After exorcising the giant monster manufacturing the strange powder in the abandoned factory, another monster—this time resembling a salesman—suddenly appeared inside the factory.
It was sudden—so sudden it felt like it had used Castling Exchange.
"Huh...? Really not here? Even if you slack off, at least time it better!"
The headless figure moved its hands as if scratching a non-existent head, then shouted.
"Ah, no. No, no. This is bad. If this keeps up, the clients are going to lose it. This is terrible."
The monster began pacing around the factory in circles, its movements reminiscent of a sales rep under pressure to meet a quota.
Though, of course, it still didn't have a head—making it no less eerie than any other monster I'd encountered.
I thought about exorcising it right away, but the word client that it mentioned earlier piqued my curiosity.
According to the president's story, these monsters were sending out products using his company's name without permission. That was how people, finding it suspicious, contacted the company and exposed the situation.
But... who exactly are these clients?
As I tilted my head in thought, the headless monster suddenly turned toward me.
"You there! You can see us, can't you!?"
"...!?"
I froze, startled that it had noticed me.
"Do you know what happened to the big guy who was supposed to be here? We can't proceed with work without him."
"...Work?"
"Yes! Our company produces health supplements. Are you familiar with health products? Oh, I suppose you might not be at your age! But perhaps your grandparents drink yeast or green juice? Our company offers a seamless service—from manufacturing to delivery of such products."
The monster placed a hand on its chest and gave a polite bow.
Of all the monsters I had encountered, this one was unsettling in a unique way. Most monsters radiated an eerie presence, but this one was unsettling for entirely different reasons.
As I refined my magic using Elemental Alchemy and prepared to exorcise it, I reconsidered—there were still some questions I needed to ask.
"Hey, are your clients human?"
"Of course! Our company's mission is 'To fulfill our customers' deepest desires.' We offer a wide range of products. Currently, our most popular product is Torimondor—a supplement that can restore the brilliance of youth and make you 70 years younger just by drinking it."
The monster pulled out what looked like a product catalog and began flipping through it as it talked. Not knowing what kind of magic might be at play, I ignored the catalog and continued questioning.
"What's the point of earning money if you're a monster?"
"Oh no, no! We would never engage in such dishonorable practices as taking the hard-earned money of our customers. We only take a tiny bit of their magic—just a little, that's all!"
"...Just a little?"
"Of course! Just a token amount."
However, as soon as it jumped, the rest of its body vanished, carried off by the fairies to parts unknown.
All that remained of the monster were its legs, which quickly dissolved into black mist.
Once the monster was completely gone, I stepped inside the factory.
The smell of blood inside was far more overwhelming than it had seemed from the window earlier.
Was it the metallic stench of iron? Or the raw odor of blood?
Whatever it was, it was nauseating.
Following the source of the stench, I found myself beneath the red vines hanging from the ceiling.
These were the same vines that had borne the crimson buds.
I still didn't understand why a monster would grow buds that produce blood, but considering it was part of the monster, it wasn't surprising.
"So, I guess I'll have to exorcise these too..."
I muttered to myself as I looked up at the ceiling.
The red roots had spread densely across the entire ceiling.
What now?
Would a herbicide help? No, that's probably useless against monsters.
At a loss, I decided to try wrapping the vines in Guiding Threads: Silvate and using attribute transformation: flame to ignite them.
As soon as the flames touched the vines, they trembled violently as if in agony—and then dissolved into black mist.
Once I made sure the fire hadn't spread to the factory, I stepped outside.
...It was over far quicker than I'd expected.
I turned back to look at the factory, momentarily stunned.
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I had been so nervous about my first job, but in the end, it wasn't all that different from what I'd done before.
Still, if I hadn't accepted this job, I would have continued being afraid of working alone—and never moved forward. I knew this for sure because I had made the same mistake in my previous life.
That's why I was glad I had taken the job.
But I couldn't bask in the sense of accomplishment for too long.
The word Actors, which the headless monster had mentioned, still nagged at me.
I needed to ask Akane about it.
With that thought in mind, I left the site of my first job, feeling relieved that it had ended safely.