episode_0171

The space called the conference room was simply a room with one window, several chairs, and a low table.

Therefore, when the woman called Delta entered, she could immediately recognize the ‘chair’ Apple was sitting on.

She was a hero she remembered.

Not long ago, when the 『Lesserat』 base was leaked and attacked… she was the damn hero who had cornered Delta, who was serving as the interim boss, right before capturing her.

Even now, when she thought about that day, she felt a throbbing pain in the spot where that hero had kicked her.

At the time, her power wasn’t fully developed, so she had no choice but to be helplessly defeated.

For a moment, Delta’s eyes flashed with various thoughts, but she quickly suppressed her emotions under Apple’s silent gaze.

“Is there anything you need, Boss?”

“Hmm. Delta can keep being the boss.”

“No. We’ve all gathered because the boss called us. Now that the true owner has arrived, everyone no longer needs to listen to my orders. I want to be under your command too.”

At Delta’s words, Apple paused with a “Hmm~~” in a manner like an ordinary college student, but then smiled brightly and nodded.

Delta’s face lit up at the positive response.

“Okay. Then I’ll take over all command rights for now.”

“Yes, Boss!”

“And, from now on, we’re going to prepare for war. I already told you earlier, and I told the other executives too, right?”

“Yes. Everyone is overflowing with motivation! They’ll all gladly give their lives for the boss!”

“Hehe, thank you. I have to give everyone a reward.”

Apple continued to speak without stopping her tormenting of Spade’s vagina.

Her mouth was smiling, but her eyes showed no hint of laughter.

“We failed to neutralize Rahe. If that had been possible, our victory would have been certain.”

“It’s okay. That’s why you took me in, Boss!”

“That’s right. I thought Delta’s ability was the only thing that could possibly defeat that Captain Rahe.”

It was an absurd statement.

Rahe is a hero of the Hero Association, the strongest hero in the entire Hero Association, not just Team 7.

The fact that there was someone who could stand up to such a hero, and that it was even just a villain executive of a little-known organization, was hard to believe.

But in Delta’s eyes, hearing Apple’s words, there was no fear or doubt.

She really seemed to believe that she would be Rahe’s opponent. And in fact, she had been preparing for that until now.

“Right. We don’t even need to defeat Rahe. We just need to stop her. We’ve already swayed a few heroes, and if we shake things up through them, chaos will be inevitable. If Rahe is pulled away from the front lines… we’ll win easily.”

And the core of this entire operation is Delta.

If Delta falls, if she can’t be Rahe’s opponent, then all the plans will be useless.

With that in mind, Apple simultaneously burdened and encouraged Delta, spurring her on.

Delta seemed to be infatuated with Apple, elated and disheartened by every word and gesture… ultimately, she was filled with so much enthusiasm that she seemed ready to throw herself into battle at any moment.

“Good. That’s all for the story. Although the plan has changed, let’s wait for them to attack us. …If things go well, we might be able to pick up the pieces of the failed plan again.”

Delta didn’t know what that meant.

But she believed that the boss’s thoughts were always right, and she was nothing more than a pawn in her game, so she didn’t ask any further questions.

Now the story was over, and Apple gave her permission to leave, saying, “You can go now.”

But noticing that Delta seemed to have something to say, Apple smiled as if she had realized something and asked, “What’s wrong, Delta? Is there something you want to say?”

“Uh… I might be being rude to the boss….”

“Don’t worry about it. We’re an organization, and we’re in a boss-subordinate relationship, but we’re also a loving family. I wouldn’t consider anything you say to be rude.”

“……! Yes, actually, it’s because of that bitch… that woman…!”

What Delta pointed at was Spade, who Apple was sitting on.

Spade was still lying face down like a doll, or like a truly inanimate object.

“Oh, that’s my new toy. What do you think? I’m going to have her be my bodyguard for a while. You’ll have to deal with Rahe, so you won’t be by my side, Delta.”

“That’s true… Um, if it’s really not rude….”

Delta spoke hesitantly, and Apple listened to everything and giggled.

“Hehe, is that it? You want to get revenge?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t want you to hurt her or injure her.”

“That won’t happen. You said she’s Apple-nim’s toy and bodyguard, after all.”

In that case, it wasn’t difficult to guess how she would get her revenge.

“Come to think of it, you’re the type who likes to do it with women, Delta.”

“…I’m a bit picky about my tastes, but.”

“I know it well. I know everything about Delta.”

Turning her gaze away from the moved Delta, Apple directed her hand towards Spade’s face.

And with a light flick! The light that had been lost in Spade’s eyes slowly began to return.

“…Huh…?”

Spade couldn’t understand the situation.

She only slowly realized that her body was naked, that she was lying face down, and that someone was riding on her back.

What’s going on? What is happening, how is this happening?

Where is this? What am I doing?

“It wouldn’t be fun to do what you want in doll mode. This is better for you too, right, Delta?”

“…! Yes, Boss…!”

“Oh, no, what? I, why…? Wait… Apple… where am I…? Uh…?”

Spade was still in a state of confusion. Well, it was understandable. But there was no need to make her understand, so Apple got off Spade’s back and ordered her to stand up.

Still confused, she gestured at her, and Spade’s body once again began to move on its own towards Delta.

Below her neck, she had no control over her body at all.

“That woman will do everything you tell her to do, so do whatever you want with her. Just don’t hurt her, and bring her back to me tomorrow.”

“Wait, hold on…! What, what is this! Apple…? What is this…! And who is this woman…? You, who…?!”

Delta grinned and took the confused and helpless Spade away.

Left alone, Apple regretted the chair that had disappeared and pulled up a nearby chair to sit on.

As Delta disappeared, the smile on her face also disappeared, and she once again sank into solitary contemplation with a cold gaze….

* * *

…………….

……….

……

After leaving instructions for Rahe and putting Aria to sleep, Number 13 immediately contacted 『Abyss』.

Of course, as soon as she contacted them, she was scolded terribly by the boss.

Well, it was only natural, since she had just left a letter and run away from home.

“Ah~ Boss. Calm down. Now isn’t the time to talk about that. I was wrong about everything.”

[Calm down? I’m really going to get you, just you wait.]

“…Aigo….”

That’s why she had called Dorothy.

Dorothy had said, “Wait a minute,” and then ran to the boss and handed her the phone.

[The most annoying thing is that. Why don’t you ever contact me? You and the strategist and Dorothy talk on the phone several times a day, right?]

“Well, I had things to talk about with them related to work… And…”

[And?]

“I thought I’d get scolded if I contacted the boss.”

[Don’t do things that deserve to be scolded, you idiot.]

The sound of a sigh could be heard through the smartphone speaker.

She could imagine what kind of face the boss was making without even seeing it.

But there was nothing she could do about it. She couldn’t just proudly say, ‘I want to pounce on you when I see you, Boss.’

[…Well, let’s put that aside for later. More importantly, let’s talk about 『Lesserat』 and… that woman named Apple. You didn’t leave anything out of what you said earlier, right?]

“Yes. I’ve passed on everything I’ve heard so far.”

Apple’s identity, what 『Lesserat』 was up to, and the fact that Spade had been kidnapped.

The boss didn’t seem as surprised as she thought she would be after hearing the story. She seemed to have expected it to some extent.

[I received a report from Dorothy. An explanation of each member of Team 7, and a report on the progress of their brainwashing. Looking at the contents, I was a bit… concerned about Apple.]

Concerned?

Number 13 had received the same report that Dorothy had submitted to the boss. In the first place, it was a document created based on the results of the tests that Number 13 had conducted on each member.

She had checked it as carefully as possible. But she hadn’t found anything strange.

Or was there something she hadn’t noticed after all…?

[No… it’s not that. This is more like, how should I put it, a gut feeling. It felt a bit artificial, or I could smell something… That’s all it was. So I was going to tell you that it might be a good idea to keep a close eye on her~]

But since she hadn’t heard from Number 13, she was waiting for her to contact her, and ended up missing the timing to give her opinion.

“…I’m really, really sorry. I’ll make it up to you later.”

Number 13 apologized again to the sudden criticism. The sight of her diligently bowing her head to the empty air must have looked pathetic in many ways.

Anyway, Violet said as if to conclude.

[That woman named Apple’s intention is clear. I don’t know what her purpose is, but she’s trying to pit heroes and villains against each other. We can’t allow that. Our 『Abyss』 moves in the direction of stopping wars in advance.]

She gave Number 13 instructions over the phone in a voice filled with the charisma of a boss.

[Number 13, share any new information with us as soon as you get it. We’ll gather as much information as possible from now on. As soon as we find the location of their hideout, we’ll attack. There won’t be any problems, right?]

“Yes, Boss. Just leave it to me.”