Chapter 217 - Step By Step

"Aaah...."

In the office of Stardust at the Association.

Shin Ha-ru, sitting there as always, was holding her head with a slightly tired expression.

'....Jerk.'

"Haah..."

Why did I do that, why did I do that...

The terror attack by Egostic a few days ago.

While fighting against him who had brought yet another villain from somewhere, at the end she got emotional and...

Even though she tried to forget it and focus on work, that moment kept replaying in her mind, causing her to silently scream inside.

....A hero getting emotional in front of a villain, cursing, and then running away?

And even shedding a few tears?

...And doing all that in front of none other than Egostic?

".....Ugh."

Thinking about that moment, Stardust's ears reddened slightly again.

....I must have been crazy then, I must have been crazy.

[Stardust. How are you feeling? Are you alright? Contact me immediately if there's anything wrong.]

Just then, a notification came through the Association's internal messenger on her computer.

Seeing it was from the Director, she quickly replied that she was fine.

...After the fight with that villain called Katana, the Director seemed more concerned about her physical condition.

It wasn't strange.

After all, if she were to be honest, Katana was probably one of the strongest opponents Stardust had ever faced.

'....That woman called Katana was stronger than I expected....'

She hadn't realized it during the fight.

But later she heard that Katana was considered one of the strongest ability users in the world.

...To be honest, when she fought that woman, she was so consumed by anger that she fought in a trance-like state and couldn't remember properly.

Stardust felt that Katana wasn't much different from the other villains she had fought before. She didn't seem particularly strong.

However.

"Was she really that strong...."

Based on what the Director and the news said later, Katana was quite powerful. After all, she was ranked number one among ability users in Japan.

That's why she herself had become quite a topic in Japan for fighting Katana as an equal.

'Well...'

...She hadn't exactly fought a life-or-death battle with her. Katana didn't seem determined to kill her on the spot either; she moved more like she was sparring. Stardust also just wanted to subdue Katana, not kill her.

Especially since Egostic had intervened in the middle... perhaps if it had been a life-or-death battle, things would have been different...

Lost in these thoughts, Stardust suddenly recalled the final scene from that day. Egostic almost embracing Katana and holding her hand, and herself getting upset and snapping at him....

"Ughhhhh...."

With reddened cheeks, she made strange noises out of embarrassment before finally collapsing face-down on her desk.

...Why did I act like that then? Was I possessed by something...

But.

Feeling the cold surface of the desk.

She quietly thought.

...At that time.

For some reason, truly.

Seeing Egostic embracing that villain woman Katana and holding her hand.

She really, without knowing why, felt a pain in her chest.

"Why...."

...Yes.

It must have been because she saw Egostic colluding with another villain. It meant danger for the Republic of Korea. It meant the threat from villain forces was increasing, so naturally as a hero she could react that way. And Egostic is a bad guy, right? So that must be it.

...Yes, that must be it.

.....

"......"

Was it really just because of that?

"....."

Was her bad mood really just because of that?

Shin Ha-ru couldn't answer.

...Or rather.

You complete me.

...Ahem, you owe me one.

I'll take care of the rest.

Could there be.

Another reason.

And so.

Shin Ha-ru.

In the upper floors of the Association building standing tall in the middle of Seoul.

Alone, face-down in her office.

She remained quietly.

Quietly, lost in deep thought.

'....Yes.'

Eventually, with slightly reddened eyes.

She came to a conclusion.

"....This is all Egostic's fault."

To me.

He calls me his own hero.

Then openly acts like that with someone else right in front of me.

Of course as a hero, I could feel bad about it, right?

Yes. There's nothing wrong with her.

Probably all heroes with arch-enemies would feel the same way.

And if you're a villain, you should only care about your nemesis hero. Only act that way with your hero. Isn't that common sense? Yes. That must be common sense.

...Moreover, if it were with his Egostrim teammates whom he calls family, that would be understandable.

But bringing some already famous villain he just met, making her fight me, and then holding hands with her and doing all that...

...As his assigned hero, as his nemesis, as his arch-enemy.

Couldn't I feel a little hurt?

Yes. That's it.

"....Right. Capturing him and locking him up somewhere is the right thing to do...."

A villain who keeps looking elsewhere instead of at his hero needs to be punished. I should lock him up and keep him by my side. Yes, villains need to be captured.

Stardust, still face-down on her desk, muttered with slightly reddened eyes.

With her head tired from not getting proper sleep for a while, accumulated stress, and confused and hurt feelings all combined.

She eventually came to that conclusion, and.

[How to ambush someone]

[How to knock someone unconscious]

[How to contain a teleporting ability user]

[How to catch someone trying to escape]

...For a while after that.

Her internet search history became quite "professional."

All for just one person.

***

[Yes, Da-in. Since I'm meeting Ha-ru next week anyway, I'll casually ask her then.]

"Thanks. I always appreciate it, Seol-ah."

[It's nothing. I should be thanking you. Thanks to you introducing me to Katana, I was able to strengthen the relationship between our two countries.]

Lee Seol-ah said with a hint of laughter in her voice.

...Well, Lee Seol-ah moves the political circles of the Republic of Korea. And now Katana has taken control of the Japanese Association and government from behind the scenes. When the two meet, is it essentially a summit meeting...?

Well, it's good that they've become friendly.

[And that anti-Egostic broadcast... should I call it that? That broadcasting station you created.]

"Yeah."

I listened carefully to what Lee Seol-ah was saying.

The broadcasting station specializing in criticizing Egostic that I created by recruiting a journalist.

Later, when talking with Lee Seol-ah, it came up, and I completely sold the station to her. I thought she would be better at managing shares and such than me. I also didn't have time to pay attention to it.

[This time they're going with the concept that Egostic sold out the country by bringing in a Japanese villain, but...]

"Yeah, they're doing well. What's the problem?"

[...The thing is, they're receiving so many complaints that petitions to cancel the program are being submitted to our Broadcasting Commission.]

"....Hmm. We can't give in to such unfair criticism. Tell them to continue."

I can only continue to brainwash those who doubt my villain identity. No, if he brought a Japanese villain, he should be criticized, not applauded as if it's a show. I don't think I'm wrong. I need to continue explaining rationally and reasonably why I'm a villain.

In fact, now that I've achieved my goal of being recognized as a villain among villains and entering Kathedal, I wonder if it has any meaning anymore... but I'm continuing anyway.

[...I'm not sure if that will work, but alright.]

After Lee Seol-ah accepted and we exchanged a few more words.

The topic of PMC came up.

[Oh, and I was thinking of meeting the PMC kids once. What do you think? They're carrying my group's title, and I feel like I haven't been paying enough attention to them.]

"Ah, that's good. The kids have almost completed their ability development, so it's about time to send them out for field training. Let's talk about that then."

[Okay. Get some rest, Da-in. I'll contact you again after meeting Ha-ru.]

"Okay. Thanks."

Click.

With that, my call with Lee Seol-ah ended.

I sighed and put down my phone.

"What are you doing? Want to eat this?"

"Hm? Ah, thanks."

Just then, Choi Se-hee, who was coming toward me while licking an ice cream bar, tossed an ice cream at me.

I caught it in mid-air and unwrapped it.

....It was mango-flavored ice cream.

"No, don't you have any other flavors?"

"Nope. Seo Ja-young ordered all of these last time, remember?"

"...."

"But this tastes good, you know? Why?"

Choi Se-hee said while licking her yellow mango bar.

...Thanks to Seo Ja-young, who bought a ton of mango-flavored popsicles with the logic that as the Mangostick nation, we should stock up on mangosticks, these never-ending mangosticks in the refrigerator.

I brought the cold bar to my mouth.

It was cool and sweet, quite delicious.

While eating the ice cream, I became lost in thought.

...Katana had returned to Japan.

She seemed quite satisfied, as if she had gained some sort of enlightenment during her fight with Stardust. She even said it was a good time and that she would come back whenever there was an opportunity.

After seeing Katana off.

I was thinking about something else.

Specifically about Stardust. About why she acted that way at the end.

"......"

A jerk...

Yes. I am a jerk. After all, if a villain isn't a bad guy, that would be even stranger.

But... Stardust's reaction that day was definitely strange. It was almost like... she was sulking because she felt hurt.

And.

'....Jerk.'

When I heard those words, my heart skipped a beat.

...Actually, I'm not sure when it started. If I had to pinpoint it, maybe around the time when the Statue of Liberty wasn't destroyed and Ex Machina's death was announced.

For some reason, Stardust began to catch my eye more than before.

So why did she cry?

I sighed and leaned back on the sofa.

...Lee Seol-ah said she would find out when she meets Stardust next time, so I'll just have to trust that.

While thinking about this, I got lost in various thoughts, using the TV sound as background noise while licking my ice cream.

I should visit the Vine Witch soon too, when should I go...

[...The former chairman has finally been detained. He denies the charges against him....]

....For a moment, when I heard the word "detention," I felt something off, but I just ignored it.

After all, detention is the least related thing to teleportation.

"...Hey, Se-hee. Isn't it a bit cold?"

"No? It's warm. Maybe it's because you're eating ice cream?"

"Maybe?"

....Was that the reason for the strange feeling?

I thought as I continued to lick my ice cream.