly looked like a savior.

And Mrs. Kshali, who was cultivating and selling such cacti, soon appeared like a seeker of truth or a saint.

‘Krates, this is the first time I’ve felt envy towards you since joining the company!’

In reality, she was an extremely beautiful woman, with strong vitality capable of cultivating fields and gardens in barren land, and her demeanor was so relaxed that she seemed like the lady of a wealthy household.

“Madam, how can I raise cacti well? Please tell me your secret!”

“…Secret? There’s nothing really that I’d call a secret…. And these days, the Daedalus Sun is so dazzling that the flowers grow much better. My husband says it’s thanks to Joy, who guided Sisyphus.”

“It’s a coincidence. A coincidence.”

Thinking about Sisyphus’s situation still makes my stomach ache, so I can’t laugh comfortably.

Mrs. Kshali, unaware of my circumstances, looked at the sun losing its light far away and spoke.

“It’s almost dinner time. If you don’t have other plans, may I show off my cooking skills?”

“Good! If possible, meat dishes would be great!”

Orpheus quickly answered on my behalf.

*Grrrrumble-.*

As his stomach rumbled loudly, Mrs. Kshali chuckled elegantly and asked.

“By the way, if you don’t mind me asking, who is this person?”

“This is Orpheus.”

“Pffft, you excellent employee, you tell jokes amusingly! If this person is Orpheus, then I suppose I’m Helen of the Golden Apple? Then please, come inside!”

Mrs. Kshali’s home was neat and stylish.

The flowers and orchids placed here and there, though not excessive, made one feel the dedicated touch.

‘Wow, I’d like to live in a house like this too.’

Orpheus was also greatly impressed.

“It’s worlds apart from the multi-family house I live in. Indeed, if you’re an execution and employee of Happy World, it seems you can live in a house like this. Manager Joy, how about your house?”

My house?

It’s an employee dormitory where Hell cockroaches come out in droves.

Of course, I did receive a new house key from Princess Melinoye, but I haven’t even checked its location yet because I feel like if I go in there, I won’t be able to get out in many ways.

“I prepared it in a hurry, so I don’t know if it will suit your taste.”

The moment I sat at the dining table, I thought I had come to a buffet.

Because the food kept coming out endlessly.

“It’s delicious. So delicious! Even a starving Tantalus wouldn’t feel this much appetite! Mrs. Kshali, your skill is truly great! Still, the soup is a bit bland!”

Orpheus began devouring the food as if possessed by a glutton, but I was so flustered by the sheer number of side dishes, over 16 varieties, that I couldn’t easily reach out my hand.

“Madam, aren’t you overdoing it? I feel like I’ve come for nothing.”

I wondered if she had gone to tremendous trouble just because her husband’s coworker had come.

But Mrs. Kshali chuckled elegantly.

“We eat like this every day.”

“That’s right!”

The boy named Platan also nodded his head.

It seemed she hadn’t prepared extra food just because a guest had arrived.

At this moment, genuine anger boiled within me.

To be served a 16-side-dish meal every single day?

Krates, you scoundrel!

What kind of luck were you born with to get such a wife!

Thinking that someone else had already achieved what I had dreamed of my entire life, I felt angry, envious, and at the same time, respectful.

“It seems Krates wasn’t called the ace of Team 1 for nothing. With such a wonderful wife faithfully supporting him, he naturally has to be energized.”

“The ace of Team 1…. So that’s what he was called.”

“You didn’t know?”

“No. He often tells me about company matters, but he never tells me anything about his own work. How is the company these days? He always says he’s tired because of the overtime.”

“Overtime, you say…. Yes, well, everyone’s busy since a large-scale audit is approaching.”

It was then.

*Click, creak-!*

The door seemed to open, and then someone appeared.

It was Krates, carrying heavy luggage in his hands.

“Honey, son, I’m home. Phew, my boss was pecking at me so much today that work finished late. But do you know what I bought instead? Ta-da! It’s a ‘Nymphtendo Switch 2.’ You said you wanted this…”

Krates froze like a video paused by a stop button.

His eyes widened when he saw me.

“Ma-Manager Joy. Why are you here…”

“Krates, you’ve worked hard with the overtime.”

# # #

Krates was good at his job.

The reason he was good at his job was simple.

Partly because he had studied various disciplines as a prince in his lifetime, and partly because he was a person who needed a lot of money.

To earn a lot of money, it was better to be good at his job.

As a result, he eventually came to be called the ace of Team 1 and an excellent employee of Happy World.

‘Joy, I drifted away from being an excellent employee because of you, but next time, I’ll definitely…’

Krates, whose eyes darted to the “Employee of the Year Plaque.”

After finishing work, he handled this and that, then returned home.

He had expected to see the joyful faces of his wife and son.

What he saw first was the face of a man making the exact same expression as the “Employee of the Year Plaque.”

Manager Joy.

The man who was promoted to manager in just two years.

Even in the notoriously ruthless Punishment Enforcement Department, he was so exceptional that he was called ‘Devil,’ and he raised his hand towards Krates.

“Krates, you’ve worked hard with the overtime.”

Krates’s heart, which had been happy just moments ago, felt as if it had instantly plummeted into “Happy World.”

You’ve worked hard with the overtime-.

Because Krates knew well how much meaning was implied in that one phrase.

“You fortunate man. Your son seems smart, your wife is beautiful, she cooks well, and she grows flowers well in the field. I’m very envious.”

“Oh, thank you for the compliment.”

Mrs. Kshali blushed as if embarrassed.

Krates felt as if he had chewed on a thorny cactus.

With that recent conversation, everything became clear.

‘You scoundrel, Joy! You devilish man! Are you going to hold my family hostage and threaten me!’

There was no overtime in Happy World.

Because at the last company dinner, Vice President Melinoye had prohibited overtime and additional work outside of working hours.

It was because of Manager Joy.

However, for the past few days, Krates had been returning home late, using overtime as an excuse.

In fact, he had a secret he couldn’t tell others, and he had used overtime as an excuse because of that.

Joy coming and saying “You’ve worked hard with the overtime─” meant that he already knew what Krates was up to and where.

“Then I’ll be going now.”

*Pat, pat-.*

Manager Joy patted Krates’s shoulder and left the house.

“It’s a Nymphtendo!”

Krates, who had lightly stroked his happy son’s head, pretended to be unfazed, loosened his tie, and asked his wife.

“Honey, what did you talk about with Manager Joy?”

“We talked about our field. The Opuntia humifusa flower field you bought me as a birthday present, you know. He said he’d buy it for 30 gold… Isn’t that money similar to several years of your annual salary?”

“Th-that field…!?”

Krates’s vision went black.

It was a field he had bought with money he had embezzled in various ways while in charge of accounting for the Punishment Enforcement Department.

He had meticulously manipulated the ledgers so they would never be discovered.

To find that out, one would have had to rummage through at least 50 years’ worth of accounting and budget expenditure documents.

What he thought would never be discovered by anyone had, of all people, been discovered by the one person it absolutely shouldn’t have been.

At this moment, Krates recalled Joy’s nickname.

Devil.

Or, the man obsessed with achievements.

When he felt as if fangs were clamping down on his neck, Krates couldn’t breathe and felt as though he was experiencing death once again.

Death.

Krates snapped back to his senses at that terrible memory.

Such a tragedy must never happen again.

‘My family must never go through such a terrible experience again! Absolutely not!’

Krates, who calmly collected his breath.

He asked his wife, who was looking at him worriedly.

“Aside from that, any other conversations?”

“You know the cacti I enjoyed raising? He also said he wanted to buy a large quantity of those.”

Hell Cacti!

What reason would there be to buy those deadly weapons, which gush blood with just a slight brush of their thorns, in large quantities?

‘It’s torture!’

Hell Cacti were originally designed as plants for punishment.

It was clear that buying such plants in large quantities was for the purpose of torturing someone.

‘In other words, Manager Joy knows I embezzled money and is threatening me! He’s saying he’ll torture me and my family with cacti! I, Krates, can tell!’

*Shivers-.*

Goosebumps rose.

Because there were too many things pricking his heart like cactus thorns.

In fact, beyond mere embezzlement, a secret that absolutely must not be discovered was buried in that flower field.

Depending on the circumstances, that secret could bring ruin to Krates’s harmonious family.

“…So, honey. What did you do with that flower field? Did you sell it to Manager Joy?”

“Yes, I sold it for gold coins. You’re struggling every day with overtime because of me and Platan. How could I enjoy my hobbies comfortably? Instead, our living expenses will be ample from now on, so don’t worry!”

“Ah, ahh…”

Seeing Kshali smiling brightly, Krates clenched his fist tightly.

If it were merely a case of embezzlement and real estate, he might have somehow managed to gloss it over—.

The fact that he had bought that flower field meant he had already crossed the point of no return.

‘There’s no time to hesitate! I must move before he does! I must protect my family from that devilish human! Absolutely!’

# # #

A hum came out naturally.

Buying land full of flowers makes me feel this good.

Everyone used to sing about “real estate, real estate,” and it seems there was a reason for it.

“Oh yeah.”

As I hummed and went to work, everyone had something to say to me.

“Manager nim, is there something good happening?”

“I know what it is! It’s because of the land, right?”

What? Has it already become known that I bought land?

It would have had a dramatic effect if it had been revealed on the audit day.

But well, even if it was revealed now, it was natural for my reputation to be damaged.

An excellent employee committing embezzlement to buy land—.

What a good picture.

It was at that very moment.

*Flap-.*

Manager Bones held out a newspaper to me.

“Manager Joy! The story in this newspaper! Is it true!”

“Newspaper?”

“Shock! An employee from Team 1 of the Punishment Enforcement Department was involved in the worst corruption…!?”

“Numerous missing supplies and undeclared weapons discovered in the Opuntia humifusa flower field he purchased!”

“Employee C requests protection for his family in exchange for self-surrender. Reveals that Manager Joy of Happy World threatened him─.”

“The undeclared weapons are presumed to belong to coup rebel forces─.”

“To think you tracked down and interrogated Krates, and prevented a rebellion crisis in advance! Joy, just how high do you intend your loyalty to the company to rise?!”