Chapter 7: James

After finishing all his work at the office, the Republican representative James left the office building.

Tucked under his arm was a thick stack of documents. These were vast amounts of data he had gathered to uncover the truth. His goal was to summon Diabel Diessire, the president of Diabel Corporation, to a special audit, as the company was suspected of being the mastermind behind the recent terror attack caused by a monster.

“See you tomorrow, Representative.”

“Good work, everyone.”

As he exited the building and walked into the parking lot, his aides got into their respective vehicles and drove off.

For most representatives, it was common practice to be escorted home by aides who would drive for them. However, James found such arrangements uncomfortable and preferred to return home on his own.

Besides, even without an escort for protection, there were few in the world who could pose a real threat to him. After all, he was once a hero.

James reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out a pendant. When he opened it, a warm smile spread across his face at the sight of the photo inside. It was of his beloved daughter.

His beautiful daughter whom he longed to rush home to and shower with affection.

“I’m sorry, Rebecca.”

But not tonight.

There was still more work to be done in preparation for the special audit.

“…Huh?”

Just as he was about to open his car door to move on to his next task, something caught his eye. It was an envelope wedged into the door.

“What is this…?”

With a puzzled expression, he picked it up.

There was nothing written on either side of the envelope.

When he carefully tore it open, a piece of luxurious stationery slipped out.

It had the kind of texture that would normally make receiving a letter a pleasant experience.

—Come to your office alone immediately. If you fail to come, report this to anyone, or seek help, I cannot guarantee what will happen next.

But the message written on it was anything but pleasant.

“…….”

James’s expression hardened instantly.

Cannot guarantee what will happen next?

Was this a threat?

Who could have sent this?

Several names came to mind.

Ever since his days as a hero, there had been plenty of enemies who envied and resented him, trying to tear him down.

But somehow, James had a feeling he knew exactly who had sent this letter.

Of all days, it had to be today.

There was only one person who would go so far as to threaten him.

“Diabel…”

The villain who sought to control the Republic from the shadows.

It had to be him.

He wanted James to come alone without seeking help from anyone.

“Heh.”

A quiet laugh escaped James’s lips.

How many people had tried to threaten him like this before?

Not a single one had ever achieved what they intended.

Against overwhelming power, all their petty schemes had been rendered useless.

“Fine. I’ll do as you wish.”

Bang.

He closed the car door and headed for his office.

Crash!

The moment he threw open the door, he saw a man sitting arrogantly in the seat of honor with his legs spread wide and arms crossed.

Just as he had expected.

“…So it was you. The one who called me.”

“My apologies for the late hour, Representative James. I’m Diabel Diessire, a businessman running a small company.”

“…President Diabel.”

It was quite unexpected for him to come in person instead of sending his subordinates, but thanks to that, James was able to confirm one thing.

Diabel was afraid of the special audit.

That meant the move James had prepared was a critical blow to him.

“Please, have a seat.”

With a relaxed demeanor, Diabel gestured toward the sofa across from him.

Even though this was James’s office, the man acted as if he owned the space.

“It’s an honor to meet you. I came here because there’s something I really wanted to discuss with you, Representative.”

Trying to seize control of the conversation, is he?

James enhanced his vision with magical power and scanned the room.

Aside from himself and Diabel, there were only two other people inside the office.

A woman and a child, both in the break room. That was it.

Does he really think he can intimidate me with such a weak force? Ridiculous.

Unless they were at a hero’s level of strength, it didn’t matter how many came. He could crush them head-on.

Even if they were heroes, he could still take down two at once.

It seemed Diabel had severely underestimated his power.

“I see. So, you wanted to talk to me.”

James sat down on the sofa.

Fine.

Let’s hear it.

Whatever excuses or threats you’ve prepared, I’ll beat you to a pulp and drag you straight to the police.

James brimmed with confidence.

At least, until Diabel spoke his next words.

“Your daughter is a really cute child.”

…Huh?

James’s mind went blank for a moment.

What did that bastard just say?

My daughter?

Did he just mention Rebecca?

Was he trying to threaten him through his family?

…It wouldn’t work.

The place where his wife and daughter were staying was somewhere no criminal organization would dare to approach.

There was no way they could have been kidnapped.

As a dedicated representative of the Republic, he had made countless enemies. To counter them, he had made sure that his family was evacuated to the safest place in the world.

A place protected by heroes. Kidnapping his family from there was simply impossible.

“Mmph! Mmmph!”

Just then, a muffled sound came from the direction of the break room, as if someone was forcefully covering a young girl’s mouth.

James’s heart sank in an instant.

The presence he had sensed earlier… No way…

…No.

That couldn’t be.

It had to be another child.

They must have brought a different child and were trying to pass her off as his.

There had to be a reason they weren’t showing her to him directly.

“This might take a while. You might be getting home later than usual, so how about giving your family a call in advance? If you show up late without a word, your wife might not be too happy about it.”

“…You.”

James pulled out a portable communication magic device (phone) from his pocket.

He knew it wasn’t true.

He knew that bastard was trying to deceive him.

And yet, he couldn’t shake the overwhelming anxiety filling his chest.

Beep—beep—beep—beep—

No answer.

She would normally pick up right away.

Why wasn’t she answering?

As his unease grew stronger—

!

The call connected.

That’s right!

There was no way that place that was guarded by his comrades could have been breached!

Elation filled James’s mind.

“Suzanna! You—!”

But before he could bask in that relief—

Click.

The call was cut off without a single word from the other end.

“…Huh?”

“Oh dear. It seems your wife is quite upset with you. You’d better beg for forgiveness when you get home.”

Diabel spoke mockingly. His tone was dripping with amusement.

James felt his blood boil.

“…You bastard!”

“Why are you so angry? Isn’t this all happening because you made some sort of mistake, Representative?”

Diabel met James’s glare with a grin.

As if to say that no matter how hard he struggled, the outcome had already been decided.

Thump—

“You son of a—!”

James’s last shred of reason snapped. He lunged at Diabel.

It was a reckless move, driven by a surge of rage, but even if he had been thinking clearly, he would have made the same choice.

Even if Suzanna and Rebecca had been taken hostage, if he could overpower Diabel, there might still be a chance to save them.

Boom!

“How dare you.”

But his ambush ended in failure.

A red-haired secretary slammed him down from behind and pinned him to the ground.

“Gaaah!”

Rachel twisted James’s arms behind his back and pressed her knee against his spine, pinning him in place.

James tried to reinforce his body with magical power to shake her off, but for some reason, his strength wouldn’t come to him.

“Haa. Representative, what exactly do you think you’re doing? If your wife is angry, isn’t it more because you did something strange rather than because of me? Why are you taking it out on the wrong person?”

It was only then that James realized why President Diabel had stepped in personally.

It wasn’t because he had underestimated him.

Diabel had brought along someone capable of overwhelming even him a hero, or perhaps someone even stronger.

And in that moment, he understood.

That resisting the figure before him was a mistake.

He finally grasped why those arrogant, power-hungry representatives had gone to such lengths to shield Diabel Corporation.

Now, he knew the reason.

***

The red-haired secretary reached for the communicator in her ear.

Beep!

– Glory to the President! This is Majes!

“Situation resolved. Restore the magic device to its original state. Leave no traces during the return process.”

– Understood!

If it was Majes, he would have no trouble breaking through that heavy line of defense and returning the magic device to its rightful place.

That foolish man’s wife wouldn’t even realize that her magic device had been in someone else’s hands.

After all, they had been specially trained for tasks like this.

With their power, it wouldn’t have been difficult to kill all the Republic’s heroes and turn them into the CEO’s vassals right away, but Rachel couldn’t do that.

She couldn’t interfere with the grand vision the President was painting.

But that day would come.

The day when their great President would rise as the true ruler of the continent.

She and everyone in the company would offer themselves as his blade and spare nothing for that moment.