Being a Villain is My True Calling

“Then I shall take my leave.”

“Ah, later bro! I’ll make those weapons and support costume hella stylish!”

Grinning at his newly enriched bank account, Joy waved goodbye to me.

“I’m counting on you.”

Despite his frivolous demeanor, his craftsmanship was genuinely formidable.
It was no coincidence the Professor had entrusted him to lead the research staff.

A born researcher, one could say.

“Heheh! With this cash, I can finally get that research equipment I wanted…!”

While the prospect of funding often fueled materialistic desires among his personas, he remained mindful of propriety.

“Puhih, puheheh! Heheh…!!”

…Hopefully.

Having accomplished my objective, I departed from the research department.

‘The preparations are more or less complete.’

Time to proceed to the next phase, it seemed.
Changing my course, I began heading elsewhere.

Ddididididi-! Ddididididi-! Ddidi-

Uwoong- Dalgak.

The alarm sounded, signaling the start of the morning.

“Haamm…already morning?”

Silencing the alarm with her ability, the woman gently lit a cigarette before rising from bed.

Ttak.

Wiiing-!

-Commencing housekeeping procedures.

With a casual snap of her fingers, the household appliances whirred to life.
This marked the beginning of Astra’s daily routine.

Shaaaaaaa-

Dding-!

After showering and consuming her toasted breakfast, she indulged in a brief respite – one of her few reprieves.
Before long, she changed into her uniform and prepared to depart for her office.

Malkang.

“…Tsk, seems I’ve put on some weight.”

Donning her official attire while neatening her hair, she appraised her appearance critically.

“…My natural hair is preferable, after all.”

After an extended period of scrutinizing her reflection, she rose and exited her quarters.

Kkiik.

The moment she stepped outside, Astra’s daily duties as an Eclipse executive commenced.

Ttogak. Ttogak. Ttogak.

Her strides exuded dignity, back perpetually erect with impeccable posture.

“Greetings, Astra.”
“Your diligence is appreciated, as always.”

Offering curt acknowledgments to the occasional greeting from subordinates, she arrived at her office.

“Then let’s complete those unfinished documents from yesterday.”

The hour was still early, the minute hand pointing towards five.
Simultaneously brewing tea with her ability, Astra promptly took her seat and began her work.

“Recent reports indicate an ability-user faction referred to as the ‘Third Force’ has been undermining villain organizations…this will likely require tasking soon. And then…”

Even in situations conducive to rest or leisure, she remained singularly focused on her duties without pause.

“This organization’s request for cooperation shall be deferred. Ah, this one can be outright rejected without further consideration. This one, being relatively trustworthy, warrants assigning a team or two…”

After an hour or two dedicated to processing paperwork…

“E,excuse me, Astra! I’ve come to request a mission.”
“Please, proceed.”

Subordinates began arriving to secure profit-earning assignments.

“Sign here, but I cannot guarantee against risks from mission failure.”
“High risk, high return – just have faith in us!”

‘This seems within the capacity of around four lower-rank operatives, should suffice.’

She would evaluate those seeking missions, denying assignments below their recommended proficiency tiers.

Astra didn’t merely generate and delegate missions – she actively gauged difficulty levels to safeguard her subordinates from undue peril through her own meticulous assessments.

“I’ve completed the mission.”

Rising early to review internal and external documentation, assigning appropriate challenge ratings to any emergent missions.
Personally addressing each operative seeking assignments, her mornings were perpetually hectic scrambles.

Once afternoon arrived:

“Riri…no, the Drill Instructor is requesting an increased budget for training munitions…I’ll approve a partial increase for now…but why are the Professor and Doctor also requesting larger budgets?”

Her afternoons were marginally less demanding than the mornings, solely occupied by endless paperwork.

And when her duties persisted until dawn’s approach, she would briefly return home for a short respite before resuming the cycle anew.

Chyarararak.

“Haah…”

While claiming it wasn’t arduous would be disingenuous, a certain level of familiarity had been attained.
Without complaint, she diligently fulfilled her responsibilities to the utmost.

As she routinely processed documents…

“This is…”

An envelope emerged amidst the piles of documentation.

“Haah…here it comes again.”

Astra regarded the high-quality envelope bearing an embossed black horn insignia with evident exasperation.

‘The contents are predictable as usual.’

This particular envelope and insignia arriving around this time could only be from one source.

“The Villain Exchange Party…”

After briefly inspecting the letter, she set it aside dismissively.

“Why must busy individuals be invited to such frivolous ‘parties’…”

And yet, declining was inadvisable – crucial information could potentially be exchanged during the proceedings.

“Haah, I’d rather not attend…”

In truth, Astra harbored no desire to participate.
Such gatherings were unproductive squanderings of precious time.

Moreover, her personal workload was immense.

Her past attendance had been necessitated by the lack of suitable executive-level alternatives.

‘One subordinate is excessively brutal, another lacks any sense of responsibility, and the last can scarcely speak coherently…’

Shouldering the bulk of administrative duties herself, participation became unavoidable.
Consequently, her already demanding year-end responsibilities only intensified further.

However…

“…Perhaps there’s no longer a need for me to attend personally?”

While not an executive for very long, Astra recalled that particular individual who had gradually earned her trust.

His actions occasionally seemed slightly unhinged, but he retained a semblance of rational cognition – relatively speaking.

“What did he call such behavior…shitposting, was it?”

With an amused chuckle, Astra retrieved her communicator and initiated a call to Maker.

“That was sooner than expected?”
“I happened to be passing by.”

Within Astra’s office, she greeted me as usual – organizing the mountainous piles of documents strewn across her desk.

“What was the reason for contacting me?”

As I casually brewed and offered her a cup of tea, she accepted it nonchalantly before addressing me.

“There’s a task that requires your attention.”
“A task, you say…”

‘This could be problematic.’

Without the details, if it was a prolonged assignment, I would prefer to decline.

“Might this be a time-consuming undertaking?”
“Not particularly. It should conclude by that very night or the following morning at the latest.”

Well, that was a relief.
The event I needed to attend typically occurred around this timeframe.

Consequently, missing this opportunity would necessitate waiting an entire year, or proceeding without this crucial step.

“My apologies if this inconveniences you, given your fatigue from yesterday’s terror activities, but rest assured – combat is unlikely to be involved this time.”

While not the reason for my reluctance, it certainly was rather bothersome…

‘Yet to outright refuse so brusquely would be unwise, considering I require her approval to attend this particular event.’

For an Eclipse executive like myself could only attend as Maker, not the A-rank villain Maker.

“So what precisely will I be doing?”

“In a sense, it could be considered quite straightforward for you, Maker.”

Prompting her to elaborate, Astra retrieved a letter from the corner of her desk.

“A letter?”

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed a letter.
Composed of rather luxurious materials and bearing an embossed black horn insignia in the bottom right corner.

‘…Ah, this task should be relatively simple, then.’

Suppressing the encroaching smirk, I maintained my composure admirably.

“An invitation, of sorts?”
“It seems to be for some high-class party…”
“Precisely that.”

Nodding in affirmation as I voiced my conjecture.

“If this party differs from others…it would be an exclusive gathering solely for renowned villain organizations, I presume.”

Adopting a solemn demeanor, Astra regarded me intently.

“The party’s name is ‘Black Night’…I would like you, as an Eclipse executive, to attend this event on our behalf, Maker.”

Black Night.
A simplistic perspective would view it as an annual year-end gala for villainous fraternization.

Accompanied by drinks, participants could recount their recent exploits, exchanging information to foster closer connections.

‘Considering the social aspect, it resembles a villainous variant of the hero exchange programs.’

However, given villains’ inherently treacherous natures, indiscriminately mingling subordinates akin to the heroes was inadvisable.

Thus, a more business-oriented approach was adopted.

Hence the creation of Black Night – an event facilitating the exchange of valuable information and transacting desired commodities, akin to an entrepreneurial soiree.

“Black Night, you say…”
“I was originally scheduled to attend myself, but I’ve been dreadfully occupied lately…”
“Would there be any objections to me attending in your stead?”
“No, none at all, given our shared executive status.”

Hmm.
Feigning contemplation while concealing my broadening smirk with my hand.

‘Splendid!’

I could scarcely contain my amusement.
For Black Night was the very event I had intended to request Astra allow me to attend in her place.