episode_0069

“Oh, it’s eating. Eat up.”

I offered the mini Melinoye the candy I had. The reason I had candy was that I often attended Nymph Guild meetings. Nothing was as effective as candy at quieting the picky and noisy nymphs.

“It’s delicious…!”

The mini Melinoye, holding a candy as big as its face, wiggled and bit into it.

‘Honestly, it’s cute. And it’s as small as my palm.’ It was stylized enough that it felt like it could even be distributed as a mascot. However, Melinoye nim frowned as if full of dissatisfaction.

“I couldn’t fix the flaw where my duplicates love candy. Perhaps if my share increases, my authority will also grow stronger, so it will gradually be remedied.”

“How long does it last? What abilities does it have?”

Wouldn’t it chase away all the hell roaches if I had one at home? As my interest grew with such thoughts, Melinoye nim sighed, “Hoo-.”

“Joy, it’s natural for you, a mortal, to show interest in the mini Melinoye, the duplicate of a perfect goddess. However, I’m concerned that your interest is excessive. That’s just a fake.”

Did I show too much interest only in the mini Melinoye? As I reflected on my words and actions, Melinoye nim opened her mouth.

“It’s confiscated! Ah—.”

Then, the small mini Melinoye, like dust being sucked into a vacuum cleaner, ‘shoosh-,’ was pulled into Melinoye nim’s mouth!

“Hyieek!”

The mini Melinoye seemed to try to resist, but it was useless. Eventually, the mini Melinoye disappeared into Melinoye nim’s mouth—

—Hoo, hoo…!

When it came out of Melinoye nim’s mouth, it had transformed into an ordinary ghost Sauro.

‘Is this for real?’

It was a very strange scene.

Anyway.

Melinoye nim truly seemed to intend to stay and sleep at my house. It was truly a bolt from the blue. Melinoye nim plumped down on the sofa and tapped her shoulder, ‘tap-tap.’

“Creating a duplicate and even cooking has made me tired. Joy, right now, I shall grant you the special honor of massaging the shoulders of a beautiful goddess.”

Melinoye nim’s neck and shoulders formed a soft curve like a drawn bowstring. Its light was pure white, like an untrodden snowfield, to the point where I even thought it would be sacrilegious for my hand to touch it.

“Melinoye nim, how dare I, a mortal, lay hands on a goddess’s body? I am deeply afraid that it might cause concern for your well-being!”

“The humility of an ambitious person aiming for an executive position is excessive. This is something you need too, Joy. Because if you become an executive, you’ll have many more occasions to face the true forms of the executives.”

“Their true forms?”

“Joy, do you know the story of Semele? You would know well how she died.”

Semele was the Princess of Thebes, and one of the lovers of Zeus, the King of the Sky. However, Hera, the Queen of the Gods, grew jealous of their relationship and transformed into Semele’s nurse, saying:

—Princess nim, aren’t you dating a fake pretending to be Zeus? Just in case, ask that man to show you his true form from when he was on Olympus!

One day, Zeus told Semele that he would grant her one wish, swearing by the River Styx. And Semele’s wish was set.

—Show me your true form.

—You can’t do that. It’s too dangerous.

Zeus promised Semele all sorts of treasures and adornments, but it was impossible to break her stubbornness. In the end, he had no choice but to reveal his true form from his time on Olympus. And Semele burned to a crisp from the divine radiance of the god who had revealed his majesty.

“Even though my uncle tried to lower his majesty with the least luminous clothes and the least dangerous lightning, such an accident still occurred. Thus, the true majesty of a god is unbearable for a mortal.”

“But when I met Melinoye nim, the Chairman nim, or the Chairwoman nim, I didn’t burn to death, did I? And it was the same when I met the executives at the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders.”

“That’s because we usually suppress ourselves out of consideration for mortals. However, Joy, if you wish to become an executive, you must be able to withstand the true forms of our executives.”

“But what does that have to do with massaging Melinoye nim’s shoulders?”

“It’s about having time to get used to divinity. Because Semele’s contact with my uncle was frequent, she only burned to a crisp. If even that hadn’t been the case, she would have originally scattered into dust.”

Listening to Melinoye nim’s story, the presence of the executives felt even more terrifying. And the thought of possibly rising to such an executive position made my head spin.

I can never become an executive—it was difficult to assert that in the current situation.

With that mindset, I just relaxed and ended up becoming a manager at headquarters.

Therefore, massaging Melinoye nim’s shoulders seemed like it would be quite helpful to me.

So I stood behind Melinoye nim, who was sitting on the sofa, and reached out my hand to her shoulder, and I was surprised by the texture, which was firmer, softer, and warmer than I expected.

Unlike me, who was very surprised, Melinoye nim had no particular reaction.

She just spoke, keeping her head fixed on the TV program playing in front.

“Joy, many things have gone well since you put in the effort for me. If I had been alone, it would have taken a bit longer to acquire my current shares. I’m grateful to you.”

“It just happened that way by chance.”

That was my true feeling.

It just happened by chance.

“However, Joy, your actions are excessively bold, making even me nervous. To the extent that I wonder if you’re aiming not just for a simple executive position, but even for the CEO position.”

Stop—.

My hand stopped.

It was because Melinoye nim was saying something so absurd.

Me, the CEO position?

What nonsense!

“Your hand stopped, Joy. It’s because I, a perfect goddess, hit your weak spot, isn’t it?”

You missed by a ridiculous margin.

You didn’t even come close to my weak spot, let alone hit it!

But?

I felt as if the god of opportunity had just presented itself.

“As expected, Melinoye nim cannot be deceived. As you said, I dared to aim for the Chairman nim’s position.”

“…As expected. Just as I, a perfect goddess, predicted.”

What do you mean, ‘as expected’!

Anyway, my words just now were truly sacrilegious and blasphemous.

To dare to babble about aiming for the Chairman’s position as a mortal in Soul Society.

There could be no bigger empty promise than this.

And empty promises, real estate bubbles, and national pensions in an era of low birth rates were bound to explode and return as huge debts.

“Joy, beyond merely worshiping me, you wish to become my equal, and eventually, even greater than me. There can only be one reason for that. To propose to me—.”

“That’s….”

…I didn’t intend to bluff that much, did I?

So I hastily tried to deny it.

“Mmph!”

My lips wouldn’t move.

As if they were glued shut.

Was my body instinctively refusing to answer?

No.

Something was really blocking my lips.

“You scoundrel, Joy! You wicked thief-like fellow! You’ve finally revealed your true colors!”

Wait—.

This voice coming from thin air?

Shoosh—.

Soon, the Chairman nim, who had covered my mouth with his palm, appeared.

On his head, he wore ‘Kynēē’, a transparent helmet.

# # #

“Joy, you were daring to say you were aiming for my position?”

The Chairman nim sat on the sofa and spoke in a solemn tone.

I had no choice but to prostrate myself before him.

This was because merely by his presence in this spot, I felt a weight pressing down on my shoulders, making it difficult even to lift my head.

Gooooooh—.

It felt like I was being crushed by gravity!

Suddenly, the story of Semele came to mind.

The story that a mortal turns into black ash before the true majesty of a god.

The Chairman nim was revealing his majesty.

Soon, Melinoye nim, who had her arms crossed and stood beside me, spoke.

“Dad, lower your imposing presence. At this rate, Manager Joy might die.”

Whoosh—.

Soon, the imposing presence pressing down on my shoulders disappeared.

However, the fundamental problem was not resolved.

‘I can’t believe the Chairman nim was hiding!’

How could I have known that the Chairman nim, wearing a transparent helmet, was in our house?

If things continued like this, I might really die.

Then I would never be able to escape from Soul Society.

Hoo—.

At that moment, Melinoye nim sighed.

“Manager Joy is not at fault at all. It’s a problem that arose because I am a perfectly beautiful goddess. It’s natural for bees to fly towards flowers. You can’t blame the bees.”

“In that case?”

“I actually think we should give Manager Joy a chance. Manager Joy introduced a nymph quota system and reorganized the Women’s Council, tidying up the fundamental foundations of Soul Society. And Tartarus, whose plans frequently fail, is targeting Manager Joy. In this situation, if we dismiss Manager Joy and punish him, it will only benefit our enemies and obstructers.”

The Chairman nim remained silent.

As if deep in thought, he seemed to utter a long, ‘Hrrrrrmmm─’ sound of contemplation, and then spoke as if he had reached a conclusion.

“Joy, I shall bestow upon you a difficult task. It’s a challenge no one has been able to solve until now. Even Zagreus couldn’t solve this problem. Do you know about Daedalus?”

“Isn’t he considered the greatest inventor of the mythological era? I hear he’s currently in the headquarters’ facilities team.”

“Indeed. That fellow keeps endlessly postponing the completion deadline for the item I requested. Try to get it completed within this month.”

“This week.”

I opened my mouth, which had been shut for a long time.

Then, the Chairman nim was rather surprised.

“You’re saying you’ll try to solve it within this week—is that what you mean?”

“That’s right. If I fail to seize the opportunity you’ve given me within this week, I will gladly accept the corresponding punishment. It doesn’t matter if you dismiss me from headquarters.”

“You’re brimming with great confidence, aren’t you? Then what do you wish for if the task succeeds? I am the fair and just King of the Underworld. If there’s a punishment, there must also be a reward.”

“That’s….”

I don’t need a reward or anything.

Just as I was about to say that, Melinoye nim cut me off.

“It’s because of me that Manager Joy is encountering difficult situations. The reward he desires can only be given by me. If Joy shows great achievement in this matter, I—.”

At that moment—.

Melinoye nim said something so astonishing.

To the extent that even the Chairman nim jumped to his feet and shouted.

“…Melinoye, you’re saying you’ll have a contractual relationship with Manager Joy! This is a nightmare!”