As Expected, Employee Love Comes From the Manager

As expected, employee love comes from the Manager~

The Korean Hunter Management Bureau had relocated to Yeouido.

Director Park Seongho, currently on medication for stress-induced stomach cramps, had reached the point where any news about the basement would jolt him awake mid-sleep, ready to shout long live the Manager.

"Is that really true?"

"Yes, Director. A new class called Exorcist has been discovered, and the Manager has requested that we actively investigate them."

"And of all people, the one put in charge is Gu Gitae — the biggest airhead and unofficial bottom-rung employee in the entire Bureau?"

"Yes. According to Gu Gitae himself, the Manager took a great liking to him."

"The Basement Manager… has a bit of a taste for… the dim-witted types…"

"Director. They might be watching us from somewhere. It would be wise to watch your words."

"Aigoo! My big mouth!"

The Exorcist report, courtesy of Gu Gitae.

Kim Wonhyul, now a Basement Subordinate, and Gu Gitae, assigned to keep an eye on him.

The two of them were scheduled to run themselves ragged across the country hunting down other Exorcists hiding in Korea.

"Anyway — what's this about a Chef King?"

"Information from the Babel Tower community. And since it also came from Kang Haesol, who became a Basement Subordinate, we can trust it one hundred percent."

The 49th Gallery Terrorism Incident by the Basement Manager.

This time, what the Manager demanded was that masters of Korea's three great male soul foods be brought into the Tower.

At his secretary's absurd report, the Director let out a long sigh.

"Pork cutlet and spicy stir-fried pork…?"

"And someone who can make all kinds of gukbap well. We suspect they're looking for a dedicated personal chef. The reward is the Chef King's Spatula."

"The Chef King's Spatula? What on earth is that?"

"It's a class-change item for Chef King. Experts speculate it may be a Mythic-grade item."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Mythic-grade… Hyeji also had a Mythic-grade item, didn't she?"

"Yes. The Agni's Heart that Lee Hyeji possesses is also presumed to be Mythic-grade."

"What, does the basement just have Mythic-grade items rolling around on the floor?"

The Director wiped the sweat from his brow.

A being terrifying just to think about — the Basement Manager.

He had never met them in person, but according to what Gu Gitae had relayed: the Basement Manager did not hesitate to shoot people with a gun, and their command and dominion over the beings called entities far surpassed anything human. A monster of a person, Gu Gitae had said.

Gu Gitae had even testified that the Basement Manager was an utterly adorable little girl — a claim the Bureau's psychic response team suspected was a delusion brought on by extreme stress.

Regardless, that Manager had demanded a chef.

This one absolutely had to be granted.

If we don't, who knows what kind of hell we'll catch.

Director Park Seongho even considered secretly recruiting the former head chef of the Blue House kitchen staff.

Finding a current hunter who could cook all three dishes at master level was nearly impossible. Ultimately, candidates would have to be drawn from active restaurant professionals.

"For that very reason, renowned masters from around the world are flocking to Korea, Director."

"Excuse me? Renowned masters? All of a sudden? Without even consulting me?"

"D-do you know Gordon Nanji?"

"Of course I do. He's a celebrity."

"He's coming to Korea soon as well."

There was only one reason.

The Basement Manager had put the title of Chef King on the line and opened a cooking competition.

Of course, Cheonwoo had never held any such thing.

A handful of broadcasting executives had simply over-interpreted her intentions, smelled an opportunity, and decided to stage a competition of their own.

"These lunatics! Blinded by ratings…! Do they have any idea how terrifying the Manager is, and they're turning this into variety entertainment?!"

"Well, the whole world is watching. They probably saw it as an opportunity. Still, thanks to the basement, the economy is recovering rapidly. That's good news, isn't it?"

"It is good news, but why? Just a little while ago everything was freefalling."

"Because lately, nothing but good news has been coming out of the basement."

Park Seongho quickly understood as his secretary continued the explanation.

Back during the mass magic-book recovery incident, public sentiment had been ugly. Now the story was completely different.

Get on the Basement Manager's good side, and you might snag some of the leftovers!

That perception had been spreading ever since the Subordinate selections began.

"The opening of Landing City and the Simple Labyrinth played a huge part."

"No wonder. I was wondering why nobody's panicking these days."

"The basement has become Korea's most important resource, Director. I know you're on medication for the stress, but please pay a little more attention."

"…Fine."

The Director, who had been deliberately avoiding basement-related news, cleared his throat and conceded.

The entities were terrifying, sure.

But if the basement thrived, Korea thrived.

Meanwhile, at a famous studio somewhere in Gyeonggi Province, people aiming to become Chef King were gathering one by one.

And renowned chefs continued pouring into Korea as well.

"Excuse me — Korean food expert? Chef! Jeyuk? Do I grill the jeyuk at 212 degrees Fahrenheit?"

"No, I don't know Fahrenheit. Use Celsius…"

"Chef seonsaengnim? How many ounces of sauce for this?"

"I don't know ounces! I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠don't know pounds, gallons, or feet either! If you're not using the metric system, get out of my kitchen!"

From top-ranked celebrity chefs to multinational cooks who owned chains of famous restaurants — people whose names alone carried weight had gathered to learn cooking from Korean chefs. It was a truly surreal sight.

"How do you make gukbap? We have no time! Must become Chef King quickly!"

"Everyone, please calm down first. I'll teach you the most basic method for making gukbap, so gather around."

"Wait! This is not fine dining technique!"

"But most Korean gukbap shops use commercial products! This is the Korean taste!"

And it wasn't just them. Across the globe, the number of chefs asking in broken Korean about gukbap and jeyuk recipes was skyrocketing. Overseas media were flooding out articles and columns under the banner of "Korean soul food."

"I'm confident with tonkatsu."

"That's our-style tonkatsu — automatic disqualification. You have to make dongaseu."

"What? Isn't dongaseu just tonkatsu?"

"Korean-style dongaseu is different from our tonkatsu. It's pounded thin."

"Ah…! That one! But you have to hammer it all day long."

"That must be what Koreans mean by hand-taste."

"Aha! Truly a people of hand-taste."

Even Korean cuisine cooks saw their popularity rocket into the stratosphere without a care for the heavens.

The basement's influence was soaring in an overwhelmingly positive direction.

The small pebble the Basement Manager had tossed sent out enormous ripples.

Thanks to that, Korean media was enjoying an unprecedented boom, and the Chef King selection show — with its broadcast date locked in at lightning speed — was already guaranteed to be a hit before the program even started.

Someone who sat still and flung dopamine at the entire world.

That was the Basement Manager.

And while all of this was unfolding…

The Basement Manager was…

"Urgh… this is way too heavy!"

…moving luggage around in the basement.

The sweet vacation was over.

Back to the Tower with Mokgu!

"Ahh, that felt good."

Stirring up some chaos on the gallery after so long put me in an excellent mood.

Humanity's three great desires.

Sleep, hunger, and… the urge to troll.

I had poured every last drop of the trolling impulse I'd been holding back straight into the gallery.

And that was when I found myself believing in the doctrine of innate human evil.

Is feeling good after doing something bad a joy unique to me?

Wait — you're not human?

Aww, too bad — I'm still 82 percent human~!

"What is this."

Why did it drop another six percent?

Last time it was definitely 88 percent.

Hey, I've been behaving myself this whole time?

What even is the criteria for this drop.

Every time I look, it just keeps shrinking!

"Cheonwoo, what are you doing?"

"Ah, nothing. Just a little lament over my gradually vanishing humanity. Still, I'm pretty satisfied with my current state."

"Uh… I have no idea what you're talking about."

This was Basement 1st Floor.

The corridor lobby area.

I was hard at work moving exercise equipment with my colleagues — or rather, the stuff was so heavy I'd snuck off to a corner for a break, only to get caught red-handed by Kkingkkingi.

That little snitch was always sharp-eyed.

"Boss! What is this thing for?"

"It's a machine that lets you ride a bike without going anywhere."

"…Excuse me? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Why would anyone bother using something like that?"

"Kuku, do not question Miss's actions."

"Ah, my apologies!"

To the entities, human exercise equipment was just a collection of meaningless objects.

Well, fair enough — Kuku and Popo were hauling machines I couldn't even lift with one hand. They probably had no need for exercise in the first place.

"Cheonwoo. Look at this. Cool, right?"

"No, Kkingkkingi. Don't juggle with the dumbbells."

"Huh? Isn't this how you're supposed to play with them?"

"Those are not toys…"

And there was Kkingkkingi, juggling dumbbells…

The entire usage was wrong, but honestly — what even was entity physical ability.

"Hey, have any of you ever played badminton?"

"Badminton. I have never once played it, Miss."

"I am also inexperienced!"

"I don't know either!"

"Then there are exactly four of us. Let's play two-on-two badminton!"

"That sounds delightful. Miss and I shall be a team."

"Huh? I want to be on the same team as Boss too!"

"Cheonwoo… don't abandon me."

"Come on, we can rotate! First round, me and Popo on the same side."

Among the many rooms on Basement 1st Floor, we found one that was especially large and decided to play badminton with light hearts…

"Uh…?"

"I shall absolutely deliver victory to you, Miss. So please do not worry."

"N-no, this isn't that kind of game…"

Where exactly had this gone wrong?

Whoosh! Whooooosh—!

Um, excuse me, but I can't see the shuttlecock?

Something was definitely cutting through the air.

But I couldn't see it.

And I couldn't really see Popo's arm either…

Too fast…!

"Badminton is not a murder game!

You crazy entities!

Don't swing the racket at the speed of sound!

If I get hit by a supersonic shuttlecock, I will genuinely die!"

Ding!

"W-wait! Stop!"

Nice timing!

A quest popped up at the perfect moment.

Great — I need to get out of here right now.

"Oh dear. We were just getting to the fun part. What a shame, Boss."

"I want to play with Cheonwoo more."

"Alright, alright, playtime's over! Everyone back to work. Kuku, Popo, and Mokgu — grab three bottles of Almond Water each and head outside to find entities."

The Constellation Gallery's atmosphere had been weird lately.

But with the hunting dog Mokgu newly on board, we should be able to find entities faster.

The Constellations would be sending down Apostles soon, so I needed to expand the security detail.

Time to diligently hunt for high-combat-power security team candidates.

"Understood, Miss."

"Leave it to us!"

"Woof!"

"Cheonwoo, what about ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me?"

"Kkingkkingi, you guard Basement 1st Floor. I always count on you. Take care of it."

"Okay…! Leave it to me! Let's play together again, Cheonwoo."

"It's a deal."

That settles the security team's welfare for now.

Time to flee to the break room.

"Let's see here."

Sprawled on the break room sofa, I checked the quest.

So this time I have to go to Basement 5th Floor?

Recruit an intern? What's that about.

What kind of place is Basement 5th Floor, anyway.

What do they even do down there that there are interns?

The rewards are two geun of that Ritual Meat whose purpose keeps showing up with no explanation, and…

"Altar of Welfare?"

I'd have to receive it to know for sure, but by the feel of it, it was probably a furniture-type item like the Almond Water Vending Machine.

And with a name like "welfare," it was probably related to vacation days or employee benefits?

Looking at the "altar" part, it felt like the Ritual Meat was meant to be used on it.

Alright.

Let's head to Basement 5th Floor.

Ah — but before I go, I should take care of the other employees' welfare too.

That's why I bought an espresso maker and some romance novels.

I may look like a freeloader, but I am the Basement Manager, you know.

Looking after the staff whenever I have free time — isn't that exactly a Manager's job?