That day, Gouriki Masuo rubbed his hands together against the chilly early March air, having arrived at the office earlier than anyone else.
His face was flushed red with emotions other than just the cold.
“Damn it, damn it, damn it all…!”
He had appealed to a lawyer, claiming the Cleaner’s bill was unjust, but was flatly rejected.
Worse, he was told that he was the one acting illegally.
Gouriki clicked his tongue, thinking that none of them understood.
How much he struggled to run this company.
Three years since he took over as president from his father.
He had worked devotedly, without a single day off, solely for the sake of his customers.
He cherished his employees like family and tried to listen to their complaints as much as possible.
And yet, since he had taken over as president, there had been a series of resignations, and sales were declining.
To resist the changing times, Gouriki had cut costs where he could—of course, he had done some window-dressing and tax evasion, but that was common practice for any small to medium-sized business—and reduced wages to the bare minimum, pouring his love into the company instead.
Why couldn’t anyone understand?
It was all the fault of the incompetent politicians in Japan.
In the first place, the extermination of Dungeons should be a government-managed operation, with all expenses covered.
They should be providing compensation to the victims, but instead, they were collecting exorbitant “Labyrinth Taxes” for Dungeon countermeasures.
If that wasn’t a racket, what was?
In fact, if you looked at social media, many people were complaining about the government’s inadequate measures against Dungeons.
And then some Cleaner, just because he was a Cleaner, was leisurely skimming money from the company, that ridiculous, bespectacled, suit-wearing bastard…
(I will fight to the end. Justice is on my side.)
According to what he saw on social media, there had been many cases of unjust billing by Hunters and Cleaners in the past.
That guy must be a scammer of that kind.
Cursing, Gouriki arrived at the company’s back entrance as usual—and suddenly stopped.
A package was placed at the entrance to the door.
A cardboard parcel.
Recently, due to changes in the delivery system, packages were often left in front of homes and companies.
He was irritated that people had become so rude, but… a delivery this early in the morning?
Gouriki’s pocket suddenly vibrated.
He thought about ignoring it since it was an unfamiliar number, but the ringing went on for so long that he reluctantly put it to his ear.
“Good morning. I apologize for contacting you so early. I understand you always show up at the company at six in the morning. I heard it from one of your employees.”
“Huh? Who is this? You’re being quite rude.”
“I’ve reaffirmed that I wouldn’t want to work in a workplace where employees willingly disclose personal information. …I apologize for the late introduction. I’m the person you were indebted to the other day.”
With that one sentence, his cheeks flushed with heat.
That scammer bastard—!
“Damn you! Because of you! The Labyrinth Agency is going to investigate now!”
“Yes. I also heard that a tax audit and other things will be conducted as a result. I don’t need to mention it, but it seems your daily conduct hasn’t been very good.”
“If you, if you hadn’t done something unnecessary…!”
Gouriki was just running the company with sincerity and integrity.
Why was he the only one suffering like this…?
As Gouriki fumed, his face red with anger, the person on the phone calmly said,
“Well, let’s leave that matter to the country. I’m calling today to make a final confirmation. …You are still refusing to pay. Is there a reason? For example, is a family member sick, and you need to postpone the payment?”
“It’s because of your illegal bill!”
“I see, so you still believe you are not at fault. …Are there people around you right now?”
“Huh!?”
“I don’t want to involve unrelated people.”
Damn. What is this guy saying?
Gouriki clicked his tongue, but on the other hand, he also thought this was an opportunity.
All that guy could do was make reminder calls.
The fact that he was bothering to talk in person was proof that he had no other options. Then he could haggle as much as he wanted.
(You young punks probably don’t know, but in the end, people get more by using force.)
Just like how he would use violence to persuade his beloved employees if they didn’t listen.
In the end, brute force was what mattered.
He snorted with laughter, and all he heard over the phone was the other person’s sigh. Haha, serves you right—
“I often wonder. Why don’t people follow the rules?”
“Huh?”
“Of course, I understand from experience that many people are good. They keep their promises appropriately, and even if they can’t keep them, they apologize properly. I understand that the majority of people adhere to such social norms. …However, there are occasionally people who break promises they once made and don’t even recognize it as evil.”
What is this guy?
What is he saying?
“Dealing with such monsters in human skin has been a great Stress for me from the past to the present. Therefore, I tried to learn about their state of mind, but—every time, the answer is always,”
“Are you stupid? Are you out of your mind?”
“That’s what they say. It’s futile and foolish to look for reasons. Then there’s only one conclusion.”
The man sighed in exasperation.
His breath could be heard right next to his ear, and Gouriki’s irritation grew even more, but the man didn’t stop talking.
“My principle is safety, security, and no Stress. Physical peace is important, but so is mental peace. Therefore, continuing to have conversations with people like you is nothing but Stress. I came to that conclusion after considering that.”
“So what the hell are you trying to say—”
“I thought I’d at least tell you my motive. In a mystery novel, it’s anticlimactic to end without revealing the motive.”
This is a heart of Mercy, the man laughed over the phone.
The package in Gouriki’s hand beeped.
*
Kageichi stretched as he finished his early morning work and opened the curtains of his home.
It was a beautiful day.
Being able to do the scheduled work from the morning made his heart feel clear.
He put down his Smartphone and began preparing breakfast.
Toast baked softly with the steam function, and a glass of milk.
He sprinkled his favorite dressing on the cut vegetables and enjoyed the meal while watching a video on his Smartphone.
After the meal, he did some light exercise and stretching, then put on his usual suit.
It wasn’t particularly necessary to wear a suit, but it was a human habit.
When he put on a tie, his awareness of work naturally took shape, and somehow, he felt motivated.
Today, he had exterminated a harmful monster that was rampant in society from the morning.
Was he unexpectedly a hardworking, good person?
While thinking of such a joke, he smiled slightly, thinking that an evil person like him was probably unparalleled.
After completing the preparations and confirming today’s request—oh, he frowned.
Emergency Gate Cleaning Request.
The client was a 70-year-old general resident…
It was a request from an elderly couple who were troubled by a Gate that had appeared in their home garden.
“Moreover, it’s not far from my house. It’s right near the high school.”
Hoping that the next request would be one that he could happily handle, Kageichi decided to accept the request.