Alcohol.

Leaving aside it’s applications in medicine, chemistry and the industry in general, alcoholic drinks are a fundamental part of society. The beer for parties and relaxing after a long period of work, the wine for a romantic date or a nice dinner at a restaurant, the whiskey for meeting between old friends, the vodka to let loose and get wild, the rum to drown your sorrows.

Alcohol, it could be say, is the grease for society interactions.

This is also true for meeting new people and causing a good impression. Usually, to have a business conversation, there are a few unspoken rules that one must follow in order to cause a good first impression. The tricky part is that, while some people will appreciate the gesture of offering them a drink, others will see it as an act of impoliteness.

Of course, Lawrence was aware of this, if only vaguely so.

After all, one of the pros of having a lot of free time was being able to waste it studying useless stuff like the correct drinking customs just to look cooler.

His thought over the matter was that the girl sitting in front of him was one of the former. She didn’t struck him as the uptight type, and to be honest, he could use a bit of alcohol in his system, seeing how he had to keep up the ‘high and mighty’ charade.

“Care for a drink?” He offered a glass of mint liquor, a popular with young girls, and placed it above the coffee table standing between them.

Caterpillar Girl said nothing, but took a sip of the glass. She seemed to like it, as she took another sip… and another…

And gulped down the whole glass in one go.

No, that’s not how you do this kind of things!

Lawrence sighed. She had been definitively living on the streets for a long time…

“First than anything, to talk with someone without even knowing their name is exhausting. So, allow me to introduce myself: My name is Lawrence. Lawrence Lakewood.”

“Mika es Ella.”

“The wha… Mikaella, huh…” Weird name. Too long for his taste. He would mentally call her Mika. It was easier to remember. It also reminded him of tangerines, for some reason, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on that last one.

“Very well, Mika… Ella.” Oops, I slipped up there… Wait, again?! “You know, I really dislike wasting my time, so I’ll go straight to the point with you…”

A silence of expectation follows, and Lawrence internally grins at how well his act is going so far.

“That is: are you interested in becoming my minion? Or rather, you have no choice but to do so. And so, welcome to the team.”

…

……

………

“Eh?”

“As for your living accommodations, I assume you were living on the streets so far. As useful for information gathering as that could be, having you work in such conditions is a no-no…”

“Eh, wait, what?”

“And so, I could give you a payment in advance so you rent a hotel room… No, that would be too troublesome. Who knows what kind of mess you’d get into, after all… Well then, maybe a safehouse? No, too expensive…”

“Hey, wait a minute!” The girl– Mika, jumped out of her seat and frantically waved her hands in an attempt to stop the conversation that had deviated to such point. “What do you mean minion?! Who is going to work with you?! No, in the first place, you’re not even asking for a co-working deal?!”

“Hmmm?”

Lawrence was so into thinking of a way to solve her lodging problem that he completely missed her protests.

“Oh? You have any complaints?”

“No? I mean, yes!”

“That I bad after all. Unhappy subordinates are a sign of a failed boss. Well then, let’s hear you out.”

“No, to begin with, who told you I was accepting to become your subordinate?!”

So that’s what it is… Well, I didn’t expect her to just be happy with this. Of course she would protest… Or rather, thinking that she wouldn’t is waay to optimistic. Even so, I have countermeasures for that as well.

“Are you deaf? I said ‘you have no choice’. Do I look like the type that would say something like that on no basis?”

“You mean because you spared me a time in jail? So what! I could have escaped anytime I wanted— !!!”

She isn’t exactly smart, is she? I see, so her meta-ability is something that allows her to break free from a normal jail whenever she wants… So maybe a teleportation ability? No, it can also be a super-strength ability… Maybe getting to thin? Or becoming invisible? Whatever it is, that sure is handy. More reasons not to let her go…

“I-I’m very important, after all!”

You do know your eyes are twitching, right? Also, try to at least look straight at someone when you’re telling a lie! And what’s with the sweaty hands…?

Maybe I shouldn’t put her in an important position, after all…

“You can drop your act.” Look who’s talking tough… “Why do you think I lent you a hand? I can make use of your power, that’s why.”

“You knew?!”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“What does it look like?”

Nice dodge!

“…”

“And so, with that out of the table…”

“Wait!”

“Seriously? You are too persistent… Or rather, that is a good trait. What do you want?”

“I still haven’t seen any reasons why I should join you. Forget about ‘minion’!”

Lawrence sighed, poured himself another glass of liquor and drank it with pleasure.

Calm down me! Don’t panic!

Honestly, he thought she would have accepted by now. It was time to improvise.

“The fact that I know your secret. The fact that you owe me. And the fact that I am, by any means, better than you in terms of leadership. These alone should convince you. Even in case you found an association to be a waste, you simply can’t refuse my offer.”

“What if I escape right now?!”

“Then why haven’t you?”

“…!!!”

He smiled. He was starting to see the winning route.

“Tell me, why haven’t you run away by now even if you could since the moment you woke up?”

“That’s…”

“I’ll tell you why. It’s because you can’t. Sure, you could run for a bit. But deep down, you know that you can’t hide, at least not for me.”

Aaand that’s quite the load of smoke I’m blowing up there…

“Moreover, whether you like it or not, you know that associating with another villain in the early stages of the game is the smartest thing to do. And also, you see the potential in siding up with me. That’s why you haven’t run away yet, Mikaella. You can’t, and you don’t want to. Because staying and following this through is the smartest, most beneficial choice… And not doing so will bring you trouble.”

…Someohow, I feel like my mouth’s spitting smoke like a Gatling…

“…”

“So I’ll say it once again: You have no choice. And so, welcome to the team.”

“Wait.”

“Hmmm?”

Shit, if even with this she’s still not convinced… what the hell am I going to do?

“The opposite is also true, isn’t it? You need me, that’s why you’re insisting so much. Isn’t that right?”

Ahhh… so that’s it…

For the first time since the beginning of the conversation, Lawrence felt relieved. Because this time, he could give her an honest answer without mixing any deceiving into this.

“Need you you say. I’m afraid to tell you that’s not true. Needing you? Why do you think you’re here in the first place? It’s because of my own skills. It was I who brought you here. That is true. But that also means I could summon anyone else that I see fit.”

Not that I really get to choose.

“…?!”

“So no, Mikaella. I don’t need you.”

“…Then why do you keep insisting?”

“Why…”

That was also true. Why was he going through all this trouble for someone that was so easy to replace?

Well, that part, he knew, if only for a bit.

“We are both fellow Villains. I felt a sense of comradeship.”

It was a foreign feeling, like something that was inherited to him from something bigger. If he had to guess, it was the Root making sure they had a higher chance of success. But that didn’t matter. He felt it, and that was all there was to it.

“…Understood.”

“Hmm?”

“I’ll join you. Temporarily, that is! If I don’t get lots of cookies, I’m out!”

Cookies. Are you serious…? No, well, I guess she’s still a weird girl at her core.

“Lots of cookies. Check.”

“And a castle.”

“Castle…? Nevermind, check.”

“And—”

“Hold your horses, it’ll all come in its due time. You have to prove your value first. Understood?”

“… Aye aye, chief.”

Chief? I wonder what the insides of her head look like.

“Well, then…”

Lawrence extended his hand, in a gesture of acknowledgement of their future relationship.

“Mikaella. You will from this day on obey my orders with your life. I, in exchange, will make that life of yours truly worth to live. Do you agree to these terms?”

“I do.” And so she extended her hand as well and…

Gave him a secret greeting?

“Clap, clap, fist, fingers twinkle, fist…”

“O-Okay, that’s enough. I see you’re determined. That’s good… Yeah. Ahem, well then, go upstairs and get some sleep. We’ll determine what to do with you from there.”

“Right.”

And so, Mika departed.

Lawrence was left alone in the living room that had been witness of this newly forged alliance. Siting in the throne-like armchair, he pondered. About the steps he would take from now, about his goals, and about the way he would approach them.

It was at that moment that he remembered something, and then he slammed his cheeks. How could he forget it?! And so, extended his hand and whispers a word.

“[Status!]”

-----

Villain: Lawrence Lakewood

[ Status ]

Rank: D (You’re a zero to the left)

(10) Quests before rank-up

Reputation: None (Your mom barely recognizes you)

Feature Points: 0 (Do you even have a place to drop dead?)

[ Meta-Ability ]

Criminal Mastermind: Every time you do anything a teeny tiny chance you’ll trigger a chain of events that will help you on the long run

[ Features ]

No unlocked features at the time (Get to work, you lazy fatso)

[ Quests ]

– Welcome to the Dark Side:

It’s fun with the baddies! You don’t buy it? Try and see!

Goal: Perform your first morally incorrect action (1/1)

Reward: Free Feature Voucher

This Quest is completed. Claim Reward?

– The Badder, the Merrier:

What’s better than a cool villain? A cool villain and his cool sidekicks! So what are you waiting for? Get one for you, too!

Goal: Obtain your first minion (1/1)

Reward: 10 Feature Points

This Quest is completed. Claim Reward?

– First Stain:

Fear! Respect! Appreciation! And more fear! When a villain’s deeds grow famous, so does the villain’s name! And who doesn’t want to see people flicker at the sole mention of his name? And so, it is your turn to make this meek neighborhood to know your name!

Goal: Make your name grow famous around the local area (1%)

Reward: Free Feature Voucher

-----

“I’d forgotten! Wow, so two out of three Quests huh…”

According to his Meta Society Study classes, Quests were a mechanism for the Root to check on metas and stimulate their growth. By doing something that benefits your faction, you are contributing to the Greater Good or the Utmost Evil alike. In exchange, you were given more power, which also allowed you to make greater contributions. It was an ascending spiral.

Of course, there were limits. Having reached a certain point, Quests become harder and harder. No matter how juicy a reward, if you can’t obtain it, there’s no point on it.

To sum it up in a phrase, metas had logarithmic growth.

Even so, by the time you hit the Quest completion cap, you had enough power to outdo a battalion of regular trained men, so it was still a force to be reckoned.

A Quest gave you Feature Points. Feature Points could be used to ‘purchase’ a Feature, which worked as an extension of an ability. Though, a Feature didn’t necessarily relate directly to your meta-ability. A good example was the Hero Date to Live, whose meta-ability (also conveniently named Date to Live) summoned fighting spirits (also conveniently in the form of beautiful girls) to fight, according to the official fandom. The Feature he mainly utilized, however, was called Reverse Seal, which temporarily bestowed him with one of his fighting spirit’s combat skills (conveniently done via kissing).

He felt like there were a lot of puns there. But the point was, not an upgrade of your power, but rather a derivation of it.

And while features were assigned randomly, choosing where to focus could determine the difference between a win and a loss.

It was time for Lawrence to take that next step.

And so…

“Claim All Quest Rewards”

---> Congratulations! You did something useful for once. Clap clap clap. Here’s your reward, I hope you keep breaking your legs for the Utmost Evil!

Rewards:

- 10 Feature Points

- Free Feature Voucher

Lawrence’s eyebrows twitched almost unnoticeably.

“You little…”

Night, the time where the power of evil grows.

At this time, God’s Apostle is being teased.

And, at this time, an alliance is forged.

An alliance that might change the future of the world.