Chapter 101 - Future Plans

Our last terror attack was conducted as a showcase to demonstrate, "Look at the exceptional individuals we have in our Ego-stream!"

My mini-terror that introduced the character Death Knight to the public was more effective than I expected.

Not only did the news report on the danger and potential of Egostic's villain alliance, but for the first time, mentions of Ego-stream began to increase as much as mentions of me.

It's certain that the consecutive villain showcases featuring Team Lapis and Death Knight created quite a significant impact. From now on, as more and more villains with stronger abilities are added one by one, there's a high possibility that we'll be recognized as a force that no one in the Republic of Korea can ignore.

But anyway...

"No... what is this, really?"

I kept replaying the TV footage.

The fight between Stardust and Death Knight from before.

Stardust, who had been fighting evenly with Death Knight, suddenly awakened with some kind of tiger-like energy from the middle of the battle and pulverized Death Knight.

As a result, Death Knight is currently resting in the ring again. He seems satisfied, but...

Of course, I still don't understand why Stardust suddenly awakened.

She suddenly became angry during their conversation... Well, I don't think she awakened because she was that upset about hearing Egostic wasn't coming. It seems more likely that she snapped after hearing Death Knight's "Kuhahaha!" laughter. There's no other explanation.

Well, anyway. For me, it's not a bad thing.

The faster Stardust gets stronger, the better.

But...

"The speed... isn't it too fast?"

I muttered without realizing.

No, she's not a bean sprout, so why is she growing stronger so quickly on her own? Is this really the same Stardust who was struggling in the original work? We're still in the early-middle part of the second arc, but she's already as strong as she should be in the late second arc. Strong enough to beat most of the upcoming villains.

"Hmm..."

I thought deeply with my chin resting on my hand.

At this rate... I could probably slow down the pace a bit.

Should I take a break until the Moonlight Church appears?

As I continued thinking, there was a knock at the door, and Su-bin entered.

"Da-in. Are you looking up Stardust again?"

That was the first thing she said when she saw Stardust displayed on my computer screen.

She was looking at me with narrowed eyes, probably thinking I was managing the Stardust fan club again. It's a misunderstanding. I've already finished managing the fan club materials, and now I'm purely planning for the future.

I was about to defend myself after feeling caught, but Su-bin was quicker, handing me a phone and speaking first.

"Da-in, there's a call for you."

A call?

When I looked, the caller ID showed Lee Seol-ah.

I must have left my phone in the living room.

After thanking Su-bin for bringing it to me, I answered the call.

"Hello. What's up?"

[Excuse me. You haven't forgotten that we were supposed to meet today, right?]

"...Huh?"

What? Has that much time passed already?

I quickly turned my head to check the calendar and realized that today marked two weeks since our last meeting.

"...Ah! Of course I knew. I was just getting ready."

[...I don't think so. Anyway, the location is the same as before, so hurry up. Got it?]

"Yeah, yeah."

After ending the call, I prepared to go out.

Time to see Lee Seol-ah after a while.

...Actually, it hasn't been that long, but anyway.

***

A little while later.

I was sitting in the president's office on the top floor of the Yu-seong Group's Seoul branch.

"No way. How can the president's office be exactly the same in both Busan and Seoul?"

I looked around the president's office, turning my head in amazement.

And seeing my reaction, Lee Seol-ah smiled slightly.

"What do I have in abundance besides money? I spent quite a bit."

Is this even possible with money?

As I was marveling at how even the furniture and library positions were identical, she continued to smile slightly as she got up from her seat and sat across from me.

"Besides, since I'll be spending a lot of time in Seoul from now on, I might as well make it comfortable."

"Why Seoul?"

"My goodness, why? Obviously because all the companies I need to devour... I mean acquire, are gathered here."

After saying that with an ice-cold smile, she quickly changed her expression and said with a bright smile:

"And of course, your help has been significant. Thanks to the data you provided, acquisitions have become much easier."

"Ah, right. Speaking of that. I have one more here."

Remembering that, I found another USB in my pocket and handed it to her.

"Here. The final file containing all the remaining companies."

"Oh my... you didn't have to. I didn't expect you'd have even more. Thank you."

She accepted it with a bright smile.

I emphasized to her once more:

"That's the last one, so you'll have to handle the rest yourself. Got it?"

"What you've already given me is more than enough. But how do you obtain these things? Even my employees can't do this much."

To her subtle attempt to extract information from me, I smiled and answered:

"I'm not omnipotent either. I can't break through the heavily encrypted security of internal networks used by the Association or government."

To be precise, it's not me but Seo-eun who can't do it.

Anyway, I gave her that playful answer.

Without actually answering her question about "how" I did it.

"Hmm...."

And true to her sharp instincts, Lee Seol-ah noticed that I was deflecting.

She rested her chin on her hand and stared at me intently.

Then, with a slight smile, she said:

"Ego. Can I visit your home?"

"No."

"Then what about your name? Can you tell me your real name? It's a bit awkward calling you 'Ego' all the time."

"That's a bit..."

"And could you take off that mask? It's bothering me."

"....."

Right.

There's a reason why meeting her lately has been slightly uncomfortable.

She keeps trying to dig into my identity.

As I quietly sipped my tea and kept my mouth shut, she continued smiling and asked me:

"Ego. Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you."

"Then why do you keep your identity so tightly wrapped up and refuse to reveal it?"

She asked with narrowed eyes, and I simply remained silent.

....Revealing my identity to Lee Seol-ah carries some risk.

Since I don't know exactly how she thinks of me, I need to approach this more cautiously. Especially when dealing with someone who becomes a villain in the future.

So it would be better to observe a bit more and tell her when I'm certain... Though someone like her might already know my name.

While I was thinking this.

Lee Seol-ah suddenly stood up from her seat. What's she doing?

After standing up, she placed her hands on the desk and leaned toward me.

Now all I could see was her face and her long sky-blue hair hanging down.

As I blinked in confusion, she looked directly into my eyes and began to whisper:

"Do you... think I would betray you?"

"I'm basically a person who knows gratitude. When we shook hands, I already decided. That I might be willing to stay with you until the end."

After saying that... she pulled her head back, then pressed her chin with her hand, thought for a moment, and said:

"Do you know how much I care about you?"

Looking at her as she spoke to me, I finally exhaled and answered:

"...Well. How much?"

"For you, I could give up even 5 percent of my company's total shares."

....Is that a lot?

When I looked at her with a skeptical expression, she smiled and spoke again:

"...Well, if you don't understand what that means, never mind. Anyway, I won't betray you or anything like that, so I'd appreciate it if you trusted me a little more. I'm a bit... hurt."

She mumbled the last words quietly, then turned her head and sipped from her teacup.

"....."

Looking at her like that, I thought for a moment.

...Aren't we not quite at that level of relationship yet?

Still, thinking about it, the original work did describe how Lee Seol-ah took good care of people who trusted and followed her. Even after she became a villain.

Hmm...

As I was thinking, she returned to her normal expression and asked me in a slightly brighter tone:

"So. What are you planning to do next? That Death Knight person was quite impressive."

"Next?"

After hearing that, I leaned back against the backrest and sighed slightly.

....Originally, I was planning to conduct another terror attack to show off Ego-stream's strength.

But seeing Stardust's current state, I wonder if that's necessary. She already seems strong enough, so what's the point? I think we can proceed a bit more slowly.

Then probably until that incident happens...

"Well. I'll probably be taking it easy for the rest of the year."

"What? For that long?"

She was surprised.

Come on, it's already autumn, how long would I be resting?

....Of course, my fan cafe will probably go crazy again, but whatever. If I get really bored, maybe I'll upload a video.

Anyway, after exchanging a few more words, I made one last request before leaving:

"...And, try to be friendlier with Stardust from now on."

It would be a big problem if you two don't get along.

And if you two become closer, I can get updates about Stardust more promptly.

"We're already friendly, aren't we?"

"I mean it would be good if you met more often and things like that."

"....Well. Alright."

"Good."

After saying that, I got up from my seat. Time to go now.

And, before leaving.

To Lee Seol-ah who was watching me from behind and saying goodbye, I added one more thing:

"And from now on... call me Da-in."

"What?"

"My name. It's Da-in, so if you want to call me that, go ahead."

"Ah... yes!"

After staring blankly for a moment and then understanding what I meant, she answered with a bright smile, and I left the place.

....Yeah. This much should be fine.

Probably.

***

"Hmm... Ah, right."

Right after Egostic left.

Lee Seol-ah, sitting in her seat and smiling to herself, suddenly came to her senses, straightened her back, and composed herself.

Right. This is no time to just be happy. I have work to do. I need to check the USB that Ego... no, Da-in gave me.

After regaining her focus, she began to work.

Ah, and he also said to be friendlier with Ha-ru.

Lost in thought for a moment, she picked up her phone with a smile.

Right. It wouldn't be bad to strengthen my friendship with Ha-ru after a long time. There was that awkward incident related to Egostic before, but... well, I should approach her with a more generous heart first.

Ha-ru doesn't even know Egostic's name, but she not only knows his real name but has even heard it directly from him.

With that strange sense of composure, she picked up her phone with a smile and called Ha-ru.

"Hey, Ha-ru, what are you doing?"