Junko couldn't see anything
No. It would be more accurate to say that she couldn't do and feel anything, Her unconscious body was surrounded around by the dark and empty void, Junko felt relaxed, but frightened at the same time, It felt as if she was falling on a cliff with no bottom, It was an extremely weird feeling
But suddenly, the darkness of the void was dispelled by a bright light. The light gave off a comfortable and soothing feeling. The light reached Junko's body and she slowly started to open her eyes
"Ah damn my head hurts...-"
After a long time that seemingly felt forever, Junko finally regained her consciousness
"...Where...is this place?"
She thought at first that she must be at a hospital due to the accident but she saw that everything around her was literally only white
"Wait come to think of it, I was hit by a truck pretty badly...But I don't seem to be injured"
She patted her entire body expecting to feel pain at some point but to her surprise, her body felt normal
"What's going on..."
She looked around her surroundings once more
But seriously where am I? Some sort of Mental asylum? No...they wouldn't have any reason to send me to a place like that, and I doubt there would be a mental asylum with a white room that's this big.
Junko continued to inspect her surroundings, she was surprised by how wide the place is, it seemed to have no end. As she was looking around, she saw an extravagant looking white door that's not too far from her location
Huh..I didn't really notice it because of the color...it looks kind of out of place. What's that doing here?
Junko felt a bit cautious at first but decided to enter it anyway because it seemed to be the only exit, she stood up and walked towards the door, the floor that her feet were touching felt soft like sand... No, It would be more accurate to say that it felt like ash
After walking for a while Junko finally stood in front of the door. she grasped the knob tightly and was about to open it until she heard a voice that was coming from the other side
"I have to manage this many more? Ahhhhhh...this is a pain..."
It was the voice of a girl that seemed to be tired and annoyed, Junko thought that it might seem rude if she would just waltz in so suddenly so she knocked on the door and said
"Um hello?..."
"Oh, the next one is already here?! No wait...ehem. It's fine now, you may enter"
The voice suddenly sounded more mature and dignified. Having received the person's consent, Junko slowly turned the knob and opened the door
"E-Excuse me then...Woah"
Having entered the room Junko could only describe it with one word, Divine. The architecture of the room seemed to be extremely well made. and though Junko didn't really have a knack for it, she could tell that even the accessories of the room such as the chairs, cabinets, and the small statues were extremely luxurious and expensive
"Welcome, lost lamb"
Junko turned in the direction of the voice and saw a beautiful woman with a tender smile that was sitting on a desk. she was looking at her with her blue eyes that were filled with kindness. Her blonde hair was stretched down to her shoulders and she was wearing a long, tubular cloth where the top edge was folded down about halfway.
Woah...she looks gorgeous... no wait, now's not the time to be thinking about that!
"Oh um, hello there, would you mind if I ask you where am I?"
The woman squinted her eyes and looked at Junko carefully before replying
"You don't need to be so nervous, One must learn to calm down and have patience, for the will of that Old ma- I mean God would surely answer all your questions."
Huh? what is she talking about?
"To answer your question on where we are, Hmmmm... I believe that you guys usually refer to this place as purgatory"
"! Purgatory?"
"Yes, If you're here then that means that your life on your planet has sadly ended, and your soul was brought here in order to be judged on whether or not you go to heaven or hell"
"Unbelievable" was the word that Junko wanted to say but if she thought about it clearly, all the events that transpired up until now do seem to point the case...
"So I've died huh...I see, then I'm guessing that you're the one who's going to be judging me?"
"You're pretty calm considering your situation...but I guess that saves me trouble. Indeed, I'm one of the Celestial beings created by God and is assigned as a magistrate to take care of people's final judgments, My name is Dina, pleasure to meet you"
Dina says this as she puffs out her chest with pride. Junko was caught off by Dina's formal introduction and opted to do the same
"M-My name is Kawataba Junko, I hope you take care of me"
"No need to be so nervous, The standards of Heaven may have been strict once but It's now a bit lenient due to the overpopulation in hell, so as long as you didn't do anything extreme in your life then you're good"
"I-I see..."
So even hell is having problems with that department? damn...
"Now let's look at your life...Oh, you can wait over there while I'm at it, I have a few sweets lying about so help yourself, there's also a cup right there that is automatically filled with the drink that you desire"
Junko nodded and followed the instruction of Dina, she sat on the comfortable couch and ate some sweets
"Delicious..."
The sweets were perfectly made, It contained the right balance when It comes to its taste which satisfied Junko's Pallet, she thought about how better would the taste of the sweets be if she had coffee, And lo and behold. One of the cups in front of her was suddenly filled with it
How convenient...I wish we had these back on earth, would have saved me a lot of time and effort...
"Hrmm...a commendable attitude"
Dina's murmuring caught Junko's attention, Dina was sitting on her desk while quickly skimming a thick book that had her name in it
"Huh? Is that..."
"Hrm? Oh, this? This is a book that heaven created about you. From the moment you first came out to your mother to the last breath that you take, Heaven records every action and thought that you've had. and we read this in order to know more about you guys and judge you appropriately"
"Huh...but are you really reading them?"
At Junko's point of view, It looked as if Dina was merely quickly flipping the pages without giving it any thought at all
"I've had this job for millenniums so I'm used to this. want me to prove it to you? should I explain to you in detail about how you were such a battle-hungry delinquent during your high school days? Or how you stalked your crush day and night when you were in college?"
"Ah! Ah! I believe you! I believe you so please stop bringing up my embarrassing past!"
Junko knelt down and performed a dogeza for Dina who showed a wide smirk upon seeing this
I don't get it... she's supposed to be a divine being but the smile she's showing is that of a devil!
"Fufufu that's good~ but anyway, judging from what I've read so far, your life is pretty good and dandy, I mean you did a lot of crazy stuff but it didn't really cross the threshold, and you've clearly regretted it and strived to be a better person...Now let's see...I just now have to read about the part where you died"
So I'm set to go to heaven huh? I know that A person should normally be happy about this news but I'm still a bit sad...I hope Tanaka is doing alright
"Truck accident...Truck accident?! Wait a minute...ten years?!"
Dina's voice startled and caught Junko off guard. Dina realized this so she tried to regain her composure and showed Junko a smile
"O-oh sorry, I just remembered something important, that's all"
"Is that so?..."
What was that about?
"Is he serious right now?...No it can't be, he isn't this stupid...Now that I think about it he is the type to do it...Damn him, even though we're one step to a demotion he still wants to do this?!"
Dina looked extremely worried, But Junko was even more worried than her. All traces of Dina's graceful demeanor seemed to have vanished. She was sitting on her chair both of her legs up while biting her nails with a nervous expression
I'm going to be fine right?
Dina then adjusted her sitting position and moved closer to the telephone at her desk, she held the handset with her hands and put it closer to her ears, after which, she pressed a few buttons before waiting patiently
She saw that Junko looked a bit nervous so she smiled once again and said
"Don't worry, We just had a bit of a miscommunication, that's all"
"...I want you to be blunt about this, is everything alright?"
"...I'm not so sure myself"
Please tell me you're joking, I don't wanna burn down there for all eternity!
"Oh but don't worry, your life up until your death is a commemorable one so you'll be fine, it's another issue that I'm worried about"
"Another issue?"
"Wait, hold on a moment...Ah hello there Sir Micheal"
Dina then immediately went back to her elegant mode, Junko found it scary how she would just suddenly switch like that
"Yes sir I'm doing alright, Can I ask you to do me a favor sir? May I speak to Azrael?... H-Huh? Oh no, it's not work-related I just want to have a little chat with him that's all...Hmph! You don't need to remind me sir I'm not a child anymore, I'm turning A hundred million this year!"
How is that age considered a child's?
"Got it sir...phew, anyways what was I saying?...ah about that issue. I have a sneaking suspicion that your death was accidental"
"Umm...I was hit by a truck so I suppose it is?"
"No No, I don't mean it that way, What I'm saying is that your death wasn't conducted at the right time"
"What? what do you mean?"
"Hold on a moment...Oi Azreal..."
And just like that Junko was once again ignored and Dina returned to the phone while quickly switching modes
"Don't act so happy go lucky to me bastard...the reason why I'm calling you right now is because of an issue...One of the souls I'm managing right now died ten years earlier than the intended date, You wouldn't happen to know anything about this now would you?~"
Junko could feel the anger and the bloodlust on her voice, But more importantly
Ten years too early?
"I knew it, so you are involved with this...Now listen here! You can't just reap people's souls in advance so you would have more time to slack! We have rules here! Do you know how many people have died in the past millennia due to your laziness?! We're getting demoted and you-... What?! don't take that tone with me you bas-... Are you kidding me he hung up!"
"Sounds rough...Is it work-related?"
Junko asked casually as she takes a sip from the coffee
"Yeah, it's just that my partner at the reaping department is reall- Wait a minute don't act like you're not involved here!"
Junko could only smile at Dina. Her banter with the person on the phone reminded her of how she and Tanaka would argue at work like that
"And now you're smiling? You're such a weird human"
"I get that a lot, anyway, I also noticed that you're not acting in that fake dignified persona of yours"
"Don't call it a persona it's my work face! you of all people should understand why I do that right?"
"Painfully so"
Sometimes in work, a person should learn to always smile and be calm, otherwise, it could lead to careers being ruined
"So, Can you explain this thing about me dying early hmmm?~"
Junko was smiling but the killing intent behind it was so frightening that even the divine being was caught off guard
"I've read this from your book but you really are frightening sometimes...Don't worry I'll tell you about it... But before that"
Dina stood up from her desk and started walking in Junko's direction. Junko became a bit anxious as she does this and wondered if she went too far, but to her surprise, Dina stopped in front of her and made a formal bow
"W-What?"
"On behalf of my idiotic subordinate and the entire Divine management, I humbly apologize...I can't really tell you the full story since it's confidential but long story short. Every Human has a set time to die, Once that time has come my fellow celestials known as Reapers would then take the person's soul for the final judgment. You may think it's cruel of us to do this but it's really needed to manage the population"
"Hmmm..."
So they even manage when a person is supposed to die? Can't say I'm too fond of the Idea...
"One of the reapers, Azreal, is acting like a lazy bum recently, He keeps ignoring the set time of death and is reaping souls left and right in order to have more time to sleep...One of the souls that he reaped early was yours...I'm very sorry...I've scolded him a million times already but he still refuses to listen..."
Oh, I see...so it's some sort of interpersonal problem at work huh?...
"I really hope that both of us could come to an understanding-"
"Oh, It's alright"
"and have some sort of agreement to- wait what?!"
"I said it's alright, Though you were a bit liable for it, The fault of the problem wasn't really you so it's fine."
"H-Huh?"
Dina couldn't help but look at Junko with a dumbfounded expression, This incident wasn't the first one, In fact, Azreal would reap so many souls ahead of time that Dina already lost count of it, and usually, when she explains the situation, all those souls would understandably express anger or disappointment
Yet this one...
"Y-You're really weird"
"Well hey...I've also had my fair share of rowdy subordinates so I could relate with you somewhat"
"But we're talking about your life here! Aren't you suppose to be mad?"
" Well...I am a bit angry somewhat but there's no helping it. You're apologizing to me now because you can't send me back to the living right?"
I have a feeling that she wouldn't do this if she could just bring me back to life
"...Yeah sorry, one of the rules of heaven is that It's forbidden for a soul that has already crossed the threshold to return to the world that it came from...B-But don't worry! Since the blame of your death is on us, I could transport your soul to a body from another world! and it's not just any world. It's a fantasy world that is filled with swords and magic and such!"
"Woah Amazing!...wait transporting me to another body? couldn't you just reincarnate me as a baby there?"
"....I have a little beef with the folks at the reincarnation department so I can't...I'll just transport you to a body with a soul that's about to be reaped so you don't have to feel guilty"
Yikes...Could I even live the life of another person?
"So what'll it be? I'll give you the courtesy of choosing the body you'll be living on.If you want, I could transport you to a body of a beautiful noble that'll make every hot guy that she comes in contact with her be blind with love"
"Hell yes" was the line that Junko wanted to immediately say as she heard this but stopped for a moment to think
That sounds good but to be honest, it's not really the kind of life that I wanna live on
"It's tempting but I'll have to pass on that one, if possible, I would like to be transported on a body that does a lot of work!... Like a maid for instance"
"Are you serious? Isn't it the wet dream of a human girl to be surrounded by hot guys that'll kiss your hand and say cheesy lines like Your smile is like the sun, or your warm presence has thawed my ice-cold heart. Things like that?"
"That's true...but I want those hot guys to tell me that with my own effort, not with the help of a god!"
Dina could see the fierce drive that is emanating from her eyes as she looks at her
"Sheesh...I knew that you're a workaholic but I didn't know that it was this bad...But very well! as you desire, I'll transport you to the body of a maid!"
Dina then fiddled her telephone for a bit and talked to a few people before returning to Junko
"Ok, it's all set...just exit through the door and you'll start living your brand new life, I'll get in touch with you in the future so don't worry"
"Got it, thanks for this by the way"
"No, I should be thanking you, It's been a long time since I talked to someone so interesting"
"Huh?"
What does she mean?
"Now go on, I still have a lot of souls to judge so it's best to be on your way"
Junko was still wondering what she meant earlier but proceeded to walk towards the door anyways, she held the knob of the door and took a deep breath before opening it
Alright, let's do this.
Junko then opened the door and was greeted by a bright light
"Oh yeah before you go I want to ask you something, Have you read a novel called The Fate of lovers? I think that It was pretty famous in your country"
"Fate of lovers?"
Sounds familiar...Oh yeah, that's the book that Tanaka gave to me so that I could take a break from work once...It was a pretty good book
"Yeah, I've finished it just recently in fact, why do you ask"
Dina then showed a wide grin and said
"Oh It's nothing, if you know that then that'll make things more interesting"
"Huh wait what do you mean by-"
Junko was about to ask Dina a question but the white light from the door grew brighter and Junko's vision was swallowed by it'
(----)
O-oh...where am I? my body hurts...
"Come on...Leas....burry..."
"No...enough...."
Junko could hear voices around her but not so clearly, She tried to move her body but it seemed like it was too exhausting, the least she could do was open her eyes. and even that took a lot outta her
Upon opening her eyes she could see two women who were arguing and one who was intently listening from the sidelines, they all wore a uniform that seemed to be that of a maid's
"H...uh.."
Junko was about to say something but the words became stuck to her mouth
The three maids upon seeing her showed an expression of shock and one of the maids that had purple hair quickly moved closer to Junko and hugged her
Wha-?
"Thank goodness...Thank goodness....it truly is a miracle..."
The woman continued to hug and cry at Junko until she stopped, and looked at Junko with a tender expression
"Since the goddess Dina has blessed you with this miracle then it must've been fate. I promise you, I'll train to be one of the best Victorian Maids out there..."
Junko didn't know what she was talking about but it seems like her tight hugging earlier was a bit dangerous since her vision was growing blurry and her consciousness was quickly fading
Well, I guess it's time to start my new life...
And with that, her tired body has fainted