"This is the place where angels receive their training—an academy."

The first stop on our tour of Heaven was the training center where junior angels studied to officially become full-fledged angels.

Basically, it’s like a school.

Angels born with two wings can graduate from the academy and earn four wings. With more accomplishments, they can reach six, or even eight wings.

And to become an archangel, they have to be chosen by God.

To date, there have only been eight archangels.

Asking an angel about the god they serve would probably be rude, wouldn’t it?

Then again, it’s not like there’s only one or two gods—there are at least dozens that I know of…

"Are you having some irreverent thoughts right now?"

"How did you know?!"

"So you actually were!"

Exchanging bewildered glances, we soon burst into laughter as the archangel Michael held their sides, laughing.

I was granted permission to call them Michael.

"This is the first time in my very long life that I’ve met someone as curious as you, Yuna."

Michael spoke of living a very long life, but it’d probably be rude to ask their age, right?

"No."

"Uh—about what?"

With a radiant smile, they looked at me—wait, can they read my thoughts?

"It’s been a long time since I met a human as transparent as you, Yuna."

Is that… a compliment?

As we entered the academy, I could see angels inside classrooms, absorbed in their studies through the windows.

One of the angels in the back row was dozing off. Meanwhile, the angel at the front was diligently studying, but Michael didn’t look pleased.

"Mind if I excuse myself for a moment?"

"Sure, go ahead."

After a quick knock, Michael stepped into the classroom, and the place erupted.

There are only eight archangels in all of Heaven.

They’re revered figures.

So, as the archangel walked into the room and headed to the back row, they smiled and delivered a gentle flick on the forehead to the sleeping angel!

"Ouch!"

The angel shot up, rubbing their forehead.

Still a bit drowsy, they met Michael’s eyes and blinked in surprise.

"S-sis?!"

"Did you sleep well?"

With a bright smile, Michael left a couple more bumps on their sibling’s head, apologized, and walked out of the classroom.

Wait… Sis? So that angel is Michael’s younger sibling?

"Sorry about that. I just couldn’t help it, seeing my little sister dozing off in class..."

"It’s fine, that happens."

"I’ll formally introduce you later."

As the bell rang, a wave of angels flooded the hallway, greeting Michael and chatting excitedly. Just then, one angel started making their way toward me.

Is this Michael’s younger sibling?

But they had a fierce look in their eyes.

"Who are you, and why are you next to my sister?"

"I’m an invited guest. Nice to meet you?"

"Hmph! Do you even know who my sister is to be saying something like that?"

Though they were speaking in a somewhat prickly tone, it was clear they adored their sister.

It was endearing, almost like a younger sibling acting possessive, so I watched them with a smile, which only sharpened their gaze.

"Why are you looking at me like that?!"

"Because you’re cute."

The angel looked at me, slightly dazed, before flushing and dashing off.

Huh? That was adorable.

"Kyuu."

"Hm? Stop flirting? With who?"

I petted my little companion, who had thrown out an unexpected remark, and looked toward where Michael was still surrounded by other angels.

Should I take a stroll around for a bit?

"Shall we head over that way?"

"Kyuu."

As we made our way down the corridor and stepped outside, we found a quiet spot.

At that moment, the bell rang again.

Is it class time?

As I wandered around, I heard Michael’s voice.

"There you are."

"I was just looking around a bit."

"Then let’s head to the next location."

Leaving the academy, we moved on to another site. Where are we headed this time?

"This is where newly appointed angels come to learn their jobs after graduating from the academy."

In other words, it’s like a workplace.

When I asked what kinds of jobs angels typically handle, they told me they handle all sorts of tasks.

They protect the human realm from demonic threats, assist the reapers of the underworld in guiding souls—things like that.

"Recently, the demon realm has been causing trouble, so we’ve had an emergency order in place for a while. And you, Yuna, were at the center of it."

Michael walked inside with a bright smile. Wait—what?

As we entered the building, the scene was like something you’d see in the real world.

Specifically, it looked like a game development company.

Angels walked around with dark circles under their eyes or shuffled about like zombies.

As I observed them, one of the angels met my gaze.

Their eyes were full of emptiness.

Then I heard voices.

"I don’t even remember the last time I went home…"

"I can’t remember my wife’s face anymore…"

"My daughter asked me who I was…"

Listening to their lamentations, I almost felt like crying.

That is, if I were the kind of person who’d cry easily.

Couldn’t they at least video call or have their families visit or something…?

When I approached the tired angels, they looked at me with blank expressions.

"Oh, who are you?"

"Aren’t you human?"

"Yeah, how did you even get in here?"

They stared at me and then glanced beside me, suddenly realizing who was standing there. The angels quickly lowered their heads.

"S-sorry! We didn’t notice Michael was here because we lost focus!"

"It’s alright. You’ve been busy lately, haven’t you?"

"N-no, not at all!"

We walked past the angels, the perfect examples of workplace etiquette, as Michael continued guiding me around.

"This is the demon realm department. They’re all rather hot-tempered here."

Michael smiled brightly while insulting them—was that okay?

When we entered, voices laced with curses echoed around the room.

"Why are those damn demons causing a ruckus so early in the morning?!"

"We should hang those bastards on a holy cross!"

"The only way to redeem demons is through violence and damnation! Amen!"

I guess they’ve lost it…

Michael shook their head and told me that they were just stressed and to understand, then led me to another department.

"This time, let’s go to the department that handles the middle realm. The angels who went to greet you belong here."

We entered the room, and it was chaos, as expected.

"We received a report that dead monsters are resurrecting and attacking humans!"

"The underworld is demanding an explanation!"

"Why are they coming to us with this?! Are they nuts?!"

From what I overheard, it seemed somehow related to me, but maybe I was just imagining things?

Yeah, yeah. I have no idea.

"Shall we move to the next department?"

"Yes, please. I thought the middle realm department would be interesting, though."

Right now, escaping seemed like the best option.

The atmosphere here was too tense.

"Alright, we’ve seen the departments for the demon realm, middle realm, and underworld. How about visiting the Heaven department next?"

"There’s a department just for Heaven?"

"Of course! It’s the most important department!"

Reading the sign for *Heaven Department*, I wondered if we were heading to paradise instead.

Inside, angels were leisurely having tea.

Unlike the other departments that were embroiled in chaos, these angels seemed relaxed, calmly sipping tea. Something felt off.

As I listened to their conversation, Michael hurriedly led me outside.

"Maybe I should just reincarnate."

"You probably can’t. They say if you die, they’ll revive you just to put you back to work."

"Even death isn’t an escape."

The last thing I saw was a towering stack of paperwork behind them, far more than any other department’s.