"Oh, hello there. Nice to meet you, I'm Luna, and this is Dorothy... It's nice to meet you."
Just when I thought I was late for a job interview, I was welcomed with smiles by two beautiful girls in bathrobes...
"..."
The sight was more than enough to stun Scott's over-tense and self-loathing mind into a halt.
"Come on in. We'll make some tea... Oh, right, we should put on some clothes first."
"Yes, wouldn't want to make the new guy uncomfortable," Dorothy said with a playful smile.
As if her sash was too loose, Luna's robe slipped open, revealing her dazzling nakedness.
"!!!!"
"...Oops."
"Luna, that's not very proper in front of our new colleague!"
"Hehe, coming from you, Dolly, that hurts."
"Huh?"
Before Dorothy noticed, her towel had loosened, exposing her willful bust.
"Kyaaah!"
Clearly embarrassed at being seen naked, Dorothy quickly covered her chest and blushed as she shouted.
"Hey, turn around! No peeking!!"
"Uh, sure."
"Maria, get us some clothes pronto! And some tea!"
Scott's mind completely blanked out after seeing both of them nearly naked. He couldn't even muster the typical teenage boy reaction; he just turned around silently without a word.
"..."
Even if he wanted to escape this situation, the door was out of reach thanks to the lethal trap nearby.
"Oh my, Miss and Mrs. You both look lovely... Oh, and who might this be?"
"New family member."
"..."
"So this is who you are referring to. Nice to meet you, I am the maid, Maria. Please remember me kindly."
"Maria, first things first, get me some clothes. The kid will be troubled if I don't get dressed."
Scott's mind had already snapped past its limit, yet strangely, his inner demon remained asleep.
(...I saw it. I saw it. I haven't seen a girl naked in ages. This is bad, bad, bad...)
For the first time in his life, even under such pressure, his inner demon didn't awaken.
"I'm sorry for showing you such an unsightly sight."
After getting dressed, Dorothy led Scott into the living room and served him a special blend tea made by Maria.
"...No, I should apologize. For barging in like this..."
"Don't worry about it. Just relax and have some tea."
Dorothy sat down on the vintage antique sofa and took a sip of her tea, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Oh, aren't you going to drink yours?"
"Well, uh..."
"What is it? If you have something to say, just go ahead. You're part of the family now."
"Can I go home now?"
Despite meeting them for the first time: a beautiful blonde girl calling him family, a tall pale maid with a somewhat eerie aura, a tall old butler cracking his knuckles while smiling at him, and a white-haired beauty who didn't flinch even after being seen naked...
Surrounded by people who made him feel uneasy without even thinking about it, Scott couldn't help but blurt out his true feelings.
"Why?"
"It's not why! I told you I went to the wrong room! And today, I had a job interview at the company!"
Ring, ring, ring.
"Someone's phone is ringing."
"..."
Seeing the incoming call on his phone, Scott felt the blood drain from his face. It was from Lexie Transport Services, the reason he moved to this town.
"Um, hello... Yes, this is Scott. For the, uh, Lexie Transport Services interview... Yeah, actually today... What? Oh, I see... Yes, yes. Sorry... But, um... Yes... I'm sorry for the trouble..."
Scott broke out in a sweat during the brief call and then squatted down, covering his face with both hands.
"What's wrong? You suddenly lost your energy."
"...My life just ended."
"What are you talking about? You're starting a new life here."
"New life my foot! The job interview I finally got! It's all ruined because of you!!"
"...I don't understand what you're saying at all."
Dorothy was confused by Scott's rambling about going to the wrong room, the interview, and his life ending, especially since she had only come to visit.
---
After all, this place is set up so that only those who have business with them can find their way here.
"Hey, you... You said you got the wrong room. How did you get here?"
"Well, I came to the building for a job interview and took the elevator to the thirteenth floor... and when I opened the door in front of me..."
"Hold on a second, please."
Before he could finish his story, Dorothy pulled out her phone and called someone.
"..."
"Do you not want to drink it? Maria's tea is delicious, you know?"
"It's not that, it's just that..."
"Don't be so nervous; I'm not about to eat you."
Luna spoke to Scott, who still hadn't touched his tea after quite some time.
(Man, she's really beautiful... Is she a foreigner? She looks younger than me, but... my heart is racing.)
Scott was captivated by the girl who looked around the same age as Dorothy, with her composed demeanor, ethereal voice, and fairy-like charm.
"Oh, do you dislike tea?"
"Oh, sorry. Well, then... I'll have it."
"Hehehe, please enjoy. There's more if you want seconds."
While he was distracted by Luna, Maria spoke up next.
(This lady is also incredibly beautiful, wow! ...Wait, where are your eyes looking, Scott!!)
---
A stunning beauty brimming with mature charm, she was the complete opposite of Luna. Scott caught his breath again at her ample chest and sophisticated demeanor. Having had almost no experience with beautiful women before, he gently sipped his tea and started to think, just slightly, that coming here might have been a good idea...
"Maria, it's not nice to force someone to drink if they don't want to. He probably prefers coffee. Get him a cup instead," she said.
(...Huh?)
As Scott took a sip of his tea, the old butler spoke up.
"Hehe, sorry dear. We haven't had coffee in decades, so you'll have to make do with tea."
"Shouldn't we show a little kindness and buy some coffee for him after all these years?"
"And what were you doing, snapping your wrist in front of the new guy? You look a bit annoyed."
(Huh? The atmosphere just changed...)
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, you're disappointed because the new guy is a boy. You're so easy to read!"
(Maybe these people...)
"Haha, you're really laying it on thick, Aunt Maria."
"Hehe, there's no need to be shy, young man."
Scott was confused by the sudden bickering between the two servants. Without even tasting the tea, he put down the cup and concluded once again that he should leave this room as soon as possible.
"Hey, Ryoko-chan. Long time no see, you look energetic today," Dorothy started cheerfully as she finally got through to her contact while Scott continued planning their escape.
"Mm-hmm, by the way, I wanted to ask you something. Mm, about the new guy who's supposed to arrive today. Actually, he was supposed to get here at noon... what? His headless body is in the New Thames River? What's going on??"
The scene shifts to a shabby apartment in Block 13 where information broker Ryoko, rubbing her sleepy eyes, grumbled in response.
"Yawn... Yeah, that guy is dead. Didn't you watch the news this morning? His name was Nick Smiley."
Ryoko, with her messy light purple bob, gently combed her hair with her fingers and added with a yawn.
"..."
"He was supposedly a hero in another world and had confidence in his skills, but well, if he's dead, I guess he wasn't that great. The Management Bureau didn't even notice him."
"So, who's coming then?"
"No idea. At least it's not someone I introduced. And nobody who said they had business with you has come by yet today. Smiley was the only one who knew how to get to your room today."
"...I see. Thanks, Ryoko-chan."
"Stop calling me Ryoko-chan. At least call me Ryoko-san."
After ending the call, Dorothy closed her phone and smiled at Scott, who was huddled up nervously.
"Stop calling me Ryoko-chan. At least call me Ryoko-san," she echoed, chuckling softly. (Note: This last sentence seems out of place, so I corrected it to fit the context.)
"Um, are you Scotts?"
"It's Scott."
"How did you get here?"
"Well, I took the elevator..."
"Did you press any other floor buttons before getting to the 13th?"
Scott was taken aback by her question.
"Uh, well, because I was in a rush, I accidentally pressed the button for the 15th floor first, then the 14th."
"And then pressed the 13th floor button three times?"
"I don't remember how many times I pressed it."
"Wow, Scott. Today, you rode an elevator in a building taller than 15 floors and had to press the buttons in that exact order to end up in this room?"
"Huh?!?"
Scott's mind was screaming, "No way!"
"Does that actually happen?!"
"Well, see, people who need to see us usually ask Ryoko-chan for directions first. You're the first one to find your way here without any hints or help."
Dorothy's face and voice were lighting up with joy.
"No, no, it was just a coincidence. Well, I should be going now! Thanks for the tea!!"
"But I don't think so. When I saw your face, I just knew it. You must have subconsciously aimed for this place."
"No, that's a misunderstanding. Anyway, goodbye."
"Wait, wait, wait. What will you do if you leave? Do you have another job lined up?"
"Uh, well..."
"Don't worry about your salary. Your working hours are basically flexible, and we provide meals too. If you join now, we'll even set you up with a room to stay in."
"But, but..."
"Sure, not everyone is here right now—some are still sound asleep, others are off-duty or lost—but our family is full of kind people who will support you as the new guy. Luna will help you relax when you're tired, and feel free to use the bathroom at the back whenever you need it!"
It seems Dorothy has taken quite a liking to Scott. The servants exchanged glances at Dorothy's relentless efforts to win him over, while Luna chuckled as if she had anticipated this all along.
"In other words, your arrival here was fate! Yes, you're hired, no questions asked!"
Dorothy, getting carried away on her own, stood up, climbed onto the table, and leaned close to Scott. She then reached out to him with a smile, saying,
"Welcome to Walter's Strange House. I'm Dorothy Barkins, the president. We're genuinely thrilled to have you, Scotty."
"Huh?"
That day, Scott Orlando failed his interview but found a new job at the same time. The company's name: Walter's Strange House.
Limbo City's most notorious witch runs an advice center for non-humans and those with special abilities, as well as an ultra-exempt handyman company specializing in otherworldly disturbances.
Chapter 1: "Luck to the Laughing You" ... End...
"Damn it, damn it! I'm going to kill that woman!!"
In a shabby antique shop on a back alley in District 13, a drunk man was ranting.
"Ah, shut up. If you want to kill her so badly, just go do it," muttered the shop owner, Pixar, unable to tolerate the man's blabbering.
"Shut up yourself! If I could, I would have done it already!!"
"If you can't, then give up. There are plenty of people in this world you can't handle—maybe a hundred or two hundred."
"I can't give up! All my buddies were killed!"
The man's name was Feed. He was the sole survivor of the bank robbers who had struck recently.
Unfortunately for him, he had taken a long bathroom break and ended up witnessing his comrades being neutralized by a blonde girl and becoming prey for beasts. Because neither she nor the police knew about the eighth robber, he managed to sneak out through the back door.