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001 – Welcome to Happy World # 1

“Iseo, seriously, how about you marry into our family?”

On the day I finished my studies with a quick master’s degree due to difficult family circumstances.

Professor Jusu said with a very serious face.

“My daughters are pretty, aren’t they? It would be really good if you became part of our family. That way, from now on, you’ll continue your diligent slave—ahem, your lab work.”

A truly bold and tempting offer.

But there was a problem.

“…Professor, your daughters are still middle school students, aren’t they?”

“Then what should I do? My wife said this year she’s going to make three times more kimchi than last year! Who’s going to drive my daughters to the airport every time they go! Who’s going to pack my camping gear?”

I recalled the fact that for the past few years, I had carried more cabbage than papers in the professor’s lab. During kimchi-making season, I was called to the professor’s house, and every time his daughters went abroad, I was even in charge of various driving tasks. It was to the point where I wondered if I had been contracted as a domestic helper instead of a lab assistant.

“So, are you preparing for a job?”

Employment.

At those words, reality abruptly pulled at my ankle. Because I couldn’t become the professor’s son-in-law, but it was a situation where I could become unemployed. My mother, who lived alone, collapsed, so in the end, I, Joy, had to be satisfied with a quick master’s degree.

“Actually, I’m looking around here and there, but it’s not easy at all.”

The world isn’t easy, so I, who had a master’s degree in ancient Western history, couldn’t find a job where I could utilize my major. So when I shook my head, the professor clapped his hands as if something good had happened.

“Among my family, there’s someone who runs a company, you see. They want a versatile talent. You’re good at driving, good at farm work, and good at various other things, so how about putting those talents to use? Here’s a business card.”

「Happy World Co., Ltd.」

「Chairman: Ha Daesoo」

Happy World Corporation.

Just by hearing the name, I couldn’t tell what kind of company it was.

“What kind of company is it?”

“It’s a small family company, but it just does various things. Various things. Ahem, the important thing is how much you earn if you work there. From what I know, the starting salary for full-time employees there is probably—”

Scratch, scratch-.

At the sight of zeros increasing on the notebook the professor opened, my hair stood on end.

“Is this real?”

“It’s real. I can swear on the River Styx. If you work at ‘Happy World’ for a few years, you’ll probably be able to buy an apartment in the suburbs of Seoul.”

With this much salary, I could not only cover my mother’s hospital bills but also let her quit her restaurant job. I, too, might be able to dream again of dating and marriage, a dream I had half-given up on.

So that’s why I’m worried.

“But Professor, can I get a job in such a great place?”

Metacognition is important.

Self-awareness, I mean.

Could I, who had been engrossed in ancient Western history and theology since college just because I liked Greek mythology, get a job with such a high salary?

Even the professor, who was always confident, couldn’t easily answer and merely smacked his lips.

“Then again, Iseo, there’s no other answer but for you to marry into our family.”

“Professor, if you marry a middle school student, you’d have to go to the police station before getting married, I’m telling you.”

A few days later.

It was the day I was tidying up my belongings in the professor’s lab. Unable to suppress my bittersweet feelings, when I briefly stopped my hands, the professor spoke.

“Iseo, you remember ‘Happy World’ that I mentioned before, right? It seems you can start working from tomorrow.”

“Huh? Is that real?”

“Yes. The HR manager there read your thesis and said they really wanted to meet the author. Especially your bachelor’s graduation thesis. What was the topic again—”

“「The Correlation Between Nymphs and Honey Candy」?”

“Yes. The hypothesis that nymphs might like honey candy. They said they wanted to hear directly from you why you made such an interpretation.”

Why on earth did I make such an interpretation.

Back then, it was a thesis I had written carelessly while drunk for graduation.

To think there’s someone who saw such a writing favorably, it’s rather embarrassing.

“─If you know one’s attitude towards nymphs, you can know their character─. There’s a proverb passed down in Greece. They said your perspective towards nymphs was very impressive.”

Nymphs what? There wouldn’t be such a proverb in Greece.

It’s probably a joke.

The professor often makes unfunny jokes.

However, since I got a job at a good company, just for today, my laughter bloomed like a flower even at his unfunny jokes.

“Professor! I’ll really work hard! When I get my salary, I’ll definitely buy you a present too!”

Clearly, the professor must have pulled some strings for me. After suffering for a few years under the notorious professor, such a bright light is coming!

Of course, the professor shook his head.

“What did I do? You’re just getting a job thanks to the nymphs you diligently studied, that’s all. If you start working from tomorrow, we won’t see each other much anymore. How about we have a drink to celebrate?”

Glug-glug-. The professor poured liquor into a golden cup.

“This is liquor I saved. You can’t drink something like this anywhere else.”

I wondered if it was okay to drink alcohol from broad daylight with bright sun, but the professor’s fondness for alcohol was something I had experienced countless times since my undergraduate days. Thanks to that, I also became a heavy drinker.

“I’ll drink it well!”

Gulp, gulp-.

With a happy heart, I, who put the celebratory drink to my lips, ended up surprised.

‘It’s delicious…!?’

What on earth is this alcohol?

I suddenly felt a fruit scent similar to apple, but in fact, it was something different from the taste of any fruit I had ever tasted. I too had tasted most types of alcohol while living as a graduate student under Professor Jusu, who likes alcohol, but this is the first time for something like this.

However, perhaps because the alcohol content is extremely high, the tipsiness quickly rose.

“It’s delicious, isn’t it? This is an alcohol called nectar in our Greece. If so, the Tartaro—ahem, no, the dispatch to ‘Happy World’—stamp here—”

“Huh? What did you say? Huhhhhhhh?”

“Don’t worry—. In case of dismissal, I guarantee a transfer to Olympus—. Or marriage to my daughter—.”

The memories after that didn’t come back clearly.

When I came to my senses, I was in Tartarus, the hell where sinners groaned and sulfur fires boiled.

Yes. It’s Tartarus.

The lowest level of the underworld hell appearing in Greek mythology. The lowest world of the abyss, even at the bottom of the world. That space, so foggy that even gods avoid and fear it!

For some reason, I ended up getting a job in that Tartarus, which appears in Greek and Roman mythology. Because of that damn thesis on nymphs and honey candy!

「Happy World, Punishment Enforcement Division, Team 4, Employee Joy」

This is my business card.

# # #

The Greek underworld that I studied could commonly be divided into 3 zones.

「The Palace of the Underworld King」, where the gods of the underworld reside.

「Elysium」, what could be called the Greek version of heaven.

And hell, 「Tartarus」.

Among the three zones of the underworld, a place everyone avoids.

The place where I ended up working was also this Tartarus.

It sounds sweet like the name of some sauce, but from what I’ve experienced living here for about two winters, it’s difficult to describe even with the word “terrible”.

「Today’s weather will be cloudy, with occasional lava rain!」

「Residents of the Asphodel Meadows, please be careful of the lava river overflowing!」

Truly hellish weather.

“Jjoji.”

“Jjoji. Jjoji.”

Cockroaches larger than my palm even cried out with strange sounds.

If so, what about my situation where I have to work, giving up annual leave and holidays, in the “Tartarus Punishment Enforcement Division,” notoriously known for having the highest work intensity?

「Prometheus’s eagle requests a change in the meal menu.」

「Residents tired of floor noise want to report Orpheus.」

「Warehouse Night Watch Review Report Due to Equipment Theft」

「(Internal communication) Hell cockroaches are breeding in the basement of the office building and causing problems. All employees, please bring your weapons and come down to the basement! Quickly!」

「Joy, it’s Marki. Nothing else, but this chain letter started in ancient Delphi, and if you don’t send five copies to others, a curse will occur—.」

Rustle, rustle, rustle-.

Signing the endless pile of documents, I pondered what sin on earth I had committed to have fallen into this hell.

No resignation letter, an infinite work hell?

“If only I hadn’t written that damn nymph thesis!”

At that time, my colleague Markius, sitting next to me, asked.

“Nymph’s tears what? Is there a nymph somewhere?”

No.

When I replied vaguely, Markius, his already bandit-like impression frowning even more menacingly, looked around and smacked his lips.

“Well, of course, there’s no way there’d be a small, cute nymph in this gloomy place. If there were, I would treat them very well. Khehehehehe-.”

How would he treat them well?

Just by his appearance, he looks vile and ruthless as if he would capture women and sell them as slaves, but in fact, this fellow Marki is so timid he can’t even shoo away a single bug.

‘Thanks to that, chasing away cockroaches becomes my job every time.’

Anyway. Marki, as always, started rambling, and it was clear he would disturb me, so I was just thinking of letting his words go in one ear and out the other.

“Did you hear the news? They say a great executive from headquarters is scheduled to be appointed to this ‘Happy World’ this time. If you make a good impression on that executive, you might be able to expect a transfer to headquarters!”

Personnel transfer.

At that story, my ears perked up.

“Is that real? An executive is coming from ‘The Palace of the Underworld King’?”

“Joy, you need to correct your statement. Since the last work reform, we have to call ‘The Palace of the Underworld King’ the headquarters. Did you forget that the name of our ‘Tartarus’ was also changed to ‘Happy World’?”

“…Tartarus is Tartarus, what Happy World!”

“Anyway, an official document was posted on the bulletin board. I thought you would have checked it, of course? You’re last year’s outstanding employee! The pride of our Team 4!”

At the mention of “outstanding employee,” my head throbbed.

Last year, claiming to refresh the gloomy atmosphere of “Happy World,” they decided to cultivate a vegetable garden in front of the office building, which was a typical show-off decorative project. The problem was that while I was digging, a high-purity gold vein was accidentally discovered.

─Th-that’s gold!

─Joy of Team 4 discovered a gold vein!

─Kiyoooooh!

Annoyed at having to work even on holidays, I was just carelessly digging anywhere, and to think there happened to be a gold vein there. Because of that, I became last year’s outstanding employee, and roughly two years after joining the company, became a candidate for promotion to assistant manager, which only unnecessarily increased my workload.

Really bad luck.

It shouldn’t happen again either!

“Coincidence? This friend is modest. Thanks to the gold vein you discovered, our Team 4 has the most abundant budget, and everyone envies us, don’t they? Look at this. My office chair. It’s the latest item trending on the surface!”

In fact, the Enforcement Division of Happy World, in its own way, was treated as elite in this underworld society. It’s a position everyone dreams of.

Except for me.

I always wanted to quit this job.

But in this Happy World, even though there were office chairs with all sorts of functions, there was no resignation culture. That means I have to work eternally. Even I can’t quit even if I die. Most of the employees are already dead souls.

‘What if I escape secretly?’

That’s impossible. Even looking through all the myths, no one has ever escaped from this Tartarus. Even if I succeeded in escaping due to good luck, shivers run down my spine when I think about what punishment Sisyphus, who mocked and deceived the laws of the underworld, is ultimately receiving.

But a subordinate from headquarters is being appointed to Tartarus? At first glance, it seemed like a personnel transfer, like an executive who was disliked by the CEO being demoted, but for me, it was truly a golden opportunity.

‘First impressions are important. I absolutely must leave a terrible impression!’

You never know. If I make a mistake in front of that executive, they might dismiss me from this ‘Happy World’ job. In any world, an employee who can’t work is naturally fired.

【Don’t worry—. In case of dismissal, I guarantee a transfer to Olympus—.】

That day, I had heard something from Professor Jusu while drinking a strange liquor he gave me. Because I was drunk, my memories were fragmented, but he clearly mentioned a transfer to Olympus.

Olympus.

I don’t know what the working environment there would be like, but it must be better than Tartarus, where a desolate fake sun, made by the dead and Daedalus, shines from afar.

“Jjoji.”

“Jjoji.”

At least in Olympus, the cockroaches would be small, right?

Anyway, the important thing is what kind of executive is being appointed.

“Marki, did you hear anything else about the new executive coming?”

“Hmm, you mean the executive who’s being appointed as the Deputy Superintendent of Tartarus this time? Actually, I did hear something. I don’t know if it’s true or not, though. They say it’s a nymph.”

What? A nymph that messed up my life?

This is hell.

No, it was Happy World.

But?

It might even be good.

‘I’ll do a bunch of things the nymph will hate so I get fired!’