Our first date in a long time was fun.

…And I finally crossed the line with Dia.

I tried to be gentle with her, and since it was her first time, I didn’t want to be excessive. But all those concerns were instantly blown away.

Dia was just so adorable and lovely I couldn’t stop myself.

Because of that, she was left exhausted, and I suggested that we just stay the night in this hotel, but she rejected the idea with all her might.

Apparently, she didn’t want Tarte to get the wrong idea.

I was a little surprised since I thought Dia was the type of person who didn’t care about such things.

[Dia-sama, are you not feeling well? You haven’t eaten much since a while ago.] (Tarte)

[Not at all. I’m fine, as right as rain. Yup.] (Dia)

[If you are feeling sick, please do not hesitate to tell me. Ah, I see you have been bitten by an insect. You have a red mark on your neck. Maybe this is the cause. Also, the way you walk is a little strange, it makes me worried.] (Tarte)

[Th-That’s a different thing…! I’m okay, promise!] (Dia)

We were having breakfast at the inn, but Dia’s behavior was suspicious in many ways.

She would suddenly stare into the void, turn bright red, and look overall restless.

This was probably because of what we did yesterday.

If I wasn’t careful, I would end up like that as well.

As an assassin, I was an expert at hiding my emotions, so I had been able to avoid behaving disgracefully.

I had no idea that being united with the one I loved could bring me so much happiness and satisfaction.

I had a lot of experience, but I never imagined that it would feel so different depending on whether love was involved or not.

My eyes met with Dia’s, and we stared at each other for a few seconds.

Seeing us like that, Tarte tilted her head to the side in confusion.

I cleared my throat and spoke up.

[Tarte, how was your day?] (Lugh)

[Yes, I chatted with Maha-chan. After that, I cleaned our house. It has gotten quite dirty, so I plan to drop by regularly.] (Tarte)

That house was the mansion where the three of us used to live together during my time as Illig Balor.

Maha still lived there.

Surely, she had been too busy to clean it. Considering her income, hiring some staff would be a solution, but there were too many things in there that we couldn’t let anyone see.

[I see, this might be a good idea. I’ll be heading out soon. You two can have the day for yourselves.] (Lugh)

I was about to meet Maha in my Illig Balor disguise.

Hence, while it wouldn’t have been a problem with Tarte, I had to move separately from Dia.

[Very well, my lord. Dia-sama, would you like me to show you around the town like last time?] (Tarte)

[…I’ll pass. I’m having a hard time walking. I’ll just sit here, read a book and relax. No need to worry about me, just do as you please.] (Dia)

[So you really are feeling unwell.] (Tarte)

[It’s not like that. So no need to worry about me, honest. In fact, I really don’t want anyone to look after me.] (Dia)

Again, this was my fault.

I told Dia to channel her mana to enhance her self-healing abilities, but she refused, saying that she wanted to get through the pain herself.

[In that case, please watch the house today. I will go do some shopping. Esri-sama asked for many things. Once that is done, I will buy you plenty of your favorite sweets and come back. If there is anything else you would like, please let me know.] (Tarte)

[Thanks, I’ll take you up on it.] (Dia)

It seemed that they would both do just fine.

It was time to head out.

Maha was probably eagerly waiting for me.

Besides, there was also that thing I wanted to get my hands on as soon as possible.

Having it or not before fighting the demons was going to make a huge difference.

***

I arrived at Maha’s office disguised as Illig Balor while expecting to obtain the thing, but instead, I got a large amount of paperwork pushed onto me.

[Illig-niisan, I’d like you to approve all these documents. And if you were going to come, you should’ve let me know at least one week earlier. Then I could’ve made time for us to meet. If this paperwork isn’t done by the end of the day, Orna’s business will be delayed.] (Maha)

There was a pile of papers on Maha’s desk.

[I’m sorry about that. When I heard that you got the thing, I couldn’t stay put any longer. Moreover, I wanted to have a long chat with you for the first time in a while. After meeting at the royal castle, neither of us had the time to do that after all.] (Lugh)

[…I feel so simple. I can’t believe I got so excited over those few words alone.] (Maha)

I switched my tone and voice to those of Illig and began to look through the documents.

Maha was busy.

After all, not only did I impose the role of representative of Orna on her, but she also had to help me with my assassination work.

Finding time for her was fairly difficult.

Which was why I was making time for her at the moment. In the first place, Orna was my property, so naturally, I could do my job as a representative.

The job of a representative was to announce and approve the guidelines.

Currently, I was looking though the documents and classifying them as approved, rejected or deferred, but the development of Orna, which I could only grasp from here, was more than I expected, and once again, I found myself praising Maha’s proficiency.

As I was clearing up the pile of papers, a visitor entered the room.

[It’s been a long time, Illig-sama.] (Beruid)

[How long has it been since we last spoke like this, Beruid-sama?] (Lugh)

The one who appeared was a handsome young man with a gentle smile on his face.

Beruid Balor. Illig’s older brother.

He was the heir to the Balor Company, but for some reason, he was working for Orna.

And that same man just added another stack to my mountain of paperwork with a smile.

[There is plenty I would like to discuss with you, but please finish your work first. And please take care of these as well.] (Beruid)

[…Beruid-sama, I am here on a different matter. So if possible, I would appreciate if we could leave the non-urgent issues for a later date.] (Lugh)

[This is an urgent issue. We have been drowning in paperwork because Maha did a lot of reckless things to attend the party at the royal castle.] (Beruid)

[Beruid, I wish you had never told him about that.] (Maha)

Maha had an awkward look on her face.

I see, if we include the round trip between here and there, it takes several days to attend the party at the royal castle.

No wonder that work would accumulate as a result then.

The reason why Maha showed up at that party was because of her duties as a representative of Orna. It was a great opportunity to establish connections with aristocrats and prominent figures of the business world, and Orna being an up-and-coming company, it was a party she had to attend. But more than that, she was worried about me.

I was seriously putting a lot of pressure on her.

As I thought, I had to do something about it pronto.

…I had better speed up the conversation we’d had earlier.

I stopped my hands and turned to Beruid.

[By my authority as Orna’s representiative, I appoint you, Beruid-sama, as Orna’s deputy representative. Your authority will be roughly equivalent to that of the acting representative, Maha, except that her decisions shall take precedence in all matters.] (Lugh)

I drew up a contract.

I quickly incorporated the necessary outlines, then I finally stamped it.

I pressed it on Beruid.

[Beruid-sama, from now on, you will not be an assistant, you will be in charge. Which is why, you now have the authority to approve these documents. So let’s work together on getting rid of this paperwork.] (Lugh)

[E-erm, is that really okay?] (Beruid)

[Orna is my own brand. If I say it’s okay, then it is. Bestowing this kind of authority on you was something I had long decided. I made my choice after having Maha send me data on your work performance, your personality profile, Maha’s assessment of you, and your reputation with your subordinates and our business partners.] (Lugh)

Maha’s burden was too heavy.

The duty of representing Orna alone could’ve cracked any normal individual, yet for my sake, she had been gathering information, arranging various supplies, and backing up my assassination business.

I wanted to lighten that burden somehow.

The quickest way to do that was to entrust most of Orna’s common work to someone else.

Fortunately, Beruid was an extremely talented man and someone I trusted personally.

Beruid was mediocre when it came to starting new things, but when it came to protecting and nurturing existing businesses, he was admittedly better than us.

[…Your offer is much appreciated. The truth is, I have been feeling quite frustrated. All the days I spent learning about your ideas through Maha-san were so full of surprises and fulfilling, but at the same time, it was frustrating to just watch and support you.] (Beruid)

[I figured as much. So from now on, I want you to fully put your skills into practice.] (Lugh)

I was glad to hear him so motivated.

This would make things much easier for Maha.

With the three of us working together, we could get the job done in not time.

If we kept up this pace, I’d be able to spend more time with Maha.

[I think I can almost see the end of the tunnel.] (Lugh)

[As expected, it does go faster with three people.] (Maha)

[No, it’s just that you both have insane processing speed.] (Beruid)

Beruid looked at us with a puzzled expression.

It was just a matter of getting used to it.

Then, at last, our work was done.

For now, I was going to brew some tea and take a breather.

That was the idea as I stood up.

At the same time, Beruid spoke up.

[Um… Illig-sama, Maha. There is something I want to tell you no matter what.] (Beruid)

The eyes of a man who had made up his mind.

And it seemed that there was a mixture of anticipation and anxiety in them.

It was unusual for Beruid, a man with a strong heart, to take such an attitude.

What in the world was this about? Considering his position, it was likely that he intended to return to the main shop in order to inherit the Balor Company. No, maybe not. If that was the case, he wouldn’t be happy about being appointed as my deputy representative.

Better stop thinking about it, and just listen.

[Of course, I’m all ears. Let’s chat over a cup of tea.] (Lugh)

[Agreed, I feel thirsty.] (Maha)

…And then, after listening to him and drinking tea, I asked Beruid to go home, leaving me alone with Maha and allowing me to pick up the thing.

I finally got my hands on a new trump card.

Or, more precisely, the ingredients I needed to make one.

This was something I used to wield in my previous life during special occasions.

With this, I could probably use a great number of skills that I only used vaguely in a more subtle way.

I was really glad to be able to acquire it before I had to fight demons.