"I told you it was a joke! There's no such thing."
"How about you tell the truth and show us the Gundam now?"
Tony persistently asked. I sent a look asking for help to Rhodey and Pepper, but instead of helping, they were even sending me looks full of expectation.
"Jin, look at this."
Tony showed a picture from an internet map on his phone. My island was on the map, and the island's name was listed as Gundam Island.
"Wow~ crazy..."
"Witness accounts are coming out now too."
"Sigh... I don't know where you heard such strange rumors, but I was busy making ships, I didn't have time to make something like that."
"Really? It's really not there?"
"Yes."
"Damn it..."
Tony took a $10 bill from his wallet and gave it to Rhodey, who accepted it with a smile. It seemed they had even made a bet about the Gundam.
"Jin, what is this?"
Pepper asked me, holding a foldable smartphone.
"That is a foldable smartphone, but it's still undergoing durability testing. Miss Pepper, please don't talk about this anywhere. It will be our company's flagship product."
"Wow~ amazing. The screen folds."
Pepper kept folding and unfolding it, seemingly fascinated. Since it's 2010 now, it makes sense to be amazed by a foldable smartphone.
"That's the kind of place this research facility is."
Tony was looking at an automatically moving vacuum cleaner.
"Jin, give me one of these too. It looks super convenient."
"That's also an unreleased product, there's only one... I'll send you one when it launches. For today, be satisfied with the drone."
Under my guidance, we toured around the research lab and then moved to the comprehensive resort ship 'Lakshmi' on a small flying boat.
"It's huge."
Rhodey exclaimed, impressed by the overwhelming size of the 'Lakshmi'. We looked around the 'Lakshmi'. It took a lot of time to build, designed by me and Nano to be quite luxuriously decorated.
"Here's the theater, and over there ahead is the swimming pool. And if you go a little further, there's a hospital and a pharmacy."
"Wow~ A beautiful small town is inside a ship."
Pepper admired, looking around the beautiful ship interior. We moved to the bridge while sightseeing. The bridge was made of glass all around for easy viewing of the surroundings. Though only sea is visible now.
"Lakshmi."
[Yes, Master]
"Is it operational now?"
[No system abnormalities. It is operational at any time.]
"Let's start the test."
"We're going to operate it today?"
"Yeah, I got all the permits in time for you guys coming. Lakshmi, let's depart."
[Yes, Master.]
The Lakshmi vibrated slightly and began to rise into the sky. Then everyone made surprised expressions. Since it was before the helicarrier was made, they couldn't help but be surprised.
"Gasp! This thing goes into the sky?"
"Yeah, it's a ship that sails the skies. That's why I made it in secret without telling anyone, but those hearing committee jerks ruined everything."
Hearing that, Rhodey sighed and said.
"That's just how politicians are."
"Yeah! Wait a sec."
I brought over a captain's hat that was hanging in the back.
"Anyone want to steer for a bit?"
When I held up the hat, Tony quickly approached and snatched it.
"Hoho, first come, first served. I am Captain Sparrow! Men, jump off the ship, and women, take off your panties~!"
As Tony put on the hat and talked nonsense, Rhodey immediately snatched the hat from behind.
"This is something an Air Force Lieutenant Colonel should test fly, Tony."
"This isn't the military!"
Tony and Rhodey grabbed the hat and pulled at it from each other. It was exactly like kindergarten kids trying to take a toy from each other. Unable to bear it, Pepper sighed and said something.
"Really... men... Just, rock-paper-scissors, please?"
"Okay, let's do rock-paper-scissors."
"Great! One round."
In the end, Rhodey won and took the wheel. Tony made a sullen face and watched from the side as I taught him how to drive.
"So this increases speed and the wheel is for direction changes, right?"
"Yes, and the screen next to it is radar and satellite maps."
"Rhodey, if it's too hard, why not hand it over to me?"
Tony seemed very regretful he couldn't drive first, as he kept teasing from the side. Then Rhodey also said something in response.
"What, this is a piece of cake."
After a while, Rhodey had fun driving and then handed the wheel to Tony, who drove like crazy, testing some limit.
"Tony! Tony!!! This isn't a racing car!!!"
When Pepper, frightened and gripping the safety bar tightly, shouted, only then did he slow down.
"Wow~ I didn't know it could turn at this speed."
He really didn't know.
"Things like this, you have to step on it to get a good feel."
Hearing Tony's crazy words, everyone sighed. Thus, we returned to the island, ate lunch with inventory-brand random lunch boxes, and Tony, Rhodey, and Pepper prepared to leave.
"Jin, had fun today. The food was good too, let's hang out again next time."
"Tony, wait a moment."
I handed Tony a silver box.
"What's this?"
When Tony opened the silver box, there were several syringes inside.
"Jin, is this medicine?"
"Ah, it's not anything weird like that, it's a palladium poisoning alleviant. Lithium dioxide, if you take it, the symptoms will ease."
"Oh! Thank you."
"But it's not really good for the body. It's like fighting poison with poison. Don't use it recklessly, use it once in a while when it's dangerous."
"Got it. I guess I made one good friend. I'll buy you a drink next time."
I made it with Nano's help to have good effects and fewer side effects. It's probably much more effective than what Nick Fury would give.
The next day, the whole world went crazy over the ultra-luxury cruise ship navigating the skies. There were recruitment ads for crew and an explanatory session at the Stark Expo. The price was set at a level somewhat burdensome for commoners, but still affordable for a single overseas trip, and it was advertised as providing good views and services for the rich. It offered a very attractive trip where you could go to the Arctic and Antarctic in one go, so reservation inquiries flooded in.
I also paid a lot of attention to security. On Rhodey's recommendation, I hired skilled retired soldiers as security personnel, and crew members were also carefully selected, filtering out anyone with even a hint of something shady. Among those filtered out were strange guys from HYDRA, SHIELD, Ten Rings, etc., but they couldn't escape Minerva's intelligence network.
[Master, an invitation to the F1 Grand Prix has arrived from Mr. Tony Stark.]
"Understood."
It seemed the main story of Iron Man 2 was finally progressing.
[And there's a contact from Miss Natasha at the New York house saying she's looking for the Chairman.]
"Oh? Why is she looking for me? Is something up?"
I teleported to New York immediately. Going out of the room, Natasha was again in a suit, sitting in the waiting room drinking coffee.
"What brings you here today? I'm busy with the cruise ship."
Natasha hesitated and then spoke.
"Well... I got fired. I guess the higher-ups held me responsible because the damage was too great this time. The Director tried to cover it up somehow, but there was no way. My face is all over the country too."
"Oh ho~ Excellent. Miss Natasha, I will hire you as my secretary and bodyguard."
"Really? Without even a single doubt?"
"Since I advertised the Baby Shark upgrade version to the Director, such a thing won't happen."
"That's a relief. Thanks for trusting me. I had nowhere to go. My face is out there, so no one would hire me. And the Director asked me to deliver this."
The sealed letter said, 'I entrust Natasha to you for the time being. There is no trick.'
"Now~ try saying 'Chairman Jin'."
"Grr, damn it... Jin... Chairman!"
Natasha, trained as a spy, usually doesn't show emotion, but perhaps because she had been messed with by me a lot and now didn't need to hide her feelings, she said 'Chairman Jin' with an expression that seemed to be swallowing humiliation, her lips tightly shut.
"Haha, if it's difficult, you can get used to it slowly. And do you have accommodation?"
"I do have... but it's in another city."
Thinking about it, in a few years it will be 'Avengers 1' and New York will be a mess. I don't care, but the company people would be in danger, so I had to move.
"Please wait a moment."
I went into the room and took out a few bundles of $100 bills from my inventory.
"Your first task is shopping and vacation. Let's go shopping with me."
"Suddenly, what are we going to buy?"
"First, let's go buy clothes."
I called my secretary and bodyguard and moved with Natasha to a store selling luxury clothing, and I said to Natasha.
"Buy dresses you want to wear, not as a spy."
"Why are you suddenly buying me dresses?"
"Because I attend many events and parties, so I need a lot of such clothes."
"I see. So I can buy expensive ones, right?"
"No problem."
Natasha picked out five outfits.
"Aren't there more clothes you like?"
"I think this much is a lot already..."
Natasha said she would buy expensive things, but perhaps seeing the prices here, she got scared instead and couldn't bring herself to pick many.
"Who do you think I am? Pick out everything you like. If there's nothing else you like here, we'll move to another place."
Thus, we bought ten more outfits, shoes, bags, accessories, etc. Since the clothes needed to be made or adjusted for size, we decided to have them sent to the house later.
"Now that you have roughly what you need for parties, let's go buy comfortable clothes. The suits will be made bulletproof, so that takes time."
"Is it okay to spend money so lavishly like this?"
"Who is the richest person in this world?"
"...You."
"You know well. Then let's go."
We went to a sportswear store and bought sportswear, sneakers, etc., and came out. Now there was no room left in the car.
"Let's stop here for today and go home. And for accommodation, I'll book you a nearby hotel."
"Okay."
"Oh right, do you have weapons?"
"No, not a single one. I returned everything when I left."
"Do you mainly use a Glock 26?"
"Yeah."
"Understood. And this is living expenses for the time being. Use the card for large sums."
I put the bundles of money and a card into a luxury bag and handed it to Natasha. After arriving home, I stored everything except a few items Natasha needed immediately in my room. Then I drove her to the hotel.
"In a few days, we're going to watch the F1 Grand Prix. Until then, I'll send a secretary to you, so go sightseeing in New York together. There are many interesting shows and plays to see, so there will be plenty to watch. And I might be busy and not see you until before the Grand Prix. If any problem arises, you can contact me."
"Okay."
I returned home again and told my secretaries to look for high-end residential properties near New York. A mansion large enough for the secretaries and bodyguards to live in too.
Several days passed like that, and I traveled by private jet with Natasha to watch the F1 Grand Prix held in Monaco.
"Did you enjoy your vacation?"
"Yeah, I watched plays and several shows. I also ate a lot of delicious food. Honestly, it made me feel pathetic. Wondering if I've been too consumed by work."
"Didn't the Director give you vacations?"
"He did give them. I spent them training at home, cleaning, doing laundry, and if there was nothing to do, just sleeping more than watching TV, that was it."
"I see. Then I'll give you vacations often, so go out and have fun with the secretaries often."
If you were to pick the most pitifully dead person in the MCU, Natasha would definitely be on the list. Because she grew up as a spy from a young age, only did such work even as an adult, and had no family. That's why she was someone who called the Avengers team, i.e., her coworkers, her family. When she was in SHIELD secretly spying on me, I didn't pay much attention, but since she came to me, she was my person, so I wanted Natasha to enjoy life.
"And how is the suit you're wearing now? It's made of special Kevlar material, so it might be a bit heavy, but is there any discomfort?"
"No discomfort. But this blocks up to AK bullets, you say?"
"It does block them. But it'll hurt a lot. And this is a weapon."
When I placed a bag on the table, Natasha opened it, took out the Glock, checked it by loading it and pulling the slide.
"Seems a bit different from the one I used."
"The barrel is made of a special metal for durability and precision, and the functions are slightly modified. Since it's almost identical to the existing Glock, I think there will be no problem operating it. Is that not the case?"
"No, the weight is the same and the balance seems good."
"And these are auxiliary weapons."
I showed various equipment that could only be seen in spy movies like 007, starting from knives, tasers, special wires almost invisible to the human eye, etc.
"Oh~ lots of usable stuff."
"If you're not sure how to use something, refer to the manual. And if you need more weapons, let me know."
"Okay."
"And I'll speak comfortably now too. Since you're my secretary and bodyguard."
"Sure."
"And lastly, the combat suit. Basic bulletproof performance with enhanced breathability and body temperature maintenance function, so you can operate in cold places too. Not sure if you'll like the design though."
When I showed a large bag, Natasha opened it and took out the suit to check.
"Not bad."
"There's also a vehicle, but that takes time to make, so let's see that next time."
Chatting about this and that with Natasha, we soon arrived in Monaco, went to the hotel to unpack, and enjoyed sightseeing around Monaco with Natasha.
The next day, we moved to the party venue where the Grand Prix VIPs gathered, with Natasha in a beautiful dress, and Tony and Pepper were greeting various people.
"Hey~ Tony."
"Oh~ Jin! You came? Is the beautiful lady next to you your girlfriend?"
"Yeah, she's my girlfriend."
To avoid troublesome questions, I just introduced her as my girlfriend. Natasha didn't say anything either.
"Wow! That's amazing news. I honestly thought you were a eunuch."
"What! I like women too. It's just that I'm not the type to sleep with anyone like you."
"Hello. Miss, I'm Tony Stark, Jin's friend."
"Nice to meet you. Mr. Tony Stark, I'm Natasha Romanoff."
Tony stared intently at Natasha's face.
"Hmm... Miss Natasha, haven't we met before? Your face seems familiar..."
"Ahaha, must be your imagination."
He did see her in the video from the hearing. Some time had passed, and she appeared in the video without makeup and with a scowling face, so he probably couldn't recognize her.
"Miss Pepper, long time no see."
"Nice to see you, Jin."
Then Hammer, the CEO of Tony's rival company seen at the hearing, approached us.
"Tony, good to see you. Oh~ Jin is here too."
Tony showed a slightly displeased look but accepted the greeting.
"Good to see you, Hammer."
"Nice to meet you, Hammer."