058 – Returning to Hometown #2
Moros's house sat by the river, just a bit removed from Elysium New City. With no convenience store in sight, it felt like a desolate little home.
"Lord Moros! I'm Marquius, chief of Safety Management! We already know all about your illegal activities, so surrender quietly!"
"Hand over the Earth visitor you're hiding...! Sheltering an illegal intruder is a grave violation...!"
The yard was packed with a noisy crowd, everyone shouting over each other. Lady Melinoë set me down gently among them and smoothed her hair.
"Looks like Zagreus's Safety Management team is dead set on clashing with the 'Night Faction.' This could be an opportunity for you too, Jo Iseo. Shake up someone who's been an executive for ages, and something's bound to fall your way."
Thud, thud. I walked toward Marquius. The guy, who had been wearing a serious expression, scratched his prickly chin when he saw me.
"Jo Iseo, I figured you'd show up, but not this fast."
I rode a goddess here. Faster than a ghost carpet. But who cared about trivial details like that?
"Chief Marquius, what the hell's going on? Arresting an executive like Moros?"
"It's the result of long-term surveillance. Moros has been hiding someone who smuggled in from Earth. An uninvited guest who bypassed the Management Bureau and Charon's Transport to enter Soul Society."
This Soul Society had ironclad security on its entrances and exits. But if someone had slipped in without a record, and Moros was hiding them...
"With the Security Team and Safety Management covering every gate without gaps, is that even possible?"
If someone could sneak in on their own, that meant they could sneak out too.
Should I just bail secretly? The thought crossed my mind, but I shook it off quick.
It had to be this.
"A Miracle Rift?"
The primordial chaos that birthed the world scattered miracle shares everywhere. Tiny fragments of those sometimes punched portals from Soul Society to Earth—like the entrance to Bones's manager and the chairman's fishing spot.
Moros's hidden intruder had probably entered through one of those rifts. That would explain dodging the Management Bureau, Security Team, and Safety Management.
Marquius slapped my shoulder with a whack.
"As expected from you, Jo Iseo. Piecing it together from scraps like that. Yeah, someone came through a rift. Normally, you'd report it immediately... but."
"Moros didn't. Right?"
Blatant illegality. No idea why an executive would pull that.
"Moros! Open the door! Or we'll break it down!"
Crack, pop. That's when Nemesis, one of Safety Management's executives, rolled her shoulders and neck. Squeeze. Lady Melinoë tugged my collar.
"Jo Iseo, get behind me. Nemesis doesn't know restraint. You could get seriously hurt if you're caught in it."
Hummmm. Waves of power gathered around Nemesis's fist. Just as I thought it was intense energy—clank. The firmly shut door creaked open.
"This house I built myself. Among the things I've made with my own hands, it's one I'm quite fond of. I'd hate to see it damaged. I'll surrender."
He was dressed in a pitch-black suit and sunglasses, with a skull helmet perched on his head. Moros, the executive with glowing purple eyes.
"Everyone, stay sharp."
"Heads up. No telling what'll happen."
Tension spiked among the Safety Management team crowding the yard the moment he appeared. He'd said he'd surrender, but if Executive Moros went berserk, the whole area would be unrecognizable rubble for sure.
But Moros didn't. He simply let the goddess of retribution Nemesis cuff him without resistance.
"Made from the tendons of the doomsday demon Typhon. Even you can't break these, Moros."
"Nothing is unbreakable. Every object has its fated day of ruin. It's just a matter of whether that day has come or not."
"Tch, always with the cryptic doom-talk. So where's the stowaway? In the house?"
"I'll exercise my right to remain silent."
"Figured as much. What are you all standing around for? Search the house! The one who finds the intruder first gets promoted a rank!"
A whole rank? If I found them, I'd skip deputy straight to section chief.
"Jo Iseo, here's that chance you've been eyeing. We can't just stand by—better if we find something too."
Lady Melinoë poked my side. Like she was urging me to get motivated and hunt the intruder. But I felt zero enthusiasm.
Watching me, Moros's purple eyes gleamed behind his sunglasses.
"Jo Iseo. Looks like Earth trips are off the table for a while."
With that, Moros was hauled away by Safety Management.
Rumble.Whoosh. After that, the team ransacked his brick house top to bottom, but no sign of the intruder turned up.
"Pull back, leave just security. We'll get the location through interrogation."
Marquius clicked his tongue in frustration. Things weren't going his way.
# # #
The house, emptied of the Safety Management tide, looked like a wreck on the verge of demolition—beat-up and pathetic. The interior was stamped with bootprints everywhere. Imagining it was my place made my head ache just thinking about cleaning it up.
"Prince Zagreus must've set his mind to this ruthlessly."
"Can't blame him with illegal intruders. Especially with that old prophecy."
"Prophecy?"
"Every god awakens to their divinity at birth. They know their talents, what kind of god they'll be. I knew I was the perfect ghost goddess from the start."
Humans learn their aptitudes through blood, sweat, and effort. Gods didn't need to. They were perfect from the get-go.
"But Zagreus couldn't. He didn't know what god he was or what suited him. So he wandered, long and far."
Now I got why Prince Zagreus ran away. He was searching for his identity.
"He finally claimed godhood over Happy World through Business Renewal. Gathered tons of miracle shares, twisted causality by force to carve out his seat. That's what Business Renewal is."
Prince Zagreus had seized his own crown. Impressive tenacity.
"The problem was the prophecy from the Moirai right alongside the renewal. They warned us, trying to escape the fate they spun: an uninvited guest from Earth."
"Uninvited guest?"
"We don't know what it means or what they'll do. But uninvited guests always cause trouble—"
Snap. Lady Melinoë extended a finger.
"—In short, Prince Zagreus's reckless Business Renewal left an unknown threat in our Soul Society. That's why we manage illegal entrants so strictly."
"Strictly how, exactly?"
"Illegal entrants are killed on sight. Turn them into proper Soul Society residents, not guests. That's the policy."
Killed on sight. A chill ran down my neck. I rubbed it absentmindedly, and Lady Melinoë let out a muhuhu.
"Of course, Jo Iseo, that doesn't apply to you—you joined through proper channels. But Moros's intruder? Kill on sight, by the rules."
It felt harsh, but also inevitable somehow.
Shimmer. Then Lady Melinoë narrowed her eyes.
"But who would've thought cold-hearted Moros would hide one. Trying to stir unrest in Soul Society? In league with the rebels aiming to topple the renewal regime?"
No clue on the motive. Didn't want to know. Sounded serious.
What mattered was, if he ended up locked in the executives' punishment room, my Earth trips were toast. Not like I had any clever fix.
What could a tiny ant like me do in a massive executive power struggle? Just crawl on the floor.
So I glanced down absentmindedly. Amid the bootprints, a strange haze shimmered.
Lady Melinoë caught my gaze and smirked faintly.
"...This is Night Magic. It disrupts perception with dark, nightly mana—basic veil, like camouflage."
Perception disruption. Felt familiar.
"A powerful spell etched here. Sharp eyes, Jo Iseo, spotting it. So what'd he hide under it?"
Crackle. As Lady Melinoë reached for the haze, sparks flew.
She clicked her tongue.
"Moros has 14% shares. Thanks to the successful Nymph Quota System rollout, I gained 4% recently—total 15%. I hold more miracle shares, so I can break it."
Lady Melinoë's face and body glowed ghostly white.
Crackle, zap. Electricity arced everywhere. The leftover Safety Management guards panicked.
"Wh-what's happening?!"
"Soul Society's doomed!"
"Run!"
Zzzap! A huge noise, then something shattered. The haze cleared, revealing a handle.
"A handle. Probably where Moros stashed the guest."
Lady Melinoë, unfazed by her feat, reached for it and pulled. On the living room floor huddled a tiny creature, about palm-sized.
This was the intruder? I reached out instinctively. A striped chipmunk puffed up its fur.
Grrr...!
Its fur felt incredibly soft against my hand. Warmth. Thump thump—heartbeat. Alive. Like me. A real living thing, not a ghost.
So the illegal intruder Executive Moros hid was this chipmunk.
Lady Melinoë beamed.
"Jo Iseo, your section chief promotion is locked in. Hand it over. I'll send it off painlessly. Then it'll become a proper Soul Society resident, living eternally."
Lady Melinoë was about to kill the chipmunk. Policy demanded it.
Then an idea flashed in my head. A surefire failure event promising 100% firing and discipline.
"Lady Melinoë, hold on. Do we have to kill it right now?"
"Asking me to look the other way? But I'm a goddess who doesn't ignore injustice. If you're begging, it'll cost you."
"Of course! Can't spill the full plan yet, but if this works out, you'll gain big too. Trust my loyalty, please!"
"Hmm."
Lady Melinoë pondered, then nodded decisively.
"Jo Iseo, you've never cost me a loss. I'll trust this time too. But sitting idle wouldn't befit a goddess. If it resolves well, I'll..."
...I'll? What was she about to say?
As tension built, she added,
"No, sometimes hiding is more fun than revealing. If this succeeds, expect something big."
In other words, this had to fail no matter what!