Author's Note: Chapter 3 is here. I am working on Chapter 4 and I may have that ready soon. I am using these two chapters to make the situation very hostile for Issei. That way, he'll have a desire to enter the other world.

This chapter will focus on Issei trying to meet with other members of the Occult Research Club. The next chapter will focus on Issei trying to meet with the Student Council. I don't plan to have Issei enter that 'mysterious dimension' like in Coraline yet.

Published 5/26/2014

Chapter 3:

Life in the New Village I

It has been three days working at the Gremory Gala. The number of reservations is rapidly increasing, putting pressure on the Occult Research Club. While most of the guests are staying at the hotel just to see and meet Rias and her servants, many guests are using this place as lodging while they attend Sona's Institution. In the Gremory Gala, for Kiba and Akeno, time slots for photo opportunities are completely full and many guests are given priority passes. Asia and Gapser both have packed schedules, carrying luggage to different rooms and supplying additional items such as pillows, blankets, and treats. The casino room is also loaded and Xenovia and Irina now need to make twice as many footsteps to serve everyone's needs.

The pressure also affects Issei and the other handymen. No matter how many guests book a stay or visit the Gremory Gala, they must keep the entire resort in like-new condition.

"Alright, it is now 6:30. Everyone get up!" yells the head handyman. "Today, we have a lot of work to do. The sewage line is blocked, the legs for the dining hall chairs need to be polished, and the drapery needs to be washed. Hurry up before the guests arrive."

It is another day of hardship for Issei as he gets into his uniform. He has not talked to anyone else in the Occult Research Club, being busy with all of his duties.

The first task assigned to Issei is to clean all of the public restrooms in the resort which includes 500 toilets, 500 sinks, 100 mirrors, and 200 trash cans with no assistance. Issei tries to cut corners to save some time and visit Rias and the others. However, the head handyman constantly watches Issei from behind. He inspects Issei's performance and yells at him for missing a spot.

"Look, I see a hairline crack here. You have to replace the entire restroom divider!"

"What?"

"This is an order. DO IT!"

"Yes, sir."

The moment Issei installs a new restroom divider, the head handyman complains about the color of the divider as well as the location of the toilet roll holder and the amount of bolts used. Issei ends up installing the restroom divider 6 times, accumulating trash worth up to 3 new restroom dividers.

The next task for Issei is to mow 10 acres of lawn with a manual reel lawn mower. Unlike ordinary rotary lawn mowers, this lawn mower has no engine, making it more difficult to operate. The head handyman forces Issei to use this kind of lawn mower because it gives a cleaner cut, allowing the resort to look more attractive from the outside. The head handyman does nothing to help, standing next to him and blasting with every insult he can think of.

"Hyoudou, this is beyond unacceptable. I cannot see any kind of mowing stripes in the lawn. It doesn't look professional. Now, our exterior appearance is ruined. There are also so much grass clippings everywhere. Are you blind?"

"Well, I can do it better next time. This thing is so hard to use anyways."

"NEXT TIME? You think there is a next time if the guests see this unsightly front lawn the moment they set their floor on this resort for the first time? I am interested in seeing your plan to convince these guests to return back to this resort in the future once they see how you cut this lawn." The head handyman gives Issei a whack.

After that, Issei has to clean every stove in the kitchen of every restaurant. The stoves are soiled with so much grease. Not only Issei has to manually scrub off the grease with a scrapper, he also has to disassemble each stove, clean and reseal each component, and finally reassemble each stove. On top of that, the floor underneath the stove needs to be clean and free of any kinds of defects such as cracks. Overall, the kitchen needs to look like someone has never used it before.

"I SMELL SOAP! How many times do I have to look after you, Hyoudou? Now all of our 5-star entrees are ruined. You are really starting to get on my nerves. You are seriously clueless. Now, get in there and do it all over again. You will be cleaning these stoves as long as I smell soap."

"What?"

"Stop complaining. I bet every other handyman can do it 100 times better than you."

Despite all of the intense workout the head handyman has put Issei through, he saves up enough time to meet with the Occult Research Club. The first person he finds is Asia. Asia just exited the elevator. Issei is excited to greet Asia.

"Hello Asia…"

"Ah, Issei-san, hello. How have you been?"

"Umm… great," Issei goes along with the conversation.

"Is everything going well?"

"Umm… I guess so,"

"That's great… Oh by the way, I have to get going. I am in the middle of a request. Someone needs help connecting to the internet. See you later…"

"Wait… umm…" before Asia could hear Issei express his frustrations and concerns, the elevator doors have already closed on Asia.

Issei then heads to the photo booth. Apparently the lines are so long that Issei could not move closer than 50 meters from the photo booth. The lines are also starting to get chaotic with people cutting in front of other people, including ones with priority passes. As issei tries to squeeze through the chaotic crowd to speak with Akeno, Kiba, and/or Koneko, one of the hotel staff members pull Issei out.

"Hey, mister. You're not supposed to be here. This line is for our guests only."

"Umm… You see, I want to meet Akeno, Kiba, and/or Koneko."

"You can do that afterwards. They are all busy right now and it is not ethical to disrupt their jobs. Plus, they won't be going anywhere for a while so there is a plenty of time for you to schedule a meet."

"But, I rarely get any free…"

"Oh, I'm sorry; I was in the middle of giving someone his handkerchief. I got to go, sorry." The staff member interrupts Issei and quickly walks off.

Next, Issei tries to meet Xenovia and Irina. He finds them trying to handle an emergency. Someone lost too much money at Poker that he fainted to the ground.

"Ah! Xenovia, Irina, hello!"

"As Issei. We're busy now. We need to get this man to the hospital right away."

"I can help."

"You don't need to Issei-kun. The paramedics will help us. Oh, they're here right now. Sorry, Issei-kun, we too busy to talk to you right now. I'll talk to you later. Bye." Xenovia and Irina quickly rush to aid, leaving Issei behind.

Finally, Issei comes up to Rias. Rias is walking down the hall making observations and taking notes. She instantly spots Issei.

"Ah, Issei, it looks like the head handyman has treated you well."

"I guess so… There's so much work for me."

Rias smiles, "The more I see you, the stronger you become. It's such a treat, Issei." Before they could continue their conversation, a staff members calls out for Rias.

"Hey! Rias, the electric bill got forwarded to us a few minutes ago. Apparently, we got double-charged. The utility company is arguing that we are currently residing in a remote region so it costs extra to distribute electricity here. We need your help to resolve this issue. Please Rias, we need you immediately."

"Oh! I guess I have some more work to do. I'll see you later, Issei. Good luck. Let's talk again." Rias walks off and returns to her job.

The following night…

"Whack! Whack! Whack!" These are the sounds that could be heard through the boiler room.

"What did I tell you, Hyoudou? Never be in contact with any of the higher-ups except for me. You just tainted the pristine nature of this resort by talking to Rias and the others. Now, we're about to lose one star on our rating. You're getting 2000 whacks for this."

"But… we're like friends."

"I TOLD YOU THIS BEFORE. YOU ARE WORKING UNDER ME SO YOU WILL FOLLOW MY RULES! 1000 additional whacks for forgetting the rule."

"Also, you skipped out on one of your assigned jobs. You also had to water all of the plants in the garden. 1000 additional whacks for unfinished business."

"But…"

"No Buts! You also failed to remedy all of the problems I mentioned in your other three jobs. This is mainly because you took long breaks and stopped too frequently. I'll add 500 whacks for that."

"Ow… Please stop! I will fix it."

"You need lots of pain to learn. Starting now, you will get 10 additional hours of work."

Issei ends up with a total of 5000 spanks due to the inability of the head handyman to count properly. He also gives Issei the worst rating when he files his weekly report to Rias. Rias, being too busy with setting up a new restaurant (Millicas Grill) at the resort, rubber-stamps the report without looking at it in detail first. During dinner, the head handyman rounds up everyone at the dining hall and recite the weekly report out loud for everyone to hear. The report also includes the amount of salary each person will earn for the week.

"Alright, let's begin. I will start off by announcing the person with the best performance of the week and go down the list. First up is Kongo Kuruma. You work today was flawless and I enjoyed the extra detailing you did to the flowers in the Marquis Gallery. Your compensation will be 30,000 Dekobits."

"Thank you very much. I am appreciative of your comments."

"OK, next up is Morle Litchiken. You also had a very good performance this week, but it was not as good as Kongo Kuruma. However, I will gladly give you a compensation of 28,000 Dekobits for this week."

"That's fine. I will try harder tomorrow."

"Alright, the third person will be Amo Royce. You work was excellent too. I did find one mistake though. You left some flyers behind one of the cabinets in the conference room when you were vacuuming. However, there were no other problems I found so you will earn a compensation of 25,000 Dekobits for this week."

"I appreciate it."

The head handyman continues down the list reading everyone's name, comments about their job performance, and their compensation. The differences in salary also narrows down the list with a 3-way tie for 20,000 Dekobits, a 5-way tie for 19,000 Dekobits, and a 20-way tie for 17,500 Dekobits. Finally, he gets to Issei.

"Issei Hyoudou. You already know your result, but I will repeat it again so everyone else can hear. I only have one word to describe it: atrocious. You have too many problems not to mention dents in the hallways, broken glass, scratched windows, leaky pipes, stained upholstery, and poisoned food. One top of that, you skipped out often by taking long breaks and even meeting with other higher-class staff members today, a clear violation of my rules. Your total compensation is 0 Dekobits. You will also get a material fee of 10,000 Dekobits for the restroom doors and a 1,000,000 Dekobits fine for damage of the resort's reputation. That is all for this week."

"Wait, but it was an accident."

"It's too late. Do you see here? President Rias Gremory has already approved the weekly report. So, now you will have a debt of 1,010,000 Dekobits. If you keep it up, you'll be broke and end up in prison for excessive debt." The head handyman shows Issei the weekly report complete with Rias's signature.

The rest of handymen laugh Issei for his poor performance and his infatuation with Rias, making Issei take his dinner and eat in his room. When Issei approaches his uncomfortable bed, he finds a mysterious present for him. The present is an action figure that looks like Issei. There is no sender's name. Issei decides to keep it next to his bed, using it as a place where he could express all his frustration.