Chapter 35
The love story of the CEO (「CEO」) and his wife was legendary—even on the surface world.
It all began during Typhon’s rampage, when cracks tore through the earth. While on patrol, the CEO caught sight of a young girl… and instantly fell in love.
So naturally—
He kidnapped her and dragged her to the underworld.
—Hehehe, come with me!
—Eeep!
That young girl was Core, daughter of Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and the seasons.
Demeter abandoned all her duties to search for her child—
and the surface world, deprived of its caretaker, fell into a cruel, hellish winter.
“Didn’t Krates’ family say they died that winter?”
Eventually, the other gods had to intervene.
A compromise was struck:
Core would spend nine months each year with her mother Demeter on the surface—
and the remaining three months in the underworld.
—Why should my daughter have to stay underground for three months?!
—Because Core ate three pomegranate seeds while she was there. That bound her to the underworld.
And so, during the three months Core—now known as Persephone—remained in the underworld,
Demeter grieved.
She stopped working.
And the world was once again consumed by winter.
In other words—
Unless Lady Persephone returns to the surface, Earth remains locked in an eternal winter.
“But my wife hasn’t gone back to her mother’s house in years,” the CEO said.
“I don’t know if they fought or what, but… she just won’t leave. And I can’t exactly ask her directly, either.”
Could that explain the strange climate anomalies happening on Earth lately…?
“Well… if she stays down here, isn’t that a good thing for you, sir? I mean, you don’t have to be apart from the woman you love.”
The CEO’s expression turned unusually solemn.
His sharp features cast shadows around his eyes just from a frown.
“You don’t understand yet,” he said.
“When you love someone, sometimes you need to spend time apart.
A man needs time to focus—on himself and nothing else.”
Didn’t fully get it, but I think I’d heard married guys say something similar…
Like how they secretly enjoy it when their wife takes the kids to visit her parents.
“And recently,” he continued, “my wife has started decorating the house with… ‘torture devices.’
I worry she’s spent too long in the underworld. Her mental state may have been… affected.”
“…Torture devices?”
The CEO cleared his throat.
“Joy, don’t forget—you owe me.
You nullified a punishment I personally assigned to Orpheus.
You showed arrogant disrespect during the deputy manager exams.
If you want forgiveness for those sins—earn it.”
So he really was still mad at me.
Part of me felt honored that he even remembered someone as insignificant as me.
Another part of me wanted to cry.
I stayed quiet, and the CEO added:
“Deputy Manager Joy, if you complete this mission successfully,
I’ll grant you an answer to the question you’re most curious about.”
“…A question?”
“For example—something about a certain nymph.”
Wait, seriously?
That’s actually tempting.
I have been curious…
So many things I’ve wanted to ask, but never dared to.
“But if you fail… you’ll have to take responsibility.”
“…What kind of responsibility, exactly?”
“You’ll be expelled from this glorious Soul Society.
Anyone who gets involved with secrets of the CEO’s family and fails can’t be allowed to remain.
If you’re going to decline, now is the time.”
Chkk—
He held out his hand.
“Of course, it’s a colossal risk.
There may be no greater gamble in all of Soul Society than this.
I won’t blame you if you don’t take it.”
“I ACCEPT!!!”
I grabbed his hand.
“Please—let me do it!!!”
“…Deputy Manager Joy, you’d risk everything—even your job—just to hear about nymphs?
You really want to hear my stories about them that badly?”
“…No, that’s not exactly—”
Shu-shu-shhh—
Just then, Lady Melinoe phased back through the wall, holding a crimson drink.
A pomegranate juice.
“What were you two talking about?
I heard something about… ‘nymphs’?”
Seriously? Now of all times?
Before I could even formulate an excuse, the CEO’s voice thundered across the room:
“We were discussing the matter of Orpheus,
and the unauthorized annulment of a punishment I personally created.
We’re determining the consequences.”
…That wasn’t what we were talking about at all.
But I guess the whole thing about his wife was too personal to share—even with his daughter.
He was entrusting me with something
so private that even Lady Melinoe didn’t know about it.
In a weird way…
maybe the great CEO actually trusted me.
Which made my stomach churn.
I was getting pulled deeper into Soul Society’s secrets.
Once tangled, there might be no way out.
Thankfully, the odds of failure were high—
and failure meant I’d get fired.
That was comforting.
After all… how could I possibly succeed?
Figure out why Lady Persephone refuses to return to the surface?
And somehow resolve it?
Like I’d ever get a chance to even meet her, let alone ask.
Just then, Lady Melinoe let out a soft hum.
“That punishment for Orpheus?
It’s ridiculous to hold Joy responsible.
Orpheus himself asked for it.”
“…Wait—he wanted to forget?”
I stared, stunned.
Orpheus had chosen that punishment?
To forget his lover entirely?
“Melinoe,” the CEO growled, “we agreed to keep that matter strictly confidential.”
“It’s fine. Joy probably already figured it out.”
…Nope. Didn’t know a thing.
The CEO let out a long, agitated sigh.
“Alright. You’re dismissed.
And Deputy Manager Joy…”
He narrowed his burning eyes like flaming pits of the underworld.
“…Keep being your arrogant, defiant self.”
FWOOSH—!
His gaze flared like literal hellfire.
Suddenly, I felt something pierce through me—like an invisible spear.
Then, floating text appeared in the air above my body:
【Targeted by the CEO’s Gaze】
【Punishment Executor: Deputy Manager Joy】
I looked down. The words hovered faintly over me.
It was the same kind of divine status effect I’d seen on Admetos…
and Prince Zagreus.
What… had I gotten myself into?
# # #
They said you had to pass a belongings inspection before leaving Headquarters.
Can’t have someone stealing something important and running off, after all.
Especially my inspection—it was thorough.
They even checked the dust in my pockets.
【Targeted by the CEO’s Gaze】
【Punishment Executor: Deputy Manager Joy】
Maybe it was because of these bizarre titles?
I even had to take off my shoes.
Lady Melinoe, watching me, let out a soft chuckle.
“Zagreus once tried to escape to the surface with an Unfired Thunderbolt. Ever since then, the inspections have been this strict.”
“Escaping a place like this? Prince or not, that’s… kind of impressive.”
It was half admiration, half sarcasm.
But Melinoe slowly shook her head.
“Zagreus has never run away. Or escaped.
At least not on paper.
So Joy, don’t go saying things like that. Especially not in front of Zagreus.”
And just like that, I slouched my way out of Headquarters.
Didn’t realize it at the time, but as the tension drained from my body, I collapsed like a marionette with its strings cut.
I probably felt just like a boneless squid.
“I actually survived a meeting with the CEO (「CEO」)… A miracle.”
Now what?
Technically, I had no more work for the day.
“Here—take this as a souvenir.
Headquarters staff receive pomegranate wine pressed by my mother herself every year during the holidays.
Joy, I’d say you’ve earned it.”
Slip—
Melinoe handed me a dark glass bottle of pomegranate wine.
And of course, seeing it raised a few questions.
“Lady Melinoe… your mother became bound to the underworld after eating just three pomegranate seeds, right?
So what happens with this wine?”
“What do you mean, ‘what happens’?”
“If I drink this… will I be bound to Soul Society too?”
“Deputy Manager Joy, as stated in the documents you signed when you joined, nothing can bind you.
Ever since the ‘Work Renewal Act,’ food restrictions were abolished.”
Yep, just as I thought.
I remembered the clause from when I joined—
something about how consuming food wouldn’t bind you to the afterlife.
So, unlike Lady Persephone, I could chow down here all I wanted without being stuck forever.
Then again…
“I can’t leave until I get fired.”
But what about Lady Persephone?
Why hadn’t she returned to the surface in the past few years?
“Did your mother really go back to the surface for nine months a year, like in the stories?”
“Oh, that story.”
Flick—
Melinoe’s crimson eyes flickered like a bonfire fed dry winter wood.
She held a sea of emotions in those flames, and for once, she explained herself.
“As a child, I didn’t understand why I had to be apart from my mother for so long.
Even though I was born a perfect goddess, even I found it hard to bear.”
Well, yeah.
What kid likes being separated from their parents?
I was devastated when I lost my dad as a child.
“Of course, I’m an adult now. A functioning member of society.
Being apart from my mother for a few months doesn’t affect me anymore.
But lately… I get the feeling she hasn’t been going back to the surface at all.”
She’d only just realized it herself.
Why?
The reason was unclear…
But it wasn’t my problem.
Why?
Because I’d decided not to solve the CEO’s task.
If I let it fail on purpose, he’d have to fire me, right?
So I completely stopped working and just… goofed off.
“Why does Deputy Manager Joy seem to not be working at all lately?”
“Don’t you see his title? Clearly, he’s been given a top-secret task by the CEO himself.”
“W-Wow! I had no idea!”
Fools.
I’m just slacking off!
Except… doing absolutely nothing was hard.
I was bored. Restless.
That’s when a message caught my eye:
“Plant Gallery Meet-Up Announcement – Posted by: Chicoretta”
“I need a headcount to prep food, so please leave a comment if you’re attending! ^^”
A plant gallery meet-up?
Finally! Something to do.
Time was crawling lately anyway.
“Manager, I’ll be doing some fieldwork tomorrow.”
Might as well go all-in on this “not working” thing.
Let’s make it an official field trip!
***
A man returned home under cover of darkness.
His entryway and living room were cluttered—overflowing with torture tools, as they had been for days now.
In the kitchen, a full feast was laid out.
“You’re late,” his wife said.
“……!”
Startled, the man turned.
She stood there, smiling… with a torture device in hand.
“I made the cactus kimchi you said you liked. And cactus radish cubes.
We’ll try cactus pickles next!”
“…Ah, actually… I already ate out tonight.”
“Oh, that’s a shame.
I was waiting to eat with you.”
She smiled sweetly.
But something about her eyes felt… off.
And that terrified him.
Slide—
She began packing the entire spread into containers.
Stacking them in a bag, she looked like someone preparing for a long trip.
“…Are you leaving for your mother’s place?”
The man asked, hopeful.
But she just chuckled softly.
“No, no. It’s for tomorrow’s meet-up. I’m going to share it with the other members.
But don’t worry—I’ve left enough for your breakfast before work.”
Dozens of kimchi containers.
The sight alone made the man feel queasy.
What the Happy World…
He could feel his life force slipping away, one cactus meal at a time.
There’s only so much torture-device kimchi a man can take.
“Deputy Manager Joy! I’m begging you—complete your mission!”
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