Too Big to Refuse
The woman who had been face-planted on her desk creaked her head upward.
Having spent so long motionless, buried only in work, her body had stiffened completely — every slight movement brought a series of pops and cracks from her joints.
"Uuuugh..."
A hoarse voice, steeped in exhaustion, leaked out weakly.
Her red hair, dry and frizzy from days without washing for lack of free time, hung loosely tied and dangling down her back.
"How... did I end up like this..."
She forced her heavy eyelids open.
A vivid scar cut across her left eye, but fortune had spared her sight — the eye remained clear.
The woman opened the humidor behind her chair and took out a thick mana-purifying cigar. She picked up the cigar cutter beside it and, with practiced hands, snipped off the tip in one clean cut.
She tossed the discarded tip aside carelessly, then slumped back into her chair, pulled a Zippo lighter from her coat, and flicked it to life with a sharp click.
She set the lit Zippo on the desk and rotated the base of the cigar around the flame. And let out a deep sigh for good measure.
"Haa..."
Once the base was properly warmed, she lifted the lighter, lit the tip of the cigar, and drew in a full mouthful of smoke. She held it in her mouth for a few seconds without inhaling into her lungs, then exhaled — hoo.
She rotated the cigar slightly, held another mouthful, exhaled — repeating the process several times. Staring blankly at the smoke crumbling away into the air, she muttered in a gloomy tone.
"Would be nice if I could drink wine too..."
Impossible, of course.
"If she doesn't like how I handle things, that woman will try to kill me..."
She wasn't joking.
Luna of the Mors Family. That woman might truly kill her simply because she found something unsatisfactory.
That she — the boss of an organization that was by no means small — had been reduced to this state, drowning in menial work without sleep, had all begun when Luna suddenly barged in. And the only reason she was still alive and breathing was simply Luna's whim.
Until recently, she had still harbored complaints about why she, a boss of an organization, had to be living like this...
But by now, she was simply grateful to still be alive and getting on with the work.
...Though she still had her complaints.
"...No, if your business is done, just leave. Why do you keep coming back to work me to the bone? And it's not even easy jobs you're giving me, and it's not like you're paying me either."
"You want compensation?"
"Of course I— wait, what?"
Yeris, who had been grumbling to herself, spun around in shock at the voice behind her.
"...Hiiiek..."
The ash-gray-haired woman she had just been badmouthing was somehow perched on the open window, looking down at her with eyes whose meaning was impossible to read.
Yeris looked up at Luna with trembling eyes for a moment, then clenched her fists tight.
Right. For all that I look like this, I'm still the leader of an organization. Even if I die, I'll face it with dignity.
"Y-Yes. I would be grateful if you provided compensation..."
But what came out of her mouth was not a bold declaration that she would no longer be pushed around — it was a pathetic request.
"Hmm."
Had she been so frightened even after making such a pathetic plea?
Her field of vision had lowered slightly, and she could no longer see Luna's eyes looking down at her. She could only see Luna stroking her own chin with a thoughtful nasal hum.
What kind of eyes was Luna looking at her with right now? What was she deliberating? Whether to kill a slave who dared demand compensation? Or whether she was still useful enough to crush in some other way?
But the words Luna actually spoke were far removed from Yeris's elaborate imagination.
"Well, fair enough. Thinking about it, you're not even one of our subordinate organizations, and I've been dumping a lot of annoying work on you."
...Annoying work?
Luna hopped down lightly from the windowsill, landed softly, and pulled out her phone from her pocket. She tapped out a message somewhere, and a few seconds later Yeris's phone on the desk chimed with a cheerful notification.
With trembling hands, Yeris picked up her phone.
The moment she saw the amount deposited into her account, her consciousness nearly cut out.
"Hieeeeng..."
She nearly slid right out of her chair, barely clinging to her sanity as she tried to count exactly how much it was...
Why are there so many zeros...?
With Luna right in front of her, the numbers wouldn't even register properly, but one thing was certain — it was not a small sum. No — it was an excessively large amount.
"Th-This is...?"
"I like the way you work. Why don't you take that money and join us as a subordinate organization?"
Luna's lips curved up slightly as she said it. Her eyes remained expressionless, so the smile with only the corners of her mouth lifted looked a little awkward...
But even that was enough to make Luna's beautiful face captivating, and Yeris stared up at her blankly for a moment, dazed.
Then a thought struck her, and she carefully voiced her doubt.
"A subordinate organization...?"
"Is the amount not enough?"
"N-No, that's not it..."
Before Yeris could finish speaking, Luna tapped out another message somewhere. Once again, her phone chimed cheerfully.
Had this bright little notification ever felt so terrifying before?
It was certainly a sum hard to refuse... but if she became a subordinate organization, she would be stuck forever running around like a dog under that woman.
But that simply wouldn't do. She still had her pride as the boss of an organization, after all.
Even so, following her instincts, she dutifully raised the hand holding her phone and checked the amount.
"I look forward to working with you from now on!"
She dropped to her knees right there and bowed.
Because it was far too much money to refuse...
The rising new organization Bind, which had been rapidly gaining power of late, became a subordinate organization of the Mors Family.
And the boss of Bind became the loyal dog of the Mors Family's boss.
It all worked out. It all worked out just fine.
"Hm? So you only have to work a little now?"
"Mm..."
With both eyes tightly shut, Luna wriggled around in my arms, searching for a more comfortable position.
"Work dropped off that suddenly?"
"Mm... Someone showed up who can handle it for me. Now I just have to keep an eye on her every now and then..."
She buried her face in my chest as if the classroom lights were too bright. Luna's soft breath tickled, but she seemed to have found the perfect position and wasn't moving an inch, so I couldn't really shift either.
"Then that means you can hang out with me more often, right?"
"Mmm... But before long, a whole pile of new work is going to come in..."
"Can't someone else handle that for you?"
"They're important matters I can't leave to other people..."
Well, fair enough — other than Rina, she probably couldn't entrust the Mors Family's important affairs to just anyone. And given how dearly Luna cherished Rina, she wasn't about to dump everything on her either.
Still... dumping the work that Luna and Rina had been pulling all-nighters over onto someone else...
...Was that even a workload another person could handle?
Whoever it was, I felt sorry for them. I'd offer my condolences in advance. Death by overwork was already a done deal.
May they never meet someone like Luna in the next life...!
No, wait. To be happy, wouldn't they need to meet Luna in the next life too? A beautiful girl of Luna's caliber — just knowing she exists would be happiness enough.
Ah... now I get it.
Whoever it is, they must have fallen head over heels for Luna's looks, couldn't stand to see her struggling, and took all the work off her hands!
There really are so many kind people in this world!
Of course, they probably didn't take on all that work for that reason alone. There must have been plenty of selfish motives mixed in. For example — watching a happy Luna and gaining even greater happiness themselves!
Anyone would feel happier with less work, and then smiles would bloom naturally and they'd become more energetic!
Whoever it was, they painted a really nice big picture...!
And thanks to that, even I get to be happy. Right now, Luna half-asleep in my arms already looked more at ease than usual. For one thing, her posture was way more limp and melted than normal.
Was Luna a cat in a past life? How can a person melt this soft and gooey? And since she was melted on top of me, the places where we touched were warm, making me sleepy too.
Falling asleep like this didn't seem like a bad choice...
The sunlight filtering through the classroom window was warm enough that a yawn came out on its own.
"Yaaawn..."
I rested one hand around her waist to keep her from sliding off, and with the other, gently stroked her fluffy hair.
Somehow, I felt like I could hear a soft purring sound coming from the now-sleeping Luna.
Using Luna as my blanket and her soft purrs as a lullaby, I slowly closed my eyes as well.
The position was a little uncomfortable... but I had a feeling I was going to sleep well.