Though she was just a little girl, she sported the same red wavy hair as the Grand Commander.
Yet, she bore none of the demon traits—no horns, no wings, no tail. She showed no sign of being anything other than a normal human, unmodified in any way…
That made sense.
Since this was the boss of a Hero Company, it wouldn’t be logical to hire a freak, right?
So, this little girl was probably some distant relative of the Grand Commander or something like that…
Clara guessed this, but the young company president had already come up to her, placing a hand on Clara’s flat chest, and loudly declared:
“Then let me introduce myself. My name is Celesia. Surname confidential! Age confidential! None of that matters to you livestock!
What you need to know is that under my command, money won’t be an issue. My goal in running this company is simple—to create a well-known Hero IP!”
The red-haired little girl calling herself Celesia spoke with the bravado of a nouveau riche, then reached out and pressed her hand against Clara’s chest… even pinched twice…
“I will make the name ‘Magical Girl Clara’ resonate throughout Central City, spread across the world, becoming the true top-tier hero! Until we achieve that, whether we make money or not is secondary. Livestock, if you have promotional ideas, go ahead. The budget is ample~”
Calling her employees “livestock,” huh?
That hardly sounded like the boss of a Hero Company, but oddly enough, it fit the company’s style perfectly…
Compared to villain companies breeding freaks, Hero Companies do treat their employees like cattle—but none would say it outright like Celesia did. At least she was honest about it before starting work.
The three employees clapped in unison at the boss’s speech.
Celesia’s words were clearly aimed at Lucia. After all, Clara and Fran both knew what kind of company Dream Witch was.
However, fame and hero rank were two different things. While related, they were not the same.
The boss had said “top-tier hero,” not “special-class hero.”
For example, the recently popular “Sigma Series” could be called “top-tier,” but their hero rank was only quasi A Rank. The Azure Cavalry among them was punished by the Association alongside Kamui due to the failure to recover the “Malfunctioning Experiment NIX-1,” both being downgraded to B+ Rank.
In other words, becoming a “top-tier” hero was easier than becoming “special-class.”
Still, if Clara wanted to confront Fran’s father’s killer—the “Mechanical Angel”—she’d likely need to aim for “special-class.”
“Well then, let’s head back to our offices!”
Celesia said this while still standing with her hands on her hips, chest puffed out slightly.
“But don’t let your brains rest while you’re tidying up! Our first action after opening the company is to plan a sufficiently sensational debut battle… Answer me, livestock! What do we need to prepare for this?”
“Oh, an action plan?”
Fran’s answer made Celesia shake her head.
“Hire fighters?”
Clara’s reply earned her two sharp pinches from Celesia.
“We’re a Hero Company!”
“We need enemies, right?”
Lucia’s answer satisfied Celesia.
“Exactly! Heroes need enemies. Generally, newly established Hero Companies target evil organizations. Since our goal is ‘special-class hero,’ we have to make enemies with the number one organization from the start… So, keep an eye on ‘Nitemare’s’ movements!”
“But boss, Nitemare ranks third in Central City’s power list, right? The top is Daxiu—”
“No, no, no. Only Nitemare is the strongest evil organization!”
Celesia cut off Lucia loudly, raising her gaze to stare at her.
“Miss Lucia, don’t trust those media entertainment rankings… Only ‘Nitemare’ deserves to be our opponent, understand?”
Celesia’s attitude left Lucia a little confused but she nodded anyway.
“Alright, dismissed! Let’s tidy up the company first!”
The hostile force chosen by Dream Witch Staffing Agency was the third strongest evil organization in Central City—Nitemare.
Celesia had said so to arrange for the freaks in Nitemare’s enforcement division to provide training opponents for Magical Girl Clara, helping her level up for hero rank evaluation by the Hero Association…
Everyone except Lucia was well aware of this.
Fran occupied a corner of the garden square as her lab, introducing many advanced devices there to better study the Nyx Driver.
Lucia, the company’s only intern, took up a big pair of scissors and began trimming the wildly overgrown plants.
So Clara was alone, organizing things in the pavilion office, feeling a little lonely…
“Hey! Livestock!”
At that moment, Celesia came running over with her arms crossed to greet her.
“Ce-Celesia-sama?”
Though she was a little kid, Clara was also a kid of similar height, so she couldn’t look down on the small brat before her. Plus, since this person was now her boss, she naturally forced a smile to curry favor.
Celesia circled behind her, her restless hands wandering over Clara’s abdomen, touching the two sensitive scars there, causing Clara to involuntarily squirm.
Clara gritted her teeth, the sensation feeling oddly familiar.
Celesia whispered in Clara’s ear:
“The base left behind by the ‘Natural Order’ is perfectly fine as a private garden, right? That organization wanted to open a new era led by plants. Too bad they were wiped out in the process by those annoying low-level heroes~”
“Ugh, um…”
But the little hands intensified their teasing, making Clara let out a shy chuckle. She didn’t dare resist her boss, only curling up, blushing, and pleading:
“Celesia-sama, please don’t do that…”
“Ha~ I heard you used to be an old man, but you’re way too cute! If I were a man… no, gender doesn’t matter, I’d gobble you up right now!”
She opened her mouth, teeth like little fangs nipping at Clara’s neck.
“Ahh?!”
Clara felt a sharp sting, but Celesia released her, leaving two prominent red marks on her fair neck.
“Work time isn’t for eating. Let’s get down to business~”
She let go and watched Clara, legs weak, leaning on the table and gasping.
“Hey, about ‘Magical Girl Clara,’ don’t you think we need more promotional channels?”
Clara wiped her neck and asked in return:
“Um, aren’t we going to boost stats later?”
“That’s not enough. Even if we arrange for Nitemare’s enforcement division to throw fake matches to boost credentials, if it doesn’t catch public attention, it won’t create buzz or increase popularity… So, we need more promotional methods.”
Seeing the young president’s implication, Clara asked:
“Do you have any ideas?”
“I looked through the HR department’s materials…”
Celesia leaned close to Clara again.
Her breath brushed against Clara’s sensitive ear as she asked:
“You can draw manga, right?”