episode_0030

030 – Mid-level Deputy Manager Exam # 3

Athletes entered a stadium wider than most plains.

It was quite sad that I was one of them.

Bwaaaam—.

Bwam-bam-bam-!

When the trumpet sound announcing the start of the event rang out, a man wearing only red briefs and a red cape floated up into the air and shouted.

“Divine Effect!”

Pop-!

【One Cursed by Forgiveness】

【Escapee from Hell – Hassan】

“Ha, this is broken again. Refresh!”

Pop-!

【CSO】

【God of Happy World – Zagreus】

“Today, I am Zagreus, the Chief Security Officer of the 「Soul Society」, taking charge of the proceedings on behalf of the great 「CEO」! Now, I will introduce the first game I personally devised today! Come forth!”

Whoosh! Whoosh-! Whoosh-!

The stadium where fires ignited here and there.

Grooooooan—Soon, the mechanical device installed on the stadium floor began to move.

Walls rose from the floor, and a labyrinth appeared.

“This is a labyrinth created by Deputy Manager Daedalus, the pride of our planning team, modeled after the Labyrinth of the Cretan Bull! Inside it are all sorts of traps and monsters. How many will be able to escape within the time limit?”

Honestly, I don’t even want to step foot in there.

If even a Deputy Manager-level bug were to pop out from inside there, I would truly die of a heart attack.

‘…Should I just forfeit?’

When I raised my head, a scoreboard was visible.

『Overall Betting Amount Rankings』

『1st Place Safety Management Department Marcus – 999247 Gold』

『2nd Place Transportation Department Admetus – 766575 Gold』

『3rd Place Punishment Execution Department Joy – 652179 Gold』

…

..

My betting rank is 3rd.

In this situation, what would happen if I forfeited?

The people who bet money on me would likely go wild with fury.

If those people just spat on me once, I would drown.

If that happens, I would be resurrected as a dead person in this Happy World, and it would become a lifetime contract.

Escaping to the surface would become impossible for life.

“Well then, all participants, prepare—.”

Even if I go into that labyrinth, I’ll die.

Even if I don’t go in, I’ll die.

The miracle of 「Happy World」, where every choice is a bust.

How did it come to this, really?

“START!!!!!!!!!!!!”

At that moment, Prince Zagreus exploded red light from his eyes like a bomb and shouted.

Simultaneously with the reverberating shout, the participants moved their bodies.

Gooooo—.

Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-!

Pitter-patter-patter-!

The sound of people’s footsteps was like thunder.

The one who stepped forward first was Admetus.

He ran at an incredibly fast speed; he was truly as fast as a fired bullet.

“Deputy Manager Joy! Victory is mine!”

Admetus disappeared, raising dust like a whirlwind.

“Chase! Chase!”

“Damn it, as expected, Admetus is in the lead!”

The people busily chasing after him were not slow at all.

Even if not lightning, they seemed to be at least cheetah-level.

So what about me?

“Jo, Deputy Manager Joy is not moving!”

“The only one left at the starting line is Deputy Manager Joy! What on earth happened?!”

“Surely he’s not forfeiting!?”

The commentators’ fussing sounds were noisy.

Just as they said, I did not enter that murderous maze and remained at the starting line.

Why?

“Gaaah! Save me! Save meee!”

“Hi, it’s a hydra! There’s a cursed monster hydra!”

“There’s also a hell wolf spider! Ugh! My limbs are being torn offfff!”

Crunch, crackle-.

Chomp-chomp-.

Hwoooooong—!

From inside the labyrinth, terrible sounds were already heard.

I don’t know what a hell wolf spider is, but the hydra was the worst monster in Greek mythology that even executives avoided.

If I just smelled such a creature’s breath, I would die.

‘Should I forfeit after all?’

When I raised my head, the unbelievable betting amount on the scoreboard kept catching my eye.

I feel like I’m being crushed!

Furthermore, the gazes pouring from the stands were more prickly than cactus thorns.

So, for mental management, I lowered my head.

Let’s think a bit more first.

The first game will take at least about an hour, so I can deliberate for about 10 minutes, right?

Since I’m literally standing at the crossroads of life and death, it’s fine to hesitate for about 10 minutes, right!

At that moment, something caught my eye.

“Oh, this….”

It’s a 「Hell Clover」 growing on the stadium’s grassy floor.

It’s incredibly difficult to find, so just finding it is said to make you feel good, that thing.

‘Mrs. Kshali said she would give me a cactus if I brought this.’

Recently, perhaps because the enormous efficacy of the hell cactus was discovered, getting hold of one was like plucking a star from the sky.

From what I heard, high-ranking executives and their wives are hoarding a lot of them?

Since I found a 「Hell Clover」, which allows preferential exchange for such a cactus, it was truly luck itself.

Ever since I learned that cacti repel hell bugs, I’ve been buying every cactus I see, but no matter how many I had, it felt like it wasn’t enough.

‘Lucky!’

Such a thought suddenly occurred to me.

If I go into the labyrinth, I’ll die with a 99 percent chance.

Rather than that, wouldn’t it be more beneficial to just pick clovers here?

Of course, the crowds who bet on me might get angry and throw stones.

‘If I just survive for now, I should be able to solve that somehow.’

A few plans also came to mind.

Rather, ways to use it as a cornerstone for the ‘Get Fired’ operation kept popping into my head.

“In the end, this competition is my victory for surviving.”

At that moment—.

A strange thing happened.

Mr. Admetus had returned to the entrance in a terribly miserable state.

“Jo, you Joy…. You just said victory….”

# # #

Prince of Hell, Zagreus.

He floated in the air with eyes burning like fire and surveyed the battle situation in the labyrinth.

Throughout the labyrinth, battles were taking place, and there were many injured and eliminated participants.

“The reactionary 「Tartarus」 doesn’t seem like they’ll interfere. At least for now.”

Zagreus was the 「CSO」, the Chief Security Officer of this 「Soul Society」.

And in this 「Soul Society」, security did not mean preventing external invasion, but meant preventing escape from within.

Once one steps foot in, no one can leave—.

That was the first principle this 「Soul Society」 must uphold, even as business reforms progressed.

This labyrinth too was created based on that principle.

“Simultaneously conducting the Deputy Manager Exam and parallel research and experiments for security enhancement. Your habit of trying to handle multiple tasks at once is still the same, Zagreus.”

Floatily-.

At that moment, Melinoye, the goddess of ghosts, floated into the air and stood beside Zagreus.

Melinoye looked down at the labyrinth at a glance.

And looking at Joy, who was standing alone at the starting line, she smiled.

“As expected, Deputy Manager Joy is the only one who understands the ‘essence’ of this exam. He didn’t even set foot in the labyrinth that had no exit from the start. Zagreus, your shallow trick has been exposed to Deputy Manager Joy.”

“…Ha.”

Though he didn’t show it.

Prince Zagreus also was admiring Deputy Manager Joy’s choice.

“As you said, this labyrinth is a miniature version of this 「Soul Society」. Once one steps foot in, they can never leave. Though they themselves might not know it. Because it’s a labyrinth that had no exit from the start.”

‘The saying ‘even if you just stay still, you’ll get more than halfway’ perfectly suits this exam. And this is how it becomes an important virtue that a deputy manager in 「Soul Society」 must possess.’

Challenge or status quo—.

Those at the deputy manager level, leading many subordinates, always had to overcome the hill of choices.

And most of them made reckless choices due to excessive ambition and ended up stranded.

“I heard Deputy Manager Joy was crazy for achievements, yet when everyone jumps into risky gambles for achievements, he instead maintains calm composure. It’s been a long time since I got such chilling goosebumps.”

Prince Zagreus was pleased looking at Deputy Manager Joy.

“Melly, even after seeing Deputy Manager Joy, does ‘business reform’ still seem like a failed policy? If it weren’t for my ‘business reform,’ where could I have brought such a talent from?”

Melinoye did not answer and closed her mouth.

Though she was his younger sister, he thought she was truly a child whose thoughts he couldn’t grasp—.

It was when Zagreus was thinking.

“Zagreus, your handling of things is always clumsy. A labyrinth no one can escape from? It doesn’t seem that way at all. Look. There—.”

Melinoye pointed at something with a gesture of her chin.

There was Admetus returning to the starting point.

Admetus swept through the labyrinth at a fast speed.

Avoiding all sorts of monsters and dodging traps.

“First place is mine!”

For Admetus, who had been adventuring as a sailor of the Argo expedition in the past, it was not a very difficult task.

The problem was that the exit of this labyrinth was nowhere to be seen.

At this moment, Admetus realized the essence of this exam.

‘Chief Security Officer Prince Zagreus said he personally devised this labyrinth. In this 「Soul Society」, ‘security’ means the absolute impossibility of escape. Perhaps there was no exit from the start….’

Upon reaching that point, Admetus’s mind sparkled.

If there’s an exit, there’s only one.

The entrance he came through.

Upon reaching that thought, Admetus could not stay still.

‘Soon, the other guys will also start to understand the blind spot of this exam! Before that, I have to be the first to return to the entrance! In other words, this exam was about returning to the entrance, not escaping!’

Admetus, who ran like an arrow.

He had no doubt that he was the first escapee.

But?

Where he thought no one would be, at the starting line, which was also the finish line, Deputy Manager Joy was standing.

“Oh, I found another 「Hell Clover」. My luck is continuously good.”

He was even leisurely picking up 「Hell Clovers」.

At this moment, Admetus was aghast.

‘Faster than me, who boasted the fastest speed on the Argo…? Faster…? No, it feels like he didn’t even enter the labyrinth from the start. Does that mean… he grasped the executives’ intention behind the question from the very beginning…!?’

Admetus remembered that the man in front of him was the one who had perfectly reformed Sisyphus, who was called the number one schemer in 「Soul Society」.

He thought it was just a simple coincidence—.

“In the end, this competition is my victory for surviving.”

The moment Deputy Manager Joy declared his ‘victory,’ he was convinced.

This man was ‘real.’

# # #

At the labyrinth entrance, I was thinking of just picking clovers when Mr. Admetus returned to the entrance.

What on earth is it?

Furthermore, Mr. Admetus shouted as if greatly vexed.

“Damn it! Deputy Manager Joy! I lost to you in this game, but I won’t lose in the next game!”

“Huh? Lost? Mr. Admetus, more importantly, why did you come back….”

“E…escaped.”

“To think it was a labyrinth with no exit itself….”

“What kind of terrible exam is this?!”

I closed my mouth, seeing the people continuously starting to return to the labyrinth entrance.

I didn’t know what it was, but it seemed like something bad was happening.

Soon the commentator shouted loudly.

“Game 1! The winner of the labyrinth escape is───Deputy Manager Joy, the fundamental of fundamentals of 「Happy World」, who has recently been raising his stock the most, even from the Punishment Execution Department, called the ‘Sacred Bone’!”

“To think that the entrance was the exit, to grasp that even before the start! Truly amazing! Amazing! Truly the man chosen by Kronos, the King of Titans!”

“Strong contender for victory, Admetus! He finishes in 2nd place again this time! He finishes in 2nd place again this time!”

“Why are you saying it twice? Why are you saying it twice?”

“Ah! At this, this moment, the betting rankings have been updated!!!!!”

『1st Place Punishment Execution Department Joy – 1052699 Gold』

『2nd Place Safety Management Department Marcus – 999247 Gold』

『3rd Place Transportation Department Admetus – 766575 Gold』

“If you can maintain 1st place until the end of the game, regardless of whether you win or not, the honor of interviewing the great and fearsome 「CEO」 will be granted! Deputy Manager Joy! You are taking a big step forward in honor and glory…!!!”

Gaaah!

Forfeit!

I have to forfeit!

Getting beaten to death isn’t the problem!

In my current situation, I absolutely must avoid the 「CEO」 interview!

So I raised my hand.

It was to forfeit—.

“Deputy Manager Joy! He raised his hand! It’s a declaration of victory!”

“Overwhelming! Overwhelming!”

Waaaaaah—.

In the cheers of the people, my forfeiture announcement was buried.