Chapter 12

After hiring a new employee, I had to dismiss the rest of the applicants.

As I was ushering them out, someone suddenly stood up and shouted:

“Manager Joy, you hired the most useless-looking nymph out of all these capable candidates? What’s the meaning of this? We deserve a reasonable explanation!”

A reasonable explanation?

Of course, there isn’t one.

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

Now the rumor will spread that I, Joy, have an embarrassingly poor eye for talent, and the bubble of inflated expectations around me will pop—pop!—like a needle to a balloon.

“I, Magnus, came all the way from faraway Elysium after hearing of Manager Joy’s fame, only to suffer this insult? I will not leave quietly!”

Crack, crack-crack-crack—

A towering brute, almost as massive as Sisyphus, rolled his shoulders and loosened his muscles.

“I will prove my strength and earn this job! I may have abandoned the world, but the world has no right to abandon me!”

Is he about to cause a scene?

The other applicants began to stir as well.

“He’s right!”

“I’m not leaving like this!”

The mood was ripe for a riot.

And that made me… kind of happy.

If a riot broke out, I’d be held responsible and probably fired.

Which means—Olympus, here I come!

“Joy, that brute is the mercenary king Magnus. Word is, he can arm-wrestle Heracles and hold out for several seconds!”

My colleague Markius moved a hand toward the dagger on his hip.

“Of course, someone like you, Joy the Devil of Happy World, wouldn’t find him much of a challenge. But as a warm-up for me, he’s perfect. Let me handle this one—I could use a performance boost.”

Just as Markius eyes gleamed like a bandit spotting gold, the one I least expected to speak up suddenly trembled—then exploded in fury.

“A useless-looking nymph…?! I will not tolerate such insolence toward me, Melinoi!”

Tiny fists clenched.

The strange little nymph, Melinoi, charged at the burly brute with unfiltered rage.

“Then taste my fist—just a little bit, that is!”

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr—!

“Aaaaargh!”

CRACK! KRA-KABOOM!

It was a surreal sight.

Her teeny, fluff-ball-sized fist barely brushed the ground—but the earth split like a spiderweb, and the huge man collapsed like a ragdoll ripped apart by a wild beast.

“Damn! Magnus!”

“She knocked out that Magnus? What is she?!”

What is she?

Don’t ask me!

The real problem was that after that punch, everyone started looking at Melinoi very differently.

“They say he was a self-proclaimed disciple of Heracles! And she just… crushed him!?”

“C-Could it be Manager Joy foresaw her power and hired her on purpose?!”

“What a keen eye for talent… Gives me chills, honestly…”

“Joy, that rookie you picked—wow. Your eye for talent far surpasses anything I could have imagined!”

“Bankai…”

“…Huh? Joy, what did you just say?”

“That Bankai guy… Bring him back! We have to hire him too!”

Of course, my cry was a hollow, empty one.

I’d already sworn by the River Styx that I would hire only that suspicious nymph.

And that oath… could never be broken.

Back at the office, I returned with the newly hired nymph, Melinoi.

Her childlike size drew everyone’s attention the moment we stepped in.

“Huh? A nymph?”

“Manager Joy hired a nymph?”

“Wasn’t that ‘Nymphs Welcome’ part of the notice just a joke?”

“A nymph, seriously?”

The reactions were, in a word, stunned.

Even Assistant Manager Krates, the ace of Team 1, leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed, clearly unimpressed.

“Nymphs are usually ditzy and cheerful, right? Are they really capable of working in a place as strict as the Department of Punishment Execution?”

Spoken like a true ace—Krates never missed a beat.

He even made sure everyone could hear as he continued:

“I won’t name names, but… maybe two years is too soon for someone to be promoted to manager?”

Perfect.

This whole recruitment debacle was shaping up to be a spectacular failure—one that would prove Manager Joy’s complete lack of judgment.

‘I’ll fail hard with this nymph.’

I mean, really—this tiny, bizarre creature working in Punishment Execution with terrifying inmates like Sisyphus and Chronos? No way.

Sure, she flattened Magnus, but raw strength isn’t all that matters in our line of work.

Snap—!

That’s when Krates handed a massive stack of documents to Melinoi.

“These are ten years’ worth of budget records we need to review ahead of the internal audit. There’s a discrepancy somewhere, and we can’t figure it out. Since you were specially hired by the ‘great’ Manager Joy, you should have no problem finding the error. You’ve got one hour.”

His eyes met mine—stern and challenging.

Like he was saying, “If your new hire can’t handle this, your managerial competence will be questioned.”

“The mistake lies in the 22nd line on page 972…! Charon’s transport fee is listed incorrectly…! It should be 40 gold coins for 20 rides, but it says 42…!”

“…What? Already? It’s been, like, five minutes!”

Krates was visibly flustered.

Meanwhile, Melinoi puffed out her chest in triumph.

“Bring me more! I, Melinoi, have aspired to rise to CEO of the Soul Society! No task is too big or small for me! Bring it on!”

“It’s just a fluke! A fluke, I say! Try these!”

Krates dumped another mountain of papers on her desk.

Melinoi found every single discrepancy in under an hour.

“Child’s play, I say!”

“No way…! Only top executives could handle work like this. But a nymph not even half my size?!”

Krates collapsed into his chair in shock.

So did I.

‘Why is the one I hired as a joke so damn competent?!’

“Manager Joy’s judgment really is incredible. It’s no wonder even Chronos acknowledged you!”

“Honestly, I was annoyed you made manager in just two years… but this? I’ve gotta admit, you deserve it.”

“Some people are just born to rise to the top!”

No—this isn’t what I wanted!

My internal evaluation score is skyrocketing!

I looked desperately at Krates, hoping he’d say something sane—anything.

You’ll continue from there, right?

Department Head Bones approached me, his skeletal jaw clacking as he handed me a document.

“Manager Joy, you’ve been working too hard lately. Why don’t you handle this one field assignment and then head home for the day? Coincidentally, it involves a nymph!”

A nymph?

I glanced at the report. It was about a particular special inmate.

“Inmate A-09C…”

Right, judging from his background, this was technically a nymph-related case.

Glance—

Before leaving, I took one more look around the office.

That noisy little thing…

It had only been a day since I’d met that strange nymph, Melinoi, but the fact that no one else remembered her left a faint pang in my chest.

‘…Maybe it really was just a dream.’

Weird, inexplicable things happen all the time in this place called “Happy World.” If I stopped to get shocked or emotional over every one of them, my still-living heart and brain would never survive.

So, with unresolved thoughts trailing behind me, I headed for a rundown apartment complex.

You might ask—why meet a special inmate here, and not at the Punishment Wing or Execution Facility?

Simple.

This inmate was truly… special.

JANG JANG JANG JANG—

As I approached the complex, loud noise erupted from inside—an aggressive string instrument being plucked with manic energy.

—Kill! Kill me! I’m the terrorist of Happy World!

The banshee-wail of a voice kept screaming until I stopped in front of Unit 404.

BANG BANG BANG!

“Mr. Orpheus! This is Manager Joy from the Punishment Department! Open the door! We’ve received nonstop complaints from neighbors about the noise—Mr. Orpheus!”

BANG BANG BANG!

BANG BANG BANG BANG—!

I don’t even know how many times I knocked when—

CREEEAK—

“Ah! You, who appeared as if destined—what rhythm in your knocking! Truly, divine!”

The door opened, and there he stood—a man with ghost-white face paint.

His long, disheveled hair and thick black eyeliner gave him the appearance of a ghastly spirit, but this man was none other than Orpheus, the famed singer of “Happy World.”

“Ha-ha! Come in, won’t you?”

Orpheus invited me into his home.

I hesitated, but finally stepped inside… and immediately regretted it.

Trash scattered everywhere. Clothes dumped in heaps. Hell-roaches scuttling around the room. It was revolting.

“Jooouji!”

“Jooouji.”

“Could you maybe try cleaning once in a while? Anyway, Mr. Orpheus, I’ve lost count of how many complaints we’ve had. I don’t mind you singing, but could you keep it down?”

“Apologies, truly! Just a little more—just a bit! I feel like I’m about to write my magnum opus, one that will surpass even my masterpiece, ‘The Song of the Nymph!’ Please, grant me this favor!”

“You’ve said that before. Multiple times. Mr. Orpheus, let’s be honest. You’re in a slump, aren’t you? Your recent songs aren’t nearly as well-received as your old work.”

“S-slump? Me? Ha… hah… ha-ha-ha… Never! Absolutely not!”

He looked like I’d struck a nerve.

His ghost-pale face somehow paled even further—it was almost pitiful.

Orpheus.

In myth, he was the greatest bard who ever lived.

But here in Happy World, he was just another inmate—acting more like a third-rate clown.

“It’s the instrument’s fault. If only I had a lyre made from nymph hair! That alone would let me compose the most transcendent song! If only I had a lyre made from nymph hair!”

I mean… based on the lyrics I just heard, I don’t think the instrument is the issue.

Orpheus was obsessed with instruments made from nymph hair.

I could guess why, but I decided to play dumb.

“Why are you so fixated on instruments made from nymph hair? Is there a special reason?”

“Back in my life… I had one. It was exquisite—its sound was pure beauty. You know, everyone wants a nymph’s hair, but it’s almost impossible to get.”

“Why’s that?”

“Nymphs only give their hair to someone they truly cherish. I was lucky enough to receive it. But… wait… how did I get something so rare?”

Orpheus tilted his head in confusion.

Still feigning ignorance, I pressed further.

“What about Eurydice? Do you remember her?”

“Eury… what? Who’s that?”

Orpheus and Eurydice.

One of the most tragic and beautiful love stories in Greek mythology.

And yet, Orpheus tilted his head as if hearing the name for the first time.

The reason was simple.

Inmate A-09C Orpheus’s punishment level was “A.”

“A” for Amnesia.

He no longer remembered what he’d lost, or who he had loved.

Now, he simply existed in “Happy World,” living as one of its hollow residents.

Technically, bringing up Eurydice was taboo—but…

“Mr. Orpheus, I’ll let you meet Eurydice.”

“…Who do you want me to meet? Besides, I can’t leave. You know I’m under confinement—that’s my punishment.”

“Then we’ll just have to make it so you’re not a prisoner anymore.”

“…Excuse me?”

Orpheus’s punishment classification was “C.”

In Happy World, punishments C and below can be suspended at the discretion of any department manager.

“I am Manager Joy, of Happy World.”

Name: Orpheus

Cause of Death: Compound fractures and decapitation from blunt force trauma

Crime: Taboo

Punishment: House arrest and memory erasure

“By my sole judgment and authority, I hereby suspend the punishment of Inmate A-09C Orpheus.”

“W-what did you say…?!”

“You’re free to go. We’ll still need to complete some paperwork back at the office, but for now, you’re temporarily free.”

FWOOOSH—!

I tossed his punishment contract into the candle flame beside me and watched it burn.

Of course, there was no real reason.

This was a textbook case of power abuse—one that would haunt office gossip for years to come!