Surviving Among the Entities

“So in other words, what you’re saying is……”

Baal asked with a somewhat bewildered expression.

“That without any holy relics, entities, or transcendental beings’ aid, you broke free from my influence?”
“If by ‘broke free’ you mean no longer feeling excessive hunger, then you’re mistaken. I continued feeling hunger until you withdrew your power.”

For just a moment, instead of human eyes, I saw eyes composed of thousands of simple eyes.

“By any chance, do you have any saints among your ancestors?”
“No, my family’s genealogy is ordinary.”
“In your childhood, were you ever baptized by a saint, holy man, or religious figure?”
“While I believe in religious freedom and have no intention of denying their beliefs, neither I nor my deceased parents followed any religion.”
“Without your knowledge, did you ever come into contact with or touch something special, or encounter someone special?”
“That’s a contradiction. The phrase ‘without your knowledge’ cannot be reconciled with a question confirming the act.”

Those insect-like eyes briefly gave a gaze as if piercing through my flesh to scrutinize my very soul, but it swiftly vanished.

“Well, I had thought you were concealing something unknown even to yourself. So I assumed you had broken free from my influence, but upon proper inspection it seems you truly did not possess anything.”
“Yes.”
“Nor were you born into some special lineage like that carpenter from Nazareth.”
“I am an ordinary human.”
“Well, your physical body is slightly special, but still within the human realm. However……”

After staring intently into my right eye, he shook his head with a shudder.

“I’ll refrain from mentioning it since you’ll likely just deny it anyway. At any rate, that eye doesn’t seem to aid in restraining desires either, and your soul is just an ordinary human soul, yet you endured my influence through sheer willpower alone – this too is an unprecedented case.”
“It is unwise to expect something to remain unprecedented forever. Just as humans who assumed swans would be white forever were shocked to discover black swans in Australia, there are many things in this world that can happen.”
“This is beyond a mere difference in color.”
“Then let me rephrase it as the platypus. When it was first reported to academia, all the scholars of that era denounced the discoverer as a fraud. They claimed such a creature could not exist, that it must have been a taxidermy creation stitched together from the corpses of various animals.”

Only then did Baal laugh.

“I would likely have reacted the same way too. I wonder if anyone will believe me even if I report this incident. They will probably mock me tremendously.”
“More importantly, are you finished with your investigation? It’s about time for me to leave.”
“Yes, I’m done, but I’ll be visiting again soon.”

Inside the restaurant was still chaotic, but as he passed by, people naturally made way without even noticing him.

“We never miss even the last customer. That is Lucifer Company’s doctrine.”

“You’ve come again.”
“As I said, we can never miss even the last customer.”

Early in the morning as I was preparing for prospective other world transfer clients, Baal visited my office.

“Does your intent to make me a customer mean you wish to sell me a product?”
“Yes, that’s correct. The product you’ll see today is one that wagers purely on quality without any of the marketing department’s shoddy tricks.”
“I’m curious. Show me then.”

Since I still had time before the appointed meeting with the other world transfer hopefuls, I decided to take a look.

“What is this?”

The first item was a stone. A crudely-shaped rock fitting nicely in one hand, it emanated a reddish-black aura from dried blood caked onto it.

“A replica of the tool used for humanity’s first murder. While it does not contain the original sacredness and murderous intent, it does contain the original impurity.”
“What function does it have?”
“The owner of this stone will be enveloped in intense murderous intent. That intent will be directed towards close blood relatives, using this stone to strike down their heads.”
“Hmm.”
“If there is someone you hate, secretly hide it on their estate or in their garden. That alone will recognize you as the owner and activate it.”
“You said it activates once the owner possesses it, so wouldn’t it activate the moment I purchase it?”
“Yes, that’s correct. You can afford to lose a family member or two, can’t you? And if you’re an orphan, it would be even easier to utilize.”
“I may be an orphan, but I have no desire to kill anyone.”
“Oh dear.”

Next was a pair of gloves.

“Gloves made from the palm leather of a certain foolish king who existed in ancient human history. Everything touched while wearing these gloves turns to gold. Even living creatures.”
“Including oneself?”
“You catch on quickly. Yes, that’s right.”
“I refuse. And I already have more than enough gold.”
“Oh dear.”

The third item was a small seed.

“The seed of the fruit first eaten by primordial humans. If you grow this into a tree and eat its fruit, you can attain immortality. It only takes a month for it to fully grow, so not much time is needed.”
“Are there no side effects from the fruit?”
“There is a very minor side effect. The original fruit from which this seed descended awakened a sense of shame in those who ate it, but the fruit produced here does the opposite – it eliminates shame and amplifies lust. Upon seeing the opposite sex, you will be unable to restrain yourself and immediately pounce to initiate mating. Ah! But don’t worry. The fruit’s power grants dozens of times more physical strength than ordinary humans, so you can easily overpower your partner.”
“Hmm.”
“Why that reaction? Reproduction and multiplication is the duty of humans, is it not?”
“I’m just not that interested.”
“Oh dear.”

The items Baal had brought all seemed to evoke something.

‘Wrath, greed, lust.’

From their company being called Lucifer Company to this man’s name being Baal, their true nature was unmistakable.

“It seems Lucifer Company’s products mostly carry the risk of danger from the user’s mere negligence or small mistakes.”
“Isn’t that true of human products too? Cars can kill others with just a bit of negligence or carelessness. The same goes for guns and cannons. All objects are convenient but inherently carry risk that must be accepted.”
“It is a company’s duty to reduce such risks, while properly warning about them and maintaining performance.”
“Is there really a need for that? Isn’t that the customer’s responsibility? If our products were unsatisfactory, customers simply wouldn’t purchase them, and whether there are risks or not should be judged by the customers themselves. That’s what a free market economy is.”

As expected of a devil, reasoning with him was impossible.

“In any case, I have no intention of buying anything so please leave.”
“Oh dear, let me show you another product. Please wait just a bit longer.”
“No, it’s about time for clients to arrive.”

Conveniently, there was a knock on the office door at that moment.

“Ex, excuse me, is this the resolver’s office?”
“Yes, it is. Please come in.”

I first ushered the other world transfer hopefuls into the office. With other people arriving, Baal had vanished without a trace.

“Other worlds are not simply blissful places. Most have low survival rates, with high probabilities of immense suffering right from the start. And it’s not just suffering, there is even the risk of death. The list I handed out contains the names and causes of death for those who went to other worlds and perished.”

To those still harboring hopes for other worlds despite having their illusions shattered, I imparted the necessary knowledge.

“Currently, making soap seems to have the highest probability of success. Medieval fantasy nobles in particular are fond of luxury goods, so selling fragrant soaps could lead to success as a merchant. However, until you establish some connections……”

Lastly, I had them think it over for another day before coming back the next day.

“Have you thought it over sufficiently?”
“Y, yes, please definitely send me!”
“You have no regrets? If you do, then I absolutely cannot send you.”
“I thought about it all day, and I’m really confident I can do well in another world! I’ve studied hard too! Please send me right away!”

And so I sent six people to other worlds.

‘Quite a few today.’

Thinking I should rest a bit, I went to the lounge only to find Baal waiting there.

“Ooh……”

He grabbed my hand.

“You are truly an incredible person. That was virtually devilish persuasion! I respect you, Mr. Seung-hoon Lee!”

“Why that reaction? At least let go first. As a guest, I’ll bring you some tea.”
“Ahah, thank you. I’ll have coffee powder, please.”

I brought out a cup of black tea, and another cup with coffee powder mix.

“You called it ‘devilish persuasion’, but what did you mean by that?”
“I saw it all. You were selling those people off to other worlds, weren’t you?”

Licking his finger and eating the coffee powder, he spoke. Unlike before, his gaze was moist and feverish like one admiring an idol.

“We’ve tried that business before too. No matter how tempting, only an extremely small number would actually transfer to other worlds, so we eventually had to give it up. Since most other worlds themselves are dangerous places, everyone would initially show interest but then all flee once learning the truth.”
“Couldn’t you have simply lied that other worlds were good places?”
“We devils cannot tell lies. While we can omit the truth or engage in that level of distortion by not lying outright…… Since transferring to other worlds is such a special matter, there were many who asked meticulously.”

With a slightly upset expression, he asked:

“How did you do it? Our conditions were the same, weren’t they?”
“First, let me correct one thing. What I did was not devilish persuasion. It was neither devilishly wicked, nor did I receive any compensation from them.”
“Huh? You’re doing it for free? Without receiving their souls after death, or compensation from their families?”
“They were people exhausted by the world’s vicissitudes, dreaming of a new life. For such people, I simply provided an opportunity to settle into a new life in a new world. And I am a pure human, so what souls are you referring to?”

Baal seemed slightly surprised.

“Even among humans there are those who trade souls. But to aid them…… Surely you don’t underestimate just how dangerous other worlds are?”
“I’m well aware. It’s such a dangerous place the mortality rate exceeds 50%. Even now after thorough preparations, the survival rate hovers around just 30%.”
“And you call that aiding them?”
“Baal.”

I sipped my black tea. It was regrettable there was no time to make cucumber sandwiches.

“There is always a price to pay for challenges. Humanity has always seized the future by paying immense prices, and the same goes for individuals. No matter how much I aid them, this truth cannot change, so it is unavoidable.”
“Let me ask again. You deny it was devilish persuasion?”
“Yes.”

Instead, I took out a digestive biscuit, dipped it in the black tea, and took a bite.

“Please do not keep denigrating my good will in guiding lost lambs to a new world as devilish persuasion.”
“…..?”

While whole wheat is good, chocolate digestives do go better with breakfast tea.

“Ha, hahaha, ahahahahahaha! Uhahahahaha!”

Baal burst into laughter. The noise akin to thousands, no, tens of billions of buzzing flies made my ears ring.

“I must say, you are the absolute pinnacle. Huhu, to think I would witness such pure malice in this world.”

It seemed devilish for him to insult my good will to my face.

“After our defeat by that carpenter from Nazareth in the past, we devils fell into quite the miserable slump. No longer directly tempting humans, we shifted towards laying traps instead, which helped me recall something I had forgotten. To be taught in reverse by a human…… This is rather embarrassing.”

He extended his business card.

“Let me make a proposal, Mr. Seung-hoon Lee, no, ‘Sir’ Seung-hoon.”

Greeting me with a courtly bow like a nobleman, he said:

“Why don’t you join our company? We will immediately appoint you at the director level.”

I drained the remaining black tea and opened the office door.

“I refuse. Now please leave.”