Chapter 24
The night before Astarote handed Joy that suspicious contract—
6:00 PM.
Astarote returned to her office.
“So, we’re meeting there later?”
“…Shhh.”
“Ah.”
Her team members slipped out while nervously glancing her way.
But Astarote didn’t care.
I am a cold and solitary demon.
That’s what a demon is.
She had work to do.
All those penalties she logged for Joy needed to be uploaded to the Helmes-Net.
If I bring down someone as big as Joy, they’ll have no choice but to acknowledge me.
Then maybe I’ll get invited to birthday parties and post-work dinners.
…Not that I’d go, even if they did invite me.
Just as she was about to upload the penalty logs—
A bombshell dropped.
“What?! He’s on vacation?!”
Joy.
Turns out… he was officially on a reward vacation.
The documents showed he even tried to give up that vacation—but his request was denied under CEO authority.
Which meant—
“This lunatic… he got his vacation denied so he just put on a suit and showed up for work anyway?!”
A man who loves work so much, he tries to cancel a reward vacation.
When rejected, he still comes to the office. For free.
Even Heaven Company execs respect business hours.
But Joy?
He was volunteering.
Then what was the point of my entire day?
All these penalties… useless!
Did Joy do this on purpose to mess with me?!
How devilishly brilliant…!!!
Astarote had been played.
Hard.
All she had left from the day was that bag Joy asked her to throw away.
She pulled out a stick of fruit candy and bit down hard.
Her eyebrows twitched.
“What the hell… this isn’t ‘Fruit of Good and Evil’—it’s just a regular apple!
They lied to sell this?!”
Disappointed by a treat she was secretly excited for, her mood soured.
She stormed into the Heaven Company Happy World branch and grabbed the manager by the collar.
“Can’t you see the business hours—KKEGH!”
“Manager. I know you’ve been selling ordinary apples disguised as sacred fruit.
Don’t try to lie to me—a former Executive Director of Heaven Company.
The more you stall, the worse your punishment will be.”
Glowing serpent eyes.
A demon’s horn signifying executive rank.
The manager’s face turned pale.
What’s an executive from HQ doing here?!
Cracking under pressure, he confessed everything.
“Th-The price of Hell Cactus has been rising lately.
I bought a bunch in advance to flip them later for profit, and… I ran out of funds…”
“So you sold cheap apples as divine fruit to make up for it?”
Astarote arrested him on the spot.
She also rounded up the cartel hoarding Hell Cactus to manipulate prices.
“You pulled an all-nighter at the office?”
“Team Leader, you really work hard.”
“Even holding your own company accountable… incredible.”
Her Audit Team started seeing her in a new light.
In just one night, she crushed a major crime ring.
A monumental achievement.
And that’s when it hit her:
Wait… Did Joy know about the corruption here?
Did he deliberately hand me this case so I’d earn the credit? But… why?
…Actually, maybe I do have a guess.
Maybe he wanted to build rapport with the Audit Team.
Everyone wants connections to the department that handles confidential intel.
But Astarote wasn’t one to owe anyone.
So she wrote up a contract that no mortal could resist.
“Department Head—minimum.
For a mortal, that’s the highest you can go.
And you know how rare these offers are, don’t you, Joy? KYAH-HAA!”
“Heaven Company…
That’s the one that used to be called ‘Hell,’ right?”
“Yes! And becoming a department head there is a HUGE honor—”
“I reject it.”
Riiip—!!
Joy didn’t even let her finish.
He shredded the contract without a second thought.
Not a hint of hesitation.
“…You’re rejecting my offer?”
Astarote was stunned.
So was Manager Bones, who promptly fainted.
“He… He turned down a guaranteed exec-level transfer?!
What’s he planning to ask for at the next salary negotiation…?
I—I can’t handle this man…”
Apparently, even a department head position wasn’t good enough for Joy.
And that made Astarote burn with two desires.
Joy… I want to make you cry. With my own two hands.
And when my dispatch term ends, I’ll drag you back to our company with me.
She wanted to prove who the real demon was.
If she could get Joy fired through a flawless audit—
She’d win.
And also claim him for her “home base” at Heaven Company.
“Fine, Joy! You dare reject me?
The next audit will be especially brutal!
Enjoy your reward vacation while you still can—it might be your last!
MWAAHAHAHAHA!”
***
All I wanted was to rack up penalties by dragging an Audit Team officer around.
It was a dumb plan.
But somehow, things spiraled into chaos—
And I even got a ridiculous scout offer.
No idea what happened last night.
Not sure I want to know.
The only part that stuck was:
“Enjoy your reward vacation while you still can!
It might be your last! Hahaha!”
Wait—reward vacation?
Once Astarote stormed off, I grabbed the dazed Manager Bones and shook him hard.
“Sir! What the hell is that demon talking about?
I requested to cancel my reward vacation!”
“…I wanted to cancel it for you.
But the ‘Reward Vacation Order’ was issued by CEO Thanatos himself.
I’m just a department head—I couldn’t override it.”
“…No way!”
“The new E&S single ‘Happy World’ became our official company anthem, right?
The CEO’s been in a good mood.
So just enjoy your vacation, okay?”
“AAAAAGHHH!”
So all the chaos I caused yesterday to earn penalty points—
It was completely pointless.
As I screamed to the heavens, Markius patted me on the back solemnly.
“You’re the first person I’ve ever seen who hates vacation.
You actually like coming to work this much?
Joy, you’ve earned my respect. Now come on, let’s get lunch!”
Lunch time.
We all crowded the cafeteria.
“Alright, everyone, order what you want!
Today, it’s my treat—as your manager!
I think I’ll go with the ‘Hellfire Black Noodles’.”
“Uh, I’ll have those too. I had them yesterday but…”
“Same for me…”
“Me too…”
“Okay then, Black Noodles all around!”
The menu had become painfully uniform.
Everyone playing it safe, watching the boss.
But what if… I walked a different path alone?
Like an awl poking out of a cloth pocket—
I’ll choose to be crooked.
“I’ll have the Eight Treasure Stir-Fry.”
“What? Not even Jjamppong, but Eight Treasure Stir-Fry…?”
“But the manager’s paying…”
“That’s… so expensive…”
The atmosphere instantly turned icy.
Alright—go ahead. Judge me.
Ridicule me for tossing out social cues and common sense.
But just then—
“That reminds me of a time before I was promoted to department head.
Back then, hierarchy was everything.
Credit went to your boss. Mistakes? Always your fault. That was the norm.”
With tears pouring down his bony face, Manager Bones began to cry.
Yes—cry.
“My mentor loved searing hot Hellfire Jjamppong…
But I’ve always hated it.
Still, I couldn’t say a word—so I ate that cursed thing for years…”
Wait—
This conversation is heading in a very dangerous direction!
“I always vowed that if I rose to a higher rank,
I’d let my team order whatever they liked.
Seeing you speak up like this… it’s moving, Joy!”
Bones crushed his handwritten list of everyone’s orders in his skeletal hand.
“For an organization to innovate, freedom of opinion is vital!
That’s the spirit of Happy World!
Joy, you’ve freed this old pile of bones from his past!”
“Y-you know, I also prefer fried rice over black noodles…”
“In that case, I’ll change mine too! I’ll take the jellyfish salad with shark fin!”
“I’ll have the truffle pasta sprinkled with gold flakes—”
“Hmm. The appetite of today’s youth is quite… robust.
How much do I even have in my bank account…”
Not exactly the outcome I planned, but still—
That Eight Treasure Stir-Fry was delicious.
When else would I ever get a chance to eat something like that?
***
“We’ve filled the manpower gap since Krates was let go after that scandal.
I personally hired a new employee, so there should be no problems!”
Finally, my hellish reward vacation had ended.
And now, Manager Bones was introducing someone truly strange to the office.
“This is Krauser, who dreams of world domination through Happy Metal.”
Wait—
Orpheus?!
Why are you here?
As I stood there stunned, he gave a fake little cough.
“I heard employees of Happy World earn a lot.
My dream is to save up, buy super expensive instruments,
play them, and become a famous celebrity adored by the masses!”
What a grand plan.
Orpheus—no, Krauser greeted everyone and walked up to me.
“Section Chief Joy, I look forward to working with you!”
“Orph—”
“That name is dead!
This is part of my personal career renewal.
Don’t you feel reborn when you change your name?”
“……”
“So just call me Krauser from now on!”
Yeah, this feels… extremely not comfortable.
Manager Bones clicked his tongue.
“Hair’s too long. Face is painted white.
Way too sloppy.
A proper office worker should look proper.”
…Says the literal skeleton.
“Section Chief Joy, take the new recruits on a task.
We’ve got to visit the idol group doing our new company anthem.
I think you’re the best man for the job.”
“Me?”
“That difficult Miss Arachne said she’d be happy to work with you.
Besides, it’s a good excuse to show the rookies around the company!”
—Jōōōy!
—Jōōōy!
Honestly, staying in this office full of hell-spinning wheels is enough to make anyone lose their mind.
This is perfect.
“Wait, sir. You said rookies, plural. So there’s more than just… Krauser?”
“Joy, what are you even saying!
Ah—speak of the devil, there she is now.
Our other new hire, specially recruited!”
“This Melinoe has completed organizing the supply closet!
Small jobs are the most important jobs!
Therefore, the smallest employee is the most important employee—ME!”
Suddenly—
A nymph appeared.
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