Pepper Potts Asks for Recommendations and Collections

New York.

The most dangerous city in the Marvel Universe, bar none.

A plane slowly landed at the airport. The moment the cabin door opened, Rimuru saw a blonde woman in an OL suit and a somewhat chubby man waiting outside.

They were, naturally, Tony's assistant, Pepper Potts, and his bodyguard, Happy.

The instant Pepper saw Tony, her eyes reddened.

Though she tried hard to restrain herself, the love and surprise practically written all over her face could not be hidden.

Rimuru and Yinsen were both tactful enough to leave Tony and Pepper some time alone rather than act as third wheels.

Tony said, "Your eyes are red. Were you worried about your missing boss?"

Pepper said, "I'm happy. At least I don't have to look for another job!"

Though she had not deliberately eavesdropped, every word of Tony and Pepper's conversation still reached Rimuru's ears.

What clumsy excuses. They really were... two tsunderes.

It had to be said that Tony and Pepper's relationship was actually quite interesting.

Tony was a Playboy. When Christine, a female reporter from Vanity Fair, interviewed him, he spouted flirtatious lines and dirty jokes without pause, quickly getting Christine into bed.

Yet when facing Pepper, perhaps because he cared too much, his tongue became clumsy instead. He could not even manage a single sweet line to flirt with her.

Pepper, on the other hand, was even more interesting.

Strictly speaking, she was absolutely the protagonist of a female-targeted romance novel!

If Pepper were the main point-of-view character, Iron Man's story might have been called Iron Man: The Overbearing CEO Falls in Love with Me or The Billionaire's Adorable Assistant Wife.

A working girl who rose through the ranks, won over her boss—Tony Stark, the richest man in the world—and married into wealth in one leap.

It was the perfect wish-fulfillment novel formula. No matter how one looked at it, it was truly "inspiring"!

Pepper asked, "And these two are?"

After briefly reporting on work to her boss, Pepper took the initiative to ask about Yinsen and Rimuru.

Rimuru in particular drew her attention.

Or rather, Pepper was extremely wary of every member of the opposite sex who got close to Tony.

This was also a side effect of Pepper's "rise to the top." The difference in status between her and Tony was simply too great, placing her at an absolute disadvantage in this relationship.

Tony could fool around again and again, and after he was done, she still had to help him clean up the mess.

As long as Tony reined himself in even a little, it became a case of "a reformed prodigal is worth more than gold."

Pepper's margin for error, meanwhile, was incredibly low. Although her position in Tony's heart was anything but ordinary, and she could even play little tricks to make Tony buy her ancient paintings worth several million Dollars as birthday gifts...

Her identity was still that of an assistant, nothing more.

There was a particularly interesting scene in Iron Man 2. Black Widow went undercover at Stark Industries as Pepper's personal assistant.

During that period, Tony's Palladium Poisoning had thrown his life into chaos. He kept pushing the limits and drove Pepper to the brink of exhaustion.

Under Nick Fury's orders, Black Widow observed and assisted Iron Man, and naturally, there was no shortage of flirtatious glances between her and Tony.

Somehow, Pepper found out about it too. She probably had ten thousand "what the fucks" running through her mind at the time.

I hired you as my assistant, and you shameless bitch actually want to steal my man?

Then Pepper showed her might, pinning all the recent chaos on Black Widow. More or less, she claimed that Black Widow was some kind of seductress, and that ever since she arrived, Stark Industries had been plagued by one problem after another.

Then Pepper planned to fire Black Widow.

If not for the sudden attack, Pepper might really have succeeded.

Looking at it from that angle, didn't the plot of Iron Man 2 suddenly take on a completely different flavor?

Especially Pepper's storyline—it was absolutely the original wife battling the mistress, Iron Man: The War to Save a Marriage.

Still, that was only human nature.

Pepper had managed to rise all the way to where she was. Looks, ability, and tactics were naturally things she did not lack.

"Pepper, let me introduce you. This is Dr. Yinsen. Without him, you might never have seen me again."

"Hello, Dr. Yinsen. Thank you so much!"

Pepper took the initiative to shake Yinsen's hand, poised and gracious.

She meant it sincerely. Her fortunes were tied to Tony's; Yinsen saving Tony was the same as saving everything she had.

"And this is Rimuru. She is..."

Tony fell silent, unable to figure out how to introduce Rimuru for a moment.

Tony's hesitation made Pepper's heart rise and fall with anxiety.

What exactly was the relationship between Rimuru and Tony?

Her aqua-blue hair, delicate features, fair and smooth skin, petite and adorable figure... every detail proclaimed that she was a beautiful, lovely girl.

If Rimuru had not looked like nothing more than an elementary school student, Pepper might even have suspected Tony had made a move on him.

It was no wonder Pepper thought that way—Tony had far too many prior offenses.

Could he be an adopted son?!

Being a stepmother was no easy task. It was a brand-new subject she had never touched upon and had no desire to touch upon.

If he really was an adopted son... Just thinking about it made Pepper's head ache, and her whole world turned gray.

Rimuru's emotional intelligence might not have been high, but his senses were second to none. In an instant, he noticed Pepper's inner turmoil.

Rimuru took the initiative to speak. "Hello, Sister Pepper. It's very nice to meet you. Tony and I met last night in the kidnappers' cave. This morning, we fought our way out of the kidnappers' hideout together. Strictly speaking, I'm Tony's lifesaver too!"

There was simply too much information packed into Rimuru's words. He had only met Tony yesterday, so none of the messy relationships Pepper had been worrying about existed at all.

Besides, he was also Tony's lifesaver...

How should an assistant treat her boss's lifesaver? Surely she did not need to be taught that!

If an ordinary person said something like that, they might be suspected of trying to demand repayment for a favor.

But Rimuru looked so "petite." Children spoke without restraint, after all. Children spoke without restraint!

Hearing Rimuru's words, Pepper was immediately surprised.

What Rimuru had just said did not sound like something an elementary school student could say at all.

But regardless, Rimuru's words did dispel much of the unease in Pepper's heart.

Pepper immediately became much more "enthusiastic" toward Rimuru. The two chatted animatedly, trading barbs, and Rimuru was instantly mortified.

Oh my god, Pepper's combat power was way too fierce.

Women really were born experts at palace intrigue. Could not mess with them, absolutely could not!

The real world really was ridiculously troublesome!

Inside the limousine.

"Translucent" Happy asked, "Sir, where are we going?"

Pepper said, "Please take us to the hospital."

Tony said, "No."

Pepper said, "Tony, you have to go. You need to let a doctor examine your condition."

Tony said, "There's no reason I have to go. I was locked up for three months, and right now I only want to do two things. First, eat a cheeseburger. Second..."

Before Tony could finish, Pepper was speechless. "Why are you so lustful?"

Faced with Pepper's misunderstanding, Tony's expression did not change. Clearly, he was used to being misunderstood.

"Not what you're thinking. I want to hold a press conference."

"A press conference?"

Pepper was utterly astonished. What exactly did he want to say that he could not wait even a moment?

Pepper still wanted to object, but the car had already started moving. She could only let Tony do as he pleased.

Having a boss like this sometimes made her feel utterly hopeless!