Chapter 43
What’s the point of explaining my ill-fated relationship with the Audit Team? I thought they’d tear me apart the moment I walked into the li
What’s the point of explaining my ill-fated relationship with the Audit Team?
I thought they’d tear me apart the moment I walked into the lion’s den on my own.
But… that didn’t happen.
“Na Assistant Manager! Can you hand me that file?”
“Has Section Chief Hec come back from his field visit yet?”
The Audit Team was too busy to even notice me.
After watching them for a few days, I realized sleeping at the office was practically routine for them.
Shff—
Just then, a man with narrowed eyes approached me.
“You’re Narcissus Assistant Manager, right?”
“That’s me. Impressed you remembered my name.”
Na Assistant Manager.
He often came over to chat with me.
Told me who’s who in the department, what to watch out for, and so on.
In short, he was my new mentor.
“Joy, even if you were a Deputy Manager at the affiliate, here you’re just a regular employee. Got it? Always keep that in mind. Everyone here outranks you except the interns, so it’s best if you memorize their names.”
A Deputy Manager at an affiliate becomes a rankless employee at HQ.
Some might feel bitter about this kind of hierarchy, but—
“Morning, everyone! Hope you all showed up on time! Let’s power through another day!”
Flap—
A goddess swooped in through the window with her crow wings spread wide.
It was Executive Director Alecto.
“Ms. Alecto, you’re here!”
“Good morning!”
“Weather’s great today!”
At HQ, every department had their own executive.
It truly was a “divine workplace” in every sense of the word.
Totally different from affiliates like Happy World or Charon Transport, where the only execs were the CEO and VP.
So it was only natural there’d be a gap in hierarchy between HQ and affiliate employees.
‘Just like how you could always see the stars from the Gyeryong military base, no matter where you looked.’
Naturally, HQ employees were incredibly proud.
Elites among elites.
Even that suspicious-looking skeleton in front of me might resemble a low-level mob from some random dungeon, but in reality, he’s an elite monster—Section Chief Hector.
“Joy, I heard you used to work with Bones? Ha! That brings back memories. That guy and I joined the company at the same time. Some stuff went down, and he got reassigned to an affiliate…”
Hector grinned, yellow pupils glinting.
He seemed to have a favorable impression of me, once Bones’ underling.
Looks like even in this “divine workplace,” connections and networks still matter.
“So, how’s your first few days with the Audit Team? Anything bothering you? Any questions?”
“You basically got marked the moment Ms. Alecto reassigned you here. I imagine there’s plenty you’re not comfortable with.”
Twinkle—
His eyes shimmered, almost like he was pitying me.
Just like he said, I was marked by Director Alecto the moment I was reassigned.
“Joy! Get into my office, now!”
See?
She’s calling me again.
Hector patted me on the back with a soft thud.
“It’s rough at first, but you’ll get used to it. You’re Bones’ pick, after all. I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
Knock knock—
I stopped in front of the director’s office and knocked.
“Come in,” came the voice from inside.
Creeeak—
I opened the door and stepped in to find Alecto grooming her wings.
Jet-black blazer.
Black stockings and heels.
Hair as red as wildfire, slithering like living serpents.
Her skin was pale, her face beautiful and perfectly symmetrical—eerie in its divine perfection.
“You’ve just about finished your adjustment period, haven’t you? I’ve got a job for you. You’re aware we’re clashing with the Safety Management Team, right?”
“Yes, it’s hard not to be aware.”
Section Chief Marquius from the Safety Management Team had exposed the betrayal of Thanatos, one of the Night Faction’s core members.
A de facto declaration of war against the Audit Team—practically a nest of the Night Faction.
“Zagreus, that bastard. We supported him over Princess Melinoe, and this is how he repays us? But that’s just how this game works. No eternal allies, no eternal enemies. So—”
Shhhh—
Alecto opened her narrow eyes.
Her yellow pupils were unsettling.
“If you had to investigate Princess Melinoe as a member of the Audit Team, could you do it? If you had to dissect your former boss yourself—could you?”
Melinoe?
What answer would make me look the most useless here?
There was only one.
“I can’t.”
“What? Can’t? You little— The Audit Team gets paid the big bucks to do exactly that! And you say you can’t? What a piece of work!”
Great. Major deduction in points.
But Alecto was smiling even as she yelled.
“A piece of work! That’s what I like about you. Sometimes, you need that kind of stubbornness.
Especially mortal men who worship goddesses. Loyalty is everything.”
Wait—what?
How did that half-assed answer end up scoring me points?
Even being useless is hard work.
I suddenly thought of Krauser, who had earned the “Certified Useless” title from Bones within just days of joining.
What a legend.
I should visit him this weekend. Maybe make him my mentor.
I wondered how everyone else was doing.
Surely Happy World was running fine without me.
“But now, your loyalty belongs to the Audit Team. Keep that in mind. This job will be your test to see if you truly belong here.”
Thump—
Alecto handed me a document.
Its contents were... quite shocking.
“You know what matters most to Prince Zagreus’s Safety Management Team? That no one can leave the Soul Society. But look at this.”
Tap tap—
She tapped the file with her finger.
“11 attempts to escape to the surface”
“Confirmed unauthorized use of secret tunnel”
“Exact location of tunnel still unknown”
“Someone’s sneaking out to the surface without higher-up approval. This came to light during the recent audit of Happy World. If this leaks, it’ll disgrace the Safety Management Team.”
The Soul Society’s biggest rule:
No one leaves without the CEO’s permission.
That ironclad security was their pride—
and the source of the Safety Management Team’s authority.
But someone from Happy World was using a secret passage.
Clearly kept hidden from leadership.
The surface.
The place I’d been dying to return to…
Someone’s been going back and forth all on their own?
Unforgivable.
Curious, I flipped the page—
and found a blurry photo of a hooded skeleton.
“This is the best photo we have of the suspect. Definitely a skeleton working at Happy World, but there’s more than a few of them down there. If they did this on purpose, they’re clever.”
“……”
“Joy, you worked at Happy World until recently. It should be easy for you to figure out which skeleton this is, right?”
That skeleton—
cigarette in his mouth, no lungs to speak of—
That’s Bones!
“If you don’t want the job, I’ll give it to someone else. But after what Zagreus did to us, we need payback. Or we’ll be a joke forever.”
“No need to assign anyone else! I’ll take this mission! My first assignment! I’ll prove myself to you and all the seniors here!”
“You sure? You might have to go against your old friends.”
“I’m part of the Audit Team now!”
“That determined, huh? No wonder they call you heartless. I love it!”
Ruffle, ruffle—
Alecto dusted off her feathers.
First impressions—and first assignments—are everything.
If I fail now, it’ll cement my status as trash.
And with how loudly I just declared myself, any failure would come back at me sixtyfold.
Besides… if I pull this off, I might find Bones’ secret tunnel… and use it to go to the surface myself. I can’t let anyone else take this mission.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The god of opportunity had just shown me his forelock—
and I had no intention of letting go.
***
“Haa… Without Deputy Manager Joy, time just drags on.”
“Hedone, quit slacking and get back to work!”
“Aaaah! The cursed photocopier is going berserk under the moonlight! Run for your lives! I, Krauser, will hold the line—go, all of you, run!”
Things at Happy World’s Punishment Division were pretty much business as usual.
Sure, after several recent staff departures, the office felt a bit… hollow.
Even seasoned veteran Bones Section Chief felt a gaping emptiness in his chest.
That’s just how fun the last few years at the company had been.
“Alright, time to clock out, everyone.”
At the end of the workday, Bones returned home.
To his newly purchased, spacious apartment in the luxurious Elysium complex.
“I’m home. Bonnie. Libby.”
It was the size of a sports field.
His hard-earned sanctuary, bought with years of bone-crunching work in the Soul Society.
But the lights were off, and no one greeted him.
Bones poured himself some cereal and milk, then plopped onto the couch to stare blankly at the TV.
Before he knew it, it was 10 PM.
The skeletal Bones eventually lay down on his bed.
Ssshhh—
The blue light glowing within his hollow skull faded to darkness.
He fell asleep like a corpse.
He should have stayed asleep.
But he rose.
“……”
Something had changed.
With grim resolve, Bones moved.
He snuck out of his apartment under the cover of night, heading toward Happy World.
Rustle, rustle—
He crept carefully around the flowerbed built last year during the “Operation Overhaul.”
He was looking for a hidden hole—
a way out.
“Bones Section Chief. Where do you think you’re going? Don’t tell me... you’re thinking of sneaking up to the surface?”
“J-Joy!?”
He flinched in shock.
His former subordinate, now in the Audit Team, had appeared out of nowhere.
Bones shook his head hastily.
“S-Surface? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“No need to play dumb. I know everything. And I’m not here to stop or blame you. I’m coming with you. To the surface!”
“What?! With me?! Joy, you can’t say things like that! You’re a bona fide HQ employee now—one of the elite of the elite! You can’t throw away that hard-earned position!”
Pat pat—
The two men began tussling.
When suddenly—
“What’s going on here?”
Goooooo—
A powerful presence descended.
An overwhelming force of a man.
【The One Who Hooked the Lake’s Master】
【Legendary Angler】
【God of Lure Fishing – Hades】
“M-Mr. Chairman!”
Bones hit the ground, bowing so low his skull nearly cracked.
Of all the people to run into now… it had to be him.
His vision darkened as the terrifying Chairman Hades spoke from behind him:
“…Surely, you haven’t discovered a secret tunnel here near the flowerbed, leading to the surface… where two massive laurel trees stand beside a quiet lake?”
“I-I…”
Bones was stunned.
The Chairman’s description was too accurate.
‘Of course… the great Chairman Hades knows everything. He already knew what I did. I’m going to be punished. But at the very least—I must protect Joy.’
Joy had nothing to do with this.
If punishment was due, it should fall on Bones alone.
Just as that thought passed through him—
“Section Chief Bones did nothing wrong! I was the one who found the tunnel to the surface and didn’t report it. This was all my idea and my doing!”
“You knew and said nothing? Joy, you little—!”
Crackle—
The Chairman’s glowing gaze twisted into a fearsome scowl.
Goooooooo—
The entire Soul Society seemed to tremble with his fury.
***
The employees of Happy World came into work like it was just another day.
They expected the usual routine.
But chaos greeted them.
“What on earth is going on?”
“Hedone! Look at this! Deputy Manager Joy—he’s in the newspaper!”
“Audit Team’s Joy Recovers the Lost Artifact ‘Quinae’!”
“The Symbol of the Chairman’s Authority Returns to HQ After 10 Years!”
“CEO Personally Awards Joy and Audit Team for Heroic Efforts!”
“Audit Team’s Miraculous Revival Attributed to Joy’s Achievements!”
At that moment, Joy stood in the grand auditorium of HQ.
He was being honored at a special award ceremony.
The presenter?
None other than Princess Melinoe herself.
“Heh… Joy, it hasn’t even been that long since you joined HQ, and already you’ve done something incredible. I was worried you wouldn’t survive among those cutthroat executives… but I suppose I was worrying for nothing.”
Princess Melinoe smiled with elegant ease.
But Joy’s face was stiff with anxiety.
Inside, he was thinking—
‘How did it come to this? I was sure I’d be punished this time…’
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