episode_0016

This is absurd, really.

Looking at the man screaming beneath me, I couldn’t help but sigh.

Why is a villain suddenly after my life?

It’s not like I did anything wrong.

A hero, maybe. A villain?

Thanks to this, I’m suffering while trying to plan an operation.

“…Hoo.”

I take the bomb from the man’s hand and sigh in relief.

The moment I confirmed that my survival rate had dropped to 0%, the first thing I did was tell the people around me to find anything that could be a threat as quickly as possible.

The others grumbled when they heard me, but I’m so glad they did what I asked.

Thanks to that, I have this man struggling in front of me right now, don’t I?

“Be still.”

I mutter in a low voice while pressing down on the man’s neck, and the man, who meets my eyes, finally quiets down.

Yeah. Everyone tends to quiet down when they see my face.

The survival rate has returned to almost normal.

I can safely say that I’ve prevented the future where I’m caught in a bomb and die.

I need to tell the others that I caught him quickly-

“Bad Face?”

Who’s calling me by that name?

I frown and look at the person who called me,

“…”

I meet the eyes of Snow, who is staring at me intently.

“…”

“…”

A moment of silence.

Why is she here?

Before I can answer anything,

A fireball surges towards Snow.

-Kwaaaang!

The storm of high heat blurs my vision,

“PD… No! Captain Bad Face! Are you okay?”

Fire Bringer jumps down from mid-air and stands in front of me as if protecting me.

Fire Bringer keeps glancing at me, and Snow is looking at me with a bewildered expression, as if she doesn’t understand this situation.

Yeah. It’s surprising.

I’m showing her a villain catching a villain.

“…Why are you catching a villain?”

Snow bends down and looks at me.

A touch-and-go situation. A dangerous moment when a fight could break out at any time.

“…”

What should I say?

All sorts of excuses are running through my head.

I expected this.

To protect the peace of the world.

I need your help. Help me.

Actually, I’m rigging the game.

Damn it.

It’s really infuriating that every time I think of a line, a cold, emotionless voice kindly slams the survival rate into my ear.

The survival rate starts to drop as soon as I try to say something even remotely human.

At this point, isn’t the world setting me up to be a villain?

Aish, I’ll do it. I’ll do it.

I take a deep breath and look at Snow.

“Easy.”

I look at Snow and twist the corners of my lips upward.

Fire Bringer makes a sound like “Ew” when she sees my face and turns her gaze away, and Snow also can’t make eye contact with me.

Think.

How can I speak like a villain while minimizing the suspicion of a hero?

What could it be?

What kind of person is Snow in the original story?

One of the few hero-like people.

A person who can’t stand injustice and cares more about saving people than achieving results.

What would this kind of person think if they saw the current hero society?

“It was a test.”

“…What?”

Snow mumbles, seemingly flustered.

-Thwack!

“Ugh!”

And then, I kick the man holding the bomb in the side, who had been silent until then, and he looks at me with a groan of pain.

“You need to explain why you prepared the bomb.”

The man, who meets my eyes, trembles and begins to speak.

“Th, that’s just…”

“Just?”

This is completely crazy. Don’t lie.

“…It can’t be just that.”

You need to give a better reason. If you just say that, I can’t continue the story.

As I stare at him intently, the man, not sure how he interpreted my gaze, starts to babble as if he has a motor in his tongue.

“Because heroes don’t come… I thought that even if I set off a bomb here, no one would care…”

“…”

That’s absurd. Was that really it?

Is that what you call an excuse? Even heroes are at least half civil servants, so they would still prevent bomb attacks.

What should I say to this?

How do I fix this?

I turn my head and look at Snow.

“…”

Snow lowers her head with a mournful expression.

“…Yeah, that’s right.”

And Fire Bringer nods.

That wasn’t the reaction I was expecting.

“I, I didn’t think you would come to stop me!”

And the man continues to speak in a terrified voice.

“Yo, you’re a villain, so I thought you would sympathize with my ideology…!”

“Don’t say such absurd things. Even villains have their own beliefs.”

Where did he hear such dangerous things?

If I get on the wrong side of Snow, my plan will be ruined.

I hurriedly retort as soon as he finishes speaking.

“Do you know why villains don’t have combinations like heroes?”

“…Huh?”

“Because everyone thinks differently.”

This is true.

In the original story, villains tend to lack a center of gravity compared to heroes.

They say the scariest people are crazy people with conviction, don’t they?

“Don’t think I would understand you just because you’re ranting with such senseless hatred.”

“Boss, should I kill him?”

“Heeok!”

Fire Bringer raises her hand after hearing my words, and the man gasps when he sees it.

“No, you don’t even deserve to get blood on your hands.”

“Understood.”

I shake my head as I look at her hand, which is blazing fiercely.

As expected, after practicing a few times, I can now bluff and threaten as easily as breathing. You really have talent.

“…”

And Snow is still looking at the floor with a mournful expression.

Is this my chance?

I kick the man who is panicking again in the side, and he rolls to Snow.

Snow finally raises her head and looks at me when the man’s body touches her foot.

Let’s run away.

I raise my head and look behind her, and Eclipse, who has arrived unnoticed, is nodding at me from afar.

I can run away safely, too.

“Come and get me if you can.”

With those words, I turn my body around, and Fire Bringer stands next to me.

At the same time, darkness covers both of us.

“Wait a minute…!”

Snow hurriedly reaches out her hand.

Don’t catch me. I can never win if I fight you.

How long has it been since we hid in the darkness? Along with a feeling of something moving, the view brightens, and Eclipse is looking at me and Fire Bringer with a dumbfounded expression.

“How did you know Snow would come here?”

“Well-”

Before I can say “We were just unlucky,” Fire Bringer takes the lead.

“You already knew, didn’t you.”

“Huh?”

Me?

“Otherwise, you wouldn’t have suddenly told me to catch a dangerous person.”

“…”

“You know. You’re always thinking and moving.”

“You really…”

Why are they talking about things I don’t know? Can’t I join in?

Eclipse looks at me intently after hearing Fire Bringer’s words.

“…Explain it a little. What are you going to do if only you know?”

“No, it’s not that-”

“…Okay. It’s all good.”

Hoo, Eclipse sighs, pats me on the shoulder, and leaves, and Fire Bringer looks at me and gives me a thumbs up.

That expression like, “I did well, right!”

I’m a little angry.

*

After Bad Face disappeared with Fire Bringer, Snow looked at the man groaning beneath her.

“Ugh…”

“…”

Don’t think I would understand you just because you’re ranting with senseless hatred.

The man’s words echoed in Snow’s head.

Is he different?

But he’s a villain.

But he ultimately stopped the bomber.

Villains have their own beliefs.

She felt like she understood what that meant.

Snow picks up her phone, and someone answers after a short ringing tone.

“Yes. This is Snow. I caught the man who planted a bomb in the slums.”

“…”

Should I say I met Bad Face?

Yes. I have to report it.

She opens her mouth to report.

“And this time, Bad-”

The call ends at the same time.

“…”

Snow stares blankly at the disconnected call, clenches her fist tightly, and turns on the news on her smartphone.

“…”

Snow’s hand holding the smartphone tightens.

*

“What is it.”

“Why, doesn’t the dinner suit your taste?”

“If you’re going to complain about the food, then you should do more of the cooking duty.”

“Don’t try to use tricks to avoid working.”

Everyone’s lacking business ethics, business ethics.