I Picked up a Corrupted Heroine (The Secret Boss), and When I Spoiled Her, She Became Uncontrollably Affectionate With Me - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Witch of the End Makes Up Her Mind

“Haa… back to work starting today…”

I mutter while eating the breakfast Ria made for me.

“Do your best…! If it gets too hard, tell me anytime, okay?”

“Thanks. Ria, you can do whatever you want until I get home. I’ll leave some money.”

“I see… Thank you.”

Ria looked a little lonely, then asked,

“By the way… what time will you be back?”

“Hm? I usually get back pretty late, around after midnight.”

“…Huh?”

Ria froze completely, like she had turned into a statue.

“Um… does your shift start in the afternoon or something…?”

“No? It starts at eight in the morning.”

“…”

Ria bit her lip, then suddenly stood up.

“…I’m going to your workplace to slam your resignation letter on their desk.”

“Ria!?”

“Because that’s crazy! If you live like that, you won’t have time for anything except work! You won’t even get enough sleep…”

“Hey, calm down. I know it’s bad too, but… there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“…Nothing you can do? If it’s about money, I can figure something out in the worst case.”

A ten-year-old girl saying that would normally sound ridiculous, but since it’s Ria, she might actually bring back a ton of money, which is scary.

“Thanks. But it’s not about money… If I don’t do it, the Adventurer Guild won’t be able to function.”

“So that’s what you mean… I understand.”

Ria thought for a moment, then nodded reluctantly.

Good, she understood.

—

“Haaah… I don’t feel like working at all…”

I let out a deep sigh in front of a huge pile of documents.

“Vice Guild Master, it’s the start of the week, but please do your best.”

The one who said that was the female staff member, Mina.

“Yeah… I’ll try. But aren’t there more request forms than usual?”

“Let’s see… just yesterday we got about 2000…”

“2000!? That’s like one and a half times the normal amount…”

“It seems monsters have been increasing lately, so extermination requests are coming in from all over.”

This is gonna take forever.

One of my jobs is to check the request forms. I have to make sure the content isn’t criminal, the reward is fair, the client isn’t shady, and so on.

We can’t let adventurers get involved in crimes or scams.

“Then please handle 1000 of them for now.”

Mina dropped a thick stack of papers on my desk with a thud.

“I’ve been thinking this for a while… can’t we get rid of the rule that needs the Vice Guild Master or Guild Master’s stamp for approval?”

“Impossible. The main headquarters won’t allow it. So… please do your best.”

“Ugh…”

I reluctantly started stamping the mountain of request forms.

“By the way… Vice Guild Master, did something happen on your day off?”

Mina stared at me closely and tilted her head.

“Huh?”

“You seem a lot more energetic than usual today.”

“No way… must be your imagination…”

Maybe… I’m getting energy from Ria?

I feel like I heard something in my previous life about how kids give energy to the people around them.

“Wait, don’t tell me— you have a girlfriend now!?”

“Wha!? How did you jump to that!?”

“Because you were acting super suspicious! So spring has finally come for our Vice Guild Master…!”

“No, I don’t have a girlfriend—”

“Come on, don’t be shy~”

Mina grinned and kept teasing me.

Ugh… so annoying. She’s not my girlfriend at all…

“I’m serious. I swear to god, I don’t have a girlfriend!”

“Ehh? Then why are you so energetic today?”

“Well… it’s… complicated.”

“Hmm…?”

Mina stared at me with suspicious eyes.

I knew she loved gossip about romance, but I didn’t expect her to be this annoying about it.

“Anyway, just work quietly! If you keep saying weird stuff, I’ll cut your pay using my Vice Guild Master authority.”

“Yeees~ You’re so boring, Vice Guild Master.”

I sighed after hearing her half-hearted reply.

I absolutely cannot let Mina find out about Ria…

—

“I’m so tired…”

I walked along the dark street with no streetlights and let out a small sigh.

In the end, other work came up too, and I only headed home at one in the morning.

I acted tough in front of Ria, but I really want to quit this job…

“Anyway… Ria is probably already asleep by now.”

I quietly opened the door when I got home.

Of course, all the lights in the house were off.

“Good, she’s sleeping properly…”

I felt relieved and flipped the switch on the magic lamp, then—

“…Suu… Suu…”

—Ria was asleep, slumped over the desk.

Did she… stay up waiting for me?

“…Thank you.”

I couldn’t just leave her like that, so I gently put my arm around her waist and lifted her up in a princess carry.

Then I slowly carried her to the bed—

“Mm… huh… Asta…?”

But right before I laid her down, Ria woke up.

“Ah… R-Ria… good morning.”

“Asta… you finally came home. Working until the middle of the night like this…”

Ria grabbed my sleeve tightly and looked up at me with eyes full of worry.

“Sorry… it’s part of the job.”

“…I see.”

Ria thought about something for a while, then—

“—I’ve decided.”

She suddenly whispered.

“Huh? What’s wrong…?”

“…It’s nothing. But… since you came home so late, will you stay next to me until I fall asleep?”

Ria looked up at me with lonely eyes.

“…Okay. Just until you fall asleep, alright?”

“Yes…! Yay…!”

I laid Ria down on the bed and sat beside her.

She reached out and held my hand.

“…Asta’s hand… it’s really warm.”

“R-really?”

“Yes… it’s warmer than anyone’s… it makes me feel safe.”

Ria stared at my hand for a while, then smiled softly with a little “fufu.”

Before long, her eyes closed and I could hear her peaceful breathing.

“…She’s asleep.”

When I tried to leave the bedroom,

“—I’ll definitely make Asta happy.”

Even though she should have been sleeping, I thought I heard Ria say that.

—

And then, a few days later — something unexpected happened.