Chapter 96 - Peaceful Daily Life

# Desolate streets.

Collapsed buildings.

'No... please... wake... up...'

'...brother... Oppa!... Wake up...! Hurry... try...'

'...I can't... do anything... with my... power....'

And then, noises coming from somewhere.

And.

'Cough... I'm... sorry....'

'...promise... third line... definitely....'

Mumbling, and sobbing heard again.

'Don't... die... you're not dying... right?... Sob... hic....'

'.......'

'....sorry...'

'....can't... give up... can't... let you go....'

Screeeeeech.

"Aaaah!"

Haa, haa.

I woke up in the middle of the night and sat up.

...No, damn it. What time is it now?

"...It's 3 AM."

I mumbled with my eyes still half-closed.

When I came to my senses, I realized my back was damp with sweat.

...I can't remember, but it seems I had a nightmare.

At my age, waking up startled because of a nightmare.

"Haaa...."

I sighed without realizing it.

....Am I feeling some kind of subconscious anxiety? Why am I having dreams like this?

Come to think of it, lately I've been flinching randomly. Just getting startled for no reason.

Maybe my energy is really depleted? Or is there some ghost attached to me?

If this continues, I should visit that witch again for an exorcism. In this world, almost anything you can imagine exists, so there might actually be a ghost attached to me.

Sigh. Anyway, I've already had enough sleep.

I lifted my head and looked at the window on the wall of my room.

In my room, only the moon shining brightly between the dim mountains illuminates the space.

...Somehow it feels like one of those dawn-sentiment nights. 3 AM, when men get the most sentimental.

At this hour, everyone except me is probably asleep.

....Well, since I'm already up and can't sleep, and no one else is around.

Maybe I should start writing that down bit by bit.

I got up from the bed, turned on the light, and sat at the desk.

Then, I pulled out one of the books from the bookshelf.

This book looks like an ordinary diary, but it has metaphysical patterns drawn in light green.

Right. It's the notebook I got from the green witch last time, the one that can't be opened without my permission.

The one that can only be opened without my permission if I'm dead.

"...Hmm..."

And in it, I started writing down major events that might happen in the future, and things that could trigger the apocalypse if not prevented.

And important settings too. Like a time-reversal event that might happen later, or methods of resurrection...

It's good to write all these things down in advance. You never know what might happen. A first-class villain always prepares everything in advance!

I'll just title the book "Egostream Emergency Manual."

After staying up all night writing, I dozed off during breakfast the next day and got scolded by Su-bin.

....I stayed up late working, so it was really unfair....

***

[The government has allowed redevelopment of areas in Busan that were bombed in the previous terrorist attack. Residents are excited about regulations being lifted after ten years.]

A peaceful morning.

With only the TV sound coming from the living room, I was lying blankly on the sofa.

"Da-in. What are you doing?"

"Ah... I'm sunbathing..."

Lying on the sofa where warm sunlight streams through the window feels like recharging.

I've always liked basking in the sunlight like this since I was young. Got to charge up that vitamin D.

"Here, have some fruit."

"Ah. Thank you."

A plate of fruit from Su-bin.

I picked up a Korean melon and ate it.

It's crisp and delicious.

"Oh, Su-bin. Is Seo-eun still downstairs?"

"Yes. Se-hee went down there with her too."

"Really? What are those two doing...."

Lately they've been whispering to each other and spending every day holed up in the basement.

Seems like Seo-eun is making something and Choi Se-hee is helping her.... Well, as long as they're not making anything weird.

Anyway...

I turned my head to look out the window beside me.

The floor-to-ceiling glass window on one wall of the living room offers a refreshing view of the surroundings. It was what I liked most when I first moved into this house.

So I was blankly watching TV while waiting for a phone call.

The news playing on TV was buzzing about the commotion that Icicle and I had caused. One peculiar thing was that the news anchor was passionately explaining how amazing and capable Icicle was and how she was in no way inferior to Stardust.

....Has Lee Seol-ah already taken control of the broadcasting stations?

Just as I was thinking about that, my phone finally started ringing.

Looking at my phone, I saw "Lee Seol-ah" displayed on the screen.

I immediately answered.

[Hello?]

"Oh, yeah. Hello?"

[Sigh, I finally have some time. I'm sorry. I've been so busy with the Association and reporters harassing me. Plus there are things I need to push forward at the right timing...]

"Yeah, yeah. I understand. I know you're busy. Anyway, tell me quickly about that thing. Yesterday at the end, Stardust, I mean Shin Ha-ru, suddenly showed up. What happened?"

[...Haa, Ha-ru. Don't even mention it. I was so nervous thinking our relationship had been discovered.]

"It wasn't discovered, right?"

[Fortunately, no. He saw us smiling together, but it doesn't seem like he knows any details. I managed to cover it up somehow.]

"That's a relief at least. But why did he come?"

[How did he come? He came using that Shadow guy.]

"...No, I mean, why did he come? There wasn't really a reason for him to come, was there?"

When I said that, I heard her chuckling softly over the phone.

[...Who knows? Think about it yourself. I'm not sure either.]

"...Hey, come on."

[Anyway, isn't that beside the point? Let's talk about the future. What are you planning to do next?]

Lee Seol-ah naturally changed the subject and asked about my future plans.

...Something feels off, but I'll let it slide this time.

I simply answered her question.

"What else? Now's the time to strengthen my villain alliance. I'll focus on gradually adding new villains to Egostream."

[...Good. While you do that, I'll quickly work on taking control of the political sphere.]

"....That doesn't seem particularly urgent."

[What are you saying? We need to prepare in advance to prevent unexpected situations like last time when the president fired missiles at you. It's all for your sake.]

For my sake? More like for her ambition.

I just smiled at her transparent words. Well, I don't dislike that transparency. It's part of Lee Seol-ah's charm.

We chatted for a while. She mentioned something about visiting my house someday and other trivial matters before we wrapped up the call.

And before hanging up, Lee Seol-ah casually dropped one last comment.

[....And you should probably focus your terrorist activities on Stardust for the time being.]

"Huh? Well, I was planning to focus on Stardust anyway... but why?"

[...Just because. I think it would be better for you. I'm hanging up now.]

Lee Seol-ah said that and then hung up.

...What was that about? So abrupt.

After the call ended, I got up from my seat.

And went out to the balcony near the window.

"Hmm..."

In the original story, whenever Stardust had something to worry about, he would open the window of his house and lean against it to think.

...So I decided to try it too.

Feeling the clear mountain air and wind.

I leaned my arms on the railing and thought about my plans.

"From now on...."

Various powerful villains will continue to emerge endlessly.

And things will continue to deteriorate. Enemies with diverse abilities that would be too much for Stardust to handle alone will keep appearing.

Of course, the situation has changed a bit now.

Since I'm here, I can either recruit some of those villains into Egostream before they fall into darkness, or eliminate them, making the situation much better than in the original story. Like Team Lapis who were the main players in this recent terrorist attack.

And especially, Stardust has become much stronger.

With his abilities enhanced much earlier than in the original story, he should be able to handle most villains well.

Well, things should work out fine.

But anyway.

Standing still, I pondered.

Why did Stardust suddenly rush to Busan?

I hadn't given it much thought because I expected Lee Seol-ah to tell me the reason, but now it's something to consider.

"Hmm...."

After thinking for a moment, I quickly came to a conclusion.

Well. He probably felt that I was that threatening.

There's no other reason that makes sense.

"That's good!"

That was my conclusion.

If he sees me as threatening, that's all the better. If he considers me his arch-enemy, he'll face me with sincerity and full power.

With that lighthearted thought, I closed the balcony door and returned to the living room.

Back in the living room, I saw Seo-eun sitting on the sofa. Seems like she came back from the basement?

Seo-eun, upon seeing me, made a strange expression and said:

"Oppa. Did you know you have a new nickname?"

"What now..."

"Look at this."

Seo-eun handed me her phone.

On the screen was a post from my fan cafe.

*

[Egosta? Egotra?]

Get lost all of you lolololol

<<>> is here!!!

(Photo of Icicle and Egostic fighting while smiling at each other)

(GIF of Egostic complimenting Icicle)

=[Comments]=

[For real lol they look good together lol]

[From today I'm mindlessly supporting Ice Mango]

[Ice Mango really has a nice ring to it lololol]

[Hey Egostic, stop playing in Seoul and come down to Busan]

[Mangostic, Busan suits you better than Seoul!]

[Upvote if you think Stardust<<<Icicle lol]

[What are you talking about? Egostic's counterpart is Stardust. It's only natural to leave him to Stardust, who is an Egostic expert. It's not right to pair him with some random hero.]

ㄴ[@newday313 why is this person so triggered?]

ㄴ[Team Egosta in tears lolol]

ㄴ[Stardust arrested at home]

ㄴ[Checked their profile, they've been a loyal member but this is the first time I've seen them comment as Team Egosta lolol]

ㄴ[Still obsessed with that blue-haired tanning thug wwww]

[Ice Mango damn lololol this is today's snack]

*

"Oppa, do you want Ice Mango for a snack today?"

Looking at Seo-eun who was smirking, I put my hand to my forehead.

...Somehow I feel like my nicknames are multiplying.