Chapter 30: Your morality is a lovely leash, Master.
Like the saying goes, a happy employee is a productive employee, and pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work. The same applied to the ghosts, who had temporarily enjoyed some snacks after so long. Their movements became more enthusiastic, with some not even using hammers to nail planks anymore. Instead, they relied on sheer force—or, in simpler terms, more physical disturbance.
Arthur watched the workforce with satisfaction. Standing beside him was the ghost engineer, chuckling at how everyone moved in near-perfect sync.
"This reminds me of when I used to work on one of your projects," Arthur said to the ghost engineer. "You always treated us well."
The ghost engineer laughed. "Yet you left before that project even ended."
"Heh." Arthur scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed by the memory.
Seeing his reaction, the ghost engineer laughed harder. "I'm kidding. I knew you had family matters to deal with—your wife was already due with your first child."
"It's really been that long, huh?" Arthur let out a defeated sigh, his thoughts drifting to his ten-year-old son, his eldest. Bitterness and longing flickered in his eyes at the thought of his wife and child, which the ghost engineer noticed a moment too late.
"I'm sorry," the old engineer said, the mood slipping into a brief, awkward silence.
"It's alright," Arthur replied quietly. "It is what it is."
They exchanged bitter looks, both trying to hide them behind faint smiles. Even with the distraction this construction offered, even with the small rewards they'd gained, one fact remained: