Shall We Make a Deal Before the Mission?
I turned my head at the sudden voice and saw a chaotic scene unfolding before me.
The scattered trash in the air clumped together and flew straight into a plastic bag that had been floating in midair.
The comic books strewn across the floor floated up and began sliding neatly back into the bookshelf. The game console drifted toward the charger in the corner and plugged itself in.
As countless pieces of clothing on the floor began to float upward, the Trainer’s face flushed bright red and she hopped around in panic. Upon closer inspection, it was the colorful patterned underwear that was drifting through the air.
“Yes, Miss Astra. I already have my eyes closed.”
When I created an actual blindfold and placed it over my eyes to prove it, Astra resumed her scolding directed at the Trainer.
Astra continued her tirade for quite some time.
Whoosh! Whoooosh!
Ding— Washing in progress—.
Clunk. Thud! Clatter!
Even while scolding the Trainer, she never stopped cleaning the room.
…What is this?
A hikikomori daughter and her mother? Was it just my imagination that Astra’s angry nagging somehow reminded me of a mother’s scolding?
Of course, I don’t have a mother.
But if I did, I imagined it would feel something like this.
About ten minutes later, when I removed the blindfold, the room before me looked completely different from before.
It was so spotless it almost seemed to sparkle.
“You’re really good at cleaning.”
It doesn’t look like it’ll be just this once…
I watched her turn her head away with a pout for a moment before smoothly changing the subject to the mission.
“So, this is the Trainer?”
The Trainer, who had been trying to jump up and greet me under Astra’s gaze, suddenly tilted dangerously as if her legs had gone numb from sitting too long.
“Sigh.”
Astra let out a familiar sigh and caught her with telekinesis.
“…She certainly has a very bright personality when it comes to greetings.”
That wasn’t a ninety-degree bow. That was practically a hundred-and-eighty-degree bow.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Trainer.”
At my words, the Trainer broke into a wide, bashful smile.
I stared at her for a moment before turning my gaze to Astra.
Astra. Is this really okay? You want me to go on a mission with her?
She avoided my eyes and turned her head away.
On the way back after finishing our greetings with the Trainer, a slightly awkward atmosphere lingered. I decided to speak up.
“Were you trying to use me as the Trainer’s babysitter?”
“Then what is it?”
“So, babysitter.”
Looking at how clumsy she was, it was understandable to feel uneasy. It seemed like she would make some mistake and cause the mission to fail.
“If it’s about sharing knowledge, her ability would be perfect for this mission.”
Knowledge Sharing. The Trainer’s ability was a very simple one that allowed her to store all information in her mind and then transfer it to another person.
Since she basically had perfect memory as a passive, as long as she could extract the information, simply memorizing it and escaping would count as success.
To summarize Astra’s explanation, it went like this:
The research data we were targeting had already been converted from paper into digital files and was even encrypted.
The Trainer could decrypt the password, but she needed to be protected from any interference during that time. Additionally, we had to prevent the researchers from destroying the data through self-destruct measures.
“It certainly does seem difficult to do alone.”
She really doesn’t trust the Trainer.
Even I, who knew her from the original story, lost all confidence after seeing her like this for just a short while. I couldn’t imagine how Astra must feel after living with her for who knows how many years.
“Well, I understand. I already knew I was being deployed as a contingency plan from the beginning.”
“Yes, that’s correct. Though it is a little sad that I was forced into this mission.”
What? It’s true, isn’t it? Even so, bringing up a forced mission—doesn’t that prick your conscience a little?
The mission itself didn’t matter, but when you looked at it honestly, they had just attached me to take care of one person, right?
Moreover, even though they introduced her as a fellow executive, there was clearly no trust.
This is practically fraud. Fraud.
Of course, I wasn’t angry or anything. I was simply thinking of using this situation to get something out of Astra.
If she really is the Trainer from the original story, then dealing with a villain organization that’s at most B+ rank or dispatched heroes should be no problem at all.
Her clumsiness… does make me uneasy, but I can just look after her myself, right…? No matter how questionable my teammate is, I can’t afford to miss this chance to heal the Boss—in other words, to rise in status and live safely.
When I smiled brightly at her, she seemed to take it as a jab at her conscience and hung her head low.
“Ah, now that I think about it, doesn’t it say that forced missions come with no compensation?”
“Well, since I have received grace from Eclipse and hold the responsibility of an executive, it is only natural that I should accept if Miss Astra gives the order.”
“After all, it must have been a method to increase the mission’s success rate, right?”
It’s fine. Really. The more I spoke with a bright smile, the more violently her green eyes shook.
Aww, it hurts my heart~
Maybe if you give me some kind of reward, this wounded heart of mine will feel better~
She stopped in her tracks and stared at me for a moment.
Stop with the weird acting. With a deep sigh, she demanded an answer.
“It’s nothing much. I was just thinking it’s about time I started building my own people.”
“Exactly. It wouldn’t do to keep borrowing other executives’ squads every time I have to take action.”
Thanks to my knowledge of the original story, I knew many strong individuals, but I couldn’t just bring whoever I wanted.
At best, they would be unverified. If I dragged in someone from a hostile faction or an independent villain without proper permission, I would have no excuse if I were treated as a spy.
“I’ll go outside and pick up some rough gems.”
Astra rested her chin on her hand and pondered for a while. Then, after a moment—
It was a warning that bringing in a spy would cause big trouble. In other words, she was giving permission.
Hearing that, a smile spread across my face.
“You’re stating the obvious.”
One month into my life as a villain executive, I received official approval from the secretary to form my own team.
The next day.
Before carrying out the operation, the Trainer and I gathered in Astra’s office to receive a briefing.
At Astra’s question, the Trainer silently lowered her head to look at her own clothes.
They were skintight garments that seemed to prioritize speed, paired with metal armor covering her shoulders, arms, and legs. On top of that, her upper chest was fully exposed, making the overall outfit rather provocative and awkward to look at.
Perhaps conscious of me, she glanced in my direction and tried her best to press down and cover her chest.
I nodded at those words.
The information must remain ours alone.
If other villains or heroes obtained this information and succeeded in developing a cure—or worse, mass-producing it—then even if the Boss regained her full power, it would become incredibly troublesome.
In the worst case, they might end up fighting among themselves and destroying everything before the final boss even arrived.
Therefore, whether we found the information or not, the researchers were targets for elimination by default.
The Trainer nodded vigorously at my words. She even answered with enthusiasm and smiled to herself in satisfaction.
Astra used her ability to hand documents to both me and the Trainer.
With a serious expression, Astra announced that the mission had officially begun.