Hero Spade and Villain No. 13, Secret Rendezvous (1)
"――That's all. After that, as per your instructions, Lesser Rat escorted the leader to safety, and I confirmed they reached a secure zone."
In the Abyss Hideout, the villain organization's base, inside the boss's private office. Villain No. 13 was delivering his report on the mission he'd just completed. It had happened the night before. The task of escorting a key figure from the villain group Lesser Rat.
Normally, it would have had nothing to do with Abyss, but since it was a special request from the Villain Alliance, they couldn't refuse. With their performance metrics already in dire straits, they had no room to turn it down anyway. Fortunately, Club had come through, allowing them to pull it off without a hitch.
The problem was that in the heat of the moment, he'd pushed Club too hard, and she still hadn't fully recovered her senses.
He felt bad for Club. Even though she's the enemy, here I am thinking that.
"Well done. Good work."
Her refined and neat appearance. Smooth purple hair, cat-like golden eyes, and a distinctive pattern at the corner of her mouth that left a strong impression. As No. 13 finished his report, Boss Violet placed her interlaced hands on the desk and offered her praise.
It was impressive that No. 13 had returned safely, and even more so that he'd executed the mission flawlessly without embarrassing the Villain Alliance. Violet had no desire to withhold her commendation.
But…
"Boss?"
"……."
"Boss, are you okay?"
"……Yeah… no…."
In the end, everything had gone smoothly, but Violet's expression wasn't great.
"I just have a suspicious feeling…."
Violet tapped her fingers on the table or cast her narrowed golden eyes downward, lost in thought for a moment.
As a capable subordinate, No. 13 stood quietly before her, careful not to interrupt her contemplation.
Boss Violet was younger than No. 13, a young leader. But even so, she possessed the competence befitting the head of an organization. Dorothy and the Advisor were brilliant geniuses in their own rights, but Violet had her own unique quality—something distinctly different. It was definitely there, even if he couldn't put his finger on what it was.
There are just too many talented people around here. No. 13 had once been considered a prodigy before becoming a villain, but in this group, he'd long since half-resigned himself to the wisdom of simply keeping his mouth shut and not disturbing others' reflections.
Watching Violet ponder in silence, No. 13 spoke up when it seemed the moment had passed.
"Boss, is something bothering you?"
"……Yeah… just… Lesser Rat… something about them feels off… Why is that…?"
Violet muttered to herself in an uncertain voice, repeating the vague words.
A rising new organization lately. Rumors of all sorts swirled around them, and for some reason, the Alliance—which usually took a hands-off approach—had requested protection for them… a villain group.
Honestly, there might be no need to overthink it. It was another organization's business, and as long as Abyss delivered results that wouldn't shame them in front of the Villain Alliance, that was enough.
Am I overthinking it? Violet lightly ruffled her hair and decided to let it go.
"Alright, No. 13. You're dismissed. Good work."
"……."
"No. 13?"
Having roughly concluded her thoughts and moved to send him off, she found No. 13 still standing there like a statue in front of her desk. Frowning at what he was doing, she saw him peering at her cautiously with a pitiful expression.
"Boss, you'll give me a bonus for this mission, right?"
"……."
"I'll trust you. You trust me, right? You'll give me the bonus? For real?"
"……."
"Boss? Boss? Please answer."
After prodding and pressing the distant-eyed Violet several times, No. 13 managed to secure a day off.
…Not a bonus, a day off, though….
"Haaah~~~~~~…."
Flopping onto her bed, Spade stared at the ceiling and let out a long sigh.
Maybe from oversleeping, her body felt heavy and listless, her head starting to ache faintly, but she still lacked the motivation to get up.
Having tackled her mission until late the previous night, she'd been told she could skip all duties today except the morning briefing. Thanks to that, the 7th Squad finally got a rare day of rest.
Of course, only the squad members under her were resting; Captain Rahe seemed busy shuttling between headquarters as usual.
That made sense—she'd let her target villain slip away, so she had plenty to handle in the aftermath.
Spade herself had spent the morning drafting what amounted to a letter of self-reflection.
…If only I'd captured that woman without issue….
Along with a heavy regret weighing on her heart, Spade sighed for the umpteenth time.
The night before, Spade had failed to apprehend a villain she absolutely had to catch. Even with the unforeseen interference, a failure was a failure.
As an A-rank hero, she'd let herself down profoundly by botching something she couldn't afford to fail. The immense self-loathing was crushing.
Her mentor-like vice-captain Check was usually strict about everything, but surprisingly, she hadn't said much about this failure. After hearing Spade's report and seeing the bruise on her side, Check had judged that the opponent's abilities exceeded expectations.
I almost wish she'd chewed me out for the mission failure.
Spade wasn't some masochist who enjoyed getting scolded, but with no one harshly reprimanding her for screwing up something critical, it only tormented her more.
That's why, even in the bright midday sun, Spade was still listlessly rolling around on her bed.
She had zero motivation for anything else. Ahh, I just want to die like this. Crawl into a hole somewhere.
Come to think of it, she'd been on a streak of failures lately. With Apple, with Club—she'd let Villain No. 13 escape every time. Club had been kidnapped, and Spade had no idea how she was faring now.
And now this failure on top… No wonder her confidence was plummeting.
That sniping ability… what was it? It felt similar to Club's.
Of course, it couldn't have been Club. But it carried a nostalgic mana signature.
Seeing that trajectory manipulation and elite sniping skill had reminded her of Club's powers. But at the morning meeting, Spade had firmly denied any connection. It surpassed what Club's abilities could achieve. Definitely B-rank or higher… and that final shot had approached S-rank level, in Spade's assessment.
It wasn't exaggerated just because an A-rank like her had been bested.
I wonder if Club's okay.
What was No. 13's goal in kidnapping Club? And what did he want?
As she lapsed into such thoughts, lost in contemplation—
Bzzzzt—
Suddenly, the smartphone on her bedside table buzzed to life.
"……Huh?"
Spade picked it up listlessly and frowned at the screen.
An incoming call. From an unknown number, but saved in her contacts with some bizarre special characters. She had no idea why she'd saved it like that or who it could be.
At least it wasn't spam, since it was in her address book….
…What is this number? It feels kinda familiar….
Curious but not one for prolonged pondering, Spade quickly hit the call button.
The caller seemed to be a man.
A friendly tone, like chatting with an old buddy. But given her circumstances, Spade had no male friends she could speak to so casually.
Who is this? As she wondered, she suddenly realized the voice was extremely familiar.
What the hell. Whose voice is this? This voice… probably… definitely…
After racking her brain, Spade's eyes widened as she reached the conclusion.
"No. 13?!"
The caller was No. 13.
The arch-enemy villain, the one who'd kidnapped her junior Club. Their relationship was pure rivalry, and she'd let him slip away by the skin of her teeth multiple times before… that trash villain.
And now, that villain was calling her.
She had no clue how his number ended up in her contacts or how he had hers.
Stunned by the sheer fact of the call, Spade froze, unsure how to react. From the speaker, No. 13's voice continued.
It was solemn and grave, low and weighty.
Unfortunately, the content was so pathetic it wasn't worth dignifying.