After Miss Meido left, Jean and the others began to tuck into their meal.
At this moment, Rin raised a question: "I saw that there are several cafeterias in the zone, so why are we eating bento boxes brought from outside?"
"Because we cannot eat things from the Underworld; that is a very famous story, isn't it?" Medea reminded her.
"Ah." Rin naturally knew about the legend of the Underworld Queen.
Jean, however, fiddled with her bento box and shared the observation she had just made today:
"These foods have not been tainted by the aura of death." She then casually gathered a bit of black smoke and pressed it against the lid; all the black smoke was blocked by the lid. "Look, this bento box can block that kind of aura."
"Besides, people of the Underworld don't eat the same food as ordinary people. I remember when I was little in the Land of Shadows, no one could eat my portion of food except for Teacher," Sakura recalled.
"So Scáthach came specifically to eat with you? It looks like she doted on you quite a bit."
"It doesn't seem like that..." Sakura casually pushed the pickled plum on her rice to the side, her eyes looking up at the ceiling as she reminisced: "It seemed like every time there was something I liked to eat, Teacher would come over and snatch it away."
People's hearts always tend to romanticize the past, and often when looking back and thinking carefully, one discovers many discrepancies, just like Sakura now, wondering if that wonderful childhood in her memory was just an illusion.
However, whether bitter or sweet, talking about the past is a way to deepen relationships.
And amidst the idle chatter, the relationship between the five people grew closer.
---
After they finished, although Miss Meido said she would come to clean up, Rin and Sakura still tidied up the bento boxes, utensils, and the trash that had been generated.
Once done, Jean stretched, put down the document she had just finished signing, and shouted loudly: "Off the clock!"
To be honest, work is tiring, and even though you want to clock out and take a vacation the moment you start, there is indeed a sense of fulfillment in it.
Of course, this sense of fulfillment is built on the foundation of receiving a paycheck.
After a hard day's work, going home to play some games, have a drink, eat a late-night snack, and then sleeping soundly is also a kind of enjoyment—an enjoyment that can even last until you are woken up by an alarm clock the next day.
"I don't want to go to work!"
Throwing the alarm clock onto the floor and hugging FrostNova as she rolled around in the quilt, although Jean's physical strength hadn't been drained much, the feeling of not wanting to get up, which was etched into her DNA, suppressed her.
"Alright, alright, hurry up and get up. We still need to prepare to attempt those missions today."
FrostNova said in a gentle voice by Jean's ear.
Although such a gentle and lovely voice would make one drowsy, blowing cold air into her ear was a different story.
Touching the frost flower at the root of her ear, Jean complained: "What kind of hardcore wake-up method is this!"
Receiving a peal of bell-like laughter in response, Jean got up after much reluctance.
---
After breakfast, while walking down the hallway toward the office, Jean said to the others:
"I need to go to the office to report in first, so I might not be able to go with you. Regarding equipment, Miss Meido said she could lend you specialized gear adapted to the Underworld environment; ordinary equipment doesn't have very good resistance to the aura of death."
Then, Jean took out four pendants she had just crafted this morning. Their material was naturally stardust crystal, and she had sealed within them a containment spell she had learned from Medea. Before encountering danger or being actively activated, the overflowing life force within would not leak out.
After all, it felt like the Underworld was quite sensitive to the presence of life force.
After saying goodbye to the others, Jean entered the office, where Miss Meido was already waiting.
"Lady Jean, although according to the original plan, this morning was supposed to be a tour of the various facilities to gradually understand the operations of each department, there are some emergencies now. Please read this material carefully, then go to the conference room later to meet with the heads of all the administrative offices and discuss the corresponding countermeasures."
Hearing Miss Meido's words, Jean took the materials and began to read them. These materials included two historical records and two investigation reports.
The first was Historical Record 1, 'Record Regarding the Incorporation of Affiliate Zone No. 45 and the Disposal of Indigenous Opposition'.
Record Target: Affiliate Zone No. 45.
Introduction: Affiliate Zone No. 45 is a world where humans and demons have been fighting for many years. Throughout its long history, this recurring warfare became a tool for maintaining rule and no longer held any practical significance.
The Underworld portion of it was occupied by the demon race. Although its world administrator agreed to join after 'negotiations' (Note 1), the entrenched forces, namely the demon race, refused to accept the corresponding changes from the Comprehensive Underworld.
Detailed investigations revealed that the number of opposition members was numerous; wanton elimination would increase the number of souls, interfering with the next step of distribution.
Ultimately, Martial God Blackstar was dispatched, and in the guise of a hero, purged the demon management and destroyed the Demon King's spiritual collective, allowing the incorporation to proceed smoothly.
(Note 1: After the 'negotiations', the aftermath caused a 15% loss in the total mass of the target Underworld.)
Participating Personnel: Negotiator — Acting god of death Shiraori, Executor — Martial God Blackstar, and several other auxiliary personnel.
Detailed Content:...
Next was Historical Record 2, 'Investigation and Disposal Record Regarding the Unexplained Resurrection of the Demon King's Comprehensive Will in Affiliate Zone No. 45'.
Record Target: Affiliate Zone No. 45 and the 8 surrounding affiliate zones.
Introduction: After several reports of abnormal berserk behavior among monsters and demons, it was finally discovered that the Demon King's spiritual collective in Affiliate Zone No. 45 had resurrected once again.
Its spiritual entity inhabited the body of the leader of one branch of the demon race, the Pale Demon Tribe, transforming from a nominal Demon King into a Demon King possessing actual power.
The principle behind the resurrection of the Demon King's spiritual collective, which had been thoroughly destroyed, remained unknown, but the wavelength it emitted had already seriously affected the interior of Affiliate Zone No. 45. Various branches of the demon race reorganized and began to assemble forces to crusade against the human world.
The report from Hozuki, the Demon God of the Third Administrative Office responsible for daily operations and construction, stated that high-intensity warfare would cause the volume of souls entering the Underworld to increase, which would affect the revenue of Affiliate Zone No. 45, while its wavelength also affected the normal order of nearby affiliate zones.
Ultimately, Meido, the head of the Comprehensive Administrative Office, reported to 'D', who decided that one of the three gods of death should take action to destroy the Demon King's spiritual collective once again.
One day after the order was issued, god of death Death the Kid arrived at the destination and completely destroyed the Demon King's spiritual collective. However, the factors behind its resurrection remained unknown, and the possibility of another resurrection could not be ruled out, so a permanent surveillance point was established.
Participating Personnel: god of death Death the Kid; Demon God Hozuki; several intelligence investigators from the Second Administrative Office.
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