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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Villain's Hiatus
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Deep underground in Seoul.
One of the many rooms there.
In a room designated as a "meeting room," I sat with a serious expression, my arms crossed.
With the whiteboard behind me, displaying "6th Egostic Regular Meeting," I began to speak.
"We need to clearly define our course of action from now on."
"Isn't it just you, Oppa, not 'we'? Suddenly, apple mang—"
"Seoeun. If you bring that up one more time, Oppa isn't speaking for a week. I'll lock myself in my room. And I'll cry. Wailing. You'll be making a grown man cry with just one word. How terrible and terrifying is that?"
"Alright, Won. Can't even crack a joke."
"Of course, I know our Seoeun cares about Oppa very much. Seeing you wail when I woke up after a week, Oppa was deeply moved..."
"Ugh! Ah, I can't hear you. Just get on with the meeting or whatever it is."
Before we even started, I shut down Seoeun's teasing. She'd been incessantly calling me "Mango" ever since I woke up... I needed to curb that a bit.
"Right, anyway. We need to clearly define our course of action."
With that, I sighed deeply.
"Last time, we tried to blindly stop that Monkey Wrench or whatever, and look what happened. I think I momentarily forgot my identity. I'm a villain, not a hero, after all."
"Uh... Oppa, I'm sorry, but it seems like most people see you as a hero these days? Your fan cafe already spread '20 Reasons Why Egostic is a Hero' all over the place..."
"Ah..."
I swallowed a groan. Right, I definitely overdid it lately.
My identity as a villain is gradually blurring.
"In that case, there's only one answer."
"What is it?"
"We're going into hiding."
At my sudden declaration of going into hiding, Seoeun and Ms. Soobin, who had only been listening, looked dumbfounded.
Their gazes seemed to ask how on earth I had arrived at such a conclusion.
I explained it to them step by step.
"Humans are... like a pot. They'll be interested in something for a while, but if it's not mentioned for a long time, their interest quickly cools. And then everyone forgets."
"So... you're going to make people forget about you, Oppa?"
"Yes, for a while."
At my words, Seoeun gave me a reluctant look.
Then again, Seoeun always claimed to be tired when planning terror attacks, but she was always the most excited.
At my declaration, Ms. Soobin asked.
"Then, what will we do in the meantime?"
"That's right. If the goal is to avoid public exposure, shouldn't we also stop catching villains?"
I nodded in affirmation.
"Exactly."
Actually, while I said this to Seoeun and Ms. Soobin, there was another, real reason.
I've already done a lot.
I've already eliminated most of the villains from the early parts of the original story, and I've preemptively dealt with the ones active now who would awaken later on. Just taking care of Enzodiac and Teleporter was a lot.
And as for terror attacks... even though it's still early in the original timeline, Stardust's power has already grown significantly. Almost to the level of the mid-point of the original story? The plane crash itself was something that happened in the mid-point of the original...
On top of that, one of the minor goals of the terror attacks—raising Stardust's public approval—has also been achieved. "Stardust Fan Club"? That fan club didn't even exist in the original story. Whoever came up with the name, didn't they do a great job?
"So, what are you going to do during your break, Oppa? Just keep running the Stardust fan cafe?"
Seoeun asked me with a cold expression.
Huh?
"Uh, huh? What are you talking about?"
"Aren't you the head of that 'Stardust Fan Club' or whatever it's called?"
As Seoeun interrogated me, her eyes narrowed, I suddenly felt cold sweat trickling down.
"N-no, I'm not?"
"Oppa... I can hack government agencies, do you really think I can't hack a simple portal site cafe?"
"Haha..."
No... even if that's true, wouldn't you not bother trying to hack *that*?
*Ahem*. I cleared my throat to smooth over the situation.
"That's not what's important. The truth is, we've been running nonstop until now, haven't we? So, we need to take a break. Think of it as a vacation."
"So, truly, for a while, you're not going to work and just rest completely?"
"Uh... well, aside from the occasional minor thing?"
"Hmm, alright."
Only then did Seoeun seem convinced.
No, wait, I'm the one taking a break, why am I asking *your* permission...?
Anyway, that's how we went into hiding.
Public, forget me!
***
Just because I wasn't engaging in public activities didn't mean I was just playing around.
Since this time was hard-won, I needed to plan out my future schedule in advance.
"....."
My room, deep underground.
I was thinking as I looked at the whiteboard stuck to the wall there.
For now, I could breathe a sigh of relief.
I'd already subdued all the annoying villains from the early stages. The remaining ones are the type that Stardust can take down with a single punch, so they're not really something I need to worry about. I can just watch them on TV while eating popcorn, no big deal...
Stardust's abilities have also been greatly enhanced, so she's reliable for a while. There's no particular need for me to step in.
"There aren't any main events, really..."
No major incidents or accidents will occur for the time being.
Of course, a truly massive incident will break out a few months from now, but that's something I can deal with when the time comes. It means I'm safe for about half a year.
What should I do in the meantime?
First, I recalled my goal.
My goal is to ensure Stardust walks only on a path of flowers.
And ultimately, to survive until the very end.
It's quite peaceful now.
Of course, a large-scale terror attack erupts every month... but this is considered quite peaceful.
In a few years, with the collapse of the power balance, all sorts of villains with insane abilities will pour out.
Apart from the villains filling up the world, the only active heroes are Stardust and the Ice Witch of the North Sea, so naturally, they won't be able to cover everything... It'll become a total mess.
If the world becomes that chaotic, I, a weak villain, might just get my head lopped off while walking down the street. How dreadful.
Not that, anything but that...!!
What should I do to prevent that?
It was clear that villains would pour out later.
That means there are people who aren't villains yet, but are potential villains.
Right, our Seoeun is a prime example.
In the original story, she became a villain who broke down administrative systems, paralyzed governments, and even raided associations.
But because I took her in before she turned dark, she's not a villain now.
So, the conclusion is.
Before those who aren't villains yet become villains, I just need to stop them.
And I need to make use of them. All of them have incredible abilities. Just look at Seoeun. Without her, I couldn't have done anything, not even the terror attacks. There's a reason I was the first to take Seoeun under my wing in this world.
I checked the date.
Right, around this time, that sibling pair would be doing their thing...
I roughly laid out a plan.
I dream of only one thing.
To gather all the future villains and create a massive villain alliance!
I guess "Ego Squad" would be a good name for it.
Good, good.
Having reached a roughly satisfactory conclusion, I erased everything written on the whiteboard and sat down.
To survive in this damn comic where the power balance collapses, isn't this much permissible?
"Phew..."
I was planning to rest, but it seems there won't be any time for that.
I just turned on my laptop from my seat. I've used my brain too much again; I need some healing.
I naturally navigated to the Stardust fan cafe I had bookmarked. As soon as I entered, the cafe's banner image appeared. Stardust's face was visible behind the words "Stardust Fan Club."
Right, what's the point in hiding it? I created this cafe. No! I just want to fangirl over my favorite character from my favorite comic, who can stop me? I was forcibly dragged from my perfectly normal life in the real world into this one, so I think I deserve this much small happiness.
"Ahem, ahem."
Muttering excuses to myself—though I didn't know to whom—I clicked on one of the categories.
It was "Stardust's Best Shots."
This was where photos of Stardust were collected.
"Haa... Yes, this is it."
When Stardust saves citizens, what should citizens do?
Flee? Of course, they should flee, but isn't it fine to snap a few pictures on the way?
The fancams taken that way.
Hmm.
She's beautiful, as expected.
If they'd cast an actress who looked like that to make this comic into a live-action movie, it would have easily surpassed 10 million viewers.
And so, for a while, I browsed through Stardust's photos, healing my tired mind. Yes, this is enough...
By the way, I even used my own money to host a contest within the cafe: "The Most Beautiful Stardust Photo Contest."
Stardust doesn't just deal with A-class big shots like me every day. She also deals with many slightly weaker B and C-class types.
And that's when photos get snapped, snap, snap.
After saving all the photos from the numerous posts uploaded for the contest, I closed my laptop.
This is enough rest.
What now?
Oh, maybe I'll write in my diary.
I pulled a notebook from deep within the bookshelf.
This was my diary. I even put a lock on it, just in case Seoeun or Ms. Soobin might see it.
This diary contained records of events from the first day I possessed this body until now.
I record everything in advance because this diary will definitely be necessary later when dealing with certain villains.
...Though I feel a bit pathetic writing a diary at this age. Well, even if it's a diary, I only write down the incidents I caused and my emotions. Just so I can remember them later.
Probably no one else but me will ever read this diary.
...Right?
Having finished writing in my diary, I leaned back against the chair.
Now... I should play again, shouldn't I?
And so, I played around happily again.
It's nice to rest thoroughly without causing terror attacks.
Stardust is probably feeling relieved these days, since I haven't caused any incidents, right?
***
Shin Haru. She had a plan.
A plan that, the next time she met Egostic, she would absolutely, without fail, uncover the truth he was hiding.
But...
"No, why is he so quiet these days?"
Since the last hotel incident, Egostic hadn't appeared even once.
For three months.
'...There's no way he'd be like this.'
Shin Haru felt a slight unease without realizing it.
Where did that Egostic guy go?