That Time I Got Reincarnated as an Underground Labyrinth Manager

The Next Morning

"So you decided to stay?"

Inside the office, Chishiya Shuntaro looked up at the three people standing in front of him.

The three nodded.

Chishiya felt secretly pleased.

The company was fully staffed again.

Recruiting these top-tier anime characters to work under him in the Underground Labyrinth Enterprise gave him a strange sense of satisfaction.

Maybe it was the thrill of collecting?

Chishiya stood up from his chair.

"Alright then, let's go."

He was already getting a little impatient.

"Now?"

The three were momentarily stunned.

Chishiya turned and replied, "Of course. I like to get things done fast and clean."

Milim and her crew were going berserk in the arena, the ant workers were busy constructing another ridiculous monument, and Vanir and Wiz were off advertising the Labyrinth in Axel.

Everyone was living their best lives.

Might as well take advantage of the downtime to visit a few other worlds.

"Call Aqua. We're heading out."

A Few Minutes Later

Aqua's scream echoed from the other room.

"Eh? Dead for 29 years???"

"Chishiya, someone who's been dead that long can't be resurrected with resurrection magic."

Aqua looked puzzled. Even as a goddess, souls that had been gone for that long had likely reincarnated or entered Heaven.

Even if she could recreate the bodies, resurrection wasn't happening.

Behind her, Frieren and the other two looked a little disappointed but not particularly surprised.

It had been nearly 30 years. Himmel and Eisen had long since passed.

Their bodies were probably dust by now.

Even if they couldn't meet face-to-face, being able to see their souls would be enough.

Fern spoke up.

"It's fine, Chishiya-san. We already prepared for this. Even if we can't bring them back, just seeing them one more time is enough."

That's the longing of the living.

To see, hear, and feel the presence of those who've passed is its own kind of comfort.

Chishiya stroked his chin.

"That's true, but…"

Wouldn't that mean losing two high-value employees?

Plus, they were main characters. That had to come with recruitment bonuses.

Wasn't there any way to bring them back?

Just then, a thought crossed his mind.

"Aqua, if resurrection doesn't work, how about reincarnation?"

"Reincarnation?"

Aqua paused to think.

"Technically, once a soul enters Heaven, reincarnation's off the table. But… if I step in and negotiate, maybe it's possible."

"But their bodies are gone, right?"

"It's not like we can do a Kazuma and drop them directly into another world."

Chishiya asked, "As long as I have the right bodies, will it work?"

Aqua: "Normally, yeah."

Chishiya nodded. "Alright, I'll figure out the body situation."

He'd already thought about this.

All he needed was for Rimuru to return and create two clone bodies.

Same method used to revive Veldora the Storm Dragon. Just drop Himmel and Eisen's souls into the shells and problem solved.

"Come on, Stark. Let's go get your master first."

Time to give that dwarf warrior a little surprise.

---

Heaven

A place of rest. The domain of souls.

No sickness. No pain.

Think of anything, and it appears in your hand.

Old folks sat sipping tea in courtyards, gentle harp music playing in the background, a peaceful and quiet atmosphere.

By a stone fountain in the middle of one courtyard, two old men were playing chess.

On the left was a hunched little man, completely bald.

On the right sat an old man in priest robes, wearing glasses and holding a glass of barley wine.

Himmel leaned on his cane with both hands, eyes locked on the board.

"Heiter, you still haven't quit drinking."

"At your age, your soul won't be able to take it."

Heiter took a swig and laughed.

"Hahaha, we're souls, old man. What difference does it make?"

Himmel smiled. "Fair enough."

As he said that, he dropped a piece on the board.

"Checkmate."

"Seriously? Lost again? Were you always this good at chess?"

Heiter looked skeptical.

"Hahaha. I died years before you did. Had lots of free time to play chess with other old guys."

"This kind of retirement life ain't bad."

Himmel stroked his beard and smiled.

While the two were chatting, a young goddess approached from behind.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Himmel and Mr. Heiter?"

The two were briefly stunned before nodding.

A goddess?

Heaven was usually just souls. Goddesses mostly stayed in the divine realm.

This was the first time they'd ever seen one in person.

The young goddess smiled.

"I was sent by Lady Aqua."

"Congratulations to both of you. You've been given the opportunity to be reborn into another world."

"Huh?"

They looked at each other, clearly confused.

Then, the goddess raised her hand and waved.

A projection of the mortal world shimmered into the air.

A small team appeared in the image.

Leading the group was a black-haired boy, standing next to a blue-haired girl in a feather-trimmed robe.

The two souls didn't think much at first.

But when their eyes shifted—

They froze.

"Frieren?!"

On the screen, Frieren, Stark, and Fern stood together.

The group approached a small rock house and stopped.

"What are they doing?"

"That's Fern? She's grown so much."

Heiter looked delighted.

Himmel's eyes focused on the purple-haired girl in the image.

"That little one is Fern?"

Heiter always talked about her during their chess games.

She was his adopted daughter.

"Looks like Frieren kept her promise and took good care of Fern."

"Hahaha."

Heiter stared at the image and took another sip of wine.

"You don't know Frieren very well, do you?"

"I'd say our Fern took good care of Frieren, wouldn't you?"

"Hahaha. Yeah, that's true."

Himmel chuckled. "It's been a long time. I kind of miss those days."

The two smiled at each other, then turned their attention back to the projection.

---

Back to Chishiya's Group

They had just arrived in Frieren's world via portal.

Chishiya looked up at the small rock house in front of him.

This was Eisen's home.

The strongest warrior this world had ever seen.

Knock knock knock.

Chishiya rapped on the door.

Behind him, Stark looked a bit nervous.

When he'd left, things with his master were… not great. And he'd gotten the crap beaten out of him.

Creak—

The door opened.

A dwarf with a Viking helmet and weathered skin stepped out.

"Who are you?"

He eyed the black-haired boy in front of him with suspicion.

Didn't recognize him.

But then, a familiar voice spoke from behind the boy.

"Eisen. Long time no see."

Eisen froze.

His pupils shrank.

"Frieren?!"

(To be continued.)

***

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