Chapter 296 - Love Advice

Going back in time.

In Busan, after Egostic deceived Stardus and escaped with Ariel.

"Egostic...!"

After spending several days in anger, Stardus eventually calmed down and fell into deep thought.

"Haah..."

...Right, what's the point of being angry? Egostic probably had no choice, yes. He wouldn't have wanted to get caught in that situation.

Still, the way he deceived her and ran away made her blood boil, but there was an even bigger problem.

Namely, that another woman had attached herself to Egostic.

'...I-I'm fine with being second!'

"Haah..."

What does that even mean?

Well, it means she still wants to be with him, at least.

She had somewhat suspected it, but hearing it directly was quite shocking. Probably all the other women around Egostic had similar thoughts. And Egostic... was living together with those women in the same house.

"......"

Thinking about that made her blood boil even more.

...Of course, it wasn't because she liked him! It was just that if Egostic had women around him, well, he would have less time to pay attention to her as a hero. Yes, that's it...

"...Haah."

...Despite her reasoning, the thought of Egostic holding hands and laughing with another woman like he did with her made her chest ache, but she deliberately avoided confronting her own thoughts.

"....."

That evening.

After finishing work and returning home, Stardus sat at her desk, resting her arms and sighing.

...In truth, the worry she unconsciously harbored was that there was nothing she could do about what Egostic was doing. Especially when they were all together figuring out what to do with Egostic, while she was here alone with nothing but her worries...

"..."

After the Moonlight Bridge terrorist attack, she had completely determined that even if Egostic was a villain, he wasn't a bad person. She no longer felt any hesitation about unconsciously approaching Egostic... The problem was that she didn't know what to do or how to do it. After all, she was a hero and he was a villain...

As she continued these complicated thoughts, she sighed and turned on her laptop, idly touching the mouse. To clear her head. ...Continuing to think like this would only cause stress, right?

As she aimlessly browsed the internet portal site, she paused slightly when she saw a news article with her face on it.

[[Special Feature] Stardus, the greatest S-class hero in Korean history, about her.]

Curious about what they were saying, she clicked on the article without thinking.

Below a photo of herself standing somewhere, the article contained her achievements as Stardus and words lavishly praising her.

...And, having become quite accustomed to such excessive praise after spending a long time on Egostic's fan cafe, she scrolled down quickly.

But one sentence written in the article caught her eye.

[Stardus must surely be thinking about the country's welfare day and night. Even as readers are reading this article, the hero must be thinking only about how to save people.]

"...."

...Having been thinking more about how to advance her relationship with Egostic rather than such things, she felt a slight pang of conscience, but then she concluded that since Egostic was also a villain, thinking about him was also a type of protecting the country.

Quickly scrolling down before feeling more guilty, what caught her attention was another article headline.

It was an article with a picture of Icicle freezing waves.

[A-class hero Icicle freezes the sea! The surprising strength shown by someone no one expected!]

"Right, Seol-ah..."

She muttered as she clicked on the article.

The article detailed how Icicle had done something quite remarkable and seemed to have become quite strong. Especially the impact of freezing the entire sea around Busan was so great that netizens had given her the nickname "Ice Lady of the South Sea"...

Reading that article, Shin Ha-ru smiled quietly, unlike when she read her own article. After all, her friend's growth was also a joy to her.

However, as she was doing so.

"....."

Suddenly recalling a certain scene, her face hardened.

...Specifically, the image of Seol-ah smiling and reaching out her hand to hold Egostic's in Busan.

Though she hoped it wasn't the case, the impression that there might be something between her and Egostic...

It approached Stardus as quite a significant anxiety.

And just then, a thought crossed her mind.

"...That's right."

She had been worrying about Ego-stream earlier, but thinking about it, she had a friend she could share her concerns with.

Lee Seol-ah.

Her oldest, closest friend and fellow hero.

So... couldn't she talk to her about wanting to get closer to Egostic?

...And.

There was one more reason for asking her.

'...I should make it clear to Seol-ah this time.'

With a calm expression, Stardus quietly thought.

'Egostic.'

That he's mine.

"...Oh, Seol-ah. Can you talk? Yeah, can we meet for a bit?"

***

Back to the present.

"I want to get closer to Egostic. What do you think I should do?"

Inside the cafe.

Hearing those words spoken calmly by her friend Ha-ru who had come to see her after a long time, Lee Seol-ah was thinking all sorts of things inside.

First, contrary to what Egostic had said about keeping his distance from Stardus, Stardus was charging ahead.

Second.

'...But, the fact that Ha-ru is telling me this so directly means...'

...No way, it couldn't be...?

While quietly thinking that to herself, Lee Seol-ah casually asked Ha-ru, pretending not to know anything.

"But Ha-ru, isn't Egostic a villain...? I don't understand why you want to get closer to him..."

Having said that, Lee Seol-ah somewhat expected that Stardus would either deny something or show some embarrassment about what she had just said.

However, contrary to her expectations.

"Yeah. After seeing him for a while, I don't think Egostic is necessarily a bad person. I want to get to know him better by becoming friends."

So calmly.

...Hearing a hero say she wants to get closer to an S-class villain because he doesn't seem like a bad person.

Lee Seol-ah almost squeezed her eyes shut involuntarily.

'...Da-in...!!!'

Forget keeping distance, Stardus has completely lost her brakes..!

Lee Seol-ah instinctively realized that this was quite a dangerous situation.

Egostic clearly seemed to firmly believe that Stardus would hate him. And contrary to his thinking... Stardus already seemed to have fallen for Egostic. Ha-ru's eyes were so calm it was scary. She was almost out of her mind.

Especially since she was speaking so directly to her, it was already at a point where it should be considered almost over. It was the same as openly saying "I like Egostic," just without the words... Though she still didn't seem to have completely noticed her own feelings yet.

"So... Seol-ah, you're my friend. Can you help me? To get closer to him?"

And while Lee Seol-ah was having these complicated thoughts.

Looking at Stardus who had put down her cup and leaned her head closer to her side saying that.

Lee Seol-ah realized that her moment of choice had come.

And at that moment.

"...."

Lee Seol-ah's genius business mind began to quickly turn.

The villain alliance Ego-stream created by Egostic. And his numerous female colleagues who belonged there.

It was clear to anyone that most of them seemed to like him.

And they lived together with him in the same house, building a strong cartel. Tightly knit.

This was evident just from how those women had been wary of her when she visited Egostic's house before. Of course, she had managed to become somewhat friendly with them through various efforts, but... the risk that they could still band together remained. They were the very embodiment of an entrenched power, spending more time with Egostic than anyone else and being together with him.

...However, there was one variable.

The fact that Egostic didn't show much interest in women other than Stardus.

So.

Rather, by cooperating with Ha-ru...

'...If I connect Egostic and Ha-ru first...?'

Since she was close with Ha-ru, they could somehow band together.

Wouldn't it be right to oppose the massive entrenched power of Ego-stream as heroes versus villains?

"....."

...The argument was already full of logical fallacies, starting with labeling them as an entrenched power simply because Ego-stream spent a lot of time with Egostic, but Lee Seol-ah didn't notice this far.

Of course, there was another option of confessing to Egostic, "I think Ha-ru likes you, Da-in...!" but... it seemed like a bad idea for a third party to interfere between them right now.

'...Right.'

"Okay, Ha-ru. I'll think about it with you."

"...Really?"

"Yes, you're my friend after all."

Lee Seol-ah said that with a quiet smile.

Yes. Literally, though she didn't show it well, Ha-ru was also Lee Seol-ah's most precious friend.

She decided to help Stardus.

...By the way, she believed that friends should share good things.

'...Maybe I need to change the law.'

***

"....Hmm?"

At that time.

As I was working, researching about Carceris, I tilted my head at the ominous feeling I suddenly felt after a long time.

...What is this strange feeling?

I hope no one is plotting something suspicious again.