Chapter 27
“Let me show you which one of us is really insulting music.”
The man—now a full-fledged demon—stormed into the recording studio.
As Rilke rushed in after him, furious and ready to protest, he yanked the bass guitar right from her hands.
“Hey—! What are you doing?!”
She couldn’t fight back.
His hands moved so fast, she couldn’t even see them.
He began tearing at the bass strings—
and the technique was so shockingly refined that Rilke froze, unable to do anything but watch.
Doom… doom… doom… doom… doom…
But what happened next—was even more terrifying.
Zwaaaang— ZwaaaAAANG—!
An unholy noise ripped through the studio.
Rilke stared in disbelief.
“Why… why does it sound like an electric guitar!?
What is this!? I’ve never heard anything like it!
What the hell are you doing?!”
And then—
he sang.
“━━─!”
It wasn’t a song.
It was a wail.
A desperate, agonized cry that seemed to come straight from the depths of the underworld.
Rilke collapsed to her knees, trembling.
“H-he can… do that…?”
It was pure, overwhelming defeat.
The second time in her life she’d felt this way.
No way… Could this man be… Orphe—
She stared at the figure before her.
Long hair. Pale makeup.
Black eyeliner streaked with tears.
Even in Happy World, notorious for its outlandish punishments, he stood out as something else entirely.
This… thing couldn’t be the once-gallant and noble Orpheus.
No way.
So… then who was he?
A demon… This man is a demon—no, a “Music Demon”!
In that instant, Rilke thought of his superior: Section Chief Joy.
And his nickname…
The Devil of Happy World… Even his underlings are monsters in disguise! I thought he was a regular guy… but no, I was completely wrong!
She knew it now—instinctively.
If that song made it out into the Soul Society unchanged, it would obliterate E&S’s hard-earned reputation.
So there are still monsters hiding in this Soul Society…
I don’t want to admit it, but… his skill might be on par with Orpheus.
Maybe even greater…
What she felt for Orpheus had been defeat.
But this?
This was fear.
She genuinely thought she might die from the music.
Thank the gods they were all already dead.
At least that couldn’t happen again.
“This Carnoy loves hitting stuff, you know!”
Doom-doom-doom-doom—!
Suddenly, Carnoy, the drummer of E&S, began slamming on the drums with all her might.
Was she trying to drown out the demonic music?
Or… did she just like hitting things?
Hard to say.
“Give it back! That’s my bass!”
Rilke, now snapped back to her senses, snatched her guitar from the demon’s hands.
And then she played.
Furiously.
Her fingers moved frantically across the thick strings.
They stung. They bled.
But she didn’t care.
They had to neutralize his song—
before it made it out into the world.
Just like Orpheus had once drowned out the sirens’ song to save the Argonauts—
Rilke finally understood.
She understood Orpheus′ noble purpose.
And her own sins, when she was alive.
***
I sat across from Ms. Arachne and sipped my coffee.
She made excellent coffee—probably thanks to those dexterous hands of hers.
“Well then, shall we head to the recording studio?”
“Are you going to sing, Section Chief Joy?”
“Seems like the safest bet.”
“Wow, so you’re a good singer too?”
“Nah. I sing just… average. Very average.”
“This Melinoe wants to sing too!”
Melinoe?
Singing?
Absolutely not.
Who knew—she might actually be amazing.
I couldn’t risk it.
“Melinoe, please wait here.”
“Just waiting sounds boring….”
“Then how about this—why don’t you dispose of these leftover honey candies?
Euriole and Rilke didn’t finish theirs.
We don’t want bugs crawling in.”
Her face lit up.
“Leave it to Melinoe!
When it comes to throwing out candy, I’m more confident than anyone!
I promise I’ll throw them all out… without tasting even one! Not even a lick!”
And with that, she vanished—boxes of honey candy in hand.
Finally… peace.
I headed for the recording room.
Click. Creak.
As I opened the heavily soundproofed door, a wave of oppressive heat hit my face.
Then I saw it—
Rilke, collapsed on the floor.
She looked completely unconscious.
“Rilke! Are you okay?!”
“……”
Next to her, kneeling like a wounded soldier, was Euriole.
Even Ms. Arachne seemed shaken by the scene.
“Euriole! Rilke! Carnoy! What happened in here?! Are you all okay?!”
She rushed to support Euriole, who barely opened her mouth.
“…You… what’s your name?”
“……”
The man—Krauser—looked panicked.
Hard to read, thanks to all the white face paint, but after spending these past few days around him…
I could tell.
He was definitely hiding something.
“Well then! I’m out!”
Fwoosh—!
Krauser bolted from the room.
Euriole tried to chase after him.
“W-wait—!”
But her legs gave out.
She crumpled to the ground.
What the hell just happened in here?
“Did Krauser… do something?”
“Krauser… don’t tell me… that Krauser? From Happy Metal… Ugh… so it really was him….”
Euriole gritted her teeth, visibly frustrated.
At the same time, Carnoy raised her drumsticks high.
“This Carnoy doesn’t really get what’s going on, but I feel great when I can just hit my drums like crazy! Actually, I just love hitting anything! Wahaha!”
Doom-chit, doom-doom-chit—
Using the beat as background, I quietly pinched my own cheek.
Ouch.
Yup.
This mess was 100% real.
The chaos finally settled.
The members of E&S were still completely wiped out, lying on the floor.
But Ms. Arachne?
She was literally bouncing with joy after listening to the recording.
“Th-this is a masterpiece! It’s the best album I’ve ever heard!
Once this hits the market, we’ll finally be able to buy magical carriages! Or a flying carpet!
Hyaaa!”
Moments ago, they had no interest in recording anything.
But the E&S girls had ended up pouring their souls into this album.
Why?
Even now, Rilke shot me a sharp glare and clicked her tongue.
“Section Chief Joy… I didn’t take you for someone so terrifying.
Just because we weren’t cooperating, you went and pulled something like that on us. You’re ruthless.”
“No, wait—I didn’t—”
Shiver—
A chill crawled up my spine, and I froze.
Something familiar.
I turned my head and—
There she was.
At the doorway, dressed in black, with a laurel crown atop her head.
Melinoe.
“Those who underestimate the employees of Happy World will always pay the price.
Especially Section Chief Joy—he’s infamous for being a beast of a man. A wild animal, completely untamable.”
“Wait… Lady Melinoe!?
This Arachne pays respects to the princess of the Soul Society!
Everyone—get down! Show respect!”
Ms. Arachne was sweating bullets, trembling hard enough to feel bad for her.
The others finally regained their senses and hesitantly bowed.
All except the hipster, Euriole, who stood calmly and met Melinoe’s gaze.
“I don’t kneel to power.
And you… Princess Melinoe, was it?
I can feel it—you have nymph energy.
A very peculiar kind.”
She leaned forward, as if to press her forehead against Melinoe.
Arachne shrieked in panic, eyes filling with tears.
“Euriole! No—you can’t do that!”
“You dare treat a goddess like a nymph? You’re not afraid of divine punishment?
Let’s see if your defiance is real—or just words.”
Even the slightest wrinkle in Melinoe’s brow made my skin crawl.
She was actually furious.
Calling a known nymph-hater a nymph?
That could get you sentenced to the Wheel of Damnation.
But Euriole didn’t seem the least bit afraid.
“A nymph who becomes an adult… always gains something, or loses something.
That’s how it was for me. And for Rilke.
What about you, Princess Melinoe? Which is it?”
“You dare—!”
RUMMMMMBLE—
The recording studio shook violently with Melinoe’s rage.
If this kept going, we’d all be doomed by association.
I had to act.
“Alright! Recording’s done, so let’s all head out!
Lady Melinoe, it’s already past work hours! Time to go home!
Punctuality is important—right? Right?!”
My desperate plea seemed to work.
Melinoe’s aura softened.
“Yes… respecting work hours is a foundational principle for any employee.
Those who respect the basics are the ones who walk the righteous path.
Fine. You’re all dismissed.”
Ms. Arachne looked at me with admiration.
“You just defused a furious executive… Section Chief Joy, you really are amazing.
We were this close to turning into bugs again…”
Well, technically, the spider Arachne once became wasn’t an insect, but now’s not the time.
“Alright. Ghost staff, assemble.”
Whooo… whoooo…
Mist-like ghost employees drifted into the room.
Princess Melinoe gathered them into a fluffy bundle and climbed on top like a cloud.
Then she reached a hand out to me.
“The ship back is probably delayed thanks to rebel activity.
Section Chief Joy, I’ll let you ride with me.”
Normally, I’d never dream of getting that close.
But right now, all I wanted was to get out.
So I climbed aboard the ghost carpet.
It was softer than I expected.
Floating gently through the air, we left the building—
and then she spoke.
“I listened to the final recording. It’s going to become the signature anthem of Happy World.
You’ve made history. I’d say your promotion to Deputy Chief is just around the corner.”
“Deputy Chief?”
“Yes. Employees at HQ are all Deputy Chief level or higher.
Once you become one, you’ll be eligible to transfer to the main office.
That’s your first step toward becoming an executive.”
“But I heard the promotion exam is… insanely hard. Like 100-to-1 odds.
And it’s evaluated by senior executives personally.”
“True. Even if I were your examiner, I won’t give you special treatment.
I’m a mature goddess, after all—and mature goddesses are always fair.”
When we arrived at my home, she handed me a wooden talisman.
“From now on, you’ll be in charge of piloting this ghost carpet.
With all the chaos from the Tartarus revivalists, you need to protect yourself on your commute.”
“This is a summoner talisman. Use it to call the carpet—or to contact me directly.
Of course, I’m a fair goddess, so don’t expect me to always answer.”
Did I just…
get handed the divine equivalent of a luxury company car… and a private hotline to the CEO’s daughter?
I didn’t even dare ask how much it was worth.
At that moment, I noticed something strange—
the corners of her lips were covered in honey.
I wanted to ask why.
But one wrong word, and I’d probably get turned into a hell cockroach.
So I just bowed.
“T-thank you… Your Grace…”
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