I said to Toomes with a smile.
"You, this choice could make you a hero, or it could bring you death. Or you could just keep living an ordinary life."
There was one more option here β becoming a villain. But I didn't mention that choice.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Will you keep living as you are? Or will you take the challenge? Choose."
At my words, Toomes looked bewildered and asked again.
"Am I meeting the devil right now? Do I have to give you my soul?"
"I don't need a soul or anything. I'm talking about resolve. I do a lot of things. If you come under me, I'm saying you might die."
"I don't know what you'll have me do, but I get the gist. But why me?"
"I know you. At work, a man with great responsibility. To your family, a caring father. The downside is you sometimes gamble too hard."
Toomes frowned and said,
"Did you investigate me?"
"There's almost no information on Earth I don't know."
"I see. You're reminding me again who exactly I'm sitting across from."
Sure enough, the image I'd built up made persuasion quick.
"This last gamble failed, so how about trying one more time?"
Toomes thought for a moment, took another drink, and set the glass down hard enough to make a tak sound.
"Fine! I'll sell you my soul!"
"I told you I don't need souls."
I raised my hand and snapped my fingers. Then the secretary sitting at the table in front stood and made a call somewhere.
"Your debts are gone now. And you must have gone through a lot, so take your family on a trip. Your daughter will love it."
I pulled out premium tickets that included the Disneyland Hotel and plane tickets from my coat and handed them over.
"Thanks."
Toomes didn't refuse and put them in his coat.
"And this is my card. When the trip's over, don't contact me right away. Rest at home for three days to recover, then call me."
"Got it."
"Now it's your turn, Phineas Mason. You go by 'Tinkerer,' right?"
"Yes, I'm absolutely in. Working with my role model is a dream come true."
The Tinkerer seemed to respect me excessively, so recruitment wasn't hard.
"From now on I'll call you 'Tinkerer.' And you've got some debt too from buying parts."
I snapped my fingers again and the secretary made another call.
"Your debt's gone too. And this is support funds, so use it for a while."
I handed the Tinkerer a stack of bills.
"And you should lose some weight. Stamina is essential for the work, so I'll assign you a personal trainer."
The Tinkerer's face darkened, not wanting to lose weight.
"Understood."
With recruitment done, I sent the two home. The Tinkerer lived in a bad neighborhood, so I had people assigned to protect him.
[Master, the Gundam model is complete.]
"Got it. Prep it for transport along with the arm and shield debris. And contact Japan."
[Understood.]
Now, drones and equipment in the underground lab do everything automatically, so if I just provide the blueprints, building is quick. I set up a fully automated system β bring the materials and it can make anything.
I teleported to the New York house. Natasha happened to be drying her hair after a shower.
"Natasha."
"What?"
"I need to take the Gundam model to Japan. So, what do you think about a trip to Korea and Japan?"
"Work being involved bothers me, but we're both busy, so it can't be helped. Alright."
The Gundam was large, so it had to go by large cargo ship. I got the ship moving ahead of time and prepared for the trip with Natasha. A few secretaries and bodyguards came along too. I'm too recognizable to just go β it'd cause trouble.
And so we boarded the private jet with Natasha, the secretaries, and bodyguards and departed for Japan. On the plane, Natasha spoke with a serious expression.
"Jin, I have something to say."
"Hm? What is it?"
"I can't have children."
Natasha was from the Red Room, where they sterilize you after training ends so pregnancy won't interfere with missions.
"I know. That the Red Room does sterilization after graduation."
"What? You knew?"
"Yeah. Didn't I say? If it's connected to the internet, I can know any information."
Natasha looked dumbfounded.
"Wow... I was seriously wondering when to tell you, and that was all for nothing. Damn it, I feel like an idiot."
"It can be fixed. Tell me if you want to."
Natasha was shocked again and asked,
"Is that true?"
"Yeah. Don't underestimate our lab's biotech."
I could actually fix it immediately with [Reality Alteration].
"What, you were already thinking about marriage?"
"No, it's not that. I just figured it's better to say this early so you don't get hurt later."
Natasha's face turned red, and she tried to hide it by turning toward the window. But turning toward the window where light was coming in only made her flushed face more visible. She was kind of cute, actually.
Japan was far, so we enjoyed the in-flight meal and killed time until we arrived at Tokyo International Airport, where a huge crowd was there to greet us. As I was about to get off, a military band started playing and the Minister of Culture came over personally and put a flower lei around my neck. Flustered, Natasha got one too.
"Welcome, Jin. We welcome you to Japan. And this is Black Widow. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you."
"Pleased to meet you."
"Oh~ You speak Japanese well."
"I learned from a Japanese friend."
I do have a friend named Satou Kazuma.
"I see. Let's go. We've prepared a welcome ceremony."
"You really didn't have to go this far."
It was honestly overwhelming. Why are they doing this? Natasha looked at a loss too.
"No, no. You're donating something precious to us. Please don't feel burdened. Now, this wayβΌ."
We followed the Minister of Culture's guidance and moved on. The secretaries and bodyguards took care of the luggage. Entering the airport building, a massive crowd waved Japanese flags and screamed loud enough to hurt our ears.
"Kyaa~! Jin-sama!!"
"Wow~! It's Black Widow!"
I had no choice but to wave. Natasha gave an awkward smile and waved too. Surrounded by countless cheers and camera flashes, we left the airport and rode the vehicle Japan prepared to the event venue. I stayed quiet in the car, so Natasha nudged me and said,
"Jin! Say something. This isn't the trip I imagined."
"I didn't think it'd be like this either."
"When does the ship with the Gundam arrive?"
"Tomorrow."
"Then we can't do anything until tomorrow?"
"Come on... surely not that bad."
That "surely" was wrong. At the venue we watched videos of Gundam's history and its New York exploits, and listened to an orchestra play the First Gundam OST "Fly! Gundam." Finally, the Minister of Culture gave me a plaque of appreciation, and the event ended.
If only it ended there. There was a luncheon with the Prime Minister, then a TV appearance, and only after that could we get to the hotel Japan prepared. Natasha was exhausted and flopped onto the bed without showering, falling asleep immediately. I had no choice but to use [Life Magic] on sleeping Natasha so she could sleep cleanly.
The next day, after a signing event, we moved to Odaiba Port where the ship carrying the Gundam would arrive. We listened to the Prime Minister's speech, and when the ship arrived, a military band performed. Then, under security so tight it looked like a military operation, the Gundam transfer began.
'You crazy bastards, stop it!' I wanted to scream that, but I swallowed it over and over. Natasha couldn't take it anymore and used the excuse that she felt unwell to return to the hotel. In the end, I watched the entire process alone.
The transfer finished and the Gundam model was installed in Odaiba. It was huge, so I thought it'd take days, but the park layout was already finished and Japan had planned the transport meticulously, so it was done in a day.
They removed the covering that had been put on to prevent damage during transport. The model, recreated about 98% identically on the island, looked so realistic β like it had actually taken damage in battle and stopped functioning.
Seeing that, people couldn't take their eyes off it. Looking around, some were crying and sobbing.
"You did well, Gundam!"
"The pride of Japan!"
The Prime Minister of Japan, the Minister of Culture, the Governor of Tokyo, Yoshiyuki Tomino, me, and some people I didn't know lined up on both sides in front of the Gundam for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Then elementary-school-aged children came with flower bouquets, placed them at the monument installed in front of the Gundam, and took a group photo. That wrapped everything up.
Wow! It's finally over.
Without [Strong Spirit], I don't think I would've held up. At that moment, someone approached me from behind. I turned and saw Yoshiyuki Tomino, the father of Gundam.
"Jin, thank you for building the Gundam."
"Not at all. I'm a fan too."
We shook hands. Then countless camera flashes went off, hurting my eyes. After the event ended and I got to the hotel, Natasha was showering and seemed to be sleeping in bed. I used [Life Magic] and quietly got in beside her and slept. The mental fatigue was no joke.
I should rank up [Strong Spirit] or something...
The next day, we could finally start a real trip.
"Don't call me for stuff like this again."
"I honestly didn't imagine it either."
I took the grumbling Natasha to Asakusa Senso-ji to see the temple, rode a rickshaw, went to a maid cafΓ© in Akihabara and had her say "moe moe kyun." Seeing that, Natasha chuckled and her mood seemed to lighten.
"Now this feels like a trip."
"Right?"
We ran around all day having fun, and when evening came we checked into a hot spring hotel on the outskirts of Tokyo.
"Wow~ The view here is amazing."
The hotel was on slightly high ground, so the view was incredible. Each room had its own private open-air bath, so you could enjoy the scenery and the hot spring without going anywhere.
We were late, so we ate the dinner the hotel prepared first. It was an expensive hotel, so the food was upscale and satisfying. After a delicious meal and a rest, we went back to the room to enjoy the hot spring.
I took off my clothes, wrapped a towel around myself, took a quick shower, and went into the open-air bath in the room. A bit later Natasha came in, naked. If she were East Asian she might have been shy and worn a towel, but being Western, she didn't.
Natasha's body was definitely toned from training β less soft like average women, more elastic. The muscle wasn't excessive; it was just right and beautifully placed. Her chest was quite large for someone who works out.
"Wow! You're beautiful."
"Fell for me?"
There was one flaw β a large scar on her left side where a bullet had grazed her. Natasha saw my eyes on the scar and was about to talk about how she got it.
"Ah! This is..."
"Get in the bath first and tell me. You'll be cold standing there."
"Okay."
Natasha slowly got into the hot spring.
"It's hot."
"That's the charm of a hot spring. Come sit down."
Natasha settled in next to me.
"Ah~ This melts the fatigue right off. I could get addicted."
"Right?"
Natasha got used to the heat and started talking about the scar on her side.
"This scar is from a mission three years ago. I got fired from SHIELD not just because of the island incident, but failing that mission three years ago played a part."
"The Winter Soldier got you."
Natasha looked surprised at my words.
"You knew?"
"Yeah."
"Phew... I can't hide anything from you. Then do you know about the Winter Soldier?"
Natasha wanted revenge, or maybe to pass info to SHIELD β I wasn't sure β but she asked about the Winter Soldier.
"I do."
"Tell me."
"No. The timing's not right. If I say it, a lot of people will get killed or hurt. Don't tell anyone I know this either. And in a few years, you'll know even if you don't want to."
"More weird talk again."