Chapter 192
◇◇◇
「Thank you so much for choosing meee!」
Kiki envies the three who managed to leave early.
While she puts on a flirtatious smile for the Hero, inside she’s lamenting her own bad luck.
The three people she’s gotten to know since taking this job—Fuku, Sanari, and Josie—have become quite close friends.
Once she’s released, she probably won’t be called upon for a while, so she plans to treat the three of them to drinks.
That thought is the only thing keeping Kiki going.
◇◇◇
Their job is to keep the Hero company.
It’s really that simple.
While the job description includes certain intimate acts and can’t exactly be called easy work, compared to the seedy establishment where she used to work, this is practically heaven.
They have to be on standby in case the Hero calls for them, and when he does, they must quickly prepare themselves and be sent to his location. But they get paid just for being on standby—and the amount is far more than she could ever have imagined making at her previous workplace. What’s more, surprisingly, when the Hero actually requests them, they receive several times that amount.
Among the women on the selection list, those with heavy debts are especially eager, waiting impatiently to be chosen.
From the start, it’s an unusual job.
This position has always been unique.
While their employer remains secret, even an idiot could figure out what’s going on given that they’re serving the Hero. There must be some national agenda behind this.
Even though she’s received proper training since accepting the job, she was uneducated until recently. Yet even someone like her can figure that much out.
The secretive nature of their duties is an open secret, part of a larger scheme where everything involving the Hero is treated as classified information. That’s why Kiki feels a chill run down her spine when she thinks about what might happen if she were to slip up and say something to the Hero.
Nevertheless, without exception, all participants are grateful for this job opportunity. They’re deeply thankful to whoever is behind this initiative and their direct employer.
Here, except for one person, there’s no one who treats people as less than human like at her previous workplace.
They’ve even been made beautiful through magic she’d never heard of before, and they receive more than adequate wages and compensation.
Most importantly, they’ve been given an education that could open doors for their future.
When drinking with colleagues on their days off, some even cry about how they were saved from a life that was heading nowhere and given a new chance at life.
Given how much they owe, Kiki is confident there isn’t anyone shameless enough among them to let something slip.
◇◇◇
Even though it’s her job to satisfy his demands, she wishes something could be done about it.
He’s self-centered, selfish, persistent—so persistent that he doesn’t even notice when she’s putting on an act—a typical self-righteous man through and through.
「How was that!」
「Ah, ah, Hero…」
「Hehe, too amazing for words, right?」
It’s not that she can’t speak—she just doesn’t want to bother.
Speaking of his self-righteousness, there’s something amusing about the role distribution among the four women who were chosen this time and were with the Hero until just now.
Two wake up before him, and two wake up after him.
This is intentional.
The women deliberately leave these points for him to lecture about. And he falls for it every time. This time is no different.
Despite the varying number of women, he never finds it strange that someone always oversleeps, and he pompously delivers meaningless lectures.
Not satisfied with just lecturing, he doesn’t hesitate to use words like 「ignorant,」 「barbarian,」 and 「backward world」 to disparage them and their entire world. Though endurance is part of the job, she internally sighs, thinking she’d rather listen to a priest’s sermon a hundred times over than his worthless talk.
While growing weary of his endless activity, Kiki tries to maintain a professional mindset and recalls what he said earlier.
—Excessive stress comes with being a Hero
What nonsense, you fool! All you do is eat and sleep as you please!
Kiki swallows these words that had almost escaped her throat. And she’s not alone—from the expressions of the other three, it’s clear they were all thinking the same thing.
The drinking party after being released from the Hero will undoubtedly revolve around this conversation. And Sanari, who’s good at impressions, will do an exaggerated imitation of the Hero. Kiki smiles at the thought.
「That expression of yours is nice! So arousing!」
At the Hero’s delighted voice, Kiki immediately regrets her smile.
「If you could just acquire a bit more refinement, I could treat you so much better. You understand, right? You need to cultivate yourself.」
Kiki, who has been holding back all this time, internally curses him.
Refinement my ass! You ****** bastard!
Kiki’s original vocabulary, given her background, isn’t exactly elegant.
But there’s a certain justice in her thoughts.
No matter how much you talk about 「WIN-WIN」 and 「trickle-down」 and 「temporary assignments,」 it doesn’t justify doing nothing yourself, let alone snatching credit for achievements that others worked hard for in far-off places!
You’ve got problems way more basic than refinement!!
If she could, she would have screamed this at the top of her lungs.
◇◇◇
Regardless of Kiki’s inner thoughts, the Hero won’t stop his nonsense even during the act. She wonders if it’s almost time.
The usual meeting should be over by now.
She hopes those three properly reported the Hero’s thoughts and actions they witnessed this time to Hilbert.
Nobody deserves to be brought to misfortune by someone like him.
God, if you really exist, please help whoever that someone might be.
Kiki prays while still entangled with the Hero.
If you enjoy it and wish to see more, please consider giving it a 5-star rating for the series on NU. Click Here.
Check out my Patreon for early access to upcoming updates. Patreon Link