Chapter 73

Chapter 73

Chapter 73 Fare for the Afterlife (5)

"So she was King Yama?"

"Yes, haha..."

Since the two grim reapers accompanying her had treated her with such respect, I'd simply assumed she held a somewhat higher rank.

This was because of an unwritten rule at our coffeehouse.

'Don't ask questions that might reveal each other's identities.'

It was a rule born from the extraordinary variety of guests who visited.

They weren't merely of different races. They even lived in different worlds.

If I started casually prying into their affairs just because I'd seen them often, I'd be the one left in an awkward position.

There were divine beasts, immortals, and even National Intelligence Service employees, while the shamans, Han Seun, and Dohyeok, who were classified as ordinary humans, also had reasons to be uncomfortable revealing exactly who they were.

That was why this unwritten rule had been observed quite well until now.

The problem was that it had been observed too well.

Even the immortal elders hadn't thought to tell me that King Yama herself had visited the coffeehouse.

But perhaps that was for the best. If she was King Yama, then my worries were probably groundless.

"By the way, may I ask why the guardian of the Divine Tree is looking for Her Majesty?"

"It's nothing serious. She said she'd come back the next day, but she hasn't appeared for several days. She seemed absolutely determined to return."

"Pardon?"

He must have wanted to add, 'For such a trivial reason?'

I didn't know whether it was because he was naturally polite or had spent so long working in sales, but this grim reaper named Deputy Manager Oh Changsik was the sort who refrained from saying things that might embarrass others.

Well, that hadn't stopped me from being subjected to something close to an interrogation by the Elder Nine-Tailed Fox already.

But after a brief silence, Deputy Manager Oh Changsik gave an answer I hadn't expected.

"Her Majesty probably doesn't remember. She forgets most things about the mortal world after drinking the medicine of forgetfulness."

"The medicine of forgetfulness?"

"If she spends too long witnessing the sins of the mortal world, it becomes difficult for her to pass fair and impartial judgments."

"Then are you saying she drinks that medicine every day?"

"Yes. Sometimes she seems to forget other memories as well, which is why she's not very good at remembering names. But it can't be helped."

At that moment, all the questions that had been accumulating in my mind were answered.

Why she gave off an atmosphere similar to Lia's despite having lived for so long, and why she'd ordered something by calling it black water even though she'd brought a laptop with her.

She had forgotten.

After all, those were memories of the mortal world too.

Although my questions had been answered, discovering the uncomfortable truth left a bitter aftertaste.

"Thank you for telling me. Well, then."

"Ah, yes!"

With that, I woke Sani, who had been dozing beside me, and returned to the car.

"Are we finished?"

"Yeah. Hungry?"

"I'm thiiiiis hungry!"

"Let's pick up some jajangmyeon on the way home."

"I want a large serving!"

"Then you won't be able to eat sweet-and-sour pork."

"Hmm. Now that I've transformed into a human, perhaps I can eat it all."

"Don't be ridiculous! Remember how much trouble we went through at the buffet last time? Just have a regular serving."

"Owow! Even when I've transformed into a human, it hurts when you pull my cheeks!"

And so, after picking up jajangmyeon and sweet-and-sour pork, we laid out a slightly late dinner that filled the table.

"Well, did you gain anything from insisting on meeting those grim reapers?"

"I haven't even had a single bite yet, Elder."

"You can answer while you eat!"

I had no choice but to put down my chopsticks, which were holding a large mouthful of jajangmyeon.

"Apparently, the grim reaper who came the second time was King Yama."

"Yes, I figured it was someone of that sort."

"You don't seem particularly surprised."

"Hmph. Do you think ordinary grim reapers have the leisure to come all the way here and relax over coffee? Besides, those of middling ability would flee in terror at the energy of your ring and the Divine Tree before they could even open the coffeehouse door. What else?"

"They said King Yama drinks medicine every day that makes her forget her memories. It seems that's why she forgot her promise to return."

"Then does that mean she doesn't remember us?"

"I'm not sure, Lia."

"I feel so sorry for her."

"It cannot be helped. Just as the mortal world has its own laws, the underworld has its own rules. There must be a reason she needs to forget her memories."

"I think I know why."

"Hm?"

"To judge people's sins, she first has to witness them. If she spends countless years watching those sins, wouldn't even a perfectly sound god eventually lose their mind?"

"Now that you mention it, you're right. Tsk. What a pitiful fate."

A pitiful fate indeed.

Having to erase herself over and over, forever.

"I think I'll look into whether there's some way to help her."

"Has that illness of yours flared up again?"

"Haha."

I answered with an awkward laugh.

Though I'd only heard about her circumstances secondhand, I now knew how pitiable they were. And I'd taken her farewell promise to return as a real promise.

____________

"Um, Deputy Manager."

"What?"

"Was it really all right to tell him everything like that?"

"No."

"Then why did you tell him?"

"He said he came because he was worried about Her Majesty. Meanwhile, those high-and-mighty officials in the underworld haven't done a thing while Her Majesty has ended up in that state."

He didn't know whether concern for Her Majesty was truly the reason the young man had come.

After all, they didn't know the guardian of the Divine Tree very well either. They'd only seen him twice, including today, so they were practically strangers.

'But the same goes for the guardian of the Divine Tree.'

He hadn't even seemed to know that the woman who accompanied them was King Yama.

Yet he'd come looking for her out of concern, despite knowing perfectly well what kind of work they did.

Telling him about King Yama's condition was almost a way of repaying that kindness.

"Um, but Deputy Manager."

"What now?"

"Didn't the hat that little boy beside him was wearing look a lot like your old hat?"

"Huh?"

The child had spent the whole time sleeping against the man's back, so he hadn't gotten a proper look.

But now that he thought about it, the child did seem to have been wearing a hat.

'Wait a minute... I lost my hat at that coffeehouse too, didn't I? Then...'

Judging by the circumstances, the child must have picked it up and put it on.

"Oh, damn it!"

"W-Wait a minute! Are you just going to leave all this here? Hey, wait for me, Deputy Manager! Deputy Manageeer!"

Having finally understood the situation, Deputy Manager Oh Changsik belatedly sprinted in the direction Jinseong had disappeared.

But his steps gradually slowed until he came to a halt.

"Pant, pant. Why are you stopping? We have to hurry after them!"

"The damage is already done. I've even written an entire book's worth of statements of misconduct. Would getting that hat back somehow make all of it disappear?"

"Ah! That's true!"

"Sigh. Let's just get back to work."

It was an object belonging to the underworld. Moreover, he'd been the one to lose it, so naturally he ought to retrieve it immediately.

If only the matter hadn't already been settled in the underworld.

It hadn't exactly been a clean resolution, but he'd already received a new hat. Taking the old one back now wouldn't change anything.

It would only put the grateful young man who'd shown concern for Yama in an awkward position.

And so Deputy Manager Oh Changsik resumed his regular duties with a smile so broad it nearly made his cheekbones cramp.

"Oh my, sir! You passed away today? I can tell just by looking at your face that you had a peaceful death! So, have you already looked into a company to take you to the underworld?"

_____________

Time passed, and before I knew it, Friday had arrived.

It was also one of the rare days I went into the office.

Since my work arrangement was practically semi-remote, the days I went in were often spent rushing around the office handling accumulated tasks.

But for some reason, today there were none of the sticky notes that should have been covering my monitor when I arrived, and the phone was quiet too.

"It's much quieter than I expected. There were energy drink bottles piled up alarmingly high in Sales Team Two's office."

"Exactly. You'd think they'd be hounding us to look into this and handle that."

"Or perhaps the higher-ups still haven't given their approval."

"Come on. They've already started preparing that seriously."

"The amount of money involved is enormous. And since we're entering the market late, both sides will have a lot to worry about while negotiating government subsidies."

There wasn't a single person in the world who wanted to shoulder all the blame.

In business, the consequences of failure were far greater than the benefits one could reap from success.

Especially with projects that required such a massive outlay of cash, no matter how attractively they were presented, they were bound to meet opposition from shareholders.

It was the kind of project that couldn't begin until someone declared, "I'll take responsibility, so let's see it through."

Well, thanks to that, we found ourselves with some unexpected free time.

We were effectively borrowing a little leisure from our future workload, but with nothing to do right now, we had no choice but to relax.

And so today became a day of officially sanctioned slacking off.

Some watched MeTube on their phones, while others lowered their heads as though deep in thought and quietly tried to catch a nap. It was a blissful break, with no one criticizing anyone else.

But even on such an enjoyable day, I couldn't feel particularly happy.

It was because of the customer who hadn't visited for several days.

『Search Results for "Medicine of Forgetfulness"

-Daejong Daily

"Drug That Erases Only Bad Memories Discovered"

-TooMuchWiki: Description of the Game Item, Potion of Forgetfulness

...』

As expected, perhaps the internet wouldn't be much help.

No matter how many times I searched using similar terms, the information that appeared seemed largely useless.

There were only a few absurd news articles that were clearly intended to manipulate stock prices for a quick profit, along with descriptions of game items.

Of course, even if I found meaningful information, it wouldn't necessarily change anything.

This was a matter concerning the underworld, after all.

And perhaps King Yama had already completely forgotten that she'd ever visited the coffeehouse.

When my thoughts reached that point, I felt uneasy all over again.

"Manager Kim! Manager Kim!"

"Yes?"

"What are you looking at that you can't hear me calling right beside you? Anyway, could you send me that PC cleaner file you told me about last time? I made an online payment, and all sorts of little security programs got installed again. Now my computer's terribly slow."

"Yes, I'll send it right away."

Just as I was about to send the file to the department head again, a good idea suddenly occurred to me.

"Manager Kim, aren't you going to send it?"

"Ah, yes. I'll send it now."

____________

Three days later, I headed to the memorial park where I'd met the grim reapers last time.

And today, too, I quietly made my presence known to the grim reaper, who was busy consulting with someone.

"We meet again."

"Good heavens, what brings you here again?"

His greeting mixed pleasure at seeing me again with bewilderment.

"There's something I'd like to give you."

"Please, have a seat first."

And so I found myself sitting at a table with the grim reapers once again. Before we could exchange any awkward pleasantries, I quickly got to the point.

"Would you perhaps be able to deliver this to King Yama?"

He seemed to know what the object was.

But he hesitated to reach for the item I'd placed on the table.

"Oh dear, what should we do? Under our regulations, we're not allowed to accept things like this from living people without authorization."

"Would even delivering it be difficult?"

"I'm sorry. We had a major incident involving something like this in the past."

"No, it's all right. If it's not allowed, it can't be helped."

The easy path was blocked.

Then I had no choice but to take the difficult one.