Decision

10 minutes ago, in the conference room where the deal was presented.

With her arms folded, Helena leaned back on her chair and looked at all the hubbub around her. The room had completely changed since that moment when Al had arrived. The long table in the middle had been removed, replaced by multiple smaller ones on which computers had been set up to monitor the odyssey.

She and a few others were seated at one corner of the room to study everything going on. On the wall in front of them, a projector screen had been set up that was still blank, even though it had been supposed to go live a few minutes ago.

Her father always said that she was an open book. Displeased about the way things were going, her lips were pursed and her eyes were slightly squinted, and as if noticing the displeasure bubbling up inside her, the bald man beside her said, "it'll be ready in a moment, ma'am. You know the government… this happens with almost every odyssey that they aren't orchestrating, themselves!"

She turned to him coolly, and he began to sweat.

"Oh, it's alright… it's not like this is a really high-value project, anyway. The moment my sister decided to bring in that amateur, the valuation of this thing dropped like a rock in water. Let's get some snacks in while we wait!"

Helena glared at her sister. She had always been a thorn in her side, perhaps since even the moment she had been born. She was about to open her mouth to say something scathing, but one of the engineers in front of her raised his hand and shouted, "We've gotten approval! Going live in five, four…"

"Finally."

Putting her hands on her legs, she slightly bent forward, even though if she was being honest, she wasn't expecting all that much, too. When she had been brought this proposal, she had considered all kinds of people, but for some reason, her gut had kept telling her that none of them could be comparable to this boy that she had met in such a strange way on the road.

Business was all about following one's instincts, and seeing where they led them. So far, hers had been right most of the time, so she decided to go with them even though she could tell that the executives of her advertising company were also as doubtful as her sister, albeit not nearly as vocal about it.

When an image appeared in the projector screen, she nodded appreciatively at the outfit that Al had chosen. Knowing how much was too much was a skill that was oft absent in many of the heroes and villains she had seen recently, and she was glad to see that that was not the case with him, at least.

It seemed that the announcement had just ended, as all three of those present in the room were bending over the suitcase and studying the divine tools given to them.

"Why are we even activating it now? From the way I see it, those arrogant assistants will fight with this guy for a day, at least. Do we need to see their constant bickering? Just turn it off, and we'll go home… we can come back if anything exciting—"

Her sister froze, midsentence, as everyone in the room saw the flute picked up, and used.

The silence was in such contrast to the bustling sounds that had filled the room until now that it made the moment all the more memorable. It seemed as if time, itself, had stopped as they all watched the assistants fall to the floor, unconscious, and the villain walk to the wardrobe with a clear purpose in mind.

When he emerged with those clown masks… she understood his purpose right away and burst out laughing.

That broke the spell. She saw the manager beside them smile out of the corner of her eye, and on the other side, she could tell that her sister was glaring.

The manager seemed as if he was about to say something when the villain stepped away from the two assistants and rested his hands as if happy with a job well done, but he fell silent when they saw Al raise his hand and tap his forehead.

"Interrupt the introduction reel and broadcast this scene, live! Begin from where we watched it!"

"But, sir, didn't you say that we should wait to see how he would perform before going live—"

"JUST DO IT!"

The manager's scream sent the engineer who had made the announcement before scurrying. Helena's smile broadened as he raised his hand again a moment later and said, "We're live!" just as they saw Al wave his hand as if he was addressing an invisible audience and begin speaking.

When he was done, only the sound of heavy breathing could be heard in the room. His last few words even seemed to be echoing endlessly, and finally, it was the manager who mumbled under his breath to break the hush.

"B-but… we're not even ready to produce these things on a large scale! How are people supposed to look for them in shops, then?"

She ignored him, as the familiar excitement of finding an excellent business opportunity was coursing through her mind. She made the decision in barely a moment; as she got up, almost the entire room turned to her, and after clapping her hands to get the attention of the rest, she announced, "This is what we're going to do! First, double… no, triple the budget we've allotted for this odyssey. I want advertisements about it up in every damn channel! Next, create a landing page for these divine tools. I know we were going to hold off on such things until we gauged the reaction from this advertising odyssey… but things have changed! Lastly, deploy an army on all social media websites to talk about what just happened here! I want the entire Internet abuzz in an hour from now! What are you all staring at? Time is money, folks! Move, move, move!"

The 30 people around her snapped into action a moment after she was done, and she felt displeased about wasting even that second. As she turned, she saw the manager who had clearly had his doubts before smiling happily like a child given a present.

"Ma'am… you're just incredible! How did you know that he would be so good?"

"Isn't it obvious? She didn't! If she did, she would have done all these things before seeing his stunt. I think you're hoping too much, sweet sister. Just keep watching… this was probably just a one-off thing; he'll be boring the rest of the time. It's going to be great to see all that money go down the drain… and perhaps, then, father will be more open to considering giving some of your responsibilities to me."

Normally, such a blatant remark would have elicited a round of bickering between the two of them. But right now, all she felt was a clarity that she didn't want to waste on this regretfully toxic member of her family.

She nodded and sat down… but it didn't feel like it was enough. After pondering on it for a few moments, though, she shrugged and remembered the age-old adage that her father had told her before giving her this job.

"Without taking risks, no one, much less a businessman, can reap rewards."

Turning to the manager again, she cleared her throat and said, "Contact the heroes. We're throwing out the scripted plan of the odyssey. Tell them to just do their best to win."

Her words made the manager's smile drop. A second later, he sputtered, "B-b-but… they're some of the best budding heroes in the industry! What if they stomp all over this newbie? If they follow the plan we made, he might at least have a chance!"

Her sister broke into a crackle, making a few glance back.

"Hahaha! You really think that he's skilled enough to win without being helped? Or, this is rich, sister, this is really rich!"

She ignored her, knowing that it was one of the things she detested the most. She just held the gaze of the manager, and when he wiped the sweat on his brow and nodded, finally, she watched him walk forward to carry out her command with a smile.

Sitting back down, she patted the chair beside her and looked at her sister who was already glowering.

With a wide grin, she said, "No, take a seat, Melina. Let's watch together whether I finally make that misstep you've been looking forward to like a hawk perched on my shoulders. Oh, yes, let's get those snacks in, too! One way or another… this is going to be fun."