Second Year of Villain Life (3)

“You guys are causing such a commotion as soon as you arrive.”

“Grr! It’s not my fault, woman! All the blame lies with this sword maniac-“

“Should I raise my hand?”

..Sniff.

After a brief disturbance, it was Astra who ended all the fighting.

“Astra.. Uncle’s head is bleeding.”

“I’ve roughly bandaged it for you, haven’t I?”

“Even so, it seems too roughly bandaged…”

“……”

“..I’ll shut up and keep my hands up!”

The man and the animal kneel down at Astra’s words and expression.

‘I guess Astra is the real power after all, despite all the talk about strong military force.’

I watched the situation admiringly while thinking that.

While watching, my eyes met directly with Black Wolf, who was wearing a sign saying “I bit someone because I went crazy” and a muzzle.

‘I should probably give a light greeting, right?’

I was about to greet him with a smile in my eyes.

But..

Grrrrr..!

Sniff!

As soon as our eyes met, Black Wolf bared his teeth at me with a frown and then quickly turned his head away.

‘This Poppy bastard..?’

His rude behavior towards someone he’s meeting for the first time was exactly as I had imagined from the original work.

“I really can’t live.. Ah, Maker? As you’ve just seen, this is Black Wolf, one of our organization’s executives like Sword Ghost.”

“..Nice to meet you, Black Wolf-nim. I’m Maker, the new executive.”

Although his attitude is a bit displeasing, there’s no reason I can’t smile at him.

After all, it wouldn’t hurt to become friendly.

Thinking I should endure a little, I continued speaking.

“Executive? Looking like a gigolo, seeming like you’d fall over if hit just once?”

“Although this is my first time meeting Black Wolf-nim and Sword Ghost-nim, as we’re fellow executives-“

“I don’t like such a weak guy!! I object!! I can’t acknowledge someone like that!!”

“I’d like us to get along-“

“I said I object even if dirt gets in my eyes!!”

“Let’s get along-“

“Grrraaaaahhh!!!”

Fuck.

It seems like getting along is out of the question.

---

After another commotion caused by the crazy dog bastard.

“..So, you two, you did properly bring back the artifact, right?”

“Of course~”

Probably thinking that further small talk would only lead to more fighting, Astra went straight into business talk with Sword Ghost and Black Wolf.

And I, having missed the chance to slip away, was in the awkward situation of just listening.

‘More precisely, I’m here because she said she had something to talk to me about and asked me to wait a little.’

Either way, the result was the same in that I was stuck here unable to move, so I guess it doesn’t matter.

I sat quietly on the sofa and listened to their conversation.

“This is the ‘Crown of the Nameless Queen’.”

“Ooh..”

The artifact that Sword Ghost and Poppy brought back after struggling in Egypt, the Crown of the Nameless Queen.

From what I heard, it has the effect of boosting the user’s vitality, along with physical recovery and even longevity.

“They say it made a blind man see, and even completely healed a paralyzed man’s body.”

“Grr! With this, the Boss will surely recover!!”

Just hearing about it, one might think it’s exactly the artifact the Boss needs, but well.

Honestly, I was skeptical.

‘If it was possible to cure with that, it would have appeared in the original work.’

But that was just my circumstance of knowing the original work, and for them, it might be something they could call hope.

It wouldn’t be right to dampen their spirits with unnecessary words.

I looked at the quite excited executives, then got up from my seat and opened my mouth.

“It seems the conversation is mostly over, can I talk now?”

“Ah, yes. Speak comfortably, Maker.”

Perhaps because I suddenly drew attention, the executives’ gazes focused on me at once.

Looking at them, I slowly spoke towards Astra.

“I’d like to see the Boss for a bit.”

As lightly as if asking to visit a friend’s house.

At those words, an awkward silence fell for a moment.

---

Black Wolf.

An ability user with anthropomorphization ability, and along with Sword Ghost, a figure in the top tier of military power among the executives.

Another characteristic of his..

“If you do anything foolish to the Boss, I’ll bite you to pieces.”

“I won’t do such things.”

Is that he’s the Boss’s loyal dog.

Combined with his hot-tempered personality, it was quite an annoying character, but tolerable enough to ignore.

It was what you might call ignoring the mentally ill.

“It’s because the woman is nagging that I have no choice but to be like this, I still don’t acknowledge you as an executive!! Originally, someone like you wouldn’t easily be able to see the Boss..”

“Yes, yes.”

Black Wolf and I ended up going together to where the Boss was.

It wasn’t that I wanted to go together, but this was the selection chosen inevitably because the Poppy bastard was making such a fuss.

“I, Black Wolf, have been by the Boss’s side as an unparalleled loyal servant for decades!! When I was young, I never left the Boss’s side for a moment, that’s what I’m saying!!”

‘We agreed to call that separation anxiety, Poppy.’

Probably disliking walking quietly, he was continuously whining at me, doing all the talking and bragging himself.

“Hah..”

If he was an immature child or a real puppy, it might be understandable. But understanding a muscular furry guy in a suit was really not an easy task.

“So that’s why I-“

“..Shh. It seems we’ll have to listen to Black Wolf-nim’s past achievements later.”

Just as he was about to tell one by one what great feats he had accomplished.

Somehow we arrived at the garden, and the situation came to a pause for now.

A beautiful garden with colorful flowers blooming here and there.

This was where the Boss was.

“..W-wait. I need to prepare my heart.”

“The Boss will be waiting for us.”

I forcibly led Poppy, who was now saying we should rest for a moment, and went straight into the garden.

And after taking a few steps inside, a woman came into view.

She was blankly staring at hydrangeas.

“Boss.”

A beautiful woman with long ash-gray hair and blood-red eyes.

The Boss turned her wheelchair at my call and looked this way.

“Mak..er?”

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”

I smiled brightly at her.

“..And. Black Wolf is here too.”

“O-oh it’s been a while..! Boss!”

Poppy responding loudly to the Boss’s words.

He was wagging his fluffy tail vigorously, showing clear signs of joy.

‘Really like a dog.’

That was a statement with multiple meanings.

“Th-this! Please wear this!!”

“This is..?”

“It’s the artifact we retrieved from the last mission! They say it has abilities related to physical recovery..”

While I was watching how he would behave, Poppy took out the artifact he had brought and showed it to the Boss.

“You must have had a hard time.”

“It wasn’t hard at all!”

Then Poppy grinned while glancing at me subtly.

‘Hmm..?’

Of course, it wasn’t because he liked me, but there was a sense of boasting in it.

Why, should I say it reminds me of a spring potato girl saying, “Your family doesn’t have this, right?”

“I-I’ll put it on for you!”

Anyway, for some reason, Poppy was looking at me as if I was a rival.

‘Judging by his appearance, it doesn’t seem like he sees the Boss as a romantic interest. Is he trying to have a henchman competition with me?’

Poppy looking triumphant.

‘Interesting.’

That sight was quite amusing.

“Grr. Now that the artifact is worn, some special ability should activate..”

Woong~

The artifact starts working simultaneously with his words.

Poppy couldn’t hide his excitement at the light enveloping the Boss.

Wooo..

But.

“..Huh?”

Contrary to expectations, Poppy was bewildered as there was no noticeable change even though the light enveloped her.

“..It seems this has no effect either.”

The Boss says calmly after fiddling with the crown for a moment.

As I thought, the artifact didn’t have any particular effect on her.

“Ah..”

“It’s alright. Thanks to it, my body feels refreshed.”

Despite the Boss’s words, Poppy couldn’t hide his gloomy expression.

And even though the Boss said that, she kept fiddling with the crown, seemingly disappointed.

I quietly looked at her like that, then stepped closer to her.

“Boss.”

“..?”

She raised her head at my words.

I smiled brightly at her and tickled her cheek.

“Wh-wh-what..!!”

“It’s okay.”

At that, Poppy jumped up and was about to tear me away immediately, but that action was simply stopped by the Boss raising her hand.

The Boss stared at me intently.

Still with an expressionless gaze, as if watching to see what I would do, she stared at me.

Was it my imagination that her white skin looked faintly red?

“You looked so beautiful wearing the crown that my hand went up before I knew it.”

“..More nonsense talk.”

Although she scolded me with her words, I had the illusion that she looked a bit more lively than when the crown had no effect.

I chuckled and carefully lifted the crown placed on her head.

‘They put this on her head?’

A crown that seemed much heavier than ordinary crowns.

It was heavy enough to worry about her neck vertebrae giving out.

I put it down on the floor.

Then, tucking one side of her hair behind her ear, I placed a purple hydrangea in her ear.

“You look beautiful wearing the crown too, but.”

Swoosh.

“This looks fresher and prettier.”

“……”

At my words, the Boss looked at me with an indecipherable expression.

And then she met my eyes and quickly turned her head away.

The ear that was revealed as I brushed back her hair was clearly redder than before.

“Kuhek..huk..ughh..!”

And Black Wolf watching that scene as if he’s about to lose his breath.

I looked at him and then made one request to the Boss.

“Boss. I have something I’d like to talk about, if that’s alright?”

“..Go ahead.”

“I’d like a private conversation.”

Saying that while looking at the Poppy guy, the Boss nodded as if she understood what I meant.

“..Black Wolf. Could you step out for a moment?”

“What?”

Squeak..

Poppy was startled by her sudden words, but soon nodded with his spirit completely deflated at her resolute appearance.

‘I feel like I’ve stolen something unintentionally.’

Should I say it’s like a development that often appears in some eyeball novels,

It felt more so because Poppy kept looking this way stealthily with an expression full of lingering attachment.

I wanted to see what reaction he’d have if I even put my arm around her shoulders, but I felt like I’d really get hit if I did that, so I stopped at just raising one corner of my mouth to mock him, just enough for him to see.

“..Eek!!”

Turning my head back to the Boss after watching Poppy leave like that.

“Is it an important conversation?”

“..It’s not that important of a conversation.”

Actually, saying I wanted to talk just the two of us was only to make Poppy a bit upset, and there wasn’t particularly any secret or important content.

But if I said that straightforwardly, my neck would probably disappear.

“It’s just that I feel embarrassed to show others me steeling my resolve.”

So I decided to mix in some medicine to sell.

I knelt on one knee and took her hand, puzzling her.

“..I want to someday set you free.”

With moist eyes, as if suffused with melancholy.

“While searching for all sorts of artifacts to cure you, I discovered one that has potential among them.”

“..Is that true?”

“Yes. It’s the truth without an ounce of lie.”

Mixing lies and truth skillfully, I continue speaking to her confidently and boldly.

“Please wait just a little. Soon, I’ll make it so you can walk the world on your own two feet. I’ll make it so you can live without writhing in pain.”

So help me out a bit.

There’s something I need you to order.

Hiding the meaning inside, I kissed the back of her hand with a transparent smile.

The Boss looked at me like that, then turned her head to look at the crown next to me.

The crown that was only heavy, painful, and difficult.

“..If there’s anything you need my help with, please tell me.”

Bingo.

I looked at her while still maintaining a smile on my lips.

It seemed like a faint smile was forming on her lips as well.