Getting Approval from Otherworld Clients - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 10.
Life is not a boiled egg···
but a Labyrinth (3)
Late at night.
A sleepless woman hums as she weaves cloth at her loom.
“Just a bit more and it’ll be finished, but it’s such a shame to waste it on sleep~.”
Whoosh—whoosh—
From the window came the sound of the night sea.
Around the time she thought the waves sounded unusually close.
Whoaaaa—
The room flooded with blue light in an instant.
A clear, radiant glow utterly unlike the faint moonlight.
The shimmering light moved like ripples across water.
‘···What is this? It’s like being swallowed by the waves.’
The princess was overwhelmed by the mysterious phenomenon she had never experienced before.
And with it, a solemn man’s voice echoed through the chamber.
[Ariadne. Daughter of Minos and Guardian of Crete.]
The woman fell to her knees instinctively.
That voice was not human.
The growl of waves, the breath of the deep sea, or a tempest.
A supreme voice that seemed to be layers upon layers of such things piled together.
‘This is··· a Divine Oracle?’
That sacred moment her father, King Minos, had once told her about.
Her entire body trembled at a sensation that seemed to echo that moment.
“Yes, Poseidon.”
It must surely be him, the Master of the Sea.
The princess readied herself to receive his words with reverence.
[In your hands lies the Thread of Fate.]
[It shall save many lives—]
[Follow the will of the sea. Hand that thread to the emissary of the sea.]
Ah, so a divine being deigns to descend before a mere mortal to protect the people of Crete.
Overwhelmed by the mercy so freely bestowed by an all-powerful presence, tears welling in her eyes, the princess answered the call.
“I shall obey your will and deliver it at once.”
Ariadne gladly placed the golden Thread of Fate at the seaside location the Divine Oracle had commanded.
* * *
“Phew. That was thrilling! I was so worried we’d get caught,” Hena laughed as she picked up the thread.
Pascal seemed to find the whole situation rather amusing too. The way he turned his head looked like he was holding back laughter. Right, right?!
‘We managed it with office supplies.’
We’d grabbed the Beam Projector from the conference room and snuck into Crete Castle on this ridiculous night.
This small, handy projector was indeed convenient as a portable device.
‘Human civilization did its part.’
I’d downloaded a playlist from YouTube onto my Smartphone—some water-gazing videos and the track below.

Ha ha, it worked like a charm.
Glad the AI voice app installation paid off!
‘I’m grateful to the team members who followed me on this ridiculous night shift.’
When I said I’d go alone, Hena and Pascal insisted it could be dangerous and came along. …Sniff, they actually stayed overtime with me!
‘At a place like this, even Greek gods feel like they might be real.’
···Poseidon wouldn’t get angry that I impersonated him, would he?
“······.”
No way. How could even a god know about everything happening?
…I returned to the company with that slightly terrifying thought lingering.
And so, the next day.
“Good morning! I trust you’ve brought all your interview equipment?”
The Bull Beast greeted us in front of the Labyrinth. He personally guided us through the procedures for entering the Theme Park.
At last, the moment had come…!
“Yes, I thought it best to prepare thoroughly to truly experience it,” Pascal answered smoothly, as befitting a seasoned professional. Watching my superior navigate social graces like this was quite the experience.
So this is what observing a boss’s worldly conduct feels like.
“Excellent, just as I’d expect from a professional! Very good then. Let’s experience the newly opened Labyrinth Theme Park!”

Waving goodbye to an excited Minotaur, the three of us stepped into the Labyrinth.
We’d barely taken a few steps inside.
Whoooosh—!
The walls of the Labyrinth began to shift, transforming the structure in an instant. The entrance we’d come through vanished, trapping us inside.
‘If an ordinary person without any equipment tried this, they’d never make it out.’
The difficulty was absolutely insane.
But we had items.
Ha—with this, we won’t die trapped in here!
I pulled out the thread.
‘Objects with special properties can be looked up in the Vantabot’s database using the Image Analysis function, Hena said.’
Following Hena’s instructions, I used the AI to scan the thread, and this description appeared:
Ariadne’s Thread
An item that reveals the path leading to a desired destination.
Call out your target and unwind the thread’s end to use it.
As I unwound the end according to the description, a luminous golden light began to shimmer.
“Show us the way to the exit.”
As I spoke the destination, the thread’s tip swayed as if it possessed a will of its own.
Then, with a swift motion, it extended down one of the Labyrinth’s corridors.
“Oh! It was worth bringing along!”
“Absolutely. We should be able to escape safely.”
We walked along that golden thread of light.
‘It’s just like in The Wizard of Oz—the hero walking the golden path to return home.’
I moved forward, recalling the classic film based on that fairy tale.
After what felt like a long walk, moving smoothly through the Labyrinth’s passages, the whole place began to feel like a Theme Park.
“Wow, they’re selling merchandise here!”
Indeed, scattered throughout were unmanned stalls like you’d find in an amusement park, alongside coin-operated vintage arcade games.
‘Hena seems oddly cheerful too.’
The three of us chatted away, our mood lifted somewhat.
A park tour during work hours—it wasn’t half bad, actually.
“Oh, look—balloons!”
My colleague glanced longingly at a jellyfish-shaped balloon.
“Don’t let your guard down. Keep watching ahead.”
“Yes….”
Seeing Hena droop, I couldn’t help but let out a small, quiet laugh.
“The golden thread is turning right up ahead.”
The thread now guided us sharply into a corridor to our right.
As we entered that passage, the atmosphere around us abruptly changed.
“…Oh.”
Instead of the pristine white partition walls we’d seen before, we now walked past cracked and stained stone masonry.
Paintings of valiant Crete heroes locked in combat with beasts decorated the walls here and there.
“It suddenly feels sinister.”
“It really does.”
Despite the unease, I had no choice but to follow where the golden thread led.
And then.
Ding—
A red light flared across the tile beneath my foot.
“What is this?”
Red light.
Traditionally a color associated with danger, warning, and prohibition.
…An ominous sign.
So I was scanning the surroundings cautiously, alert for any sudden change, when—
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud—
…a deafening, thunderous tremor shook the ground.
At the same moment, Pascal shoved us urgently aside.
“Everyone, get back!”
Crash—!
“Gasp!”
Embedded in the wall where Hena and I had been standing was a massive creature.
A white Bull Beast with powerful horns.
But unlike Minotaur, it lacked any semblance of human reason—purely a four-legged beast.
Whoosh, whoosh—
The creature snorted viciously and wheeled toward us.
‘So this is what they meant by traps being set…!’
Thud-thud-thud-thud—the bull’s heavy hooves drummed against the ground.
…gathering force for another leap.
“Follow the golden thread, run!”
Pascal shoved us forward, his voice cracking with urgency.
Obeying his command, I caught a glimpse over my shoulder—silver claws and fangs gleaming in the dim light.
“Haa, haa…!”
“Huh—!”
My lungs burned as we sprinted, and suddenly the corridor split.
‘Left this time, left?’
Ariadne’s Thread veered into the left passage, pulling us along.
My mouth tasted of copper; I barely had breath to steady myself before plunging into the alley.
Then I saw it—a narrow passage lined with cold metal walls.
Ding—
“!!”
The moment my foot touched the tile, blue light blazed across it.
Whoosh—!
“Ahhhhh!!”
Clang—!
Blades cascaded down from above.
We threw ourselves sideways in panic.
“Eek—!”
Hena sprawled to the other side, her face twisted in shock.
A blade had grazed her leg—I saw blood trickling down.
Rumble-rumble-rumble—
No, not now…! The walls of the Labyrinth shifted, the passage structure transforming……!
I tried to scramble up and reach her, but it was already too late.
Thud—!
A wall slammed between us, splitting us apart.
‘My teammates, I have to reach my separated teammates.’
I tried to use the thread item, but my hands clutched at nothing.
‘Did I drop it on the other side of the wall?’
I’m losing it—what can you even do right?
‘…A guy who couldn’t even get a proper job by thirty, of course.’
Nothing but self-recrimination spiraled through my mind.
If I had real strength, could I have helped Pascal? Stupidly, if I’d been faster, Hena wouldn’t have been hurt. Was it arrogance to think a single thread would see us safely through?
Unlike before, when we were together, now I felt the terror of being alone in this strange world for the first time.
‘I could try messaging the team through Vantabot—no, they’re too busy with their own fights. Even if I reached them, nothing would change.’
I felt like I was going mad, but I couldn’t just stand here.
‘Right now, Pascal and Hena—I don’t know what situation they’re in. I have to hurry, I have to do something…!’
I have to recover the thread and reunite with my team!
So with trembling legs, I took a step forward.
Ding—
……A green light flickered across the tile.
Only then did the Labyrinth walls come into focus.
‘The section…has changed again?’
The walls were decorated with murals—owls and a goddess wielding shield and spear.
‘Just like before, the light at the entrance of a new section.’
……Is a trap activating?
Rumble-rumble—
As if reading my thoughts.
…the wall behind me in this narrow passage began to move, drawing closer.
There was nowhere else to turn—the alley stretched straight ahead with no branches, sealed on all sides.
‘The front’s blocked too…!’
I bolted forward to escape the closing wall behind, but met only another barrier.
Set into that massive wall was a single door.
Clank, clank—
I turned the handle desperately, but it wouldn’t budge.
“C-calm down, just calm down. There’s still time. Take it slowly, slowly, and look carefully···.”
I gripped my trembling body and looked around. Heavy walls shifted, and I forced myself to ignore the ominous sound.
‘There’s a sign above the door, isn’t there?’
The words written on the sign.
[Two sisters exist.
The older sister bears the younger, and the younger bears the older.
Who are these sisters?]

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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