I said to Toos with a smile.
"You, this choice could make you a hero, or it could bring you death. Or you could just keep living an ordinary life."
There was one more option here — becoming a villain. But I didn't ntion that choice.
"What do you an by that?"
"Will you keep living as you are? Or will you take the challenge? Choose."
At my words, Toos looked bewildered and asked again.
"Am I eting the devil right now? Do I have to give you my soul?"
"I don't need a soul or anything. I'm talking about resolve. I do a lot of things. If you co under , I'm saying you might die."
"I don't know what you'll have do, but I get the gist. But why ?"
"I know you. At work, a man with great responsibility. To your family, a caring father. The downside is you sotis gamble too hard."
Toos frowned and said,
"Did you investigate ?"
"There's almost no information on Earth I don't know."
"I see. You're reminding again who exactly I'm sitting across from."
Sure enough, the image I'd built up made persuasion quick.
"This last gamble failed, so how about trying one more ti?"
Toos thought for a mont, took another drink, and set the glass down hard enough to make a tak sound.
"Fine! I'll sell you my soul!"
"I told you I don't need souls."
I raised my hand and snapped my fingers. Then the secretary sitting at the table in front stood and made a call sowhere.
"Your debts are gone now. And you must have gone through a lot, so take your family on a trip. Your daughter will love it."
I pulled out premium tickets that included the Disneyland Hotel and plane tickets from my coat and handed them over.
"Thanks."
Toos didn't refuse and put them in his coat.
"And this is my card. When the trip's over, don't contact right away. Rest at ho for three days to recover, then call ."
"Got it."
"Now it's your turn, Phineas Mason. You go by 'Tinkerer,' right?"
"Yes, I'm absolutely in. Working with my role model is a dream co true."
The Tinkerer seed to respect excessively, so recruitnt wasn't hard.
"From now on I'll call you 'Tinkerer.' And you've got so debt too from buying parts."
I snapped my fingers again and the secretary made another call.
"Your debt's gone too. And this is support funds, so use it for a while."
I handed the Tinkerer a stack of bills.
"And you should lose so weight. Stamina is essential for the work, so I'll assign you a personal trainer."
The Tinkerer's face darkened, not wanting to lose weight.
"Understood."
With recruitnt done, I sent the two ho. The Tinkerer lived in a bad neighborhood, so I had people assigned to protect him.
[Master, the Gundam model is complete.]
"Got it. Prep it for transport along with the arm and shield debris. And contact Japan."
[Understood.]
Now, drones and equipnt in the underground lab do everything automatically, so if I just provide the blueprints, building is quick. I set up a fully automated system — bring the materials and it can make anything.
I teleported to the New York house. Natasha happened to be drying her hair after a shower.
"Natasha."
"What?"
"I need to take the Gundam model to Japan. So, what do you think about a trip to Korea and Japan?"
"Work being involved bothers , but we're both busy, so it can't be helped. Alright."
The Gundam was large, so it had to go by large cargo ship. I got the ship moving ahead of ti and prepared for the trip with Natasha. A few secretaries and bodyguards ca along too. I'm too recognizable to just go — it'd cause trouble.
And so we boarded the private jet with Natasha, the secretaries, and bodyguards and departed for Japan. On the plane, Natasha spoke with a serious expression.
"Jin, I have sothing to say."
"Hm? What is it?"
"I can't have children."
Natasha was from the Red Room, where they sterilize you after training ends so pregnancy won't interfere with missions.
"I know. That the Red Room does sterilization after graduation."
"What? You knew?"
"Yeah. Didn't I say? If it's connected to the internet, I can know any information."
Natasha looked dumbfounded.
"Wow... I was seriously wondering when to tell you, and that was all for nothing. Damn it, I feel like an idiot."
"It can be fixed. Tell if you want to."
Natasha was shocked again and asked,
"Is that true?"
"Yeah. Don't underestimate our lab's biotech."
I could actually fix it imdiately with [Reality Alteration].
"What, you were already thinking about marriage?"
"No, it's not that. I just figured it's better to say this early so you don't get hurt later."
Natasha's face turned red, and she tried to hide it by turning toward the window. But turning toward the window where light was coming in only made her flushed face more visible. She was kind of cute, actually.
Japan was far, so we enjoyed the in-flight al and killed ti until we arrived at Tokyo International Airport, where a huge crowd was there to greet us. As I was about to get off, a military band started playing and the Minister of Culture ca over personally and put a flower lei around my neck. Flustered, Natasha got one too.
"Welco, Jin. We welco you to Japan. And this is Black Widow. Nice to et you."
"Nice to et you."
"Pleased to et you."
"Oh~ You speak Japanese well."
"I learned from a Japanese friend."
I do have a friend nad Satou Kazuma.
"I see. Let's go. We've prepared a welco ceremony."
"You really didn't have to go this far."
It was honestly overwhelming. Why are they doing this? Natasha looked at a loss too.
"No, no. You're donating sothing precious to us. Please don't feel burdened. Now, this way∼."
We followed the Minister of Culture's guidance and moved on. The secretaries and bodyguards took care of the luggage. Entering the airport building, a massive crowd waved Japanese flags and scread loud enough to hurt our ears.
"Kyaa~! Jin-sama!!"
"Wow~! It's Black Widow!"
I had no choice but to wave. Natasha gave an awkward smile and waved too. Surrounded by countless cheers and cara flashes, we left the airport and rode the vehicle Japan prepared to the event venue. I stayed quiet in the car, so Natasha nudged and said,
"Jin! Say sothing. This isn't the trip I imagined."
"I didn't think it'd be like this either."
"When does the ship with the Gundam arrive?"
"Tomorrow."
"Then we can't do anything until tomorrow?"
"Co on... surely not that bad."
That "surely" was wrong. At the venue we watched videos of Gundam's history and its New York exploits, and listened to an orchestra play the First Gundam OST "Fly! Gundam." Finally, the Minister of Culture gave a plaque of appreciation, and the event ended.
If only it ended there. There was a luncheon with the Pri Minister, then a TV appearance, and only after that could we get to the hotel Japan prepared. Natasha was exhausted and flopped onto the bed without showering, falling asleep imdiately. I had no choice but to use [Life Magic] on sleeping Natasha so she could sleep cleanly.
The next day, after a signing event, we moved to Odaiba Port where the ship carrying the Gundam would arrive. We listened to the Pri Minister's speech, and when the ship arrived, a military band perford. Then, under security so tight it looked like a military operation, the Gundam transfer began.
'You crazy bastards, stop it!' I wanted to scream that, but I swallowed it over and over. Natasha couldn't take it anymore and used the excuse that she felt unwell to return to the hotel. In the end, I watched the entire process alone.
The transfer finished and the Gundam model was installed in Odaiba. It was huge, so I thought it'd take days, but the park layout was already finished and Japan had planned the transport ticulously, so it was done in a day.
They removed the covering that had been put on to prevent damage during transport. The model, recreated about 98% identically on the island, looked so realistic — like it had actually taken damage in battle and stopped functioning.
Seeing that, people couldn't take their eyes off it. Looking around, so were crying and sobbing.
"You did well, Gundam!"
"The pride of Japan!"
The Pri Minister of Japan, the Minister of Culture, the Governor of Tokyo, Yoshiyuki Tomino, , and so people I didn't know lined up on both sides in front of the Gundam for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Then elentary-school-aged children ca with flower bouquets, placed them at the monunt installed in front of the Gundam, and took a group photo. That wrapped everything up.
Wow! It's finally over.
Without [Strong Spirit], I don't think I would've held up. At that mont, soone approached from behind. I turned and saw Yoshiyuki Tomino, the father of Gundam.
"Jin, thank you for building the Gundam."
"Not at all. I'm a fan too."
We shook hands. Then countless cara flashes went off, hurting my eyes. After the event ended and I got to the hotel, Natasha was showering and seed to be sleeping in bed. I used [Life Magic] and quietly got in beside her and slept. The ntal fatigue was no joke.
I should rank up [Strong Spirit] or sothing...
The next day, we could finally start a real trip.
"Don't call for stuff like this again."
"I honestly didn't imagine it either."
I took the grumbling Natasha to Asakusa Senso-ji to see the temple, rode a rickshaw, went to a maid café in Akihabara and had her say "moe moe kyun." Seeing that, Natasha chuckled and her mood seed to lighten.
"Now this feels like a trip."
"Right?"
We ran around all day having fun, and when evening ca we checked into a hot spring hotel on the outskirts of Tokyo.
"Wow~ The view here is amazing."
The hotel was on slightly high ground, so the view was incredible. Each room had its own private open-air bath, so you could enjoy the scenery and the hot spring without going anywhere.
We were late, so we ate the dinner the hotel prepared first. It was an expensive hotel, so the food was upscale and satisfying. After a delicious al and a rest, we went back to the room to enjoy the hot spring.
I took off my clothes, wrapped a towel around myself, took a quick shower, and went into the open-air bath in the room. A bit later Natasha ca in, naked. If she were East Asian she might have been shy and worn a towel, but being Western, she didn't.
Natasha's body was definitely toned from training — less soft like average won, more elastic. The muscle wasn't excessive; it was just right and beautifully placed. Her chest was quite large for soone who works out.
"Wow! You're beautiful."
"Fell for ?"
There was one flaw — a large scar on her left side where a bullet had grazed her. Natasha saw my eyes on the scar and was about to talk about how she got it.
"Ah! This is..."
"Get in the bath first and tell . You'll be cold standing there."
"Okay."
Natasha slowly got into the hot spring.
"It's hot."
"That's the charm of a hot spring. Co sit down."
Natasha settled in next to .
"Ah~ This lts the fatigue right off. I could get addicted."
"Right?"
Natasha got used to the heat and started talking about the scar on her side.
"This scar is from a mission three years ago. I got fired from SHIELD not just because of the island incident, but failing that mission three years ago played a part."
"The Winter Soldier got you."
Natasha looked surprised at my words.
"You knew?"
"Yeah."
"Phew... I can't hide anything from you. Then do you know about the Winter Soldier?"
Natasha wanted revenge, or maybe to pass info to SHIELD — I wasn't sure — but she asked about the Winter Soldier.
"I do."
"Tell ."
"No. The timing's not right. If I say it, a lot of people will get killed or hurt. Don't tell anyone I know this either. And in a few years, you'll know even if you don't want to."
"More weird talk again."
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