Chapter 11

Now that a new employee had been hired, the rest of the applicants needed to be sent away.

Just as I was ushering the crowd to disperse, someone suddenly shot up and shouted:

“Manager Joy! With so many outstanding applicants to choose from, why did you pick the most useless-looking nymph as your hire? We deserve an explanation—one that actually makes sense!”

An explanation?

As if there is one.

I picked her precisely because she looked like she’d be bad at the job.

And soon, rumors would spread that Joy had the judgment skills of a boiled turnip.

Any expectations people had of me would pop like an overinflated balloon—pop!

“I, Magnus, came all the way from Elysium because I had such high expectations after hearing your name. But to be insulted like this? I refuse to let this slide!”

Crack. Crackle-crack-crack.

The burly man—whose frame rivaled even Sisyphus—began cracking his shoulders and flexing.

“I shall prove my worth and claim a position through strength! Even if I abandon the world, the world cannot abandon me!“

Was he really about to start a fight?

The other applicants joined in, shouting things like:

“He’s right!”

“We can’t just leave like this!”

The mood was shifting. Any moment now, it could explode into a full-blown riot.

And weirdly enough… I felt hopeful.

Maybe, just maybe, if this spiraled into chaos, I’d be held responsible and get fired!

“Joy, that guy’s Magnus, a famous mercenary. They say he could arm-wrestle Heracles and hold out for a few seconds.”

Markius, my colleague, reached for the dagger at his belt.

“Of course, he’s no match for the infamous ‘Demon of Happy World,’ but he’d make a great warm-up for me. Take a break, Joy. Time for me to raise my performance score.”

He was practically drooling, eyes gleaming like a bandit spotting gold.

But then…

The unexpected happened.

That weird little nymph—Melinoe—started trembling…

And then got furious.

“Useless-looking nymph…? You dare insult Melinoe?! This injustice shall not go unpunished…!”

She clenched her tiny fists—and launched herself at the hulking Magnus.

“Taste my fist—just a little!”

Dudududududududu—!

“GYAAAAHH!”

CRACK—! KRAKABOOM—!

It was bizarre.

Her tiny fist hit the ground, and the earth split like shattered glass.

Magnus, the giant, dropped like a rag doll torn apart by a wild beast.

“Damn! Magnus!”

“Did she really just flatten that Magnus?! Who the heck is this nymph?!”

Who is she?

I don’t know either!

But the real problem wasn’t her strength…

…it was that everyone’s opinion of her had just done a complete 180.

“They say he was once called the ‘Mercenary King,’ a self-proclaimed disciple of Heracles. And yet this girl took him down with ease…?”

“Manager Joy must’ve seen her true potential all along!”

“What remarkable judgment… I’ve got chills…”

“Joy, that new hire of yours—she’s amazing! I knew your eye for talent was on a different level!”

“…Bankai.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“The guy who used bankai... Bring him back! I need to hire him too!”

Too bad.

I’d already sworn on the River Styx that I’d hire only this one suspicious nymph.

And an oath made on Styx? Unbreakable.

***

I entered the office with Melinoe, our newly hired nymph.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the pint-sized newcomer.

“Huh? A nymph?”

“Manager Joy hired a nymph?”

“I thought the ‘Nymphs Welcome’ part was just a joke.”

“A nymph, seriously?”

People looked stunned.

Even Krates, the ace of Team 1, leaned back in his chair with a skeptical look.

“Nymphs are known for being cheerful and kind of airheaded. Do you really think someone like that can handle the brutal discipline required in Punishment Enforcement?”

Spoken like the true ace of Team 1.

So rational. So publicly spoken.

“Not naming names, but… maybe someone wasn’t ready to be promoted to manager after just two years.”

Beautiful.

Krates was saying exactly what I wanted everyone to believe:

That hiring this nymph was proof that Manager Joy lacked the skills to lead.

“I’ll make sure to fail spectacularly with this nymph.”

How could someone this small and eccentric survive in a department that handles criminals like Sisyphus or Chronos?

Sure, she did flatten Magnus…

But this job isn’t about brute strength alone.

CHAK.

Krates handed Melinoe a massive folder.

“Ten years’ worth of budget records. We’re being audited soon, and there’s a discrepancy somewhere. Since you were specially hired by the great Manager Joy, surely you can find the error. You’ve got one hour.”

He looked straight at me as he spoke.

The message was clear:

“If your hire can’t do this, your credibility as a manager is toast.”

“On page 972, line 22, the ferry fare paid to Charon is incorrect. One trip costs two gold coins, so 20 trips should cost 40. But it says 42.”

“…What?! You already found it?! It’s only been five minutes!”

Krates was visibly shaken.

Melinoe puffed up with pride.

“Bring me more! This Melinoe plans to rise to the top of Soul Society—to become CEO! I can handle anything thrown my way!”

“T-that was just luck! Let’s see how you do with these!”

Krates dumped an avalanche of folders onto the desk.

And in less than an hour…

Melinoe found every single error.

“This was easier than licking honey off a spoon!”

“This… This is impossible!!! Only senior executives handle work like this! And she’s barely half my height…!”

Krates collapsed into his chair, completely defeated.

And me?

I collapsed too.

“Why… Why is the random hire I picked actually competent?”

“Manager Joy’s instincts really are amazing! No wonder Chronos acknowledged you!”

“I’ll admit, I didn’t like that you made manager in just two years—but I can’t argue with results!”

“Some people are just born to climb the ranks!”

No!

My coworkers were praising me even more!

Desperate, I turned to Krates for help.

The level-headed, always-right Krates.

If anyone could call out how insane this all was… it was him!

But Krates—the one person I trusted—started trembling the moment he met my eyes.

“W-why are you looking at me like that? I, uh… need a smoke break.”

What?

You don’t even smoke!

Even you, Krates?!

Not yet.

There was still a chance.

Clinging to a sliver of hope, I handed Melinoe all the paperwork I had been putting off—everything from trivial chores that came with my promotion to manager, to key HR reports and new project planning documents.

What I did was wildly irresponsible.

I had just dumped a mountain of managerial work on someone who had only just clocked in for her first day.

Any normal employee would have reported me.

But then—

“Mhehehe, I’m done~! I even left comments with my personal thoughts~!”

Melinoe handed everything back—work that should have taken three hours—in just one.

And she said she even annotated the documents.

There’s no way she did it properly, right?

Fueled by that optimistic delusion, I began reviewing her work with a mindset ready to nitpick anything and scold her for it.

‘…Perfect. She even calculated budget allocations and outlined potential directions for the new project.’

There was nothing to criticize.

I couldn’t even pretend to nitpick.

“Mhehehe~! This Melinoe has been studying royal administration since she was but a wee lass~! These trivial tasks are easier than licking honey off a spoon! I deserve greater work than this~!”

I despaired.

If the employee I randomly hired turned out to be this good, my performance rating would skyrocket.

And that would make it even harder to get fired.

So what should I do?

Simple.

“Melinoe, I get that you’re talented. But in any organization, there’s a natural order to things. No matter how skilled you are, you can’t just start with major responsibilities.”

“…?”

“Everyone has to start with the basics. That’s why you’ll begin in General Affairs. Let’s get you started on cleaning and organizing supplies.”

“Cleaning and organizing are beneath me~!”

“Beneath you? The smallest tasks are the most important. Trust me.”

The plan was simple: bury this overqualified nymph in a quiet corner.

Tasks like cleaning and organizing rarely get much attention, no matter how well they’re done.

So, we arrived at the supply room.

It was covered in dust and cobwebs from years of neglect.

“Joouji.”

“Joouji!”

And full of cockroaches, too.

Great.

“Manager Joy, what is that?”

Melinoe pointed to a box in the corner, her red eyes gleaming like rubies.

I looked closer. It was a box of candy labeled “Honey Drops.”

“Oh, that?”

I had stocked up on honey candies after hearing rumors that the new executive might be a nymph.

But then I stuffed them in the supply room—Melinoe, the actual executive, seemed to hate being treated like a nymph.

“Honey candies. You can have them if you want.”

“The whole ‘nymphs love honey candy’ trend is ancient history~! This Melinoe has no interest in such childish treats~! I shall dispose of them immediately!”

She dramatically lifted the box above her head and walked off.

Ten minutes passed.

Still no sign of her.

Curious, I wandered around near the supply room.

That’s when I heard it—

“S-So tasty~!”

WADADADADADA—!

In a shadowy corner near the supply room, Melinoe was tearing into the box, both hands full of honey candies, stuffing them into her cheeks like a squirrel preparing for winter.

She looked exactly like one of those meme cats on the internet shoving bread into their mouths.

‘She said she’d throw them out, but I guess she meant into her own mouth.’

So nymphs really do love honey candy, huh?

I even remember writing something about that in my first thesis…

Wait. Why did I write my first paper on nymphs again?

“Joy, what are you doing here?”

“Whoa!”

I nearly jumped out of my skin.

Standing right next to me was Melinoe—the executive, not the nymph.

The one wearing the red laurel crown.

“What are you doing here?”

I was training the new hire… or I had been.

But weirdly enough, the nymph Melinoe had vanished without a trace.

Where’d she go?

The supply room has a lot of dangerous stuff. If she wanders around, she might get hurt.

“Executive Melinoe ma’am, did you happen to see a nymph around here? She has red eyes and black hair—looks just like you, actually. But shorter, about waist-high. Her name is also… Melinoe.”

Flinch.

Melinoe, the executive, stiffened like I’d just pressed an icicle to her neck.

“…No. I didn’t see her.”

She shook her head coolly.

But… for some reason, there was a golden, syrupy smear at the corner of her mouth—like she’d just sneakily eaten some candy.

“What about you, Executive Melinoe? What brings you here?”