Cheat Awakening

"Are we sure now's the best time to see Belial, Gal? Wouldn't it be better to come in the morning? Myne looked at his watch before speaking, although there is no difference between day and night in hell, since there is only a red sky without any sun on top of his head, giving light from God knows where, making him force divide the day and night according to his working hours.

Gal laughed, a rich, full-bodied sound. "Morning? Nonsense, darling. There's no such thing here. I gave you that watch so you can go to work in a safe shift instead of wandering in mine like a headless chicken and inviting trouble for yourself. Besides, recently Belial has completely turned into a night owl.

Most of the time, he has his empty head buried in a mountain of documents. There is no need to worry about disturbing him. Instead, I think he might even welcome the company. After all, you're the only one besides me he can talk to normally, thanks to your unique status." She patted his head affectionately.

They had already crossed the teleportation door and were heading toward the biggest tent on the 6th floor.

"Well, that's good then," Myne conceded with a helpless expression, while pushing the trolly filled with gold, Gal who finally had some pity on him as they reached near the teleportation door, didn't make things difficult for him and started walking beside him.

Myne already accepts the fact that his new wife is not someone with whom he can reason. So he decided to follow her obediently, knowing that she is powerful enough to shield him from all danger, at least on the 6th floor.

"Belial, where are you?" Gal bellowed at the tent entrance.

A muffled voice drifted out, laced with irritation. "Come in, and how many times must I tell you not to be so casual outside? You know some bastards start looking down on us and make a lot of trouble if they misunderstand that we are easy to mess with."

Myne, who was standing beside Gal while breathing heavily after pushing a trolley for such a long distance, suddenly heard a familiar voice. What made him shocked was that this voice didn't come from the tent but directly transmigrated into his mind, the same way Fenrir and Waffle communicate with him.

"Don't be so easily startled by every little thing, honey. Let's go inside," Gal prodded, entering the tent. Myne took a deep breath, forcing down his shock, and gritted his teeth as he pushed the trolley inside.

The tent's interior was far simpler than Myne expected. If he had to compare it with Gal's bedroom, calling Belial a poor ghost might be praise. In the entire single room, there was a large, plain wooden table that dominated the centre, a medium-quality chair on which Belial sat, looking tired with dark circles under his eyes and birds nest like messy hair.

Compared to his previous energetic version, he now looked like an overworked slave, sleep-deprived and famished, on the verge of collapse. Explore more at empire

Around him and on his table lay parchment after parchment forming a pile of a small mountain made of unknown materials, half-eaten food plates, and some metallic objects. Two rickety chairs for guests sat opposite him and anyone with clear eyes could see that he hadn't placed them there of his own free will.

Two wooden cabinets with sixteen cubbies each adorned the walls, but unlike normal bookshelves, these housed gargantuan tomes. An entire cabinet, roughly four feet tall and wide, could only hold fifty such books, giving you a sense of their monumental size.

There is also a big bed in the right corner, but now it has collected dust on it, which shows that no one has used it for weeks. A few orbs, probably lighting props, suspended from the ceiling, illuminating the entire tent. Overall, Belial is the perfect example of a stingy workaholic guy who is also the favourite toy of his boss.

"Belial," Gal's voice cut through the stillness, "how long have you been holed up in this pit? Did you even forget to take a shower? This place smells like shit..."

"Ssss..."

Belial, hunched over a parchment, hissed a retort, "Please be silent for 2 minutes; let me finish this last report.

By the horns of hell, if I find the wretch who penned this report, even if Alban stands in front of me, I will definitely kill him." Angrily cursing, he continues reading the report in front of him with his eyes glued on it as if he is trying to make a hole in the parchment with his deadly gaze.

Myne and Gal look at each other, and after nodding, they fall silent. Their recent bond, especially after a recent in-depth conversation; has reached the point where they can understand each other's thoughts by looking into each other's eyes or may be is the effect of their soul being bonded together.

Gal pulls out a chair and sits down with her legs resting on the small empty area on the table that parchment hasn't managed to claim.

Myne follows suit and also sits down on the chair, but obviously, he doesn't have enough courage to be super friendly with Belial like Gal and put his legs on his table; otherwise, with Belial's cheap character, there is a high possibility that he may again have to visit the mine to dig gold.

Finally, with a flourish, Belial tossed his quill aside before cheerfully leaning against the chair. The expression on his face is the same as children leaving class after the last period. "Ah, freedom!" He cried, his jubilant grin momentarily obscuring his usual miserly scowl.

"Myne, right? What brings you to my humble…err…study? Do you need any help from me?" Belial, who was in a happy mood, noticed Myne sitting beside Gal and asked with a playful smile on his face. Clearly, his so-called help doesn't seem free from any angle.

"He's here to pay his fine," Gal interjected, her voice neutral with an expressionless face, "And ask a few questions..."

Belial's cheer evaporated as if doused by ice water. "Fine? Already? No, wait... F*ck! Just how long have I been buried here?" He snatched a golden hourglass from the table, blinked, and collapsed on the chair as if his soul had left his body.

He let out a deflated groan that echoed through the chamber.

"Thirteen days…gone! The greatest auction of the century, I missed it just because of those f*cking reports!"

Bang!

Belial's fist slammed onto the table, sending parchment fragments fluttering with bloodshot eyes before flipping it over on Myne and Gal. But at the last moment, an invisible purple barrier appears in front of them, blocking it in midair.

"You know those documents are very important, and if some important parchment gets destroyed, you have to write everything from the start, right?"

Gal's calming voice jolted Belial from his rage-fueled painting. He stared at her in disbelief, but after realizing she wasn't joking, he quickly placed the table back in its place and started picking up the scattered parchment from the ground.

"Ah, Boss, need a hand?" Myne first looked at Gal awkwardly. Seeing that she had no mood to help poor Belial, he could only ask him directly. After all, he still needed to get some information about how to escape from here.

Belial smiled politely. "No need, thank you. These documents contain confidential information, not for outsiders' eyes. Though you wouldn't understand them, what if someone reads your memories and plots something against me based on that information? Then I'd lose my job! You don't know, in hell, finding such a well-paying job without risking your life is no different from finding a soul stone mine.

In some cases, it even surpasses a soul stone mine, since not everyone can hold it and use it peacefully to strengthen themselves."

"By the way, since I am free now, tell me, what do you want to ask? I can answer your questions as long as they don't bring harm to me."

Myne, who'd been waiting for this moment since proposing his escape plan to Gal again on their way here, straightened his back, a nervous tremor in his voice. "Boss, is there any way to leave this dimension and return to my world?"

Hearing Myne's question, Belial, who was picking up the parchment, paused. He looked up at Myne, who, although nervous, still had a determined look on his face, and sighed helplessly.

Do you truly crave death that much? Can't you stay, work for me honestly, tend to your partners, old and new? Although I don't know about your wife, Gal's a good girl, she'll look after you very well."

As Belial approached a wooden cabinet, as if reading minds, he continued, "Don't be surprised. Do you think I couldn't see the soul-bound connection between you and Gal? You now have the aura of Gal all over your body since you are a weak party; this is like a mark, which tells others that you already have someone above, so it's better not to mess with you.

This aura not only will protect you in emergency cases but also extend your life, If you stay honest and don't throw yourself into a big mess like this one, then living for 500 years is not a problem. And someday, if you surpass Gal, the mark will shift to her. Isn't that cool?"

Saying such, Belial, who was searching for something in the cabinet, finally took out a small box tightly sealed with demonic runes from behind a few parchments and came in front of Myne, who was still grappling with the revelation.

"Let me ask again," Belial said, lightly tapping on the small box in his hand. "Do you really want to risk your life in the false hope that you can return to your world?"