Dr. Maya Hansen's trial has finally ended. The investigations took a while, but it was settled with bail, thanks to skilled lawyers and the members' testimonies. However, she'll be under protective supervision for several years.
After the trial, Maya moved into our house to continue her research. I helped by dropping hints now and then. I also had her train in martial arts in the mornings because of the Ten Rings. Since she's stuck in New York for two years under supervision, it didn't seem to matter.
Now, it was time to prepare for Thor 2, 'Thor: The Dark World'. The Aether, the Reality Stone, was sealed by Bor, Odin's father, and I planned to secretly take it and stash it in my inventory. If I did that, the Dark Elves might waste time searching for it and not even fight, making things easy.
So, I had Minerva constantly monitor the strange phenomena occurring in the UK. This was to detect the 'Convergence' early—a phenomenon that happens every 5,000 years where the Nine Realms of Yggdrasil align. Malekith intended to use this to erase all light with the Aether.
To briefly explain the Dark Elves: they're an ancient race that existed before the Big Bang when there was no light, and they long for their heyday of darkness. They draw power from darkness, not light, and sought to use the Aether to plunge the universe into darkness. Bor, Odin's father, stopped them 5,000 years ago.
I was sipping morning coffee in my room, thinking about various things. Since there was still time, I decided to prepare just in case.
"What are you so worried about?"
"You're awake?"
Natasha, who had spent the night with me, rose naked from the bed, stretched, and asked.
"Just thinking about business. Want some coffee?"
"Sure~"
I handed Natasha a cup of coffee. She took a sip and, since business came up, shared her thoughts on the hero business.
"I'm quite supportive of the hero business. If there's a mistake and casualties occur, there should be a system to compensate for it."
"That's true."
"Plus, it's a good venture that lets heroes operate independently without relying on national or corporate support. No one seems to oppose it, and some even enjoy the popularity."
"That's fortunate."
"But it's tiring. Paparazzi follow you everywhere, and there are constant photo and autograph requests. I get the struggles of celebrities now."
Indeed, no one opposed it, but some found it bothersome. Surprisingly, Captain was a bit like that. But knowing the purpose, he didn't outright oppose it. I figured it reminded him of being a propaganda tool for the US military in 'Captain America: The First Avenger'.
After chatting with Natasha and having a meal, I headed to the lab, picked up new smartphones, appliances, some bottles of alcohol, and support funds, then visited Kamar-Taj. It was my regular day to support them. Every time I went, I felt how poor these wizards really were.
"Oh~ Welcome! Cassian."
Wong, as always, greeted me warmly. We shook hands and exchanged greetings.
"Long time no see. Everything alright?"
"Yeah. Actually, after fixing the showers and bathrooms, more people have started living here instead of going home."
"That's good. And here."
I handed the supplies to Wong.
"Oh~ This is the new smartphone they've been advertising! And alcohol too."
"Yeah, the new model just came out, so I'm sharing. And this is the support fund."
"I'll use it well. Thanks as always."
Wong always expressed gratitude. Just then, Mordo and Kaecilius, having finished their training, came over to greet me.
"Mordo, Kaecilius, good to see you."
"Good to see you, Cassian! It's been a while."
"Long time, Cassian."
We shook hands, sat at a table, drank tea, and chatted about various things. As expected, Kaecilius lamented that his magic wasn't improving fast enough, and Mordo and Wong reassured him that he was already progressing quickly and not to be impatient. Seeing this, it seemed Kaecilius wasn't far from becoming a villain.
"By the way, where's the Ancient One?"
"She went to the Hong Kong Sanctum for some business."
"I see. I guess I won't get to see her today."
"Leaving already?"
"Yeah, I'm a bit busy lately. Pass on my regards to the Ancient One."
"Too bad... I was hoping to have a drink together. Anyway, got it. See you next time."
I said goodbye to Wong, Mordo, and Kaecilius and returned to the lab. I'd decided to increase the combat drones to fend off Dark Elves and other alien armies. I planned to make plenty for use in other creations too.
And now, four androids were completed. They all had long, straight black hair, and I paid attention to their figures, keeping their breast size at a modest C-cup to avoid hindering movement. I named them simply: Lara, Ruru, Momo, and Mimi.
They were programmed with the [Kingdom Samurai Swordsmanship] and [Guncata] I learned in Konosuba, and could exert strength and speed beyond enhanced soldiers. I dressed them in bulletproof women's suits for ease of movement, which made them look quite chic.
"Not bad."
"Master, your orders!"
The androids requested commands as I approached. I gave them the tasks I'd planned.
"Lara and Ruru, I'm entrusting you with commanding the lab's drones for defense and management."
"Understood, Master." "Understood, Master."
Lara and Ruru sat at the lab's management computer, exchanging information with Minerva and starting to check the drone status.
"And Momo, come with me to the New York house later and take care of management and protection."
"Understood, Master."
"And Mimi, stand by and then go to the Odyssey to assist with ship protection and help Tinkerer with the heroes' maintenance and repairs."
During the Extremis incident, Tinkerer had to handle all the maintenance and repairs alone, often working through the night due to lack of help. So, I planned to deploy Mimi and additional auxiliary devices. Cleaning was handled by drones connected to the Odyssey, so no issue there.
"Understood, Master."
I armed them with Vibranium katanas and provided pistols. It would be tough for ordinary enemies to defeat them. However, there were drawbacks: made to a believable level in the Marvel universe, they couldn't self-repair and still had stiff personalities and speech, like robots.
"If nanotech becomes available, I'll upgrade them first."
Since they had learning AI, I believed their personalities would improve over time with human interaction.
After finishing at the lab, I returned home with Momo and Mimi. Natasha seemed surprised when I brought two more women.
"Who are they? More enhanced individuals?"
"No, androids. They're the culmination of our company's tech."
"What? They're not human? They look totally real."
Natasha curiously poked and prodded Momo and Mimi's faces.
"Wow... They really do seem authentic..."
Momo warned Natasha when she touched too much.
"Natasha, please stop touching. It could be considered an attack."
"Oh, right..."
Natasha looked slightly flustered by the warning. I decided to introduce them.
"This is Momo; she'll handle management and protection of our house. And next to her is Mimi; she'll assist Tinkerer on the Odyssey with maintenance and repairs."
"I see... It feels weird knowing they're androids, but nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, Natasha." "Nice to meet you, Natasha."
Natasha seemed to sense an oddity seeing the androids greet simultaneously.
"They really aren't human..."
"And keep this a secret; treat them like people when others are around."
"Got it. This is impressive. Gundams and androids—next thing you know, Terminators will show up."
Natasha joked, but I had actually considered making Terminators, but held back due to the negative image.
Momo began syncing with the house's security systems while surveying the place, and Mimi moved to the Odyssey to exchange information with the ship's AI.
"Who is this?"
Tinkerer made a surprised face upon seeing Mimi.
"This is Mimi; she'll assist with maintenance and repairs and protect the Odyssey interior."
"Ah~ I see! I've been struggling alone, so having a beauty like this is great."
Tinkerer smiled brightly at Mimi. It was amusing how they reacted since the androids were attractive.
"Be careful. If you try anything weird with Mimi, you might end up dead by her hands."
"Ah... Understood, Chairman."
I gave Momo an empty room in the house as quarters, and provided Mimi with a room inside the Odyssey. With the auxiliary devices and Mimi's support, Tinkerer probably wouldn't have to pull all-nighters anymore.
While making drones and running the hero business, time passed until Minerva reported suspicious phenomena likely linked to the Convergence. Finally, 'Thor: The Dark World' was beginning.
I teleported to the anomaly site on the outskirts of London. It was an area with abandoned buildings, and Jane and Darcy weren't there yet. I seemed to have arrived first. I moved to where Jane went in the original, entering the spatial distortion.
Inside, the Aether glowed between the cracks of a massive square pillar. As I approached, it tried to envelop me, but I used [Telekinesis] to block and compress it, turning it into the Reality Stone.
[(EX) Reality Stone] (World Affinity)A stone formed from condensed elemental crystals after the Big BangManipulates reality focused on matter
With this, I had collected two Infinity Stones. I stored the Reality Stone in my inventory. Then, I returned to the abandoned buildings in the UK. If the Dark Elves wasted time searching for the Aether and missed the Convergence, that would be ideal.
Just then, I saw Darcy, Jane, and a strange man arriving by car. If I'd been any later, things might have gone according to the original.
"Oh! Chairman Cassian! What brings you here?"
"My love, Chairman Cassian~!!!"
Darcy tried to hug me, but I stopped her with one hand. Darcy was still the same.
"This place is dangerous right now. Multiple spaces are tangled up. One wrong move, and you could be flung to another star or universe, never to return."
"We came to investigate that. We haven't seen readings like this since New Mexico."
"I see. But it's risky, so I'd rather you didn't. By the way, who's this?"
When I asked about the man, he introduced himself.
"I'm Ian Boothby, Darcy Lewis's intern. It's an honor to meet a celebrity."
"I see. Nice to meet you."
Darcy was Jane's intern, so an intern with an intern—probably Darcy's trick, so I let it slide.
"Anyway, it's dangerous, so please hold off on investigating. My being here means it's serious. Instead, let me treat you to a good meal."
Despite my strong warning, Jane didn't back down and pleaded.
"Um... Sorry, but... Could we just investigate a little? We haven't seen this phenomenon since New Mexico..."
Really... Jane struck me as the type of female extra in a horror movie who dies first out of curiosity.
"Jane, this is a problem where, if mishandled, unknown viruses or antimatter could come through, endangering all of humanity. I'm asking again, please hold off."
"Sigh... Alright."
So, Jane, Darcy, and Ian-the-intern got back in the car. I contacted Murder Poker Bro to report the anomaly. For crowd control, there was no organization like SHIELD. Fortunately, they agreed to support immediately.
I waited on Talaria for SHIELD to arrive. I gave snacks to Jane's group, who still seemed reluctant, and after about four hours of waiting in the car, playing games, I saw many soldiers and SHIELD agents approaching. Murder Poker Bro came with them.
"Long time no see, Murder Poker Bro. Didn't expect you to come personally."
"For crying out loud... Isn't it time to stop with that Murder Poker stuff? Anyway, we're investigating this abandoned building now, so brief me."
"For some reason, space is warped, and gravity's a mess. Some areas connect to other places. I found out by chance. So, be careful. One mistake, and you might never come back."
"I see."
Murder Poker Bro informed the SHIELD agents of various precautions and started securing the area.
"And about that 'Odyssey' you made. Can we order one too?"
"So that's why you came personally."
"Yeah. Request from above."
As expected, HYDRA coveted my ship. That's why I planned to show the Odyssey only after HYDRA was dealt with.
I pretended to think it over.
"Hmm... Alright! But it'll take about two years, is that okay?"
"Two years is fine. I'll count on it."
"You know, no tech leaks."
"Don't worry."
I had a reason for agreeing: to make it seem like I didn't know about HYDRA yet. Plus, in two years, SHIELD would be gone due to HYDRA, so no worries.
"Well, I'm busy, so I'll head out. And next time, call me Director."
"Murder Poker Bro! Take care."
I emphasized calling him Murder Poker Bro. It had stuck, and I didn't want to use another title.
"This is insane..."
Murder Poker Bro grumbled as he left. As promised, I went to treat Jane's group to a meal, but only Darcy and Ian were there.
"Huh? Where did Jane go?"
Darcy hesitated, then told the truth.
"Well... you see... I tried to stop her, but..."