The next day, a letter of resignation was slapped in his face.
“Hey, what’s the big idea, Tanaka!?”
“Like I’d keep doing this you idiot! Why do I gotta keep letting orcs kill me without any days off!? I’m quitting this trash company you idiot!”
“Hey, wait! You signed a contract, so you can just quit unilaterally! You won’t get paid either!”
“Shut up! You better be ready ’cause I’m gonna go to the Labor Standards Inspection Office! What do you think people’s lives are you monster!!?”
“Wait! Not the Labor Standards. Fine, let’s calm down and talk.”
He tried to convince the enraged Tanaka, telling him he would double his pay.
Tanaka also had Toughness, and the last time he went too far it ended badly. Normally he would let his subordinates handle it, but he was sure he could be fine with Tanaka.
He let rumors spread among them that he had high hopes for Tanaka, and was sure this would guarantee he would not come to him with complaints, but it proved ineffective.
In the end, Tanaka was driven out, and while it would hurt him to pay, he was sure he could make this problem go away with money.
◇ ◇ ◇
Two days later.
“Chief Gotouta, you were warned that there wouldn’t be another chance.”
“Please wait! I talked with Tanaka. He signed the contract, and I promised to pay him an appropriate sum! Let me speak to the lawyer! I’m sure we can work this out!”
“That’s not all.”
“…What do you mean?”
“The former employees you harmed are suing. Your disciplinary measures have been decided. Starting tomorrow, you will be suspended for a half a year. Do you understand what this means?”
Voluntary resignation. We will pay you to go, so leave, was the whole idea. If he did not quit, he would be demoted and his wage would be greatly reduced.
The shock meant he could do nothing but stand dumbfounded.
He was supposedly ready. Even if he quit, he had the savings to stay afloat for a while.
Gotouta would be paid less, but another company would hire him, and he would surely not struggle to make a living.
Still, the betrayal by the company he spent years of his life working for left a gaping hole in his chest.
Even Gotouta himself was surprised by his attachment to Guardian HD.
It would be fine, there would be another, did not come to pass. He felt as though everything he built was collapsing, and a despair that was like dropping to the pits of hell.
◇ ◇ ◇
Gotouta handed his resignation, and would eat away his salary until the papers went through and he was formally out.
He laid in his empty house, wondering how that happened to him.
Of course, he understood how he was at fault. But aside from that, where did he fail, he thought.
This inclination of his could not be cured. Unless he faced death, it would never be suppressed. And so, thinking about it was a waste of time.
Where did he fail?
When he started using his employees?
When he pushed that guy hard?
When Tanaka went to Labor Standards?
No. No. The problem was the company, which did not recognize his achievements.
That was his conclusion after days of thought.
It was a very convenient conclusion for him, but the company really was at fault for not controlling him.
And so, Gotouta clad himself in the equipment he used as a seeker, and went to Guardian HD.
I’ll make a big mess, and make them regret cutting me, was the feeling he had in his heart. And so, he went to the company to brandish his madness for a just cause.
But he changed his plan when he saw a certain someone there.
◇ ◇ ◇
He chased his target as he escaped to the dungeon.
The idea was to follow him, but since he was spotted immediately, that was where they ended up.
His target, Tanaka, was fast for someone with a body like that, and Gotouta could not catch him.
No, it seemed he was dropping his speed on purpose, keeping him just close enough. He kept peeking at him and adjusting his speed.
Don’t play with me!
Gotouta’s eyes were red with anger, but he could not catch Tanaka.
After following him all that way, they ended up on the twenty-first floor, on a path that did not seem to be traversed by people.
Tanaka appeared to be out of breath, but Gotouta knew it was an act. He was breathing heavily, but he was not sweating, and his expression was fine.
“Calm down, Chief Gotouta. You’re just deranged!”
“Shut up! You called Labor Standards! I’m gonna kill you for taking away my reason to live!”
“Try to calm down, Chief. Ah, I mean, Mister Gotouta. Let’s talk. Let’s calm down and talk.
This is a dungeon, there are monsters. If we fight, they’re going to attack and kill us.”
Tanaka’s self-satisfied expression just made Gotouta angrier.
He gripped the broadaxe tighter with his right hand, and dropped his posture to attack at any time.
The conversation was still going, as Tanaka asked something interesting.
“Why did you make people get hit by orcs, when one guy even tried to kill himself?”
“…For the good of the company, of course.”
“…What do you really think?”
“Don’t you enjoy watching people suffer?”
◇ ◇ ◇
He could not really remember what happened after that.
His one memory was being covered in a bright light, as if all the filth in his body was washing away.
When he came to, he was in a corner of the first floor.
His equipment was destroyed and his clothes in tatters, but his body was unharmed.
He tried to remember what happened, but a strong headache prevented him from using his head too well. He was after someone, but it was all foggy.
Gotouta went to the shopping mall in his tattered clothes, and bought cheap new ones. Thankfully, his valuables were not taken, so he paid through his smartphone.
He went to the bathhouse next to the Seeker Association, felt better after washing away the dirt, and thought back at what he had been doing.
It was the worst.
His head was strangely clear ever since he woke up in the dungeon.
It was not because of the bath. It was because his irritability and anger were gone.
Looking back at his past actions in this state left him with a bad feeling that made him want to rip out his throat.
He was the one who did it, but he could not comprehend how he was okay with that inhuman behavior, and enjoyed it. He wondered if a superhuman power was at play there, such was the difference between what he felt that morning and what he felt in the present.
His mind was clear, but he dragged this self-loathing with him as he walked through the shopping district.
Along the way, he spotted an empty bar, which was perfect for someone who wanted to sit down and have a drink.
“Why did I do that? Dammit, I’m human trash!”
He sat down, drank, and before he knew it, he was drunk and talking to the person next to him. It was not his intention to talk about that, but this person was a good listener, so he spilled everything.
“How can I make this right? Is there no way… He did his best you know? And I…!”
“Yes yes, I understand how you feel. You feel regret, Mister Gotouta. What you did truly was the lowest, but I’m impressed that you want to atone.
Gotouta was grumbling to a man in a black suit, who appeared to sympathize.
“You’re nice, listening to me like this. So what should I do? I don’t have enough money to give them. Apologizing won’t make him wake up… I… Dammit.”
The man in the black suit felt pity, but still looked down on him as he offered a proposal
“Mister Gotouta, I’m sure your feelings will reach the victims. However, their lives are doubtlessly hard without working. How about you work to make up for that? I can get you a job. Yes, rest easy, you will be paid well, and fulfill your goal soon.”
“…Really?”
Gotouta took the hand of the man in the black suit and got up.
It was a chilly farce, but Gotouta saw a light that could guide him forward.
Even if it disappeared into despair, for him, it was a light of hope.
“Yes, leave everything to me.”
The dark god of death smiled at the new toy he found.
ーーー
Half a year had passed since the young man was laid on a hospital bed.
Next to him, his mother, his only family, slept. She had been sleeping in the hospital to look after him.
Half a year before, the young man attempted to end his life.
He was driven into a corner by a company, suffered from depression, and attempted to end it all. But being a seeker meant he had more vitality than the average person. That combined with his Toughness skill meant that despite a normal person dying from hanging, he survived after an hour.
His life was saved, but he was in a vegetative state. Potions would not heal him, and the only way was to pay a lot of money to a noted user of Healing Magic.
Suffice to say, he did not have that kind of money, so he spent his days on that hospital bed.
He regretted it.
He could not move, but his consciousness was clear, and he was aware of his surroundings. And his Hearing Enhancement skill meant information reached him whether he wanted it or not.
Why did he attempt suicide?
Why would his body not move?
Why was his mother in such pain?
Why did she cry?
Why, why, why…
Why was he alive?
Tears flowed from his still body.
He wanted to work to make things easier for him mother, to give her peace of mind, but the attempted suicide was a betrayal of her.
The frustration ate at him, but no matter how much he tried, there was no sign he would move.
If at least he died…
This wish did not come true. After all, it was him who gave up on the freedom to move his body.
Even as his heart broke, he tried to keep it together.
Every day.
Until change came suddenly.
Sand gathered on the window of the hospital room, and opened the lock.
He picked up on the noise thanks to Hearing Enhancement, and understood something was not normal. But the vegetative state meant he could do nothing but listen.
Eventually, the window opened, and someone fell inside.
He had no idea what this person wanted, but at the very least, he wanted his mother to not be harmed.
He tried desperately to move, to warn his mother, and a miracle happened.
His arm moved a little.
It was slight, but it moved. It responded to his desperate feelings.
The intruder was surprised to see it.
However, this was not enough to warn his mother, and the intruder approached her.
The young man’s panic gave him strength, but he could not move more.
The intruder was next to his mother, and something warm enveloped her.
To the young man next to them, it felt like the warmth of the sun.
The light then shined brighter and enveloped the young man.
“You did a good job.”
The quiet voice reached his ears.
The next day, stories of a ghost spread through that hospital.
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Just curious: why was there no Monday or Tuesday post?
They’re there, unless I’m missing something.