L.O.J.S.H 231

I opened my eyes with a grimace as my sense returned. I inspected my surroundings and found myself sitting on a comfortable sofa inside a bright white room, a familiar, beautiful white-haired woman staring at me.

"You cheated." 

She remarked in a matter-of-fact tone, gently tapping her fingers on the fancy mahogany wood desk she sat behind.

"Hello to you too... I didn't get your name last time, by the way."

I merely smiled, shrugging my shoulders without pointedly ignoring her remark about my- ahem, shortcut.

"It's Zetia. And you cheated."

Zetia blankly gave me her name as she repeated herself, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"I guess I did. Is that a problem?" 

I calmly replied, copying her as I crossed my arms, my brain going overdrive to create all kinds of excuses and arguments as to why I took a shortcut when I did. 

"No, it's your job to pioneer our system and find exploitable or experience-breaking glitches, which you did by figuring out and using the shortcut."

She grudgingly replied, sighing as winds left her sails and her shoulders dropped. She genuinely looked upset for some reason. We can't have that now, can we? 

"Then why do you sound and look so upset?" 

I asked, raising an eyebrow at her contradicting words and attitude, genuinely feeling curious. 

"It's just that you're progressing way too quickly, and my bosses are breathing down my neck to perfect the system before you reach the last checkpoint..." 

Given a chance to vent, Zetia promptly began complaining about her job, but she quickly realized she had said too much and cleared her throat, likely intending to change the subject. Not on my watch. 

I mentally rubbed my hands together, feeling the gossip-loving middle-aged woman come to life inside me as I listened to her words and quickly interjected before she could change the subject.

"If it's any consolation, I didn't find any glitches or errors other than the shortcut..."

I consoled with a disarming smile, wickedly grinning on the inside as Zetia's expression brightened at my words, and she expectantly looked at me. 

If you asked me what's a woman's favorite pastime, I'd say it's complaining about their jobs and any unsavory bosses or colleagues they shared the workspace with while working.

Zetia, as a woman, was no different, interdimensional creature or not. And providing a listening ear to their rants and giving the bare minimum amount of consolation and agreement would earn you a shit ton of points in their books. 

I saw a golden opportunity to get information about my so-called patrons who brought me to this world and possibly get laid with the gorgeous white-haired possible goddess, and I'll be damned if I let it go to waste.

Time is no problem here, so I can spend as much as I want talking to Zeita since I returned to precisely the same place and time when she first brought me here.

"But, bosses, huh? I always thought you were the one in charge since you look like it..."

I added, pushing down the urge to pat myself on the back at the perfectly genuine expression of bewilderment I had on my face while giving Zetia a subtle compliment, which, as we all know, women love to hear. Subtle or otherwise.

"Me? In Charge? Ugh- I wish! I have like an infinite number of bosses, and most of them are omnipotent, immortal babies..."

She grunted in annoyance, and floodgates opened wide as she proceeded to vent and complain about how difficult her bosses were. 

I listened with rapt attention, interjecting to sympathize with her whenever appropriate. 

...

"Can you even believe Citlan did that?! The guy is basically older than time itself! I mean, I'd expect something like this from Xeas since he's a newborn god..."

Zetia complained as she sat next to me on the couch, our shoulders touching. She took a swing from my whisky bottle, then passed it back to me, an exasperated smile on her face. 

"I hear you. And what did Citlan say when you confronted him about it?" 

I nodded as I received the bottle, projecting an aura of genuine sympathy, which wasn't hard since I had my fair share of difficult bosses during my past life. 

"He had the audacity to tell me to deal with it! Can you believe the nerve on that one?!" 

Zetia exclaimed, seemingly ready to keep complaining for an eternity despite doing so for the past couple of hours. And it might seem like I was complaining, but I was not. 

With such an exquisitely beautiful face, anything that comes out of her full red lips would be interesting. Even if she suddenly started talking about the weather, the government, and throwing baby showers, I'd still listen with interest. Not to mention that she was feeding me some juicy gossip about a bunch of gods instead of boring small talk.

Unfortunately, it was not meant to be, as a three-headed crow burst into the room, materializing from nowhere, to which Zetia stood at full attention, the rosy tent on her cheeks that indicated her tipsiness immediately vanishing. 

The three-headed crow squawked as it landed on the couch's arm and inspected with three pairs of intelligent eyes gleaming with curiosity.

The crow's gaze didn't linger on me. It reluctantly turned to Zetia, shooting her a look I could have sworn was disapproving as it called once more, and a rolled-up scroll appeared in Zetia's hand.

Zetia solemnly unfurled the scroll and calmly inspected its contents with a steady gaze, only rolling at and nodding at the crow after a minute. 

The crow nodded its three heads at Zetia in synchronized manner, and turned to give one last look before calling for the last time and dematerializing before my eyes, having completed its mission. 

"Thanks for the talk, Johnny... I really needed that." 

Zetia nodded at me, smiling at me, to which I returned the gesture with a nod. 

"Now it's time to get back to business." 

She cleared her throat, resuming her business as she walked back to her desk and sat down to face me. 

"So, I trust I don't need to explain the procedure for you again?" 

She calmly remarked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"I'm pretty sure I still remember. But run it by one more time to be sure." 

I replied with a shrug, I still remembered everything she explained when I first came here upon reaching the Reverse Mountain, but you can never be too sure with these things.

"Very well. You are here because you have reached a checkpoint, Fish-man Island," Zetia explained, nodding her head. "You have earned a special reward, and we also use this time to update and fine tune the system based on your interaction with it," she added, waving a hand to the side.

"You may also sell any upgrade, skill or perk that have become obsolete and buy new ones before you leave," Zetia calmly explained in a clear tone. "Do you have any questions?" She asked, going quiet as she waited for my answer. 

"None. When do we begin?"