So, that was it. His father had used his influence and authority to press him to come back. He was not surprised, just disappointed.

He had hoped that he had outran his father's influence.

But he had to try anyways. Dalton snapped back up, patting his suit free from dust and wrinkles, and he turned behind him to see his new co-workers staring at him with intrigue.

Well two of them were. One of them was sleeping, another in the corner of the room giggling, and the last one had been typing on her computer undistracted, ignoring the previous uproar.

Dalton nervously picked at the lime and lemon tie his girlfriend had given him. Yes, it was tacky, but he would wear anything Maya had given him.

The man in the black suit moved around his desk and held out his hand. "Hello, I am Ozul."

Ozul was a thin, and bony. His skin was white much like a skeleton. His hair was jet black and swept back. He gave a toothy smile as Dalton took the man's hand.

"Dalton."

"Nice to meet you, Dalton. That was something." Ozul looked at the door. "I'm sure you would like to get set up. Your desk is over there."

It couldn't really be called a desk. It was a folding table. All their desks were folding tables pushed together in the center of a tiny room that looked like it used to be a bathroom but was stripped by the toilets and sinks and other plumbing. Other than Dalton, there were five people in here.

"I see."

"Not impressed?" Ozul asked, slapping his shoulder. "You don't need to say anything. It's all written on your face. Let me introduce you to your co-workers."

Ozul talked faster than he could respond. He guided him to the nearest person.

The first introduced was the white-haired woman typing on her computer. She was uptight and her expression never changed. She wore her hair in a bun. Her skin was golden brown, and her eyes were golden.

"This lovely woman is a Eira." Ozul introduced her.

"Hello." Dalton held out his hand.

The black rimmed glasses reflected only the computer screen. Her fingers kept on typing, unperturbed. Ozul gave an insidious smile.

"She is, what the people on earth call a chocolate kuudere-"

His throat was crushed by a blurred chop. Ozul took ahold of his throat, gasping for air like a fish.

Then for the first time, she stopped typing, and she turned Dalton's way.

"The man's an idiot. My warning is not to get involved with him. He will drag you down into the pits of hell."

With that, her attention went back to her monitor. The keys being struck resounded once again in the air. A hand grabbed Dalton by the shoulder, surprising him. Ozul was still rubbing his throat.

"Don't mind her. She's very violent. A lot of the perverts we get ask her to step on them, and she instead sends them to worlds where they die instantly."

"What?"

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"Anyways, moving on, ignore the man in the corner. Don't even look at him. Don't utter a word to him. Stay silent."

"Wait, what do you mean? Who is he?" Dalton asked.

Ozul clicked his tongue, shaking his head in disappointment.

"What did I just say?"

He had only taken his gaze off the corner for a moment. When he looked back, black, purple bagged eyes stared at him through a veil of black hair. It made Dalton jump.

"Do you have any potions?" His breath smelled like mint.

"Potions?" Dalton took a step back, but the man took a step forward.

"You do not? Then why did you talk to me!" He started to yell. The crazy man dug his fingers in his face, tearing his skin. "Useless! You're useless!"

He made a grab for Dalton, but Ozul slapped him.

"Be off with you, you addict!" He readied another slap. "Go!"

The addict hissed and ran out of the room.

"Moving on."

"Wait, what was that?"

Ozul ignored him pushing him to the sleeping man.

"This is Malcolm. He's our boss."

Dalton couldn't see his face. All he could see from his face was the unkempt hair and beard. He was a big burly man, but the putrid smell that came from him made Dalton's nose wrinkle in disgust.

"I see. Is he supposed to be asleep?" Dalton asked.

"He is not asleep," Ozul said in a mechanical tone. "He is busy with his work."

Dalton eyed the man, he reached out his hand. Ozul slapped his hand away.

"He is very busy. Do not bother him." He placed his hands on Dalton's shoulders. His expression grave. "For the sake of all of us."

"I don't understand the situation, but I think you're telling me it's dangerous to wake him up."

"...I've saved the best for last. The next person over here is-"

He completely ignored him.

"-the greatest woman in all of existence. She is a flower among the scum here." He kneeled, taking the hand of the pink haired woman, giving it a light kiss. "Louise."

"Is it normal to kiss her hand as a greeting?" Dalton looked around, but no one seemed to care. Like it was normal.

Louise was pretty, had pink hair, and wore a normal grey dress suit. She also looked the most normal, that was until Ozul kissed her, and Dalton saw only for a moment a disgusted expression.

"Ozul." She smiled. "It's a bit embarrassing when you do this in front of the new guy."

"It's alright." His eyes twinkled. "It's not like he'll survive. Everyone else has either died or quit."

"Excuse me! I think you just said something very important right now!"

Ozul ignored him, keeping his eye on only Louise. Louise instead explained.

"Yes, well, our office doesn't have a good reputation. When people are transferred over here, they mostly quit. Sometimes they stay, and because of accidents, they lose their lives."

"Wha-what kind of accidents?"

Louise put a finger to her lips and turned her head. "Like alcohol poisoning, or being stabbed mysteriously, or being crushed by a truck. You know normal things."

"Those are definitely not normal!" Dalton looked grave.

"Ozul, can you let go of my hand. I would like to shake his hand," Louise said.

Ozul turned to Dalton with murderous rage. He flicked open a knife in his free hand.

"What?"

Dalton felt like he knew found the culprit to the stabbing.

"Come on now, let go of my hand, or I'll get angry," Louise ordered.

Ozul let go and stalked back to his desk. He was mumbling under his breath, and Dalton caught just a little bit of it.

"...Concrete to hide the body...."

He considered resigning.

"It's nice to meet you, Dalton." Louise grabbed his hand to shake it. The murderous aura overflowed.

But he was distracted by Louise's hands. They were a lot rougher than he expected, and her grip was strong. He hadn't noticed before but there were small scars that etched on her hands.

"If you stare too much, you'll make me blush." Louise smiled.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to stare." Dalton let go.

"It's no problem. If you need any help you can ask me."

Dalton didn't think that was possible. Ozul was staring daggers behind him.

"I appreciate it, but I don't think that will be necessary."

The murderous aura dissipated quickly.

Ozul hooked Dalton's neck. "He won't be needing that, Louise. I will help him."

"Oh, okay, but I am the one-"

"Don't you worry your sweet head." He winked. "I will show him the ropes. You just rest. You are busy tonight, aren't you? Got somewhere to go?"

"I do, but I don't think I told you-"

"Anyways I got him. Just go have fun." He laughed.

"So, does this department still isekai people?" Dalton asked.

"Well, yeah."

Relief swept Dalton. "That's great."

As long as he did his job and got great results, he should be able to transfer out of here. He wouldn't need to quit and promotions were based on performance here. His father might have sunk him in a hole, but he saw a rope.

Ozul stared at Dalton with a blank expression. "I don't think you understand why people resign here, Dalton. But you'll see in a moment."

"What do you mean?"

The man picked up a sheet from Dalton's desk. A smile crawled on his face. "Here, your first client."