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Why does a fun vacation always fly by so fast? On the last evening when we could still enjoy the sea, everyone was full of regret.

"What the hell did we even do for the vacation to pass this quickly? Tomorrow's the last day? It feels like someone stole this Crowzer's time!"

I felt the same. When I first came to this beach, I wasn't that thrilled. But now that I had to think about going back to the company, it suddenly felt regrettable.

Going back to the office would just mean endless talk of promotions and performance reviews day and night.

But staying longer on this beach didn't seem like a great idea either.

It was a truly nightmarish vacation.

All sorts of incidents had exploded one after another, putting me in dire straits. The thing with Lady Charybdis was traumatic enough. A terrifying monster turning into a pretty beauty and nearly marrying me? Staying longer in this sea might lead to something like that happening again. So, heading back to the company first was the right call.

Before I knew it, it was 10 p.m. The time when everyone was drunk and babbling nonsense. The beer bottles in the icebox looked especially refreshing.

"Manager Jo, want a beer? I chilled it nice and cold!"

"Ack, it's cold!"

Hedone shoving a cold beer against my cheek to tempt me into drinking. Beer on a sweltering summer night beach— one sip and all my fatigue would melt away.

But? I had to hold back. Goddesses plus alcohol only led to nightmare scenarios. Who knew if I'd wake up in the morning with Lady Charybdis lying next to me?

"Put that away. And you reek ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of booze. How much did you drink?"

"Urk—."

I pushed Hedone's cheek away with my palm. She yielded more easily than expected.

"Ugh, see, I only had 13 cans!"

"13 cans? What kind of unit is '13 cans' anyway."

Hedone soon pouted her lips with her narrow eyes and grumbled in complaint.

"Manager Jo, you should relax and let go for once on a rare vacation. You're a total workaholic! A fool who doesn't know how to have fun!"

"And whose fault is that!"

"Ding ding! Correct! It's because of Princess Melinoë, right?"

That level of guts was worth learning. …Well, half of it was spot on?

"What did I do?"

Swoosh—.

That's when Lady Melinoë approached me. The night breeze must have been chilly; she had a cardigan on, and her hair tied with a red ribbon looked adorably like a butterfly perched there. Of course, the situation itself was anything but adorable.

"Jo, I heard you talking about me."

Lady Melinoë and Hedone together! I hadn't even drunk, but I already felt the hangover coming on. What was I supposed to say here? As I racked my brain like a cornered mouse, Hedone yelled out.

"Princess, what do you think of Manager Jo?"

Slowly—.

Lady Melinoë opened her narrow eyes.

"Why do you ask?"

Yeah, why ask that? You're just making me anxious.

Hedone, her face flushed red, rambled on loudly.

"Princess, you want to be CEO, right? You'll have to sacrifice and give up everything for work. Manager Jo will just get used and tossed aside!"

Was Hedone drunk? She sure reeked of alcohol. The silver lining was that everyone else was either wasted or passed out, paying no attention to us.

Hedone's drunken rant continued.

"What if, to become CEO, you had to punish Manager Jo? Or ignore him and cut him loose? What would you do?"

"That situation won't arise. Me becoming CEO is the path for Jo's sake. It's what he wants too."

"I said what if. What if! CEO position or Manager Jo— if you had to choose between your dream goal and him?"

Whoosh—.

For a moment, everything went silent except the waves.

What would Lady Melinoë choose if she faced such a dilemma? I was curious too.

Lady Melinoë parted her lips slightly.

"I don't know."

She didn't know?

"That's not a fair answer!"

Hedone got angry. But to me, that "I don't know" was clearer than any definitive answer.

It was famous—even the hell cockroaches of Soul Society knew— that Lady Melinoë was dead serious about the CEO seat. She was the type to ruthlessly discard anything in her way to her goal.

But here she was, hesitating between her ambition and me. Like Luffy agonizing between Pirate King and Hancock in a Two Piece episode. The hesitation itself was a taboo that shook her core. Something that shouldn't happen.

That fact weighed down my ankles.

At this rate, I'll never escape this underworld.

Time to cause a massive screw-up after vacation. I should execute the "Jo Optimization Plan" I'd planned but held back on as too reckless. No time to pick and choose.

But Hedone stirred up trouble.

"I can't accept that. What's the point of becoming CEO if you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠toss aside your own people? I wouldn't do that."

"Hmph, so what would you do?"

"In that case, it's a showdown over Manager Jo! How about palm pushing? Palm pushing! Winner gets to work with Manager Jo in the same department!"

Palm pushing? Calling that childish game a showdown. So very Hedone.

"If I win, make Manager Jo come to the Entertainment Department where I'll be working!"

"Hedone, you're wasted. Lady Melinoë, I'll take her back to the dorm."

Better to drag Hedone back to the lodging first. Who knew what incident might erupt otherwise. Lady Melinoë's furrowed brow wasn't a good sign. Things could turn deadly if we stayed.

"Fine. I accept that bet. Time to show this sloppy leftover goddess the true value of a beautiful and perfect goddess. A misbehaving pup needs to learn the difference in class to stay in line."

But— Lady Melinoë accepted this silly challenge?

###

The palm pushing match started abruptly. The two goddesses faced each other.

Whoosh—.

The western beach felt like a dueling ground with waves instead of wind.

Is this really happening?

How did we end up here? Lightning sparked in the eyes of the two facing goddesses.

"Then, begin."

Lady Melinoë's signal pulled the trigger— and their palms shot toward each other like swords drawn from scabbards.

Bam—!

One clash. The result—

"Hieeek…!"

Thud—.

Lady Melinoë let out a weird scream and flopped onto the sand. Her pose looked like a Z Warrior hit by Reba Man.

"O-oh? I won?"

Hedone stared at her palm in disbelief. Lady Melinoë, who had fallen on her butt, scrambled up in a hurry.

"Goddess matches are always best of three. And just now, you ambushed me before I gave the start signal, so it's basically invalid."

Her lips moved so fast it was hard to make out the words. But Lady Melinoë seemed shocked by her own defeat.

"Then Jo, you give the signal."

Suddenly, the referee ball was tossed to me. Facing the two tense goddesses, I got unnecessarily nervous.

"Then… begin."

As I signaled, Hedone shoved Lady Melinoë's chest with a bang.

Lady Melinoë toppled over and got even angrier.

"Palm pushing, right?"

"In our neighborhood, chest is allowed too! If you're mad, you should have bigger ones than me!"

…No! This could turn into a slaughter if it went on! I had to step in!

"Hedone, foul. You lose this round."

Now it was 1-1. But Hedone grew even more cocky.

"What? You acted all high and mighty as the beautiful perfect goddess, but you can't beat me without fouls? Lady Melinoë, are you actually weak? Or am I just strong! Puhehehe!"

—Dude, don't do that! Why tempt fate!

Rumble—.

Lady Melinoë, brushing sand off her butt as she stood, had an icily ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠chilling expression.

But she cared about face.

"Fine, Hedone. I'll let you win this weird contest. I'll pull strings so Manager Jo can work with you in Entertainment."

"Whoa, yes! I won!"

Dumchit dumchit—.

Hedone started doing a weird victory dance. But for some reason, I felt uneasy. Lady Melinoë wasn't the type to purely accept defeat. If she were, the fight with Prince Zagreus wouldn't have dragged on.

Entertainment Department is under Lady Melinoë's charge anyway…

Me going there meant possibly working with her after all.

This fight was rigged in her favor from the start. Win or lose, it only benefited her.

A chill ran down my spine at the realization. What a perfect scheme. Hedone had just played into Lady Melinoë's palm.

"I won! The princess of hell ain't all that! Puhehe! The most beautiful and perfect goddess is now me, Hedone…!?"

"……."

…Did she really get played? Anyway, Hedone kept mocking Lady Melinoë with her silly dance. Lady Melinoë, pissed, stormed off with a whoosh.

Strange. I didn't drink, but my head's spinning.

My head burned like I was drunk, so I turned in early. Around dawn, maybe?

....

...

..

.

—Kyang kyang…!

I woke to Hell Puppy licking my cheek. Following it out, I saw Lady Melinoë standing by the pre-dawn sea.

"Jo, is it wrong for me to agonize between my dream and our bond?"

As I approached, she spoke without turning.

She seemed troubled.

"Even if pursuing my dream means giving you up after all you've endured for me… Of course, such a thing won't happen in my perfect plan…."

I pondered seriously too.

"That's what dreams are like. If you could get everything without giving up anything, it wouldn't be a dream worth calling one. I understand your dilemma, Lady Melinoë."

If I could return to the surface, I'd gladly discard small things. Lady Melinoë, who didn't know that, finally turned to me with a radiant smile.

"Jo, you're such a fool who only has eyes for me."

She shone like the new moon rising over the sea.

###

On the bus back, everyone was exhausted and sleeping soundly. Only Crowzer next to me was spouting nonsense.

"So, what was that white nymph you saw, Manager Jo?"

White Melinoë? I'd completely forgotten. What was it really? A chill crept up for no reason.

But the truly chilling story came after arriving home. There was mail for me.

Wha…? A transfer of 1 share?

One share in Soul Society equals 1% stake.

That means….

"Ooh, oooh—!?"

Terror. Overwhelming terror of reality crushed my shoulders!