episode_0010

010 – Black-Haired Nymph # 1

[Notice No. 666]

This department is suffering from a labor shortage, To resolve this, we are recruiting new talent as follows.

———–

Recruitment Area

– Penal Enforcement Department Team 4 General Affairs Position – Office Assistant

Preferred Qualifications

– Those without experience, unemployed, or with disqualifying reasons – Especially if a ‘Nymph’, all will pass the document screening.

Qualifications

– Experience before and after death irrelevant

Contact

– Joy, Section Chief of Penal Enforcement Department Team 4

———–

Good, good, good.

I looked at the printed paper and smiled broadly for once.

A notice that prefers jobless, unemployed people, full of disqualifying reasons.

It’s truly a perfect example of a trash-tier recruitment notice.

Could an employee hired like this possibly be a proper employee?

Of course not.

Naturally, they will cause problems, and people will surely arise who doubt my, Section Chief Joy’s, management capabilities.

Also, even the head office’s audit team will feel a sinister premonition about me for announcing such a bogus recruitment and will pick various faults.

Then I’m fired.

Transfer to glorious Olympus!

“Good. Good.”

“Whizz!”

“Whizz!”

Then it means goodbye forever to those super hell cockroaches flapping their wings in my section chief’s office.

A perfect plan in many ways.

What I especially liked was precisely the part in the preferred qualifications that said, “Especially if a ‘Nymph’, all will pass the document screening.”

The reason for prioritizing hiring Nymphs?

That was precisely because of Happy World’s Vice President, Princess Melinoye. For some unknown reason, Princess Melinoye seemed to dislike Nymphs.

If I were to hire a Nymph she dislikes, I think Princess Melinoye’s favorability rating towards me would also decrease.

‘Judging by the events of the past few days, Her Highness the Princess clearly has a favorable opinion of me. It must be because I look like a capable employee. That’s the problem.’

Receiving attention from the Goddess of Nightmares was truly a terrible thing.

I wouldn’t know when, where, or how I might die, and even after death, there was a high probability of being preserved as a constellation.

Also, she would suddenly appear from somewhere, and in many senses, it put a strain on my heart.

What’s fortunate is that she hasn’t appeared since granting me the 《Grace》 last time?

I overheard that she hasn’t been coming to the company for a few days now.

「User: The Princess hasn’t been coming to work for fifteen days already, is it true?」

└I’m from the secretarial team, and it’s true lol. So work is super easy these days.

└Speak correctly. It’s not that the Princess didn’t come to the company, it’s that the company didn’t go to the Princess!

└Since she’s the CEO’s daughter, that makes sense lol.

What is this internet-like thing reflected in the magic mirror?

It’s precisely Hermes Net, an in-house service only available to those of section chief level or higher in Soul Society.

They say it’s a state-of-the-art network created through a collaboration between Hermes, the heavenly messenger, and Soul Society’s ‘CSO’.

Anyway, after finishing all my work, my job as a section chief was to waste time like this by looking at Hermes Net.

Ah, occasionally I also wrote posts.

「User: Honestly, isn’t Section Chief Joy of Happy World Enforcement Department Team 4 overrated?」

「User: How can he be a Section Chief in less than 2 years after joining lol. There must definitely be some trick.」

Leaving malicious comments about myself on the internet.

This was more fun than I thought.

I was thinking of trying to lower my reputation a bit, somehow.

But the comments below that made my forehead bulge in frustration.

└Sweet Revenge: Blocking this agitator for 10 days.

└User: Wow haha, the executives are doing a good job these days haha. Loyalty, loyalty!

└User: I’ve been watching that Hellpy closely, he’s a guy who only badmouths Joy.

Ugh-!

A 10-day block, seriously.

How frustrating!

However, there was nothing to worry about.

Because these days I had a time-killing hobby.

Precisely plant cultivation.

“It’s time to water.”

I got up from my seat and watered the pot placed in a corner of the office.

Trickle-trickle-.

─Chirp! Chirp!

The plant I’m watering now is called the Cerberus Cactus or the Hell Cactus.

Growing in three branches like the fierce dog of hell, it was quite a cute cactus.

Making strange noises is a flaw, but if you listen to it, you get used to it.

“A pot purchased from Hermes Net. I like that you (plants) have no variables.”

Plants are quiet, static, and have little change.

Meaning there’s no chance of producing unpredictable results beyond my control.

Also, the flowers smell good, and the fruits can even be used to make my favorite liquor, so it’s hitting two birds with one stone.

‘Kronos, the grace I received from that old man is quite helpful.’

The reason I could cultivate troublesome underworld plants was thanks to the newly acquired 《Cultivation》 grace, in addition to my experience managing orchids under my professor since my master’s degree days.

If fruit grows from the cactus, I should let old man Kronos taste it once.

Of course, a cactus was unsuitable as a plant cultivated for fruit.

If I want fruit, I should cultivate grapes or pomegranates, for example.

“In that sense, I’m wondering if I should try cultivating other seedlings as well.”

I smacked my lips, examining every nook and cranny of the office for places suitable for pots.

Isn’t there a place where I can get good sprouts, seedlings, or seeds?

Thus, I searched through Hermes Net.

「Plant Gallery」

「It’s a resting space for people who grow plants *^^*」

「Administrator – Chicoreta」

“Ooh…!?”

I never knew such a site existed on Hermes Net.

Because I was trolling, I received a 10-day ban from posting, so I was disappointed that I couldn’t upload a greeting post for leveling up.

It seemed I could only check the posts by leveling up.

The day the ban is lifted is 10 days later.

Anyway, a hope to endure these 10 days has appeared.

Actually, my daily life was so very happy that if I didn’t have even this kind of hobby, it would have been hard to bear!

# # #

“─Ahh, I didn’t intend to use it in a place like this, you see. Actually, I can use something called Bankai. Watch carefully, and don’t tell anyone!”

Wham-!

“Hup! Bankai! Ryumon Hozukimaru! Haaaaah! You saw it, right? My nunchaku transform into such a large blade─.”

“Next! You seem to have chosen the wrong world setting!”

I rejected the bald applicant.

Then Markius, who was sitting next to me, frowned as if surprised.

“Section Chief Joy, why did you reject that applicant just now? That technique called Bankai seemed like it could be very helpful to our company. Security problems have arisen in many places these days, you know.”

As my colleague Marki said, the technique the applicant just showed seemed great.

That’s the problem.

My new recruitment notice was not issued to hire such capable applicants.

Experience irrelevant!

Disqualifying reasons greatly welcomed!

I openly announced that I would hire trash-tier people, but I don’t know why such great individuals are applying.

Marki, who didn’t know my thoughts, merely nodded his head as if impressed.

“Indeed, how accurate would an evaluation from you be, with your keen discernment, accurate enough to find the land that fussy Kronos liked? When it comes to judging people, you’re probably the best among the employees! That’s why talented individuals must be flocking here.”

“Marki, what did you just say?”

“That the technique called Bankai looked great?”

“No! Not that! The reason talented individuals are flocking here!”

“Ah, that? Because of the Sisyphus and Kronos incidents, Joy, your name became famous throughout this ‘Happy World’, you know. Especially in Kronos’s case, he surrendered to you and is now in the position of going to the fields every day.”

Wait-.

It feels like things are flowing differently from what I thought again.

So I pulled my robe deep over my head and headed to the applicant waiting room where a long line stretched out.

There, I would listen to what kind of conversations people were having.

“Experience irrelevant, disqualifying reasons greatly welcomed. Is it really true? Even for someone like me, will there be a chance?”

“It means they’ll only look at ability and potential, you know. Truly, my heart is pounding.”

“He’s a man with great wisdom, enough to subjugate Sisyphus. Also, he’s a man with great discernment, enough to overpower that Kronos. To be chosen and hired by such a man means….”

“It’s no different from having one’s own standing acknowledged.”

It was a situation where seemingly formidable competitors were strengthening their fighting spirit and sparking flames with their gazes at each other.

So, seeing my recruitment notice, all the reclusive masters who want to be acknowledged have gathered─is that the feeling?

Not good.

Very not good.

“Hey there, you who were using Bankai, how about joining the security team? Because of the security void created after the work reforms, it was just the moment when manpower was needed throughout Happy World.”

“Hey, you, how about coming to our costume team? We were looking for a slender employee with long arms and long legs like you. Oh-ho-ho-ho─.”

Moreover, it was a situation where each department arbitrarily started to hire my applicants. It’s like a stork snatching up a school of fish jumping out of the sea with its beak, one by one.

Watching that scene, the fierce-looking, bandit-faced Marki admired.

“Surely not, you announced such a large-scale and public recruitment notice for other departments that lack talent? And you added provocative phrases to draw out hidden talents!”

“No.”

“After becoming section chief, you already started taking care of other departments’ circumstances too. You are truly a relentless fellow! Relentless! You promotion-crazed devil! I’m proud that you’re my batchmate!”

I said no!

I don’t know what’s happening now, but it’s certain that the longer this new recruitment drags on, the worse it will be for me.

I must stop this madness as quickly as possible.

There’s only one way.

First, pick the person who looks the most trash-tier among those gathered.

But among so many people, what’s the way to know who is trash-tier?

So I decided to choose the method with the least loss.

“Hey, you.”

“…Are you talking about me?”

Startle-!

The black-haired woman was greatly surprised.

Squatting among the large figures, the way she was surprised was quite pathetic.

Actually, her small stature made her feel even more pathetic, to the extent that the word “girl” suited her more than “woman.”

“…Did you call me…?”

She was a peculiar girl with long, black hair and red eyes.

Her age, perhaps around upper elementary school grade?

Her ears, revealed through her hair, were triangularly pointed, and what that meant was clear.

‘She’s a Nymph.’

Nymph.

This fairy-like race of the Greek worldview.

A nature-friendly kind living among flowers and trees, fields, rivers, mountains, and seas.

But the Nymphs I know are originally sensual, enchanting, and mature beings, yet I don’t know why that one looks as young as an elementary school student….

What’s important is not her appearance.

That she’s a Nymph is what’s important.

The Nymph I dislike.

“You are the new employee of the General Affairs Department.”

I hired the Nymph I disliked.

Why?

It’s hard to immediately distinguish an incompetent, trash-tier employee, but I was sure who Vice President Melinoye would dislike.

The Princess of Hell, Melinoye, for some reason, disliked Nymphs.

Since I hired such a Nymph as a new employee, surely her favorability rating towards me will drop.

Also, just by looking, this naive-looking Nymph seemed like she wouldn’t be able to do work.

“Y-you’re saying you’ll pick me…? There’s no lie in that word…! Indeed, you have discerning eyes…! Someday, when I come to rule this hell, I will use you as my right-hand man…!”

Rule hell?

Right-hand man?

And why is her way of speaking like that.

Just by listening, it becomes a headache, which is actually good.

My discernment in picking out trash-tier is accurate.

“Truly, truly are you saying you’ll pick me as an employee of Happy World…? If it’s a lie, I will not forgive you…!”

The more I listen, her way of speaking is a headache.

At this point, it seems it would rather be a bigger problem if this one said she wouldn’t do the work.

I must definitely keep this one.

“It’s not a lie, I swear on the River Styx, you are our new employee. Now, since this public recruitment is finished here, everyone disperse now! Disperse!”

I must prevent more reclusive talents from gathering than this.

The Nymph trembled her body as if she had caught a cold.

“I-indeed, it’s really true…! Actually, this Melinoi knew it would be like this…! Because, this Melinoi is a very great Nymph…!”

Wait─.

What’s her name?

Meli what?

“Please take good care of me…! This Melinoi is a Nymph who will someday climb to the top of this Soul Society…! Without anyone’s help…! Only with my own strength will I achieve it…!”

“……”

I have a very uneasy feeling, but it must be just my imagination.

There are many cases where names are similar.

Please, it must be so…!