Makima, Acquired!

Makima, a woman at the apex of the Chainsaw Man world, in both power and status.

What did the daily life of such a revered figure entail?

Answer: paperwork.

Seven hours.

Shoko sat beside Makima, watching her diligently review documents, from noon till night.

She couldn't understand why a devil would be so dedicated to office work, even staying past closing time, making her human subordinates feel obligated to do the same, forcing them to invent excuses to sneak out of headquarters.

Everyone's just trying to make a living. Why are you being so extra?

Makima, of course, didn't care what her colleagues thought. In fact, she wouldn't have minded if they left on time; she did respect labor laws.

But this gave Shoko a deeper understanding of Makima.

Despite her equal disdain for everyone, Makima was surprisingly conscientious and meticulous with her work. The resettlement measures for disaster areas and the handling of casualties were impeccable. Even if Shoko nitpicked, the only criticism would be that Makima was perhaps too compassionate.

Compensation was always generous. Even when members quit due to the horrors of devil hunting, Makima wouldn't force them to stay, but offered substantial severance packages.

As a devil, she lacked the human tendencies to exploit subordinates or withhold wages. Shoko had to admit, as long as you weren't in Makima's crosshairs, she was a remarkably good boss.

Unfortunately, once you were targeted… well, Aki and Power's fates were quite telling.

"Finished?"

Seeing Makima place the last document onto the finished pile, Shoko asked curiously, "Are you going to fetch tomorrow's paperwork now?"

"No, I'm done."

Makima stood up, put on her coat, and turned to Shoko. "Let's go."

"Didn't you want to know how I spend my days?"

Shoko had always known Makima's hobby: watching movies.

Good or bad, she watched them all. Shoko had even wondered if Makima would watch… other kinds of movies.

However, the image of Makima watching those with a blank face was too bizarre to imagine, so Shoko abandoned the thought.

Today, she experienced the cinematic masterpieces of 1990s Japan.

...So, this is what they were watching… An angel grandpa brawling with a demonic muscleman?

Sitting in the cinema, Shoko glanced at Makima, who, despite her expressionless face, was watching with surprising attentiveness.

She really does love movies.

Shoko sighed inwardly and redirected her attention to the screen.

To show Shoko her daily life, Makima had finished her work early and, unusually, left on time to watch movies with her.

Mostly terrible movies, but this was undoubtedly Makima's way of showing sincerity. Shoko had to reciprocate.

Though the movies were torture, thinking about Aki and Denji battling the Eternity Devil in a hotel made watching movies seem like a relaxing activity.

[Target Makima's affection unchanged. Current affection level: 2]

[Current target energy charge efficiency: 190% ]

Despite the movie outing, Makima's affection remained unchanged. Based on Makima's personality, Shoko had a bold hypothesis: raising Makima's affection was like facing a wall. No matter how much effort you put in outside the wall, you wouldn't make any progress.

Once you climbed over that wall and reached her soft inner core, her affection would skyrocket!

Today would determine whether she could conquer the ice queen Makima.

Planning her next move, Shoko silently watched the movie.

After the movie.

"That was so average. Besides the decent special effects, it was more boring than dishwater." Shoko munched on popcorn in the cinema's lounge, sighing repeatedly. "Three out of ten, at best."

"Indeed. Visually impressive, but otherwise quite ordinary." Makima's impassive face showed she shared Shoko's opinion. "Very average."

"Well then, on to the next one."

"This one's even worse! The leads knew each other for two days, where's the deep emotional connection?!" Shoko complained, holding her soda. "Two out of ten!"

Makima nodded calmly. "Indeed. I don't care for this forced melodrama."

"The music was okay, but everything else was mind-numbingly boring. Two out of ten!"

"I agree."

"The story is so fake. A fairytale where the prince and princess live happily ever after is more believable. Two out of ten!"

"The plot was too contrived."

"The older sister gives birth to her brother-in-law's child, becomes a vegetable, the brother-in-law gets together with the younger sister's classmate, years later the younger sister and the classmate's brother visit the older sister's grave to offer flowers? And there are ninjas?! Zero out of ten!!"

"Human emotions are so messy."

"..."

Ballad of a Soldier? Now that was a good movie. Soviet artistry was truly something else.

Watching the soldier embrace his mother before rushing back to the battlefield, even Shoko couldn't help but wipe away a tear.

Glancing at Makima, Shoko saw tears streaming down her usually impassive face.

Family, friendship, respect, embrace… Shoko nodded inwardly. She understood what Makima needed.

"The film industry is overflowing with heroes these days..."

Outside the cinema, Shoko chewed on a cookie tiredly.

Seven more hours.

After watching Makima work for seven hours, she had watched seven hours of movies, most of them terrible.

Two hours ago, Denji and Aki had texted her saying they were home, while she was still watching movies with Makima.

Watching movies was fine, but couldn't these directors make something watchable?!

"It's the norm. Out of ten movies, maybe one is interesting." Makima looked at the dark sky, a rare smile gracing her face as she turned to Shoko. "But sometimes, that one movie, or even just one scene, can change your life."

"So you just work and watch movies?"

"Yes."

Makima nodded. This was her life.

Shoko, after hearing Makima's response, looked unusually conflicted. After a moment of thought, she looked at Makima seriously and—

"Hahaha! That's it? Makima, you're so boring!~"

"..."

Makima stared at the laughing Shoko, speechless. She knew her life was boring.

But she didn't have anything else to do.

Besides, she genuinely loved movies.

And wasn't this devil a bit too bold, laughing at her like this...?

"Makima, I've decided."

Just as Makima considered teaching Shoko a lesson, Shoko stopped laughing and looked at her with a serious smile.

"I'm going to make your life exciting."

"...Hmm?"

Makima looked bewildered.

"After today's… date, I understand you better, Makima." In the next instant, a soft, warm figure embraced her, taking Makima completely by surprise. "You must be… lonely."

"Invite me next time you watch a movie. That way, we can laugh at the bad ones together and cry at the moving ones. It's better than being alone."

"I'll be with you, Makima."

[Target Makima's affection increased. Current affection level: 8]

[Current target energy charge efficiency: 760% ]

Makima, acquired!!!