Private Beach? More Like Private Bitch!

We split up into two vehicles and headed for Akita Airport.

Akita Airport was located on the outskirts of Akita City, so it was quite close to Daisen City. The hotel where the children we had rescued from Kraskino were staying was only a ten-minute drive from the airport, which meant we had to take a slight detour. Since we had left with plenty of time to spare, a mere ten-minute detour wouldn't make us late.

“Ah! There they are, all lined up!”

Sawayanagi Seari shouted while looking out the window. She seemed genuinely excited at the thought of making new friends. After all, she had been staring out the window the entire way to the hotel.

The car came to a stop and we all got out. Led by Konoe Akina, the group stood there with slightly nervous expressions. I got out first and spoke to them with a smile.

“Why are you all so tense?”

“Ryutta-nim!”

“Yongtae-hyung!”

“Ryutta…!”

Still, seeing the face of the person who had rescued them from the slave traders seemed to ease their tension. I first stroked the beige hair of Alexandra Smirnova, who had approached me, then introduced the children rescued from Kraskino to the members of Seryu.

“This is the president of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Seryu Military Company…”

I introduced the Seryu members first, then the children. Watching them exchange awkward greetings made ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my chest feel a little tight, but since they had all been trapped underground together with Konoe Akina, they could speak broken Japanese. Communication wasn't a big problem.

“Jin Ha. This is Sawayanagi Tobey. He has a steel transformation ability similar to yours. It’ll be good for you to learn from him.”

I paired Sawayanagi Tobey with Jeong Darim—no, with Choi Jin-ha, who possessed petrification abilities. I assigned Kim Young-chan, who had clairvoyance, to the sniper Sawayanagi Mikiyo. If we successfully recruited Yang Shu-eshi later, I could assign her to him as well.

“Du-young. Your mentor, Katayama Junichi, is currently transporting luggage in a vehicle, so you’ll meet him once we reach Tokyo.”

I had planned to assign Lee Du-young, who had regeneration abilities, to Katayama Junichi, who trained his body the hardest despite having no powers. But he wasn’t here right now. Kiyona Hori, Kiyona Mari, Katayama Junichi, and Sawayanagi Shigeru were all traveling to Tokyo by vehicle, so we wouldn’t see them today.

Konoe Akina was returning home, so she didn’t need a mentor. Jeong Darim’s ability category was a bit different, so there was no suitable mentor for her either.

Alexandra Smirnova had a natural-type ability similar to Sawayanagi Seari’s, but while Seari could communicate with the wind around her, Alexandra’s power involved generating electricity from her own body. They were slightly different. It would probably be better if I gave both of them advice myself.

The children all got into cars with their assigned mentors, while those without mentors boarded whichever vehicle they preferred. Choi Jin-ha and Kim Young-chan, whose mentors were in the rear vehicle, got in the back. Lee Du-young, who had been assigned a mentor that wasn’t present, followed the two boys he was close with into the rear vehicle.

Naturally, Konoe Akina—who wouldn’t see much of us after today—rode in the front vehicle with me. For some reason, Alexandra Smirnova, who had taken a strong liking to me, sat right beside me in the front seat and stared at me intently.

Jeong Darim looked completely spaced out, staring at the potted plant that contained the Juangua seed I had given her. She must have bought the pot during our outing in Akita City yesterday.

“Ah… I’ll ride in the front car too.”

Once even Jeong Darim, who said she would ride in the front because it had more familiar faces, got in, we were finally able to depart for the airport.

“Ryutta-nim, here.”

Konoe Akina politely returned the cash card I had given her. I took the card and asked,

“What did you all do for fun yesterday?”

“We ate delicious food, bought clothes, and then each visited one place we wanted to go.”

Each visiting a place they wanted? They must have been quite busy yesterday. According to Konoe Akina, the two with regeneration abilities—Lee Du-young and the other—had gone on an absolute snack binge. Choi Jin-ha and Kim Young-chan had both gone to the game center. Jin-ha had used a punching machine to relieve stress, while Young-chan played FPS games.

Jeong Darim had gone to a large supermarket, bought a pot, mixed various soils, and planted the Juangua seed she was carrying. Just as I had thought.

Alexandra Smirnova and Konoe Akina didn’t have anywhere specific they wanted to go, so they stopped by a café—which happened to be a maid café. Although it was Konoe Akina’s first time there, she had known such places existed. But after visiting the maid café, Alexandra seemed to have received some kind of shock. From the moment they left the café, she had declared that she wanted to become a maid too.

“Alik want be maid.”

When the topic of maids came up in the middle of Konoe Akina’s story, Alexandra stared straight at me and spoke. Looking into those pure, innocent eyes, I couldn’t possibly tell her that the maids at a maid café weren’t real maids.

Come to think of it, the Kiyona Hori and Kiyona Mari sisters still worked at a maid café these days. I could just ask them to get a maid outfit for her.

“But why does Alik want to become a maid?”

When I asked why she wanted to be a maid, Alexandra just kept staring at me. Could it be that she wanted to become one because of me?

“Ryutta saved Alik. Alik want make delicious food for Ryutta.”

She was too cute. It was hard to believe this adorable child had once been a mid-boss who brought suffering to countless players.

Completely defeated by Alexandra Smirnova’s cuteness, I nodded without realizing it. Well, I could get an outfit from the Kiyona sisters, have her try it on, and if she wanted more, I could send her to a cooking academy or hire a chef to teach her. That should be enough.

She really seemed to think highly of the fact that I had saved her. If even Dang So-hwa could be brought to my side after Alexandra, that would mean two mid-bosses would be on my team.

“Thank you. I’ll look forward to the day Alik cooks something delicious for me.”

I stroked Alexandra Smirnova’s hair once more. She closed her eyes quietly like a cat receiving pets from its owner and enjoyed my touch.

“M-me too! I took good care of the kids, so please pat my head too!”

As I was stroking Alexandra’s hair, Konoe Akina pushed her head toward me. I was sure something like this had happened before. With no other choice, I used ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my other hand to pat Konoe Akina’s head.

“Investor-nim!”

“Seari likes head pats too…”

Sawayanagi Azuma and Sawayanagi Seari watched the two of us with jealous expressions, their lips pouting.

I admit I had been a bit neglectful toward Seari, but I had given Azuma something far more intimate than a head pat—I had stroked her pussy. It was a little funny that she would still feel jealous over a simple head pat.

“I’ll do it for both of you later.”

Both of them still looked slightly dissatisfied at my words, but they nodded. Then they stared intently at Konoe Akina and Alexandra, who were currently receiving the head pats. Konoe Akina didn’t back down from their gazes and responded with the classic “Oh ho ho! Is something the matter?” villainess-young-lady glare. Meanwhile, Alexandra had her eyes closed from the start, simply enjoying my touch, so she remained completely unaware of the stares from Sawayanagi Azuma and Sawayanagi Seari.

Fortunately, the awkward atmosphere didn’t last long. We soon arrived at the airport. After getting out of the car, Sawayanagi Shinya contacted the people Mimata Chieri had prepared in advance to load the boxes containing Dang So-hwa and Yang Shu-eshi into the cargo hold. Workers soon appeared, carried the boxes away, and loaded them onto the plane.

Since we had bought first-class tickets for everyone, we headed to the first-class lounge to have a light meal. In the end, I had no choice but to give Sawayanagi Azuma and Sawayanagi Seari their head pats. After just a little bit of patting, they were quickly satisfied and went off to get food from the lounge, which was a relief.

Seeing how happy they got from something as simple as a head pat, I really needed to pay more attention to them. Sawayanagi Azuma was the leader of Seryu, so of course I had to take care of her. And Sawayanagi Seari had the highest potential in Seryu, so it was better to look after her rather than leave her alone.

After chatting and snacking in the first-class lounge for a while, it was time to board the plane. Konoe Akina sat in the seat next to me. As she watched the plane take off through the window, her expression grew complicated and subtle.

“You’ll be back home soon.”

“Yes. I miss my parents.”

Seeing the tears welling up in Konoe Akina’s red eyes, my own nose stung a little. Hmm. Once I returned to the Talent Development Center, I should stop by to see Jin Mi-ja. I had arranged for the Juangua to be delivered from Seoul to the Center for her, so I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could give it to her then.