Chapter 130 - Serious Expression

Last time.

After the meeting with Stardust, Shadow Walker, and the Director.

Icicle, Lee Seol-ah, returned to her office and became lost in thought.

"....Sigh."

She poured herself a glass of wine from the bottle on her desk, as if it were a familiar routine.

After taking a sip of the purple liquid, she recalled what had happened earlier.

'....Shadow Walker defended Egostic right in front of Stardust.'

It sounded strange even as she thought it.

But this was what actually happened.

'....Why?'

Shadow Walker's statement was clear.

In a situation where Stardust had almost deduced that she hadn't defeated the monster herself, but someone else—specifically Egostic—had.

Shadow Walker refuted this. He said he looked around but there was no one there.

"....A lie."

But that had to be a lie.

Because she had heard from Egostic himself that he had sniped from the rooftop of a nearby building that day.

In other words. If Shadow Walker had really looked around that day, he would have seen Egostic, so it's a lie.

And if he hadn't looked around, then he lied about no one being there despite not knowing, so it's still a lie.

In conclusion, Shadow Walker's statement was undeniably false no matter how you looked at it.

".....Then, why would he tell such a lie?"

Lee Seol-ah murmured while caressing her wine glass.

Shadow Walker. What was his purpose in telling such a lie? What was he thinking...

"....."

Lee Seol-ah.

At a young age, she had already taken control of the entire Yu-seong Corporation and was now gradually consuming the Republic of Korea. She prided herself on her innate ability and political acumen.

Of course, her plan to conquer Korea was hitting some bumps lately, but anyway...

Being the most perceptive person in Korea, she could quickly arrive at the truth.

".....Egostic must have made contact with Shadow Walker."

Yes.

This was the most likely truth.

"....."

When she was right there, why would he?

For a moment she felt a surge of indignation, but she quickly calmed herself by taking another sip of wine.

...Right. Since he had initially approached her first, it wouldn't be strange for him to contact other A-rank heroes. He never said he wouldn't approach others, only that he wouldn't touch Stardust.

"....Haah."

Lee Seol-ah sighed.

...What was this feeling?

Yes, it was anxiety, uneasiness.

The anxiety that she might lose Egostic.

In fact, when you think about it.

Egostic, he doesn't trust her.

And so.

In the president's office on the top floor of Yu-seong Group headquarters, Korea's largest corporation.

With warm sunlight coming in from behind her.

Lee Seol-ah, dressed in a suit, stroked her sky-blue hair and became lost in thought.

Lee Seol-ah. It had been quite a long time since she started meeting regularly with Egostic.

In fact, when they met, they spent more time chatting about various things rather than discussing business. How things were going, feeling good or tired... the kind of trivial matters you'd share with a friend.

And as that time accumulated.

Lee Seol-ah realized that she found herself looking forward to spending time with Da-in without even knowing it.

Though her life was constantly consumed by company work and slander, when she was with him, she could forget all that and smile genuinely during their conversations. He was one of the few people who treated her as a human being rather than someone special or high above others.

Also, strangely enough. For some reason she couldn't explain.

She felt that he "understood" her better than anyone else. Though she didn't know why.

Anyway, what about his abilities?

'....Honestly, without you, Mr. Da-in, Korea would have collapsed several times over by now.'

In fact, from Lee Seol-ah's perspective, the current Republic of Korea is extremely abnormal.

It feels like massive terrorist attacks that are difficult to handle have been popping up frequently in recent years. Each one capable of nearly destroying Korea.

Thanks to Egostic stopping most of them, things have worked out well so far.

But conversely, that means without Egostic, everything could collapse like a sand castle at any moment.

"....That can't happen."

In other words.

Egostic is an irreplaceable, precious existence.

Both to Lee Seol-ah personally and to the Republic of Korea as a whole.

The only problem is.

'...Why doesn't he trust me?'

That's it.

When he approached her, he was extremely cautious.

It took months just to learn his real name, months to see his face.

Even now, she doesn't know where he lives. While he knows where she lives.

'...He seems to think I might betray him...'

He clearly seemed to be wary of her.

Lee Seol-ah couldn't help but feel wronged about this.

No, why would she ever betray him? Considering what she had received from him so far and what was to come, she had absolutely no intention of doing so. No matter what he did. Since Lee Seol-ah herself wasn't particularly moral either, she felt this even more strongly.

As such, Lee Seol-ah intended to stick with him for life.

Why, then, was he so wary of her?

Even though she heard he was bedridden from overexertion, not knowing his address meant she couldn't even visit him.

'...Perhaps he heard some slander about me.'

Thinking this and becoming depressed again, she poured another glass of wine and gulped it down.

After nearly finishing a bottle by herself, she finally started feeling tipsy.

"....."

With her cheeks flushed, Lee Seol-ah stared at her phone for a moment.

Yes. If she continued like this, she would fall behind.

Even at the risk of being too forward, she needed to confront him.

Since she was drunk anyway, if things didn't go well, she could just say she was talking nonsense because she was intoxicated.

With that judgment, she called Da-in.

***

The phone call with Da-in went surprisingly well.

Perhaps it was worth showing her emotional side, even shedding a few tears, which was unlike her.

Lee Seol-ah finally received an invitation to his house.

....Of course, recalling the process still made her face flush.

But if the result was good, wasn't it worth it?

So when she set foot in some mountain valley, her first impression was.

".....Wow."

His house was extremely, extremely large.

A mansion that could easily accommodate dozens of people.

Even though her own home wasn't small by any means, his wooden mansion had an old-fashioned grandeur that gave off an inexplicable sense of intimidation. Like a castle.

As the door opened.

A woman greeted Lee Seol-ah.

"Hello. You must be Lee Seol-ah?"

"Ah... Yes. Hello."

"Hello. I'm Lee Su-bin."

Lee Seol-ah smiled and greeted the woman who welcomed her kindly, but internally she was very confused.

...What? Why is this woman at his house?

Ah, she must be here to take care of him while he's sick? That must be it.

However, her expectations were completely shattered after entering the house.

"....Hello."

"....."

"Haha, hello?"

The numerous women she encountered while walking toward the room where he was supposedly lying down.

An orange-haired woman who looked at her with disapproval, a silver-haired girl with a wary gaze, and a woman wearing what looked like priestess clothes with an inscrutable smile.

All of them were villains from Ego-stream.

And just from briefly greeting them and passing by in the living room, she could tell.

Those clothes, that comfortable atmosphere, that lived-in feeling.

They weren't visiting.

They were living here.

She fell into extreme confusion.

...Why? Why are multiple women living together with a man in one house? Is there a reason for that?

With these thoughts.

She opened the door and faced Da-in lying in bed.

"Hello, Mr. Da-in."

"Oh... Seol-ah, hello. You came very quickly...?"

He seemed slightly surprised that she had come the very next day after their phone call.

Watching him greet her while moving aside the laptop he had been looking at on the bed, she found herself smiling and saying:

"Yes. It's my first time visiting Mr. Da-in's house, so of course I had to come quickly."

She smiled as she said this.

...

Ah.

I shouldn't bring this up now.

Lee Seol-ah, you didn't come here to say such things. You came to visit Da-in while he's sick.

...Still.

I should be able to ask this one thing, right?

With her smile still in place.

Lee Seol-ah opened her mouth and asked Da-in, who was lying down:

"....But, on my way to the room, I noticed there are many other women in the house? Are you living together?"

"...Haha. It just happened that way."

At her question, he averted his gaze awkwardly.

He seems embarrassed about it too... Inwardly, she had hoped he would deny it.

"...."

"...Um, Seol-ah, is it suddenly getting cold in here? Haha."

This is a bit awkward.

***

"Madam President, did your visit go well?"

"...Could you bring me a bottle of wine, the '56 vintage?"

"Yes, of course."

After receiving the bottle from her secretary, Lee Seol-ah sat in her office and quietly drank a glass of the wine she had poured.

"....."

She had many conversations with Da-in today.

But in truth, none of that mattered. The only information she gained was this:

The bond between Da-in and the Ego-stream members is very strong.

Too strong for Lee Seol-ah herself to compete with.

"....Well, nothing in this world is easy."

She had her eye on Da-in for a long time.

Now she realized. He actually fits better as a hero than a villain.

But he shouldn't be involved with those villains.

"....."

Recalling the female members who had looked at her with suspicious eyes, Lee Seol-ah brought the alcohol to her lips again.

Yes.

That's right.

With her brain already pickled in alcohol, Lee Seol-ah's thoughts began to turn irrational.

...Egostic, he was obsessed with Stardust.

Yes. He would be better suited as a hero.

But she alone is not enough. The opponents are numerous villain members.

What should she do?

'Yes... He said he was going on a trip next time.'

"....."

With these thoughts.

Lee Seol-ah found herself looking at Shin Ha-ru's contact information without realizing it.

An alliance, an alliance.

Anyway, since Stardust doesn't know Egostic's true appearance, and there's the recognition reduction filter.

"....."

After staying quiet for a while, Lee Seol-ah smiled slyly.

Yes.

Let's do that.

***

"Tsk... I have a bad feeling. I hope no incidents happen on this trip like last time."

"Brother. Don't say such ominous things."

But what can I do when I have this chilling feeling?