I’m posting this with the date shifted due to some circumstances.
“Why did you arrive at such a conclusion…”
In response to my question, the angel placed a hand on his chin with a solemn expression, striking a pose as he seemed to ponder.
Even just being an angel gave him a presence, and combined with his perfectly sculpted features, the gesture was incredibly elegant.
“It’s because if I go back, I’ll definitely have a mountain of work waiting for me.”
“Huh?”
If only his words matched his face, he’d be perfect. It seems Heaven didn’t grant him two blessings. His face was serious, but his words were disappointingly lacking.
“Until just moments ago, I was focused on escaping, but when I calmly consider the number of days I accompanied the Hero, it reaches three hundred years. For that long, I haven’t worked at all. Naturally, the duties assigned to me must be piled up. Someone has probably taken care of the work I need to do in my place, but angels, with their longer sense of time than humans, have fewer jobs that require urgency. Therefore, work just keeps accumulating. The Sun God knows that I haven’t disappeared. So, when I return, work will undoubtedly be waiting.”
“No, you’re not some corporate OL, you know!”
“What are you saying!! Angels are not as cozy as humans imagine!! An endless task called world peace!! Thanks to being created by God and granted power, my physical and mental endurance are off the charts. Because of that, I can handle even unreasonable demands! Yet, I still feel fatigue. And this recent blunder! I can no longer hold a simple position that’s off the career track, just scolding subordinates! So, I have no choice but to fall!”
It was more of a blunder than anything, but I overslept. To humans, it’s an unimaginable period, but… I’ll stay silent to avoid trouble.
But why is it?
The part about having no choice but to fall sounds like “having no choice but to quit.”
Even his current mantle-clad appearance momentarily looked like a suit-clad OL.
“Th-that’s right.”
Is this what they call fierce? I responded, taking a step back from the angel’s imposing presence.
Still, it seems angels have it tough, too. Since joining my current company, I’ve had many encounters that completely changed my perception of species stereotypes – like the skilled Goblin and Ogre Yakuza instructors, the Skull Gentleman, the Dark Elf riding a chicken, the Vampire shopkeeper, and the managerial Demon. This angel’s story is one of them. I had an image of him floating around in a flower field in a place like heaven, but in reality, it was more of a corporate system like a fierce OL battlefield? Judging by the angel’s current feelings, is he thinking, “Rather than return to such an environment now, I’d rather quit”?
Quitting being an angel equals falling.
Yeah, it’s not entirely unreasonable, I suppose. However, the idea of falling doesn’t quite resonate with me. As far as I know, from games and the like, it’s just like changing from a holy attribute to a demonic one. In manga, their personality changes all at once…
“…”
“?”
What would happen if the clumsy angel in front of me were to invert? He looks earnest at first glance. Based on his appearance, I’d say he’s the type who would diligently complete tasks if given them and achieve decent or better results. Such an angel, to change personality? The opposite of earnest is decadence. But why? I can only picture an angel secluded in his room. No, there must be something else. Something like…
A fallen angel-like something. Indulging in destructive urges, burning with revenge, or acting in the shadows…
…Even as I think about it, if the angel in front of me fell, it would bring me no benefit whatsoever. Wouldn’t it rather worsen the current situation?
“Rejected.”
“After staring at me for a while, you suddenly rejected me.”
“Naturally. If you fall, I’ll be the first to be inconvenienced. Therefore, minimizing the damage is an obvious course of action.”
“Hmm, if that’s the case, then your option would be to come with me to God.”
“No way in hell!”
This angel just clicked his tongue. And he’s treating me like I’m supposed to go to “God”? In this case, it’s probably the Sun God, since he’s Isal’s god. What would happen if I went to a god whose name I don’t even know? It’d be becoming a slave of the world, known as the Hero. A homey workplace where overtime is abolished for the sake of world peace, performing God’s work. What is that? If I think about it calmly, it’s not just black, it’s chaotic! And being a slave is a rank down from a corporate slave!
“I’m the one who wants to click my tongue. Seriously. Besides, what happens when you fall? Do you sprout an evil eye on your forehead or something?”
“Your wings just change color.”
“…”
“And your connection with God is severed, I suppose?”
“That’s the main thing…”
Is falling more lenient than I thought?
“Also, if you’re going to fall, it doesn’t concern me, does it? If you’re free, shouldn’t you just do as you please?”
Forgive my baseless assumption, but from what I’ve heard, falling is more or less like handing in a resignation. Or perhaps there are risks I don’t know about, but based on how he’s talking, that seems unlikely. If that were the case, my image of falling has now completely become the equation: falling equals resignation.
Then, more than a question, perhaps a realization. This angel is probably trying to change his situation by quitting being an angel and becoming a fallen one, thus being freed from work! There are quite a lot of people who quit because their job is black with a bleak future. If such humans exist, it wouldn’t be strange for an angel to be the same. In that case, why would he need to involve me after quitting? I thought.
“What are you saying? If I fall, I’ll serve you, of course.”
“Huh?”
“Wait a minute, don’t grab my head without question. Your swift movement, so fast that I, a higher angel, couldn’t sense it, is remarkable, but calm down first! First, slowly release the power you’re gathering while taking deep breaths. Alright? Calmly and slowly.”
However, upon hearing the next words, I unconsciously closed the distance between us in the shortest possible way, and with immense speed, but not forcefully enough to cause impact, I firmly grasped the angel’s head. The angel, who could easily predict what would happen next, quickly tried to improve the situation.
“Why, if you, fall, do you, end up, serving, me?”
“Ouch! Don’t increase the pressure with every word! Just release the power first!”
Anyone who tries to bring trouble upon me is guilty, even if they’re an angel. I didn’t loosen my grip; rather, I conveyed my intent to increase the pressure if he remained silent.
“Spit it out.”
I simply uttered one word.
“If I fall, I’ll have nowhere to go! Acting to secure food, clothing, and shelter is essential! If I see a fine human belonging to the Demon Lord’s Army right in front of me, I have no choice but to jump at the chance!”
When I asked the angel later about my situation at that moment, he said that my aura then was the same as when I faced a Demon Lord’s Army executive. He mentioned that I exuded a mysterious aura to an inhuman degree. Especially the way my eyes, which had lost their highlight, conveyed “I’ll crush you” if I lied, spoke to my seriousness.
“Go home.”
“Mercy! If I have to spend hundreds of years being swamped by work, it’s better to fall! But if I fall, I’ll have nowhere to go, and pursuers from the Divine Realm will surely come after me! To avoid that, I need someone to protect me! I’m useful! I can fight, I can fight, I can use a healing spell just a little, and I can fight!”
“Stop clinging to me! Just how skewed are your stats towards combat!? Are you a brute!? Even in a job interview these days, it’s rare to see such specialized talent! You’re useless for anything other than fighting! At least change your appeal points and come back later!!”
“I’m beautiful!!”
“Who told you to appeal with your appearance!! Don’t change the most straightforward part!! At least say you’re good at paperwork if you’re competent at your job!!”
“I hate paperwork!!”
“I understand the feeling, but you should lie about that!!”
Isn’t the direction of offering mercy to the angel reversed? If he goes back, he’ll be scolded and face a future of being buried in work. If he falls, he has no destination. Seeing the angel lament his predicament, I felt pity. If he were suspicious or insincere, I could easily choose to abandon him, but for some reason, I can’t bring myself to dislike this angel. I briefly considered finding a way to help him, but would it be appropriate for me, acting unilaterally, to take in an angel, especially for the Demon Lord’s Army? If I were to take him back and get permission, Suella probably wouldn’t be able to handle it, so I’d need to speak with the supervisor.
“Obliterate him without a trace.”
Yeah, this is just my imagination, but the supervisor might answer that way immediately. I haven’t heard that he particularly dislikes angels, but still, demons and angels are like oil and water. They never mix. So.
“Do your best.”
“Mercy!!”
I can only encourage the angel. For the minimal mercy of not being captured and turned into charcoal by the Demon Lord’s Army, he should be grateful. This is a unilateral assumption without consultation, but still.
Besides, “Either way, I still need to gather materials in the Dungeon, so I can’t accompany you while you’re being chased. Give up.”
I still have things to do in the Dungeon after this. The original purpose of gathering materials in the Dungeon. To achieve that, I can’t bring myself to walk around with him being chased.
“? The materials won’t appear anymore. Did you think I, an angel, would neglect the Dungeon’s functions?”
“Huh?”
“When I escaped, I blew up the room where the Dungeon Core was placed. I knew that if I did that, monsters would stop appearing in the Dungeon, making escape easier.”
“In other words.”
“Once I annihilate the monsters currently here, none will appear anymore.”
“You said you were holed up in this Dungeon for three days, right?”
“Ah, I did.”
“How many monsters did you fight?”
“Enough to make counting them precisely a hassle.”
“…Are there any monsters ahead?”
“I think there are almost none. I annihilated them. See? I’m amazing, aren’t I?”
However…
“You damn brute!!”
“Why!?”
This idiotic angel annihilated the materials I needed! And he casually destroyed one of the Demon Lord’s Army’s economic strongholds!? Well, maybe it’s the correct action for an angel, but from my perspective, he’s done something unimaginable. If, hypothetically, we were to part ways now, I would have overlooked this important person. And if the angel were captured later and talked about this…
“These monsters were created using my magic in the first place!! As an angel, I couldn’t overlook that!! Therefore, my actions are not wrong!”
The angel, receiving an iron claw again, states his case correctly. And, after all, there’s room for defense. More importantly, this angel doesn’t seem like a bad person. He’s just straightforward, and I don’t dislike him. On the contrary, if he were an officious angel who valued order and discipline, I would have run away immediately. It feels like I could be brainwashed by his religious recruitment-like momentum.
“…Fine. I’ll take you with me.”
“Really!”
After three seconds of intense thought, considering the pros and cons, as well as my own mental unease, I decided to take this angel with me. I thought there might be more problems, but seeing that sun-like smile, I guess it’s fine. Men are weak to beautiful women.
“If that’s settled, wait a moment.”
“Huh? Wait for what!?”
“Phew, with this, the contract is complete.”
“Wh-wh-wha-”
“Then, like this! *Hmph!* If I sever the original connection, the fall is complete!”
However, my action, which I thought was merely a small act of helping someone—or rather, an angel—went beyond my imagination. Before I knew it, I felt a soft sensation on my lips. And while I was shaken by it, the pure white angel wings rapidly transformed into glossy black feathers.
“Hmm, falling wasn’t bad. Rather, it feels liberating from my duties. Don’t you think so?”
And then, towards the angel, now awakened, or rather, the fallen angel whose name I still don’t know.
“Ow!?”
It’s not my fault I threw a punch.
Today’s quote:
I am ready to prostrate myself before my fiancées.
This concludes today’s entry.
If you enjoyed it, please leave a review, rating, bookmark, etc.
Thank you for your continued support of this work.
