episode_0027

027 – Musical Demon # 2

“I will truly let you know which side is looking down on music.”

The man who had become a demon entered the recording studio.

When Rilke, who had been about to protest the astonishing outburst just now, followed him into the recording studio, the man snatched the bass guitar Rilke was holding in her hand.

“Ah! What!”

Rilke couldn’t resist because the man began plucking the bass strings, moving his hands at an invisibly fast speed.

His skill was so extraordinary that Rilke simply couldn’t protest the instrument’s snatching and stopped her actions.

Boom boom boom boom boom-.

What was even more surprising was what came next.

Crashing, Roaring-, Roaring-!

A ripping noise.

Bassist Rilke was bewildered.

“While playing the bass guitar, why is there an electric guitar’s noise simultaneously…!? Th-this kind of technique, I’ve never even heard of it! What! What are you doing right now!”

Moreover, he even sang a song.

━───!

Truly a song like an outcry.

It was a soul-stirring voice, as if emitted by a suffering lost soul in hell.

Rilke’s legs lost strength, and she slumped down.

“Th-that this kind of thing is possible….”

It was truly an overwhelming sense of defeat.

This was the second time she had felt such a sense of defeat in her life.

‘No way, this man is… that Orphe….’

Rilke looked at the man.

With long, grown-out hair and a face powdered white.

The tears flowing from his pitch-black eye makeup truly made him perfectly fitting to be an employee of the Punishment Execution Department, rumored to be terrifying even in this 「Happy World」.

He couldn’t possibly be someone like Orpheus, who was adorned with thoughtfulness and even noble grace.

Absolutely not.

If so, who in the world is this man?

‘…A demon! This man is an evil spirit, and a musical demon!’

At this moment, Rilke recalled this man’s superior, Section Chief Joy.

And what nickname he was known by.

‘Does the Devil of Happy World command even subordinates like demons?! I thought he was ordinary, unlike the rumors, but after all, he wasn’t like that at all!’

Rilke had a hunch.

She instinctively knew that if the song being recorded now spread throughout this Soul Society, it would overwhelm the reputation 「E&S」 had barely managed to gain.

‘This Soul Society is still vast, I see. Such a talent was hidden! This man’s skill… honestly, I don’t want to admit it, but it’s equal to or even greater than Orpheus’s!’

What Siren Rilke felt from Orpheus was a sense of defeat.

However.

What she felt from the demon’s performance now was only fear.

The fear that she might die because of the music.

It was fortunate that everyone present here was already a dead soul.

At least they wouldn’t die again.

“This Carnoy says that hitting wildly is good…!”

Boom boom boom boom-.

Then Carnoy, 「E&S」’s drummer, began to play the drums.

Was it to show his will not to be pushed back by this ‘killing song’?

Or perhaps he just enjoyed hitting something, in fact.

“G-give it back! This is my guitar, I tell you!”

Rilke also composed herself and snatched the guitar back from the man.

And then, so as not to be pushed back by the man’s music, she moved her fingers with all her passion.

Pluck, pluck-.

Her fingertips were sore and hurt from the thick bass strings, but it wasn’t the time to care about such things.

If this song went out into the world as its original piece, many things would be over in many ways, so they tried to neutralize it with their own music.

Just like that hero Orpheus protected the lives of the Argo ship crew by covering the Sirens’ song with his own.

Only then could Siren Rilke understand Orpheus’s noble intention.

And she also realized how many evil deeds they had committed when they were alive.

# # #

I drank a cup of coffee with Ms. Arachne.

She made coffee very well, and it seemed to be because she was skillful with her hands.

“Then, shall we head over to record now?”

“Are you going to do it yourself, Section Chief Joy?”

“That would be better.”

“It seems you sing well, too?”

“No, I just sing ordinarily. Ordinarily.”

“This Melinoye also wants to sing…!”

Melinoye singing?

Absolutely not. You never know.

Melinoye might sing incredibly well.

Such a variable absolutely cannot be tolerated.

“Ms. Melinoye, please wait here.”

“Just waiting is boring….”

“Hmm, then, how about disposing of the honey candies remaining here? The ones Ms. Euriol and Ms. Rilke didn’t eat. If we just leave them like this, bugs might gather.”

Melinoye’s expression suddenly brightened.

“It’s something entrusted to this Melinoye…! If it’s the task of disposing of candy, this Melinoye is more confident than anyone…! I will throw away every single one without tasting even one…!”

Melinoye, holding the boxes containing 「Honey Candies」, disappeared somewhere.

Only then did I go to the recording studio with a feeling of relief.

Clunk-. Creak.

As I opened the heavily soundproofed door, a strange heat suddenly brushed past my face with a whoosh-.

Soon, I saw Ms. Rilke’s figure lying collapsed on the floor.

At her seemingly unconscious state, my mind instantly became alert.

“Ms. Rilke! Are you alright…!?”

“…….”

Next to Ms. Rilke was Ms. Euriol, sitting on one knee as if injured.

In this situation, Ms. Arachne also seemed greatly flustered.

“Euriol! Rilke! Carnoy! What in the world happened to you all! Are you alright!?”

Ms. Arachne helped Ms. Euriol up.

At that moment, Ms. Euriol opened her mouth with difficulty.

“…You, what’s your name?”

“…….”

The man at the end of her gaze — Krauser — had a quite flustered expression.

Because of the white powder on his face, his expression was difficult to read, but I, who had been watching him for the past few days, could tell that he had made some big mistake and was nervous because of it.

“Then I’ll be off!”

Dash-!

Krauser soon exited the office.

Euriol, who was about to chase his retreating figure, said “Wait—,” and then finally her legs lost strength and she collapsed.

What in the world had happened?

“Did Krauser do anything bad?”

“If it’s Krauser, no way, that 「Happy Metal」’s… Ugh… Indeed, that man is that very….”

It was Ms. Euriol, showing a very indignant expression.

Simultaneously, Carnoy lifted his drumsticks high.

“This Carnoy doesn’t know what’s what, but he says he feels good because he can hit the drums wildly…! This Carnoy actually says he likes hitting anything…!”

Thump-thump, thump thump-thump-.

Taking the drum sound as accompaniment, I subtly pinched my cheek.

It hurt.

This mess isn’t a dream, I see.

Thus, the atmosphere was temporarily settled.

「E&S」’s members were still exhausted and collapsed, but Ms. Arachne, after listening to the recorded file, was so happy she jumped around excitedly to an unprecedented degree.

“Th-this is a masterpiece! It’s the best among all the recorded albums I’ve heard! If this song spreads throughout the world, we’ll also be able to buy expensive 「Magic Carriages」 or 「Magic Carpets」, I tell you! Hioong…!”

「E&S」’s members, who had no motivation for recording until just a moment ago, made a soulful album.

Why in the world….

Even Ms. Rilke looked at me, frowned, and clicked her tongue.

“Section Chief Joy nim, I hadn’t seen you that way, but indeed, you were a scary person. To think you would have prepared such a thing just because we didn’t cooperate obediently. You are truly ruthless.”

“No, I—”

Shiver shiver shiver-.

Then goosebumps rose all over my nape, and I couldn’t continue speaking.

As I turned my head at a strangely familiar presence and cold sensation, the goddess with black hair and wearing a laurel wreath was looking at me from the entrance.

It was Melinoye nim.

“If you look down on a 「Happy World」 employee, you’re destined to suffer a terrible experience, you know. Especially Section Chief Joy is a man with a solid reputation for terrifying resourcefulness. He’s like an uncontrollable beast.”

“If it’s Melinoye nim, no way, that—Gasp! This Arachne greets the princess of 「Soul Society」! What are you all doing! Why aren’t you bowing down quickly!”

Tremble tremble-.

Ms. Arachne was greatly afraid, sweating cold sweat to a pitiable extent.

Soon, the other women also came to their senses and hesitantly bowed down, but only hipster Euriol looked at Melinoye with a calm expression.

“I do not yield to power. And you said ‘Princess Melinoye,’ didn’t you? If I feel closely, I sense a nymph’s aura from you. A very strange one at that….”

Euriol, confronting Princess Melinoye.

Seeing that sight, Ms. Arachne was horrified and even shed tears.

“E-Euriol! You shouldn’t do that!”

“How dare you treat me, a goddess, like the same nymphs as yourselves? It seems you’re not afraid of punishment. Shall I test if that conviction of yours, not yielding to power, is truly real?”

Rumble rumble rumble-.

The recording studio, vibrating with Melinoye nim’s anger.

If this continues, everyone here might be headed for the wheel of hell with joint responsibility!

First of all, because I had to avoid such a situation, I had no choice but to hastily step forward.

“Alright! It seems the recording is over, so let’s leave now! Melinoye nim! Our quitting time is gradually about to pass, so let’s quickly return home! Clock-in/out times are strictly—isn’t that important?”

Did my persuasion work?

Swoosh—.

Melinoye nim’s aura sharply diminished.

“Clock-in/out times are the most basic of basics for employees. Truly, a person who values fundamentals has the right to walk the royal road. Alright, I will permit you to leave work.”

Ms. Arachne, admiring that sight.

“To calm down the anger of an angry executive. Section Chief Joy, you are truly an amazing person. I almost became an insect again due to the whim of an angry executive….”

Strictly speaking, the spider Ms. Arachne transformed into is not an insect, but.

That’s not what’s important now, is it?

“Then, ghost employees, gather.”

─Whoosh, whoosh…!

─Whoosh…!

At Melinoye nim’s call, white and fluffy ghost employees oozed out from somewhere.

Princess Melinoye rolled up those ghost employees into a round fluffball and got on top of it.

And then she extended her hand to me also.

“The returning ship will likely be experiencing difficulties in departure because of the rebels. Section Chief Joy, I will specially give you a ride.”

Normally, I wouldn’t even want to go near, but first of all, with the thought that I had to escape this situation, I got onto the ghost carpet.

The ride comfort was softer than expected.

Float-.

Thus, when I exited the office, Melinoye nim spoke.

“I also listened to the album recorded this time. It will probably be talked about eternally and infinitely by people as a song representing 「Happy World」. Since it’s such an achievement, your promotion to Deputy Manager will also be just around the corner.”

“Deputy Manager?”

“Yes, headquarters employees are at least Deputy Manager-level. Section Chief Joy, if you also become a Deputy Manager, you will truly be able to go to headquarters. That will be the first step towards becoming an executive.”

“However, as far as I know, the Deputy Manager promotion exam is very special, and I heard the competition rate is close to 100 to 1. And some executives conduct the evaluation themselves.”

“That’s right, even if I become an examiner, I will absolutely not give you special treatment, so keep that in mind. I am a mature goddess, and a mature goddess must be fair and just to everyone.”

The home thus arrived at.

“Section Chief Joy, from now on, you should drive this 「Ghost Carpet」. Because regressionists named 「Tartarus」 are rampant everywhere, you must care about the safety of your commute, right?”

The princess, extending a square wooden amulet.

“This is a summoning device. With this, you can summon the 「Ghost Carpet」, and you can also contact me directly. Of course, because I am a fair goddess, I won’t answer arbitrarily, you know.”

Is this the moment I received a luxury imported car key and a direct line cell phone from the chairman’s daughter?

I couldn’t bring myself to ask how much this imported car was.

At this moment, for some reason, honey was abundantly smeared on Melinoye nim’s mouth.

I was very curious about the reason, but.

Because I might become a hell cockroach if I made a mistake, I just had no choice but to bow my head.

“I am much obliged….”