The Corrupted White Orb
By chance, Branch Manager Del Monte was in the middle of receiving a report from the deputy manager, so we had to wait outside his office for a bit.
"So, Apex Engineering is plotting something really shady, huh?"
In the meantime, Senior Fred was carefully trying to confirm what I'd seen.
"Yes. It's definite."
"Hmm…"
My awakened Job Authority, Goddess Judgment, was an ability that let me gauge a person's potential and such through a scale visible only to my eyes, complete with a goddess statue. On the plates were a black orb on the left representing negative possibilities and a white orb on the right for positive ones. If the white orb outweighed the black, the scale tipped right—and the steeper the tilt, the higher the target's potential to make money in the near future.
But this case wasn't one I could take at face value like usual. Apex Engineering's scale was tipped right, but the white orb was completely eroded by black energy. That erosion signified severe moral corruption—not just lukewarm moral hazards like skirting the law, but a willingness to break it outright.
Of course, the scale only showed possibilities and potential. Customers with money-making potential could still get into accidents or squander it through laziness. By the same token, whistleblowers or other factors could put the brakes on a company's serious illegal schemes.
I might've brushed it off with excuses like that. If Apex Engineering hadn't already borrowed 1.5 billion and requested an extension plus additional financing from the Dimensional Credit Vault.
"Asking to borrow another 5 billion gulden without paying back the 1.5 billion. And who knows what they'll do with the money once they get it."
"It's a time bomb. We can't approve more loans, and we need to recover that 1.5 billion right now."
"If they've already started dodging taxes or something, the tax office will slap fines on them and shake them down while we sit on our hands."
"I won't let it come to that."
As a teller at the Dimensional Credit Vault, I couldn't ignore what I'd seen.
We spotted the deputy coming out and immediately opened the door to head into the branch manager's office.
"I see… So Kim Jian's Job Authority let you confirm all that."
"Yes. That's right."
"A truly useful ability."
Fortunately, unlike my worries, Del Monte didn't nitpick or doubt me—he just accepted my words outright.
"Job Authority grows stronger with promotions. Looking forward to your promotion to assistant manager."
"Thank you…"
Honestly, I hadn't expected straight-up praise like that. I'd been bracing for a scolding over suspecting a customer.
"A bank can't get tangled in crime. No matter how important loan margins are, we can't lend our customers' precious assets to conscienceless crooks. Fred."
"Yes, Branch Manager."
"Activate your Job Authority."
"…Here?"
"Yes. I trust Kim Jian, but to take action, I need strong conviction."
"……."
"If they're plotting crimes, there'll be traces in the books. Your ability will give us the answer."
"Hmm…"
Fred covered his flat nose with his hand, his face twisting in agony. What was that about? I couldn't make sense of the situation at all.
"He looks like he really hates it. What kind of Job Authority is it…?"
"Fred's Job Authority is under special management by HQ's HR department. It's a power that'd cause problems if too many people knew about it, so only a few, including me, know the details."
"…?!"
News to me. My potential-vision power hadn't gotten that kind of scrutiny—what could his be?
"And it's a power that carries risks beyond its usefulness, so he can't use it without direct superior approval."
"For real, Senior?"
Fred nodded glumly.
"It's useful, but the 'risk' is so big I hate using it unless I have to."
"What kind of risk…?"
"Jian, didn't you say you did some weird training back in Dimension 3-1? The one that squeezes out tears and snot."
"CBRN training?"
"Yeah, like that. Just like you see short-term customer potential, I—"
Fred touched his badge to activate his Job Authority, picked up the financial statements and ledgers, and brought his nose to the papers with a resolute face. Then he took a huge sniff.
"I can smell the stench of creative accounting. Nghhh."
-Wr wriggle
Less than a second later, Fred rolled off his chair, eyes rolled back, convulsing.
"Senior? Fred Senior?"
His catfish whiskers twitched. I shook his shoulders, but he wouldn't wake.
"…He's not dead, right?"
"Just passed out from the intense smell."
A Job Authority that detects the smell of falsified accounting. Fred's words about its usefulness coming with equal risk were no lie. Even without a separate cost to use it, keeping it active all the time would wear anyone out—no matter how many lives they had.
"Anyway, this confirms it. Apex is up to no good."
I nodded in agreement. They'd fudged the statements and books just to dress up performance for more loans. We still didn't know what they'd do with the money—but the fact they planned to make it through shady means hadn't changed.
"What do you plan to do?"
"Obviously, reject the additional 5 billion gulden loan and recover the previous 1.5 billion."
"Should we notify them of refusal right away and collect the money?"
"That'd be hard without cause. We don't have clear proof of accounting fraud."
Del Monte drummed his metal fingers on the desk for a while, then a light flickered in his glass eyes.
"For now, we need to check directly what Apex Engineering is plotting."
"Heading out right away?"
"Hardly."
"After closing for the day, then…"
"As soon as Fred wakes up. Get ready."
And just like that, my first field assignment was set.
I sent the Apex Engineering accounting staff back to their company first. Our excuse was dropping by with souvenirs to say hello to the CEO too.
"You don't need to come in person…"
"We should greet the CEO properly, right?"
"Well… if you insist."
His uneasy expression. Something was definitely off.
"Kim Jian, the souvenirs?"
"Got the calendars."
This dimension was a few months behind Earth—it was still November. Calendars seemed the safest bet for gifts.
"Photo calendars?"
"Yes."
The Dimensional Credit Vault made calendars each year with photos of our good-looking staff as a marketing gimmick to give to clients. A bank photobook calendar—unthinkable back in Korea. But they sold firefighter muscle calendars like hotcakes, right? Same principle: well-groomed bankers weren't impossible. Of course, no skimpy outfits due to the industry's conservative image.
"A-type?"
"One sec."
I quickly checked. Neat photos of male and female staff in uniforms.
"A-type."
The safest choice, with both genders. Should be fine.
"Add a Hur Dalaya set too."
"Pardon?"
Those were pricey.
"The Hur Dalaya set?"
The Hur Dalaya set used specialty salts from Dimension 23—famous for its rugged peaks alongside Dimension 12's Olympus. Made with pink Hur Dalaya salt, it was one of our most popular client gifts, even popping up on secondhand sites online. I'd never tried it, but during new hire training, I heard some section chief at a branch got fired for secretly reselling them.
Mostly young female clients loved it. High demand and resale value—seemed wasteful for someone we suspected of eating our loans.
"We're low on stock—do we have to?"
"A few years back, Apex's CEO started asking for Hur Dalaya pink salt bath sets. Said it was for family."
"If it's really for family, then. I'll grab two more."
"One's enough. I hear he's divorced."
Maybe the prejudice from his construction CEO title, plus confirming via Job Authority that his company would rake in big money through illegal means, had me forgetting: even villains can be doting dads.
"Ugh, my head."
"Senior coming around?"
Just as we packed the Hur Dalaya pink salt bath set, Fred stirred.
The branch manager opened his alloy palm, revealing a white pill.
"Painkiller."
"Thanks…"
Fred gulped it down with a glass of cold water.
"Why's the painkiller coming from your hand…?"
"Taking care of subordinates is part of a branch manager's job."
Mechanical race, yet oddly warm. His head looked straight out of Silent Hill's triangle-head, though.
"If you're ready, let's head out."
We grabbed our stuff and left the West Podoks Branch right away.
The branch manager's car was a pricey luxury sedan. No driver yet since he wasn't executive level, but the car and watch hinted at his salary range.
"Mind filling me in on how far things went while I was out?"
"Kim Jian will explain."
After I recapped, Fred nodded silently and hit the accelerator.
"Got it. But can we pinpoint who's planning the crime?"
"I think I can handle that."
I raised my hand confidently.
"Just use my Job Authority on everyone in the office. We can figure out employee names somehow."
"Excellent."
"Jian's got a good head on him."
"That surprising…?"
"Nah. Just hits me again how OP your power is."
Fair. Even I thought it was cheat-level for loan reviews and such. It'd surely help recover our money this time too.
"Apex's loan matures end of year, right?"
"Yes."
"No extension's set in stone, but let's notify them as late as possible."
"If they make funny moves before then—"
"We'll find cause and recover principal plus interest before maturity."
In the rearview, the branch manager wore his clockwork-default cold, mechanical expression.
"No matter what crime they're plotting, we won't let the Dimensional Credit Vault get involved."
Thirty minutes later, we arrived at the building housing the construction firm's office.
"Let's go."
We parked, grabbed the calendar bag, and headed to the eighth floor. Out of the elevator, straight ahead. Down the quiet hall to the entrance.
-Ding dong
For some reason, no response despite it being a weekday afternoon.
"What the…?"
I tried the handle—just in case—and the glass door swung open without resistance.
"Hello, Dimensional Credit Vault—"
An unexpected sight froze me, Senior, and the branch manager solid.
"……."
"……."
"Why's it empty?"
What awaited us: no staff, papers, computers, faxes, phones, water cooler—nothing that came to mind for a normal office.
"…Figuring that out is our job, I suppose."
The office was completely deserted.