031 – Mid-Level Manager Exam #4
“Time’s up!”
“Anyone who hasn’t escaped the labyrinth is eliminated!”
“Over half the participants are out in the first round alone! This is unprecedented in promotion exam history!”
The crowd had thinned out dramatically from before. Still a lot of people, though. A hundred? Two hundred? The important thing was someone glaring daggers at me, burning with rivalry.
I turned toward that prickly stare, and there was Admetus—or wait, no, not him. Who the hell was this?
“Jo Iseo! I’ll crush your arrogant nose and avenge my brother Magnus!”
Not Admetus. This guy... Magnus must be that mercenary king turned pirate king dude.
“You can’t pretend you don’t know me! I’m Marcus, intern from HQ Safety Management!”
From what I knew, HQ interns were equivalent to subsidiary managers. Regular HQ staff matched subsidiary section chiefs. So, never underestimate an intern.
Melinoë’s the one who took down Magnus, not me.
No one would believe that, though.
Bwaaam!
A trumpet blared.
“We’ll now take a short break until the next event!”
“And now, ads from our generous corporate sponsors!”
# # #
“Private lounges are provided for participants in the top ten betting ranks.”
“Section Chief Jo, this way.”
A brief respite before the next round. I hadn’t aimed for a high betting rank, but a private lounge sounded perfect.
Ding ding ding.
The lounge, softly playing the latest hit from E&S, felt like a luxury hotel—massage chairs, unopened bottles of premium liquor lined up temptingly.
Even in this mess, eyeing the booze... yeah, I’m a hopeless drunk.
“No! It’s because of this situation!”
Pop!
I uncorked the top-shelf Kore-niak pomegranate wine (aged 666 years) and chugged straight from the bottle.
Gulp gulp.
The instant buzz hit like fire, finally letting me scream it out.
“Gaaah! Save me!”
Why the hell was I even here?! Tears welled up.
Right then, my lounge door flew open, and someone rushed in.
“Jo Iseo! What’s wrong?! Save you from what?!”
Sputter!
Melinoë! I bowed my head in panic.
“...Uh, that was just me rehearsing how to beg the section chiefs from other departments to go easy on me next round.”
“Not even wasting a break on image training... Your harsh self-discipline is the root of your strength.”
“More importantly, Lady Melinoë, what brings you here...?”
Her sudden visit killed my buzz.
Melinoë waved casually, acknowledging my bow.
“Chin up. I came to congratulate today’s star—you.”
She stroked my head gently.
“Good job. We immortal staff love praise and pets from a flawless goddess like me, right?”
It felt good, but twisted my gut.
“Lady Melinoë, didn’t we agree on no special treatment...?”
“Praising great results isn’t special treatment. Ignoring excellence on purpose would be. This is perfectly fair.”
Damn, airtight logic. CEO’s daughter, trained in imperial studies and management from childhood.
“But Jo Iseo, winning won’t be easy. High chance Apollo from the surface pulled strings for the next round.”
“Lord Apollo?”
“Since Zagreus’s Business Renewal, we’ve gotten lots of surface help for events. Problem is, Assemblyman Apollo’s tight with a certain staffer. Bad news for you.”
“You mean Admetus, right?”
Apollo, Admetus, and the CEO’s history. When Apollo’s son Asclepius revived the dead with medicine, the CEO raged at defying Soul Society law and complained to Olympus Assembly. The great Chairman hurled a bolt, killing Asclepius.
Apollo fumed but couldn’t fight the CEO or Chairman, so he slew the Cyclops brothers who forged the bolt.
—You made the bolt that killed my son! Die in his place!
The Chairman exploded, nearly tossing Apollo into Tartarus.
—You insolent brat! Killing my precious Cyclopes?!
After godly persuasion, Apollo served mortals as punishment—a god as a slave was utter humiliation. Imagine flawless Lady Melinoë as my subordinate. Brutal.
“...”
Anyway. Apollo became mortal Admetus’s slave. Admetus treated him well; Apollo pledged protection. He even helped Admetus marry Alcestis.
“My cousin Assemblyman Apollo would do anything for his favorite mortal Admetus. He even begged the Moirai to delay Admetus’s death.”
The Moirai decreed inescapable fates even for gods. Pleading to postpone a mortal’s doom? Unprecedented humiliation for Apollo. But he did it.
“Imagine what Apollo might do to make Admetus win. Your path to victory just got longer.”
Perfect! Exactly what I wanted!
I was thrilled, but Melinoë sounded deflated.
“Jo Iseo, even if you resent me for not pulling strings like Apollo does for Admetus, I have no choice. I must be impartial.”
“Resent you?! Never! You’re aiming for CEO, right? I can’t be your stain!”
Please just stay out of it!
Couldn’t say that to her face.
“Please prioritize your own well-being over a mere mortal like me. Just talking with you and getting head pats is enough—I’d die happy!”
“Jo Iseo, you feel that strongly about me...?”
My acting landed; her eyes gleamed with emotion.
“If I did nothing after you say that, I’d seem unfair... Hmmm... I’ll think of something....”
She slipped out quietly.
Phew, finally gone.
Ten years off my life. Talking alone with her always feels like my lifespan ticking down in real time. Needed healing.
Lots of Hell Clovers near the arena. Might as well pick some before the next round.
Great idea—mine, obviously.
I headed to the grassy field by the arena. Luck struck; a Hell Clover peeked from the brush. Reaching for it—
—Jo Iseo!!!
What the hell?!
A ‘manager-level roach’ burst from the bushes, lunging at me! Fainting imminent!!!
“D-Danger!”
Someone body-slammed the roach—thwack!
It hit the ground powerless. Knockout.
Serves it right!
“...You okay?”
A silver-haired, frail beauty asked. Stunning—and my savior.
But her sacrificial tackle backfired; she was bleeding from the nose.
“Are you okay? Your nose...”
“Pushed it with a headbutt... I’m fine. But...”
Her eyes lit up at the Hell Clover in my hand.
“That...”
She wants it? Easy—my lifesaver, nosebleed and all.
“Here, take it.”
“R-Really? Yay! My husband loves these. His first gift to me in Happy World was one. Oh, I’m rambling...”
Clumsy vibe, but stirred protective instincts. Though she saved me this time.
“Sounds like you and your husband are close.”
“My first love, love at first sight. I’d die for him. Actually did once... heh heh...”
Steamy confession. Kinda jealous. Would I ever love someone enough to die for them?
Why are the hottest women always married? Probably because they’re hot.
Curious about her husband.
“Where’s your husband? Watching the games together?”
“He’s... a deputy at Soul Society. I remember that... He just got promoted, so I wanted to give him a gift... Huh...?”
Fade fade.
Her body turned translucent. I knew this.
Ghostification.
Losing memories, turning into a fluffy ghost.
“...I can’t remember. Who’s my husband? Why was I picking Hell Clovers...?”
Tears rolled down.
Whoosh.
She glowed.
“...Congrats... on the... promotion... I wanted... to say...”
She became a round, transparent ghost.
Startled by the sudden event?
—Whooo, whooo, whoooo!
The ghost flailed wildly, startling people into falling or fleeing.
“Eek!”
“Ghost rampage!”
“Ghost alert! Ghost alert!”
“Fresh ghosts are unstable and dangerous—subdue immediately.”
Clack clack clack.
Skeleton security agents approached, netting her with ghost nets—swoosh!
“Capture complete.”
—Whooo, whoo whooo...
She looked miserable, clutching a Hell Clover in her mochi-ball hand. It stabbed at my eyes.
“Hey, hold up! Stop!”
“Huh? Who are you to interfere? We’re from HQ Safety Management.”
“New ghosts go to facilities for resocialization—that’s our job.”
Resocialization: Giving memory-lost ghosts new names and roles. She’d be lost forever.
“I’m Section Chief Jo Iseo from Penalty Execution. Mind if I take custody of this ghost briefly?”
“Jo Iseo?”
“Why are you here instead of the lounge...?”
“I-It’s really him! In the flesh! Can I get an autograph...!?”
Can’t let her lose her loved one like this. Feels too personal.
Ignoring my lifesaver ain’t right.
Luckily, I knew a ghost expert.
Lady Melinoë’s the ghost goddess. She’ll know how to fix ghostification—and who she was.
Melinoë’s communicator. Who’d have thought I’d use it?