episode_0086

086 – The Onions are Too Spicy # 4

Pandora was the first human woman. She was also the oldest ghost in this Soul Society. And I even had a connection with her? The ‘spider’ she sold happened to be Kungkung, the pet spider that Prince Zagreus’s first wife had raised and lost, which caused a lot of trouble. Certainly, if she had been in the market for a long time, she would know who Nurungi’s owner was. So I looked for the shop where Pandora was staying. The door was tightly shut, and fierce-looking skeleton guards blocked my way. “You can’t go in.” “Pandora nim cannot be met casually. Go away. Shush.” “But I’ve already met her once?” “Joy, back then you were a headquarters employee.” “Pandora nim is a tycoon of the underworld. Originally, even executives couldn’t easily meet her.” Even executives? I didn’t know that. Is there no way? While I was contemplating for a long time, the skeleton guards looked at each other and nodded. “However, Pandora nim left you a message. She said something big would happen at the west gate tonight.” “She said if you resolve that matter well, there’s no reason she wouldn’t meet you.” Something big will happen at the west gate tonight—. I didn’t know what it was, but it felt like a challenge, saying, “Come if you dare.”

# # #

Since some point, Nurungi’s world had been quiet. The hand that used to stroke him. The noisy chattering voices also decreased. On a quiet night. Nurungi had a dream. A dream from when he was as small as a chick. —It’s a lion spider! Kill it! We have to kill it now! It’ll be a headache when it gets bigger later! Fortunately, it’s a cripple with a few legs missing, so it’ll be easy to catch! —Ah, no. Don’t kill it. You shouldn’t kill life carelessly…. —What, are the leg cripples empathizing with each other? A very kind and gentle boy protected him when he was young. Though he was a boy who found it difficult to even make a living. The boy always shared his food with the injured spider. The spider’s size grew rapidly. Eventually, the spider grew as large as a big dog. Its injured legs also healed as if washed clean after molting. Thump! —Roar…! —Nurungi, this wild boar. Did you hunt it? That’s really amazing! The boy would do anything for the spider. The spider Nurungi could also do anything for the boy. But then. An unusually long winter arrived, and the world changed. —Give us the wild boar you caught! Otherwise, we’ll kill you! —Ah, no. This is…. —Grrr…! —Aargh! You crazy spider! Hit it all together with sticks! —No! Nurungiiiii-! Ugh! Amidst the hot flames. The boy and the spider embraced each other and bloomed as black flowers. That’s how they met again in this Soul Society. —Nurungi! Finally, I have my own shop! No, no. It’s our shop! From now on, let’s sell a lot of rice soup and get rich together! —Roar…! —Skitter! —Skitter! —Nurungi, because you’re here, even the hell roaches can’t come near! Nurungi chased away the hell roaches every day to protect the shop. The boy stroked Nurungi. Nurungi loved falling asleep while being stroked by the boy more than anything in the world. Nurungi was happy. No matter where it was, as long as he could be with the boy, it didn’t matter. Even staying like this was good. However, it seemed the boy didn’t feel quite the same way. —Nurungi, I heard there’s something called a hell onion. They say it’s a super spicy ingredient. It seems to grow in the deep forests of Tartarus. If we just had that, our shop could flourish even more…. —Roar…. —It seems I’ll have to go get it myself. So, while I’m gone, you have to protect the shop well. Okay? If we just have that onion, it might even fix your eyes. And so, Nurungi waited for the boy. One day, two days, three days, four days, one week, one month, one year—. And a time so long that it couldn’t be counted by a spider’s reckoning…. The market surrounding Nurungi also changed. The street, which had been bustling for a long time, became as quiet as a dead mouse. For some reason, not even people’s footsteps could be heard. Nurungi still sat there, waiting for the boy. Then, these past few days, as he was withering away in loneliness. Nurungi could feel the market regaining its liveliness and vitality. —Nurungi, eat this treat stick! —Let’s take a picture together! He was happy. Because it was bustling, just like back when he ran the shop with the boy. He felt anticipation. Because it felt like the boy might be among the people stroking him. But—. If there were happy things, there were bound to be sad things too. —Skitter. —Skitter. —Skitterrr-. They were hell roaches. As the west gate began to become lively, various restaurants opened for business. Hell roaches, targeting the trash discarded from restaurants, formed groups and created a legion. These hell roaches hated the golden spider guarding the west gate. If only that creature wasn’t here, the market would be ours—. Thinking that, the hell roaches united and decided to attack the spider. Tonight. —Skitter-skitter-skitter-! —Skitter- The roaches advanced. The spider, who couldn’t even see, single-handedly blocked their advance. —Roar-! A loud roar erupted from the spider’s mouth. It was a very brave roar, befitting the name ‘lion spider’. Most creatures would have their hearts stop just by hearing this roar. But the number of roaches was too many. —Skitterrr! —Skitterr! —Roar…. Ultimately, the golden spider Nurungi was covered by the roaches. Being bitten and beaten everywhere, his whole body ached so much that it reminded him of the time he was hit with sticks by angry people during the long winter. —Roar…. Is it going to end like this? That child said he would come back, and asked him to wait for sure—. He had to protect the shop…. It was at that moment he was thinking that. “You wicked roach bastards! Get lost! Get lost!” Someone was felt to be swinging something around. Nurungi’s sensitive senses felt like it was someone shaking an incredibly spicy plant. “The hell onion is really effective!” Hell onion. At that name, Nurungi recalled the voice of the boy he had long forgotten. Could it be that the boy had returned? Due to the overwhelmingly spicy smell and longing, tears streamed abundantly from Nurungi’s eyes. Perhaps thanks to that, Nurungi’s eyes, which had been entirely cloudy, became clear and refreshed, like a dust-wiped windowpane. —I can see. Nurungi was happy about that fact. However, the regrettable thing was that the one who brought the onion wasn’t the boy. He was a stranger. —Roar….

# # #

It was true that something would happen at the west gate. I can’t believe those hell roach bastards would swarm like a plague of rats! It was because for the past few days, people had flocked to the west gate, eaten snacks, and thrown leftover food indiscriminately into trash cans. Of course, Nurungi, the terrifying lion spider, was holding out at the west gate, so it should have been fine. ‘Cases where rats united to bite a cat to death were common in the world.’ If the hell roaches’ military strength became powerful, even Nurungi might not be able to overcome it. Moreover, it hadn’t been long since I witnessed the existence of a ‘manager-level roach’. A manager-level roach was a powerful hell’s masked rider, strong enough to fight on equal terms with executives to some extent. If even one such creature were mixed in with their forces, the market would be ruined. ‘If the market is ruined, far from getting fired, I wouldn’t escape punishment.’ Therefore—. I had to protect the west gate, so I brought spicy onions that the roaches would hate and swung them around. Then, didn’t the swarm of hell roaches suddenly scatter like the parting of the Red Sea? It was truly a sight to behold. —Roar…. Just then, Nurungi, who had single-handedly confronted the roaches, cried mournfully. He was shedding tears profusely, but it seemed less because he was sad and more because the hell onion was spicy. —Roar…. Roar…. He cried like that for a long time. He cried so much that I felt sorry for him, and even after I removed the onion, he cried all night long. As time passed, morning came. “Hell Roaches Attack West Gate! Vice Chairman Joy and Nurungi Perfectly Repel Them!” “The Story of Nurungi, Who Protected the Market, Is Popular Among Netizens!” It’s quite a commotion. Nurungi had become even more of a star, and Arachne ssi was even more fussy. “It seems Nurungi’s eyes can see now! I had no idea hell onions could open the eyes of blind spiders! Joy ssi, I didn’t know you had such deep knowledge of spider medicine!” Just then, Melinoye nim appeared and looked proud on my behalf. “Joy, it’s only been a few days since you were demoted to the market, but to cause such a big incident already. As expected, you’re the kind of man I acknowledge and keep an eye on.” Melinoye nim had been watching everything that happened recently through news and newspapers. “This child’s owner has a high probability of having become a ghost. They’re probably living somewhere in this Soul Society as a fluffy ghost. I’ll find them for you.” “Excuse me? Melinoye nim. No matter what, it would be difficult to find Nurungi’s owner among countless ghosts. It would also take an enormous amount of time.” “I am an immortal living in an eternal world. Time is not an issue. And a loyal subordinate deserves a reward.” Saying that, Melinoye nim performed a ‘pat on empty air’ for me. In other words, it seemed to Melinoye nim that this spider Nurungi looked like me. But the real problem was only just beginning. It was because the ‘spider enthusiast’ pink-haired goddess appeared. “Oh, damn…! It’s a truly super big spider! At this size, it could even be named ‘Charismatic Super Big Spider’! What do you think of the name I gave it?” —Grrr…! “Fufufu, alright. You’re Nurungi! I think you’d make good friends with our Kungkung!” —Kungkung…! Squeak…! —Roar…! Squeak…! Swaying rhythmically-. Spiders alternately raising their front legs. It was a spider greeting. Anyway, Nixdoti nim, Prince Zagreus’s first wife, was a goddess who raised the spider Kungkung like her own younger sibling. She showed interest in Nurungi. She also shed tears profusely at Nurungi’s story. “It’s so sad and moving! Alright, I’ll be this child’s guardian from now on! And this alley spot looks incredibly good. I can move my health center’s main branch to this location!” What?! Nixdoti nim’s health center in this Pandora Market? Soon, reporters who had flocked from everywhere competed to take pictures. Flash, flash, flash, flash! “If the Crown Princess’s shop opens here….” “The Pandora Market’s revival can begin again!” “Upload the article! The article!” As the reporters were making a fuss, Arachne Miss’s eyes sparkled as if she had made some resolution. “Joy ssi, you are truly a genuine friend to spiders!” “Friend to spiders?” “On behalf of all spiders residing in this Soul Society, I, Arachne, shall bestow upon Joy ssi the title of ‘Friend of Spiders’! Nurungi will agree too!” —Roar…! I am Joy. “Demon of Happy World.” “Honorary Nymph.” “Guardian of Married Women.” And “Friend of Spiders.” It seems that only strange titles are increasing day by day. “Carnoy doesn’t know what’s what, but since things seem to have worked out well, Carnoy thinks it’s good to dance the Nymph Dance of Joy…!” “Honorary Nymph Joynoi has made another significant contribution…! Everyone should witness the superiority of the nymph race, which is on a different level from the foreign elves!” Swaying rhythmically—. As nymphs who appeared from somewhere began to dance the Nymph Dance of Joy, everyone swayed their shoulders and danced. It was truly a scene of a frenzied party, and not a single person other than me was normal. Clack, clack-. Just then, the skeleton guards approached us from afar. Then they poked my side and said. “Vice Chairman Joy, Pandora nim wishes to see you.” “You’re a lucky man, I tell you. Your fortune has turned now.” “Pandora… she’s an amazing SSR-class ghost, so powerful that even I, the Goddess of Ghosts, cannot easily control her. Her rarity is on par with honey ant candy! Joy, go meet her quickly!” “Carnoy has only heard of honey ant candy…!” “Peranoi says it’s the best dessert that Peranoi has never even tasted…!” At this moment, I felt one question. Hadn’t Melinoye nim definitely taken the honey ant candy jar, saying she would share it with other nymphs? It seemed she hadn’t shared it with the nymphs and had eaten it all by herself. Of course, since blurting out such a story carelessly might lead to a ter.ri.ble time, I decided to follow the skeleton guards to meet the SSR-class ghost, Pandora. ‘I should ask about censorship.’ Perhaps that could be the trigger for getting fired from this Pandora Market. It was, in my opinion, a perfectly flawless plan!