episode_0102

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“Welcome back, Commander Rahye.”

“Yes. You’ve worked hard.”

After finishing the commanders’ meeting at headquarters, Rahye had just returned to the 7th Squad’s base.

As soon as she returned, she reciprocated Spade’s salute in the hallway and asked about Club.

Spade must have gone on a mission with Club today.

Rahye’s memory was correct, as Spade reported on Club’s situation. Apparently, there didn’t seem to be any immediate problems.

Although the villain organization that kidnapped her was unusually mild, so she wasn’t seriously injured or tortured, she must have been under immense stress from the kidnapping itself. It wouldn’t be strange for any kind of aftereffects to remain.

However, Club seemed more spirited than expected, and a youth with a brighter future than Rahye had imagined. This was evident from her continuing to carry out her duties as if nothing had happened, even more passionately than before, despite what she had gone through.

Rahye had also heard that Club spent all day, from morning till night, in the training ground during her period of probation.

She was probably furious at being treated like that by mere villains. It was truly admirable that she didn’t break but instead committed herself even more to training.

Club would surely become stronger. She would achieve many merits and shine even brighter in various ways.

‘As a commander and a senior, I wish I could do more for her.’

Rahye was a fair person in every matter, but she didn’t have a heart like a machine. Naturally, she wanted to support those close to her, those who belonged to her.

So… she hoped this incident wouldn’t hold Club back. It would be good if she could extract only the good points, the points for reflection, and the lessons to be learned, using them as stepping stones, and discarding all other unnecessary memories or elements.

‘…Villain Number 13 said he wanted to talk, didn’t he?’

And that during the period of Club’s kidnapping, they had engaged in deep conversation and finally understood each other.

That claim turned out to be nothing but absurd bluster. Rahye received a report that when Check and Coco went to retrieve Club, he responded with traps and ambushes. Club herself said she hadn’t heard any particular talk while she was there.

The matter seemed to be settled for now, but it wasn’t actually that simple.

Number 13’s words were mere bluster, but if others were to find out about it, it could lead to serious trouble.

From the perspective of those unaware of the circumstances, it might seem like Club was swayed by the villains, and even if not, there was a possibility of her receiving some kind of disadvantage in future personnel decisions.

In the worst case, she could be treated as a spy colluding with villains. If that happened, her career would be over. She would be immediately handed over to a military court-martial, and Rahye would no longer be able to intervene.

Currently, Rahye was the only one who knew the detailed circumstances. The report submitted to her superiors had been carefully adjusted to not outright lie, so the truth wouldn’t be discovered from the report alone.

Therefore, the possibility of problems arising depended on that villain, Villain Number 13, blabbing something unnecessary.

‘…As expected, I’ll need to deal with him as soon as possible.’

Villains were naturally enemies to be eradicated.

However, recently, with organizations advocating for villains’ human rights, and complex stories or politics intertwined, there were many cases where they couldn’t actively pursue them.

But this time, even if some trouble arose later, it was necessary to act a bit more aggressively.

‘Speaking of which, the inside of my stomach… no, my rear… feels a bit sore today… Why?’

“Commander? Is something wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing. I’ll be going now. You’ve worked hard, Spade.”

Rahye parted ways with Spade and returned to her commander’s office.

She had just finished a meeting, but her work was far from over.

As she sat down to work, a knock was heard.

With Rahye’s permission, Apple opened the door and entered. Who knew when she had prepared it, but Apple brought in aromatic coffee as always.

“Excuse me. Commander Rahye, would you like some coffee?”

“Thank you, Apple. Could I have a cup?”

There was no reason to refuse. Rahye received the coffee Apple brewed for her today.

Just as she had done for the past two days, she added the sugar Apple offered… a sugar cube containing a brainwashing drug.

* * *

“Uh… Boss? Are you okay?”

“…….”

The Villain Organization 『Abyss』 Boss Room.

Boss Violet sat at her desk, her hand covering her mouth, silent. Number 13, summoned by her, stood at ease before her.

The Boss’s mood was not good. Number 13, who already knew the full story, held his breath as much as possible while standing before her, suppressing his presence so as not to displease her.

The Boss’s discomfort stemmed entirely from the contact received from the Villain Alliance this afternoon.

The purpose of the Alliance’s contact was, naturally, about the directive issued just recently.

They had asked again if the complete subjugation of the 7th Squad, meaning Commander Rahye’s domination, was possible. As if mocking, ‘Can you really do it?’

The contact person from the Alliance further conveyed detailed demands: they were to bring Commander Rahye to another Alliance meeting two days later. They were to prove there that she was completely under their control.

This was a truly dangerous demand. An Alliance meeting meant a gathering of high-ranking officials from each core organization of the Villain Alliance.

To bring a hero, and a notorious one-against-a-thousand monster like Rahye, to such a place… What if even a one-in-a-million chance occurred?

What if they somehow brainwashed Rahye and brought her there, only for her to regain consciousness on the spot?

Then it would truly be horrific. A catastrophe would ensue.

Since the leaders of each villain organization would be gathered, there would be escorts, and they wouldn’t be easily defeated, but the organization Abyss could potentially become the enemy of the entire Villain Alliance.

If it went that far, it wouldn’t end with just disbanding the organization…

‘Even so, they wouldn’t truly want that to happen.’

Even if they demanded Rahye be brought, they probably didn’t genuinely expect it.

They likely just made an impossible demand, hoping for any outcome. Their intention was what had been explained many times before: they wanted to drain Abyss of its valuable personnel.

“—You garbage bastards.”

Violet, who had been silently exuding immense pressure, muttered in a barely audible voice.

To a Boss who regarded her organization members as family, their intentions must truly be unbearable.

Unable to endure the prolonged silence, Number 13 slowly backed away and quietly slipped out of the room. It seemed the Boss had no other business with him, as she didn’t stop him.

It would probably be best to leave her alone for a while. So she could cool down a bit.

This was stressful for him too. As a result of the damned Villain Alliance making his schedule tight, he couldn’t even leisurely enjoy the females of the 7th Squad he had painstakingly prepared.

‘I want to have Spade. I want to fondle Club’s small breasts. I want Coco to give me a blowjob. I want to enter Check’s tight pussy. And Apple’s devoted all-night service too…’

Scratching his head, filled with worries and desires, he walked down the hallway and ran into Dorothy.

She seemed to have business with the Boss, but he advised her that it would be better to meet her later since the Boss was in a bad mood.

“You better do well, you punk, Number 13.”

“Suddenly?”

After giving her advice, that’s the response he got. Number 13 felt unfairly treated. Why did he have to hear something like this when he hadn’t done anything wrong?

Wasn’t he doing everything he could, desperately? He had almost subjugated the 7th Squad and had carried out all of Dorothy’s difficult demands without fail.

As he looked at her with slightly wronged eyes, Dorothy continued, elaborating.

“I’ve already explained everything to the Boss. That there would be no problems if we used the brainwashing tools I developed. Based on the various reports and experimental data you’ve submitted so far, the success rate is over 80%.”

At Dorothy’s suggestion, Number 13 had tried brainwashing heroes in various ways, and after the first brainwashing, he had also tested various brainwashing scenarios and tools for the stabilization of the brainwashing and also for experimentation.

The data obtained this way was compiled into detailed data with Apple’s help and submitted to Dorothy. He also submitted videos each time.

Those efforts were not useless; thanks to them, Dorothy could predict the operation’s success rate based on concrete data. She estimated an approximately 80% chance that Number 13’s operation would succeed.

She said that unless Rahye was truly an unexpectedly monstrous being, it was a plan that was bound to succeed.

She showed not only simple words but also supporting materials with detailed figures. So, the Boss would surely understand that subjugating Rahye was not impossible.

Yet, the Boss was still anxious. The reason was clear.

“The Boss is nervous because she’s worried about you, you know? There’s also the feeling of being sorry for burdening you, one person, with the fate of the organization. And if the operation fails due to the remaining 2% chance, there’s also the worry that something might go wrong with you.”

“…….”

“The Boss thinks you’re not suited to being a villain. She believes your soft personality just doesn’t fit with being a villain at all.”

Number 13 was an ordinary civilian until three years ago.

While there was a special reason for him becoming a villain, he had no special mission. He didn’t choose to become a villain because it was something he could only do as a villain; he became one because being a villain was the only option he had.

“So, ‘you better do well’ means that. How could the Boss not worry when she’s entrusting the fate of the organization to someone as mediocre as you, who’s neither this nor that?”

“…Am I really that mediocre?”

“Well, my thoughts have changed a bit after watching you for the past month. You have enough qualities to be a villain. Even the qualities of a great villain. But to the Boss’s eyes, who doesn’t know much, you might still seem a bit, well, disappointing? Enough to cause worry.”

Dorothy smirked with a wicked expression.

“In short, it means to show a more active performance. To make it so that when they look at your back, they can just trust and leave it to you. Do you understand what I mean by that?”

…He wasn’t sure, but he somehow got it.

Indeed, before, the only thing he had to boast about was the special power given to him by a special constellation.

As Number 13, now that it was gone, even though he had achieved some results, it probably wasn’t enough to instill trust yet.

“Can’t your stupid head even understand this much? Just know that the Boss is extremely worried about you right now. Because the Boss is… No, no, I shouldn’t be saying this. I almost blurted out a mistake.”

“…? What is it? Why did you stop talking? Are you trying to piss me off? Like that ‘most annoying act in the world’ thing?”

“Just. It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it. More importantly, I’m a little worried too. So try to do well so I don’t have to worry.”

“You’re only a little worried… Well, alright. Still, thanks for worrying even a little.”

Number 13 messily ruffled and ran his hand through Dorothy’s hair, then walked past her.

Dorothy glared at Number 13, fuming and clutching her head, but soon sighed and walked in the opposite direction from Number 13.