— — — — — —
Soul Society - Hell
Shuren had been on the job for a while now, and honestly? The last few days had been eventful.
He glanced around at his coworkers, his expression a bit complicated.
These dog-headed weirdos… Where the hell did they all come from?
He'd lived a long life, but this was the first time he'd seen creatures like this—and there were a lot of them in Hell.
What's more, Shuren could tell—they were strong. Not unbeatable or anything, but definitely not pushovers, especially compared to people like Gunjo.
He sighed and pulled up his task sheet.
Let's see, his assigned area was a small block in Karakura Town.
"Karakura Town, huh…" His voice was low and a bit shaky. Even his hand holding the manual trembled slightly.
Finally…
Finally, he could leave this godforsaken, lightless pit of despair!
Even if it was only temporary. But as long as he was out in the human world doing his job, he was free to live.
Granted—There were monthly quotas.
The higher-ups would do spot checks to make sure each region was meeting its soul-reaping targets.
That said, given the possibility of clashing with the Soul Reapers, Hell wasn't making the initial quotas too tough.
Also, he was getting paid.
That part really surprised him.
He thought working for Hell would be all chains and slavery. But no—there was an actual salary?
Who would've guessed Hell was this progressive?
Turns out, that was Yukinoshita Haruno's idea.
For the familia, there's no need to pay them—they serve out of loyalty or devotion.
But clearly, Lynn couldn't rely solely on his own people to run everything across all worlds.
Even with a three-million-strong army of lolis, most of them weren't exactly powerhouses.
So, they had to recruit local talents—folks like Shuren.
And as the saying goes: "You can't expect the horse to run without feeding it."
Thus, the salary system was born.
Actually, this whole system was an experiment—Haruno's way of testing out an idea.
As Lynn's power grew and his influence spread across more worlds, Haruno could see what was coming: The familia network was going to get massive. and even more the people under their rule.
She needed a solution. A way to manage this future before it became a problem.
Clearly, something had to change.
A proper organization needs structure and rules.
Still, actually implementing them wouldn't be smooth sailing. So she decided to use this new branch of Hell as her test lab.
---
"In short, that's my proposal."
Inside Lynn's office in Hell, Haruno stood there dressed like a pro—business suit, glasses, looking every bit the perfect secretary.
She reported seriously, her tone calm and composed.
Lynn thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Alright. Do it your way."
Honestly, she made a good point.
There were too many familia members now. He couldn't possibly keep up with them all.
Like those three million lolis.
If he had to personally oversee every single one of their growth and development, even with his Super Devil power, just imagining it gave him a headache.
So—He approved her idea on the spot.
Ahem.
Haruno suddenly cleared her throat and plopped herself onto Lynn's lap, shifting seductively.
She leaned into his chest, her breath hot against his collarbone. "Lord Lynn… now that we're done with all that boring stuff, let's get to the realbusiness~"
Her breathing quickened. A teasing look flickered in her eyes behind those glasses. The contrast was... intense.
Lynn chuckled, tilting her chin up with one hand.
"Weren't you just the one preaching about the structure and discipline of the familia?"
Haruno froze.
Her whole plan had been about giving the less-powerful girls a fair shot—a chance to catch Lynn's attention through merit and contribution.
And yet, here she was, the first one breaking the very system she proposed.
She pouted in frustration.
Seeing this, Lynn's hand slid lower, gently squeezing her.
He whispered in her ear, "But of course… rules are for you, not me."
Haruno blinked.
Right! Rules only apply to the servants.
At the end of the day, it's Lynn's favor that really matters.
The system? Just a stepping stone to get closer to him.
But for those already favored, they weren't bound by any of that.
Suddenly full of hope, Haruno looked up like a kitten, eyes sparkling, waiting eagerly.
Lynn grinned. "For someone working this hard to build up the familiars, of course you deserve a reward."
He stood up, lifting her by the waist.
"This outfit… very nice."
Riiip.
The sound of fabric tearing rang out.
Her arms wrapped around him, breath hitching. "Lord Lynn… it's kinda chilly… down there…"
"Don't worry. It won't be cold for long."
"Mmm…"
...
Before long—The office door shut tight.
The temperature inside the room soared.
Outside—
Enma Ai, who'd come by to give an update on Hell's development plans, tried the doorknob.
It didn't budge. She tilted her head in confusion.
"Huh? Is Lord Lynn not in?"
Hone Onna, standing behind her, sighed.
If he really wasn't there, then why put up a barrier?
Her eyes narrowed slightly. She remembered Haruno heading in earlier.
All dressed up like that?
Definitely up to something.
She glanced at the clueless Enma Ai beside her and muttered, "Miss, if this keeps up, our Hell faction is going to get completely sidelined…"
"Eh?" Enma Ai blinked. "Why?"
From what she could tell, everything was going great. Was she missing something?
She fell into deep thought.
Hone Onna, meanwhile, was just… speechless.
So the lady's a full-on workaholic, huh?
Welp.
Guess we can't count on her for the power plays.
Still, this Hell branch project? It's a rare opportunity.
— — —
Meanwhile—
Shuren, blissfully unaware of the office fun stuff, was still reading through his job description.
The "salary system" was actually a contribution-based model.
And those contributions?
They could be exchanged for resources from Hell.
His eyes lit up.
He flipped through the exchange list and saw all kinds of stuff—way more than he expected.
Promotions, unique skills he'd never even heard of. And the list had tiers.
With his current rank, he could only see his level's options.
Even so, it was impressive.
That lingering resistance he'd buried deep in his heart… started to fade.
After all— He'd been a boss for a long time. Suddenly becoming someone else's lackey?
Anyone would feel a little off about that.
But if there's pay involved?
Well, it's easier to justify.
He nodded and kept reading—
Wait a sec.
He could recruit his own team?
His eyes widened.
No way he'd pass up on that!
He hadn't seen Taikon and the rest of Togabito for a while… They were probably worried sick.
---
A little later, on the fifth level of Hell—
Shuren returned to his old base.
Only to be hit by a wave of… emptiness.
"…Huh?"
Everyone was gone?
He stood there, stunned.
A few moments later, he tracked them all down and dragged them back.
Taikon, face full of guilt, gave a nervous smile. "Heh… Boss Shuren! You're alive!"
After days of no contact, they'd assumed the worst.
Shuren didn't reply. He just gave them a cold glance.
They all shrank back like scolded schoolkids.
He gave a satisfied nod.
Sure, he'd been bullied by that damn undying Saito and pushed around by Hell's staff—
But to Taikon and the rest? He was still a goddamn legend.
Arms crossed, Shuren said, "I'm here to take you all to the human world—Karakura Town."
"What?!"
They snapped their heads up.
The human world? Karakura Town?
Gunjo asked hesitantly, "Boss… you found a way out?"
Shuren nodded and pulled out a black contract.
"Sign this first."
The guys exchanged glances.
Gunjo took the paper and read the bold title: ["Hell Employment Contract."]
"…Boss… did you just sell out to Hell?!"
WHAM.
Taikon went flying.
Shuren's face didn't change. "You signing or not?"
They all shut up real quick.
And just like that, Hell had a few new employees.
Shuren looked at his newly expanded team and nodded in satisfaction.
Their performance would count toward his contribution score, after all.
Recruitment bonuses? Oh yeah, those were a thing.
He glanced at his wooden nameplate. The contribution number was no longer zero.
Beautiful.
He gave the crew a quick rundown of how things had changed in Hell—and who they were actually working for now.
Then without wasting time, he made his way to the gate connecting Hell to the living world.
Next stop: Karakura Town.
Taikon and the others followed, still kind of stunned.
But honestly? They were excited.
They could finally leave Hell—and not as fugitives, but officially!
Way better than that dumb old plan to break the gates and risk annihilation.
As the dog-head Inu-yokais stepped through the portal ahead of them—
Shuren and his crew took a deep breath and followed, stepping into a brand new future.
.
.
.