episode_0078

“Joy, you’re home quite late today.”

Melinoye nim was waiting for me by the front door again today.

My heart dropped.

It had been half a month since our contract relationship began, but I still hadn’t gotten used to Melinoye nim waiting up for me.

“Joy, why are you staring at me like that?”

Did she realize I had something to say to her?

As befits the goddess of ghosts, her perceptiveness was uncanny.

‘Should I ask this? Or just hold it in?’

What I was thinking might be a bit rude to Melinoye nim.

According to general common sense, it would be right to hold back a rude question.

But was this really the time for me to be considering such things?

So, I finally blurted out the words that had been mumbling around my mouth and throat.

“Melinoye nim, have you perhaps heard of the ‘13 Labors’ set by the Moirai?”

“Ah, you mean the rumors circulating among people. They say that if someone completes all 13 Labors, something unprecedented will unfold. Joy, I wouldn’t have thought you’d be interested in such stories.”

Melinoye nim’s eyes narrowed.

“It’s like a children’s tale. The rumor of the 13 Labors is out there, but no one knows what the specific tasks are. The only certain one is the very last, the 13th Labor.”

“When you say the last Labor, you mean the ‘Phantom Nymph,’ right?”

“Yes. It’s a story about a ‘mysterious nymph’ whose identity no one can discern. I am NEO, the executive in charge of nymph affairs, but even I have no idea if the Phantom Nymph truly exists.”

As she spoke, Melinoye nim’s fingers weren’t fidgeting at all.

She really seemed not to know.

‘But I think I know.’

If I were to suddenly grab Melinoye nim by the side right now, would it count as capturing the Phantom Nymph?

As I was having such a sacrilegious thought and trying to enter the password for the door lock on the front door,

Melinoye nim spoke to me.

“Joy, let’s go for a walk today.”

Suddenly?

It might be for the best.

Perhaps it would be better to walk outside with the unpredictable Melinoye nim than to invite her into my house.

So, I set out for a walk with Melinoye nim.

The riverside of Asphodel Plain was sparsely populated, the weather was cool, and the stars were clearly visible, making it perfect for a stroll.

“Joy, I heard you received a ticket from a senior colleague in the welfare team. It was a resort pass good for couples, wasn’t it?”

As we walked leisurely along the riverside, Melinoye nim asked about the ticket.

How did she find out about my ticket to the surface world?

However, Melinoye nim’s expression was full of dissatisfaction.

“Joy, although I am bound by ancient promises and constraints, unable to leave this Soul Society, you are not, so it’s perfectly fine for you to go to the surface by yourself.”

They said that when you have a girlfriend, you sometimes experience such things.

When they say, “It’s fine,”

But in reality, it’s not fine at all.

When they say, “Go ahead and do it,”

But in reality, it’s absolutely forbidden.

‘This is one of those times.’

Melinoye nim said it was fine for me to go to the surface by myself.

But if I were to really leave now, no one could guarantee what I would face upon returning to this Soul Society.

It could even be a horrifying time.

“Of course, you won’t be able to leave me and this Soul Society. For someone who has a perfect goddess like me as their lover, leaving her side is harder than a nymph quitting honey candy.”

“That is…”

“But it’s only for about a day, isn’t it? Joy, you are a person of the surface world, and perhaps there are times when you miss the real stars and sun of the surface. So don’t mind me and just go.”

As she said that, Melinoye nim’s fingers were fidgeting intensely.

What should I say here to wisely survive?

It was then.

*Shimmering sound*—

A meteor shower began to fall from the night sky of the Soul Society.

“Joy, I heard the weather forecast said there would be a rain of stars today, and I wanted to show it to you.”

“To me?”

So that’s why she suggested a walk.

Melinoye nim, whose head was tilted upwards, her eyes shimmered faintly like a campfire with glowing embers.

“It’s beautiful. My life as an immortal goddess will also continue eternally and beautifully like those stars. But this sight I’ve seen today, no matter how much time passes, I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.”

I felt the same way.

No matter where I was, I would never forget today’s walk with the goddess.

*Rustle*—

Just then, the bushes rustled, and something approached Melinoye nim.

*Woof!*

*Squeal!*

They were small animals like squirrels and spiders.

The creatures climbed onto Melinoye nim’s shoulders or sat on her head.

Melinoye nim frowned as if flustered.

“What’s wrong with these creatures? Go away!”

Watching Melinoye nim flail her limbs to chase away the animals, I recalled the stories about nymphs.

They say nymphs, who are nature fairies, quickly become friends with small animals like honeybees and sparrows.

Perhaps Melinoye nim, who might be the Phantom Nymph, also possessed such an attribute.

But—

I wouldn’t dare say, “It’s because Melinoye nim is a nymph,” even if my life depended on it.

So, I pretended to tell a white lie.

“Perhaps it’s because Melinoye nim is such a beautiful goddess that the animals recognize it.”

“Of course.”

…What do you mean, “of course”?

If you look closely, Melinoye nim also has an interesting side.

*Beep-beep-beep*—

Just then, Melinoye nim’s device began to ring.

“It’s a call for an emergency executive meeting. Joy, I think I have to go back now.”

*Whoosh!*—

Melinoye nim summoned a ghost cloud and flew away on it.

# # #

Each of the executives took their seats in the meeting room.

Their expressions were all heavy, dark, and serious.

With the chairman, looking solemn, seated at the head of the table, Prince Zagreus, standing, led the meeting.

“I’m sure you all know why I’ve called everyone here. Those from Tartarus seem to have made their move. Their location is probably here—”

*Thump*—

Prince Zagreus pointed to a map of the Soul Society placed on the table.

Upon seeing the words “Monster Quarter” written at his fingertip, exclamations followed from the executives.

“No way.”

“The worst-case scenario has unfolded.”

*WAAANG!*—

A siren began to wail inside the main office building.

And a disaster message rang on the executives’ devices.

“Class 1 Regulated Monster ‘Hydra’ has escaped its enclosure in the Monster Quarter.”

“Residents near the River of Flames, please evacuate quickly.”

The great beast Hydra had escaped from the Monster Quarter.

It was a clear situation that if Hydra were left unchecked, the stock market of this underworld would fluctuate wildly like waves.

So, Zagreus proposed a big deal.

“To the executive who captures Hydra and locks it back up, I will hand over one-tenth of my 55 percent stake. The situation is that urgent, and the task is worth that much.”

“One-tenth, so about 5.5 percent, huh?”

“The Prince has opened his purse wide.”

The executives exclaimed in admiration.

However, no one readily stepped forward.

“If you get stung by Hydra’s poison, it hurts enough to make you feel like dying, you know.”

“We’re immortals, so we won’t die, but still.”

“Megaira hates Hydra!”

Hydra’s poison was painful, so even the immortal executives extremely disliked being exposed to it.

It was as dangerous as suddenly putting a honey-coated hand into an angry wasp nest.

So, they were all just glancing at each other, when someone raised a hand.

*Smoothly*—

It was Princess Melinoye.

“I’ll handle Hydra.”

Prince Zagreus’s 5.5 percent stake.

It was a good opportunity to seize it, so there was no reason for Princess Melinoye not to take it immediately.

‘Above all, the Monster Quarter is close to Joy’s house.’

If Hydra was left unchecked, Deputy Manager Joy’s house might collapse due to the disaster.

If the beast attacked a residential area, the casualties and property damage would be enormous.

“There’s no time to delay. I’ll go.”

But the next moment, a surprising report came in.

“Prince! Hydra has avoided the residential area of Happy World, its expected path, and is heading towards the riverside of Asphodel Plain!”

Hydra, which had been advancing without hesitation, changed its path to a sparsely populated direction?

What in the world had happened?

As everyone felt curious about this tremendous luck and opportunity, Markius, the head of department, who was out in the field, added a situation explanation via his device.

“Hell Cacti! It seems Hydra is escaping by avoiding the Hell Cacti! Because there are a lot of Hell Cacti planted in the residential area of Happy World!”

The great beast Hydra escaping by avoiding Hell Cacti.

Just as the executives disliked Hydra’s poison,

The great beast Hydra also disliked cactus thorns.

“Deputy Manager Joy, did you really foresee such a thing and plant so many Hell Cacti in Happy World’s residential area?!”

Markius greatly admired the employee’s insight.

However, Melinoye bristled.

‘Joy is on the Asphodel riverside right now…’

# # #

I had often heard stories about picking up birds while walking in the park.

But I’m probably the only person who has ever picked up a giant, nine-headed snake.

*Hiss!*—

Suddenly, the giant water snake, Hydra, appeared.

When the great beast, feared even by heroes and gods, appeared before me, the world truly went dark.

I had only gone for a walk, so why was this misfortune happening to me?

If I had known this, I would have gone straight home instead of walking with Melinoye nim!

*Hush-hush!*—

But the next moment, my bracelet chattered something.

Why did I start to feel an even more ominous premonition than when I faced the nine-headed great beast?

As if to announce that my premonition had come true, Hydra also opened its many mouths and cried out.

*Hiss!*—

With that, Hydra bowed its nine heads flat before me.

As if politely greeting.

I couldn’t understand what in the world was going on, but—

Markius, the head of the safety management team, who came running breathlessly from afar, saw this scene.

“Wow, not just defeating Hydra, but completely subjugating and suppressing it! I was confident that I wouldn’t be surprised by most things by now, but you still surprise me in new ways!”

Soon, the goddess Nixdoti nim, with her pink hair tied in pigtails, also appeared on the plain and fussed with Markius.

“Deputy Manager Joy! Hydra says it was greatly surprised to see you speak snake language so skillfully! And it’s asking you to listen to its unfair circumstances a bit! It said it would definitely compensate you!”

“Wow, Joy. Besides ghost language, you even studied the snake language? I, Markius, truly give you credit! Your abilities are incredible!”

“Oh, sh*t….”

*Hiss!*—

“Huh! Deputy Manager Joy accepted Hydra’s quest! Your pronunciation just now was truly as accurate as a real snake’s, there was nothing to criticize! I’m quite confident in snake language myself, but even I can’t keep up with that!”