IGTL Chapter 22

Chapter 22 – Law Firm (1)

After handing the waitress who worked in the tavern 10,000 Col to cover four orders of Peroperosaurus TKG (egg over rice) and the broken dishes, I decided to leave the Adventurers’ Guild.

“See you, Kakeru! You really saved my hide.”

“Yeah, I’m counting on you from here on out too. Speaking of which, my funds are about to run dry. Think there’s a kind-hearted Mob-Fenrir guy out there willing to lend me some cash?”

“Hah?”

Old-school DW player, full-time shut-in “home security guard” who had leeched off his parents for forty years, a.k.a. “AAAA.” What did you just say?

I understood the urge to rely on others now that he had dropped to level 1, but if he ever tried to latch onto me like a parasite, I would fire the Mob-Fenrir Bazooka at him without a moment’s hesitation.

Getting leeched on by someone I only knew inside DW was not even remotely funny.

“…Whatever. I’m out of here.”

I ignored “AAAA,” who was wearing the most blatantly money-hungry expression imaginable, and headed toward the alibi inn.

The time was currently 11:30 p.m.

Thanks to that bastard, I had wasted a bunch of time. It was already bedtime.

On top of that, tomorrow I had to go to a law firm to sue Amazing Corporation.

“Let’s just check in and crash already…”

Of course, the place I was actually going to sleep was the real-world Candeo Hotel…

Muttering to myself, I walked toward the alibi inn I had wrung out of the Land Shark Main Office.

As soon as I stepped into the inn, three men moved to block my path.

“My, my. We have been waiting. So you are the little fool who chose to defy the Refrigerator Clan…”

“And you are?”

The one in front of me was a bald newcomer with a pale face and a shrill, affected way of speaking.

Behind him loomed an ugly man with a punch-permed hairstyle and a pretty-boy type who looked like a narcissist, both flanking him as they blocked my way.

“My name is Refri Jilator. Perhaps it is easier if I say I am the underboss of the Refrigerator Clan?”

“Wait, underboss of a refrigerator?”

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

As I stared blankly at him, the man who had introduced himself as Refri Jilator popped a vein on his forehead.

“…Are you not mocking us a bit too much? I am not the underboss of a refrigerator. I am the underboss of the Refrigerator Clan. Is that really so hard to grasp for a dim-witted little fool like you?”

“Gh…”

He had slipped that jab in so smoothly.

From that tone, he was obviously the kind of mean person who was used to making snide remarks on a daily basis.

There was no point engaging seriously with someone like this. It would just be a waste of time.

At any rate, I was already inside the inn, and there was no one I knew around.

“Now hold it right there. Where do you think you are going?”

“…”

I completely ignored the bald guy calling himself Refri Jilator, pulled up my menu bar, and tapped the logout button.

The moment I logged out, I was back in my room at Candeo Hotel.

“…Phew. What was that bald freak’s deal?”

The Refrigerator Clan. I felt like I had heard the name somewhere before.

I had logged out because I had reached my limit and needed sleep more than anything, but this was probably fine, right?

If something happened, the guards would be called, and I was a little worried about the inn’s staff, but dealing with crazies like that was probably considered part of their job description. I hoped they would just grit their teeth and power through it.

If anything, they ought to be getting hazard pay like the waitresses who worked the Adventurers’ Guild tavern.

All hail money-worship.

Everything could be solved with cash.

“All right, I really am beat… Time to call it a night.”

I lay down on the Simmons* bed, pulled the sheets over myself, and switched off the lights. (TN: Premium mattress brand)

As expected of a Simmons bed, it felt like I would sleep like a rock.

The Elementals’ lights flickered a little and made it slightly harder to fall asleep, but that much was still within acceptable limits.

“Good night, Elementals…”

With that murmur, I slowly closed my eyes.

The next day, light slipping through the gap in the curtains fell across my eyelids.

“Mmgh…”

I shifted my head to get away from the light and cracked my eyelids open just a little.

I wanted to check the time.

I picked up the smartphone at my bedside and checked the display: 7:30 a.m.

Apparently, morning had already arrived.

Stifling a yawn, I slowly pushed myself upright and swung my legs off the bed.

Grabbing a bath towel, I headed straight for the open-air bath “Sky Spa,” advertised as the spa closest to the starry sky.

“Saunas really are the best…”

I was delighted to have the whole bath facility to myself this early in the morning.

Most likely, it was breakfast time now.

Come to think of it, I vaguely remembered getting a breakfast ticket when I checked in.

Since I had it anyway, I might as well go later.

“Fuuuh…”

After ten minutes in the sauna, I could feel the heat loosening my stiff muscles.

Sweat streamed down my body.

My circulation improved, my metabolism kicked up a notch, and my whole body started to feel pleasantly warm.

Time to get out.

Leaving the sauna, I rinsed the sweat off with a ladle of hot water and slipped into the cold bath.

My body felt strangely light, like I was buoyed up and could float away anywhere at any moment.

The chill of the water against my skin and the lingering warmth inside my body melded together into a blissful sensation.

Normally, I would have liked to repeat the three-step hot & cold rotation: sauna, cold bath, then open-air rest, about three times until I hit that perfectly “dialed-in” state, but it was already 8:00 a.m.

I had a 9 o’clock appointment at the law office, and considering the time I needed for breakfast and getting ready, I had to wrap up my bath soon.

I enjoyed one last soak in the large bath, washed my body, and then left Sky Spa.

“Ahh… That felt amazing…”

If you were going to stay somewhere, it had to be a place with a sauna.

Still wrapped in that pleasant afterglow, I headed to the eleventh-floor restaurant for breakfast and found a menu board set up at the entrance.

Right. 1,800 yen per adult, before tax.

It was a pretty solid price, but since my stay included breakfast, I felt like I was getting a good deal.

Inside, a stylish restaurant spread out before me, with all sorts of people enjoying their morning meal.

It seemed this place ran on a buffet system.

Rows upon rows of dishes lined the area, made with seasonal ingredients and offering a wealth of variety.

Bread, croissants, scrambled eggs, sausages, and salad.

Chikuzenni*, meat and potato stew, curry, clear soup with tofu… Fruit and yogurt, and even candied sweet potatoes!? (TN: A traditional Japanese simmered dish of chicken and a variety of root vegetables.)

The lineup was insane!

Were modern breakfast buffets really like this!?

No, calm down, me…

First of all, I needed to calm down.

Apparently, this was just what breakfast buffets were like these days.

Look around, me. Everyone else was enjoying the buffet with completely composed expressions.

Even the kids were keeping a straight face.

How could I, an adult, not maintain at least a dignified, composed look?

I set a plate onto my tray and started piling my favorite dishes on top.

Heh heh, the joy of a buffet lay in taking as much of what you liked as you wanted.

I scooped some rice and ladled dashi curry over it. Then, on another plate I had added to the tray, I heaped vegetables and tofu, taco meat and steamed veggies into a “powerful salad,” and finally sat down at a table for the moment.

Oh, right, I had forgotten chopsticks and a spoon.

Leaving my food on the table, I got back up to grab chopsticks and a spoon. While I was at it, I picked up an extra plate, then grabbed some croissants, scrambled eggs, sausages, tofu, and chikuzenni before returning to my seat.

Heh, I had gone a bit overboard.

But there was no one around to scold me for it.

Still, it was strange.

Just hearing the word “buffet” made me take too much food for some reason.

That said, I had to go to a law firm today.

I had a mountain of things I wanted to unload on the lawyer!

I could not afford to overeat and end up spewing weird things out of my mouth.

For today at least, I would stop at about eighty percent full.

They said “eat until you are eighty percent full and you will not need a doctor,” and even in English there was a saying, “Light suppers make long life,” meaning that light dinners were the source of longevity.

Well, I was not sure if the amount of food on my plates really counted as eighty percent full.

It felt more like I was headed for ninety percent.

“All right then, time to eat.”

With that, I picked up my chopsticks and dug into the salad.

Yeah. The vegetables were crisp, and even a little sweet.

What was this?

Were these really vegetables?

The combination of taco meat and warm veggies was outstanding, too.

The chikuzenni was delicious, and the tofu was delicious. Actually, everything here was delicious.

And my food commentary was on point, if I said so myself.

The dashi curry was fantastic, too. Breakfast really did have to be curry!

In some circles, curry was even hailed as the ultimate health food.

It was probably because it was packed with spices that improved circulation and boosted metabolism.

“Phew, that was good…”

A quick glance at my smartphone showed that it was 8:30 a.m.

It was about time to head for the law firm.

After finishing a cup of coffee, I cleared my plates and left the restaurant.

I felt like I had indulged in a serious luxury.

I was thoroughly satisfied.

All right, time to switch gears.

Once I got off the elevator and stepped out of Candeo Hotel, I headed toward the law firm.

The firm had a solid reputation for recovering unpaid overtime wages and retirement benefits. Apparently, it was called Dekisugi Law Office.

“Excuse me. I have a nine o’clock appointment under the name Takahashi…”

“Yes, Mr. Takahashi. Right this way, please.”

Once I entered the law office, I was immediately shown into a reception room.

How to put it… it was just a normal office.

Somehow, it was not what I had imagined.

As I sat in the chair, glancing around restlessly, the lawyer walked into the room.

“Thank you for waiting. I am Attorney Dekisugi.”

“Oh, thank you for seeing me…”

I stood up reflexively and accepted his business card.

It seemed the one in charge of my case was this lawyer named Dekisugi.

Attorney Dekisugi. His name somehow sounded like he was a very capable lawyer.

While I was thinking that, he gestured for me to sit.

“So then, I understand you wish to claim unpaid overtime wages and retirement benefits. May I ask you to explain the details?”

“Yes. The thing is…”

There, I launched into the same explanation I had given at the Labor Standards Inspection Office about just how exploitative a company Amazing Corporation was.

The forced overtime, the method they used to fire me, their refusal to pay retirement benefits on the grounds of “disciplinary dismissal,” and of course the unpaid overtime wages.

“That is… a terrible company.”

“Exactly. They are a terrible company!”

“You have provided quite a range of evidence. With this much assembled, we should be able to pursue your claim without issue. At this firm, our success fee is thirty percent of the amount recovered. Would that be acceptable to you?”

It seemed this firm took thirty percent of the claimed amount as a success fee. The fact that they did not charge an upfront retainer was fantastic.

That alone showed how confident they were.

Thirty percent of whatever we recovered would go to them as their cut, but this was not about the money.

I mean, it was about the money, but it was also not about the money.

“Please, I would like to go ahead.”

When I said that, Attorney Dekisugi placed a contract on the table.

“In that case, please sign this document.”

“Of course.”

Apparently, the attorney-client relationship officially began the moment I signed this power-of-attorney agreement.

After carefully reading through the engagement contract, I signed it, stamped it, and handed it back to Attorney Dekisugi.