IGTL Chapter 23

Chapter 23 – Law Firm (2)

Once Attorney Dekisugi finished checking the power-of-attorney contract, he slipped it into a clear file and laid a single sheet of paper on the table in its place.

“Thank you for filling out the agreement. Based on the data you provided in advance, I’ve calculated the total amount to be claimed. How does this look to you?”

Written on the page were the estimated unpaid overtime wages for three years, the 500,000 yen retirement bonus I should have received when I left, and 1,000,000 yen in damages for wrongful dismissal. The grand total came to 10,000,000 yen.

“Seriously!? I can claim that much?”

That was two years of my salary!

Granted, that was my salary before deductions for social insurance, income tax, and resident tax.

Staring in stunned silence, I picked up the paper, and Attorney Dekisugi spoke with a wry smile.

“Yes. Under the amended Labor Standards Act, the statute of limitations for claims regarding wages, including overtime pay, has been extended from two years to ‘three years for the time being.’ Because of that, we can claim three years of unpaid overtime, the 500,000 yen you were supposed to receive as a retirement bonus, and 1,000,000 yen in compensation for wrongful dismissal, for a total claim of 10,000,000 yen against Amazing Corporation.”

“T–Ten million yen!?”

There was no “How does this look” about it.

This was a stroke of pure luck.

“Let’s go with that amount!”

I had never even considered that the Labor Standards Act might have been amended to extend the statute of limitations on claims from two years to three. On top of that, I could apparently receive damages for wrongful dismissal as well.

Ten million yen in claims… I could practically see the corner of Director Ishida’s mouth twitching already.

“Understood. In that case, we’ll send a content-certified mail demanding this amount. Ah, and have you already completed the procedures for unemployment benefits at Hello Work (Public Employment Service), Mr. Takahashi?”

Huh? The unemployment benefits application?

I had taken care of that the same day, but…

“Yes. I went to file the paperwork on the day I quit. Is there a problem with that…?”

“I see. You are likely currently registered at Hello Work as having left for personal reasons. However, in this case, it is possible to change your status to a company-reason dismissal. That will significantly shorten the waiting period before your benefits begin, so if you’re willing, I would recommend going back to Hello Work to file for a change.”

“What, you can do that!?”

When I asked for details, he explained that in cases of wrongful dismissal, or in cases where, over three consecutive months, you had done more than forty-five hours of overtime each month, or in the most recent six months had even a single month with more than a hundred hours of overtime, you could later apply at Hello Work to have your status changed from “left for personal reasons” to “dismissed for company reasons.”

That was incredibly useful information.

Between resignation for personal reasons and dismissal for company reasons, the time before unemployment benefits began differed by two whole months.

I was seriously grateful. I’d go back and file for the change later.

“Also, this concerns what will happen going forward. Along with the content-certified mail, we will send what’s called a notice of representation, informing the other party in writing that this office will be acting as your legal representative. It is possible that someone from Amazing Corporation may still call you directly. If you receive such a call, please ignore it. There is no problem if you block their number outright.”

“Understood.”

Yeah, Director Ishida was exactly the type to spam me with calls.

It wasn’t like I was close with him or anything, and as far as I was concerned, we were now on opposing sides. I had zero desire to deal with those people directly, so I’d go ahead and put their numbers on my block list as soon as possible.

“In that case, we’ll contact you again as soon as there is any progress. You’ve brought ample evidence, so, if things go smoothly, we should be able to reach a settlement in as little as a week, or at most within three months. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.”

“Yes, I understand.”

With that, our discussion came to an end, and I left the law office with Attorney Dekisugi seeing me at the door.

“Phew…”

Even so, lawyers were incredible.

I never imagined I’d be able to claim as much as ten million yen.

Sure, thirty percent of that would have to be paid as a success fee to the firm, and once I factored in incidental expenses, I’d probably be left with something around six million yen, but that was more than enough.

From my point of view, it was enough if I could inflict some damage on Amazing Corporation for wrongfully dismissing me.

Thinking about it, I was just demanding the overtime wages and retirement bonus I should have received in the first place. The ones in the wrong were Amazing Corporation, for never paying up.

Companies that trample on employees’ legitimate rights and feed off of them deserve to crumble.

Actually, the one who really deserved to go down was the Administration Division head, who thought that was acceptable.

That’s right. We had the right to claim our overtime pay.

This was the dawn of a new era of accountability.

Companies that hired employees needed to change.

All right. I’d start by blocking the phone numbers for Director Ishida and Amazing Corporation.

That guy was the sort who only shouted all tough and high-handed in front of President Nishiki or over the phone anyway.

No stress, no life.

If you wanted to live a life free of stress, blocking was essential.

After promptly adding their numbers to my block list, I headed over to Hello Work and, just as Attorney Dekisugi had advised, finished the procedures to change my unemployment benefits status before returning to Candeo Hotel.

“Man. That took longer than I expected…”

A glance at the clock showed it was already 1:00 p.m.

So, what should I do with the rest of the day?

“……”

I didn’t have anything in particular to do, so for now, I might as well log in to DW.

I was still curious what had happened to the inn after the Refrigerator Clan barged in…

Lying back on the bed, I murmured, “—Connect ‘Different World’,” and logged into the world of DW.

“…Huh? What the heck is this?”

The place I logged in.

I was inside a cage.

That couldn’t be right. What was going on?

Wasn’t this supposed to be the inside of the inn?

…No, I wasn’t mistaken.

This definitely seemed to be inside the inn…

Looking around, I saw everyone staring at me with shocked expressions.

Hey, hey. Don’t stare at me with eyes that intense.

You’re making me blush here.

I mean it, seriously, cut it out. It’s embarrassing.

Stop looking at me, the guy stuck in the cage!

Also, why was there even a cage placed exactly where I’d logged out?

If someone didn’t move this thing, I’d be logging into this cage forever!

Move it. Now!

Clinging to the bars and screaming internally, I heard that same bald newcomer with the pale face and shrill, affected tone speak to me from outside the cage.

“My, my, and here I was wondering who it might be. Isn’t this the very fool who suddenly vanished right before our eyes yesterday? Why ever are you in a cage? Well, this cage was constructed to capture you, so I suppose it is perfectly fitting…”

With a metallic clank, the door of the cage shut.

Apparently, the far side had been open this whole time.

This cage was the kind of box trap used to capture large monsters.

A bunch of bananas hung inside as bait.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. You were planning to catch me with bananas!? Are you serious? Do you think I’m some kind of animal!?”

Peeling one of the dangling bananas, I chomped down on the fruit and let my protest fly.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t had lunch yet.

There just happened to be something edible hanging there, so I ate it; that was all.

It was absolutely not because I wanted the banana and walked straight into the box trap.

“Yet in practice, you are caught in the box trap, are you not? And you are eating the banana besides…”

“Well, yeah, when you put it like that…”

I didn’t have much of a comeback.

Fine. Whatever. I’d just blast the cage apart with the Mob-Fenrir Bazooka and walk out.

Firing a bazooka inside an inn made me hesitate, but this was an emergency.

They’d forgive me.

And anyway, I was the owner of this inn.

What the owner said was absolute. The employees had to obey the owner’s orders.

…With that settled, I was going to blast my way out.

Gurgle-gurururururu.

“Ugh!?”

Just as I hefted the bazooka, a sudden bolt of pain shot through my gut.

Wh–What the hell…? What was happening to my stomach…?

Lowering the bazooka and clutching my abdomen, I saw Refri Jilator, top man of the Refrigerator Clan, twist his face into a lecherous grin.

“Heh heh heh, looks like it’s finally kicking in…”

“Y–You… What did you do…?”

What had he done to my stomach!?

“But of course, it’s exactly what you think… I laced the banana with a laxative. A super-strong laxative, so you wouldn’t be able to run away.”

“W–What!?”

What kind of monstrous idea was that!?

I was inside a cage. Obviously, there was no toilet.

The little restroom icon in my field of view felt so far away. Distant. Unreachable.

Gurgle-gurururururu.

“U–Urgh!?”

The next wave hit out of nowhere.

No. No way. I couldn’t throw away my human dignity…

I couldn’t destroy my one-of-a-kind Mob-Fenrir suit, either.

B–But what was I supposed to do…?

Faced with the oncoming tidal wave of bowel pressure, I couldn’t even move.

And right now, I was inside a cage…

Damn it. I was completely boxed in.

“Heh heh heh, quite the situation, isn’t it, you fool. This is what you get for making light of me, Refri Jilator. Now then, if you agree to my conditions, I’ll let you go to the restroom. What will it be?”

Refri Jilator chuckled to himself as he spoke.

“W–What… conditions?”

“Oh, nothing complicated. You will return everything you took from my underlings. Along with your entire fortune. Do that, and I’ll let you go to the restroom.”

“Y–You’ve got to be kidding me!?”

What a greedy bastard.

All that just to use the inn’s toilet once, and he was demanding my entire net worth…

But I didn’t have a second to waste.

I gave a small nod, and Refri Jilator’s smile widened.

“Heh heh heh, if you’d just done that from the start, you wouldn’t be in this mess… Here, you can use this.”

“…Huh?”

What he slid into the cage was a dog toilet tray.

“A Mob-Fenrir should find that perfectly adequate, no? Go on, hurry up and use the dog toilet tray. We’ll all share a good laugh at your pathetic display!”

“S–Say what…?”

He wanted me to have an accident in front of everyone…?

That was what he was saying?

Staring at him in disbelief, I lifted my gaze to meet his eyes. Refri Jilator responded with a peal of raucous laughter.

“Ah ha ha ha ha! Either way, you’re stuck in that cage. Honestly, the conditions don’t matter in the slightest! Just disgrace yourself right there, you piece of shit.”

Something in my head snapped.

“You planned this, didn’t you, Refri Jilator!”

Raising my voice, I yanked open my menu bar and logged out of DW.