episode_0063

063 – Prepare the Worst Gift! # 2

“Joy, Section Chief, there’s nothing better than a gift for earning points.”

Hector, the Department Head, gave me a tip as I was about to leave work.

It seemed good to prepare a gift before visiting the prince’s party.

It was an excellent tip.

If a gift helps earn points, then the opposite would also be true.

‘There aren’t many things that reduce points as much as the worst gift. There are about 2 hours left until the promised time to meet my partner, so I’ll prepare a gift in that time.’

I recalled the partner with whom I had promised to attend the party today.

In fact, her presence would be an extremely ‘happy gift’ to the prince and his wife.

I was truly looking forward to seeing how the expressions of the prince and his wife would change when they saw her.

However, on the other hand, a tension tickled my nape, making me wonder if it was truly okay to proceed with the matter as it was.

It felt as if someone was tickling me with their hair.

So when I touched my neck, I found that the 「Nightmare Bracelet」 was hanging around my neck like a necklace before I knew it.

“You’re not alive, are you?”

I moved it back to my wrist and put it on as I asked.

The bracelet was naturally silent.

But because I knew that it had destroyed the Hell Wheel on its own, I couldn’t shake off an ominous and uneasy feeling.

If it moves on its own and solves cases, won’t my performance evaluation skyrocket?

‘Now I really have to stop getting promoted.’

I am, incredibly, a section chief at the head office.

Above me, there’s only the deputy general manager and the department head.

Above them is an executive.

‘Only three steps to executive.’

What would happen if I became an executive?

I didn’t even want to imagine.

Because whatever it was, it would be a truly horrible nightmare itself!

‘That’s also why I didn’t risk inviting Melinoye nim as my partner.’

Just imagine if Melinoye nim suddenly transformed into a strange nymph.

If I think about how I rapidly earned points because of Melinoi at the last ‘charity event’…

‘There’s no guarantee that such a thing won’t happen again this time. No, such a thing is bound to happen! Even a fool has to learn after getting hit this much!’

Therefore—.

I had to avoid being with Melinoye nim.

Of course, in that process, I had to take the risk of hearing, “Joy, how dare you worship a goddess like me and still turn your eyes to other women? Do you really want to spend a horrible time?”

Actually, Melinoye nim called me last night and subtly appealed for me to invite her as my partner.

I flatly refused her.

─Melinoye nim, how could I possibly dare to escort you to Prince Zagreus’s party venue? That place is right in the middle of enemy territory! Melinoye nim, please stay in a safe place!

─“Yes. Now that I hear it, I see.”

The call ended like that.

‘She must be very angry, right?’

As I was thinking such thoughts, I arrived in front of the department store before I knew it.

The 「Medusa Department Store」, famous even in this 「Soul Society」.

“The building is dazzling, starting from the exterior.”

As could be inferred from the name.

It was a brand founded by a woman famous for her captivating charm.

They say it’s popular among wealthy women.

As far as I know, the clothes Alecto nim is wearing are also ‘Medusa brand’ clothes.

If I were to buy a gift for Prince Zagreus and his wife, there wouldn’t be a better place than that.

Therefore, I decided to pass on that place.

Because I had to buy a terrible item.

# # #

Under the shadow cast by the dazzling department store building.

「─Welcome to Dora Market!」

「The biggest underground market, No. 1 in customer satisfaction for 666 years!」

「Selected as a shopping center you’d want to visit again!」

Flap, flap—.

Tremendously old and worn placards fluttered in the hot wind.

Next to them, there were a lot of suspicious-looking skeletons at a glance.

Their eye gleams were sparkling like leopards stalking their prey, fixed on me.

“Is he a guy who came the wrong way?”

“Seems like a rich pushover.”

“How long has it been since we had a customer?”

Skeleton shop assistants, who had been rapidly chasing Hell Wheels, stopped their movements and began coming out onto the street.

Soon, an old skeleton holding a staff asked me.

“Young man, it seems you’ve taken the wrong path. What you’re trying to go to is probably the department store, right? If you go straight along that road, you’ll be able to arrive at the newly built department store after the 「Business Renewal」.”

“No, the item I’m trying to find isn’t there. In fact, the item I want might not exist anywhere in the world.”

“Hah, doesn’t exist anywhere? Young man. You shouldn’t say such things lightly. Don’t you know where this place is?”

The old skeleton gnashed his teeth as if enraged.

I said confidently to the old skeleton.

“Isn’t this the 「Pandora Market」? The one that completely became a ‘ghost market’ after being overshadowed by the department store that was created a few years ago.”

“You scoundrel, you’re poking a sore spot!”

“Everyone, let’s wildly hit that nasty youngster!”

“Taste this shin bone!”

Skeletons, rushing in with fiery anger.

It was good that the provocation worked well, but if I stayed like this, I wouldn’t be able to avoid the fate of an adventurer fallen into a trap full of undead.

So I held out my head office employee ID card to everyone.

“Stand back, I am Joy, Section Chief of Audit Team 1!”

“A… section chief level?”

“From the Audit Team!”

“Vicious fellows! Did you come for a tax audit or something?!”

For some reason, I don’t know why, but they seemed to be getting even angrier.

But the authority of a section chief level was, as I said before, comparable to that of ‘self-employed gods’.

The skeleton merchants couldn’t rush at me and only suppressed their fury.

I asked them.

“I’m looking for an item. I mean a terrible item, one that makes you shudder just by receiving it, to the extent that you feel resentment towards the person who gave the gift. Like Pandora’s box.”

“…What?”

“Why would you need something like that?”

“Joy, Section Chief, they said you were a man like a devil, and your taste truly is vicious!”

Skeletons blinking their eye gleams.

Soon, someone who had been among the skeletons appeared, floating up.

It was a round and fluffy ghost.

Its size was very big, so it was fine to call it a Gigantamax ghost.

“Certainly, they can’t sell something that terrible at a department store. But here, it’s different.”

“Who are you?”

“What’s the name of this market? It’s Pandora’s Market, isn’t it? I’m Pandora, the market manager. I’m one of the oldest ghosts in this world.”

Pandora.

The first woman in humanity, named All (pan) Gift (dora).

She’s the woman famous for ‘Pandora’s Box’ as a wedding gift.

However, what I found strange was that she, being a ghost, was speaking proper human language instead of making a ghostly moaning sound.

She said fluently.

“There’s no item you can’t find here. So, youngster section chief, you can naturally buy that suspicious and terrible gift you mentioned. Do you have money?”

“Any amount.”

Clink—.

I held out a heavy pouch of gold coins.

Then the eyes of the fluffy, giant ghost Pandora ssi shone with greed.

“Good. This way.”

I followed Pandora ssi into a secluded alley.

An old and rusty-looking container warehouse.

Pandora ssi popped open the lock with her hand and opened the warehouse door.

Whoosh—.

Very old dust stung my nose.

So as I dry-coughing and unnecessarily frowned my eyes—.

Pandora ssi explained, touching the displayed items here and there with her fluffy ghost hand.

“First of all, if we talk about this 「Black Bundle」, hehehe, it’s the item that turned the famous Cunning City into a ghost city full of ghosts and gravestones. It’s perfect for the worst gift.”

「In Cunning City!!! Who was the bastard!!!! who unwrapped the bundle!!!!」

「Even I, who am gentle, am getting angry…!!!」

Countless screams of the dead could be heard from the bundle like hallucinations.

I was looking for a terrible item, but.

If I gave that as a gift, I feel like I’d be murdered beyond just being fired.

“What about other items?”

“This is too weak? You’re quite courageous, more than I expected. Good. If so, there’s another amazing item.”

Poof—.

Pandora ssi rummaged through the items with her hand, where old dust had settled as white as snow.

A thick dust cloud rising.

As I was dry-coughing and waving my hand through the air here and there—.

One quite familiar item came into my sight.

“…This is.”

It was a strand of thread as jet black as night and as dark as pitch.

More accurately, it was someone’s hair placed inside a glass box, sealed as a talisman.

“That’s an item not for sale. A mere employee like you cannot handle it. It’s called 「Remnant of Nightmare」.”

“「Remnant of Nightmare」?”

“If you say it’s similar to the item wrapped around the youngster section chief’s wrist, then it is. Of course, its properties are completely different, so don’t unnecessarily touch it and wake it up.”

If it’s similar to my bracelet, then indeed, this is Melinoye nim’s hair.

Why is Melinoye nim’s hair here?

At that time, Pandora ssi suddenly held out a box to me.

“This will perfectly suit the fussy heart of the youngster section chief. By the way, if the creature inside unnecessarily gets loose, it’ll be difficult to catch it again, so be careful.”

「O O O」

The box had three holes pierced in it, looking exactly like the shape above.

It felt like it might contain even the young prince’s sheep.

“It’s heavier than I thought. What’s inside?”

I unintentionally brought my eyes to the holes pierced in the box.

When I saw the cowering gaze from inside, goosebumps ran up my spine.

I don’t know what it is, but this thing is a monster.

‘Indeed, if it’s this thing, it could be called a suitably terrible gift.’

I paid the gold coins and left the market.

Soon, my partner, the lady, came out to meet me, pulling a carriage.

─Grrr…!

─Grrr…!

─Woof woof…!

“Joy, Section Chief, let’s go quickly.”

“I’m very grateful that you’re even giving me a ride.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Thanks to you, Joy, Section Chief, I also get to go to my son and his wife’s event venue. My son has never once invited me to a party. They say my daughters-in-law find me difficult.”

“I see.”

“I didn’t particularly make them live a difficult life as daughters-in-law. Why do my daughters-in-law find me difficult? I just did exactly the average amount that goddesses who became mothers-in-law do. Is making a daily checking-in call that difficult?”

“Well. I don’t think a checking-in call would be that difficult.”

“Also! They absolutely wouldn’t tell me the front door password. I told them I’d go and clean and sometimes make side dishes for them, so why do they dislike it so much…!”

“Indeed, I agree. If it were me, I would have liked it very much. Today, please go and ask for the front door password again. If things don’t go well, you can even use my name.”

“I should do that. Hohoho!”

…Hehehe.

Deploy the mother-in-law whom the crown princesses find difficult!

On top of that, even a strange gift!

There wouldn’t be a bigger disturbance than this.

━Woof woof…!

As I got onto the Cerberus carriage, the monstrous creature inside the box barked loudly.

Seeing that sight, the Kimchi Goddess nim laughed elegantly, hoho.

“It’s a sturdy spider.”

# # #

Clumsy Goddess Nixdoti.

Even with the enjoyable party ahead, she was utterly gloomy.

Peranoi, who was both the prince’s secretary and Goddess Nixdoti’s secretary, asked.

“Luna nim, why are you sighing so much on a celebratory day like today…? Today, Luna nim is the protagonist…! It’s okay to be a little happier…!”

“It would have been truly wonderful if Kkeong-kkeongi were here on a day like today. Is it eating well?”

Droop—.

She was a goddess drooping her pink hair, tied in two pigtails, dejectedly.

“Kkeong-kkeongi is sensitive and picky about where it sleeps…. I wonder where it is now and what it’s doing….”

Looking at the spider photo saved on her device, she shed a tiny bit of tears.

It was a photo of her pet spider that had disappeared a long time ago, when she had briefly opened the window.