Chapter 3 - Hold on, I’ve got some ethical concerns…

What kind of a choice was that?! It was either accept the job offer or go die! Die as in, like, die for real this time around!

Begrudgingly, Noah had to acknowledge that most likely, he’d have to wave his idyllic idea of Haven goodbye, and go slave away for some kind of a shady organization that made shit up to scam pitiful little mortals…

But he was unresigned! Really unresigned!

His lips involuntarily pursed into a devastatingly charming pout; his gorgeous black eyes glared around aimlessly filled with grievances. He should at least know which specific spot to glare at!! They could at least give him that much, right?

Noah gazed into the darkness in front of him. “How long do you intend to hide in the shadows? If you want to employ me, you should at least show some sincerity!”

After briefly pondering Noah’s words, Black thought that he might as well oblige. Putting his future host in a better mood would surely make these negotiations easier.

Thus, in the space in front of Noah appeared a shiny crystal shard the size of a baby’s clenched fist. Most of its light blue, nearly white, surface was covered by a pattern of a darker shade resembling a circuit board.

“Blackie?” Noah tentatively inquired.

The shard shook violently, nearly falling out of the air, “Black! My name is Black!”

Noah looked at the pretty little shard, his eyes curving in a sweet smile, “I know. Blackie.”

Blackie, the respectable old-timer, who made sure to introduce himself as Black but ended up being called Blackie once again:

‎(ﾉಥ益ಥ）ﾉ ┻━┻

Noah reached to teasingly poke the shard, only to be avoided. “Blackie, are you not going to introduce the others?”

The space fell into silence again.

After a long moment, Blackie thickened his face and declared, “What others? There is no one else here but you and me.”

Noah nearly spewed out blood from the sheer shamelessness of the statement.

Noticing how Noah’s smile had stiffened, Blackie quickly added, “They were here before, but now they've returned back to their stations. It's just a couple of guys from the department who got curious and dropped in for a look..."

"Oh? Aren’t you guys a huge organization that manages countless worlds? You must be recruiting new agents all the time. What is there to be curious about?"

Blackie froze midflight and started to hem and haw. He was trembling in the air for a while before reaching sudden enlightenment: "To see who my next host is going to be! Being a host to a super powerful and well-known system such as me is a pie falling from the sky! Everyone is totally jealous of you right now! "

Noah: (눈_눈) ‘…Yeah… let’s go with that…’ 

Noah released a heavy sigh, now he just wanted to get all of this over and done with. “What is this job you are offering me? And let me tell you upfront, I will absolutely not do anything that goes against my conscience!”

“Don’t worry! What do you take the Bureau for? We are the good guys! An unshakable pillar of justice and morality! We will absolutely not ask of you anything unethical or immoral!” If Blackie had a human body, he would be thumping his chest vigorously right about now.

Noah: (눈_눈) ‘…those words would be a lot more credible if they came from someone who didn’t write a whole book of lies and called it the Holy Scripture…’ 

Blackie enthusiastically continued to sell his bullshit: “The job we are offering you is very, very simple! In fact, it’s so hassle-free that you won’t even know you are doing it! Ah, your luck is so good! This is a limited time offer, just for you! Best possible terms other agents can only dream about!”

Noah: (눈_눈) ‘Are you intentionally trying to sound like a scammer, or have you been scamming people for such a long time it has become second nature?’

Blackie finished his pitch with an irrefutable tone filled with confidence, “In fact, the terms are so favorable that all you have to do is live a long and happy life!”

“Uh-huh, riiight. So, about that reincarnation…”

Blackie’s small form jumped in agitation, “Wait! Let me finish! This is totally not a scam! We’ll just send you to many different worlds, where you’ll take the body and identity of someone who was just about to die. All you gotta do, is, well, not die. You are free to do with this new identity whatever you want and live your new life however you want. You don’t need to accomplish the original owner’s dreams and wishes, nor do you need to act like the previous owner would have acted.”

“Um…” Noah raised up his right hand like a good student asking a question in class, “I’ve got some ethical concerns about all this…”

“Like what?” Blackie asked, sounding genuinely confused.

“Like…” Noah drawled, “…the fact that this is a body and identity theft.”

Blackie shook in front of him with what seemed to be righteous indignation. “No, it’s not! We are no thieves! Not only did we get the original owner’s consent, but they have also been sufficiently compensated!”

“Oh. So, it isn’t theft. Just lying and deceiving everyone in the world, including the government, the original owner’s acquaintances, family, friends…”

“You are overthinking it…” Blackie interrupted wryly. (◞‸ლ)

“But am I? Am I? AM I?” (≖_≖)

“Yes. Yes, you are.” (￢_￢;)

“Alright, I suppose I am. ╮(╯▽╰)╭  It should be fine if I make it up to them? It might be better for them to never know that their loved one is already gone.”

Blackie who was expecting a serious debate: ‘Oi, oi, don’t you think you agreed a bit too quickly!?’

“But!” Noah raised up his index finger for emphasis, “How did you get them to agree to sell off their body without any special requests? Not even asking you to look after their loved ones?” 🤔 ‘That’s totally weird, isn’t it?’

“…we might have assured them that the new body’s owner would be a morally upright person who knows gratitude, and will definitely repay kindness with kindness, so they can rest assured in leaving their loved ones in their care…” (; ﾟ 3ﾟ )~♪

Noah: (눈_눈) ‘Ah, so not even the dead are spared from your scams…’

Feeling Noah’s contempt, Blackie jumped up like a cat that had its tail stepped on: “And are you not such a person?! We didn’t lie!”

Noah, who actually couldn’t say anything to refute it without slapping himself in the face:

(￢з￢)  ‘Alright…I’ll let you win this one…’