New York.
The most dangerous city in the Marvel Universe, without a doubt.
As the plane slowly landed at the airport, the moment the cabin door opened, Rimuru saw a blonde woman in an office-lady suit and a slightly chubby man waiting there.
They were, of course, Tony's assistant Pepper and his bodyguard Happy.
The moment she saw Tony, Pepper's eyes turned red.
Although she tried hard to control herself, the love and relief almost written on her face couldn't be hidden.
Rimuru and Ethan were both very sensible and left the time to Pepper and Tony, choosing not to be third wheels.
Tony: "Your eyes are red. Are you sad for your missing boss?"
Pepper: "Happy! Saves me the trouble of looking for a new job!"
Even though they weren't trying to eavesdrop, Tony's and Pepper's conversation still fell clearly into Rimuru's ears.
Such clumsy excuses… they really were two tsundere people!
It had to be said, the relationship between Tony and Pepper was actually quite interesting.
As a playboy, when the Vanity Fair reporter Christine interviewed Tony, he threw out flirtations and dirty jokes nonstop and quickly got Christine into bed.
But facing Pepper, perhaps because he cared too much, his mouth became clumsy instead, and not a single flirtatious word came out.
And Pepper was even more interesting.
Strictly speaking, she was definitely the protagonist of a female-oriented novel!
If Iron Man were told from Pepper's point of view, the story might be called Iron Man: My Overbearing CEO Loves Me or The Billionaire's Cute Little Assistant Wife.
A working girl who successfully hooked up with her boss, the world's richest man, Tony Stark, and married into a wealthy family.
A classic wish-fulfillment narrative—"inspirational" from every angle!
Pepper: "Who are those two?"
After giving Tony a brief report, Pepper proactively asked about Ethan and Rimuru.
Especially Rimuru, who immediately caught her attention.
Or rather, any woman approaching Tony made Pepper wary.
This was a side effect of Pepper's "comeback"; the status gap between her and Tony was too great, placing her at an absolute disadvantage in the relationship.
Tony could mess around repeatedly, and after he was done, she still had to help "clean up his messes."
As long as Tony restrained himself a little, it was praised as "a prodigal son's return."
Meanwhile, Pepper's room for mistakes was extremely small. Even though she held an extraordinary place in Tony's heart and could even trick him into buying her million-dollar antique paintings as birthday gifts…
Her identity was always just an assistant, nothing more.
Remember Iron Man 2? There was a very interesting plot: Black Widow went undercover at Stark Industries as Pepper's personal assistant.
During that time, Tony—poisoned by palladium—lived a chaotic life, constantly showing his worst side and driving Pepper insane.
Black Widow, under Egghead's orders, observed and assisted Iron Man, which of course meant many flirtatious glances were exchanged with Tony.
Somehow, Pepper found out, and she must have had a million thoughts of "WTF" in her mind.
I hired you as my assistant, and you, this seductive hussy, want to steal my man?
So Pepper exploded, pinning all the recent chaos on Black Widow, implying she was a vixen, and saying that ever since she arrived, Stark Industries had been plagued with problems.
Pepper even planned to fire her.
If the sudden attack hadn't occurred, she probably would have succeeded.
Viewed this way, doesn't Iron Man 2 suddenly feel very different?
Especially Pepper's plotline—it was definitely a battle between the original wife and the mistress: Iron Man: The Fight for Marriage.
But this was human nature.
For Pepper to rise from the bottom, she naturally lacked nothing in beauty, ability, or cunning.
"Pepper, let me introduce you. This is Doctor Ethan. If it weren't for him, you might never have seen me again."
"Hello, Ethan. Thank you so much!"
Pepper reached out to shake Ethan's hand, graceful and sincere.
This was genuine; her fate was bound to Tony's. Ethan saving Tony meant saving everything she had.
"This is Rimuru. She is…"
Tony hesitated, unsure how to introduce Rimuru.
His hesitation made Pepper's heart skip a beat.
What exactly was Rimuru's relationship with Tony?
Light blue hair, delicate features, fair skin, and a petite, adorable figure—all signs of a very lovely girl.
If Rimuru didn't look like an elementary school student, Pepper might have suspected Tony of hitting on her.
And honestly, Tony had too many prior offenses.
Could she be an adopted daughter?!
Being a stepmother was never easy; it was a topic Pepper had never touched—and didn't want to.
If Rimuru really were Tony's adopted daughter, Pepper felt a headache coming just thinking about it, and the world turned gray.
Rimuru's emotional intelligence might not be high, but his perception was exceptional. Instantly, he sensed Pepper's dilemma.
Rimuru quickly said, "Hello, Pepper. Nice to meet you. Tony and I met last night in the kidnappers' cave, and this morning we fought our way out of the lair together. Strictly speaking, I'm also one of Tony's saviors!"
The information in Rimuru's words was too rich. She had only met Tony yesterday, so all the 'messy' possibilities Pepper worried about didn't exist.
He was also Tony's savior.
And facing your boss's savior—what should an assistant do? No need to explain.
If an adult said these words, it might sound like they were seeking a favor.
But who made Rimuru look so "petite"? Children's words are innocent!
Pepper was immediately surprised.
What Rimuru just said didn't sound like something an elementary schooler would say.
But either way, Rimuru's words dispelled many of Pepper's concerns.
Pepper instantly warmed up to Rimuru, and the two started chatting—engaging in a battle of wits that quickly overwhelmed Rimuru.
Oh my god, Pepper's combat power was too high.
Women really were natural strategists. They couldn't be provoked.
Three-dimensional beings were indeed super troublesome!
Inside the luxury car—
Happy, the "invisible man," asked, "Sir, where to?"
Pepper: "Please take us to the hospital."
Tony: "No."
Pepper: "Tony, you have to go. You need a doctor to examine you."
Tony: "There's no 'have to.' I've been locked up for three months. Right now, there are only two things I want: one is to eat a cheeseburger, and the second is—"
Tony hadn't even finished when Pepper cut in, speechless: "Why are you so lustful?"
Tony didn't even blink, clearly used to being misunderstood.
"It's not what you think. I want to hold a press conference."
"A press conference?"
Pepper was stunned. What did he want to announce? Was he really that impatient?
She wanted to object, but the car was already moving, and she could only follow Tony's whims.
Being stuck with a boss like this sometimes made her feel hopeless.