127 – In the Battle Where Promised Victory is Sealed #4
“……”
The perfect and beautiful goddess Melinoë. She kept glancing outside the temple, as if waiting for someone.
But with the direct confinement order from the chairman, no one should be able to come visit her.
Melinoë combed her hair meticulously with a fine-toothed comb and diligently cleaned the temple floor littered with cookie crumbs. Normally, the ghost maids would handle this, but now even they couldn't approach the temple, so she had no choice but to do it herself.
Hmmph! After finishing the thorough cleaning, Melinoë let out a satisfied snort.
“Even though I did it myself, it's a perfect job.”
Now she could relax even if someone showed up.
She sneaked another peek outside the temple.
When will Jo Iseo come back?
Melinoë's confinement was for 10 years. For her, who would live eternity, 10 years wasn't an unbearable wait.
But it would be different for Jo Iseo. He was a mortal, aging every moment. To him, 10 years would feel like an eternity.
“That's why he's working so hard for me.”
Jo Iseo had boldly declared he'd personally carry out her proposal.
Melinoë didn't think he'd fail.
But suddenly, worry crept in. What if, just what if, something went terribly wrong for him because of this?
The thought made her unable to sit still.
I'm not so shameless a goddess that I'd leave everything to Jo Iseo and lounge around carefree.
Melinoë pulled out The Goddess's Standard – Hera's Treatise and began reading. The textbook for goddesses. Its contents read as follows.
"If your worshiper does a good job, you must praise and reward them without fail."
"If you take without giving back, you'll cease to be a goddess and become a surplus goddess."
— Surplus Goddess! A fallen end no one seeks, with no meaning to one's existence. The fate goddesses fear most.
“I can't end up like Hedone.”
So, to avoid becoming a surplus goddess, Melinoë decided to sneak out of the temple.
She was confident in moving stealthily. After all, she was the unseen one—the daughter of Hades and goddess of ghosts.
But just as she tried to slip out, Zagreus showed up at the temple.
“Melly, you there?”
“What.”
“Nothing much. Dad sent me to check if you're okay.”
“Dad did?”
“The secretary's office got a tip that someone broke into your place. So here I am.”
“Broke in? That's ridiculous. Who even reported that?”
“Someone bold enough to lie to the chairman, I guess. Anyway, seems all's well, so I'm out. Got a mountain of work.”
Whoosh—he turned to leave.
At that moment, a brilliant idea struck Melinoë.
No matter what Jo Iseo and I are planning, Zagreus will be a huge obstacle.
Best to keep his attention here as long as possible.
The question was how to hold him back.
Of course, Melinoë was a perfect goddess by nature. A great idea came quickly.
“Actually, I did feel a suspicious presence from the basement.”
There was no such thing. The basement had been an empty storage room for years.
If Zagreus went down there, she'd lock the door and trap him—
But Zagreus narrowed his eyes slyly.
“Melly, why are your feet fidgeting like that? Got athlete's foot or something?”
“—I'll kill you.”
“Kahaha! Scary. So, basement this way?”
Clack, clack—he headed to the temple basement.
And what he found there—
“Damn! How'd he know we were hiding?!”
“Perfect chance to attack the princess left alone on confinement!”
“Charge!”
“Full power! Dragon Gate Return Pill!”
Shing! Skeleton ninjas lurking in the basement shadows drew their blades and lunged.
Even Zagreus was a bit surprised by this.
“The tip was spot on.”
# # #
Suddenly, a bad premonition hit me.
The feeling that something unpleasant was happening somewhere without my knowledge.
Probably just my imagination.
I shuddered, and Hedone, who'd been silent, finally spoke.
“So, the princess has this fantastic proposal, and you and I, Manager Jo Iseo, are gonna make it happen? It'll be a massive hit if we succeed, right?”
“Exactly. Normally we wouldn't let just anyone in, but after the beer incident, we're making you a special offer. Nail this, and you could join headquarters staff.”
“Sounds like big risks too, huh?”
“……”
Hedone, the total slacker, only got sharp like lightning when it put me in a tough spot.
If she was always this perceptive, she'd have been at headquarters ages ago.
“...Yeah, if it goes wrong, you could get demoted or fired even from Happy World.”
I was straight with her. If she backed out, we'd have fewer hands, but that might be for the best.
Hedone was too unpredictable.
“Cool, I'm in! Let's do it!”
“Oho?”
“To flatten Princess Melinoë's nose and steal Manager Jo Iseo's attention, normal tricks won't cut it. I need a huge opportunity for huge gains!”
Well, she'd snuck into Melinoë's office for intel, so her recklessness was no surprise.
Her jumping on board felt inevitable.
“So, what do I do?”
“First, we need approval that this won't threaten Soul Society's peace and safety.”
“Approval! We gotta hit the Safety Management Team!”
“Right. Steal the stamp from CSO Prince Zagreus. Forge the docs with that, and it's legit.”
“Isn't that illegal?”
“Of course it is. Just plotting this gets us disciplined. But? If we pull it off and rack up results, it's all good.”
“Whoa, Manager Jo Iseo, you're amazing! No wonder you shot up to headquarters manager so fast with ideas like this!”
She buys this? I lured her in, but now I'm worried.
Any normal person would've balked at stealing the prince's stamp.
Problem is, Prince Zagreus is a workaholic.
Word was, he rarely left his office lately.
We'd forge docs the moment he stepped out.
That was the plan's crux.
We headed straight to the CSO office.
And get this—the prince had just stepped out on chairman's orders!
“The prince is out on chairman's business.”
“Shall I tell him Manager Jo Iseo stopped by?”
“No need. Mind if we wait inside?”
“Of course.”
“He'll be back soon.”
The skeleton guards let me into the prince's office without fuss.
Hedone covered her mouth, giggling.
“Idiots. They don't even suspect we're here for the stamp. Wait, did you build trust with the Safety Management Team over time, even owing them favors, all for today…!?”
“Yeah. Exactly.”
Explaining otherwise would've been tedious and preachy.
I just nodded, and her eyes sparkled brighter.
“Manager Jo Iseo, you're so cool!”
I'm losing my mind.
Let's wrap this up and get out.
Even with my nerves of steel from all the chaos, swiping a stamp from the prince's office? Tense stuff.
I scanned everywhere for it, but one spot screamed suspect.
“Manager Jo Iseo, there's a locked drawer here!”
Clank, thud!
Snap!
“...Gone now!”
Hedone smashed the drawer and lock to bits.
What a mess. Discipline certain.
Maybe that's good!
“The stamp!”
As Hedone said, the secret drawer held the Safety Management Team's stamp.
Grabbing it filled me with pride.
With this, launching our reckless venture was a breeze.
“Gentlemen, I'll head out first.”
“Prince is late.”
“We'll let him know you were here.”
We slipped out of the prince's office unscathed.
Nothing could stop me now.
I forged the docs on the spot and headed to Happy World.
To execute the smash-hit-or-bust plan, I needed manpower.
“Crowzer's friends with Manager Jo Iseo? For real?”
“No way. Crowzer lies all the time.”
“He still hasn't paid back the money he said he'd return on payday. Months ago.”
Stepping into my old workplace, I saw Crowzer at his desk, headset on.
Midday on a weekday, not even quitting time, and he's got headphones in.
Beyond exasperating—almost admirable.
Tap, tap—I approached and tapped his shoulder.
He stared at me, then shot up.
“...The moment has arrived at last! Since the princess's birthday party, I've been dying in this dull, boring routine. Suffocating in the tedium!”
“Crowzer, I need—”
“My brother Jo Iseo, whatever you ask, my answer is always yes! And behold, everyone! I'm not just friends with Manager Jo Iseo—we're sworn brothers!”
“Crowzer's sworn brothers with Manager Jo Iseo?”
“He must have some crazy skills.”
“Ooooh!”
My home-away-from-home Happy World felt stranger every time I returned from headquarters.
Did they even work?
In this lax vibe, a brilliant idea flashed.
Time to go big.
“Have you ever imagined the world after death?”
“M-M-Manager Jo Iseo, what're you getting at?”
“The world after death? This is Soul Society.”
At headquarters manager level, words carried weight.
I felt all eyes on me.
“Close your eyes and recall that moment. Was sitting at a desk, sorting papers, waiting for quitting time the Soul Society you dreamed of?”
“Th-That’s…”
“What I wanted…”
“Low-rank employees, I'm starting a business. One-of-a-kind in Soul Society history. It'll be challenging and risky.”
Flutter.
“Underground's Greatest Game Show”
I unfurled the document stamped by the prince before everyone.
“Those ready to bid farewell to yesterday's self, stand up! Those who want to fall asleep excited for tomorrow, follow me! I'll lead the way with you all!”