Chapter 233 - His Identity

Underground.

After Egostic eliminated a villain who was planning a terrorist attack using biochemical weapons, and in the place where he left Post-it notes for Stardust, she quietly read his final letter.

[For you Stardust.]

[I know you must be busy with all the other villains around lately, but this one... seemed particularly dangerous, so I took care of him. I should be enough of a villain to keep your attention; I don't want you focusing on others. And you've seemed a bit down lately, which worries me, so I didn't approach you directly last time. I hope to see you smile again soon.]

[P.S. I'd appreciate if you could remove the Post-it notes I left so the Association can't see them. Let's keep this a secret between arch-enemies, haha.]

"Haha...."

And behind the numerous Post-it notes he had left,

Reading the final message he had written, each character carefully penned by his own hand,

Stardust quietly fell into thought.

"....."

The truth was,

She had been in a bad mood lately.

Starting precisely from the day Egostic brought another female villain with him.

And then.

It peaked on the day Egostic ignored her.

She had been so focused on capturing Egostic that she'd pushed everything else aside.

...Maybe he wasn't interested in her anymore.

Sometimes she would think this and become depressed.

But all those emotions,

After reading the numerous Post-it notes Egostic left and this final letter,

Melted away completely from her heart.

"...Really, unbelievable."

After reading the letter several times,

She blurted out.

"I should be enough of a villain to keep your attention; I don't want you focusing on others."

...He wanted her to focus only on him.

"And you've seemed a bit down lately, which worries me, so I didn't approach you directly last time. I hope to see you smile again soon."

...He hadn't made eye contact last time because she seemed to be in a bad mood.

And he wrote that he hoped to see her smile again.

"...Ha."

Seriously. Anyone would misunderstand and think we have some special relationship. Why would he write something like this? And what's with asking me to remove all the Post-it notes at the end? A villain asking a hero for a favor, really.

Even as she grumbled,

"....Hmph."

With the letter firmly clutched in her hand,

She found herself unconsciously trying to stop the corners of her mouth from rising.

...I'll take all these Post-it notes with me when I leave.

Well... since he asked so nicely, I suppose I could do it for him. Yes.

And so Stardust carefully tucked his Post-it notes and letter into her chest and left.

And after that day,

They say Stardust's expression noticeably brightened.

***

"Come on, guys... I'm really fine!"

"What do you mean 'fine,' oppa? You need to rest."

After capturing Scream Maker and returning home,

I was immediately confined to the fatigue recovery capsule in one corner of the house.

On top of that, our healer Ha-yul was constantly by my side.

"Seriously... all I did was snap my fingers and fire a gun."

"No, that's not true. You were exposed to toxic air for an extended period and experienced mental stress. Of course you need to rest."

...That's what Su-bin said.

Stress, huh? Well, did I have anything stressful happen? Not really. Except for being a bit scared...

Anyway, probably because I've come home covered in blood so many times before, Su-bin, Seo-eun, and everyone else tend to be overprotective of me. I guess I deserve it...

So after resting for a few days, I reflected on this incident.

The plan to eliminate Scream Maker was successful. With this, we've moved one step further away from destruction.

...As for the letter I wrote to Stardust at the end, well.

"Ugh..."

...Recalling it, I felt my head throb.

Ah. Why did I do that? The more I think about it, the more I feel like I was temporarily insane. What? "I should be enough of a villain to keep your attention"? "You've seemed down lately, I hope to see you smile again"? Is this something a villain should say to a hero?

"Ah... I was crazy, absolutely crazy."

I muttered to myself without realizing it.

It wasn't something a villain would typically say or do. Just thinking about what Stardust might think of me after seeing that makes me nervous.

...Does she think I'm insane?

Of course, I have my excuses.

'At that moment, my hand just moved on its own, I swear...'

I instinctively felt I needed to write that. Why, I still don't know.

...But come to think of it, it's kind of funny.

After that day, the inexplicable anxiety I'd been feeling completely disappeared.

And the nightmares I'd been having lately vanished too, leaving me sleeping soundly.

I don't know the reason for this either...

Anyway, after catching one villain, I returned to my normal condition. And with Ha-yul's continuous healing, my physical state was nearly perfect.

Several days passed after capturing Scream Maker.

Then one day, I received a call from Lee Seol-ah.

[Yes. Stardust is still taking good care of the PMC kids. It seems like she and Ha-ru have become quite close?]

"Really? That's good. The kids' skills seem to be improving too. Should we start recruiting for the second batch of our PMC soon?"

[I was just looking into that. Um... let's start recruiting around the end of this month. I've already screened most of the applicants.]

"Let's do that."

That's how our conversation went.

The reason I want to expand the PMC is simple. In the coming era of catastrophe, having multiple average ability users will be better than having one powerful one.

Considering that the Moonlight Cult will open a gate connecting our world to another dimension, allowing monsters to pour through, preparation is essential.

Especially to reduce the burden on Stardust.

Anyway, while we were having this conversation about the fate of our nation,

Lee Seol-ah added, as if she just remembered:

[Oh right, Da-in. Did you do something to Ha-ru?]

"....Huh? Why?"

[Well, Ha-ru has seemed really happy lately. Her face and voice just brightened up, and from what I can tell, it started after the day you did that broadcast.]

"Ah... um.... I didn't do anything. Maybe she's just relieved that the villain was dealt with?"

[Hmm... is that so?]

...It's not a lie.

Well, saying I didn't do anything is a lie. I did leave a letter, but, um. That couldn't be why she's in a good mood, right? She probably just realized how dangerous Scream Maker was and felt relieved that he was stopped. ...That must be it. Yeah.

[I'll take your word for it then. Oh, and come see the PMC kids sometime. They miss you.]

"Ah, I should."

I nodded in response.

Between the Shinetia incident, the Scream Maker operation, and being confined with Ha-yul for healing, I hadn't seen the PMC kids for a while.

Especially now that their skills are maturing, I need to teach them how to instruct their juniors. I should go see them.

After telling Seol-ah that I'd come visit, I hung up.

Alright. Tomorrow I'll go meet our Ego Squad... I mean, Yu-seong Squad.

That's what I simply thought.

Not anticipating what would happen the next day.

***

"Hmm."

In the underground training room of the Yu-seong Squad building.

Testing the kids' skills again, I nodded in satisfaction.

"Good. Everyone's doing well. Was training with Stardust helpful?"

"Yes! It was incredibly helpful!"

Our redhead, No. 3 Heo Da-hee, nodded vigorously in response.

She then explained how Stardust had helped them capture a B-rank villain.

I already knew about this roughly. Stardust had taken our PMC kids on practical training missions against low-ranking villains. Our kids did so well that Stardust was pleased.

She even revealed her identity as Shin Ha-ru and treated them to meals in private.

...I find it hard to believe that Ha-ru, who doesn't trust people easily, would go that far. Are our kids that sociable?

Anyway, I nodded with satisfaction at Da-hee's words.

That's when No. 2 Seo Chae-young, who had been hovering around me, subtly asked:

"Teacher Da-in. Do you like Stardust?"

"Huh? Oh. Of course I like her. Shouldn't every Korean like her?"

"Ah... yes..."

"So listen well to Stardust and learn diligently. It's not an opportunity that comes often."

"Tch... we know that."

She said that while putting her hands behind her back, pouting and staring at the floor.

No. 1 was leaning against the wall looking cool as usual, and No. 4 was dozing... no, she's not. It's been a while since I've seen our No. 4 Soo-ah not dozing off.

...Anyway, I was briefly lost in thought while standing in front of the kids.

...I didn't expect our PMC kids to get this close to Stardust, so I absolutely cannot let them find out that I'm Egostic.

Thanks to the hero education I've given our PMC kids, they're more righteous than most Association heroes. In other words, if they find out I'm Egostic, they might try to arrest me regardless of our teacher-student relationship.

Especially now that they're close to Stardust? The moment they tell her, my life would be over. I'd likely be kidnapped in an instant.

...Actually, even if they don't find out I'm Egostic, I've already met Stardust as Da-in before, so that could be a problem too. Well.

Anyway, the conclusion is that I absolutely cannot let our PMC kids discover that I'm Egostic. That's what I was thinking.

...But when I finished my thoughts, I noticed the kids seemed a bit unsettled today. They were all glancing at me. What's going on?

That's when,

"...Master."

"Yes?"

No. 1, who had been leaning against the wall, stood up straight as if he'd made a big decision.

Then the four children looked at each other and nodded.

...What's this about?

As the atmosphere grew ominous,

With what seemed like a firm resolve, No. 1 asked me in an unwavering voice:

"....Teacher Da-in. You're Egostic, aren't you?"

"Huh..?"

And at that moment,

My brain froze slightly.

...Did I hear that wrong?