After Sir Dominic left, Unryu Hime headed toward her home.

She wanted to observe Sir Dominic a bit longer, but her father’s curfew was approaching, so she had no choice.

Hime opened the door to her oriental-style mansion, which served as her personal apartment, and went inside.

“Welcome home, my lady.”

A tall, thin man with his hands pressed together greeted Hime.

He was a ninja wearing a well-fitted suit and a mask, with his impressive long hair tied back with a hairpin.

“I’m back, butler.”

Hime gave a casual greeting to the butler who managed her apartment and headed to her room.

A room filled with red, Hime’s favorite color.

Seven essential ninja tools hung on the wall, diaphanous magenta curtains draped around the bed, and on the bed lay an old rabbit doll dressed as a ninja that Hime had slept with since childhood.

As soon as she closed the door, Hime lay down on the bed and hugged the rabbit doll.

The worn rabbit doll with only one eye reminded her of Sir Dominic.

“Why am I so interested in that person?”

Hime couldn’t understand her own feelings.

“What is this emotion?”

Hime rolled around on the bed for a while, hugging the rabbit doll.

“Mr. Usagi, do you know something?”

Unable to find an answer no matter how much she thought about it, she asked her old doll.

But of course, the doll couldn’t speak. Instead, she asked herself in a voice modulated to sound like the rabbit doll.

“It seems our Hime has someone she’s interested in.”

Hime’s low voice traveled through her cochlea and back to her ears.

“Yes, but why am I interested in him?”

“That, I don’t know.”

The rabbit doll said.

“But you know the answer. Think about what you’ve learned. And listen to the words of those who have given you insight.”

The wise rabbit doll advised Hime.

Hime hugged the rabbit doll tightly.

Born into a prestigious family in the ninja village, Hime had lived without wanting for anything.

She had grown up receiving more love from her parents than anyone else, and could have anything she needed.

Even this apartment, Hime Castle, was a gift from her father when she expressed her desire to live alone and gain various experiences.

Having grown up in a prestigious family with everything she needed, Hime had many teachers.

All were the best teachers in various fields.

‘When walking, you must walk like a cat. Proud and charming, yet quiet and secretive.’

‘When people search for something, they look left and right first, then below. Above is the last place they look. Ninjas hide on ceilings precisely to exploit this psychological blind spot.’

‘A ninja is not someone skilled in assassination and espionage. A ninja is someone who returns alive from such dangerous situations. Lady Hime, never forget survival.’

Hime recalled each of her teachers’ wise experiences.

Not being unintelligent, all the advice she had heard was stored perfectly in her mind.

‘All men are wolves. It’s even more certain if they look you over with both eyes. Beware of men.’

As Hime was recalling each piece of advice, her thoughts suddenly stopped.

The warning about the dangers of men from her kunoichi teacher.

That teacher was eventually expelled from her teaching position after being caught living promiscuously, but Hime was particularly bothered by what the kunoichi teacher had said.

Hime asked the rabbit doll again.

“Mr. Usagi, are all men wolves?”

“You remember, don’t you? That those who look you over with both eyes are wolves. Find your answer there.”

“But Mr. Usagi, what I’m trying to figure out is why I’m interested in him, not whether men are wolves.”

“The answer is there, Hime. The answer is there.”

Hime continued her self-dialogue with the rabbit doll, reflecting on herself.

Her remarkably developed intuition and accumulated knowledge and experience were whispering that this phrase contained the answer.

“Those who look with both eyes are wolves…”

Hime raised the rabbit doll while lying down.

The single eye of the worn rabbit doll caught her attention.

“Ah…!”

Hime finally realized why she was interested in Sir Dominic.

It was still in the realm of conjecture, but Hime was convinced.

“Those who look with both eyes are wolves, but what about those who look with one eye?”

The proposition was the problem.

She had always thought all men were wolves, but that wasn’t actually the case.

When her kunoichi teacher said men with two eyes were all wolves, she was actually saying that one-eyed men were okay!

“Thank you, Mr. Usagi. Thanks to you, I found the answer.”

Hime stroked the head of the old rabbit doll and hugged it tightly.

Once again, Hime thought that the one-eyed, worn rabbit doll reminded her of Sir Dominic.

…

Black Group.

One wing of the Big 3 leading Gachaland.

While the Executive branch maintained the center of Gachaland and System Industries laid its foundation, the Black Group moved everything in Gachaland.

From toothbrushes and shoe polish to tanks and helicopters, even real estate like land and buildings, and natural resources like the sky and sea—they bought and sold anything that could make money.

And it didn’t end with buying and selling.

People always look for something better than before, and something cheaper and better.

As a result, research for experimental and more advanced products continued without rest, rather than being satisfied with and dependent on existing products.

The Black Group was an alliance of companies faithful to this simple proposition.

And here, in the personal laboratory of the Black Group’s chairperson, sat the woman who had been following Sir Dominic.

“He really does look like him…”

The woman, wearing a white lab coat and high-prescription glasses, picked up a small frame on the desk.

Inside the frame was not a photograph but a drawing—a black and white charcoal sketch on papyrus paper depicting a happy family.

The family, wearing worn, rough, and shabby tunics that medieval peasants might wear, were smiling brightly as if something made them incredibly happy.

The woman sighed as she looked at the family in the frame.

She had taken it out so many times that the fold marks were already tattered, and parts of the charcoal drawing had faded, but the woman still vividly remembered her family’s appearance.

Her father, the tallest in the village but limping from a goblin attack.

Her mother, whose back was bent from hard farm work but who always embraced them with kindness.

And… her brother, who was tall like their father but clumsy.

The woman gazed at her family in the frame for a long time.

Then, as if her head was becoming complicated, she vigorously scratched her long, woolly hair.

She was scratching her hair nervously when she suddenly realized her hair was a mess and took out a comb from the drawer, struggling with it until—

Knock knock.

There was a knock at the door.

“Doctor. This is Code Back Zero. May I come in?”

The woman, who had been trying to untangle her hopelessly knotted hair for a while, threw the comb away in frustration when it wouldn’t untangle.

“Come in.”

The woman, called Doctor, who had given up on fixing her hair, called in the android waiting outside the door.

The door to the personal laboratory opened, and Code Back Zero entered, standing straight with a polite but upright posture in front of the desk, and spoke to the doctor.

“The Chairperson has summoned you. She said to come to her office immediately.”

“Oh dear. What could it be? Did she find out I bought rare minerals with part of the budget? Or is a receipt missing for the hair conditioner I bought for hair management?”

The doctor’s already complicated thoughts became even more complicated.

But she couldn’t just stand there thinking.

The Chairperson’s summons was a serious matter.

“I’ll think about it on the way. Zero, lead the way.”

“Confirmed. Starting guide program.”

The doctor followed the android’s guidance as she walked down the corridor.

The Black Group headquarters where the Chairperson worked was originally a small three-story building, but as the company grew, it was gradually expanded until it became like a maze, so the doctor still couldn’t memorize the way.

She thought it would be easier to memorize the periodic table of elements, the characteristics of each element, and all the effects of their interactions.

After walking for some time.

Just as the doctor was about to fall into contemplation about calculating the current load the building was supporting and how many pillars could be removed without compromising structural integrity, the android spoke.

“Chairperson, I have brought Dr. Banshee.”

“Send her in.”

After the android knocked on the door three times with precise intervals, a woman’s voice was heard from inside.

Upon hearing the confident, powerful voice characteristic of a ruler, the android opened the door and gestured for Dr. Banshee to enter.

Dr. Banshee entered and immediately greeted the Chairperson.

“Chairperson, it’s been a while. It feels like it’s been a long time since you called for me.”

Dr. Banshee fixed her gaze on the Chairperson before even looking around the interior of the office.

Not just Dr. Banshee, but anyone else would have looked at the Chairperson first rather than how lavishly the office was decorated.

That’s how charismatic the Chairperson of the Black Group was, commanding attention.

“I told you to call me unnie.”

The Chairperson smiled and acted affectionately toward Dr. Banshee.

However, Dr. Banshee, still unaware of why she had been summoned, maintained a formal attitude for now.

“I’d like to know why you called me, Black Chairperson.”

Banshee looked into the Chairperson’s eyes and smiled brightly.

Her innocent eyes narrowed to thin lines.

It was a protective posture to prevent the Chairperson from reading her mind.

“Isn’t that too cold, between us?”

The Chairperson adjusted the collar of her elegant suit, lightly touched her black bob cut, and sat in a chair decorated with platinum, velvet, and emeralds behind her ebony desk.

“If you knew the meaning of these emeralds, you’d know how much I cherish you.”

Emeralds. The chair was decorated with emeralds specifically selected to match the color of Dr. Banshee’s eyes.

Originally, the Chairperson’s chair had sapphires and diamonds, but she changed it after meeting Dr. Banshee.

“I know, but please tell me why you called me first.”

“Unnie.”

The Chairperson insisted.

Dr. Banshee sighed heavily at the Chairperson’s demand and reluctantly said:

“…Unnie.”

The Chairperson, pleased with this response, smiled broadly and leaned forward, resting her elbows on the ebony desk.

“It’s nothing serious, our Banshee. I received reports that you seem confused these days.”

I called to check if it’s true, and it seems it is. The Chairperson looked directly into Dr. Banshee’s eyes.

Her eyes curved like crescent moons, as if she had found prey.

“What could be troubling our Banshee’s mind?”

Dr. Banshee sighed and scratched her tangled hair vigorously.

She might have done it because she was troubled, but her already woolly hair became even fluffier, making one want to touch it.

“…It’s a family matter.”

“Ah.”

Black Chairperson recalled what Banshee had said before.

Her family was attacked and killed by the undead, wasn’t it?

She remembered when Black and Banshee first met.

When she sought out Banshee’s talent while Banshee was living like a recluse, shocked from being dropped into this Gachaland alone, Banshee was tightly holding a picture of her family.

Family matters were that sensitive for Banshee.

“Then it can’t be helped. Have you found your family?”

Normally, she would have looked for ways to tease this close sister, but the Black Chairperson was someone who clearly knew where to draw the line.

That definite character was probably why she could become the chairperson.

“Well, I’m not sure.”

Banshee’s expression became complicated. She still wasn’t certain.

“I see.”

The Chairperson looked at Banshee and quickly thought.

The Black Chairperson was an only daughter who grew up receiving almost no love from her parents.

Her parents, who had always wanted a son, never once told Black they loved her until they died.

For her, the affectionate Banshee had long since become more than a sister.

What could she do for such a sister?

After quickly organizing her thoughts, the Chairperson made an offer to Dr. Banshee.

“If you’re confused, I can help. You know my ability, right?”

Dr. Banshee looked at the Black Chairperson.

Certainly, with her help, she could quickly and definitely find out the truth.

“…What’s the price?”

But Dr. Banshee knew the Black Chairperson well.

She was someone who clearly separated public and private matters, and who needed to receive something in return for what she gave before she could be satisfied.

Whether it was twice or three times as much.

Knowing this, Banshee was reluctant to ask the Chairperson for help.

“I need a very big price.”

Banshee swallowed hard.

Her downcast eyes trembled slightly.

“Call me Unnie Morgana, not Unnie Black. Then I’ll help you as much as you need.”

The price was unexpectedly cheap.