episode_0060

060 – Snake Voodoo #1

「NEO」

In front of the office with a strange and suspicious title.

I pondered several times.

‘Should I just escape to the surface world?’

Of course, even after several simulations, I only thought of outcomes where I would be blocked by the Entry and Exit Management Bureau.

The desertion of a promising employee.

The goodwill that had been extended to me might instantly turn into resentment.

What if I incurred the gods’ resentment in the Greek mythology world?

I had no idea how terrible a curse and fate of evil deeds I would be burdened with.

What’s more, my surroundings are filled only with gods from the Underworld, who are notorious for being terrifying.

Goddess of Nightmares Melinoye nim was a prime example of that.

Phew-.

I stood in front of the Goddess of Nightmares’ office, continuing to ponder.

Creak-.

Just then, the door opened by itself.

My eyes met with Melinoye nim, who was sitting quietly in the office chair.

“Don’t just stand there, come in. To be shy now, Joy, you have a cute side too. We’ve even slept in the same house.”

…That just makes me want to go in even less, you know?

I was trying my best to push the memory of spending a night together into the furthest corner of my mind!

“Then, please excuse my intrusion.”

Step, step-.

Having no particular alternative, I carefully stepped into the office.

Then the door that had opened by itself closed with a squeak.

Automatic door?

No.

Melinoye nim must have used her divine power.

“Melinoye nim, I heard you called for me.”

“As you already know, I received great benefit from this Morose and squirrel incident. I uncovered the ‘Night Sorcery,’ you found the squirrel, and as a result, the incident didn’t escalate.”

Melinoye nim soon chuckled softly.

“I received a transfer of Morose’s 2 percent stake, entering the realm of a total 17 percent stake. Of course, it’s still far from reaching Zagreus’s stake, but it’s undoubtedly a great advancement.”

A miraculous 17% stake.

Considering that the average stake of most executives is 15 percent.

It meant that Melinoye nim had clearly become a high-ranking executive.

“Therefore, it would be appropriate to bestow a reward upon you, Joy, who performed greatly in this matter. More importantly, since you’ve been promoted to Headquarters Manager, there’s also a need to tell you various points of caution.”

“Points of caution?”

“The authority of Headquarters middle management can be considered comparable to that of most independent gods. Therefore, there are more things to uphold and more things to be careful about.”

The term ‘independent gods’ was unfamiliar.

It must refer to those who operate independently without belonging to the giant headquarters.

Gods of extremely small rivers or valleys.

Of course, since they are also gods, they possess immense power beyond comparison with ordinary mortals.

However, reaching the rank of Headquarters Manager meant one could stand shoulder to shoulder with such independent gods.

A mere mortal, comparable to a god.

Truly great authority.

That such authority was now mine made me so sad I felt like crying.

“I heard that if you reach the level of a Manager-rank Chief Officer in the Olympus Heavenly Council of the Surface World, you can use the constellation service during your funeral. Joy, you’ve gained that much right.”

“C-constellation!?”

I was flustered.

Me becoming a constellation?

It means they’d preserve me as a constellation and commemorate me if I die!

It’s No. 3 among the endings I want to avoid the most!

“For you mortals, there’s nothing more glorious than becoming a constellation, right? Of course, our Soul Society is a place where stars aren’t visible, so there are no such benefits.”

What a relief. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my chest.

At least I managed to avoid being preserved as a constellation.

As I sighed in relief, Melinoye nim flinched and trembled.

“Of course! That doesn’t mean the benefits for our Headquarters middle management are inferior to those of the Heavenly Council’s Chief Officers. We operate a customized tutoring system for our mortal employees.”

Tutoring.

Simply put, it’s a line.

“So, from the Manager rank onwards, one can join a line?”

“To put it directly, yes.”

There’s something called a ‘Champion.’

In Greek mythology, a Champion refers to a fighter who fights on one’s behalf.

Perseus from mythology, who cut off Medusa’s head, was like that.

He received the patronage of countless gods and ultimately became a hero who achieved great feats.

In other words, from the Manager rank onwards, one could formally receive such patronage from executives.

It was also terrible news for me.

“It’s a small hobby of executives to boast about how excellent the mortal on their line is. So, executives compete to secure competent middle management staff. It will be the same for you.”

Executives will compete over me?

I already felt like I was hearing the sound of a shrimp’s back breaking in a whale fight.

“Of course, Joy, you will choose me, Melinoye, whom you love and are most loyal to. So, I’ve prepared this thank-you gift for you. It’s this.”

Swish-.

Melinoye nim opened her palm.

A honey candy bag rustled open.

“…A candy bag?”

“Ahem! No, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Your thank-you gift is this.”

Princess Melinoye hurriedly opened her other hand.

What was in it was….

# # #

“Manager Joy! Welcome! The new pillar of our Audit Team!”

As I stepped into the Audit Team office with heavy footsteps, Alecto nim approached me and patted my back loudly with her palm.

It hurt.

Did volleyballs hit by strong spikes feel the same as me?

“Now that you’ve become a Manager, you should gradually decide on your line, right? Well, since you’re a member of the Audit Team, following our ‘Night Faction’ line is natural. Therefore, this is the token for it.”

Alecto nim touched her wings here and there, which she had been busy grooming throughout working hours.

And then she plucked out a feather with a soft pop and offered it to me.

“The feathers of our Night Daughters are not given to just anyone, you know? Consider it an honor.”

In other words, it’s akin to a royal warrant bestowed by a monarch.

“A lightning-speed promotion and a strong line. Wow, I, Narcissus, usually never envy others. But Joy, I’m a little envious of you. No, should I use polite language now…?”

“Haha! I wonder if my Department Head position will soon become precarious because of this!”

The Audit Team employees were making a fuss.

Although they might well be jealous of a successful employee, their eyes were filled only with goodwill towards me.

“Quickly take the feather, Manager Joy!”

“Manager Joy!”

Manager, you say.

To think the day would come when I’d hear such a terrible sound again.

However, I couldn’t readily find the courage to accept the feather.

“Alecto nim, I have already received a token from Melinoye nim.”

Swish-.

I showed my wrist.

Alecto nim was greatly surprised.

“From *that* Melinoye? That’s incredible. For that prickly princess to bestow a token upon an employee. Isn’t this the first time something like this has happened? Let’s see, it looks like a bracelet….”

As Alecto nim said, there was a bracelet on my wrist.

It was a simple bracelet without any decoration.

However, seeing the jet-black cord, Alecto nim was even more impressed.

“This is Melinoye’s hair, isn’t it? Wow, to receive something so precious! Melinoye’s hair has incredible magical effects. It’s natural, as she herself is the Goddess of Nightmares and Ghosts.”

A bracelet made from the Goddess’s hair.

If I were to take it up to the surface world, it wouldn’t be strange for it to be immediately recognized as a holy relic.

“Melinoye is someone who has good compatibility with our ‘Night Faction,’ so it’ll be fine for you to receive my token as an overlap. Melinoye learned ‘Night Sorcery’ from our mother a long time ago.”

Night Sorcery was like magic performed through the sinister magical power of night and darkness.

So Melinoye nim knew how to do that.

“Here, like this.”

Swish-.

As Alecto nim brought her feather close to my wrist, a small feather-shaped decoration was added to the bracelet. Was this also Night Sorcery?

“From now on, if you present this feather in matters related to the ‘Night Faction,’ you can expect relatively smoother cooperation. Of course, there are all sorts of strange characters among my siblings, so variables are bound to exist, but.”

“Then, Manager Joy, please accept my gift too!”

“Take this gift from I, Narcissus, too. You’ll probably like my item the most. My photo album isn’t something just anyone can get, you see.”

“My friend Hedone asked me to deliver this on her behalf!”

Crash-.

Gifts started piling up on my desk again.

I felt déjà vu.

This was a nightmare.

The hellish ‘Happy World’ that I thought I had escaped by being transferred to the headquarters was still by my side.

─Beep beep beep-.

─Woooooosh-.

Just then, a loud warning sound and siren began to wail.

What is it?

Did the Communist Party break in or something?

It felt like a civil defense drill.

Since it was the first time this had happened, I was feeling a little flustered.

Assistant Manager Narcissus looked out the window and shook his head in exasperation.

“Has this time already returned? Indeed, it had been quiet for a few years.”

“What’s going on?”

I asked.

Assistant Manager Narcissus hesitated.

“Well, that is….”

“You can just speak informally like usual. Although my rank is high, in many aspects, I am still very much a junior.”

“S-should I? Joy, this must be the first time you’ve experienced something like this since joining the company. Situations like this sometimes break out. A formal notice will probably come down soon.”

Just as Assistant Manager Na said, a formal notice was sent to the employees’ ‘Hermes Net’ shortly after.

It was a formal notice sent directly from the Chairman.

「Each team is to select one employee and gather in front of the headquarters.」

「Make sure to wear weapons and armor.」

There was a familiar feeling about it.

Not long after joining Happy World, I participated in a major extermination operation to catch the hellish roaches that had infested the building’s basement.

It was like this back then too.

Clap clap-.

Alecto nim clapped her hands, bringing the atmosphere to order.

“Alright, who will go from our department? Assistant Manager Narcissus should go, right? If you barely avoided demotion after losing your connections, you should show a little more sincerity, buddy.”

“Ugh, of course I should go!”

Even without knowing what they were planning to do, seeing them dump the task on Assistant Manager Narcissus, who was like an expendable card, it was undoubtedly going to be annoying, messy, and difficult work.

Originally, in the military too, when an announcement was made saying, “One person from each barracks, gather in front of the administration office,” nine times out of ten it was for an annoying task.

And at that moment, a good idea flashed in my mind.

There’s always a way out of anything.

“I’ll go.”

I don’t even know what I’ll be doing there.

That was good.

Because anyone would show a clumsy and awkward appearance when doing something for the first time.

‘Then everyone will laugh at me, won’t they?’

Feeling Very Good!

Seeing me like that, Assistant Manager Narcissus’s eyes welled up.

“Joy, you truly are a man! I already knew you cared deeply for your fellow employees, but to actually volunteer for dirty and difficult work…”

“When I heard from that Bones fellow that you were a demon obsessed with achievements, I didn’t think it was true, you know. Manager Joy, there’s no one who works as relentlessly as you. Even Hector is scared of it.”

They’re just making a fuss.

I stepped out into the vast open space in front of the headquarters.

I didn’t know what they were doing, but people selected from each department started gathering one by one.

Affiliate employees also gathered in droves.

They seemed to have come as teams.

“Manager Joy!”

Krauser, waving his hand towards me.

My head was already throbbing.

“Manager Joy, I’m scared! It’s my first time participating in an extermination squad. I’m a bard, so I’m utterly useless in combat…. I think I’ll just have to follow behind Manager Joy!”

Just dogging my heels?

This worthless fellow!

‘Even better.’

One becomes tainted by associating with the tainted.

If I’m next to a tainted person, I’ll become tainted too.

If I stayed next to Krauser, his worthlessness might even transfer to me.

“Ah! Manager Joy! To think I’d meet you in a place like this!”

Just then, a lump of disaster resembling a yellow chick burst out from afar.

Hedone abruptly hooked her arm into mine.

“As long as I’m next to Manager Joy, everything will be solved! Oh yeah! It’s absolutely destiny!”

At that moment, I couldn’t help but shout into my terminal.

“Assistant Manager Narcissus! Let’s switch after all! It doesn’t seem right for someone of a Headquarters Manager’s rank to be working directly in the field!”

“The dynamic presence of a superior to his subordinate! Is this a Headquarters Manager…!? So…so cool….”

“H-Hedone is dead! The extermination squad’s first casualty of the year has occurred! I, Krauser, saw it clearly with my own two eyes! It’s clear that ‘the guy’ must have pulled some trick!”

“Damn it! Casualties already? Forward! It’s deployment!”

Whoosh-.

The personnel instantly began to be swept away like a wave.

A frail mortal like me was destined to be swept away like a grain of sand.

“Gyaaaah!”

“Indeed, Manager Joy! Look at him raging with righteous fury to avenge Hedone! Your grudge-filled scream is enough to make even I, Krauser, tingle!”

“To think a Headquarters Manager is participating in the extermination squad. This extermination will be quite a spectacle.”

“Tch, I might not even get a turn to step forward!”