BJ Villainess

Ozworld felt a sense of fatigue for the first time in a long while.

“So, what is the extent of the damage?”

There was a hint of irritation in his voice. Even that was enough to make the pressure on the other person feel immense.

The board of directors of Ozworld Company, still unaccustomed to their blond-haired employer, sweated profusely. It was understandable. A spy or saboteur of some sort had completely taken down Ozworld Company’s servers and destroyed all confidential documents. Recovery was possible. It was just the cost that was the problem.

“The schedule for the creation of the new channels we were preparing has been pushed back by more than a month.”

“This incident has not only affected us. It is believed to be the work of a group that has been committing crimes against channel managers and companies lately.”

The ineptitude of the board made Ozworld feel even more exhausted. Somewhere along the way, he had started to grow tired of his days in the Pantheon, and now he even questioned his role as a channel manager.

Was it a sort of burnout? It had been a while since that feeling had set in. It was tedious and boring. Despite being in what was supposedly another golden age, writing a new history for the Pantheon, he felt like he was suffocating from an uncharacteristic sense of ennui.

It hadn’t been like this until recently. Why?

Ozworld habitually retraced the problems and sought answers. Then he realized. It had been boring since the day Theresa entered the dungeon and into <God’s Play>.

That was a big problem. Both the Pantheon and <God’s Play> had lost all their appeal. He had been somewhat hopeful about the new channels he was preparing, but now everything had become twisted.

Ozworld suddenly realized how much David’s absence had diminished the quality of his life. If it had been David, he would have had a solution ready and simply reported it in a concise manner.

One of the directors tried to change the mood. “By the way, have you heard the news that the <BJ Villainess> channel will be ranked number one tomorrow?”

“I have.”

“Congratulations, Mr. CEO.”

The directors exchanged trite congratulations.

“Really, the key is how long it can stay at number one.”

“The ranking is by period, but our BJ Villainess channel has climbed to the top without any cumulative performance. No other channel could possibly generate such overwhelming traffic.”

“Still, we shouldn’t be complacent. There are already quite a few similar content channels that are starting to stand out.”

“How about inviting Miss Theresa to the Pantheon to celebrate reaching number one? It would create a huge buzz if she visited for the occasion.”

Ozworld scanned the directors, who kept avoiding discussing solutions and instead went on with their irrelevant talk. They were all disposable trash. It was regrettable. Even if he got rid of all this trash, it would just be replaced with more incompetent trash, so he couldn’t just remove them as he pleased.

Ozworld then asked one of the directors, who was only talking about the <BJ Villainess> channel. “Is there any problem with the dungeon preparations?”

Silence followed. They had deliberately avoided mentioning the issue.

Finally, the most experienced director confessed. “The server attack has delayed the stabilization process, although the construction was already completed a while ago.”

It was as he had expected.

“Finish it by the scheduled date.”

He had no intention of letting it slide.

“Mr. CEO.”

“Didn’t you just say that it’s not important to be number one but to maintain it?”

No one could argue against that.

Ozworld added with a slight sneer. “It seems to me that the directors suggested we need more original content since the number of similar channels is increasing. Am I misremembering?”

“…I apologize.”

“Didn’t I ask you to handle things well so I wouldn’t feel David’s absence?” Ozworld’s tone was smooth as he expressed his displeasure at their incompetence. “It’s quite absurd that you still haven’t located David. I thought you would have found him by now.”

“That is…”

“I’ll take the lead for a while.”

Ozworld was the CEO but had not interfered much with the company’s operations. Usually, he made major decisions, and the rest was left to the discretion of the executives. And since that exact moment, the performance of Ozworld Company has declined.

Had it not been for Ozworld’s decision to expand into the romance genre, a new golden age like this would have been unthinkable. So, no one could object to him wanting to get more involved in managing the company. The directors internally thought, ‘We’re doomed.’

Ozworld was indeed capable. But his methods were so aggressive that, while they attracted many fans, they also garnered a lot of resentment. For a while, the media had bombarded him with criticism, and the anti-fans had been rampant.

The directors, foreseeing the effort needed to calm public opinion, accepted their fate and spoke up. “We’ll prepare accordingly.”

Ozworld simply nodded and left the conference room. Then, suppressed sighs erupted all around.

* * *

The news that Theresa had cleared the dungeon with the emperor spread quickly throughout the capital. The rumor that the emperor had entered the dungeon during the summer ball was unstoppable, and a shadow of plague loomed over the empire. Thus, the imperial family had to quickly announce that Euges had returned safely to stabilize the situation. Although, there was another motive behind it…

“The dungeon that was cleared is a type that tests the love of respectable parents. The criteria include parenting, marital harmony, and reputation. His Majesty has perfectly fulfilled his role despite it being his first dungeon entry and has safely returned to us…”

It sounded like a public speech that should have been met with cheers of ‘hooray.’ However, the key point was not that the emperor had safely cleared his first dungeon. It was that the emperor and Theresa had entered the dungeon together as a ‘couple’ and that clearing the dungeon proved they had performed their roles as a couple well.

Raul was utterly shocked. “Has His Majesty truly gone mad?”

The content of the special report spread to the capital nobility and press agencies was clear.

Theresa and I were a couple. Even if it was just a role in the dungeon, we matched well, and that fact was proven by clearing the dungeon safely.

That’s what he wanted to say. He brazenly broadcast his dark desires for Theresa.

Raul had a bad feeling from the start. The emperor usually treated people like insects and had no interest unless it was his own business. He had sensed that this trouble would eventually arise ever since the man behaved differently towards Theresa.

Raul quickly turned the carriage around before the mad emperor could snatch his naïve or indifferent daughter in a moment of oversight. “I’ll enter the imperial palace immediately.”

* * *

Euges felt a sense of comfort that came from familiarity when he received perfect service for the first time in a while. The courtiers, who stayed by his side as if they didn’t exist and moved like hands and feet without needing separate instructions, made him quite satisfied.

“Well done.” Thus, he gave a compliment, something he usually never did.

The courtiers were startled by Euges, who acted like someone who had lost something precious due to familiarity but then found it again.  The shock from the emperor’s trip to the dungeon must have been tremendous. Then, they quickly corrected themselves. No, upon further thought, even if Euges found the perfect service suddenly admirable, he wasn’t one to go out of his way to give compliments. They guessed that the one who caused this change was undoubtedly the beautiful princess drowning in countless signatures in the private parlor right next to the emperor’s bedroom.

Just as the emperor finished changing his clothes, there was a knock.

“Your Majesty, Aide Jeffrey requests an audience.”

“Come in.”

The door opened, and Jeffrey, holding a report, entered the bedroom. “As you ordered, Lady Theresa’s dungeon report will be featured as a special news article. And here are the contracts signed by Miss Theresa.”

Theresa, who had accompanied the emperor to the dungeon, not only had to write a report on the incident as usual but also sign all sorts of confirmation documents. But that wasn’t all. Theresa was also scheduled to deal with various dungeon experts to ensure there were no loopholes in her report. Although this was unnecessary, Euges devised a plan to keep Theresa from leaving the imperial palace. As a result, Theresa was expected to be unable to leave the imperial palace for several days.