The Devil's Couch
Gisela Rot led me to a place I had already visited once before—the Crow's Nest.
We had set out from an entirely different location, yet we ended up standing in front of the same door adorned with the dragon carving.
The secret passage behind the fireplace was lit with only the bare minimum of lighting, and it branched off in a maze of different directions.
Because of that, I couldn’t get any sense of which way I was even walking.
“You’ve been here before, right?”
“Yes. I came here yesterday with Sir Dupont Clancher.”
The couch that had offered overwhelming comfort caught my eye.
Along with the plush carpet and the mana stone fireplace burning quietly.
The space that had left me swallowing gasps of admiration the first time I stepped inside now held zero appeal.
Because I had remembered a universal truth I had briefly forgotten.
If the items and facilities at your workplace are luxurious?
That is never a good sign.
It either means they have to keep the operatives trapped here with amenities, or they’re working them so hard that this level of support is still considered a profitable investment.
“That couch is seriously comfortable, isn’t it?”
“It seemed that way, yes.”
“You must have already sat on it, then?”
“Yes. Just for a moment.”
Especially that—it was the devil’s couch.
The soft yet unwavering support that cradled the hips was downright demonic, but that wasn’t the problem.
This wide, oversized couch was perfectly suited to be used in place of a bed.
There was a high chance I might have to solve my meals and sleep here without ever returning to my quarters.
“So you even had time to plant your butt down. Looks like the boss really was keeping an eye on you.”
“What do you mean by ‘keeping an eye on me’…”
“Sit. Let’s sit and talk for now.”
I had no desire to plant my butt on the devil’s couch ever again, but because Gisela Rot took a seat across from me and beckoned, I had no choice but to sit in the same spot as last time.
‘Ugh, damn it.’
It was comfortable.
I knew it was a devil’s temptation, yet the comfort was undeniable.
“Aigoo, I’m tired.”
Gisela Rot kicked both feet up onto the low table in front of the couch and leaned back against the backrest, half-sprawled out.
“You probably heard the rough story from the boss. If you have any questions, ask away.”
The question ‘How can I be curious when I don’t even know anything?’ nearly burst from my mouth, but I forced it back down my throat.
Instead, I cautiously raised my right hand and asked.
“You’ve been mentioning this ‘boss’ person since earlier—who exactly is this boss?”
“Our boss? Dupont Clancher.”
Gisela Rot tossed out the name of the first executive like she was calling for a neighborhood friend.
“So Sir Dupont Clancher… was the boss.”
Did that man have ten bodies or something?
He was already Killian Knox’s right-hand man, the head of the seven executives, and the final person in charge of all the major affairs of Knox. And now he was also the actual leader of the intelligence division?
Only then did Dupont Clancher’s familiar demeanor in the Crow's Nest finally make sense.
When I raised my hand again for the second question, Gisela Rot gave me permission with a jerk of her chin.
“Who are you, Lady Gisela Rot?”
“Me?”
She pointed at herself with her index finger, looking utterly dumbfounded, and I nodded.
“Since you brought me to the Nest, I assume you’re one of the Crows. But the only thing I know about you is your name.”
“Aha. So you’re wondering who I am to be ordering you around and leaving you notes?”
“Well… something like that.”
“Yeah, that makes sense. You’d be curious.”
Gisela Rot let out a low chuckle, then pointed back and forth between me and herself.
“You. New Crow. Me. Your direct supervisor.”
“D-Direct supervisor…”
I shot up from the devil’s couch and bowed to Gisela Rot once more.
“I’m sorry for not recognizing you! I’m Runelk Ainz! Please guide me well from now on!”
“Oh?”
Gisela Rot wiggled the tip of one foot she had crossed over the table and laughed.
“What’s this? I thought someone from the action squad would be a total mess, but maybe not?”
Cold sweat ran down my back.
From the moment we first met in front of the warehouse until we arrived at the Crow's Nest, Gisela Rot had acted like there wasn’t a single problem.
Yet inside, she had already judged me as ‘a total mess.’
‘Damn it.’
In any organization, getting on your direct supervisor’s bad side makes life miserable.
Especially for a newcomer—the distinction between ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ is meaningless.
You’ll get cursed out even if you just breathe while stuck to the wall.
So the only thing that matters is one single standard: whether or not you annoy your supervisor.
Just having to go back to intelligence work was already annoying enough.
I didn’t want to get marked by my supervisor and make things even harder.
“I’ll be more careful from now on!”
“It’s my fault for not telling you I was your supervisor. Besides, the Crows usually treat each other pretty casually.”
Gisela Rot shrugged as if she really didn’t care.
But I wasn’t fooled.
When this woman spoke in such a normal tone, there was always a real intention lurking behind it.
“But I do like enforcing discipline.”
There it was.
Still, I could understand the part about liking to enforce discipline.
New recruits had to be trained strictly.
You had to grind them down until they shone.
Only then would they learn quickly and become at least somewhat useful.
“Yes, I thought you might.”
“…Hah.”
Gisela Rot twisted one corner of her mouth up into a crooked smirk and let out a dry laugh.
She seemed annoyed.
Why?
I had simply agreed with her when she said she liked enforcing discipline?
“Did I make some kind of mistake?”
“No, no. I was just thinking it’s going to be fun from now on.”
“I think so too.”
I wasn’t sure what she meant, but agreeing with whatever your supervisor said was always better for your own well-being.
“Riiight. Then sit back down for now.”
“It’s fine. I’m more comfortable standing…”
“My neck hurts from looking up at you, you know?”
“I’m sitting!”
“Having to explain even something like this… you really have a long way to go.”
As I planted my butt on the devil’s couch once again, she clicked her tongue.
“Well, I guess that’s all the questions.”
Who the boss was. Who she was.
I had only asked two things.
“From now on, I’ll tell you what you need to do as a new Crow. First, once your action squad shift ends, return to the Nest immediately. If you get caught wandering off somewhere else, you die?”
She thrust her fist forward, but what I had just realized scared me far more than that.
“I… still have to keep working for the action squad?”
“Isn’t that obvious? To maintain your surface identity, you have to keep doing that job too. If you’re not Runelk Ainz of the action squad, then who are you?”
Gisela Rot scowled and growled.
“If someone asks what you do at Knox, were you planning to say you’re a Crow?”
“N-No, that’s not it.”
I hurriedly wiped a hand down my face.
If I didn’t, I felt like I would spew out a string of thick curses right in front of my supervisor.
‘Right. She did say it was a disguise.’
The weight of the words Dupont had casually thrown out felt horrifying.
‘I have to commute twice?’
It wasn’t just commuting.
I had to do the work of both the action squad and the Crows.
The relaxed and peaceful life I had at Knox was truly over.
This was all because of that lizard bastard, Killian Knox.
Gisela Rot stared at me as I kept rubbing my dry face, then spoke.
“Newbie.”
“Yes.”
“You’re really interesting.”
Her eyes were gleaming.
The silver glint reflected in her bright brown eyes was chilling.
“Runelk Ainz.”
Gisela Rot slowly lowered her legs from the table, leaned toward me, and asked.
“You don’t want to be a Crow, do you?”