Deep breath. It's just work. Just stupid work.
No one's going to eat you alive.
Probably.
Riley stood at the front desk of the HR office.
He held a folder in one hand and the bitter taste of irony in his mouth as he cleared his throat. "Hi. I'd like to cancel the aide replacement request I submitted last week."
The HR clerk, a cheerful elf named Mina, blinked up at him.
"Oh, hello! Do you mean the irrevocable resignation form you filed under 'Final Freedom: No Take Backs'?" she asked, pulling up his file.
"...Yes. That one."
She stared at him. He smiled. She stared harder.
"Should I ask why?" she asked.
"I don't think I'm allowed to say," Riley said, and that was not a joke. "It might be classified. Possibly... magically enforced."
Mina slowly closed the file. "Oh. I see, so... still working for the Dragon Lord, then?"
Riley nodded ever so slowly, as if trying to convince himself as well. "Yeah."
She offered him a single sympathy chocolate from her drawer, which he could only accept with a pathetic "Thanks."
Back in the office, Riley passed through the hallway like a returning ghost.
Whispers followed him like perfume.
"He came back?"
"Maybe it was a counteroffer?"
"I heard he tried to burn his contract, and it just laughed at him."
He entered the main workroom and tried to keep a low profile. Which, of course, didn't work.
"Welcome back, Riley!" chirped Alden from Accounts, popping out from behind a pile of scrolls.
Riley jumped. "Thanks, Alden." Though really, it would've been more fitting if Alden said something along the lines of "My condolences."
"You didn't quit after all? Wow. I lost a bet."
"You bet on my resignation?"
Alden nodded. "Yep. Five gold on you for leaving and joining a human rights group."
From two desks away, a dry voice piped up. "I said he wouldn't leave. Said the boss had him soul-bound or something."
Riley coughed. "Haha. Wild imagination."
"Right?!" someone added. "Hey, how much of a raise did he give you to stay?"
Riley blinked. "Raise?"
Gasps. Whispering. One person wrote something down with suspicious speed.
At lunch, Riley sat in the break room with a microwaved lunch and a deep sense of denial.
Lyra, the receptionist, poked her head in. "Hey, glad you're staying! I almost had to cover for you. Which is terrifying."
"Why?"
"Because I don't know what you do, but everyone says if you leave, we all die."
Riley shrugged. "That sounds about right."
Across the table, Dennis from Inventory gave him a thumbs-up. "Welcome back to the pit, man."
"Thanks. It's good to be...owned."
Everyone paused.
"Wait, what?"
"Nothing."
In the hallway, Riley overheard two interns whispering.
"Do you think he's in love with the boss?" one asked.
"Don't be ridiculous," the other replied. "No one's that emotionally unstable."
Riley kept walking.
He was not going to cry in the stairwell today.
That would have to be scheduled for tomorrow.
In the end, his trip to the HR netted him a headache, a new nameplate, and a sparkly "Loyalty Award Certificate" printed on enchanted paper that shimmered when tilted sideways.
It read: "To Riley Hale, for bravely returning to work after attempting escape. We appreciate your renewed dedication to eternal service." There was a golden sticker of a smiling dragon in the corner that practically mocked his entire being.
He wasn't sure if it was meant to be comforting or threatening.
But at the same time, he couldn't help but wonder if he really deserved the certificate. Technically, he wasn't even employed here. He was just here, because his boss was.
Haaaa!
There wasn't even a point in his giving HR his original resignation letter. No wonder Mina's expression looked weird when he initially handed over the letter.
Maybe the poor woman thought he was trying to make a point. That's why she was like that earlier when he returned with his non-existent tail tucked between his legs.
"So, is there anything else that I have to do?" Riley asked if there were other things to rescind.
"Technically, no. But just in case you need a reference for it, we noted it down as 'emotional turbulence' instead. So, it's now marked as a mental health break."
"...Thanks? Didn't think you'd have to do that too."
"We really don't have to, but no one would really get a chance to explain when asked, so we might as well make a record. We can always just opt not to show it, anyway."
"Oh! And here's your award. Please hang it somewhere visible. Preferably over your desk, under a camera orb."
And that was how he ended up with a certificate tucked under his arm as he returned to the Dragon Lord's office.
He paused at the door.
Breathed in.
Breathed out.
Regretted everything.
And yet, there was really no running away when the door just opened by itself.
Kael was already there, standing by the window, wearing his usual black-on-black ensemble that probably cost more than Riley's entire life savings.
"Good morning, Hale," Kael said without turning.
"Back from your little... walk?"
Riley ignored the dig. Walk. Ha. More like a public mental breakdown.
"Yes, my Lord. HR has welcomed me back. I'm now officially...loyal."
He placed the certificate on Kael's desk with theatrical flair.
Kael raised one elegant brow. "You seem proud."
"I'm glowing," Riley replied flatly. "Also, other employees from HR said I don't get cake unless I complete another ten years. But would that perk even apply to someone of my lowly status?"
Kael let out a short laugh. Not sarcastic. Not cruel. Just amused.
But well, for someone who was still mending his broken heart, he couldn't really help but take it as a maniacal laugh.
Riley stood straighter. Might as well shoot his shot.
"My Lord, since we're being honest with magical contracts and eternal service..."
Kael gave him a curious look.
"Yes?"
"Do I get hazard pay for being bound to your service forever? Or like, eternal dental care?"
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"Maybe a raise? Or a nice private room without cursed wallpaper?" Kael studied him for a long moment.
Too long.
Riley almost took it back.
Then Kael smiled.
"A raise," he repeated.
"For someone who cannot legally leave?"
"Exactly. Think of it as investment protection. High morale leads to high productivity."
"Yay." Riley gestured vaguely, a small cheer, and a smile that looked a tad too sour.
"Very well," Kael said finally, leaning back in his chair. "You may negotiate. A little."
Riley blinked. "Wait. That worked?"
"Modernizing labor practices."
"I'll take that as a yes," Riley said, pulling out a piece of parchment labeled 'Totally Reasonable Demands'.
And he had bullet points.