episode_0037

037 – My Wife Doesn’t Go to Her Parents’ Home # 3

No way, I couldn’t believe that Chicoreta, the administrator of the plant gallery, was Persephone nim.

Looking back, there were plenty of clues to infer.

Because ‘Kore’ in Chicoreta meant ‘girl’, and it was Persephone nim’s childhood name.

I completely thought it was based on the cute Chikorita from the Grass-type Pokémon.

That wasn’t it.

‘In the first place, Persephone nim and Chikorita are both Grass-type, aren’t they? Joy, if you were truly aiming for dismissal, you should have expected at least this much! This is a mistake!’

I continued a harsh self-criticism within myself.

If you asked whether this situation was a gain or a loss for me, honestly, considering my situations so far, it seemed I had more to lose.

So, I was trying to get away by using audit work as an excuse.

“I think you don’t need to worry about the audit team.”

Persephone nim even put a brake on the audit team’s activities by calling her son, Prince Zagreus.

Behold this unrestricted power.

In some ways, the goddess in front of me, surpassing the CEO, was practically the highest authority of this Soul Society.

“Joy, let’s go prepare some drinks together for a moment.”

At that moment, Krates gently poked my side.

Because I also wanted to escape this place, it was when I entered the indoor area with the refrigerator together with him.

Krates looked around and spoke very softly.

“Joy, you demon-like fellow, obsessed with promotion. I never thought you’d even pull off something like this. You should have given me a heads-up beforehand!”

How could I have given you a heads-up?

I didn’t know either.

Just now, when I saw Cerberus, I was almost unconscious for about 2 seconds while standing.

Before I could even offer such an excuse, Krates sighed.

“Did you see the kimchi made with ‘Hell Cactus’? That’s a ‘torture device’. A mortal body couldn’t possibly accept it. I’ll eat all of those, so don’t overdo it.”

“Kimchi?”

“I’m going to repay the debt I owe you. If it’s you, who’s obsessed with promotion and performance evaluations, you’d be thinking of earning points by eating a lot of kimchi made by the lady of the house, wouldn’t you?”

Why would I think that?

It’s true that I like ‘Hell Cactus’.

That’s only because I like it for its use as a shield to block hell cockroaches; I didn’t want to eat it.

It’s the same as not wanting to drink a beverage made from insecticide just because I frequently use it.

“I’m already a dead body. Even if I eat that side dish made from a ‘torture device’, I won’t die again. It might hurt a bit, though… So, leave this to me!”

In a way, it was quite moving.

Was he feeling that indebted?

“If the conversation gets too long, they’ll suspect this and that, so let’s quickly go back. Today, I’m going to desperately commit myself in this place for the sake of the family I barely protected!”

Hustling.

Krates, who went out first.

I also slowly moved forward to the tables placed in front of the flower shop.

On the table, several kimchi containers were lined up.

Persephone nim giggled and showed me their contents.

Red, square pieces caught my eye.

“Oh, you cut the cactus into squares and made cubed kimchi?”

“That’s right. It’s my masterpiece. Would you like to taste it?”

Taste?

Even so, tasting cactus is a bit…

When I subtly glanced at him, Krates nodded.

Saying he would step forward.

That’s what he must have been trying to say.

Krates, holding the plate and swallowing hard.

“…Hoo…”

At that moment, Mrs. Kshali added a word.

“The lady of the house said that if you eat this cubed kimchi, it emits wavelengths that pests dislike, so you won’t suffer from mosquitoes or hell cockroaches. Isn’t that truly amazing?”

What!!!!!

That there’s food with such a dream-like effect!!!!

For me, who was recently almost attacked by a deputy manager-level cockroach, it would truly be food I couldn’t afford not to eat!

“Krates! Give that to me!”

I hastily reached out and snatched the plate from Krates, then rapidly shoveled the side dish into my mouth.

The current me was like a nymph eyeing honey candies.

But, while chewing the food that entered my mouth, I found myself amazed.

Crunch, crunch.

Surprisingly, it was edible.

‘…No, rather, it’s delicious if it’s this good!’

A feeling like the cubed radish kimchi that comes with ox bone soup at a good restaurant?

I never thought the texture of cactus would be similar to firm radish.

“Having tasted it, I think you probably added lemon-lime soda. Is that right?”

“Hehehe, Deputy Manager Joy has a deep understanding of gourmet food. I tried to emphasize the sweetness by adding a lime-flavored drink. My husband never knows, no matter how much he eats.”

“When I was in graduate school, I once stayed at my professor’s house for a few days and only made kimchi. So, I’ve tried almost every method. I can feel the sincerity in the taste.”

What I made more of than dissertations was kimchi.

Perhaps that’s why this cactus kimchi felt incredibly great, and I truly admired it.

Then the terrifying lady of the house smiled like a blossoming flower.

“It’s truly nice that you recognize the effort. If I think that my son, daughter, or husband will eat it, I can’t help but put my whole heart into it. Since it turned out so well for once, I wish many people could have tasted it…”

Looking at the empty spots, the goddess seemed somewhat regretful.

She sighed, looking at the piled-up kimchi containers.

“It’s a pity, but we’ll have no choice but to share it among ourselves.”

“Can I give some to people I know?”

“Of course. It’s much better than letting it rot and throwing it away.”

Should I give some to the company employees?

Then the swarming hell cockroaches in the office will also be somewhat resolved.

Just thinking about it makes me happy.

Adding it as a fixed side dish in the company cafeteria doesn’t seem bad either.

“Deputy Manager Joy lives alone, right? Don’t immerse yourself too much in work, and make sure to eat well when you can. In the future, if I make a lot of side dishes, I’ll send them to you.”

Really?

It was a tempting proposal.

At the same time, my stomach ached.

It seems I’ve unintentionally earned a lot of points from the lady of the house of this Soul Society.

It’s far off from my strategy of getting fired by drastically lowering my reputation, isn’t it?

Should I try to lower my reputation just a little here?

For example, bringing up a story that the lady of the house would dislike hearing.

Something like this.

“It just occurred to me. If you made too much, how about taking some to your mother? Persephone nim’s maternal home was in the Eleusis region, right?”

In Eleusis, Greece, there must have been a temple to honor the goddess Demeter.

At my subtle question, faint wrinkles appeared on the goddess’s beautiful forehead.

‘Did she get upset?’

The frowning expression resembled Melinoye nim.

More precisely, Melinoye nim must resemble her mother, Persephone nim.

“You don’t need to give any to my mother. My mother still thinks I’m a child, you see. Now that my eldest son is all grown up and on the verge of giving me grandchildren, I don’t want to needlessly go to my mother and listen to nagging.”

Nagging.

Indeed, the goddess Demeter was a mother with a strong obsession for her daughter.

To the extent that she imprisoned her daughter, Kore, on the island of Sicily and wouldn’t even let her leave the island.

Was she fed up with such an overprotective mother?

“But… Persephone nim can only stay in this underworld for about three months, right? Shouldn’t she spend the remaining nine months on the surface with her mother?”

“Ah, that, you see. You know that the regulations regarding food and bondage were revised due to the ‘Work Innovation’ implemented a few years ago, right? That was retroactively applied to all past matters.”

Wait a minute.

It was retroactively applied?

That means…

“Regardless of how many pomegranate seeds I ate here, I became a free being. I can stay here for as long as I want.”

Indeed!

So that’s how it was.

Because of the ‘Work Innovation’, the bondage that Persephone nim had to stay in this underworld for three months by force also disappeared.

At that moment, Mrs. Kshali asked.

“In that case, can’t you go see your mother anytime?”

“Mrs. Kshali, as you would know if you’re married yourself, as you live, there comes a time when the home where you have a son, a daughter, and a husband becomes more comfortable than your maternal home, doesn’t it?”

“Oh, I think I kind of understand… I also couldn’t rest well at my maternal home because I was mindful of my mother’s gaze, but in my own home, I was treated like a crown princess, and so on. I have a husband and a son too.”

Aha, now I understand.

There was no particular reason for Persephone nim not to go to the surface.

She just didn’t want to go to the surface.

# # #

Hee hee hee.

The man’s wife, humming a tune as if in a good mood, returned home.

It was still an early hour, before it was even evening.

“Everyone said the kimchi I made today was delicious and they all completely emptied their plates.”

“…I see. That is indeed a good thing. Since your cooking skills are good, it’s only natural!”

“It’s all thanks to you.”

“…What did I do?”

“I’m talking about Deputy Manager Joy. You sent someone, didn’t you, afraid that I’d be disappointed and sad because there weren’t many people at the plant club meeting? I clearly understood when I saw the title you bestowed, though I pretended not to know on purpose.”

Was Deputy Manager Joy in the plant gallery?

As for the man, it was something he had no idea about.

However, the man was a wise being.

“Ahem, I can’t believe you noticed that. It seems Joy’s acting skills were terrible.”

“I’ll tell you beforehand, don’t blame Deputy Manager Joy. It’s just that I’m quick-witted. Still, I was touched, thinking that there’s truly no one but you who cares about me so much.”

With a sudden hug!

The wife hugged the man.

“I’ve had a lot of worries lately. Now I’ve definitely decided. From now on, I won’t return to my maternal home and I will live as the lady of the house of this Soul Society, as a mother and a wife, for the rest of my life.”

“…What!? Such a big decision…!? Y-you don’t have to do that…”

“Don’t say things you don’t mean! You’re happy that we can stay together forever from now on, aren’t you?! We will now be together forever! Forever!”

Forever—, forever—, foreveeeeer—.

In the man’s ears, the woman’s voice echoed like a terrifying nightmare.

Whoooosh—.

When the wife went in to wash.

The man frowned, looking at the fishing rod hidden in the corner.

He took out a box labeled ‘Permanent Sealing’ and put the fishing rod inside.

# # #

—Hoo, hoo…!

—Hoo…!

On the night of the official meeting.

As I was about to fall asleep, some ghosts knocked on my house door.

Following them, at the ferry of the Flaming River, Phlegethon, the CEO, wearing a black robe, was waiting for me.

I was startled and hastily tried to bow my head, but the CEO’s words were faster, like lightning.

“You rascal, Joy. I don’t know what you said, but my wife declared to me that she won’t return to her maternal home from now on.”

“However, I still understood why she isn’t returning. As the ‘Work Innovation’ was implemented, thanks to the new retroactively applied regulations, the bondage that tied the lady of the house was also released—.”

“Ugh, I don’t want to hear it. That damn ‘Work Innovation’. That Zagreus fellow. I never thought my son’s handling of affairs would choke me, his father. It must be because of the rebellious spirit flowing in this Kronos blood.”

Grooooooan—.

Anger, making the flaming river surge.

As I subtly glanced, the CEO’s fiery red gaze, looking at the flaming river, flickered like a campfire with firewood burning in winter.

Seeing that somewhat bitter gaze, Melinoye nim came to mind.

Her eyebrows resembled her mother’s, but her eyes resembled her father’s.

“So—, is that man doing well?”

After a deep silence.

As if dusting off old dust and opening a book, the CEO spoke.

Who could he be talking about?

“That man?”

“That cursed old man, I mean. Deputy Manager Joy, I heard you meet him often. If it’s a sly fox like you, you already know who I’m talking about, don’t you?”

“If it’s Kronos nim…”

Whether I should say he’s doing well or not.

Because of that old geezer, I had many bitter experiences, so as I couldn’t answer definitively.

The CEO snorted dismissively.

“No, never mind. I don’t really want to hear it anyway. Alright, anyway, since you’ve completed the task entrusted to you, I also have to keep my promise. Ask if you have anything you’re curious about. Since there’s only one chance, choose carefully.”

It was never my intention, but.

Somehow, things went smoothly, and I ended up in this situation.

At this point, I even start to delude myself into thinking I’m truly competent.

Whatever the case, this opportunity wasn’t bad.

What I was curious about.

“Nymph Melinoi, what kind of being is she, really?”