121 – I Clearly Went All-In on Wild Moves, Right? #1
You've encountered a desperate crisis. But a glimmer of hope remains. This could turn into the perfect opportunity.
I had two choices laid out before me. I racked my brain, wondering which one would clear my path ahead without pulling out every last hair on my head. Full brainpower! Maximum focus! Every second stretched into eternity, time itself seeming to freeze.
That's when I sneaked another glance at Melinoë's expression.
"……?"
Her face was as faintly expressionless as ever. If anything, she looked a bit sulky.
Those nymph ears from before are back to normal, huh?
I recalled the time her ears had turned pointy like a nymph's. No idea why that happened, but whatever.
Either way, Melinoë's pale skin glowed mysteriously like moonlight, and the delicate proportions of her features on that petite head were utterly perfect. Back on Earth, I'd never had a chance to meet a woman this stunning.
Well, yeah. Melinoë was a goddess, after all.
It hit me anew just how incredible she was.
"Jo, why are you staring like that?"
"Oh, uh, I was just thinking how beautiful you are, Lady Melinoë."
"What a obvious thing to say."
Hmph—. She let out a long, dismissive sniff.
"Hearing that doesn't make me happy. Everyone tells me that every day."
Even as she said it, her fingers fidgeted. She was clearly pleased.
No! My focus slipped, and now I've accidentally scored points with Melinoë!
I had to fix this mess fast. So, after agonizing over it, I hit the button on the choice I'd been mulling.
1. Tell the truth about Hedone ◀
"Um, Lady Melinoë. There's something I need to tell you straight up."
"It's about Hedone, right?"
"Pardon?"
"I'm a beautiful and perfect goddess, just like you confessed from your own mouth. Figuring out some clumsy girl's half-baked schemes is a piece of cake. I already knew she was bothering you."
It felt like an icy hand had grabbed my heart. A ghost's touch, straight out of a horror flick!
I never imagined Melinoë's intuition was that sharp!
"But Jo, that's unavoidable. For someone who adores me, other women buzzing around must be a tragedy. When a man aims high, women who oppose that are bound to appear—."
She didn't even give me a chance to speak, neatly wrapping up the story on her own.
"Especially since that girl doesn't know you're my lover, she can't help it. We can't reveal it in the current situation. And we can't downplay your appeal either, Jo. So, status quo it is."
Hold up—. Something's off with how this is going.
Was Melinoë saying she'd overlook Hedone approaching me and me possibly straying?
—How dare you cheat on me, Melinoë? Gross. Disgusting. Pathetic. You want to spend time with her?
Shouldn't she be reacting like that? I scrutinized her face more closely and realized what was happening.
This was pure confidence. Overwhelming self-assurance.
Melinoë believed herself so utterly perfect that she was convinced a fanboy like me would never fall for temptations or advances from other women.
"But thinking about it, that girl Hedone causes way too much trouble. Jo, setting aside your work, maybe I should meet her personally and give her some light advice."
"Advice?"
"Yes. Teaching her how to become a perfect businesswoman like me wouldn't be bad."
Whoosh—. With that, Melinoë floated up into the air.
Then, like a dandelion seed, she rode the wind and vanished somewhere.
I couldn't sleep and ended up pulling an all-nighter. My one worry: how the hell do I get Melinoë to hate me?
Looking back, ever since I got tangled up with her, my career had skyrocketed dramatically.
Maybe separating from Melinoë was the key to getting back to Earth.
The problem? She was a goddess with freakish generosity. I had a feeling she'd forgive me even if I actually cheated!
Of course, maybe not. But I didn't have the guts to test it.
If an enraged Melinoë split my skull open, I'd be permanently employed at Soul Society—as a punished inmate!
I had to avoid that at all costs.
So, what now? How do I lose points without outright pissing her off?
Lost in those thoughts, morning rolled around.
"Manager Jo! Congrats on your triumphant return to Audit Team 1!"
Heading to HQ, Alecto—the overseeing goddess of Audit Team 1—slapped my back with resounding pows.
The other employees, like they'd been waiting, set off fireworks.
"Demoted and then back as manager? Man, Narcissus here is jealous! Jo, what's your secret? How do you make it big like that?!"
"Narcissus, before asking Jo for tips, how about sorting those files I asked for? The deadline's already two days past."
"Gah!"
This place was still its usual madhouse. But part of me felt like I'd come home.
My real home was up on Earth, of course.
"Reviving Pandora Market like that."
"And nailing the princess's birthday party, plus solving Goddess Artemis's disappearance—what about that?!"
"The guy's the real deal."
"At this rate, first mortal to hit executive?"
Ah, crap. This definitely wasn't home!
Melinoë, Hedone, Tartarus gunning for me. Promotions. Faction wars. I wanted out of all that headache.
But now I was a manager. Just one step from the 'executive' rank I dreaded most.
Couldn't just sit idle, though. This staircase was an escalator—stand still, and it'd carry me straight up.
To go down, I'd have to sprint full-speed the other way.
"Lady Alecto, Audit Team 1 is basically an independent agency, right? We have the authority to audit and investigate any department on our own call."
"Exactly."
Her eyes gleamed.
"Feeling motivated? Gonna flex that manager power and aim for executive? Safety Management Team first, yeah?"
"Safety Management?"
"Truce has dragged on—time to stir up war again. We'll stay neutral in the princess-prince faction fight, but Safety Management owes us big."
Everyone was fired up. If Audit Team 1—the bloodthirsty demons who'd squeeze a flea for its last tear—clashed with Safety Management, dust would fly. And I'd rack up achievements for promotion.
Can't let that happen!
I had to dodge a collision with Safety Management at all costs.
"Team, as your manager, I have a proposal. It's too soon to tangle with Prince Zagreus, his Safety Management Team, or his wives."
"Too soon?"
"With Tartarus goons bold enough to kidnap a goddess, hitting the security team now would just fatten the thugs' pockets."
Alecto nodded curtly. Go on.
"Truth is, there's somewhere that desperately needs auditing. And that place is—."
Where? I'd blurted it out brain-dead, so I froze like a lag spike.
Desperate, I yanked up the org chart and jabbed my finger randomly.
"Right here!"
"Gasp."
"Th-that place?!"
Everyone sucked in a breath. Even Alecto, who never stopped preening her wings, looked shocked.
"Entertainment Department?"
Entertainment Department? What the—?
Checking the chart, sure enough, my finger pointed at 「Entertainment Department」.
The text was so tiny, you had to squint hard to read it.
Looked like a dead-end department. Auditing it seriously would probably turn up petty stuff like unpaid tabs at a corner store.
"There was a department like that?"
"News to me."
"Full audit there? No big fish, probably…."
The team members exchanged puzzled glances.
Perfect. Perfect!
Pouring major manpower into auditing Entertainment? Like raiding a mom-and-pop shop. Waste of resources—the manager takes the fall.
Great optics, great setup.
Then Alecto's eyebrow arched like a fishing line hooked taut.
"Entertainment Department? Didn't even know it existed. How's that possible? A department we don't know about? Smells fishy."
Manager Hector's eyes glinted ominously too.
"Ghost department, maybe. Submitting names and budgets to siphon funds—nothing new. Manager Jo, this reeks of a huge case!"
…A department even the venerable Audit Team 1 didn't know about.
Wait, that did sound suspicious now.
No. No!
Too late—the words were spilled like water.
"Dig up every record pre- and post-Business Renewal! All docs related to 「Entertainment Department」—bring 'em! And Manager Hector! Contact Security for the censored files too!"
"Yeehaw! Overtime party!"
"Things got boring after you got demoted, Manager Jo. Now it's fun again."
"A department we didn't know existed for years? Jackpot."
Audit Team 1 was infamous for elite efficiency. Seeing them genuinely fired up made my vision swim.
Something was happening… but not in the direction I wanted.
Two days later, no one had gone home.
"As expected of Manager Jo!"
Alecto burst into my private office, where I'd been staring blankly at the ceiling.
She spoke in a sly tone.
"Manager Jo, we combed every file on 「Entertainment Department」. Found exactly one related doc. And this? Not your average case. How about we bury it ourselves?"
"Bury it?"
Alecto suggesting a cover-up? Now I was intrigued.
This was something we absolutely couldn't bury!