Ch.8080. Negotiations with Dorado Begin, Kang Yerin and Ji Sehwa Make Their Move

“Before, you used your subordinates as an excuse to take the Holy Tree, and now you’re saying I need to make a lover? Geo, does that make any sense to you?”

“Take it up with Apocalypse. I’m annoyed too. And you’re the one who gave me the Holy Tree.”

I stuffed the rest of my sandwich down with juice.

As expected, flour doesn’t sit well with me.

“Condition of Avarice… Wow, it’s real. Well, I guess wealth changes with the times, so you couldn’t exactly ask for seashells.”

“Lua, if you and Geo are conspiring to deceive me, you’ll see blood.”

“It’s true! But how is this contract supposed to restrain Lena?”

Lua tilted her head. Lena pressed her throbbing temples and answered.

“Lua, as you know, I’ve accomplished many things as Yoo Cha-mi in preparation for Elly’s return. Though E.lena is a villain, I’ve never revealed my identity, and the only people who know my true identity are the Holy Tree and those within L Corporation who are prepared to die for me—I can eliminate them anytime.”

“But there’s me and Geo. And now Boksil too.”

“Boksil doesn’t have the intelligence for it, so that’s fine. She doesn’t seem to understand anyway. And you two… well, exceptions are acceptable, aren’t they?”

“Hmph. That doesn’t add up.”

Lua smirked. Lena waved her hand dismissively.

“The problem with this contract is that it ties Geo to Yoo Cha-mi’s identity. This means I can’t betray Geo. I can draw a line between E.lena’s villainous actions and myself. But betraying Geo, Yoo Cha-mi’s lover, would tarnish Elly’s reputation. It would stain Elly’s name.”

“That’s complicated.”

“But if I don’t sign, Geo can’t fight, which makes Elly’s return impossible. I’m caught between a rock and a hard place.”

Lena smiled with satisfaction.

“It’s quite the leash you’ve put on me, Geo. ‘Table, bring me a pen.'”

Without hesitation, Lena signed the contract. It was the personal signature of Yoo Cha-mi, the chairwoman of L Corporation.

“Ugh! You actually did it?! Wait, wait. Let me confirm—Lena isn’t actually dating Geo, right?”

“No, it’s just a surface-level contract.”

“Phew, that’s a relief… Wait, when Elly returns and sees this, won’t she say something to Lena?”

Lena laughed lightly at Lua’s question.

“Elly is bound to like Geo. I can guarantee that.”

“…That’s annoying too.”

Lua frowned.

“Lua, you should work on that hot temper of yours. Thanks to you, our pleasant lunch has been ruined.”

“Whose fault is that?”

Lua glared at me.

“Why is it my fault?”

“Playing dumb makes it even more annoying.”

“What?”

“…Never mind. So, did your Avarice increase to 10? It was 9 before, right?”

“9? Wasn’t 10 the maximum? You had quite a bit of leeway, didn’t you, Geo? You could have held out until defeating Recter. You lied to me?”

“That’s right.”

“…Hehe. How bold. ‘Bow your head.'”

As soon as Lena finished speaking, my waist bent, forcing me into an apologetic posture.

Hmm.

She’s gotten stronger.

Lena stretched her legs, crossed them, and placed her foot on top of my head.

“Oh, Master wanted to see the same view as Boksil? You should have said so earlier!”

Boksil crawled on the floor to meet my gaze. This kid really needs a shower.

“But why was it at 9? Geo, did you… have a girlfriend until recently?”

Lua asked in a hushed voice.

“What do you mean by ‘recently’?”

“Considering how the other stats decreased, maybe about a week?”

“No.”

“Right? I’ve been watching you the whole time.”

“Watching?”

“Ah, nothing. Then when was the last time?”

“Nine months ago.”

“Nine months? That’s when you were still a hero? Wow, you must have been really loved. Is it the person you mentioned before?”

“Nine months… I see. Lua, let’s drop this topic.”

“Aren’t you curious too, Lena? I couldn’t ask properly before. We’re much closer now, so you can tell us.”

“Stop it.”

“What? Lena knows? Why am I the only one left out…?”

“It was Pink Wings.”

I cut it short since it wasn’t a topic I wanted to discuss at length.

“Pink…? Oh…”

Lua swallowed hard.

I raised my head and stood up. Lua fidgeted nervously. Lena calmly sipped her tea.

“While we’re at it, I don’t like sandwiches. Not that I’m telling you not to eat what you like.”

“Then what do you like?”

“We can go eat after we’re done.”

I returned to the office to get back to work.

***

After Jung Ui-seok left, Lee Lu-a couldn’t hide her gloomy feelings.

“Hey, Lena. Pink Wings died fighting the Dark Kingdom, right…?”

“Yes. Now I understand why Geo got so angry when he saw the Dark Kingdom’s ability extractor.”

“…She must have been a good person. She must have loved Geo very much. It’s been nine months, but he still has so much love left for her.”

“That might be why Geo dismisses your and my affection.”

“Ugh! Lena, you knew?!”

“Of course. You make it so obvious, who wouldn’t know?”

“Wait, what? Lena, do you like Geo too? Like, as a man…?”

Lena smiled sweetly at Lua.

“Didn’t I say he’s an attractive man? This conversation makes me want to devour him even more. Isn’t a wounded man lovable? Don’t you just want to lick his wounds?”

“W-what are you saying?”

Lua blushed and hunched her shoulders.

“Boksil likes Master too! Master doesn’t ignore Boksil. Always gives meat. Jealous?”

Lena gently patted the head of the confident Boksil.

“What? So Lena, you were planning to get in my way? Since when?”

“Couldn’t you tell? Looking at Geo’s state, we’re not even at the stage to compete. He’s too blind, running too fast.”

“…Am I invisible to him?”

“He sees you properly. He’s just trying hard to ignore it. But he can’t keep that up forever.”

“Then what will you do when Geo finally responds?”

“I’ll ask Elly first. There’s not much I can do in this body anyway.”

“…Really? But you got into Geo’s bed and everything.”

“Since our first handshake, I’ve never touched Geo. Even when necessary, I used verbal commands. Though I did knead your heart quite enthusiastically.”

“…I see. Hmm.”

“We have plenty of time anyway. Lua, why is a young girl like you in such a hurry?”

At that question, Lua fell silent. After a moment, she blurted out as if making an excuse.

“…It’s just my personality.”

“I won’t stop you, but I wouldn’t recommend using Avarice’s demerit as an excuse to confess to Geo. The outcome won’t be good.”

“I got it.”

“First, we need to defeat the Galaxy Empire. Geo’s plan was for the advance team to reach the Empire a week before the decisive battle, contact Dorado, and negotiate.”

“Yes. He said an executive named Ursula is on our side. If possible, we’ll divide the spies, but even if not, we’ll clear a path on the day of the battle.”

“If Dorado moves, we’ll subdue him with Pestam weapons. We’ve completed recruiting villains from around the world to use as troops. After that, once Geo defeats Recter, this long battle will finally end.”

“That’s right. The end is in sight. I wonder if Geo will be able to relax a bit then.”

“From what I heard in Boksil’s room, there are still two major enemies like Recter left.”

“Two more… That’s a lot. Within the time…”

“Time?”

“Nothing. Let’s go, Lena. We have mountains of work to do. I’ll escort you.”

“Alright. I’ll take you up on that.”

Lena stood up and lightly clasped hands with Lua. Quantum energy radiated from Lua’s body, and soon the two disappeared from the space.

***

“Yerin, over there.”

Ji Se-hwa nodded her head.

In the pitch-black night sky, fireworks shot from the ground were piercing through the atmosphere and flying high into space.

“It seems to have begun.”

Kang Yerin emerged from the darkness.

Her entire body was fitted with mechanical implants, and her suit had been modified with enhanced Dillitter parts.

One of her artificial eyes zoomed in on the flying mecha, capturing a clear image in her brain.

The black-painted Magentaurus. It was definitely Gerogius.

“Shall we prepare?”

Ji Se-hwa looked similar. Both had maximized their combat power using dark routes they had discovered during their hero days.

The illegal implants shortened their lifespan but guaranteed momentary combat power.

They had secretly infiltrated military facilities to steal and modify the latest Dillitter models.

“Let’s begin.”

Kang Yerin took out an envelope from her chest and poured all the pills inside into her mouth.

Ji Se-hwa did the same.

As they swallowed, their yellow and blue dragons began to surge uncontrollably.

“It feels strange. Were villains using things like this too?”

“It’s no wonder there were no reviews. They all died.”

“It’s fine just this once. If we can just kill Choi Minseo.”

“…Huff.”

Kang Yerin took deep breaths as she gazed at the Galaxy Empire’s ship faintly visible in space beyond the sky.

“When Gerogius enters, we’ll move too.”

The two completed their transformation.

Kang Yerin took out the Milky Way switch. Ji Se-hwa nodded.

They timed it.

The clock hands moved, familiar from their many checks.

And then.

“Now.”

Kang Yerin manipulated the sides and bottom of the switch simultaneously.

Swoosh!

The two were enveloped in a pillar of light. That light connected directly to the Galaxy Empire’s ship.

Kang Yerin and Ji Se-hwa moved in an instant.

The next moment, they were in a damp, dark space.

There were no enemies around. Kang Yerin recognized from the decorations that this was a place Eridanus had used.

“…We’ve successfully infiltrated. Let’s move.”

Their target was Choi Minseo’s neck.

In the darkness, their eyes gleamed with determination.