Chapter 114 - Countermeasure

"Da-in. Are you sorry to me or not?"

"I'm sorry..."

In the president's office of Yu-seong Group's Seoul branch.

I was apologizing to Lee Seol-ah there.

"No... honestly, couldn't you have told me? Do you think I would go around casually talking about it?"

She grumbled at me, pretending to be angry.

She probably does feel hurt, and rightfully so. When she urgently contacted me while Seoul was being completely destroyed, I just disappeared without a word. Then I suddenly appeared on a broadcast without warning, solved the problem effortlessly, and vanished again.

Flipping her light blue hair to the side, she was clearly showing how upset she was with me, almost to the point where I could hear an imaginary "Hmph!"

...And of course, this must all be an act.

After all, who is Lee Seol-ah? Someone capable enough to swallow the entire Republic of Korea in the original story. Being that intelligent, even acting childishly like this is likely calculated behavior.

Of course, well, she could genuinely be upset and acting this way with her mind empty of schemes. From her perspective, she has every right to feel hurt. I went radio silent because I planned everything for Stardust and was worried she might somehow sense something if I told Lee Seol-ah. But there's no way she could know that.

So apologizing is my best option for now.

...Actually, when I first heard her voice on the phone, she sounded ready to bury someone alive, but things have improved considerably since then.

"Hmph."

"Okay, okay. I'm really sorry. I won't do it again."

"...Really?"

"Yes."

It's not a lie. The subject is just missing.

I do feel bad for not contacting her right after my intervention, but not giving her advance notice was unavoidable. And it probably will be in the future too.

But bringing that up now would be amateur hour. In this situation, I need to be thick-skinned.

"...So, you admit you were wrong this time, right?"

"Yes."

"Then... do me one favor."

She fidgeted with her fingers, looking down at her hands as she spoke in a slightly smaller voice than before.

...What? What kind of favor?

A sudden ominous feeling wrapped around me.

This is Lee Seol-ah we're talking about. I have no idea what she might ask for.

"Sure. I'll do anything. Just tell me."

I went ahead and committed anyway.

...If she asks for something too strange, maybe I should knock her out and run—that's what I was thinking when:

"...Show me your face."

"Huh?"

"I want to see your bare face without the mask too!"

She seemed slightly embarrassed saying this, trailing off at the end with a slightly reddened face.

...After intimidating me like that, her conclusion was just wanting to see my face?

After saying it herself, she kept glancing at me nervously, as if afraid I might refuse.

I chuckled and simply took off my mask.

"There. Satisfied?"

"Oh..."

She was slightly taken aback by how easily I removed it.

But that didn't last long—soon her eyes were sparkling as she began examining my face in detail.

"...Hey, staring so intently makes me uncomfortable."

"No, I'm just curious."

"...About what? My face?"

"No. You always wear a mask even though you have recognition reduction, so I thought maybe you had a big scar on one side of your face or something, but you don't? Then why do you wear a mask on half your face?"

"This mask isn't ordinary. It has many functions."

But they mostly go unused, and it's mainly used for viewing the chat window.

I didn't bother adding that part.

"Anyway, that's good. Now that I've seen your face, all that's left is for you to invite me to your home. You will, right?"

"...That's for later."

I drew the line there.

...Revealing my home location seems a bit too much.

The only reason I felt comfortable showing my face was because the new Moon Priestess, Baek Eunwol, can cast powerful recognition magic on her own.

"I understand."

Not a trace of disappointment showed on Lee Seol-ah's face as she answered. She seemed satisfied with just seeing my face today. Her previously reddened face had long returned to normal.

...Was I played?

Before I could think about it further, she spoke as if suddenly remembering something.

"Oh. And Da-in. There's a problem."

"What is it?"

"Right now, both on the internet and in overall public opinion polls, everyone seems to like Egostic. Almost at hero level? Isn't that problematic?"

She gave me a concerned look as she said this.

"...In fact, in our own internal polls, your favorability rating is higher than mine."

So that was the point.

In the end, it was similar to what Seo-eun had said.

"...Really? That much?"

"Yes. Your popularity is through the roof. Something about mangos. Even overseas they're taking notice. An A-rank villain single-handedly handling a terrorist attack that even S-rank heroes hesitated to address."

So the overseas attention wasn't just clickbait from patriotic TV but actually real?

As she continued with these surprising statements, I felt this was becoming a serious concern.

Hmm... this could ruin everything.

"But Da-in. Logically speaking, you single-handedly saved all of Seoul from destruction—wouldn't it be stranger if you didn't gain popularity?"

"But I'm a villain?"

"...Just because you call yourself a villain doesn't make you one."

She looked at me with cold eyes as she said that.

"...Tsk."

Maybe I should immediately cause another terrorist attack.

Right. If I want to prove I'm a villain, nothing works better than terrorism.

"...Okay, thanks for letting me know."

"Having so much popularity that it's troubling—how enviable. Sigh."

She sighed as she said this.

After exchanging a few more words, we parted ways.

With a promise that I would definitely contact her if such a situation arose again.

...I'm not sure if I can keep it, but I said it anyway.

But something feels off—probably just my imagination.

***

"Phew..."

In the president's office after Egostic, Da-in, had left.

Left alone again, Lee Seol-ah sighed and looked out the window.

In truth, she knew.

Egostic. That he didn't particularly trust her that much.

Lee Seol-ah. She prided herself on her quick perception.

If it weren't for her extraordinary intelligence, she wouldn't have risen to this position. Taking control of the company from her grandfather was no easy feat for someone as young as she was.

In other words, she was confident in her ability to read people.

And the Da-in she saw didn't trust her.

'...Why?'

She found this perplexing.

...What had she done to make him distrust her so much?

She had only been good to Egostic. She hadn't harbored any ill intentions.

Yet suspiciously, he seemed to... how to put it? Even when she appeared to open up to him, he seemed slightly wary.

No matter how much she approached him, always.

As if he knew something about her that she herself didn't know.

'...How frustrating.'

An information gap.

No matter how perceptive she was, there was nothing she could do about that.

It didn't seem like he had any objections to her plans to swallow up the Republic of Korea. He even supported her.

So why?

'...Yet he trusts Stardust so much.'

And his incomprehensible devotion to Stardust.

He said the reason for his terrorism was all for Stardust, which was almost pathological. In a way, he was dedicating his entire life to Stardust. An incredible display of unwavering love.

'Ha-ru... does have charm, but to that extent?'

When you think about it, both she and Stardust were A-rank heroes, so she couldn't understand why there was such differential treatment.

...Wasn't she better than someone who didn't even appreciate him?

What was so great about Ha-ru?

"...No, that's not right."

Her thoughts were drifting in too gloomy a direction.

She took a deep breath and organized the situation.

...Right.

In the end, she was always the one who won.

Because she was someone who always somehow managed to grasp what she set her mind on.

"...We'll see."

Someday, Egostic.

I'll make you look only at me, not Stardust.

***

While Icicle was plotting and Egostic was contemplating his next terrorist attack.

In the underground facility connected to the large house used as Ego-stream's headquarters, two young women were walking.

"...Seo-eun. Where are we going?"

"I'm showing this only to you, so just follow me."

In the underground corridor with pure white walls.

With flickering lights, Baek Eunwol was walking while holding onto Han Seo-eun's clothes, looking around nervously.

And Seo-eun spoke to her.

"You know about Ego-stream now, right?"

"Yes. I learned everything. It's a villain alliance founded by Da-in, right?"

"Yes. My brother created it. But do you know who the founding members were?"

"Who?"

"Su-bin and me."

After saying that, Seo-eun continued with a sigh.

"But the world only knows about Su-bin and not me. Even Ha-yul made her debut recently as Saintess or whatever, but my brother only protects me."

"Oh my, why?"

"Probably because he thinks I'm young or powerless. Come on, I'm already a high school sophomore, isn't a sophomore an adult?"

"...Um, that's not really an adult?"

"Yes it is! This is definitely adult enough."

After saying that, she began entering a password on the massive steel door in front of them.

Soon the door opened with a deep rumbling sound.

"...Seo-eun? You're not planning to abandon me in that deep place, are you?"

"What are you talking about? Just follow me."

Han Seo-eun walked ahead of Baek Eunwol, who still looked anxious. She continued talking.

"Anyway, let's set aside my brother's misconception about age. Power. That's probably the issue. That I can't independently carry out terrorism. Especially since I don't look like I can handle Stardust, that brute who only has strength. Oh, you know Stardust, right? That woman my brother is strangely concerned about."

"Yes. I've heard of her."

"Anyway, Se-hee and I have been exploring ways for me to directly confront Stardust. And... it was completed recently."

As she said this, Han Seo-eun unlocked another steel door.

Soon, a huge garage-like door opened with a creaking sound.

Behind it was a vast, dark space.

"Now, let me introduce you. This is what I made."

After finishing her sentence with a grin, she turned on the lights.

The lights came on with a click.

Whirring sound.

What stood in the center of that space appeared before Baek Eunwol.

Something about twice the height of a person.

A massive suit-like object made of what looked like steel.

Baek Eunwol's mouth fell open at the imposing presence of the huge mechanical mass—gray, massive, and seemingly very solid in all parts: arms, legs, and torso.

"...Wow. What is this?"

Seeing Baek Eunwol's amazement, Han Seo-eun answered with a proud smile.

"A suit for me to wear... or rather, a giant weapon. With this, I can directly confront that woman!"

"That's amazing. Did you make it yourself?"

"Yes. I even gave it a name."

"What is it?"

To Baek Eunwol's curious question, Seo-eun answered with a grin.

"Starbuster."

"The ultimate weapon created specifically to confront Stardust."

After saying that, Seo-eun put her hands on her hips and continued with a confident, wickedly smiling expression.

"With this, I'll personally take down that woman Stardust. What do you think?"

And looking at her:

"...Um, fighting?"

Baek Eunwol could only respond with an awkward smile.

***

"...Su-bin, where did Seo-eun go again?"

"I think she went to the basement again this time."

"...What on earth is she always doing down there?"