145 – Honey Belongs to Those Who Raid the Hive!
“Ooooh! Ooooh!”
The old man clutched the paper signed by Storyol, absolutely thrilled.
“To think I’d encounter such a precious treasure here! It was worth the long journey all the way to Soul Society! Ah, darn it. I forgot to introduce myself—.”
“It’s fine. We’re good. I’m busy, so I’ll be—.”
This geezer, beaming over Storyol’s signature? Someone I absolutely must avoid getting tangled with!
Life has its patterns. Even in a brutally hard game, when you keep dying to the boss and retrying, you start spotting the patterns eventually. Those teasing ones that make you wonder whether to dodge or attack—they reveal themselves after enough attempts!
And that’s exactly where I was right now. The old man in front of me had a pattern so blatantly obvious it was screaming at me.
I have to run. No question.
I tried to bolt from the place, but the grip on my hand was no joke.
“Wait! Just a moment! Hear me out! I’m Jin Gwang, Executive Director of Eastern Underworld Joint-Stock Company. Lately—.”
“Nope! Not listening! Can’t hear you! La la la la!”
I plugged my ears and shouted. But that was the worst move possible. Suddenly, the quiet atmosphere turned into a spectacle with everyone staring.
“What’s going on?”
“They fighting or something?”
This is bad. I need to escape.
But the old man who’d introduced himself as Jin Gwang wasn’t your average senior citizen.
“Our company just launched an entertainment venture. Ever heard of Lion Guys? It’s blowing up! But there’s a problem—.”
No sign of letting go anytime soon. Only one option left.
“Please explain the issue concisely. I’m a busy man.”
“Heh, what a cold young man. I heard Soul Society in the West has been riding a wave of crazy luck lately, and it seems true. Straight to the point, then! This paper! I’ll buy every last one!”
“Buy…?”
“100 Charon gold coins each! What do you say? This thick, durable texture, that unbreakable elasticity! It’s exactly what we need! Even if psychopomps sign it, it’ll stay preserved for ages!”
Various scenes flashed through my mind in an instant. A boy band made of psychopomps, trying to sign for fans but lacking paper that could handle their heavy yin energy. Then, they discover the perfect paper from a distant Western company.
“It’s infused with the essence of rimbu forest nymphs, right? Paper comes from trees. The devotion and love of tree-loving rimbu seep into it, creating this divine paper!”
“That paper’s such an amazing item?”
“Ha, 100 gold per sheet?”
“I swear that weird nymph was selling them for one gold each just now…”
The crowd’s eyes changed. And in a flash, war broke out.
“All the merch here! The signed papers! I’ll buy them all!”
“Agh! Don’t push!”
“Muhuhu, muhuhu, muhuhuhu…! This canal nymph Storyol is feeling great…! This Storyol’s hard-made goods sold out like hotcakes…! This Storyol is rich…!”
Storyol thrashed around swimming in the piles of gushing gold coins.
All the merch Storyol made sold out, netting us a staggering 20,000 gold in profit. Shocking results.
“This Storyol loves making tons of money…! Even though… nobody cared about the stories this Storyol worked hard on…”
Storyol drooped.
“But we made so much cash, so it’s all good…! Muhuhu, this Storyol’s now fire tribe, gonna blow through the rest of her life spending wildly…!”
Tears welled up just hearing it. Hedone, counting the earnings, even did some bizarre dance.
“20,000 gold! That’s on par with big departments like the Gratitude Team or Safety Management! We’re loaded!”
“Kahaha! This Crowzer always trusted Director Joy’s eye! Even when you said collab with a weird nymph, this brother believed without a flicker!”
I’d always hated gold. Shiny things like that becoming our department budget? Nightmare fuel.
“Director Joy.”
Then, an old man with a snowy white beard approached, stroking his brush-like whiskers. Geras, from the Erebos faction that hated my guts.
“To think you’d pull off sales like this. Did you get prior intel that Eastern Underworld Joint-Stock Company was hunting nymph-infused paper?”
“Absolutely not!”
“Don’t play dumb, punk. When I challenged you to a power game with shares on the line, you accepted without hesitation. You knew this would happen!”
“That’s right, you old fart! No need for long talk—just hand over the shares!”
Hedone growled loudly, super rude. But cranky old Geras just chuckled heartily.
“Amusing. Very amusing. While this old body was deep in meditation and training, where did these fun kids pop up from? Director Joy, this round’s my loss!”
Executive Geras handed me a scroll. Clearly packed with 1% divine share.
“Embarrassing excuse, but I got careless this time. Next won’t be so easy. The Erebos faction will reach the top of Soul Society for sure.”
Ho ho ho ho. The aged god retreated with a cool smile.
This prickly old god, who’d despised a mere mortal upstart exec like me, admitted defeat so cleanly. Could’ve dragged it out in a messy mudfight, but nah.
Geras owned the loss so smoothly it embarrassed me more.
“Director Joy! Even prickly Geras acknowledged you as a worthy rival! Word is, Erebos wouldn’t even call Prince Zagreus a match!”
I just wanted to escape. So I went home.
Elysium’s new apartment. Spacious and nice, but zero furniture. I just sat there staring blankly at the wall.
“Thought this one would work.”
Pure injustice. As I spaced out, the doorbell ding-donged.
“This Storyol came to give thanks…! This Storyol wants to talk profit split again…!”
Profit split? We agreed 5:5 on the earnings contract.
Greed kicked in, huh? Perfect timing. I was overwhelmed by the piled-up sales cash anyway. Give it all to Storyol.
Feeling better, I opened the door. Storyol yelled, lugging heavy money bags.
“This Storyol knows Director Joy was the first customer today…! Because nymphs recognize nymphs…! This Storyol will never forget your support…!”
Clink. Storyol set the bags down before me.
“This Storyol will take just 1% of the sales…! Because your ‘never give up’ cheer moved this Storyol deeply…”
Storyol’s eyes sparkled with genuine emotion. Never give up—back then, I was just cocky thinking my plan would pan out, living it up. Not really cheering her on.
But naive Storyol didn’t know that.
“Sweet honey goes to nymphs who fear not the bee’s sting and climb trees without hesitation…! This Storyol will keep challenging, keep, keep going…!”
“……”
“Someday, not the paper, but this Storyol’s stories on it will be loved by all—so this Storyol will keep challenging…!”
Storyol looked so confident. Maybe it’ll really happen someday. People who keep getting up after falls have high odds of reaching far heights.
That thought reignited my own drive. Just one failure. Dust off the dirt and try again.
Feeling good now.
“Then, I’ll take this money.”
“Hasta la vista—!”
Clink clink. I hauled the massive earnings home. Perfect timing for a wild idea. More budget means bolder reckless moves.
I opened the executive-only shopping mall. Loaded with pricey goods: luxury rides like Ghost Flying Carpets, even Perfect Housekeeping Helpers from staffing agencies. Every luxury imaginable.
I eyed a big-ticket item.
Luxury Cruise Ship
19,999 gold
A super-lux mega cruise ship that’d eat almost all our earnings. What to do with it? Zero practical use. Ultimate extravagance.
I’d buy it with Entertainment Department budget.
Click.
Clink clink clink. Felt like money draining from the department account in my ears.
Dice rolled. Now just wait for the backlash.
Spending budget freely. Reveling in luxury till downfall. Tales of nouveau riche blowing it all are endless.
Time to star in one.
They’ll all be disappointed.
A man who rose high, lost his roots, changed. That’s the ploy this time.
Dark room. Black shadows gathered.
“First meeting since the Monster Legion Commander got nabbed.”
New moon legion commander Hecate scanned around.
These were Tartarus. Rebels worshiping the shattered throne’s code.
“You’re new. What legion commander are you?”
“I’m not a legion commander. I’m an admiral.”
The self-proclaimed admiral wore a black robe, identity hidden even from Hecate. But she sensed his fearsome presence from the title alone.
Soul Society has many rivers. Countless wars and battles will rage on them. So, those who fight on water are key.
This admiral would shine in the coming revolution.
He dropped a bombshell on the table.
“Director Joy—no, Executive Director Joy. He ordered a luxury cruise ship for 20,000 gold.”
“…A luxury cruise ship?”
Hecate couldn’t comprehend. 20,000 gold could buy a small earthly nation. Who the hell sinks that into a boat?
“Admiral, if he’s wasting budget and draining HQ resources, isn’t that good for us?”
“…Problem is, every shipyard in Soul Society is now tied up building it. Our ‘Grand Fleet Operation’ is stalled.”
“…No way he sniffed our plan and struck first?”
“No other explanation for this stunt.”
“…How’d he get the intel?”
“Dunno. Worse, he invited all Soul Society execs and most staff to the launch ceremony. Some finger-point him for extravagance…but I know…”
Admiral slammed the table.
“I was invited too. Maybe Joy already knows my identity and baited me. Beat the forest to catch the trees—”
“No…”
“Can’t refuse the invite. Do, and I stand out…”
The admiral tensed unnecessarily about the cruise party ahead.
Executive Director Joy, enduring finger-pointing for luxury, pushed this to perfectly crush Tartarus’s massive river descent op before it began.
At least, that’s what the admiral believed.
…A terrifying man!