kscans

Chapter 83 - Hell's Messenger

"……"

Scraping. Scraping. Scraping. Just continuously scraping. Single-mindedly continuing to scrape. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that my concentration had reached an unprecedented level.

"Um, excuse me... Section Chief?"

"Hmm, what is it?"

"What are you doing?"

What do you mean what? Just look and you'll understand.

"Die-cutting."

"No, I mean why did you suddenly start die-cutting after barely touching your lunch..."

Ah, that's what you meant.

"...Well, practice? I'm going to challenge myself with some high-difficulty die-cutting."

Needless to say, it was about last night's incident on Okutama Island. Separating the fragments of another world that had adhered was quite a task requiring concentration. Even a mistake of just one millimeter would cause everything to fall apart. It wasn't something that could be finished in just a day or two. While I could blow it away with brute force, recovering the original Okutama was more difficult than expected.

"Huh...? What? Are you going to die-cut the Mona Lisa or something?"

"Heh, something like that."

Even at this moment, my hands weren't stopping. Concentration was important, but I also needed the skill to scrape without the slightest deviation even while chatting.

"But Section Chief, you're really skilled."

"When I was little, I begged my mom to let me do die-cutting, but I was terrible at it."

"Me too, me too. Those things always break for sure."

"Even simple character ones are difficult, but what is this, a dragon? A phoenix?"

"Before that, where did you even buy this?"

Starting with one person talking to me, they all crowded around my desk. They seemed to have been hesitating about whether it was okay to talk to me because I was doing it with such intense focus.

"You can find them if you look around normally."

"Ah, you ate it! Section Chief, did you eat the finished one!?"

"Well... I mean, if it's edible, you eat it, right?"

It wasn't particularly delicious though. But there's no use keeping it around, and if I scrape it and don't eat it, they'll just keep piling up. I've already scraped quite a bit, so it's taking up space on my desk.

"That's true, but... ah, ah!"

"Don't be so hesitant..."

"What a waste..."

Huh...? Just let me eat it freely...

"Ah, but this is nostalgic. I wonder when we stopped doing things like this."

"Really, you naturally drift away from it."

"Exactly. There's no clear moment when you stop, you just realize you're not doing it anymore."

"When I go back to my hometown, there should be a festival going on, so maybe I'll try it there."

Ah right, it'll be Obon break in a few days. One of the precious long holidays for working adults. Well, some people might be too busy going to temples and such to actually rest.

"If you're interested, want to try? I've got plenty more dies."

"Really!? Then please!"

"Ah, me too! Give me some too!"

"Hey, that's not fair! I can do it too, right!?"

They're surprisingly enthusiastic. I took out a simple animal set (with needle) from my drawer and lined them up in front of them.

"The bunny! I want the bunny!"

"Idiot, the bunny's mine! You settle for the bear!"

"Hey boys! Don't you have the decency to let the girls choose first!?"

Since they're this excited... and there's still about 30 minutes left... let's do this.

"Alright then, I'll give prize money to whoever can scrape the best in the remaining time." ≪What!?≫

"The judging criteria are skill and quantity. Let's compete to see who can complete the most with good quality."

The prize money... well, it's just for fun so something light is fine.

"First place gets ten thousand yen, second place five thousand, third place one thousand. Participation... hey, that was fast."

My subordinates, blinded by money, snatched up the dies and returned to their desks. Then they began scraping with the most serious expressions I'd ever seen.

"Well then, I'll go have a smoke, so everyone do your best."

I gave them encouragement and left the office for the rooftop. Unlike the air-conditioned office, it was damn hot... but well, this wasn't bad for a short while. I took out a cigarette and was about to light it when I suddenly noticed.

"Meow."

A black cat was lying in the shade on the rooftop, looking at me.

"Oh my, I wonder where this kitty got in from."

With the cigarette still in my mouth, I rushed over and picked up the black cat. Wanting some light healing, I was about to bury my face in the cat's belly for some cat huffing, but,

"Um... please don't..."

"GYAAAAAAHHHHHHH IT TALKED!!"

Wait, this guy...

"Are you a hellcat?"

A hell's express delivery service for the dead. When I slightly loosened my sensory restrictions, the smell of hell came wafting over. There couldn't be any cat other than a hellcat that reeked of hell.

"Yes... I thought someone like you would notice immediately, but..."

"Don't ask for the impossible."

My detection abilities are probably among the world's best. But if I kept them functioning constantly, it would be unbearably annoying. So I basically keep them OFF. They only automatically turn ON for threats above a certain level.

"So what does this delivery hell-cat want with me?"

"Could you stop calling me that?"

"It's perfect though."

It's a cat that delivers to hell after all.

"In this world, people would definitely take it to mean something else."

"Can't help that... so what do you want with me? I'm not dead yet."

"...I'm not here to take you. Today I have come before you as a messenger."

"A messenger?"

"The Great King wishes to have a meeting with you."

"...King Enma?"

"Yes. Would tonight be convenient for you? The Great King says he can reschedule if it's inconvenient..."

"No, there's no problem, but it's almost Obon... ah no, that's why it's beforehand, right?"

"I'm grateful for your quick understanding."

Obon is when the lid of hell's cauldron opens. In other words, it's a precious holiday for hell's administrators. Well, it doesn't completely shut down, but since they're usually crazy busy, it would still be sufficient rest. For King Enma, who's engaged in super-black labor, it's precious time.

"I understand. I'll come over there after work ends."

"...It's not a place where the living can easily come, but well, someone like you, Satou-sama, can easily cross boundaries."

Well, yeah.

"That aside, we'll come to pick you up."

"Is that okay?"

"I've been instructed to invite you as a guest."

"I see. Then I'll wait on the rooftop after work, so please."

"Leave it to me. Well then, I'll take my leave."

The hellcat returned to the underworld. I tried lighting my cigarette with the fire that appeared when it returned to its original form... but there's nothing particularly special or delicious about it.

"...Time to go back."

After finishing my smoke and returning to the office...

"...What are you doing?"

"Heh, I may not look it, but I was once called a die-cutting master."

For some reason, the company president was diligently working on die-cutting together with the others.

"For a master, that's pretty torn up."

"It's coming! It's coming! I'm just getting my touch back right now!"

How... pathetic...