I’m Just an Underling of an Evil Organization, but for Some Reason I was Ordered to Honeytrap the He

The actual business of Akkad’s company “Sumer” does is, as he describes, “kind of a security firm, sometimes a temp agency, and the boss and the executives are all in the hero business.”

 

About a week has passed and I’ve walked around the company grounds enough to get used to the place. Recently, I’ve taken to eating my lunches in the green courtyard. 

　

I was also introduced to Akkad’s comrades. 

“Mark Turner. Good to meet you.”

The (provisional) American turned out to be a real American.

He’s big, lengthwise, widthwise, and depthwise, and he’s been setting up the Tactical Unit, which is under Akkad’s direct supervision. 

“Me and Alex go way, way back.”

 

The beautiful red-haired woman also expressionlessly introduced herself for me.

“Evgenia Hofflauer.”

“Everybody calls her Genia,” Mark jumped in.

“I am also one of Sasha’s former colleagues.”

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Her specialty seems to be using her brain waves to attack remotely. 

 

“Isn’t it really tricky handling brain waves?”

“It’s my specialty because I can make judgments quickly without losing focus. I can do even more complex maneuvers.”

She’s a human, but she proudly explained how she was said to be superior to any android. 

 

It seemed Akkad explained pretty much nothing to them about me. 

“Only that you were his fated lover.”

“He said it wouldn’t be good if we succumbed to our prejudices, so we would have to ask the person himself. It’s very true that it’s easy to hate enemy snipers.

 

The two of them started coming over to chat whenever I went to the courtyard.

According to what they were telling me, Akkad had worked himself to death these past two months, setting up a company to search for me.

“Jeez, he really went crazy looking for you.”

“At the time, I thought that even Akkad, the most Kaijin among Kaijin, would die from overwork.”

 

They had planned to start the company on a small scale, but as expected of a celebrity’s popularity, crowds of people gathered under Akkad, and the funds they received kept increasing, so from the very start Akkad ended up managing a company with large-scale operations. 

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On top of that, he had to continue his hero duties, and he also started gathering information about Humbaba’s internal movements. 

 

“The first thing he did with our company was set up the Intelligence Department. That dude’s one dangerous man.”

I wondered why I was being met with such sympathy-filled gazes from these two. 

 

“But to be honest, Sasha started up the company because he was at the end of patience, but it was a godsend for us.”

Genia sighed as she spoke, “It’s because our previous company had absolutely no interest in protecting androids. Here, though, stray androids are even given jobs.”

“Stray androids?”

I’ve never heard that term.

“Like when an android gets unfairly chased out by their masters, or prisoners of war that Humbaba refuses to take back.”

“That’s a violation of the Android Protection laws!”

 

Even though androids are made, we are still a life, so the Android Protection laws were set forth to protect us. Even androids for combat use should be protected from being readily abandoned.

“People who don’t follow the law are all over the place. At Humbaba, even if you forcibly return an android, the android will just end up having an ‘accident’.”

“They say that in our society, the first big purchase you make after you’ve grown up is either a car or an android, but they’re not things that can endure being carelessly replaced like a car can.”

 

I had no idea. Out in the world, the slogan ‘Androids are our partners of the new era!’ is promoted hand in hand with fashionable marketing campaigns designed to provoke the urge to buy. 

 

“The reality of the situation is that they don’t do squat.”

“We want to revise the Android Protection laws.”

There are so many androids that are overworked and abused that they felt the need to rescue them and improve their status.1

“Androids are extremely obedient and they cannot disobey their orders, so it’s easy for humans to escalate their demands. Without anyone complaining, it was hard to notice, even for us. 

 

As I listened to their story, it felt like sediment was accumulating in my veins. I remember the same thing happening to me. I noticed it after I came here, but on top of Humbaba brainwashing us, the information they gave us was censored. Like how they dealt with prisoners of war after a battle. They cleverly kept us away from any of the many problems concerning androids or any negative information at all. 

 

To humans, what’s the difference between an android and a slave? At the end of the day, has there ever been an era when humans haven’t forced their manual labor onto another being?

 

The researchers who had concerns about how Humbaba was handling the androids fled, so Akkad’s company was able to gather specialists from every field, and Akkad and his former colleagues were currently in the process of sorting them out. 

“We’re doing okay, but it really is a pity that Doctor Cho had no choice but to stop his research. He’s even the acting supervisor for the Research Department…”

“They say the speed at which he’s been able to bring his ideas into reality is quite fast. Just calm down, and his research will advance.”

 

“I really didn’t know anything.”

“What did Genia and Mark say to you?”

 

At night, the two of us were laying down together on the bed, and Akkad was combing through my hair as he laid behind me. 

Even without telling him where I went and who I talked to, he always seemed to understand what I’ve been up to. 

 

“They taught me a lot. About the company, about androids…”

 “You don’t need to push yourself to know everything now. Please don’t worry so much that you neglect yourself.”

I haven’t done anything like neglect myself, but he said it in an awfully strong tone of voice. 

 

I turned over in bed and faced Akkad properly. 

“Hey, you’ve really worked hard.”

“What?” Akkad’s eyes popped open wide. I confidently stretched out my arms and buried Akkad’s head into my chest. 

“You worked so hard. I don’t really know anything, but thank you. Because of you, I can stay here and have some peace of mind.”

 

Akkad was speechless. For a long while, he didn’t move, and only the sound of him breathing echoed in the room. And then, his two arms suddenly wrapped around me, and I was hugged very, very tightly. 

 

From my chest to my whole body, I felt a tingling sort of happiness slowly spread through me. 

This has to be what they call ‘affection’. 

 

“I don’t understand why you like me, I haven’t experienced very much at all, but if it’s you, I think I can believe it.” 

While I held him tight, I began to card my fingers through his pitch black hair.  I don’t know what the sun smells like, but I think the sun must smell like him. 

 

I don’t know what the future will hold, but I believe in you. And I’ll believe in myself, too.

 

“I like you. Tosiya.”

I confessed my first words of love softly. Akkad looked up at me with bright, shining eyes. 

 

“Tosiya. I think I’ll have the child.” 2

 

 

AN: In case anyone forgot, Akkad’s real name is Alexandru Tosiya Olsark. 

 

 

TL: A little note on the names: Evgenia is a Russian name, and Akkad’s real name is Czech.

Footnotes

There’s no pronouns or subjects in this sentence so I don’t know if he’s talking about androids themselves or Genia and Mark specifically 産む lit. to give birth to.  I feel like this word doesn’t translate well pragmatically. English usually uses more euphemistic expressions, like “I’ll keep it”, “I’m having a child”, “I’ll carry it to term”, etc. English doesn’t use “to give birth” nearly as much.