Chapter 14 - I Became A Likable Villain

I really liked Stardus.

Stardus. The protagonist of the comic [Stardus!].

What were the reasons I liked Stardus?

Well, first of all, obviously—she's pretty. She was drawn beautifully in the comic, after all.

Of course, besides that, I loved the gap between her hero activities and her everyday self.

Normally, she's just an ordinary girl, a bit blunt even, but when she's active as a hero, she speaks in that uniquely awkward way of hers, saying things like, "You bastard! What do you think you're doing!" It's fun to watch.

I'm not sure if she does it to separate her daily life from her hero life, or to hide her usual way of speaking. Honestly, I think she just does it because she thinks it looks cool...

But among all those things, what I loved most was her unique sense of justice.

After her parents died in an incident caused by a villain when she was young, she harbored revenge and hatred toward villains ever since.

That's how she came to dream of becoming a hero.

But she had no superpowers, no abilities.

So all she could do was wish upon the stars.

Please, let me awaken an ability.

So that she could personally take revenge on those villains.

Did the stars answer her plea?

A miracle occurred—she gained a superpower.

When she awakened her ability, strangely enough, her hair began to turn blonde, like starlight itself.

And so she gave herself a name. Dust of the stars. Stardus.

Though rumor has it the Association shortened it to "Stardus" because they said a hero name with five syllables was too long.

Anyway, though her hero career began with revenge, through various incidents, she came to realize something.

That a hero isn't someone who simply kills villains, but someone who protects citizens.

And so she became a true hero.

As a child, I was captivated by her story.

There were many heroes with more impressive storytelling and philosophies of justice, but I think she became my favorite character because she was Korean. I could relate to her story.

...Why am I rambling on like this?

Because my favorite character just appeared right before my eyes.

"Egostic!"

"Stardus?"

No.

What is this?

This crowded place.

Having achieved my objective of eliminating Teleporter, I was about to head home.

I'd definitely tried to send him off quietly, but somehow I'd drawn way too much aggro and it was getting troublesome.

But then suddenly—ta-da! Stardus appeared.

How long have I even been here for her to show up already...?

I watched her hovering in the air, unable to land because of the crowd—poor thing.

She was drenched in sweat, looking like she'd flown here in a great hurry. She probably flew over the moment she heard I was here. Still, she'd managed to put on her signature red latex suit.

"Egostic, you bastard!"

"Yes, yes. I'm listening."

[Bro, what are you doing! Hurry up and come!]

Wait, Seo-eun, just hold on a second.

My favorite character literally flew all the way here to see me—I need to at least hear what she has to say.

With this many people gathered around, how embarrassing would it be if I just suddenly went poof and disappeared?

"You bastard, what. What did you just do?"

Stardus glanced at Teleporter lying at my feet, then glared at me.

The citizens were already watching us with keen interest, as if we were about to fight. Hey, guys, what are you going to do if you get hurt? Seriously, now they're even taking out their phones to record? Oh wait, have they been filming this whole time? That might be even worse...

In front of these safety-oblivious citizens who didn't know danger, I decided to play along with Stardus a bit more.

"What do you mean, what did I do? I merely eliminated villains who are parasites on society. I simply did the job heroes should be doing. The kind of job people like you should be doing. Well, you don't need to thank me. I didn't do this to receive gratitude. Haha!"

"You bastard..."

Even from here, I could see the veins bulging on Stardus's forehead. Her face turned bright red—she was genuinely pissed. Whoa, why is she like this? Did I say something too harsh...? Her body was trembling so much it looked like she was about to drop her act any second. ...This isn't going to turn into something serious, is it?

Before she could roar in anger, I quickly spoke first.

"Of course! Of course, I admit I took private action without borrowing public authority! I admit it, but I think there are extenuating circumstances to consider. Teleporter—this cruel bastard was classified as A-Rank because of his powerful ability and flight risk, wasn't he? And with A-Rank, doesn't that mean heroes can pass summary judgment on-site at their discretion?"

As soon as I finished, she opened her mouth as if she'd been waiting.

"Yes, that's possible. But, so are you a hero?"

She looked like she wanted to rush at me and punch me right then and there. But she couldn't, knowing I'd immediately flee and worried about the nearby citizens getting caught up in it. Hmm. It doesn't seem like there's much point in me staying here any longer. Time to start looking for an escape route.

"Well, I understand what you're saying, Ms. Stardus. Even if it's trash that deserves to die, a hero should be the one to kill it, not a villain like me—it's meaningless otherwise. That's a very fitting thought for someone with your strong sense of justice, Ms. Stardus."

I threw in some vague praise for Stardus.

Step one of my "Make Stardus a Popular Hero" plan: Give compliments.

Normally, if Cheolsu says, "I'm good at studying," it's not very convincing, but if Cheolsu's rival Yeonghui says, "I don't know about other things, but I'll admit that bastard is good at studying," then people finally think, "Ah, so Cheolsu really is good at studying." Nothing's more effective than a rival's praise!

But the citizens seemed to think differently.

"What, only heroes can catch villains?"

"Who does she think she is... So annoying."

Suddenly, murmuring voices rose from around us. ...Have they really lost it?

Something I've really noticed since coming to this world—the people here are seriously messed up. Safety obliviousness is the baseline, and now they're starting to side with the villain while a hero and villain are facing off. Are they... actually insane?

"She shows up after everything's already happened and now she's acting like this. Ridiculous."

"Honestly, what did Egostic do wrong?"

Hearing those voices from the crowd, I nearly lost my mind.

Is this conversation I'm hearing actually real?

As the murmuring around us grew louder, both my expression and Stardus's gradually hardened.

A bizarre situation where the target of criticism wasn't me but Stardus, and innocent Stardus was starting to get bashed.

Why? Did seeing blood make people lose their minds?

Anyway, this wasn't the situation I wanted. I wanted a picture where I got criticized and Stardus got praised—I never imagined it would turn out like this.

Why on earth are citizens taking the villain's side? What is this?

Stardus's expression also hardened as public opinion took a strange turn. I felt I needed to salvage this quickly. So I hurriedly, rapidly opened my mouth.

"Me too! I never once said I did anything good either. I just said isn't that how it is! I'll continue these kinds of, uh... evil deeds! So I hope you'll try your best to stop me, Ms. Stardus! Well then, um... I'm off!"

I spat out the words like rapid fire, then swirled my cape forward and teleported. Something's wrong. I need to get out of here.

After teleporting, my vision spun. My stomach churned. Unable to stand properly, I eventually collapsed. Truth is, I'd already overexerted myself catching Teleporter, and then teleporting long-distance again—my body couldn't take it.

"Hah... hah..."

As I lay there barely breathing, the door burst open and someone entered.

"Oppa!"

It was Seo-eun. She rushed over and grabbed hold of me, struggling to pull me upright.

"Ugh, why are you so heavy! Oppa, snap out of it! This isn't working—Unnie! Help me out here!"

"Coming! I'm coming!"

A moment later, Subin came running in. Well, I was only guessing it was Subin. I was collapsed on the floor and couldn't even open my eyes. Seriously, I might actually die at this rate.

"Okay, on three! Let's lift together!"

And so the two of them started hauling me with considerable effort. Honestly, Seo-eun wasn't much help—it felt more like Subin was moving me on her own—but I didn't say anything. Not that I was in any condition to speak anyway.

Having two women drag my body along made me feel a bit sorry. Embarrassed, too. But right now, I genuinely couldn't move a single finger.

"Hah... from now on, please teleport directly in front of the Fatigue Recovery Machine, Oppa."

Having finally succeeded in getting me into the Fatigue Recovery Capsule, Seo-eun wheezed out her words. Yeah, I'll have to do that next time. I was too out of it earlier to think straight.

"...Tha...nks..."

"If you get it, then hurry up and rest. You're practically dead."

Grumbling like that, Seo-eun took care of me before leaving.

Subin, who'd been standing nearby, clenched her fist tightly and struck a fighting pose, cheering "Get better soon!" before heading out as well. Cute.

And so I collapsed.

I should've been sleeping deeply and resting, but my mind refused to let me fall asleep easily, plagued by worry.

Because of those whispers—the ones I'd heard around Stardus earlier.

***

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