"Let me introduce you. This is Jane."

"Nice to meet you."

"And this is Orca."

"...Uh, hi."

"Wow, a demon possessor, huh? This is the first time I've seen one. It's really amazing, Bo—"

I caught the word that was about to slip out of Jane's mouth and shot her a deadly glare.

Could you please just keep your mouth shut?

Fortunately, Jane, who wasn’t entirely oblivious, began to sweat nervously and tried to recover her words.

"Bo-bo... Would you like some barley tea?"

"I'm fine."

...When is she ever going to learn to lie properly? It's hard to believe someone who used to make a living as a thief is so bad at lying.

Luckily, Orca seemed to let Jane’s odd way of addressing me slide, probably chalking it up to something unimportant.

"So? Care to explain? What’s this 'boss' stuff, and what’s your relationship with this woman?"

"Uh, weren’t you going to let it go...?"

"If you were me, would you let it go?"

"..."

Yeah, I guess not.

Honestly, if I were in Orca's shoes, I’d be just as curious. It would be shocking enough to find out that someone who just tried to stab me knew me, let alone calling me 'boss.'

Of course, she’d want to know everything.

...Looks like I don’t have much choice.

"Well, the truth is, I was kidnapped by a crime organization a long time ago."

"Huh? That actually happened?"

"It did."

"...Oh, right! Now that you mention it, that did happen!"

Jane, please, try to be a bit more perceptive.

I shot a quick glare at Jane, who awkwardly nodded in agreement, and continued my explanation to Orca.

"But the thing was, that organization treated its members terribly."

"That's right. It was a total trash organization. If you didn't meet your quota, they'd cement you in a drum. I nearly died a couple of times."

"Then why were you even part of such a place?"

"Well, you see, to survive in the backstreets, sometimes you have no choice but to join an organization, even if you hate it. Without any affiliation, you'd end up homeless in some alleyway, and your insides would be carved out."

"...Orca, you should understand that much, having grown up in the backstreets, right?"

"No one dared touch me. They thought it was bad luck."

"Ah..."

Well, no one would want to mess with someone carrying the heart of a demon possessor.

Just hearing the name "demon possessor" would make anyone think that the moment they transplanted that heart, it would take over their body and resurrect. Even though people antagonized them, in this world where magic and demons exist, there’s a strong tendency to believe in superstitions.

A demon possessor’s body is filled with negative connotations. No one would willingly mess with it.

"Anyway, everyone there looked so miserable, so I gave them some counseling."

"...A kidnapped person?"

"That’s right! It was really strange!"

Despite being a criminal organization, the members looked more like walking corpses than anything else, which left a strong impression on me.

Initially, I planned to wipe them out, but out of curiosity, I used hypnosis to learn more about their situation.

"And I found out that most of the criminal profits were going straight to the boss, while the rest were being exploited."

It’s not unusual for a criminal organization to be like that, but this one was particularly bad.

Surprisingly, aside from the boss, most of the members were war orphans.

It’s not uncommon for war orphans to end up in criminal organizations since, without guardians, they have nowhere else to go.

But typically, there aren’t that many of them—usually no more than ten. But this organization had nearly thirty.

It made no sense for the number of orphans and members to be about the same.

Not that the children were treated well because of their numbers, either.

They were given nothing but crumbling homes and hard bread.

"It didn’t sit right with me, so I bought the organization."

"...You bought it?"

"Yes. You see, I'm richer than you might think, Orca."

"Can you even buy and sell organizations like that...?"

"Why not? Money makes everything possible. The reason they ran that place in the first place was because of money."

Of course, the part about being kidnapped and buying the organization was a lie.

Back when I was drunk on the power of hypnosis, I stumbled upon a dilapidated house and thought, “In the movies, places like this usually hide criminal organizations,” and went in—only to find an actual one.

They happened to be beating up some kids, so I dealt with them. But then I found out that without those guys, the kids would end up on the streets.

Leaving things as they were would have just resulted in another thug taking over as boss, and the cycle would continue. So, reluctantly, I became the new boss and managed things from there.

"Boss... I’m touched! You never told us anything like this!"

"Oh, didn’t I?"

"As expected of you, Boss! Even if it costs my life, I’ll repay the debt I owe you!"

"...That’s really not necessary."

"No, please, if anything happens, don’t hesitate to call on me!"

It seemed Jane had completely believed the story I made up to explain things to Orca. I hadn’t anticipated that.

The look Jane gave me was filled with unwavering trust.

If she had a tail, it would’ve been wagging nonstop.

I don’t really see myself as someone that trustworthy, but... I felt a bit touched.

"...Alright, fine. I get it. But why is she here now?"

"Isn't it obvious? I’m here to work. I collect the tribute and help out whenever something happens. When I heard about the incident, I rushed over."

"Ah, is that so? Then why not fight...?"

"I’m not fighting. These fools dared to lay a hand on the boss, and that’s crossing the line."

"Hmph. What a letdown."

"But Boss, when are you coming back to the organization?"

"I told you, Jane, I’m not coming back. Didn’t I leave everything in your hands?"

"...Right."

Becoming the boss was an impulsive decision, and I never intended to keep that position for long.

It was always a temporary role. Once I cleaned up the area and stabilized things, I handed over all authority and left.

"...Did you achieve your goal? Becoming a teacher..."

"Yes, I did. And look, I’ve got a cute student right here, don’t I?"

"Not cute. Ugly."

"What did you say?!"

Maybe because Jane had always been fond of me since we first met, she started to criticize Orca bluntly.

I calmed Orca down, who was getting angry at the baseless insults, and decided to ask Jane if she could help us out.

"Hold on, Sensei... Let me have a word with that brat..."

"Can’t that wait? ...Jane, I’m sorry to ask, but could you help us out? We’re in a bit of a difficult situation right now."

"I already told you, whatever you need, just say the word. What’s the problem?"

"These guys kidnapped one of the students. Orca here knocked them all out, but we don’t know where the student is."

"Hmm... What does the kid look like?"

"He’s a short boy with curly hair. He’s been training with the sword, so he’s pretty well-built."

"Got it. Please wait here for a moment. I’ll be back with good news."

"Wait, hold on—"

Before I could stop her, Jane quickly darted out of the tavern with her characteristic nimbleness.

"...She’s gone."

I was going to give her more details about Leo’s appearance, but I guess that was enough.

She left without asking for more information.

"I don’t like her."

"Well, it’s not like you like anyone, Orca."

"...I don’t dislike everyone."

"What?"

"Nothing."

She really is prickly. But that’s part of her charm.

...Anyway, Leo really has the worst luck. To think he’d trigger such a rare event.

I’d left this place alone because it wasn’t a bad spot for gaining some practical experience, but now that an incident has occurred, I can’t leave it as is.

If Leo gets caught in another incident like this without me knowing, it’ll be hard to find him next time.

I guess I’ll have to figure out a way to solve Leo’s financial issues.

As for the lost experience... Well, I’ll have to think about that. I started pondering over what to do with Leo.

"I’m back!"

"What, did you forget something?"

"No? I found someone who looks like the student you described and brought him here. Boss, is this the one?"

"...You found him already?"

Already? It hasn’t even been an hour.

I was half-expecting Jane to have mistaken someone else, but when I saw the boy’s face, I was genuinely surprised.

...It’s really Leo. How did you find him so fast?

"Hehe, it’s all thanks to you, Boss. You helped grow the organization, so we’ve got this whole area locked down."

"I keep telling you, it wasn’t me. ...Ugh, he’s pretty heavy."

"Let me help you with that."

"No, it’s fine. The academy’s security has been pretty tight lately. They’re not allowing outsiders in."

"Hmm, but still..."

"Ah-ah."

"...If you insist, then alright."

Even though Leo was small, he was still a boy.

As I hefted the unconscious Leo onto my back to carry him to the academy’s infirmary, I could feel his weight pressing down on me.

Maybe I shouldn’t have refused Jane’s help. I should have just accepted the offer.

But now it would be too embarrassing to ask for help, so I decided to carry him myself.

"Orca... Could you grab his armor? I’ll... go ahead..."

"...Sure. Don’t push yourself too hard."

"I’m not... pushing myself!"

Huff, huff.

After carrying Leo out of the tavern, I leaned against the wall to catch my breath.

...I’m already exhausted. What do I do now?

It felt like the sky was turning yellow.

Please, save me.

"That idiot’s pushing herself..."

"Haha. The Boss still has trash stamina. Maybe I should go help her..."

"No, I got it. I’ll just put the armor on him and carry them both."

"Oh, would you?"

"Yeah. It’s no big deal."

Orca gathered up the armor lying in the corner, but as she turned around, she let out a startled scream.

"Whoa, you scared me. Hey, move aside. I’ve got to go."

"...One last thing."

"What is it?"

"Please take good care of the Boss, Ophelia."

Jane bowed deeply to Orca.

But even as she did, she never took her eyes off Orca, her gaze serious, far from the carefree expression she had worn before.

"If anything were to happen to the Boss... I don’t think I could forgive it."

"...What are you talking about?"

"Hehe, just saying. The Boss seems to trust you, so I’ll trust you too. Someday, come have a drink with us. The Boss’s students are always welcome."

"Hmph."

Without responding to Jane's words, Orca left the tavern.

She didn’t feel the need to respond.