Chapter 75

“Then, I’ll be going.”

“Ah! Take care, bro! I’ll whip up the weapons and auxiliary costumes in no time!”

Joy, giggling as she looks at her now well-off bank account, waves at me.

“I’ll be counting on you.”

Despite how she looks, she’s the real deal when it comes to skill.

It wasn’t for nothing that the Doctor was leading the researchers in the Research Department.

She’s a born researcher, after all.

“Hehe! With this money, I can finally buy all the research equipment I wanted…!”

Of course, when it comes to research, money tends to fly out the window, which is why some of her personalities have become so materialistic.

But still, she’s someone who can take care of herself.

“Pfft, pfft! Hehehe…!!”

…Probably.

Having accomplished my goal, I left the Research Department.

‘Well, the preparations are all done.’

Now, it’s time to move on to the next step.

I turned my steps and began walking elsewhere.

***

Beep beep beep-! Beep beep beep-! Beep-

Buzz- Click.

The sound of the morning alarm.

“Yawn… Morning already?”

The woman, who turned off the alarm with her ability, stretched lightly and got out of bed.

Click.

Whirr-!

-Cleaning has begun.

With a flick of her hand, the household appliances started working.

Thus began the day of Astra, the woman.

Splash-

Ding-!

After finishing her shower and eating her toasted bread.

After a brief moment of rest, she changed her clothes and prepared to head to her office.

Squish.

“…Hmm, I think I’ve gained a bit of weight.”

Dressing in her uniform and fixing her hair, she muttered.

“…Straight hair really is the best.”

After a long struggle with the mirror, she finally got up and headed out of her room.

Creak.

From the moment she stepped out, the day of Astra, an executive of the villain organization Eclipse, began.

Click. Click. Click.

Her steps never lost their dignity, her back always straight.

“Good morning, Astra!”

“You’re always working hard.”

Lightly acknowledging the greetings from the organization members, she arrived at her office.

“Now, shall I finish the paperwork I couldn’t get to yesterday?”

The time was still early, the short hand pointing at 5.

Using her ability to boil tea, Astra sat down and began her work.

“Recently, a group of ability users from the third faction has been overthrowing villain organizations… I should probably add this to the mission list soon. And…”

Even in situations where one might take a break or slack off, she remained focused solely on her work.

“The cooperation request from this organization is on hold. Ah, this one can be rejected outright, and this one seems trustworthy enough to send one or two people on a mission.”

After spending an hour or two on paperwork.

“Excuse me, Astra! I’ve come to receive a mission.”

“Come in.”

Organization members began arriving to take on missions for money.

“Sign here, and I can’t guarantee the risks of mission failure.”

“High risk, high return, right? Just trust us!”

‘This mission is suitable for about four low-ranking members, so it should be enough.’

She checked those who came to take on missions and wouldn’t accept them if they didn’t meet the recommended level.

Astra not only created and assigned missions but also measured their difficulty to ensure the members didn’t die, taking on the work herself.

“I’ve completed the mission.”

After waking up early, she checked the paperwork from inside and outside Eclipse, and if a mission arose, she assigned the difficulty herself.

Dealing with each member who came to take on missions, the hectic morning passed, and the afternoon arrived.

“Yeri… no, the Training Officer is asking for an increased budget for training weapons… I’ll approve this to some extent… Why are the Doctor and the Doctor asking for more budget again?”

The afternoon was simpler for Astra compared to the morning.

It was just paperwork, and more paperwork.

And when work continued until dawn, she would briefly return to rest, then wake up and repeat the day.

Swoosh.

“Sigh…”

It would be a lie to say it wasn’t tiring, but perhaps because she had grown accustomed to it.

She did her best without a single complaint.

While handling paperwork as usual.

“This is…”

Among the papers, she found a letter.

“Sigh… It’s here again.”

Astra looked at the envelope with a look of annoyance, as if she had been expecting it.

The luxurious material and the black horn emblem stamped like a seal.

‘I don’t even need to read the contents.’

This time of year, and with this emblem, it could only be from them.

“Villain exchange party…”

She fluttered the letter around before tossing it to the corner of her desk.

“Why do they call it a party when they’re just wasting busy people’s time…”

But it wasn’t something she could just skip.

Who knows what kind of information might be exchanged there.

“Sigh, I don’t want to go…”

Honestly, Astra didn’t want to go.

The time wasted on something called a party was just too precious.

And she had so much to do.

But the reason she had been attending these parties was that there was no one else suitable among the executives.

‘One of the executives is too hot-headed, another lacks a sense of responsibility, and the last one can’t even speak properly. What can I do?’

Even though she handled most of the administrative work, she had to go.

As a result, by the end of the year, her already busy schedule became even busier.

But.

“…Maybe I don’t have to do that anymore?”

Astra hadn’t been an executive for long, but she now thought of that man who had gained some trust.

Though his actions sometimes seemed a bit off, he was at least capable of rational thought.

“What do they call this… passing the buck?”

Chuckling, Astra picked up her communicator and began contacting the Maker.

***

“You came faster than I expected.”

“I was on my way anyway.”

Astra’s office.

As usual, Astra greeted me while organizing the mountain of paperwork on her desk.

“What did you call me for?”

As I lightly brewed tea and handed it to her, she sipped it casually and looked at me.

“There’s something you need to do.”

“Something I need to do…”

‘This might be a bit troublesome.’

I needed to hear the details, but if it was a long-term mission, I wanted to refuse.

“Is it a mission that will take a long time?”

“It won’t take long. It should be done by the end of the day or early the next morning.”

That’s a relief.

The place I need to go is an event that happens around this time.

If I miss this opportunity, I might have to wait a year or skip this process altogether.

“Sorry. I know you’re tired from yesterday’s terror attack and are resting, but you won’t have to fight in this mission, so don’t worry.”

It’s not really about that…

It’s just really annoying.

‘But it’s awkward to flat-out refuse since I need Astra’s permission to go where I need to go.’

That place requires the Eclipse executive Maker, not the A-rank villain Maker.

“So, what do I need to do?”

“It might be a very simple task for you, Maker.”

As I asked to hear the mission details, Astra pulled out a piece of paper from the corner of her desk.

“A letter?”

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed a letter.

A rather luxurious one, with a black horn emblem stamped on the lower right.

‘…This might be easier than I thought.’

I tried my best to manage my expression, suppressing the smile that threatened to break out.

“It’s an invitation of sorts.”

“It looks like an invitation to some fancy party…”

“That’s right.”

As I guessed, she nodded.

“The difference with other parties is… this party is only for well-known villain organizations.”

Astra looked at me with a serious expression.

“The party is called ‘Black Night’… I want you, as the Eclipse executive Maker, to attend this party.”

Black Night.

Simply put, it’s a year-end gathering for villains to bond.

With drinks, they talk about their lives, share information, and build closer relationships.

‘In terms of bonding, it’s like a villain version of a hero exchange meeting.’

But given the nature of villains, who might backstab at any moment, they can’t just share members like heroes do.

So, they added a more business-like aspect.

Thus, Black Night was born.

A party where they exchange useful information and trade what they need, like a gathering of businessmen.

“Black Night, huh…”

“I was supposed to go, but I’m too busy…”

“Is there any restriction on me going instead?”

“No, there isn’t. You’re an executive too.”

Hmm.

Pretending to think, I covered my chin with my hand, hiding the smile that was forming.

‘Nice!’

I couldn’t help but laugh.

Black Night.

That was the place I originally wanted to ask Astra to let me go in her place.

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